Most basic of basic questions

Altheus

Hi, I've just got the humble bundle and I'm struggling to grasp what's going on with it.

To that extent I have a couple of basic questions.

1. How do I edit text? This is rather non-intuitive and I can't select the text object or see any option that allows me to edit it.

2. When I delete an object it takes out the floor as well leaving ugly white squares over my drawing, how do I prevent this from happening?

This is all rather confusing.

Monsen

1. Text can be edited with the Numeric Edit button. Note that text entities are a bit special when it comes to selecting them, you need to click on the baseline of the text.

2. For performance reasons, CC3+ won't immediately execute a redraw every time you delete/move something. You can always trigger a manual redraw with Ctrl + R or the Redraw button.
If it deletes entities you didn't want it to, make sure you only select the appropriate entities (watch the count on the command line). Note that if you accidentally selected something you didn't want to, you can remove things from the selection by holding down the control key when selecting them. Another option if you have problems picking out a single entity is to just temporarily hide the sheet or layer the other entity is on so you don't select it accidentally. For all the advanced things you can do when selecting, check this article (It might be a bit much to digest for a new user, but it is a nice reference for later).

Altheus

Thank you for your reply but I think this software is not for me, everything feels like a fight to accomplish, nothing is intuitive.

Monsen

Exactly what I say each time I attempt to pick up Photoshop

The software is CAD-based, so it is quite different from a lot of other software out there, especially things like image editor. CC3+ is quite powerful, but the best way to learn it is to read the documentation and do the tutorials in there, or view tutorial videos, rather than just jump in and experimenting.

JimP

It does take some getting used to it. I'm the most prolific mapper using this software, that I know of. I have made over five thousand maps over about 10 years.

OverCriticalHit

Posted By: AltheusThank you for your reply but I think this software is not for me, everything feels like a fight to accomplish, nothing is intuitive.

Work through the tutorials as mentioned, and I promise it will make sense as you get more experience with it and the CAD workflow. I'm speaking as someone who felt pretty much the same as you when I first started with it.

Wyvern

Anyone coming to CC3+ with only experience of using simpler graphics programs runs into similar issues. This is largely because what has come to seem "intuitive" from endless repetition in graphics-handling software is actually a string of bad habits when using this more powerful CAD software. Most of CC3+'s users - including myself - have run into exactly the same situation as described, and that same degree of frustration. However, I've also found it when switching between some types of ordinary graphics programs as well, when things aren't as I'd grown used to them. Hence my comment about "intuitive" above, as it's all actually learnt behaviour!

As noted though, the answer begins in working through the tutorials. Watch Joe Sweeney's excellent video tutorials too. With a bit of experience and practice with CC3+, you may find it's frustrating to have to go back to just graphics programs, and wishing they'd behave more "intuitively" like CC3+!

seycyrus

I wonder if this is a generational thing.

In my job, I'm still learning new things all the time, whether it be Comsol, Matlab, Labview etc. When I start the process, I always have the mindset of "I'm going to have to learn something new to use this powerful piece of software. I would never ever dream of thinking, "Oh God, this is stupid! It should know already the way that I want to do this task!"

JimP

I'm an old geezer myself. I did get frustrated with this softwate;however, I did slow down and learn it. Well, I'm still working on getting good at making maps.

Wyvern

I suspect if you stop learning, you just stop altogether! I seem to learn something fresh every time I map or watch - sometimes rewatch - one of the video tutorials. There's a lot to the software, and remembering everything - unless you're Monsen or Ralf - likely isn't realistic.