change an 3D entity's xyz measurements

Thank you, jruh.
I knew about those properties panels. With Turbocad Deluxe $99 program you can easily change 3D XYZ object properties in the properties panel. To change the Z length you simple type in a new value.
Below is the answer I got from Corel support:
So to use the example of a cylinder:
COPY the cylinder and move the copy (on screen or by entering coordinates in the command window – in CorelCAD 2016 you can use the Quick Input to specify coordinates onscreen) up (or down) to get to the intended new height of the cylinder
UNION the 2 cylinders which will result in one cylinder with the height of the 2 combined 3D solids.
Seems a $700 program should be easier than that.

Uh? Corel support said that? Make a copy and join it? That's pretty overly simplistic an answer and I get the feeling it's not what you wanted. What if it's not a cylinder... Anyway, if you make something into a block, you can paste the block anywhere and scale it - Just make whatever you want to adjust into a block and scaling is a piece of cake.

Only blocks can be scaled, but scaling can be in any direction as a factor ( percentage ).

Just copy an item ( click on the item/all items/whatever ) then right-click somewhere onscreen and "paste as block".
Then click on the object and you will see "Geometry" in the object properties box. There's three scales there - usually set to "1" each... Just put the factor you want in here - eg, to scale in the Z direction by a factor of 2 to double the size, make the "Z" scale here a 1.

Only blocks have the property of being scaled. Think carefully before you scale things - because a block is a single object, including any 2D and 3D parts - So if you go selecting multiple parts, you can't deselect them later, or use separate functions or any kind of undo on faces, but otherwise I think you can still edit them just fine as long as they aren't scaled. If they are scaled, you might need to unscale them before editing.

Anyway, the ability to dynamically edit object properties isn't something CorelCAD can do - It's not something I think is all that common to CAD based systems - though applications such as Solidworks can do it - but that costs a lot more - I've never found the inability to shift faces around too much of a problem, and you can extrude individual faces as well, and other editing capabilities seem to provide most of the functionality even if it's not as GUI oriented as you might want -

I hope this helps :) I'm still on CorelCAD 2014 and we're almost at Corelcad2016 now, so I'm probably a little behind in the interface, so perhaps my advice isn't perfect, but it sounds better than Corel support provided you -

Regards
David

Thank you David for showing me an alternative method. It seems it would be very difficult to increase/decrease an object by a few thousands of an inch by scaling. Lets say I had a .75" Dia. cylinder and needed to increase the dia. .003". How wound I determine the scale factor. When creating STL files for 3D printing I sometimes need to adjust an object by small amounts. I've noticed you have done 3D printing so I think you understand the need.
If you open a drawing that you haven't worked on in some time how can you determine a 3D objects dimensions. I tried using the dimension tool to save with the object but it seems it can't be used on 3D objects.
Hope this makes sense and thank you again for your help, Ed

The factor would be the new size divided by the old size - eg, 0.753/0.75 = 1.004 - Though if it's scaled for printing - well, most 3D printing applications support scaling don't they? The PP3DP software I use even lets me resave the scaled file.

Mostly when working with sensitive dimensions, it's only a few dimensions that are sensitive - eg, thread sizes... So I create layers and different parts to meet the final requirement - And then I just select the appropriate layers and add/subtract until I'm ready to create the STL file -

But if it's just a generic component you want to scale, copying it, then saving it as a block and scaling it is still the easiest way. You can leave notes attached to it in the URL field too. Or just put some text somewhere so you know what you did if you ever come back to that file -

If there's any more information you can give me on your application, I might be able to suggest alternatives?

Regards
David

Thank you David for the scale factor formula, I should have given it some thought before replying.
I use layers extensively also. Layers for 2D parts before they're extruded and 3D parts layers before converting to STL file. That way I can go back and make changes more easily.
Yes its true you can scale STL'S in slicing software but I was referring to one part needing changes before combining and saving for slicing.
I just feel it should be easier to recall entities dimensions without notations, etc. I suppose I'm spoiled from using a competitors software which was very easy to do. I'm a longtime CorelDraw user and that's why I purchased CorelCad so I'll have to adjust my drawing habits accordingly.

I guess it's sometimes frustrating that simple 3D work isn't so easy with CorelCAD - and it's a shame when the 3D functions of CorelCAD are it's future. But I can't see them implementing it anytime soon, as the application is AutoCAD at heart, and the development focusses on the 2D side of CAD.

On the other hand, though, once you get used to CorelCAD ( and it's bugs, quirks and issues ) it is kind of endearing and you find there's not really any limit to what you can do. You also tend to start doing very precise work with CorelCAD and think things through before making objects.

It would have been really nice though if Corel modified CorelDRAW with the capability to draw 3D solids - :) That is what I was hoping for when I got CorelCAD.

And even with that wish, I'm not entirely sure I'd be happy now if I did get it -CorelCAD really isn't such a bad application afterall. :)

Though it would be a dog of a program if not for Klaus' constant attention and help getting past the hurdles. He's probably worth half of the entire value of the application in his own right.

David

3 years of CorelCAD under my belt, including CorelCAD ( original), CorelCAD2013 and CorelCAD2014...