Draft SelectPlane

Description
The Draft SelectPlane command selects the current Draft working plane. This is the plane in the 3D view where new Draft objects are created. A new working plane can be based on one of several presets or on a selection. The selection can be created before (pre-selection) or after (post-selection) starting the command.


 * For each 3D view a separate working plane is stored.

The button in the Draft Tray changes depending on the current working plane. : If the working plane is not set to an asterisk  is appended to the button label if the origin of the working plane does not match the global origin.



Usage with pre-selection

 * 1) Do one of the following:
 * 2) * Select a single object. The following objects are supported:
 * 3) ** Draft WorkingPlaneProxies: the (the camera position) and the  (the saved visibility of objects) of the working plane proxy are also restored.
 * 4) ** Arch Axes
 * 5) ** Arch AxisSystems
 * 6) ** Arch BuildingParts
 * 7) ** Arch SectionPlanes
 * 8) ** Std Parts: to avoid selecting subelements it is advisable to select these in the Tree view.
 * 9) ** Non-solid objects that consist of a single flat face or a single curved edge, or that have three or more vertices.
 * 10) ** Solid objects or objects without a shape that have a property.
 * 11) * Select one or more subelements. You can select:
 * 12) ** A flat face.
 * 13) ** A curved edge.
 * 14) ** Three vertices.
 * 15) ** An edge and a vertex, or two edges. The combined vertices must define a plane.
 * 16) There are several ways to invoke the command:
 * 17) * Press the button in the Draft Tray.
 * 18) * Select the option from the menu.
 * 19) * Use the keyboard shortcut: then.
 * 20) The working plane and the button in the Draft Tray are updated.

Usage with post-selection

 * 1) There are several ways to invoke the command:
 * 2) * Press the button in the Draft Tray.
 * 3) * Select the option from the menu.
 * 4) * Use the keyboard shortcut: then.
 * 5) The  task panel opens. See Options for more information.
 * 6) Do one of the following:
 * 7) * Select a single object. See the previous paragraph.
 * 8) * Select one or more subelements. See the previous paragraph.
 * 9) Click anywhere in the 3D view to confirm the selection and finish the command.
 * 10) The working plane and the button in the Draft Tray are updated.

Usage with presets

 * 1) There are several ways to invoke the command:
 * 2) * Press the button in the Draft Tray.
 * 3) * Select the option from the menu.
 * 4) * Use the keyboard shortcut: then.
 * 5) The  task panel opens. See Options for more information.
 * 6) Press any of the buttons to finish the command.
 * 7) The working plane and the button in the Draft Tray are updated.

Options

 * Press the button to align the working plane with the XY plane of the global coordinate system.
 * Press the button to align the working plane with the XZ plane of the global coordinate system.
 * Press the button to align the working plane with the YZ plane of the global coordinate system.
 * Press the button to align the working plane with the current 3D view. If the  checkbox is unchecked the working plane origin will match the origin of the global coordinate system, else it will match the center of the current 3D view.
 * Press the button to automatically align the working plane with the current 3D view whenever a Draft or Arch command requiring point input is started. This is equivalent to pressing the  button before using the command.
 * The defines the perpendicular distance between the calculated plane and the actual working plane.
 * Check the checkbox to put the origin of the working plane in the center of to the current 3D view. This option really only makes sense if the  button is used.
 * Select a vertex in the 3D view and press the button to move the working plane so that its origin matches the position of the selected vertex.
 * The defines the distance between grid lines.
 * The value determines where main grid lines are drawn. Main grid lines are slightly thicker than normal grid lines. For example if the grid spacing is  and there is a main line every, such a line will occur every.
 * The value determines the number of grid lines in the X and Y direction of the grid.
 * The is the maximum distance at which Draft Snap Grid detects the intersections of grid lines.
 * Press the button to use the origin of the current working plane as the center of the 3D view.
 * Press the button to reset the working plane to its previous position.
 * Press the button to reset the working plane to its next position.
 * Press or the  button to abort the command.

Preferences
See also: Preferences Editor and Draft Preferences.


 * The grid settings in the task panel as well as several other grid settings are available as preferences:.
 * To use the grid the option must be selected. After changing this preference you must restart FreeCAD.
 * The Snapping radius can also be changed on-the-fly (see Draft Snap) or by changing:.

Scripting
See also: Autogenerated API documentation and FreeCAD Scripting Basics.

If the Draft Workbench is active the FreeCAD application object has a property which stores the current Draft working plane. You can access this property and apply transformations to it:

It is also possible to create planes independently of the Draft working plane. This can be useful for calculations and projections: