Major Frustration - Help Please

[tlempicke]

I have decided that I WILL learn to draw simple stuff in PW. Finally got a simple little bird feeder drawn. O.K. It is not all that bad - really a sign drawing program rather than an engineering program, but then I knew that.
Now when I try to generate a tool path it tells me I have no closed vectors when I try to cut the outline. How do I close the vectors so that it will generate a path?

[larry]

no closed vectors is your lines are open/not touching, say u make a square each line in the corner has to touch to be a closed vector hope this helps, Larry

[billp]

Tom, When you "select"your part file on the PW screen you should see a group of squares ( nodes) and they will probably be different colors. The green node is the node where your file will start the cut. If you get the message that your file has "open"vectors it's pretty easy to take the "last"node you drew and drag it on top of your starting node ( OR vice versa..) When you do this you should see the entire file change color ( to blue I believe) Then you will have a closed vector, and the profile tool will work for you...Bill P.

[tlempicke]

Bill
When I select the outline it is all blue. I tried grouping, un-grouping etc. I enlarged the individual elemnets and they are connected. they should be cause I had snap to elements on when I drew it. I get the same results when I left click on the outline or I use select all from the drop down. When I used select all it generated a tool path for some elements inside the outline and told me I had eleven un-connected elements.

[tlempicke]

Well I finally got it to work. I selected each element around the outline and then used the ctl key to select the next. Then the join command. Worked my way all around and the profile command worked.

[billp]

Tom, Good tip! I'm thinking that since PW is such a recent creation we are all going to have to trade what we're learning about it in this manner.While it isn't a "full featured"program, it looks as though it will still let a lot of us get files created once we get a little better handle on it.

[jkforney]

Tom
Did you use the ctl key or the shift key?

I found that if I grabed the offending node and moved it back a bit, then shift selected the next contour, then selected Vectors-Close Vectors-Move End Point, Parts Wizard would join the first selected vector to itself. However, when I did the above and used the Vectors-Join Vectors-move end point then both vectors would be joined.

Also on a text item that was broken the Vectors-close vectors worked. I am so new at Parts Wizard that I have not discovered exactly how Parts Wizard implements the two. Maybe someone else has it all figured out and will share with us.

John

[frank]

Hi Tom,

There are a couple things you can do when you get the "open vectors" message. The one that you did (selecting 2 vectors at a time and joining them)is one that I have used. You keep doing that unitl the "close" icon is gray out. The second way if you are lucky enough to have only one open vector is to select your lines and click on the "close" vectory icon. You have to be careful though because on more complex drawings it might choose to close 2 vectors that you don't want to close and change the shape and size of your drawing. In that case you would have to use the first method.

[jkforney]

I have been playing around with the join and connect vectors and have discovered that I can not predict which way the join or connect will go. It seems to like to join to the closest node even if it isn't a start point. The close baffles me. I assume that there is some sort of order that it uses but I can't figure it out. Anyone have the answer?

John Forney

[tlempicke]

Actually works pretty easy if you don't try to join more than two vectors at a time. Use the shift key to select two vectors that are next to each other and then click on join. If you just work your way around the outline that you are trying to join up you can see the selected area get bigger each time you move to the next item in line.

[jkforney]

Tom
You are right it does work easy just not in the manner I expect.

John