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= FreeCAD =
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== Introduction ==
This is the documentation wiki of [http://www.freecadweb.org FreeCAD]. There are several ways to use this documentation: by exploring the hubs, by following the manual, or by using the Help menu entries from within FreeCAD. This is a work in progress, written by the community of users and developers of FreeCAD. If you find information that is wrong or missing, please [[Special:MyLanguage/help_FreeCAD|help FreeCAD]]!
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== The hubs == <!--T:3-->
{{downloads}}


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{{screenshot|freecad010.png|a screenshot showing version 0.10}}
[[Image:Crystal_Clear_app_display.png|64px|left]] [[User_hub|Users hub]]: This page contains documentation useful for FreeCAD users in general: a list of all the workbenches, detailed instructions on how to install and use the FreeCAD application, tutorials, and all you need to get started.
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[[Image:Crystal Clear app terminal.png|64px|left]] [[Power_users_hub|Power users hub]]: This page gathers documentation for advanced users and people interested in writing Python scripts. There you will also find a repository of macros, instructions on how to install and use them, and more information about customizing FreeCAD to your specific needs.
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[[Image:Crystal Clear app tutorials.png|64px|left]] [[Developer_hub|Developers hub]]: This section contains material for developers: How to compile FreeCAD yourself, how the FreeCAD source code is structured, how to navigate the source code, how to develop new workbenches, and embed FreeCAD in your own application.
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== Manual == <!--T:5-->
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[[Image:Crystal_Clear_manual.png|64px|left]] [[Manual:Introduction|The FreeCAD manual]] is another, more linear way to present the information contained in this wiki. It is designed to be read like a book, and will gently introduce you to many other pages from the hubs above. [https://www.gitbook.com/book/yorikvanhavre/a-freecad-manual/details ebook versions] are also available, as well as [https://www.freecadweb.org/manual/ a couple of translations in pdf format].
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== Table of contents == <!--T:15-->
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The Table of contents is available in several languages:
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{|border="0" width="100%" style="background:transparent;"
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* [[Image:Flag-en.jpg]] [[Online Help Toc|Table of contents]]
* [[Image:Flag-bg.jpg]] [[Online Help Toc/bg|Съдържание]]
* [[Image:Flag-cn.jpg‎]] [[Online_Help_Toc/zh|目錄]] zh
* [[Image:Flag-cn.jpg]] [[Online Help Toc/zh-cn|目录]] zh-cn
* [[Image:Flag-cn.jpg‎]] [[Online_Help_Toc/zh-tw|目錄]] zh-tw
* [[Image:Flag-cs.jpg]] [[Online Help Toc/cs|Obsah]]
* [[Image:Flag-de.jpg]] [[Online Help Toc/de|Inhaltsverzeichnis]]
* [[Image:Flag-es.jpg]] [[Online Help Toc/es|Índice de contenidos]]
||
* [[Image:Flag-fr.jpg]] [[Online Help Toc/fr|Table des matières]]
* [[Image:Flag-hr.jpg]] [[Online Help Toc/hr|Sadržaj]]
* [[Image:Flag-id.jpg]] [[Online Help Toc/id|Daftar isi]]
* [[Image:Flag-it.jpg]] [[Online Help Toc/it|Sommario]]
* [[Image:Flag-jp.jpg]] [[Online Help Toc/ja|目次]] ja
* [[Image:Flag-ko.jpg]] [[Online Help Toc/ko|온라인 도움말]]
* [[Image:Flag-pl.jpg]] [[Online Help Toc/pl|Spis Treści]]
||
* [[Image:Flag-pt.jpg]] [[Online Help Toc/pt|Tabela de conteúdos]] pt
* [[Image:Flag-pt-br.jpg]] [[Online Help Toc/pt-br|Índice]] pt-br
* [[Image:Flag-ro.jpg]] [[Online_Help_Toc/ro|Cuprins]]
* [[Image:Flag-ru.jpg]] [[Online Help Toc/ru|Содержание]]
* [[Image:Flag-sv.jpg]] [[Online Help Toc/sv|Innehallsforteckning]]
* [[Image:Flag-tr.jpg]] [[Online Help Toc/tr|İçindekiler]]
* [[Image:Flag-uk.jpg]] [[Online Help Toc/uk|Вміст]]
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== Get involved == <!--T:7-->
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=== How to participate === <!--T:8-->
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There is plenty to do inside the FreeCAD project, if you are interested in helping us. Of course, there are programming tasks for C++ or Python programmers, but there are also many things you can do even if you cannot code, such as
* writing documentation and [[WikiPages|editing the wiki (en)]]
* helping newcomers
* translating the application and documentation
* helping with the packaging of the latest release of FreeCAD for your favourite operating system
* helping other people around you to discover FreeCAD.


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'''FreeCAD''' is a general purpose [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source Open Source] 3D [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAD CAD/MCAD]/[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAx CAx]/[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer-aided_engineering CAE]/[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_Lifecycle_Management PLM] modeler, aimed directly at [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanical_engineering mechanical engineering] and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_design product design] but also fits in a wider range of uses around engineering, such as architecture or other engineering specialties. It is a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parametric_feature_based_modeler feature-based parametric modeler] with a modular software architecture which makes it easy to provide additional functionality without modifying the core system.
The [[Special:MyLanguage/help_FreeCAD|help FreeCAD]] page describes it all with more details. Starting from 2016, FreeCAD also participates in the [[Google_Summer_of_Code|Google Summer of Code]].


=== Source code === <!--T:10-->
FreeCAD is based on [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_CASCADE OpenCasCade], a powerful geometry kernel, features an [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Inventor Open Inventor]-compliant 3D scene representation model provided by the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coin3D Coin 3D] library, and a broad [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Python_(programming_language) python] API. The interface is built with [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qt_(framework) Qt]. FreeCAD runs exactly the same way on Windows, Mac OSX and Linux platforms.


