ProLine

1、 Overall Introduction
Draw edges like the native line drawing tool in SketchUp, but special protractors and inference aids can be used to draw edges, curves, points, reference lines, etc., making it a plugin that can completely replace native tools.
Note: The support for Mac may not be as stable as on Windows.


After activating the tool, click the TAB key to pop up the toolbar for easier operation.


2、 Specific functions of professional line drawing plugin
1. Enter numerical values to draw: length value, absolute coordinates, relative coordinates, angle value (or angle lock).
2. Angle capture drawing:
① Capture the angles defined in the model information.
② Capture angles and define them in professional line drawing settings.
③ When drawing, you can "dynamically" create/delete reference lines, including angle snaps, face normals, arc/circle/polygon normals, arc/circle/polygon solid tangents, bisectors and points as proportional divisions between the other end edges, midpoints (lines to the "record" point, and midpoints between them), etc.
④ The protractor is automatically placed and easy to adjust. The protractor can be adjusted in size.
3. Length capture drawing:
① Can capture the length defined in the model information.
② You can force length capture to cover some graphic interference (note this).
4. Special function for drawing edge lines:
① Draw a curve (polyline).
② Draw point-to-point reference lines.
③ Draw infinite reference lines.
④ Create reference points when drawing any edges.
⑤ If the edges intersect, you can click the button to switch whether to break the edges.
⑥ Generally, when a coplanar line is drawn and closed, it will automatically form a surface. Here, you can click the button to switch whether to form a surface.
⑦ You can click the button to switch whether to create a face and start drawing again.
⑧ You can click the button to switch whether to display drawing information in the upper left corner, display coordinates, display the angle to the last line, and display the angle of the protractor x-axis.
5. Create lines without the need for drag and drop.

3、 Basic Operations

1. You can hover the cursor over a face/edge/vertex and move it carefully to locate the protractor.
2. Click on the starting point of the line.
3. You can hold down Ctrl (or Ctrl+Alt or Ctrl+LMB or Ctrl+Alt+LMB or Ctrl+Shift) and move the cursor to set the direction of the protractor. Release the button and set the current position and direction of the protractor.
4. You can click and hold the left mouse button at the starting point, and then move the cursor to "; Reference line "; Up, set the angle to lock the direction, and then release the left mouse button.
5. You can press the Alt key to cycle through the angle capture of the three situations:
① Lock the angle and secure it on the protractor plane;
② Not locking the angle, but locking it on the protractor plane;
③ No angle capture or locking (as in the case of '; Ordinary "; The straight line tool.
6. Move the cursor.
7. Click on the endpoint of the line, there are four ways to end the drawing:
① Enter the desired length value and press Enter.
② Enter the comma [,] (enter semicolon [;] on the Chinese input method) and the desired angle value, then press Enter to obtain the "" relative to the X-axis of the protractor in the protractor plane; Lock reference line ".
③ Enter the desired length value, then enter the comma [,] (enter semicolon [;] on Chinese input method) and the desired angle value to obtain the line relative to the X-axis of the protractor in the protractor plane.
④ Press Enter directly, using the length and/or angle values used last time (if available).
8. You can move the cursor.
9. You can click to create a connection line.
10. You can press the ESC key to start from scratch (using a new wire group).
11. You can repeat the above steps to create a connecting line, or return to the starting point of the first line to create a face.
Note: Using drag and drop to create lines does not work here! (LMB=left mouse button, RMB=right mouse button)

4、 Modifier keys/shortcut keys

TAB (or RMB double-click)=Settings dialog box (toolbar) *
Shift=Lock the line in the current extension direction
Arrow keys lock the line in a specific extension direction (up=blue, left=green, right=red, down=parallel/perpendicular to the previous line).
Alt=Switch angle capture/lock method
● Ctrl=Determine the direction of the protractor 2D (around the Z-axis of the protractor)
Ctrl+Alt=Determine the direction of the protractor 2D (around the X-axis of the protractor)
Ctrl+Alt+LMB=Direction of the 3D measuring instrument (around the origin of the surveying instrument through the X-axis of the surveying instrument)
Ctrl+Shift+Hover over face=Align the Z-axis of the protractor with the normal of the face.
Ctrl+R=Create guide lines and points (arc/circle/polygon normals, at center) *
Ctrl+T=Create guide lines and points (arc/circle/polygon solid cut, at the tangent point) *
Ctrl+B=Create guide line and point (double tangent line, with the point as the ratio between the edges, and the other end) *
Ctrl+D=Create guide lines and points (from the line to the record point, as well as the midpoint in the middle) *
● Origin=size of switching protractor *
● End=switch to additional angular velocity *
PgUP/PgDown=Switch the line type to be drawn *
● LMB clicks on the origin of the protractor to turn off angle capture/delete the last guide wire
Click on the origin of the protractor with LMB, hold down LMB while moving the cursor and hovering over the spokes of the protractor=set the angle locking direction (create guide line)
● Esc=Start from scratch (set new line)
*When you release the button, the command will be completed (LMB=left mouse button, RMB=right mouse button).

