TechDraw Roadmap
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Here is a rough roadmap of areas to be addressed in the TechDraw Workbench in 2023.
Current Activity[edit | edit source]
- refactoring code into more maintainable pieces
Primary Focus for 2023[edit | edit source]
There are 2 main areas to be addressed in 2023:
- conversion between drawing geometry and model geometry
- these conversions are scattered throughout the code
- the most visible impact is the difficulty in specifying cosmetic geometry
- cosmetic vertex/edge/centerline now rotates with the parent view.
- the "lesser topological naming problem"
- primarily making dimensions survive the renaming of reference geometry
- Phase1 (reference geometry has a new name, but still exists) implemented by PR #8989
- First attempt at Phase2 (handling situation where reference geometry has legitimately changed) stalled. Rethinking.
- also affects face hatching
- also affects edge appearance attributes
- primarily making dimensions survive the renaming of reference geometry
Work Completed in 2023[edit | edit source]
- remove redundant edges from HLR result PR #9280
- dimension reference name change handling PR #8989
- RichTextAnnotation fix text size & position in svg export PR #10019
- improve SVG hatch drawing speed PR #9995 and PR #9885
- add large ANSI format templates PR #9825
- fix precision errors in 3D window direction/orientation PR #9577
- add shaft/hole fit annotation PR #8455
- add ANSI Y14.5 compatible font PR #8198
- Replacement for Qt XMLPatterns PR #9104 (Thanks Werner!)
- zoom improvements PR #10547, #10456
- hatch speed improvements PR #9995, #9985
Other Items for 2023[edit | edit source]
These items would be nice to address in 2023:
- drawing overlay
- allow graphics to be added to a drawing page as on a transparent overlay in traditional drafting. This will build on the SymbolsAndTraces research project and @Evgeniy's schematic workbench.
Work Completed in 2022[edit | edit source]
These items were implemented in 2022:
- Navigation modes
- New face detection algorithm
- PrintAll function
- Bitmap hatching fix
- Extension line gaps
- Section dialog live/deferred update option (implemented as part of complex section)
- Convert all templates to "plain svg" (implemented for latin script templates)
- View stacking order
- Use separate thread for hidden line removal, face finding, section and detail cuts
- replace ActiveView Svg creation with simple screen capture
- complex section views
- easier dimensions from 3D geometry
- simple dimension reference repair dialog
2022 Plan Items Not Completed[edit | edit source]
These items are still on the infamous TODO list. They will be worked on as and if time allows.
- Projection group dialog upgrade including live/deferred update option
- Ability to specify file preferences as relative paths 6707
- ability to specify units by dimension or page instead of system wide.
- weld symbol upgrades including ISO/AWS symbology and help text 6313
- ordinate dimensions 6587
- broken view 5694
- improved handling of Draft/Arch objects
- include sketcher points in drawings
- Feature Control Frames (GD&T)
- Threaded hole representation
- Page: New Page, New Page From Template, Update Template Fields, Redraw Page, Print All Pages, Export Page as SVG, Export Page as DXF
- TechDraw Views: New View, Broken View, Section View, Complex Section View, Detail View, Projection Group, Clip Group, Insert SVG, Bitmap Image, Share View, Project Shape
- Views From Other Workbenches: Active View, Draft View, BIM View, Spreadsheet View
- Dimensions: Dimension, Length Dimension, Horizontal Length Dimension, Vertical Length Dimension, Radius Dimension, Diameter Dimension, Angle Dimension, Angle Dimension From 3 Points, Area Annotation, Horizontal Extent Dimension, Vertical Extent Dimension, Repair Dimension References
- Hatching: Image Hatch, Geometric Hatch
- Symbols: Weld Symbol, Surface Finish Symbol, Hole/Shaft Fit
- Stacking: Stack Top, Stack Bottom, Stack Up, Stack Down
- Attributes/Modifications: Select Line Attributes, Cascade Spacing and Delta Distance, Change Line Attributes, Extend Line, Shorten Line, Toggle View Lock, Position Section View, Align Horizontal Chain Dimensions, Align Vertical Chain Dimensions, Align Oblique Chain Dimensions, Cascade Horizontal Dimensions, Cascade Vertical Dimensions, Cascade Oblique Dimensions, Area Annotation, Arc Length Annotation, Customize Format Label
- Centerlines/Threading: Circle Centerlines, Bolt Circle Centerlines, Cosmetic Thread Hole Side View, Cosmetic Thread Hole Bottom View, Cosmetic Thread Bolt Side View, Cosmetic Thread Bolt Bottom View, Cosmetic Intersection Vertices, Offset Vertex, Cosmetic 1 Point Circle, Cosmetic 2 Point Circle, Cosmetic 3 Point Circle, Cosmetic Arc, Cosmetic Parallel Line, Cosmetic Perpendicular Line
- Format/Organize Dimensions Horizontal Chain Dimension, Vertical Chain Dimension, Oblique Chain Dimension, Horizontal Coordinate Dimension, Vertical Coordinate Dimension, Oblique Coordinate Dimension, Horizontal Chamfer Dimension, Vertical Chamfer Dimension, Arc Length Dimension, Insert '⌀' Prefix, Insert '□' Prefix, Insert 'n×' Prefix, Remove Prefix, Increase Decimal Places, Decrease Decimal Places
- Annotations: Text Annotation, Rich Text Annotation, Balloon Annotation, Axonometric Length Dimension
- Add Lines: Leader Line, Centerline on Face, Centerline Between 2 Lines, Centerline Between 2 Points, Cosmetic Line Through 2 points, Edit Line Appearance, Toggle Edge Visibility
- Add Vertices: Cosmetic Vertex, Midpoint Vertices, Quadrant Vertices
- Miscellaneous: Remove Cosmetic Object
- Additional: Line Groups, Templates, Hatching, Geometric dimensioning and tolerancing, Preferences
- Getting started
- Installation: Download, Windows, Linux, Mac, Additional components, Docker, AppImage, Ubuntu Snap
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