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Dynamic Input (HUD) in Sketches

    Procedures

    Dynamic Input in the Sketch environment provides a Heads-Up Display (HUD) interface near the cursor to help you keep your focus in the sketching area. It is available for commonly used sketch commands.

    With Dynamic Input turned on, value input boxes near the cursor display information that dynamically updates as the cursor moves. When a Line, Circle, Arc, Rectangle or Point sketch command is active, you can enter values in the input boxes. You can switch between the value input fields by pressing the TAB key.

    By default, you enter most values using Polar coordinate entry by specifying the distance and angle of sketch elements. However, the Rectangle and Point commands use relative X and Y Cartesian coordinates. After entering the first value, press TAB to display a lock icon in the field which constrains the cursor by the value that you entered. You can then enter a value for the second and subsequent input fields and press TAB to lock those values also.

    NoteInstead of pressing the TAB key for second and subsequent value entries, you can also press ENTER. Lock icons are not displayed in the value input boxes when using this alternative method.

    When you are satisified with the sketch values you entered in the value input fields, press ENTER to place and automatically dimension the sketch element.

    Persistent Dimensions

    Persistent Dimensions is the function that automatically creates and places sketch dimensions in Dynamic Input. If you prefer to place dimensions manually, as with previous versions of Inventor, you can turn off persistent dimensions. On the ribbonSketch tab Constrain panel Persistent Dimension, click the down arrow.. Persistent dimensions remains disabled until you turn it back on.

    You can turn persistent dimensions on and off in the Application Options dialog box, Sketch tab, in the Heads-Up Display (HUD) settings.

    Pointer Input

    With Pointer Input turned on, the starting point for a sketch element is displayed as Cartesian coordinates (X and Y values) in a tooltip near the cursor.

    The default for second and subsequent points is relative Polar coordinates (length and angle).

    Disabling Pointer Input turns off the Cartesian coordinate display of the starting point of a sketch element. However, second and subsequent points are still displayed in the value input fields.

    You can switch the Pointer Input Cartesian coordinate to a Polar coordinate display, or turn it off in the Application Options dialog box, Sketch tab, in the Heads-Up Display (HUD) settings.

    Dimension Input

    With dimension input enabled, when a command prompts for a second point, the value input fields display polar coordinate (length and angle) values. The dimensional values change as you move the cursor. Press TAB to move to the value you want to change.

    You can switch Dimension Input polar coordinates to Cartesian coordinates in the Application Options dialog box, Sketch tab, in the Heads-Up Display (HUD) settings.

    Dynamic Prompts

    With dynamic prompts turned on, prompts display in a tooltip near the cursor. You can enable or disable dynamic prompts in the Applicatin Options dialog box, General tab, by clicking the Show command prompting (Dynamic Prompts) check box. Dynamic prompts are turned off by default.

    Show Me how to use dynamic input in a 2D sketch

    Procedures

    Draw a line using Dynamic Input

    1. In Sketch mode, on the ribbon Sketch tab Draw panel , click Line.
    2. In the graphics window, pick a starting point for the line. When Pointer Input is turned on, the X and Y starting values for the line display.
    3. In the highlighted value input box, enter a value for the length (distance) of the line segment, and press TAB. The field displays a lock icon to indicate that the cursor is constrained by the value you entered.
      NoteIf your press ENTER instead of TAB after entering the length value, the line is drawn at the specified length, but without a specified angle. The angle of the line reflects the current cursor angle instead.
    4. The second value input box highlights. Enter an value for the angle of the line, and press ENTER.
    5. The line segment is drawn and dimensioned automatically using the values you entered.
    6. Continue drawing lines, or press ESC to quit the Line command.
    TipTo close a sketch profile back to its starting point, draw two or more line segments, and right-click to open the pop-up context menu. Select Close from the menu to close the profile. The Line command remains active.

    Draw a center point circle using Dynamic Input

    1. In Sketch mode, on the ribbon Sketch tab Draw panel , click Center Point Circle.
    2. In the graphics window, pick a starting point for the center of the circle. When Pointer Input is turned on, the X and Y values for the circle center are displayed.
    3. In the highlighted value input box, enter a radius value for the circle, and press TAB. The field displays a lock icon to indicate that the cursor is constrained by the value you entered.
    4. If you want to define the circle by its diameter, right-click and select Diameter from the pop-up context menu. In the highlighted value input box, enter a diameter value for the circle, and press TAB. The field displays a lock icon to indicate that the cursor is constrained by the value you entered.
    5. Press ENTER. The circle is drawn and dimensioned automatically using the radius (or diameter) value you entered.
    6. As a shortcut, in the highlighted value input box, enter a radius (or diameter) value for the circle, and press ENTER. The value remains constrained, but no lock icon displays in the value input field.
    7. Continue drawing circles, or press ESC to quit the Circle command.

