Interface Customization
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Introduction
Since FreeCAD interface is based on the modern Qt toolkit, it has a state-of-the-art organization. Widgets, menus, toolbars and other tools can be modified, moved, shared between workbenches, keyboard shortcuts can be set, modified, and macros can be recorded and played.
The Interface Customization dialog
Usage
The customization window is accessed from the Tools → Customize menu.
Customization tabs
The Commands tab lets you browse all available FreeCAD commands, organized by their category.
In Keyboard, you can see the keyboard shortcuts associated with every FreeCAD command, and if you want, modify or assign new shortcut to any command. This is where to come if you use a particular workbench often, and would like to speed up its use by using the keyboard.
The Toolbars and Toolbox bars tabs let you modify existing toolbars, or create your own custom toolbars.
Under the tab Worksbenches (Workbenches) the workbenches existing in FreeCAD are listed, on the left the currently passive, on the right the currently active workspaces. The status can be changed with the horizontal arrows.
Under the tab Toolbars (Toolbars) on the left are the same command categories as under the map Commands. After clicking on a category the corresponding commands appear, which can be copied to the right side. Before you do this, select an active workspace to which you want to add an individual toolbar. First select a name for this toolbar with New (New...) before copying commands over to it. When this workspace is called later, this bar must be activated: View → Toolbars.
Remark: If "Global" (instead of a workspace) is selected on the right, the added toolbar can be activated in each workspace.
The Macros tab lets you manage your saved Macros.
Create your Toolbars for your macro Customize Toolbars
Since FreeCAD 0.16 a new tool is available that lets you manage your workbenches.
Example
For an example workflow lets suppose we want to have the "Measure Linear" tool also show up in a custom toolbar in the Draft Workbench.
- in FreeCAD choose Tools → Customize from the top menu
- select the "Toolbars" tab
- on the left side choose "Part" in the pull down menu
- on the left side in the lower window scroll down to the "Measure Linear" entry and select it
- on the right side choose "Draft" in the pull down menu
- click on New... to create a new toolbar and choose a name for it
- now select your destination toolbar in the right lower window (only needed if you have more than one toolbar)
- by clicking on the blue "Arrow right" (top icon in the middle row) you will add your selected entry to the selected toolbar
Remarks
When selecting "Global" in the pull down menu on the right side you will create a toolbar which will be visible in all workbenches.
For adding an installed macro to a toolbar you must
- select "Macros" in the pull down menu on the left side
- have assigned menu text, icon (Pixmap) and so on using the Tools → Customize → Macros menu
Addons
There are other ways to customize the FreeCAD interface using its robust modular Addon repository through the Addon Manager. There are several Addons that allow for improved UI/UX. Below are some options created by users in the FreeCAD community.
Glass
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny31diN1ZhM
PieMenu
- Github repository:
Launcher
- Github repository: https://github.com/triplus/Launcher
ShortCut
- Github repository: https://github.com/triplus/ShortCuts
RemBench
- Github repository: https://github.com/triplus/RemBench
IconThemes
- Github repository: https://github.com/triplus/IconThemes
CubeMenu
- Github repository: https://github.com/triplus/CubeMenu
- File: New, Open, Close, Close All, Save, Save As, Save a Copy, Save All, Revert, Import, Export,Merge project, Project information, Print, Print preview, Export PDF, Recent files, Exit
- Edit: Undo, Redo, Cut, Copy, Paste, Duplicate selection, Refresh, Box selection, Box element selection, Select All, Delete, Send to Python Console, Placement, Transform, Alignment, Toggle Edit mode, Edit mode, Preferences
- View:
- Miscellaneous: Create new view, Orthographic view, Perspective view, Fullscreen, Bounding box, Toggle axis cross, Clipping plane, Texture mapping, Toggle navigation/Edit mode, Appearance, Random color, Workbench, Status bar
- Standard views: Fit all, Fit selection, Isometric, Dimetric, Trimetric, Home, Front, Top, Right, Rear, Bottom, Left, Rotate Left, Rotate Right
- Freeze display: Save views, Load views, Freeze view, Clear views
- Draw style: As is, Points, Wireframe, Hidden line, No shading, Shaded, Flat lines
- Stereo: Stereo red/cyan, Stereo quad buffer, Stereo Interleaved Rows, Stereo Interleaved Columns, Stereo Off, Issue camera position
- Zoom: Zoom In, Zoom Out, Box zoom
- Document window: Docked, Undocked, Fullscreen
- Visibility: Toggle visibility, Show selection, Hide selection, Select visible objects, Toggle all objects, Show all objects, Hide all objects, Toggle selectability
- Toolbars: File, Edit, Clipboard, Workbench, Macro, View, Structure, Help
- Panels: Tree view, Property view, Selection view, Tasks, Python console, DAG view, Model, Report view
- Link navigation: Go to linked object, Go to the deepest linked object, Select all links
- Tree view actions: Sync view, Sync selection, Sync placement, Pre-selection, Record selection, Single document, Multi document, Collapse/Expand, Initiate dragging, Go to selection, Selection Back, Selection Forward
- Tools: Edit parameters, Save image, Load image, Scene inspector, Dependency graph, Project utility, Measure distance, Add text document, View turntable, Units calculator, Customize, Addon manager
- Macro: Macro recording, Macros, Recent macros, Execute macro, Attach to remote debugger, Debug macro, Stop debugging, Step over, Step into, Toggle breakpoint
- Help: Help, FreeCAD Website, Donate, Users documentation, Python scripting documentation, Automatic Python modules documentation, FreeCAD Forum, FreeCAD FAQ, Report a bug, About FreeCAD, What's This
- Getting started
- Installation: Download, Windows, Linux, Mac, Additional components, Docker, AppImage, Ubuntu Snap
- Basics: About FreeCAD, Interface, Mouse navigation, Selection methods, Object name, Preferences, Workbenches, Document structure, Properties, Help FreeCAD, Donate
- Help: Tutorials, Video tutorials
- Workbenches: Std Base, Assembly, BIM, CAM, Draft, FEM, Inspection, Mesh, OpenSCAD, Part, PartDesign, Points, Reverse Engineering, Robot, Sketcher, Spreadsheet, Surface, TechDraw, Test Framework
- Hubs: User hub, Power users hub, Developer hub