I'm having trouble searching this in the forum or the help files.  I'm demoing the software and trying to learn the basics of using it.  I have a couple of questions about drawing lines on a plan view.

1)Is there a way to draw a line to a specific dimension?  Basically click to start the line then enter a dimension press enter and the line is not a specific length.  It appears the only way to get a specific dimension is to draw a line of any size first, then go to the properties menu and edit it's length. 

2)Is there a way to Snap the end of a new line to the center of an existing line (basically making a perpendicular T shape)?  I can draw out my lines individually, then use the "Align Centers" option, and as long as "Snap to Path" and "Orthogonal Lock" are on I can get this done, but this is quite cumbersome.

3)Is there a visual aid that can be enabled that lets the user know when drawing a line using "Snap to Path" that the start point is in fact snapped to the path? Snap to path seems to work ok, but I have trouble knowing for sure it's snapped where I want it when I start a new line.  AutoCAD uses a green box when you are snapped before you start the new line.


First Impressions:
From what I've seen thus far, StarDraw seems to be more accommodating to importing a PDF or DWG when working with floorplans.  I probably have that information 40% of the time with my projects, the other 60% of the time I'm taking field measurements and drawing a simple floorplan from scratch.  So far this has not been as intuitive as other software that I've used and seems a little tedious comparatively.  Hopefully I'm just missing something.

Thanks for the help.

Hi Allen,

Thanks for your questions.  The primary functionality of Stardraw Design 7.3 focusses on tasks specific to the particular needs of AV integrators, like showing the interconnections between products in schematic drawings, laying out products in 19" racks, creating custom connection panels etc.  As for creating architectural layouts from scratch, yes, this can be achieved but it is not the principle focus of the application; in our experience, our users in the vast majority of cases get floorplans, reflected ceiling plans etc from the architect/consultant/client as DWG or PDF.

To answer your specific questions:
1) Yes, to get a specific length of Line, first create the Line then enter then length you want in the Length field in the Properties Grid.

2) No, 'Snap to Midpoint' is not currently supported.  Use of the Align commands is the correct approach in this case.

3) No, the software cannot show where the start of an object, like a Line, might be before you start drawing that Line.

I recommend exploring the movies on our Movies page to get a sense of Stardraw Design 7.3's core functionality and recommended workflow and I hope that they will help with your productivity with the application.


Kind regards,
Rob Robinson
Stardraw.com

Rob, Thanks for the response. 

I have actually watched all of the videos from the Movies page which did touch on these types of drawings.  We are a 30+ employee AV Integrator company and these are some of our specific needs.  We are a design/build company so we create a drawing for every project from the ground up and include plan, rcp, and elevation drawings if they are available from the contractor/architect for the given project.  We then provide the parts and labor to install the project.  If this is new construction, acquiring drawings is typically not an issue, however existing structures are typically more difficult.  Elevations and rcp's are very difficult for an old building, and sometimes elevations are as well on new ones because the architect simply may not have drawn them for a particular space.  With older buildings sometimes it's simply easier to do a field study and a basic drawing than it is to wait on the client finding an up to date set to send to us. 

I'm wondering if the vast majority of your users are getting floorplans, rcp's etc., to import, are most of these consulting only projects, or only new construction perhaps?  We're US based, which I realize this could be part of the problem here.  At least where I'm at, I think a lot of smaller to midsized companies probably don't bother with plans in drawing sets, just the schematics.  Our company has million dollar+ projects, but that are the 1-3 big elephants a year.  Our bread and butter really is smaller single or multi-room spaces, which typically fall into the existing retrofit or renovation categories.

Some companies may have just accepted the fact that they'll have to pay for CAD alongside whatever AV software package they choose to go with, which is what we'll have to do if using Stardraw I'm afraid.  Please consider the above as feature requests.  I think they will help you guys offer a more complete package.

Thanks again.

Hi Allen,

Thanks for the information and suggestions; we're always working to improve things and a mid- and end-point snap capability is already on the development wishlist so it shouldn't be too long before it's included in a future release.  Unfortunately we can't speculate on release dates for future features, but I hope this is helpful.


Kind regards,
Rob Robinson
Stardraw.com