Select Adjoining ?
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Many times, I have to import some really awful DXF file - invariably, it's just a bag of disconnected lines
Is there any way to do a select adjoining to say a single line or curve and pick up all line ends that have the same co-ordinates so that the disparate bunch of items can be at the very least grouped together then edited and joined to form some semblance of a polygon.
I know that some of the older CAD apps had it - Vectorworks/Vellum/Cobalt etc - a godsend and huge timesaver for me really .If not, I'll add it as a new feature.
TIA
Neil
iMac 27" 2015 Catalina 32Gb, MacBook Pro 13" 2016 Monterey 8Gb, Mac Mini M2 2023 8Gb
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@Igull No such option now. I can add it to the features backlog (for after 1.2), but I will need some clarifications on how this would work, maybe some examples of what would be selected and not selected in such cases.
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@Igull I guess you are importing a PDF generated in a CAD app, which means thousands or even tens of thousands of exploded lines because that is what the CAD exporter does.
Which would be more useful — if VS would re-join the lines into objects on import (not that difficult, because you just need to check if an endpoint of the current object has the same coordinates with the endpoint of the next in the layer stack) or just offer a way to select adjoining lines?
MacBook Pro (Intel) running Monterey 12.6.4
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@VectorStyler said in Select Adjoining ?:
@Igull No such option now. I can add it to the features backlog (for after 1.2), but I will need some clarifications on how this would work, maybe some examples of what would be selected and not selected in such cases.
TBH, it's as simple as selecting a single line and asking for any subsequent lines that have endpoints with the same co-ordinates (or within specified bounds).
The algorithm would continue to search for the ends of those lines ad nauseam up to a defined limit.It would only be useful for semi-complex situations like imports from fairly well defined applications (I'm thinking more like CAD apps than complex PDF files from graphic apps) - highly random files with millions of individual lines would likely be a nightmare scenario for VS
I'd think a panel with an input for maximum deviation from the current co-ordinates, a maximum number of lines to capture, whether you wanted them to physically join, just select or group.
I imagine that the internal data of VS is very well defined, so it would be a trivial job for you to include LOL
This comes under the bells and whistles category for most I can imagine, but for me, it would save a huge amount of time.
TIA
Neil
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@b77 said in Select Adjoining ?:
@Igull I guess you are importing a PDF generated in a CAD app, which means thousands or even tens of thousands of exploded lines because that is what the CAD exporter does.
Mostly DXF imported into AI usually (VS having no DXF importer yet
) - then copy/paste or just save and open in VS for now.The area I work in seems to be full of "CAD" expurts who have no concept (maybe I should just finish the sentence here
) of what happens during or after they export a DXF file. I absolutely do know that most think all you do is place a piece of material in the machine after loading their DXF masterpiece and press the button - some even think that printing a drawing onto multiple A4 sheets is all you need and that all you then do is tape them up and feed it into said machine and as if by magyck , it cuts/sorts/panels/wraps/boxes and ships the object out /rant I WILL say 'though, that VS has certainly reduced the load in this whole process - even more than AI has.
LOL
Neil
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Not sure how many users deal with CAD exports, but the huge lines count resulted from the exploded objects slows many apps down.
I've seen files with tens of thousands of lines… a rejoin command would halve the file size and make working with the file easy again.
Plus it makes it easy to select actual objects. -
@b77 said in Select Adjoining ?:
Not sure how many users deal with CAD exports, but the huge lines count resulted from the exploded objects slows many apps down.
I've seen files with tens of thousands of lines… a rejoin command would halve the file size and make working with the file easy again.
Plus it makes it easy to select actual objects.Yes, I think you're absolutely right, I hadn't given that side of the issue any thought, but I have seen the same thing.
Neil
