Draft Line

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Draft Line

Menu location
Drafting → Line
Workbenches
Draft, Arch
Default shortcut
L I
Introduced in version
0.7
See also
Draft Wire

Description

The Draft Line command creates a straight line.

Line defined by two points

Usage

See also: Draft Linestyle, Draft Snap and Draft Constrain.

  1. There are several ways to invoke the command:
    • Press the Draft Line button.
    • Select the Drafting → Line option from the menu.
    • Use the keyboard shortcut: L then I.
  2. The Line task panel opens. See Options for more information.
  3. Click the first point in the 3D view, or type coordinates and press the Enter point button.
  4. Click the second point in the 3D view, or type coordinates and press the Enter point button.

Options

The single character keyboard shortcuts available in the task panel can be changed. See Draft Preferences. The shortcuts mentioned here are the default shortcuts.

  • To enter coordinates manually enter the X, Y and Z component, and press Enter after each. Or you can press the Enter point button when you have the desired values. It is advisable to move the cursor out of the 3D view before entering coordinates.
  • You can also use polar coordinates for the second point. Enter values for Length and Angle, and then press the Enter point button.
  • Check the Angle checkbox and enter an angle to constrain the pointer to the specified angle.



  • Press R or click the checkbox to toggle relative mode. If relative mode is on, the coordinates of the second point are relative to the first one; if not, they are absolute, taken from the origin (0,0,0).
  • Press T or click the checkbox to toggle continue mode. If continue mode is on, the Line command will restart after you give the second point, allowing you to draw another line segment without pressing the command button again.
  • Hold Ctrl while drawing to force snapping your point to the nearest snap location, independently of the distance.
  • Hold Shift while drawing to constrain your second point horizontally or vertically in relation to the first one.
  • Press Ctrl+Z or press the Undo button to undo the last point.
  • Press Esc or the Close button to abort the command.

Notes

Properties

A Draft Line is in fact a Draft Wire with only two points and has the same properties.

Scripting

See also: Autogenerated API documentation and FreeCAD Scripting Basics.

To create a Draft Line use the make_line method (introduced in version 0.19) of the Draft module. This method replaces the deprecated makeLine method.

line = make_line(p1, p2)
line = make_line(LineSegment)
line = make_line(Shape)
  • Creates a Line object between points p1 and p2, each defined by its FreeCAD.Vector, with units in millimeters.
  • Creates a Line object from a Part.LineSegment.
  • Creates a Line object from the first vertex to the last vertex of the given Shape.

Example:

import FreeCAD as App
import Draft

doc = App.newDocument()

p1 = App.Vector(0, 0, 0)
p2 = App.Vector(1000, 500, 0)
p3 = App.Vector(-250, -500, 0)
p4 = App.Vector(500, 1000, 0)

line1 = Draft.make_line(p1, p2)
line2 = Draft.make_line(p3, p4)

doc.recompute()