The H-Factor

Objectively looking at Object Snaps

No one topic seems to cause more consternation than Object Snaps. Here is the what and why of why we do what we do:

We need to have object snaps set for a certain number of commands to ensure that the drawing is connected properly. Many users feel that we willy-nilly overwrite their osnaps, i.e. - don't put them back the way we found them. This is not true. The following rules should explain how you can keep your osnaps:

1. ALL HydraCAD commands are intended to return your default osnaps to you after you complete the command. The only exceptions are the Line and Main commands because these two commands are 'endless' commands (we don't know when they are done). If you find any exceptions, please let us know and we will lock them down.

1A. Right now, the Rapid Pipe commands will not reset your osnaps if you use the Escape key to exit these commands instead of using Enter to exit them. We are working to change this behavior.

2. You can turn off the HydraCAD object snaps and use your own for most of the important commands by picking the Options submenu from the HydraTools pulldown menu. then, pick Use Your Own Object Snaps

3. The Sprinkler, Piping and Hanger toolbars contain their own osnap buttons to be used for the commands found in those toolbars. These effectively give you a second set of osnaps, preserving your basic AutoCAD osnap for when those commands are done. These only need to be set once per drawing.

4. We have been steadily reducing the number of default osnap settings for non-critical commands. These will be entirely up to you to set.

5. We have added two buttons to help make using your default osnaps easier. On the HydraCAD Utilities toolbar there are two commands: Save Osnap (OSS) and Restore Osnap (OSR). These allow you to set a default osnap and bring it back whenever you want.

I realize this is a sensitive topic for some of you but we do need to set some sort of base osnaps so that users (new ones, especially) can 'just draw' and have a reasonable chance of getting a calc or list out without all kinds of drawing errors. Believe me, we've tried it the other way and it hasn't worked.

Another Way of Setting Favorites in HydraLIST

If you spend a lot of time searching through parts when in the Miscellaneous tab, consider doing this:

1. Search for parts you use over and over again and narrow down the sizes/specifics/manufacturers of those you use most.
2. Enter a quantity of 1 next to each part
3. Pick the Clean Up button to clear those you did not select
4. Pick the Save List button and type in a file name like 'usual stuff' or 'typical loose material'

Next time you stock list pick Load List, select the file you want and then adjust the quantities as needed. Just zero out the items you don't want. You can even create folders to keep them all in.