Chapter 3: Working with Sketches
Note
The click+click and click and drag methods have been treated equivalently by SolidWorks until recent releases.
Some new functions like Enable on-screen numeric input seem to function better with click+click than click
and drag. n
Alternate methods for drawing lines include horizontal, vertical, angle, and infinite lines. The inter-
face for these options appears in the PropertyManager, as shown in Figure 3.4.l (^) Horizontal, Vertical. These settings require you to select a starting point and an ending
vertical or horizontal position. There does not seem to be any compelling reason to use
this instead of the regular line command.
l Angle. This setting enables you to specify an angle and drag a line at this angle. Again, I
can find no compelling reason to use this tool.
l Infinite length. SolidWorks parts have a working space limited to 1000 meters on a side,
centered on the Origin. Infinite lines extend well beyond this, although you cannot draw
or dimension a regular line outside of this box. I have not come across a compelling use
for this feature.
FIGURE 3.4
The Insert Line PropertyManager interface
Note
The Add Dimensions option exists in several sketch entity PropertyManagers and adds Smart Dimensions to
newly sketched entities. The option only appears in the sketch entity PropertyManager if the setting at Tools ➪
Options ➪ Sketch ➪ Enable on-screen numeric input on entity creation is selected.
The on-screen numeric input is not the same as the Input Dimension Value function, and, in fact, it overrides
that option. You cannot input dimension values when using the Add Dimensions in conjunction with click and
drag sketching. It appears to be intended for click+click drawing only, so that you can enter values between
clicks. n