Hiding New Manipulators - PreForm 2.8

[Antroia]

The manipulators are a great addition to the software in that the use previously was kind of hidden.

But… (there always is one)
It would be great to:

• Be able to turn on and off each individual manipulator from the “View” menu.

• Especially the Rotation tool is in my way when I’m checking a model for risk areas.
• The Scale tool is dangerous if one accidentally grabs it, so that should be optionably shut off

• Be able to scale the manipulator icons (Especially the rotation tool)
• See scale factor, rotation angle and possibly translation units somewhere in the interface, as I’m using a manipulator

Bonus want:
A general issue I have is faulty prints if I get stray faces inside a mesh somewhere - it’s not visible in the software, but in print, the inner face essentially can eliminate it’s outer sibling, cutting a hole in the print.
Is it possible to have the software check the models for faces that exist inside the outer limits of the solid hull?

Other than that - I’ve had my printer for about 3 weeks - am on my third liter of grey resin - and love what I can do with this “lil’ beast” of a machine.

[kevinduhe]

Probably would be best to have these all in one thread…there are many that feel the same way

PreForm 2.8.0

In release 2.8.1 can you please add the ability to turn off the “manipulators” you guys just added. I personally really, really don’t like it. It is not better or more efficient. I liked the ability to drag my part into the orientation I wanted it in. Assuming it is staying, this should be a selectable option so old timers like me could use the way it has been from day 1. I do like that the flavors of resin have the Vx and your internal name in brackets. That is good. While I wait for you…

[Ken_Weiland]

I second the motion. Would be nice to have the option to turn these off. While a nice idea, it would have been great to make it optional.

[Antroia]

We should really merge the two 2.8 feedback threads, but for reference I’m posting my answer to the other thread here as well:

I agree that this is a step up - so I just need the option of choice for the user.

That, and possibly have the snap option as well (extend my wish to see the angle/scale/translation units with a way to set predefined snap angles/scale/translation)

So, if I could set it to rotate in steps of 10 degrees, or snap to a 0,5 cm grid, or scale in .5 intervals - in addition to seeing the output of my current manipulation - would be great.

Also.
Unsure if I just got lucky or if the geo analysis/repair function is now better in 2.8 but… …tonight I printed a mesh that normally (7 previous prints) came out with a small tear due to long tris. It came out without any faults!

As I said, may have been lucky - but it felt like the software is more robust in this version.

[Antroia]

@Antroia

As I said, may have been lucky - but it felt like the software is more robust in this version.

Yeah, turns out I wasn’t that lucky.
After cleaning it, I noticed the tear just ended up in a different spot due to this print being in a different angle.

[KevinHolmes]

I too second the motion, it’s actually less convenient having to select the manipulator ball to rotate the model, when previously I could select any part of the model to rotate it, moreover I find the ball a bit fiddly, and I have to pay close attention to be sure I’m not selecting a single axis when I want free rotation…

I also agree that the scale tool is dangerous - and on that note, please could Preform stop auto-prompting me to scale an object that doesn’t fit the build volume when first opening the file, before I’ve had a chance to orient it.

I’m posting here instead of in the original @DavidRosenfeld thread because this thread’s title is more explicit

[Frew]

Just wanted to bump this thread and mention that manipulators can now be toggled on and off in PreForm 2.10.0. You can read about the other releases here!

[kevinduhe]

@Frew

manipulators can now be toggled on and off in PreForm 2.10.0

Woot! Downloading now! Thx @Frew

[katkramer]

I need the snap option as well, which is kinda standard in ALL graphics software. It would also be nice to be able to set the snap interval in Preferences.

I would also like to see the manipulator have color for the axes. In almost every 3D program, red, blue, and green are used for the axes, which makes it easy to tell which axis you’re looking at. Where this becomes a pain in the butt is when you’re trying to orient the piece…for example, in the graphic below, I have no idea which axis is X, Y, or Z (according to PreForm). I don’t know which of the little icons I can click to orient this correctly…I think it would be SUPER handy to have the six little icons be COLOR-CODED to match the manipulator axes (which are blue, green, and red in my happy little PreForm dream…). I find that clicking those six buttons is totally trial and error, never resulting in a predictable orientation of the model.

Alternatively, add an XYZ blue/red/green axis somewhere on the “stage,” and have these buttons relate to that axis. Hope that makes sense!

UPDATE: I did click the lower right of the six buttons, and it flipped this to the correct orientation with the sprue down. So is it that from the original imported position that these buttons work? Or is it from the present orientation? Hmmm…