Save 3D point for later use in TikZ

Question

I want to save a three dimensional point for later use in \sfDefPoint. I am trying to write a command that lets me draw a line (and its projections) between two points using a simple syntax (e.g. \sfDrawLine{g}, or for a projection \sfDrawLine{g''}). I get an error if I uncomment the two lines below. It is obvious, that I have to use some sort of \expandafter in \sfDefLine. But I could not figure it out.

Thanks in advance for your comments and suggestions.

\documentclass[tikz]{standalone}
\usepackage{tikz}
\usepackage{tkz-euclide}
\usetkzobj{all}

\newcommand{\sfDefPoint}[4]{
  \coordinate (#4) at (#1,#2,#3);
  \coordinate (#4') at (#1,#2,0);
  \coordinate (#4'') at (0,#2,#3);
  \coordinate (#4''') at (#1,0,#3);
  \coordinate (#4_x) at (#1,0,0);
  \coordinate (#4_y) at (0,#2,0);
  \coordinate (#4_z) at (0,0,#3);
  \@namedef{sfcoord#4x}{#1}
  \@namedef{sfcoord#4y}{#2}
  \@namedef{sfcoord#4z}{#3}
}
\newcommand{\sfDefLine}[3]{
  \sfDefPoint{\sfcoord#1x}{\sfcoord#1y}{\sfcoord#1z}{#3_a}
  \sfDefPoint{\sfcoord#2x}{\sfcoord#2y}{\sfcoord#2z}{#3_b}
}
\newcommand{\sfDrawLine}[2][]{
  \draw[#1] (#2_a) -- (#2_b);
}

\newcommand{\sfDrawAxes}[3]{
  \draw[->,thick] (0,0,0) -- (#1+.5,0,0) node[left]{$x$};%
  \draw[->,thick] (0,0,0) -- (0,#2+.5,0) node[below]{$y$};%
  \draw[->,thick] (0,0,0) -- (0,0,#3+.5)node[left]{$z$};%
}

\begin{document}

\begin{tikzpicture}[%
    x={(-.5cm,-.5cm)},%
    y={(1cm,0cm)},%
    z={(0cm,1cm)}]
  \sfDrawAxes{4}{4}{4}
  \sfDefPoint{1}{1}{2}{A}
  \sfDefPoint{-1}{2}{2}{B}
%   \sfDefLine{A}{B}{g}
%   \sfDrawLine{g}
  \draw[densely dotted] (A') -- (A) -- (A'');
  \draw[densely dotted] (B') -- (B) -- (B'');
  \tkzDrawPoints(A,A',A'',B,B',B'')
  \tkzLabelPoints(A,A',A'',B,B',B'')
\end{tikzpicture}

\end{document}

score 2 · Accepted Answer · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:35

Is this what you are after?

Assuming I understand your approach, you need to use \@nameuse to build the name of the command prior to use. Have a look at this answer to see what is going on under the hood with \@namedef and \@nameuse. Also, a \makeatletter-\makeatother pair is missing.

\documentclass[tikz]{standalone}
\usepackage{tikz}
\usepackage{tkz-euclide}
\usetkzobj{all}

\makeatletter
\newcommand{\sfDefPoint}[4]{
  \coordinate (#4) at (#1,#2,#3);
  \coordinate (#4') at (#1,#2,0);
  \coordinate (#4'') at (0,#2,#3);
  \coordinate (#4''') at (#1,0,#3);
  \coordinate (#4_x) at (#1,0,0);
  \coordinate (#4_y) at (0,#2,0);
  \coordinate (#4_z) at (0,0,#3);
  \@namedef{sfcoord#4x}{#1}
  \@namedef{sfcoord#4y}{#2}
  \@namedef{sfcoord#4z}{#3}
}
\newcommand{\sfDefLine}[3]{
  \sfDefPoint{\@nameuse{sfcoord#1x}}{\@nameuse{sfcoord#1y}}{\@nameuse{sfcoord#1z}}{#3_a}
  \sfDefPoint{\@nameuse{sfcoord#2x}}{\@nameuse{sfcoord#2y}}{\@nameuse{sfcoord#2z}}{#3_b}
}
\newcommand{\sfDrawLine}[2][]{
  \draw[#1] (#2_a) -- (#2_b);
}

\newcommand{\sfDrawAxes}[3]{
  \draw[->,thick] (0,0,0) -- (#1+.5,0,0) node[left]{$x$};%
  \draw[->,thick] (0,0,0) -- (0,#2+.5,0) node[below]{$y$};%
  \draw[->,thick] (0,0,0) -- (0,0,#3+.5)node[left]{$z$};%
}
\makeatother

\begin{document}

\begin{tikzpicture}[%
    x={(-.5cm,-.5cm)},%
    y={(1cm,0cm)},%
    z={(0cm,1cm)}]
  \sfDrawAxes{4}{4}{4}
  \sfDefPoint{1}{1}{2}{A}
  \sfDefPoint{-1}{2}{2}{B}
  \sfDefLine{A}{B}{g}
  \sfDrawLine{g}
  \draw[densely dotted] (A') -- (A) -- (A'');
  \draw[densely dotted] (B') -- (B) -- (B'');
  \tkzDrawPoints(A,A',A'',B,B',B'')
  \tkzLabelPoints(A,A',A'',B,B',B'')
\end{tikzpicture}

\end{document}

Save 3D point for later use in TikZ

1 Answers1