solvespace/CHANGELOG.md

Changelog

3.0

New sketch features:

• New intersection boolean operation for solid models.
• New groups, revolution and helical extrusion.
• Extrude, lathe, translate and rotate groups can use the "assembly" boolean operation, to increase performance.
• The solid model of extrude and lathe groups can be suppressed, for splitting a single model in multiple parts to export, or if only the generated entities are desired, without the mesh.
• Translate and rotate groups can create n-dimensional arrays using the "difference" and "assembly" boolean operations.
• A new sketch in workplane group can be created based on existing workplane.
• TTF text request has two additional points on the right side, which allow constraining the width of text.
• Image requests can now be created, similar to TTF text requests. This replaces the "style → background image" feature.
• Irrelevant points (e.g. arc center point) are not counted when estimating the bounding box used to compute chord tolerance.
• When adding a constraint which has a label and is redundant with another constraint, the constraint is added as a reference, avoiding an error.
• Datum points can be copied and pasted.
• "Split Curves at Intersection" can now split curves at point lying on curve, not just at intersection of two curves.
• Property browser now shows amount of degrees of freedom in group list. It also shows a yellow "err" if the sketch has problems (e.g. self intersecting) that would propagate in subsequent groups.

New constraint features:

• When dragging an arc or rectangle point, it will be automatically constrained to other points with a click.
• When selecting a constraint, the requests it constraints can be selected in the text window.
• When selecting an entity, the constraints applied to it can be selected in the text window.
• Distance constraint labels can now be formatted to use SI prefixes. Values are edited in the configured unit regardless of label format.
• When creating a constraint, if an exactly identical constraint already exists, it is now selected instead of adding a redundant constraint.
• It is now possible to turn off automatic creation of horizontal/vertical constraints on line segments.
• Automatic creation of constraints no longer happens if the constraint would have been redundant with other ones.
• New option to open the constraint editor for newly created constraints with a value.

New export/import features:

• Link IDF circuit boards in an assembly (.emn files)
• Three.js: allow configuring projection for exported model, and initially use the current viewport projection.
• Wavefront OBJ: a material file is exported alongside the model, containing mesh color information.
• DXF/DWG: 3D DXF files are imported as construction entities, in 3d.
• ADDED 2019-02-25 and REMOVED 2020-11-13: Q3D: Q3D triangle meshes can now be exported. This format allows to easily hack on triangle mesh data created in SolveSpace, supports colour information and is more space efficient than most other formats.
• VRML (WRL) triangle meshes can now be exported, useful for e.g. KiCAD.
• Export 2d section: custom styled entities that lie in the same plane as the exported section are included.

New rendering features:

• The "Show/hide hidden lines" button is now a tri-state button that allows showing all lines (on top of shaded mesh), stippling occluded lines or not drawing them at all.
• The "Show/hide outlines" button is now independent from "Show/hide edges".

New measurement/analysis features:

• New choice for base unit, meters.
• New command for measuring total length of selected entities, "Analyze → Measure Perimeter".
• New command for measuring center of mass, with live updates as the sketch changes, "Analyze → Center of Mass".
• New option for displaying areas of closed contours.
• When calculating volume of the mesh, volume of the solid from the current group is now shown alongside total volume of all solids.
• When calculating area, and faces are selected, calculate area of those faces instead of the closed contour in the sketch.
• When selecting a point and a line, projected distance to current workplane is displayed.

Other new features:

• Added ExportBackgroundColor in configuration for EPS, PDF, and SVG files.
• Improvements to the text window for selected entities and constraints.
• Ambient light source added in text window to allow flat shaded renderings.
• New command-line interface, for batch exporting and more.
• The graphical interface now supports HiDPI screens on every OS.
• New option to lock Z axis to be always vertical, like in SketchUp.
• New button to hide all construction entities.
• New link to match the on-screen size of the sketch with its actual size, "view → set to full scale".
• When zooming to fit, constraints are also considered.
• Ctrl-clicking entities now deselects them, as the inverse of clicking.
• When clicking on an entity that shares a place with other entities, the entity from the current group is selected.
• When dragging an entity that shares a place with other entities, the entity from a request is selected. For example, dragging a point on a face of an extrusion coincident with the source sketch plane will drag the point from the source sketch.
• The default font for TTF text is now Bitstream Vera Sans, which is included in the resources such that it is available on any OS.
• In expressions, numbers can contain the digit group separator, "_".
• The "=" key is bound to "Zoom In", like "+" key.
• The numpad decimal separator key is bound to "." regardless of locale.
• On Windows, full-screen mode is implemented.
• On Linux, native file chooser dialog can be used.
• New edit menu items "Line Styles", "View Projection" and "Configuration" that are shortcuts to the respective configuration screens.
• New cmake build options using -DENABLE_OPENMP=yes and -DENABLE_LTO=yes to enable support for multi-threading and link-time optimization.
• "Shift+Scroll" for ten times finer zoom.