5、 Set the size and position of the toolbar

After activating the professional line drawing tool, press the TAB key to display the toolbar, which allows you to adjust the size of the window freely. The next time you run this tool, the position and size will be automatically displayed. You can set the font/icon size by selecting the appropriate value in the upper right corner. Please use the 'Save' button to save the settings.

6、 Processing protractor

Generally speaking, protractors are automatically placed based on the current situation under the cursor or determined by the last created line. It is similar to a local protractor or rotating tool.
1. However, you may change direction after placing the protractor, for example:
● Hold down the Ctrl key and move the mouse=determine the direction of the protractor 2D (around the Z-axis of the protractor)
● Hold down the Ctrl+Alt keys and move the mouse=determine the direction of the protractor 2D (around the X-axis of the protractor)
● Hold down Ctrl+LMB and move the mouse=determine the direction of the protractor 3D (around the protractor origin through the protractor Z-axis)
● Hold down Ctrl+Alt+LMB and move the mouse=determine the direction of the protractor 3D (around the protractor origin through the protractor X-axis)
● Hold down Ctrl+Shift+hover over the face=Position the Z-axis of the protractor on the normal of the face
2. On MAC, you may need to do this by clicking on the protractor origin point on LMB, then holding down LMB, and then holding down Ctrl or Alt, the cursor icon will represent the current operation.
3. The color on the outside of the protractor will change according to the direction of the Z-axis of the protractor.
4. Protractor; Spokes "; The '; Density "; , represents the current angle capture value. The outer spokes represent native snapshot values, while the inner spokes represent additional snapshot values. If the angle capture function is disabled, there will be no spokes, and the corresponding inner/outer division of the protractor will be a dashed circle.
5. Unlike native protractors, you can change the size of the protractor.
Click the Home button several times until you get the size you like.
Click the "Set Length Size" button and enter the size of the protractor in the settings dialog box. Click the 'Set Length Size' button again to return to the default size.
6. Please use the 'Save' button to save your settings.


7、 Choose what kind of line to draw

You can select the type of line to draw by clicking the PgUP/PgDown button, or by clicking the corresponding icon on the toolbar. When drawing, you can choose to display reference points at endpoints.
1. If you change the line type at the same time, it will produce some '; Interesting "; The impact (especially changing to curves...).
2. Please use the 'Save' button to save your linetype for the next use.

8、 Change behavior

Usually, the working principle of professional line drawing plugins is similar to that of native line drawing tools, such as:
1. When you connect several lines into a shape, they form a face.
2. When you get the face next to the cursor, the tool will end the current line group and start from a new starting point.
3. When you draw a line through other lines, they will automatically disconnect.
But you can change this behavior to '; On the contrary; When you select or deselect it, you can click on the corresponding icon.
1. Do not create faces.
2. Do not restart after creating the face.
3. Do not disconnect the wire.
The above behavior only applies to "; Boundary Line "; Line type. Please discover this pair for yourself; Curve "; The function of waiting...
Please use the 'Save' button to save your linetype for the next use.

9、 Change Display

1. You can change the type of information you want to see, for example:
Display tooltips (along with the coordinates on the screen) or normal tooltips.
● Display the angle with the X-axis of the protractor. You can see a small red dot in the X-axis direction of the protractor; Spokes "; ）.
Display the angle up to the last edge.
The size of the protractor can be changed.
If you click "Modify Auxiliary Colors" in the display section of the settings toolbar, you can change the color of the special interface lines. Please use the 'Save' button to save your settings for the next use.



10、 Obtain a special inference line (a)

If you move the cursor over a face, line, or vertex, three special points will appear:
1. Yellow triangle+dashed line with F=center point of the face
2. Blue triangle+dashed line with R=center
① At the intersection of two equidistant lines
② On previously drawn circles or polygons (even if they have already exploded)
3. Orange triangle+dashed line with T=true tangent point of circle
The tangent point will only appear when the starting point of the front line is on the same plane as the circle. Simply press the CTRL key and then the F/R key to obtain the normal of a face/circle; Alternatively, press the CTRL key and then the T key to obtain the tangent of the circle. You can perform this operation multiple times as needed, and the previous reference line will be replaced with a new one.