    Draw a center point arc using Dynamic Input

    1. In Sketch mode, on the ribbon Sketch tab Draw panel, click Arc Center Point.
    2. In the graphics window, pick a center point for the arc. When Pointer Input is turned on, the X and Y values for the arc center point display.
    3. The first value input box highlights. Enter a value for the arc radius, and press TAB. The field displays a lock icon to indicate that the cursor is constrained by the value you entered.
    4. The second value input box highlights. Enter an angular value for the starting point of the arc, and press ENTER.
    5. The third value input box highlights. Enter an angular value for the ending point of the arc, and press ENTER.
    6. The center point arc is drawn and dimensioned automatically using the values you entered.
    7. Continue drawing arcs, or press ESC to quit the Center Point Arc command.

    Draw a tangent arc using Dynamic Input

    1. In Sketch mode, on the ribbon Sketch tab Draw panel , click Arc Tangent.
    2. Select the starting or ending point of a previously drawn arc.
    3. The first value input box highlights. Enter a value for the arc radius, and press TAB. The field displays a lock icon to indicate that the cursor is constrained by the value that you entered.
    4. The second value input box highlights. Enter a value for the included angle, and press ENTER.
      NoteIf you press the ENTER key after entering a value for the arc radius rather than the TAB key, you cannot specify the included angle. The angle of the arc is drawn using the current angle of the cursor instead.
    5. The arc is drawn tangent to the previously selected arc and dimensioned automatically using the values you entered.
    6. Continue drawing arcs, or press ESC to quit the Tangent Arc command.

    Draw a three point arc using Dynamic Input

    1. In Sketch mode, on the ribbon Sketch tab Draw panel , click Arc Three Point.
    2. In the graphics window, pick a starting point for the arc. When Pointer Input is turned on, the X and Y values for the arc start point display.
    3. In the highlighted value input box, enter a length (distance) value for the end point of the arc, and press TAB. The field displays a lock icon to indicate that the cursor is constrained by the value you entered.
    4. The second value input box nohighlights. Enter a value for the included angle, and press ENTER.
      NoteIf you press the ENTER key after entering a length value for the end point of the arc rather than the TAB key, you cannot specify the included angle. The angle of the arc is drawn using the current angle of the cursor instead.
    5. The third value input box highlights. Enter a value for the arc radius, and press ENTER.
    6. The three point arc is drawn and dimensioned automatically using the values you entered.
    7. Continue drawing arcs, or press ESC to quit the Three Point Arc command.

    Draw a two point rectangle using Dynamic Input

    1. In Sketch mode, on the ribbonSketch tab Draw panel , click Rectangle Two Point.
    2. In the graphics window, pick a starting point for the first diagonal corner of the rectangle. When Pointer Input is on, the X and Y starting values for the first point display.
    3. The first value input box highlights. Enter a value for the rectangle length, and press TAB. The field displays a lock icon to indicate that the cursor is constrained by the value you entered.
    4. The second value input box highlights. Enter a value for the rectangle height, and press ENTER.
    5. The rectangle is drawn and dimensioned automatically using the X and Y values you entered.
    6. Continue drawing rectangles, or press ESC to terminate the Rectangle Two Point command.

    Draw a three point rectangle using Dynamic Input

    1. In Sketch mode, on the ribbon Sketch tab Draw panel, click Rectangle Three Point .
    2. In the graphics window, pick a starting point for the first diagonal corner of the rectangle. When Pointer Input is on, the X and Y starting values for the first point display.
    3. The first value input box highlights. Enter a value for the length of the rectangle, and press TAB. The field displays a lock icon to indicate that the cursor is constrained by the value you entered.
    4. The second value input box highlights. Enter a value for the angle of the rectangle and press ENTER.
    5. The third value input box highlights. Enter a value for the height of the rectangle, and press ENTER.
    6. The rectangle is drawn at the angle specified, and dimensioned automatically using the X and Y values you entered.
    7. Continue drawing rectangles, or press ESC to terminate the Rectangle Three Point command.
    NoteRegardless of the Head-Up Display (HUD) settings, the length and height of rectangles are always drawn using X and Y Cartesian coordinates.

    Draw a point using Dynamic Input

    1. In Sketch mode, on the ribbonSketch tab Draw panel, click Point.
    2. As you move your cursor around the graphics window, Pointer Input displays the X and Y coordinates of the cursor location. The coordinates displayed are relative to the sketch origin of X = 0, Y = 0.
    3. Press the TAB key to provide focus on the first value input field. Enter the value for the X coordinate and press TAB. The field then displays a lock icon to indicate that the cursor is constrained by the value that you entered.
    4. The second value input box highlights. Enter a value for the Y coordinate and press ENTER.
    5. The point is drawn at the precise X and Y coordinates provided.
    6. Continue drawing points, or press ESC to terminate the Point command.
    NoteAs an alternative to Dynamic Input, you can ignore the Heads-Up Display (HUD) and pick a location on the screen to place a point.

    Change Dynamic Input settings

    1. On the ribbon Tools tab Options panel, click Application Options.
    2. In the Application Options dialog box, Sketch tab, click the Settings button to the right of the Enable Heads-Up Display (HUD) check box.
    3. Change the Dynamic Input settings as needed.
    4. Click OK to close the dialog box.

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