strings are a pain

[Adam van Raad]

I find strings annoying - does anyone else? If you do a parallel figure it starts at the opposite end to the one you click on. If you try to enquire on a line/arc it keeps selecting the string. If you try to enquire areas it follows strings all over the place even though you may want to select the points. If you explode a string, the arcs end up as 3 point arcs.
Solution....
Have a tick box in the hot button to NOT display/use strings.
or a SNAP mode to snap to the linework not the string.

Adam van Raad

[Jeffrey G]

Exactly, a bloody pain as the String dominates the existing lines and points. And; when creating the string, only 1 linetype, colour, weight etc can be entered. We need to be able to retain the drawn features for such as existing to proposed lines...not redrawn to satisfy the string creation.
jg

[allstatesgps]

Strings can be very useful for design purposes acutally... but it is a totally different mentality to use them... as someone who also uses 12d they make engineering design so much easier...

But you have to remember strings have direction...

so something we do need is what 12D calls "select with direction" whereby you need to hold down the left mouse button while dragging along the string in a direction... then you do not need to reverse strings...

Also a means to identify strings during an operation.... as Civilcad contains both points&lines as well as strings.. whereas 12D has strings only..
so a tick box to allow highlight of strings.. and a colour designation and width would be ideal.

otherwise you end up hald way through a long operation, select a string and bang... it is in the wrong direction...

Rodger

[Graeme_H]

For area calcs with a strings, use the context menu (right-click) and pick SELECT PATH BY TWO ENDS which allows you to pick the points until you are clear of multiple linked lines etc then select string to close.

[rosco]

I have not found a use for strings as yet, and also find them a PITA. One of the first things that I usually do is explode the strings.

Rosco

[Adam van Raad]

the problem when exploding an arc is that it creates a mid point which then has to be deleted.... strings are a waste of time and never do what you expect. ccad5 could follow linework quite well and never had all the problems strings create.

Adam vr

[FrankC]

I also find strings a little anoying at times. partly to do with their domination over lines, but also their abilty to unwillingly change shape when doing a "right shift move". There is no control on which end point snaps when both ends are near other points . this can cause unwanted shifts in data. > its safer/slower doing a translate/rotate
But i also find strings useful when inserting a missing line into a traverse, just add the line, then form a string along the remainder of the traverse, then shift the string to its new position.
Also, our office drafting standards have improved by inserting smoothed strings to illustrate features such as creeks and tracks. another advantage of strings is that a line type is continuous along a string, and doesn't start again at each point as in a line traverse.
However, it would be nice to be able to apply polygon hatching to the extent of a smoothed string, not just between the points that create the string.
Bottom line is that i reckon PITA is a little harsh for strings, but they could do with a bit of improvement.