Ability to disable snapping, at least temporarily would make would improve Sketchup drastically. Having to zoom in to ensure your model is precise while tracing imported lines or scaling objects is a real pain. Many times you have to change the entire models precision just to place something where you want it.
Why this isn’t a standard feature in 2024 is rediculous.
Changing a models display precision has no effect on the “snaps” or inference engine. Display precision only adjusts the rounding of dimensions that are displayed to you, not the real model precision. I am respectfully curious about which situations you find challenging for placing objects precisely, perhaps there is a workflow modification that could make things easier for you. In general, using the inference engine and typing in correct dimensions to develop models is the only way to keep them precise, to locate nodes relative to each other. Without it edges and nodes would be randomly placed, especially when tracing over an imported image. Can you include a file that you find difficult so we can better understand your use case?
I’m trying to trace a line and it keeps snapping to constraints not endpoints. Or rotate onto lines and it snaps on either side of the line not on the line. Also when scaling it will snap to either side of a line.
This request has been raised many times and rejected just as many times. The concept of inference snapping is fundamental to how SketchUp deals with interpreting pixels on your 2D display screen as locations in your 3D model. On an image, there are no internal points, even in 2D. This means that tracing things on an image is inherently imprecise: it depends on how accurately you click a desired pixel, where in that pixel the desired point is actually located (pixels are finite, points are zero size), and whether you enter lengths by typing them in rather than by moving the mouse.
Bottom line: if you need high precision, tracing images is not how to get it! Use them as a reference and refine geometry as you draw it so that it has sensible locations and dimensions.
Hmmm, hard to offer advice without seeing the file. Trying going to Window>Model Info> Units> and make sure Enable Length Snapping is turned off. This “feature” will make things jump around as you describe and is known to cause model errors, it’s best kept off.
As usual, our sages are correct. If you are willing to show us some of your workflow or a few screenshots of what you are trying to accomplish we may be able to suggest a few ways to achieve it more easily. I hope you consider sharing with us @Riffe, we want to help you if we can.
Here’s a few examples. The scale tool jumps from either end of the desired line. Also the line “Constraints” places the line not where the pointer is but on a seemingly arbitrary point next to the endpoint.
I totally understand the issue and seeing some screenshots is helpful, but a broad overview of what you are trying to accomplish would be even better. There may be a better way of doing things that we can suggest that will completely eliminate the snapping issue you are facing. We want to help, but until we know what you are trying to do, we can’t offer more than a few generic suggestions.
For example, it might be possible to use a different tool to do what you need to do or it may be as simple as rotating a component axis inside a wrapper to let you snap to where you need. We just need a better idea of what you need to accomplish.
You could benefit yourself by spending some time at The SketchUp Campus. This is a site that will provide the basics for learning the SketchUp modeling process. Also, spend some time at the SketchUp SketchUp YouTube site. It provides much information including how to use each tool.
