This problem happens a lot: sometimes I am not working in the 3 most “common” directions and sometimes I have to draw rectangles and it’s very very hard to make it in the direction/orientation I want. Check this image:
I know I could solve this problem with the LINE TOOL BUT I WANNA know how to make this green rectanble fit the empty recantable without having to create a rectangle and after that rotating it. How can I make this rectanble follow the other rectanble?
I already tried pressing arrow keys but they make the rectangle to assume the most common 3 orientation which is not the orientation I need.
And I have one final question: if I draw a line (with the LINE TOOL) and I want to draw another line perpendicular to this first line, starting at one of its edge. How do I do that?
Your profile doesn’t say what year version of SketchUp are using. In 2017 there is an inference for perpendicular to an existing edge. It can be a bit fussy to get it, but once activated you can press shift to lock it.
It looks a little hard to get it. I drawed a line. So after that I click in one of the edges (with the line tool), drag the mouse and press shift? When do you press shift? I am using skecthup 2017
The magenta-colored perpendicular inference behavior was introduced in SketchUp 2016 I think. I use it often (with SketchUp 2016 Pro).
To batata003: the shift key does not need to be used to trigger the magenta perpendicular-inference behavior. Simply activate the Line tool, click and release on an existing edge of interest (which might be at an endpoint of the edge), and begin moving the mouse away. As you slightly wiggle the mouse, the magenta inference will often be triggered spontaneously. If it does not trigger, then drag the pointer a bit (while you are still in the midst of creating a new line) along the existing edge that you want to be the perpendicular reference, and then move the mouse away and approximately perpendicular from your starting click, and the perpendicular inference behavior should trigger.
After it triggers, then you can continue moving the mouse further away while maintaining the magenta inference, and click a second time to complete the line (or type a dimension on the keyboard and press Enter to complete the line). If you need to manipulate the mouse to the extent that the perpendicular inference might disable, then you can hold Shift to keep the inference active, after it has been triggered.
I cant see what tool you used, you didnt use the rectanble tool? You just used line tool with rotate? I would like to use the rectanble tool selecting opposite corners.
Thanks man for the detailed explanation but it kind of does not work to me. In the instruction above when I release the click I cant move the cursor anymore with the line cause the line is already created when I released the mouse
There are two ways to use the line tool (and some other tools also):
By pressing the mouse button down at the start-point, moving the mouse (with the button held down) to the desired end-point, and then releasing the mouse.
By clicking (press and release) the mouse at the start-point, moving the mouse (with no button repressed; you could let go of the mouse completely at this point) to the desired end-point, and clicking (press and release) the mouse a second time. I use this method exclusively, because it is easily possible to orbit, zoom, pan etc. while drawing to the end-point. Or to fiddle the mouse to trigger inferencing behavior.
Perhaps you are using the first method, press-drag-release? I suggest you try the second two-click method.
A variation of the second method is to never click the second time, but instead to type a dimension on the keyboard (just type, no need to locate the mouse cursor anywhere special) and press enter. In this case the line will be drawn along the direction you have traced from the initial click position, with the distance set by the dimension you enter. As you type the text will appear in the Value Control Box (VCB) down in the lower-left corner of the window, so you get feedback on what you are typing. This makes it easy to draw a line that is exactly 5.123 inches long, for example, without having to set up a guide.
WOW!!! I DIDNT KNOW THERE WAS A ROTATED RECTANGLE TOOL!!! I was probably very stupid, I searched this a lot in google and couldnt believe any other person hadnt had this same problem! THIS ROTATED RECTANBLE IS GREATT!!!
I was completely not aware of the second option, leaving the mouse and being still able to orbit, pan… and click at the end to set the last point of the line. Man, you are awesome, I learned a complete new thing! I also liked the method of typing the dimension before giving the second click cause this way I dont need to use the tape measure tool to pin point where my line should end!
Yeah, you can learn a lot here…
Learning SketchUp can be done by various methods, one of them is ignoring all the available lessons/advices and start poking around , wondering why this and that, untill you reach a point where you (sh)(c)ould say: might be worth investing some time in myself; can you afford losing valuable time ? That’s ok, some got plenty, for me, getting most out of the tools is important, always asking myself when something takes longer than I think is necessary: Am I using the right tool? Do I get the most of the tool I am using?
The rotated rectangle tool is one of the tools we show in the second half off our courses around here (europe) , looks to me it might be worth investigating if there are training centres in your habitat?