FreeCad - really just getting started

Gee, whiz, did something and my Pad view disappeared. How do I get to view the Pad again? I can turn it on and off using space bar, but it is either too large or small, or off in the weeds somewhere. Found the sketch - it was too zoomed in. Fixed that. Turned off sketch visibility. Turned on Pad visibility. It's not visible. Don't know where it has gone to, nor really what I did wrong. (So I don't know what NOT to do.)

Wow, this is going to be tough. Stuck at 6:36 of video #3. Don't see anything on my screen like the video. He sees the Pad and the axis planes. I just get the planes. :(

Edit Part was greyed out - so Pad was invisible. Whew, what a lot of minutia!
 
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The spacebar will toggle visibility on an item. The real trick is figuring out exactly which item was selected when the kitten walked on the keyboard while you were in the bathroom. Ask me how I know.
 
devils4ever said:
I would suggest viewing YT videos called "FreeCAD for Beginners" by Adventures in Creation. He as a series from #1 to #27 (so far). Very good and detailed while not getting bogged down.
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Good suggestion! I started watching and, other than the annoying gravely voice, the tutorials appear pretty thorough. I'm looking forward to walking my way through them. Thanks!
 
Finally got through #3. Got fancy and put a fillet on two different edges of the chamfer. Why? Because I could do it.

Have to hit pause and replay a lot. Video is not shot in hi-def, looking at the somewhat muddy icons on his screen takes a while to decode, especially since there's no standardization of the button placement. So pause, figure out what the heck he clicked, then move on.
 
Yeah the gravelly voice took a bit of getting used to!

However it wasn't as bad as some youtubers where I really want to watch their incredible material, but can't stand the cadence of their voice!

I might have to try watching them again with closed captions on mute.

I've been using both freecad and fusion and getting to know them both. I like them each in their own way, but I wouldn't be using fusion if I hadn't completely fried my laptop and had to get a new one anyways!
 
WobblyHand said:
So pause, figure out what the heck he clicked, then move on.
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At least he has a 'halo' around his mouse pointer so it's easy to see where he's clicked.
Hidyn said:
However it wasn't as bad as some youtubers where I really want to watch their incredible material
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The ones that get me are the ones who think we're there for some kind of high powered entertainment. Give me the 'quiet' facts ma'am...
 
Made it through objects of revolution along with lofts and sweeps. Lessons 4 & 5.

The single most difficult part for me to understand was where in the model he was when he added bodies and sketches. Often I would miss that. Lots of playback. Increased the YouTube resolution to HD, which helped quite a bit, and slowed the video down to 3/4 speed. Yes, the audio was even more drawn out, (dreadful) but it was easier to see his (inadvertent) slights of hand.

It was fun to pause stuff and play a little with various sketches to see their effects on the solid bodies. It will take a while to get the hang of this, but still making progress. 4 & 5 were a lot harder lessons than 1-3.
 
Most of the FreeCad videos I had found over the years have been by someone with a very heavy accent. On meth, Mumbling. In this series the guy is intelligible. He is using mouse and keyboard trackers so you can easily follow what he is doing. And he does improve and refine the settings as the series progresses. I have learned a lot from them, even in the sections where I was already proficient.
 
RandyWilson said:
Most of the FreeCad videos I had found over the years have been by someone with a very heavy accent. On meth, Mumbling. In this series the guy is intelligible. He is using mouse and keyboard trackers so you can easily follow what he is doing. And he does improve and refine the settings as the series progresses. I have learned a lot from them, even in the sections where I was already proficient.
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He is very understandable, which is great. At 3/4 speed, still intelligible. I did notice that he made the icons bigger so they were easier to see.

What keyboard trackers? I missed that.

This really is a good video series. Have learned quite a bit so far.
 
WobblyHand said:
This really is a good video series. Have learned quite a bit so far.
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I have to agree. After seeing this thread, I've resurrected enough interest in FreeCad (I was so frustrated with it this Summer I removed EVERY bit of reference to FreeCad) to watch this series and, concluding that the 'voice' is simply a means to keep us from falling asleep, I'm making progress and learning a whole bunch of fundamental stuff I should have known the first time around.
I'm planning on doing all of the FreeCad series, but, having had similar frustrations with Blender, I'll attempt to revive that interest as well by watching that series.
@WobblyHand I wouldn't be disheartened by the 'rewinds', I've done a bunch of those as well! Flustered
 
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