[quote=“jeff_hammond, post:25, topic:7490”]
not really. not if you’re comparing it to how sketchup works regarding surface snapping… sketchup’s cursor will always go on surface automatically… and will also recognize an intersection between a surface and a line passing through it… these things aren’t as easy to accomplish in rhino.[/quote]
That’s a pity! I learned 3D with SketchUp and it was–BY FAR–the best learning tool for modelling. It’s a very intuitive, fast and fluid program that is, by virtue of its simplicity, very limited in its power. Despite the fact that it doesn’t handle high-poly or large models very well, it’s surprisingly accurate for CAD and it’s amazing what you can still pull off in it, at crazy speeds to boot! It’s why it’s gaining ground in my field (architecture) everyday. I think a lot of this has to do with its “smart” modelling aids like the surface snaps, etc.
Too bad Rhino can’t do the same for automatic surface tracking and snapping.
[quote=“jeff_hammond, post:25, topic:7490”]
in rhino, i’ll often use the _Intersect command to mark curve-through-surface intersection or draw lines longer than needed then trim them using the surface etc… not so bad once you get used to it but not as easy as it might be. [/quote]
I do the very same, but it gets on my nerves after doing it a dozen or more times in the course of an hour. This should definitely be fixed if there already isn’t an easy alternative that we are overlooking.
Using the drop-downs? Never! I use commands instead. For me, memorized commands and hotkeys are the fastest way to model [second only to Gizmo/Gumball-Transforms, automatic “smart features” like OSNAPS, SmartTrack (Rhino) or Polar Tracking (AutoCAD)]. After that, graphic sidebars and floating icon toolsets are my next choice. I only use drop-downs to search for new commands to memorize and to create new toolset buttons for. If time is of the essence, drop-downs are never an option.
What I was referring to when I mentioned a “checkbox” was the actual OSNAPS checkbox (see screenshot below), which, as you know, turns on the various automatic snaps. Rhino really needs one here for OnSrf tracking. It would make precision modelling even better and much faster.