How to specify circle radius?

[robert phillips]

Drawing a circle is simple. Setting it to an exact radius is a different story. When examining properties you get line width (duh) instead of a radius. It is, afterall, a circle! Please add RADIUS to properties and permit manual setting. Instead of showing XY coordinates only (cursor position) please add a RADIUS row. As a matter of fact, that would be helpful for either an arc or a circle. If I've missed some method/process step in creation of a circle, then fill me in and ignore this post.

[Sal Hernandez]

Thanks for the feedback. I will forward the information to our development team.

When I want to create a circle of a specific size, using the draw circle tool, I set the grid to the radius of the desired circle. Then left click and release on the circle. As you move your mouse on the x or y axis, the circle will jump to the next grid point and create a circle of the appropriate size. You may want to make your grid and grid lines visible so you can see extactly where the grid lines are. Once you have the circle at the correct size, you can move it into position.

Another method to create a circle of a specific size is to start with a square that has sides that are equal to the diameter of the circle you want. Next, mouse over a corner, right click and select convert corner to arc a. Enter the radius of your circle and repeat for each corner. This method is handy for someone who needs a semi-circular shape.

[robert phillips]

Sal Thank you for the insight. I can operate as suggested until such time as this common drawing command methods (arc, circle) are implemented. Note that another common way of creating a circle is to select three points to draw through. For an arc, one may usually select a center point, start and end point. These should all be canned routines in the developer's library and simpler to implement than some of the other things I had mentioned in the past like:: when a part is known, add it's physical profile to the 3D view of a board. I suppose now is as good a time as any for a wish list: Add 3d parts view for defined parts. Permit Printing 3D view via menu. Add Common Mounting Hardware Profiles like #4 panhead machine screw and nut and washer. While accounting for the required clearance isn't a real issue, it would be nice to have the physical parts in a mechanical library with clearance hole size and typical head diameters so the part can be placed in a mounting hole location.

[Sal Hernandez]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will pass them along to product management.