Our wood design software is used for a great deal of applications.  Users of SketchList 3D sometimes surprise me with the types of things they design.  It’s been sometime since I’ve posted and wanted to catch up a bit.

I want to address five items in this post.

1. How to move your SketchList 3D to a new computer?

   • Download SketchList 3D to new/fixed computer.
   • On old computer export all projects you want to move. Copy them onto a movable storage device.
   • On new computer import saved projects.
   • Delete copy of SketchList 3D from old computer.
   • Email SketchList confirming deletion and requesting a new key.
   • Enter key on new copy of SketchList 3D to activate.
   • Remember unless you purchased more than one copy you are licensed to run SketchList 3D on one computer only.

2. How to move my projects?

   • Under the file menu item select export.
   • Pick the project or projects your want to move and export them.
   • On the other computer pick import project.
   • Select the db3 file with the project you want to import.
   • Import.
   • If anything goes wrong – you can always do a file restore action to bring back the projects.

3. How to find what I need?

   • Type the term – say door – into the search box at the top right of sketchlist.com.
   • A list of all posts related to that term – many of which contain video links – will appear in a list. 

4. What about the new add-on in the planning stage for SketchList 3D.

   While working on a way to make quicker cabinets and furniture led me to a “rapid model” idea.  Very, very basically the idea is you name the  assembly and provide the sizes.  Then  SketchList 3D generates a model.  You can, if necessary, work with SketchList 3D  to add details as your use of the model may require.  While our original thinking had this add-on going into version 5 [probably the end of 2019] someone asked if this add-on might appear in V4.  However  answer is maybe.  We’ve ended putting new features into V4.  Still  – if there is enough interest we might change the plan.  What I am looking for on this is a user funded development program – like Kickstarter.  If you want to hear more send me an email or call me.

5. Why should I use SketchList 3D?

   • I know my answers.  But  watch this video and hear someone besides me provide an answer…

The post Wood design software – FAQ and news items appeared first on SketchList3D.

Next question from a user that might apply to more than this one person who was doing a case good design….

“If I want to add the doors at the end and forgot to leave front space for them I wasn’t able to move the whole assembly with exact 18 mm to the back to leave space for the doors without messing up the whole project – I had to start fresh again with the doors first.

I select assembly, input front 18, click on back for automatic calculation asks me for automatic resize and after it gives me error and dimensions come back to original. Moving with mouse is not exact and I get values with comas and is not that useful.”

I hate when I do this!  And I still do – after nearly ten years.  This very situation caused us to develop the batch move function.  In Adrian’s case he needed to push everything in an assembly back by 18mm.

Normally this means every value of ‘front’ in you case design needs to change from 0 to 18 and MOST of the corresponding ‘back’ values changed to move the board backward.  An exception happens when you need to shorten a board – like a side.  Then the front goes from 0 to 18 and the ‘width’ changes.

A few other precautions.

The project depth must be large enough to hold the new size of the cabinet.

The assembly depth must be changed to fit the newly located and sized boards.

BUT WAIT.  You are much better off using the Batch Move method.

1.  Make the project depth big enough to hold the new depth of the assembly.  If may already be big enough but be sure to check.
2. At project level – select the assembly you want to change and click the Batch Move button.
3. Click – in this case – Front-Back
4. Enter the move amount
5. Chose Back or Front – pick accordingly.
6. Exit

All set.

Hopefully this helps.  If not there is more – click here.

The post Case good design – common error forgetting doors appeared first on SketchList3D.

I received this great email from a SketchList 3D user about my recent post on wood design using objects from the standard library.

“In a recent video you went to STANDARD and Selected BOARDS and said that you placed many customer boards in there. I have none, except a door solid. How do I get the rest updated? Do I need to do a complete reinstall? Is each update a complete installation package?”

Well it seems I didn’t think this through all the way!   Sorry Lewis.   Here’s the full story.  I want to promote the use of standards as a faster way to do wood designs without going all the way back to basic board forms in SketchList 3D.   I created a set of commonly used boards and they are being incorporated into the database that is included with the initial install of SketchList 3D.    Of course that is little help to you users who have already installed.  Sorry about that.

So I put all the standard boards into a project that you can download and import.  To make the boards standard – you may not want them all – open the project, select the boards you want one at a time – click make standard – and name them as you want – then save the standard.

1.  Go to Download project and get the project file.
2.  Start SketchList 3D and import this project and load it.
3.  Pick the boards you want to save as standards and click make standard.  [You may be over your limit of standards is you have Home or Shop versions.]
4. Use the standards in other projects as needed.

I do admit this is a bit cumbersome but I want to get the file to you as soon as possible.

The post Wood designs with standard boards appeared first on SketchList3D.