Hi, wondering how I can add guides/rulers around models I am creating. I was hoping Blender has something like this as other image applications do, where I can snap to guides, using with different windows etc.
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The best you can hope for right now is to use the “3D cursor” and the various snap to functions (and your imagination). Not as handy, but you can work around it to some degree.
err, there is a lot you can do with the grid and screen functionality in blender as well
Ok, so at the top of the blender interface (usually) there is an option for the active screen. The usual one is “screen.001” (the entire text would be SCR:screen.001
you can add/delete/name them as you like.
It becomes useful when you have a number of them with different grid settings. The grid settings are in the view buttons of the buttons window. Through the interface you would have to:
change your 3d window to a buttons window
change the buttons window to the view buttons
or I just press shift+F7, and then shift+F5 to go back.
Well anyways there are options for the size of the grid lines, and how many grid lines (only applicable when not in a non-perspective right, top, front, back, bottom, left side view) there are.
Grid line (and other view button settings) are specific to the 3d window and to the screen. You can create multiple screens with different grid settings (name them well so as not to be confusing)
__________ MORE DIRECT ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION _______
Blender doesn’t have the ruler and guide line functionality of 2d graphics applications.
Another way to use the cursor as a guide line:
say you want to move a number of verticies to line up along the vertical axis (you are in the front view, this would be the z axis) with another point. To do this you:
select that point
press shift+s (snap menu) and choose “cursor to selection”
select your other verticies that you wish to line up with this point
make the rotation and scaling centered around the cursor (DOTKEY, period on my machine)
start scaling, but constrain to the axis you want them moved to:
move the cursor initally in the direction you want to limit the scaling to
press the middle mouse button to constrain to that (global) axis
hold control, and move the mouse cursor to the 3d cursor (scale down to 0)
it is a bit odd, but it works well
Thank you for your detailed response. I will be definitely be using that technique. Very handy.