11、 Obtain a special inference line (b)

When your mouse moves over a vertex, there are three special points that will appear:
1. The green "+"=record this point
Hover the mouse over a vertex or inference point for more than 2 seconds, and you will receive a ''; Record "; Point.
2. Green triangle with "D"=; Record "; The midpoint between the point and the cursor
The mouse should be on a vertex or inference point.
3. Yellow triangle+dashed line with "B"=double tangent between the lines on the vertices, divided proportionally with the point as the other end of the edge
This method can even make several lines meet at the same vertex, but you must carefully move the cursor on the desired line to achieve the desired result.
Just press the CTRL button and the letters will appear to get a guide line and dots.

12、 Use angle capture

If you repeatedly press the ALT key, two angle capture methods or no angle capture will appear:
1. Position the card according to the angle setting values in the settings and/or model information.
2. Only stays on the protractor plane without any jamming. (If angle capture is not enabled, the previous method is the same)
3. Switching of angle capture:
① When angle capture is activated, a small protractor is visible.
Due to the native inference of SU, sometimes this angle capture may fail, so we have currently achieved the ability to lock onto this; Angle line ";.
② Click and hold LMB at the starting point, then move the cursor to "; Spokes "; Up, set the angle to lock the direction.
Note: When both the settings and model information windows are open, the values in the settings will be considered.
4. Please use the 'Save' button to save your settings for the next use.
5. When you choose other tools, the native length and angle capture state and values will be restored to before the plugin is launched.

13、 Use length capture

You can enable length capture, which can be set in the toolbar settings and model information window.
1. Sometimes (for example, when the cursor is inferred or the angle capture mentioned above is enabled), length capture is not always captured, so you can use "Force Length Capture", which will appear in the upper left corner of the screen and ignore some capture interference when enabled.
2. The dots are always drawn at the green "X" position. If you see a red rectangle around the green "X", the point drawn will not be equal to the position of the cursor. This means that even if you obtain; Inference markers; The points drawn may not necessarily be on that inference marker.
① When the inference is locked ("appears in the upper left corner of the screen); Inference lock! " ）The drawing point will stay on the inference line, the drawing point will be forced to jump to the nearest deduction point, and the angle will be modified. Just like intersecting with the bow shaped dividing line.
② When there is no locked inference, the angle will be retained (just like what SU usually does), but the drawn point will be forced to jump to the nearest checkpoint.
3. Please use the 'Save' button to save your settings for the next use.
4. When you choose other tools, the native length and angle capture state and values will be restored to their pre plugin state.

14、 Enter length, angle, and coordinates

To achieve a precise length and/or angle for your line, input numerical values. Please note that the list separator and decimal separator may be different in different language input methods.
1. On English input methods, use commas [,] as list separators and dots [.] as decimal separators.
2. On Chinese input methods, use semicolons [;] as list separators and commas [,] as decimal separators.
Enter only one length value and press enter, for example: 25.4 or 1; Obtain the required length in the current direction.
Enter the list delimiter [,], followed by only one angle value, and then press enter, for example: 45 or 122.4 (0,45 is also acceptable); Obtain the "locking reference line" relative to the X-axis in the protractor plane (counterclockwise is positive). Use semicolons [;] as list separators on Chinese input methods. The unit of angle must be degrees. For example: 25.4,45 or 1; ,45; Obtain the desired length relative to the last point and angle relative to the X-axis of the protractor, and use semicolons [;] as list separators in Chinese input methods.
Enter an absolute coordinate, such as [3', 5', 7'], and place the end of the line relative to the current axis. Square brackets represent absolute coordinates.
Enter a relative coordinate, such as<1.5m, 4m, 2.75m>; Move the end of the line relative to the last point. (Use semicolons [;] as list separators and commas [,] as decimal separators on Chinese input methods.
3. The first point only accepts coordinates.
4. The length value can be entered in the specified unit, otherwise the plugin will use the unit specified in the template (current unit). When you input coordinates, the values can even be in mixed form, for example. [1',3cm, 4].
5. I will remember the last set value, and the rule is as follows:
The last input length and angle will be remembered.
The length of the last click will be remembered.
The angle of the last click will not be remembered.
The last entered coordinates will not be remembered.
These values (if displayed in parentheses) can be used to create the next line by simply pressing the enter key.

15、 For example, make a tetrahedron

In the default settings, the length capture is 10 and the angle capture is 15 degrees.
1. Left click on the origin and hold down the mouse button while moving the cursor to the reference line to set the desired angle for the first side of the underlying triangle (75 ° in this case), then release the left button.
2. Move the mouse to display a length of 100, then left click.
3. Left click on the last point, hold down the mouse button, set the ideal angle (60 °) for the first side of the bottom triangle, and then release the left button.
4. Click the enter key and use the distance from the last use (here 100) to obtain the second side of the triangle.
5. Left click on the first point (origin) to obtain a triangle (and automatically created face).
6. Left click on a vertex of the triangle to start drawing the next edge.
7. Press the CTRL key, then press the F key to obtain a face normal at the centroid point.
8. Press TAB