DP Tool Club 12/CD_ASCQ_12_0294.iso/maj/4268/tscadfaq.txt

Text File | 1994-01-25 | 7KB | 141 lines

TSCDFAQ - frequently asked questions about TSCD. 21/1/94.

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>I have bought a registered version of TSCD but it is still starting with
>a shareware reminder screen.
See the manual - page 13 - for instructions on entering your serial number
which is on your registration card. Note that the required keystokes do not
work until you have actually entered the main TSCD program , ie AFTER you
have cancelled the Registration reminder dialog box. Some portable PCS may
require you to use the ALT GR key in place of the ALT key.

>How can I create objects with holes in them, through which parts of
>underlying objects can be seen?
Objects with one or more holes in them can only be generated by the outline
command (Design menu>input outline). First you have to edit an outline and
then you are asked to enter a new contour. This new contour behaves like a
whole in the first contour. Objects behind the outline are visible in the
area of the second contour. See manual pages 151 to 157.

>I'm attempting to trim a line at its intersection with a perpendicular
>line; I select the line and attempt to select an intersection with that
>line; at this point an error message "Please select exactly one line"
>appears, although I appear to have already done that. Why? Also, I have had
>no luck at all using other "Trim" functions, which either give the above
>error or ask me to "select variants"; I don't know what this means, but it
>seems to allow me to toggle between sections of the line; the whole line
>then disappears when deselected or right-clicked. Any ideas?
To accomplish this you need to use a technique which is common to almost
all the construction functions (Cut, Trim, Chamfer, Round-edge etc). First
select the object(s) to be modified, in your case the line to be trimmed
(it should now be outlined with a red rectangle).
Now select the Construction>TrimLine>Cut with Perpendicular
option. Now click with your mouse where you want the perpendicular to be (or
enter the coordinates directly (f8). One half of the selected line will
now appear dotted - this is the portion to be trimmed. You can toggle between
trimming to the left or right of the selected point by using the F11
or Backspace key and then confirm your selection with the F12 or Enter
key. Clicking the mouse button will then apply the update. See page 33
of the manual for more general information on Construction techniques.

>If I construct a box from four (or any other number of) lines which meet
>at specific points, is it possible to join those to create a "fillable"
>polygon?
The functions you need to do this are under the Design Menu under Input Outline
and Edit Outline etc - Page 151 of the manual onwards. This will not combine
your original lines but will enable you (using the Catch (f6) function and
polyline entry) to create an overlaying object which can be hatched etc.

>How can I create an Outline consisting of both straight lines and
>curves?
Create the main outline using the Polyline option. Then you can use the
Edit Outline option to insert a Bezier Curve where needed. You can also
modify the outline using the Move Point and Link/Separate Outline
commands enabling complex shapes to be generated.

>How can I draw a line perpendicular to the mid point of a line?

There is an indirect way to draw a perpendicular from a center of a line
in two easy functions.

Switch Catch mode on - Select Constructions\Intersectionscircle-Circle. Click
once at one end of the line, twice at the other end and then once again at the
original end. This will create two marks perpendicular to the center of the line.

Select Constructions\ConstructionLine\Perpendicular on line. Click once at
each end of the line and then once on the mark on the side of the line you
require. This will give you a perpendicular to the mid point of the line - which
you can then trim or extend.

You can also mark the centerpoint of a line simply using the
Construction\Division\Distance function, you could then make a construction
line parallel with the original which is the required distance away and then drop
a perpendicular from the original lines mid point to it.

>When I am working on a multi layer drawing I find that depending on which
>layers are currently visible on occasion text objects are not shown even
>when the text layer is visible.
This bug will be fixed at release 1.11b - it only seems to occur when layer 1
is invisible at the time the text is entered, unhiding layer 1 and then hiding
it again will display the text.

>I keep getting messages asking me to reserve more memory, especially when
>I try to load a symbol library. I don't understand this as I have an 8 Meg
>machine.
TSCD does not use the normal Windows dynamic memory allocation method, but
relies on user defined static memory allocation. Although this might seem
inconvenient it is one of the factors that gives TSCD its high speed operation
even on relatively low powered hardware. TSCD as delivered comes with its
defaults set for a minimum memory machine. You should use the Edit/Settings/Change
command to modify the memory settings - you may wish to use the following
suggestions although the optimum values for your particular work pattern
are best found by experiment.

PC RAM    SYSTEM    INITIAL    STEP
3MG    128    512    128
4MG    256    1024    256
8MG    512    2048    256
12MG    512    4096    512
16MG    512    6144    512

You should then save these settings using the Edit\Settings\Saveas
command in the file C:\TSCADRAW\TSCADRAW.MPI (assuming that you
have installed TSCD on drive C: .

>Sometimes TSCD will only print out part of a drawing.
This may well be due to lack of memory reserved for TSCD.
Try increasing the INITIAL memory. See the previous question
for suggested settings.

>When I draw dotted lines they don't appear with the same spacing
>as on the screen when I print them out.
The various dotted/dashed lines are displayed by default with a
wide spacing to enable them to be viewed easily on screen. To see
the lines as they will be printed use the View\Display Modes command
and then change the Line Width to "Original" .

>How do I draw a line (for instance) of an exact length assuming
>the end points do not lie exactly on the grid.
The f8 key can be used at any time where you would otherwise click
the mouse button to indicate a position on the drawing area. This will
display a dialogue box allowing you to specify the position either
in absolute, relative or polar coordinates. See "Point Entry and objects"
on page 26 of the manual and also Fixed keyboard Functions on page 16.