Drawing Guides at Specific Offsets
In the previous task, we added a guide to a drawing with three cubes to align those cubes in a row. But what if you also wanted to space those cubes apart at an exact distance?
FIGURE 9.18 Aligning three cubes.
We’ll see how to use guides to do that in this task. If you haven’t already completed the previous task, do so now in preparation for this task.
So how do you draw guides at a specific distance away from an edge? Here’s how you do it, using the three cubes example developed in the previous task:
1. Start with the three cubes aligned in a row from the previous task.
2. Select the Tape Measure tool in the Getting Started toolbar.
3. Click the top-right edge of the middle cube. This anchors the Tape Measure tool.
4. Move the mouse away from the middle cube toward the cube on the right. This pulls a guide out from and parallel to the top-right edge of the middle cube.
You can pull the guide to any distance you want. In this task, we’ll see how to pull it out exactly three feet.
5. Release the mouse button.
6. Enter the offset you want for the guide. In this example, we’ll create a three-foot offset for the guide. In general, you enter a length and then the units. You can use these units:
- cm to signify centimeters
- m to signify meters
- ' for feet
- " for inches
For example, 3' means three feet, so type 3'.
7. Press Enter. The guide snaps to three feet from the middle cube, as you see in Figure 9.19.
FIGURE 9.19 A new guide.
8. Select the Select tool in the toolbar.
9. Draw a selection rectangle around a cube that doesn’t have the guide attached.
10. Select the Move tool in the toolbar.
11. Move the cube into alignment with the new guide, spacing it at three feet from the middle cube.
12. Select the Tape Measure tool in the Getting Started toolbar.
13. Click the top-left edge of the middle cube. This anchors the Tape Measure tool.
14. Move the mouse away from the middle cube toward the cube on the left.
15. Enter the offset you want for the guide. In this example, we’ll create a three-foot offset for the guide, so type 3'.
16. Press Enter.
17. Repeat steps 8–11 to move the left cube into alignment.
Now your cubes are in a row, and evenly spaced, as you see in Figure 9.20.
FIGURE 9.20 Three cubes in a row, evenly spaced.
Now that you’ve got your three cubes in a row and evenly spaced, you don’t need the guides any more. How do you get rid of them? See the next task.
Thanks :
Steven Holzner,
SamsTeachYourself Google SketchUp 8 in 10 Minutes
