TechDraw ProjectionGroup

Description
The ProjectionGroup tool creates a multiview projection of one or more 3D objects. The isometric views of the 4 front corners can also be included.

If you only want to produce a single view, there is no advantage in using ProjectionGroup; you should then use Insert View instead. If you do not wish to use the traditional first- / third-angle projection, you should use multiple Views (Insert View) instead of ProjectionGroup.



Usage

 * 1) Optionally rotate the 3D view. The camera direction in the 3D view determines the initial value of the  of the Projection Group (the  property of the central view).
 * 2) Select one or more objects in the 3D view or Tree view.
 * 3) If there are multiple drawing pages in the document: optionally add the desired page to the selection by selecting it in the Tree view. This is not optional for.
 * 4) There are several ways to invoke the tool:
 * 5) * Press the button.
 * 6) * Select the option from the menu.
 * 7) If there are multiple drawing pages in the document and you have not yet selected a page, the  dialog box opens:
 * 8) Select the desired page.
 * 9) Press the  button.
 * 10) The  task panel opens.
 * 11) Select which views should appear in the Projection Group, and the Projection Group's scale and other parameters.
 * 12) Press the  button.
 * 13) Optionally move the Projection Group by dragging its central view.
 * 14) Optionally move the Projection Group's other views relative to the central view by dragging them individually.



Properties

 * : The central view in the group. Normally the Front view.
 * : "First Angle" or Third Angle".
 * : If true, space out individual views automatically. Use false to position manually.
 * : Horizontal space between views when automatically positioned. Note that Scale and the size of other views in the group also influence the spacing.
 * : Vertical space between views when automatically positioned.

The ProjectionGroup as a whole inherits X, Y, ScaleType, Scale and Rotation from the basic View.

Individual Views within the group inherit all part view properties, but the ProjectionGroup object controls the scale of all its member Views.

The RotationVector property of individual Views within the group is deprecated as of v0.19. Use XDirection instead.

Note that the central box displays the current projection direction of the primary view. It cannot be used to change the direction.

Scripting
TechDraw API and FreeCAD Scripting Basics.

The NewProjGroup tool can be used in macros and from the Python console. A full script is available in the Source distribution in "source-dir/src/Mod/TechDraw/TDTest/DProjGroupTest.py".

Programming note: The Projection Group should always be added to the Page (ex. page.addView(group) before adding projections to the Group. This allows the Projection Group to use default parameter values derived from the parent page.