How to draw a 3D line and point in a view, without creating a sketch?

[mike46YZU]

Hi,

I'm developing an add-in that will modify the view orientation on the fly. During coding and debugging, it would be really valuable if I can draw lines and points inside the 3D view, for instance to draw a test coordinate system to see if my transformations are working correctly. These lines/points should not be drawn inside a sketch I recon.

What would be the best approach for this? Any examples?  

[BrianEkins · Accepted solution]

I do this a lot while debugging things like you're working on. You have two choices; a sketch or custom graphics. I've used both, but most often will use a sketch.

If you use a sketch, create a sketch in the root component on the XY Construction plane and this way the sketch coordinate system will match up with the world coordinate system. Using a sketch is easier and also has the advantage that it's selectable and measurable.

Custom graphics are documented here. They take a little more to wrap your head around. Here's a previous reply I made in the forum that has a sample that uses custom graphics to visualize the coordinate system of a sketch.

[Jorge_Jaramillo · Accepted solution]

Hi,

The line and point need to be contained in the component you are rotating, and the right place is in a sketch.

I don't know any other element in the design tree where you can place them.

Why don't you want a sketch for them?

It is easy to create and delete once you make your testing.