mech2013 center osnap not working.

[not2013]

Hello trying to get some things done here.  I have osnaps set to center only. Unfortunely mech does not know what the center is.  It selects ends points.  Never seen this before.

Is this new for mech or is this some sort of software bug or is there some new setting that no one told me about that I now have to set to get osnaps to work?

Thx

[michaelsu]

Hi,

Can you try to use "user settings" set in Snap settings under AM:Preferences tab of Options dialog? 

[acwtzwegers]

I've seen this kind of thing happen a lot (all sorts of snaps working which are switched off, or not when they are on.)

It is related to the fact that:

-  in some cases AutoCAD Mechanical (ACM) will activate snaps based on what tool you activate (the centerline tool will automatically activate "mid" (=handy), the hatch tool will automatically activate "nearest" (=not so handy) )

- in some cases the user will use the AutoCAD snap settings (by right clicking the snap icon at the bottom for example) instead of the ACM "powersnap" settings... this seems to confuse ACM. The result of these double settings seems to be very unpredictable.

Solutions:

- make sure to use powersnap settings only

- with the varied tools, just "go with it" (sadly there seems no other option)

- use shift-rightclick to select the snap you need, when you need it

[not2013]

Thank you for your informative reply.

I had to actually type in CEN before I clicked the circle, then it understood what I wanted and could then easily like in the past find the center point.  (eventhough center point was the only power snap I had set.   It didn't know that I wanted a center point to snap to.) 

This is another sign of unstable software.  Very sad I used to love ACAD, bring back Michael Riddle! 

[not2013]

So did autodesk make this change on purpose, or is it a by-product of other changes they did?

[acwtzwegers]

It is a by product of the usage of a "vertical": Mechanical on top of AutoCAD.

Basically all AutoCAD structures are still active, but so are the AutoCAD Mechanical ones. When you consistently use the AutoCAD Mechanical workflow, you'll rarely (if ever) come across such problems. But many people have more experience at regular AutoCAD (or change to ACM without propper training) and continue to use commands etc that they're used to.

[not2013]

Thank you for your reply! Could you please tell me where autodesk has this written so I may read it for myself.

"When you consistently use the AutoCAD Mechanical workflow, you'll rarely (if ever) come across such problems. But many people have more experience at regular AutoCAD (or change to ACM without propper training) and continue to use commands etc that they're used to."

Thank you!

[steve216586]

I would like to add to Michael's response. Please see additional information here: http://exchange.autodesk.com/autocadmechanical/enu/online-help/AMECH_PP/2012/ENU/pages/WS1a919382645...

It explains better than I could but basically states that when using POWERSNAPS in ACADMECH, don't rely on the settings at the bottom of the Workspace. Those are "Vanilla" autocad settings. Use the snap settings in the OPTIONS dialog as Michael suggested originally. It gives you several options for preset snap settings and filters which will enable you to solve your problem.  Good luck. 

[not2013]

I did not read in the link where it said osnaps would not work at all in some cases when using mechanical.

That is the text I am seeking to see by autodesk.

It seems that another response from someone else is missing completely.  Whom is doing revisionism here on this forum?

[not2013]

Exactly what was wrong with osnaps that they needed to be replaced?  They have worked perfectly for me for over 15 years, until the later unstable releases of autodesk software.

I see no reason to change from osnaps to powersnaps.  Can anyone on planet earth explain what the problem with osnaps was before autowreck made them unstable?

Can anyone on planet earth convince me that any added features in psnaps could not have been added to osnaps.  Are there any software writters out there?  I am will to wager $10,000 to anyone that no one can prove this to me. 

I see the only reason is that autodesk management is either mentally unstable or mentally incompetent.

[steve216586]

"Exactly what was wrong with osnaps that they needed to be replaced?"

I'm not sure "replaced" is the correct term. "Enhanced" may be a better qualifier. As been stated and explanations shown in HELP, the OSNAPS for vanilla AutoCAD are still available for convenience of the user. Additionally, PowerSNAP filter groups have been set up for default settings and customization, (enhancement), for those who may be using the Mechanical content and need specific OSNAP settings and/or need to switch to another one of the various subsets of OSNAP, user defined, settings to perform their mechanical design.

It is quit simple to place your "every day" use OSNAP settings a Mechanical filter group. If you need another set of OSNAP settings for another task, as seems the case when you turned all off except "Center", you can do that too.

As to your wager. I suspect the developers of AutoCAD Mechanical are a separate programming team from the developers of the AutoCAD "Vanilla" team. The Mechanical developers are interested in developing features which aid the end users of their "specialized" product. If you do not use that feature, why do the rest of the end users be handicapped? Adding a fancy rim is more simple than redesigning the entire wheel. Those who don't pay for the fancy rim don't deserve to receive the entire wheel.

Seriously, once you understand how to assign filters and have your PSNAP settings designated the way you like, you will wonder why you made all this fuss. It is like having basic "over the air" TV compared to sattelite TV.

[Winks87]

No one at Autodesk created this stuff - this was puchased from a German company that created this as an add-on to standard Autocad.  The program was called Genius - this is where the "power snap" and ALL "power" commands came from.  The shaft generator, the mechanical shape library, the bearing calculator, chain calculator... you get the picture.  This was back in the days of release 12, 13, 14...  I actually had this add-on back then.  It was a good way to get structural shapes for Autocad along with some handy power commands.  It actually let you create a projected view based on the mechanical content parts.  Pretty cool stuff back then (and now when it works).  I think (dont know for sure) that this stuff has either stagnated or is near the end of it's lifecycle - or maybe Autodesk fiddled with it & broke it.  Dont know.  But, that is where this all came from.  It actually used a dongle on the end of a serial port that enabled it to run.  That and my digitizer pad...... those were the days.

[JDMather]

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@not2013 wrote:

...  They have worked perfectly for me for over 15 years...

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Are you aware that since AutoCAD Mechanical is built on top of vanilla AutoCAD that if you haven't had training in Mechanical you could simply revert it to run as the "plain jane" vanilla AutoCAD you are familiar with and not even see the Mechanical toolset?