Getting Started
Drawing is simple and intuitive
Design Intuition provides a rich set of features that you must explore to appreciate. Creating a simple drawing is easy. Below are instructions for how to get started with Design Intuition by creating a design document, adjusting its scale, adding an object to it, and editing a dimension.
These first few tutorials start out very slow and basic. They don't require that you know very much about a Windows XP or 2000, although the more you know the easier it will be to follow them.
Create a new document
If you are already running Design Intuition and have a drawing started, save it (if you have a license) and close it. If you haven't already started Design Intuition, do so now. It will create a new document for you automatically. Please close this document.
Why?
Design Intuition is very flexible, you rarely need to start out any particular place. However, to assure that all of the details in this and the following few tutorials correspond exactly to your experience, let's begin with a specific Template.
In the File menu, click on the Templates menu item (about in the middle). This opens the Templates preferences. Near the top of this preferences window, check the checkbox labeled Enable Create New Design Dialog, if it isn't already checked. In the File menu, click the New menu item.
A window will appear which contains a list. Near the top of this list, under the section called "landscape," check the checkbox labeled "cabinet-sized design." Click on the button at the bottom labeled Create. A new design window will appear.
Adjust the resolution
Let's set the numerical resolution to a a quarter of an inch. First we have to unhide the Grid controls. Click on the Settings menu item. A window will appear, with a new set of controls. On the right side of this new set of controls, you will see a slider with the words "numerical resolution grid lines per inch," preceded by a number in a box. Double-click on the number to select it (a rectangle of blue should appear within the box, enclosing the number). Type a "4" and hit return.
All numbers, no matter where they appear, will now be displayed to the nearest quarter inch.
Adjust the scale
Now let's change the scale of the drawing to one that is good for creating a cabinet or bookcase. First, switch to the 2D view, by clicking on the tab in the design window labeled 2D. In the Controls area, near the bottom, click on the slider knob in the Scaling slider and slide it one way or the other, until the drawing scale (displayed immediately above the slider) is displayed as 1' = 1". Here is what you should see:
Create an object
At the top of the Design Intuition application window, select the Block tool (illustrated at left). Move the mouse into the drawing area. Notice that the cursor changes to a square with cross hairs going through it (illustrated at right).
Hold down the mouse button and drag it diagonally across the screen. Notice that Design Intuition has created an object with dimensions (see illustration, below). Notice as well that, as you move the mouse, the values shown for the dimensions change as the object grows and shrinks. This is an example of immediacy, a characteristic present throughout Design Intuition: as you change one thing, everything else that is affected by this change changes immediately as you perform the change. This makes it hard to get lost in Design Intuition.
Notice also, that the inspector window shows lots of information about this object, and that some of this information changes, too, as the object changes size -- in particular, the dimensions in the green rows near the center of the window (see illustration below).
Use the mouse to grab one of the selection knobs (the gray squares on the object's sides and corners) and drag it to change the object's size in this new view. Notice that the cursor again changes when it moves over a knob (illustrated at right: the cursor you will see when it is over the upper right corner of a selected object).
Relocate a dimension
Now, let's move one of the dimensions of your object. Move the cursor onto the vertical dimension. Notice that the cursor changes. It now looks like the illustration at right. Now, click on the dimension. The dimension is now enclosed in a red box (see illustration at left). Click on it again, but this time, don't release the mouse button. As you move the mouse, the dimension will move around. You can move the dimension anywhere you like.
Change a dimension
Now, let's change one of the dimensions of your object. Double-click on the vertical dimension. It should now look like the illustration at left. Type "12" and it will look like the illustration at right. Hit the return key to tell Design Intuition that you are done editiing. The object will instantly change and look like the illustration below.
Edit the hidden dimension
You may by now have noticed that we are viewing this object from the front. From this view, we can see the Height and the Width. Its Depth, however, is hidden from view. To see it, let's switch to the Top view.
Oops, the Depth dimension isn't there. Design Intuition didn't draw it because it's too small to present uncluttered. However, we can ask Design Intuition to draw it anyway by checking the checkbox labeled Hidden in the View controls (see illustration below).
With the Hidden checkbox checked, all hidden dimensions and objects will be drawn, except for those dimensions that are smaller than three pixels from arrow tip to arrow tip. Our hidden dimension is now visible. To distinguish it as hidden, it is drawn in gray.
Double-click on it, as we did above, and type a "9" and then the Return key. You can now uncheck the Hidden checkbox. Your object should now look like the one illustrated below.
View your work in 3D
Voila! You've created your first 3D object, complete with all three dimensions. Now let's switch to 3D to see what it looks like. At the top of the design window, click on the tab labeled 3D.
In the 3D view, you can rotate your design all around by simply click-dragging the cursor. You can click and drag anywhere within the drawing view.
Save your work
You can do everything described above with the FREE version of Design Intuition. However, to save your design, you need a license. If you have one, you can now save your work. At the top left corner of the Controls window is an icon that looks like two sheets of dog-eared paper. Click on it. A sheet will drop down over the design window asking you to name your design file and choose a location. Once you have done so, your work is permanently stored on your hard drive.
What could be simpler?
Create as many objects as your design needs. Switch to the 3D view anytime, to see how it looks.
We recommend that you approach Design Intuition with a sense of purposeful play, and you'll be creating your own designs and building them within a few hours.
