Working in 3 Dimensions

L3DD makes working in three dimensions easy. Most of the time you work in a 3D perspective view with solid objects rendered in real time. Unlike many CAD programs, L3DD does not use multiple 2D views. The ease of rotating objects, zooming them near and far, measuring them and moving them about the screen removes the need for 2D views and conserves screen space. Depth perception is greatly enhanced by the rapidity of rotation. Orthographic projection and orthogonal orientations are used for plans and elevations.

In L3DD you manipulate your work as if it were a model in front of your eyes. For example, you pull the mouse scroll wheel towards you to bring the object nearer. Many 3D programs have the viewer flying around a fixed scene as if in a helicopter. L3DD is more intimate than this.

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L3DD is similar to many word processing programs in that you normally select something then act on the selection. You use the mouse or keyboard to navigate, select things, modify them, replicate them, rotate them, move them, cut them in half, delete them, paste them, etc., etc. Like most 2D graphics programs, L3DD provides several types of ‘handle’ for selecting and moving vertices and edges. The coordinates, distances, and angles that apply to selected handles and faces are displayed in the Status Bar.

You will find L3DD intuitive and easy to learn. The steep learning curve of most CAD programs does not apply, and the help system is also a user manual that tells you everything you need to know. At the same time, L3DD’s powerful features, like group selection, symmetry, special modes and comprehensive set of tools, allow you to do some astounding and very practical things to your 3D objects.