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[[About FreeCAD|Learn more here...]]
FreeCAD can be compiled on all platforms using [https://cmake.org/ CMake]. The source code is [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GNU_Lesser_General_Public_License LGPL]-licensed and hosted on [https://github.com/FreeCAD/FreeCAD GitHub] and mirrored on [https://gitlab.com/freecad/FreeCAD GitLab], [https://sourceforge.net/projects/free-cad/ SourceForge] and [https://codeberg.org/FreeCAD/FreeCAD CodeBerg]. There are build instructions for [[Compile_on_Windows|Windows]], [[Compile_on_Linux|Linux]] and [[Compile_on_MacOS|MacOS]]. The source code documentation is [http://www.freecadweb.org/api/ hosted here], generated by [[Doxygen|Doxygen]], and [[Source_documentation|documented on the wiki]].


=== About the development === <!--T:12-->
== Key features ==


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[[Image:Feature1.jpg|left]] A complete [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_CASCADE OpenCasCade]-based '''geometry kernel''' allowing complex 3D operations on complex shape types, and supports natively concepts like brep, nurbs, booleans operations or fillets {{clear}}
Check the [[Development roadmap|Development roadmap]] for news about what is being planned, the [http://www.freecadweb.org/tracker/changelog_page.php Changelog] and [http://www.freecadweb.org/tracker/roadmap_page.php Roadmap] pages on the [http://www.freecadweb.org/tracker FreeCAD tracker] to see the progress towards next release, or the [http://www.ohloh.net/p/freecad Project statistics] for even more information about the FreeCAD codebase. All the development communication happens on the [http://forum.freecadweb.org forum], so be sure to visit it if you are interested in participating.


[[Image:Feature6.jpg|left]] A '''modular architecture''' that allow plugins (modules) to add functionality to the core application. Those extensions can be as complex as whole new applications or as simple as python scripts or self-recorded macros {{clear}}


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[[Image:Feature3.jpg|left]] A full '''parametric model''' allowing any type of parameter-driven custom objects, that can even be fully programmed in python {{clear}}
{{Userdocnavi{{#translation:}}}}

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[[Image:Feature4.jpg|left]] Complete access from '''python''' built-in interpreter, macros or external scripts to almost any part of FreeCAD, being geometry creation and transformation, the 2D or 3D representation of that geometry (scenegraph) or even the FreeCAD interface {{clear}}

[[Image:Feature5.jpg|left]] Import/export to '''standard formats''' such as [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_10303 STEP], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IGES IGES], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obj OBJ], [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dxf DXF] or [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svg SVG] {{clear}}

== In development ==

[[Image:Feature7.jpg|left]] A [[Sketcher Module|Sketcher]] with constraint-solver, allowing to sketch geometry-constrained 2D shapes {{clear}}

[[Image:Feature8.jpg|left]] A [[Drawing Module|Drawing sheets]] module that permit to put 2D views of your 3D models on a sheet {{clear}}

[[Image:Feature9.jpg|left]] A [[Robot Module|Robot simulation]] module that allows to study robot movements {{clear}}
[[Image:Feature10.jpg|left]] A [[Raytracing Module|Rendering]] module that can export 3D objects for rendering with external renderers {{clear}}

== News ==

{{FreeCAD News}}
[[News|older news]]

</div>

__NOTOC__

Latest revision as of 21:46, 18 September 2023

Introduction

This is the documentation wiki of FreeCAD. There are several ways to use this documentation: by exploring the hubs, by following the manual, or by using the Help menu entries from within FreeCAD. This is a work in progress, written by the community of users and developers of FreeCAD. If you find information that is wrong or missing, please help FreeCAD!

The hubs

Users hub: This page contains documentation useful for FreeCAD users in general: a list of all the workbenches, detailed instructions on how to install and use the FreeCAD application, tutorials, and all you need to get started.

Power users hub: This page gathers documentation for advanced users and people interested in writing Python scripts. There you will also find a repository of macros, instructions on how to install and use them, and more information about customizing FreeCAD to your specific needs.

Developers hub: This section contains material for developers: How to compile FreeCAD yourself, how the FreeCAD source code is structured, how to navigate the source code, how to develop new workbenches, and embed FreeCAD in your own application.

Manual

The FreeCAD manual is another, more linear way to present the information contained in this wiki. It is designed to be read like a book, and will gently introduce you to many other pages from the hubs above. ebook versions are also available, as well as a couple of translations in pdf format.

Table of contents

The Table of contents is available in several languages:

Get involved

How to participate

There is plenty to do inside the FreeCAD project, if you are interested in helping us. Of course, there are programming tasks for C++ or Python programmers, but there are also many things you can do even if you cannot code, such as

  • writing documentation and editing the wiki (en)
  • helping newcomers
  • translating the application and documentation
  • helping with the packaging of the latest release of FreeCAD for your favourite operating system
  • helping other people around you to discover FreeCAD.

The help FreeCAD page describes it all with more details. Starting from 2016, FreeCAD also participates in the Google Summer of Code.

Source code

FreeCAD can be compiled on all platforms using CMake. The source code is LGPL-licensed and hosted on GitHub and mirrored on GitLab, SourceForge and CodeBerg. There are build instructions for Windows, Linux and MacOS. The source code documentation is hosted here, generated by Doxygen, and documented on the wiki.

About the development

Check the Development roadmap for news about what is being planned, the Changelog and Roadmap pages on the FreeCAD tracker to see the progress towards next release, or the Project statistics for even more information about the FreeCAD codebase. All the development communication happens on the forum, so be sure to visit it if you are interested in participating.