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Posted by madtheos at Nov 30, 2023, 10:10:54 AM

Dimensions bug and snapping
Casual user here, using SH3D intermittently (currently 7.2) and I'm quite frustrated with the dimension tool. It needs to snap to corners and edges, but it doesn't. I have already had a couple of mishaps today with dimensions being off by 5mm despite best efforts. I simply can't use the tool with measurements I haven't already calculated.

When I look for solutions, I see people recommending that I use the 'double click edge to create dimension' method. The main problem is that not everything I want to dimension is a single continuous edge, or an edge at all. That leads to messy workarounds.

The second problem is clearly a bug. The precision of the dimension created with double click changes with zoom, which is not ideal at all. If I zoom in and create a dimension it says 316.5cm which is the actual size. But if I create it while zoomed out, it says 316cm.

Posted by Puybaret at Nov 30, 2023, 2:46:00 PM

Re: Dimensions bug and snapping
The precision of walls, rooms and dimensions depends on zoom factor on purpose. Itâ€™s not a bug. Not everybody needs millimeter precision and certainly not in home building.
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Emmanuel Puybaret, Sweet Home 3D creator

Posted by madtheos at Dec 8, 2023, 10:25:45 AM

Re: Dimensions bug and snapping
"on purpose"

What is that purpose?

The error is up to 5cm if I zoom out. That is not trivial. And even with 5mm error, if you have twenty short segments and you dimension one and multiply by twenty, you end up building skewed walls 10cm off.

It is understandable that there is no millimeter precision. 0.5cm being the smallest unit is perfectly fine by me. But when I ask for the length of a wall, I want the length of the wall accurate to 0.5cm, consistently. Not 390cm, 394cm, and 393.5cm depending on the weather.

Posted by Puybaret at Dec 8, 2023, 11:54:25 AM

Re: Dimensions bug and snapping
The length is based on actual pixel precision: when the plan displayed at screen is small, a difference of one pixel can make a difference of centimeters. If the plan displayed at screen is large, the distance between pixels is more accurate when converted to a length.

It is understandable that there is no millimeter precision.

It is always arguable, some users could say that 1 mm is important for them, some others prefer 1 cm precision!
So, I decided to use the rule explained above. It's up to users to decide the method they want:
- zoom in or out when they double click to create dimensions,
- draw precisely dimensions by pressing <enter> key and entering the exact values they want,
- draw dimensions quickly then zoom in and adjust the ends of dimensions
- draw dimensions then adjust their length with dimensions modification dialog box added in version 7.2.
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Emmanuel Puybaret, Sweet Home 3D creator

Posted by dpdesign at Dec 13, 2023, 3:17:07 PM

Re: Dimensions bug and snapping
What about the dimension snapping? I'm a new user to SH 3D and this should be something that is standard. I can't seem to find a way to do it though.

I'm more experienced in Visio.

Thanks,
Dev

Posted by Puybaret at Dec 14, 2023, 9:42:59 AM

Re: Dimensions bug and snapping
I don't think snapping in a home design software is interesting. Take measure of your own home and you'll see that probably no wall measures an exact value in cm or inch.
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Emmanuel Puybaret, Sweet Home 3D creator

Posted by dpdesign at Dec 15, 2023, 11:08:15 PM

Re: Dimensions bug and snapping
Huh? The dimensions on the drawing should snap to the wall so if a wall is moved in the drawing the dimension automatically adjusts. It's been a standard thing in Visio in Cad.

Is it not a standard in this software? Why not?

Posted by Puybaret at Dec 15, 2023, 11:39:16 PM

Re: Dimensions bug and snapping
I thought you meant snapping to the grid.
Dimensions are not attached to the object they measure in Sweet Home 3D. Itâ€™s easier to program and handle objects not bound to each other.
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Emmanuel Puybaret, Sweet Home 3D creator

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Dec 17, 2025, 7:08:11 PM