In the Drawings workspace, I often encounter a limitation where I cannot apply geometric relations—specifically vertical or horizontal constraints—between two points. For example, if I have the endpoints of an arc or two independent sketch points, I cannot directly constrain them to be vertically or horizontally aligned.
This forces me to create additional construction geometry (typically lines) just to simulate the constraint indirectly, which complicates the sketch, makes it harder to read, and disrupts my workflow. This is particularly frustrating in more structured designs where clarity and simplicity in sketches are essential. Other CAD platforms allow point-to-point constraints like this natively, and it significantly streamlines the process.
The top examples show my attempt to apply constraints directly between points—without success.
The lower examples show the workaround I currently use (adding construction lines and constraints to simulate vertical alignment), which I find unnecessarily cumbersome.
Brief description of the outcomes that you expect from this feature:
This feature should allow me to directly select two points and apply either a vertical or horizontal constraint between them, without needing to create auxiliary geometry. This would improve clarity, reduce construction clutter, and make sketches cleaner and more professional.
What can’t you achieve without this feature?
Without this feature:
I am forced to insert extra construction lines solely to apply basic alignment constraints.
My sketches become more complex and visually noisy.
It slows down my design process and introduces avoidable frustrations in otherwise simple constraint scenarios.
It reduces the quality of my drawing outputs, especially when working with constraints in angular sketches or curved geometry.
This is not a complete blocker, but it is a significant usability gap that affects daily productivity.
I understand the request and agree but why do you need open sketches? They will eventually close so it can be handled down the line? Might be the Shapr3d logic.
What I’m asking for is not the same as locking a point. Locking just freezes a point in place it doesn’t create any relationship between two points.
I’m asking for the ability to select two points like endpoints of an arc or two independent sketch points and apply a horizontal or vertical constraint between them.
That way, if one point moves, the other stays aligned on the same Y coordinate (horizontal alignment) or same X coordinate (vertical alignment).
Right now, this isn’t possible without using a construction line to simulate that constraint, which adds unnecessary complexity to the sketch
Why point-to-point constraints would be beneficial in Shapr3D (Drawings):
I completely understand and appreciate the concern that open sketches eventually get closed. However, there are cases where being able to apply horizontal or vertical constraints directly between points even in open or partially constructed sketches would significantly enhance workflow efficiency and sketch clarity.
The attached images illustrate a perfect example:
I want to align the centers of two circles and the center of a rectangle horizontally. Logically, this should be a simple constraint to apply directly between these points. But in Shapr3D, since point-to-point horizontal/vertical constraints are not allowed, I have to:
Draw a construction line between the center of the circle and the rectangle center.
Assign a horizontal constraint to that line.
Repeat or compensate for the second circle, since only one point gets constrained per line.
This adds unnecessary steps, clutters the sketch, and reduces visual clarity. Furthermore, switching the line to construction mode is yet another manual action, which wouldn’t be needed if direct point constraints were possible.
In an ideal case, I would just select all three points and assign a horizontal constraint done. Simple, clean, and more aligned with how other CAD tools handle constraints. Currently, Shapr3D’s method forces additional geometry into the sketch just to create constraints that should be point-based.
Therefore, this feature is not about open sketches it’s about direct, clean constraints that reduce steps and visual complexity.
I know this might not be the biggest or most urgent issue in Shapr3D, trust me, I totally get that there are far more important features and improvements the team is likely prioritizing (and I’ve even mentioned a few of those in other comments myself).
But I wanted to bring this one up because it’s one of those “small things” that just keeps coming up. Every time I run into it, I find myself thinking, “Ah, why hasn’t this been addressed yet?” It’s not a dealbreaker, it’s not something that stops my workflow entirely but it adds this little bit of friction that just feels… unnecessary.
I’m referring to the lack of point-to-point constraints (horizontal or vertical) in the Sketch/Drawing environment. It may seem minor, but not being able to align two or more points directly forces us to add construction lines just to simulate something that should be one click away. And that makes sketches more cluttered than they need to be.
Of course, I understand implementing features has a cost, and not everything is as simple as it looks from the outside, but compared to more complex updates or entirely new tools, this feels like a relatively low-lift change that could quietly but meaningfully improve sketching fluency for many users.
It’s one of those “doesn’t kill you, but slowly wears on you” UX details. And since I haven’t seen many others mention it, I figured I’d speak up.
Thanks for all the great work you’re already doing on the app. Just hoping to see this friction point smoothed out in the future.
Thanks for the clear explanation, here what that looks like in another program. I find the circle example to be extremely helpful with this constraint.
Yes, exactly that feature does exist in SOLIDWORKS, and that’s actually the software where I first learned and started working with 3D modeling. It’s part of my background, and honestly, this is one of the many features I really miss from that workflow.
I genuinely like Shapr3D, its simplicity and touch interface are what drew me in. I often work on a tablet that isn’t very powerful, so running a full desktop setup with SOLIDWORKS isn’t always an option. That’s why having something lightweight and mobile like Shapr3D is so valuable to me.
But from time to time, I do find myself wishing those small but powerful features, like point-to-point constraints, were available here too. Maybe it’s partly due to habit, but when you’re used to having that flexibility, its absence becomes noticeable.
That’s why I mentioned it earlier because I truly believe Shapr3D can offer both simplicity and control, and this is a great example of something small that could make a difference.
Oh! I probably misplaced it but on my side, it actually doesn’t show as marked anymore. When I opened the thread, it didn’t appear as selected, so not sure what happened there.
Either way, sorry for the confusion and thanks for pointing it out!
Ya it was my attempt at a light humor, but still satisfy one of the request, not using construction line, basically the grid snap is the construction line.
That gets into why can’t we turn off the Grid Lines! If I do not want to use Grid Snap please let us turn off Grid Lines. Will make feature request if there isn’t already one made.
but on my side, it actually doesn’t show as marked anymore. When I opened the thread, it didn’t appear as selected, so not sure what happened there.
