Feature Request: Parameter Interface (Unless I'm missing something)

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dracolytch
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Joined: Thu Aug 11, 2022 1:29 am

Feature Request: Parameter Interface (Unless I'm missing something)

Post by dracolytch »

Hey all,

I'm fairly new to FreeCAD, but I gotta say, I'm a HUGE fan, and I'm hoping to teach FreeCAD lessons at the makerspace at work once I get better.

As I've been working (Mostly in part design / sketcher), the most awkward part of the whole tool is adding parameters. Creating a spreadsheet, going back and forth... It makes it so that one of the most powerful/useful features, which should be in everyone's projects are too cumbersome to use, and only get leveraged "when really necessary." Switching modes, creating a spreadsheet, naming with an alias... None of that is easily at-hand or intuitive.

I think this great capability would be more helpful if it was readily at-hand at any time. For example, in the sketcher, having another panel below the constraints and elements which had available variables and a quick way to add a new one. Maybe behind the scene it creates a spreadsheet or something? Heck, even better, when I'm entering the dimension of a constraint, have a text box that lets me name that dimension in a variable, so I can quickly reference it, and have a drop-down of other constraints used in that sketch for quick re-use.

That is, of course, unless I'm missing something that already exists, in which case, I sincerely apologize.

~D
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adrianinsaval
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Re: Feature Request: Parameter Interface (Unless I'm missing something)

Post by adrianinsaval »

Give DynamicData_Workbench a try, there's been request to have that functionality built-in and standardized, with which I agree but nobody has made a PR yet. Besides that what you ask when making a constraint kinda already exists, you can assign a name to the constraint and reference it in other places. A widget in sketcher task dialog would be clutter in an already very loaded dialog so I oppose the idea.

Note that you can already add custom variables to whatever object you want in the property panel already, just right click->show all then right click->add property, these can also be used in expressions.
chrisb
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Re: Feature Request: Parameter Interface (Unless I'm missing something)

Post by chrisb »

dracolytch wrote: Thu Aug 11, 2022 1:40 am in the sketcher, having another panel below the constraints and elements which had available variables and a quick way to add a new one.
I don't use spreadsheets often, but this sounds like a sensible addition: a fast way to create parameters while in Sketcher. For now you can open another view and open the Spreadsheet there. You can then switch between the views, add new values to the spreadsheet and use them immediately in Sketcher. By arranging the windows appropriately it comes close to what you want, it only needs some clicking to prepare the setup.
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Haavard
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Re: Feature Request: Parameter Interface (Unless I'm missing something)

Post by Haavard »

Have you tried the "Variables" tool from Assembly4? (It's not for assembly specifically, it's a general tool)
I use it for most of my designs, and finding the variable in the expression editor is super simple: "Variables.variable_name"

I was also thinking that it would be nice to have a "batch import" button in the spreadsheet workbench, that could import all named constraints and references into a spreadsheet. After searching, it looks like @TheMarkster have already made such a tool:
https://github.com/mwganson/ConstraintsToSpreadsheet
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adrianinsaval
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Re: Feature Request: Parameter Interface (Unless I'm missing something)

Post by adrianinsaval »

dynamicdata I think has something like that too, and it's also very similar to the asm4 variables, in fact the discussion I mentioned earlier was about merging those and another similar implementation in Path WB into FreeCAD.
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