(2020-05-27, 22:14)N. W. Perry Wrote: Assigning some kind of ID to each FLOAT command could be a way around that.Exactly. That is what I was aiming for with groups.
(2020-05-27, 22:14)N. W. Perry Wrote: Well, if we take the existing part properties dialog in LDCad, imagine a new "float" panel (or tab) in that dialog. You'd have a checkbox to enable "float", which inserts the meta command. That could invoke a new matrix, color reference, and part reference field in the dialog, where'd you enter the floating values. Also, imagine two additional checkboxes, either "Float for next _ steps" or "Float until step number _", which adds the n parameter.
At the same time, you'd probably want some way to visually edit the float position/orientation, perhaps by invoke "float" mode with a hotkey or menu command, or from the editing compass, or perhaps up with normal and nested modes. Maybe the part would show in a sort of transparent, "ghost-like" way as you move it around in float mode.
The only thing you did not address is that the number n needs to be (manually) changed if you insert a step in the middle. Therefore, perhaps, instead of hardcoding the step number one should insert some kind of marker in the target step... And here, after this change, we would be describing roughly the same system, with differences in whether to use a new meta for ID or reuse the group meta and where to describe modified part position. Both of them are very minor ones