Do any users prefer sketch imprinting be on?

nick_papageorge073

I find myself constantly turning off sketch imprinting. (even made a help request to turn it off by default). I know the option was only added a couple years ago to turn it off. Does anyone prefer to keep imprinting on? I find it just clutters the screen downstream. I don't think I've ever had a need for leaving it on. Maybe I'm missing a workflow for keeping it on regularly?

S1mon

98% of the time, I want it off. There are some cases where it reduces the number of sketch entities and could make modeling easier.

Here's a really simple example with a rectangular block where I sketch three lines on the top face, which splits that face:


Then if I pick the left face and extrude I get this:


Without imprinting, I would be adding three additional lines. If the base extrusion is likely to change, there could be additional value to imprinting since it might update more easily.

I've also found that a complex sketch can be broken into several sketches. You can select a face from a sketch, and add lines which split that face, and get more detailed faces.




Now, to be honest, I hardly ever think of working this way, because it's so ingrained to do things the way that Creo or Solidworks does it, but I can see the value of imprinting occasionally.

glen_dewsbury

I would prefer imprinting to be turned off then turned on when wanted as @S1mon describes. I don't use it much at all and find it in the way many times.

eric_pesty

When you turn it off, you lose the ability to automatically snap to entities of the sketch face so that's the biggest reason to leave it on. I only turn it off occasionally when when it creates regions I don't want.
It does sound like this could be a "user preference" or maybe it if remembered the setting that's all it would take for everyone to be happy?

S1mon

@eric_pesty
"When you turn it off, you lose the ability to automatically snap to entities of the sketch face"

I'm not finding that to be true at all. With "disable imprinting" it highlights edges, midpoints, etc, of part faces and sketch faces just fine.

eric_pesty

@S1mon
You are right, I thought that was kind of a key point of "disable imprinting" to help performance when putting a sketch on a complex face.

I just experimented a bit and it looks like it automatically keeps the ability to create relations for anything coplanar with the sketch plane regardless of how the sketch is defined. I just checked and when using a MC for a sketch plane, you can add relations to coplanar faces, if you use the same mate connector but with a Z offset, the automatic relations go away!

I personally generally like the "automatic" regions... 

EvanReese

I find myself defaulting to off, but I love it when I need it. If it remembered the last selection, that would accommodate everyone better, I think.

stuart_robinson

coming here after finally solving a headache caused by imprinting.  wish it was off by default.  would be nice if some user settings could set it to be on or off by default

S1mon

Please vote for this improvement request:
https://forum.onshape.com/discussion/18004/default-to-disable-imprinting-on-new-sketches-or-remember-previous