Auto-Merge or Trim Geometry ("Sticky Geometry")

Two overlapping circles: it would be useful if these could auto trim/ merge… just like in SU!
I create plans for planting schemes and these contain LOTS (100’s to +1000) of overlapping circles. I have created scrap book pages of frequently used circle patterns but they can’t anticipate all eventualities.
Having a grouping/ component system as for SU would be very useful as it would allow particular clusters/ shapes to be reported. Its impractical to create this type of geometry in SU as it changes so frequently during design and labelling needs to be in LO not SU for obvious reasons.

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An interim choice might be to expand the function of the Split tool with a CTRL modifier that allows selecting objects to split at their intersection(s).

It would be a small but welcome step

I agree. We, Layout users, are SketchUp users after all. Draw tools should therefore, behave like SketchUp tools do.

The thing that could be thought of it could be different or not here is that circles in the same layer could split, while circles in two different layers could stay like they were drawn.

We’re talking about circles, but that would be valid for any other geometry.

Playing around (in SU2018) I noticed that I can trim (using the Split tool,) two ungrouped overlapping circles.

But the Split tool will not work with both circles inside a group. Ie, I no longer get an intersection inference with the Split tool when both circles are inside a group.

You know what happens if you draw 2 coplanar and interaeting faces in Sketchup. It would be great to have the same behaviour in Layout

Dave. I had both circles in the same group. Try that …

Like this?

Yea, it’s working now. Strange … n/m (thought I found a bug.) Better not I suppose. :wink:

Yea I know, but I am not convinced that “sticky geometry” would be good for 2D drawing.

There’d need to be a way for users to control when, where and how things get “sticky”.

Ideas ?

My first idea is “sticky groups” (this is why I playing with groups mentioned above.)

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I have abandoned CAD altogether and use SketchUp for 2d too. I tell you that I hated the “sticky” or “merge” or “breakable” way of dealing with geometry at firstz in SketchUp, when coming from CAD, and now I feel it’s incredibly useful.

In Layout we don’t draw that much either, but when we do, we loose a lot of time adapting to a different drawing method and geometry behaviour than that from Sketchup.

When working with layout we don’t come from CAD or from illustrator, or Photoshop, we come from SketchUp and we are used to working with Sketchup. Layout is there only for SketchUp users, so it should behave just like SketchUp in every aspect it could.

There shouldn’t be any other consideration on this, Layout users are SketchUp users exclusively.

There is no way Trimble is going to change the fundamental default geometry engine in LayOut after 15 years or so.

Any “sticky” feature would need to be by choice of the user manually in a container that they choose manually (or setup via a template.)

It could be by group or by page or by layer.

Well. I wish they would think differently.

Then there is also the “Scaled Drawing” context in later LayOut versions.

This might be another place that “stickiness” could be switched ON.
Ie, there is already right-click toggles for grid and object snaps and scaling.
What’s another toggle among friends ? :wink:

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I might be wrong, but why draw in LO at all, make symbols as components with respective names in SU, and just settle for the last little notes in LO…

Because those symbols won’t be relative to paper, but will be relative to model instead, the scale will be wrong, the position will be wrong, they will interfere with other annotations.

Because those symbols, exported from layout to CAD, will be a bunch of edges not texts, in the same layer as the model.

Because it’s easier to do them when working in 2d.

So a lot of things had to change between SketchUp and Layout for that to be able to happen.

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oh I can read that I’m not doing enough technical drawings : - /

Maybe that’s the issue. Doing technical drawings is where Layout’s workflow should be streamlined.

Other kind of presentations are easy, fast and effective, until a certain point of complexity.

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