Bugs fixed:

• Fixed broken --view options for command line thumbnail image creation.
• Some errors in Triangulation of surfaces.
• Some NURNS boolean operations that failed particularly on surfaces created with Lathe, Revolve, or Helix.
• Segfault in Remove Spline Point context menu.
• A point in 3d constrained to any line whose length is free no longer causes the line length to collapse.
• Curve-line constraints (in 3d), parallel constraints (in 3d), and same orientation constraints are more robust.
• Adding some constraints (vertical, midpoint, etc) twice errors out immediately, instead of later and in a confusing way.
• Constraining a newly placed point to a hovered entity does not cause spurious changes in the sketch.
• Points highlighted with "Analyze → Show Degrees of Freedom" are drawn on top of all other geometry.
• A step rotate/translate group using a group forced to triangle mesh as a source group also gets forced to triangle mesh.
• Paste Transformed with a negative scale does not invert arcs.
• The tangent arc now modifies the original entities instead of deleting them, such that their constraints are retained.
• When linking a sketch file, missing custom styles are now imported from the linked file.
• 3Dconnexion SpaceMouse should now work (on Windows and macOS X).
• Improved NURBS boolean operations on curved surfaces in some cases.
• Show only usable fonts in the font selector.

2.x

Bug fixes:

• Do not crash when changing an unconstrained lathe group between union and difference modes.

2.3

Bug fixes:

• Do not crash when applying a symmetry constraint to two points.
• Fix TTF font metrics again (properly this time).
• Fix the "draw back faces in red" option.
• Fix export of wireframe as 3D DXF.
• Various minor crashes.

2.2

Other new features:

• OS X: support 3Dconnexion devices (SpaceMouse, SpaceNavigator, etc).
• GTK: files with uppercase extensions can be opened.

Bug fixes:

• Do not remove autosaves after successfully opening a file, preventing data loss in case of two abnormal terminations in a row.
• Do not crash when changing autosave interval.
• Unbreak the "Show degrees of freedom" command.
• Three.js: correctly respond to controls when browser zoom is used.
• OS X: do not completely hide main window when defocused.
• GTK: unbreak 3Dconnexion support.
• When pasting transformed entities, multiply constraint values by scale.
• Fix TTF font metrics (restore the behavior from version 2.0).
• Forcibly show the current group once we start a drawing operation.
• DXF export: always declare layers before using them.
• Do not truncate operations on selections to first 32 selected entities.
• Translate and rotate groups inherit the "suppress solid model" setting.
• DXF: files with paths containing non-ASCII or spaces can be exported or imported.
• Significantly improved performance when dragging an entity.
• Various crashes and minor glitches.

2.1

New sketch features:

• Lathe groups create circle and face entities.
• New toolbar button for creating lathe groups.
• Chord tolerance is separated into two: display chord tolerance (specified in percents, relative to model bounding box), and export chord tolerance (specified in millimeters as absolute value).
• Bezier spline points can be added and removed after the spline is created.
• When an unconstrained extrusion is switched between "union" and "difference", its normal is flipped.
• Groups can be added in the middle of the stack. Note that this results in files incompatible with version 2.0.
• Active group can be removed.
• Removing an imported group does not cause all subsequent groups to also be removed.
• When a new group with a solid is created, the color is taken from a previous group with a solid, if any.
• Entities in a newly active group do not become visible.
• When entities are selected, "Zoom to fit" zooms to fit only these entities and not the entire sketch.
• Zero-length edges are reported with a "zero-length error", not "points not all coplanar".

New constraint features:

• Height of the font used for drawing constraint labels can be changed.
• New constraint, length difference, placed with J. (Patch by Peter Ruevski)
• Horizontal/vertical constraints are automatically added if a line segment is close enough to being horizontal/vertical. This can be disabled by holding Ctrl.
• Reference dimensions and angles can be placed with Shift+D and Shift+N.
• Copying and pasting entities duplicates any constraints that only involve entities in the clipboard, as well as selected comments.
• Diameter constraints can be shown as radius.
• The "pi" identifier can be used in expressions.
• Constraint labels can be snapped to grid.
• Integer angles are displayed without trailing zeroes.
• Angle constraints have proper reference lines and arrowheads.
• Extension lines are drawn for point-line distance constraints.

New solver features:

• Sketches with redundant and unsolvable constraints are distinguished.
• New group setting, "allow redundant constraints". Note that it makes the solver less stable.

New rendering and styling features:

• New line style parameter: stippling, based on ISO 128.
• Outlines of solids can be drawn in a particular style (by default, thick lines) controlled by the "Show outline of solid model" button.
• Occluded edges can be drawn in a particular style (by default, stippled with short dashes) controlled by the "Show hidden lines" button.
• Solids can be made transparent.

New export/import features:

• The old "import" command (for .slvs files) is renamed to "link".
• If a linked .slvs file is not found, first the relative path recorded in the .slvs file is checked and then the absolute path; this is an inversion of the previously used order. If it is still not found, a dialog appears offering to locate it.
• DXF and DWG files can be imported, with point-coincident, horizontal and vertical constraints automatically inferred from geometry, and distance and angle constraints created when a dimension placed against geometry exists.
• Triangle mesh can be exported for viewing in the browser through WebGL.
• Export dialogs remember the last file format used, and preselect it.
• Exported DXF files have exact circles, arcs and splines instead of a piecewise linear approximation (unless hidden line removal was needed).
• Exported DXF files preserve color and line thickness.
• In exported DXF files, constraints are represented as DXF dimensions, instead of piecewise linear geometry.
• When exporting 2d views, overlapping lines are removed.

Other new features:

• Native Linux (GTK 2 and GTK 3) and Mac OS X ports.
• Automatically save and then restore sketches if SolveSpace crashes. (Patch by Marc Britten)
• Unicode is supported everywhere (filenames, group names, TTF text, comments), although RTL scripts and scripts making heavy use of ligatures are not rendered correctly.
• The vector font is grid-fitted when rendered on screen to make it easier to read regardless of its size.

2.0

Initial public release.