Release notes 0.22

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Revision as of 03:56, 29 November 2023 by TheMarkster (talk | contribs) (Add Part Mirroring reference mirror plane)


FreeCAD 0.22 is under development, there is no expected released date yet.

Are features missing? Mention them in the Release notes for v0.22 forum thread.

See Help FreeCAD for ways to contribute to FreeCAD.

All images on this page must use the _relnotes_0.22 suffix


FreeCAD 0.22 was released on D Month 2024, get it from the Download page. This page lists all new features and changes.

Older FreeCAD release notes can be found in the Feature list.

Placeholder for an eye-catching image selected by the admins from the user showcases forum.

General

User interface

A rotation center indicator has been added. This indicator is shown when the view is rotated by dragging the mouse. It can optionally be disabled in the preferences. There are also settings for its color, transparency and size.

Pull request #9909 and Pull request #10790


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Selection filters were added, facilitating the selection of vertices, edges and faces.

Pull request #10271

For more flexibility, the task panel is now a a stand-alone dockable widget but the old layout has been kept as the default.

Pull request #10681 and Pull request #10848

The appearance of the Transform tool dragger has been improved. It now also has a set of planar draggers for moving objects along the 3 default planes.

Pull request #10706

Realthunder's feature allowing for the overlay of dock widgets (tree and task transparency) has been added.

Pull request #7888

The light source position can now be set in in the preferences (Preferences → Display).

Pull request #11146

Further user interface improvements

  • A project unit system was introduced. Pull request #9521
  • The Section Cut tool now also works in a perspective view. Pull request #10143
  • An option to sort workbenches alphabetically (available after right-clicking in Preferences → Workbenches) was added. Pull request #10363
  • A Find file filter and a Find in files filter were added to the Std DlgMacroExecute dialog. Pull request #10714
  • The View menu and the View toolbar have been revised. Pull request #10761
  • The stop button was removed from the Macro toolbar. The record button now switched to a stop button when recording is in progress. Pull request #10836
  • The reset button in the Preferences now shows a menu with options to reset the settings at different levels: all, in the current group or in the current tab. Pull request #10688 and Pull request #11038
  • The Help Module was merged so that it's no longer necessary to download an add-on to make use of it. Pull request #11008
  • Preferences to customize the current theme were added. Pull request #10238
  • Default selection settings were changed to make the selection of objects in the 3D window easier. Pull request #11187
  • A meters-only unit scheme named Meter decimal was added since the MKS (m/kg/s/degree) system doesn't always result in dimensions being displayed in meters - millimeters are still used for values bellow 0.1 m while for some applications (e.g. civil engineering) a unit system that actually changes the display of all dimensions to meters is useful. Pull request #11365
  • Additional marker sizes (20, 25 and 30px) were added to Preferences → Display → 3D View → Marker size in order to assist users of 4K screens. Pull request #11524

Core system and API

Core

API

New Python API

Removed Python API

Addon Manager

Arch Workbench

Further Arch improvements

Draft Workbench

Further Draft improvements

  • Draft Facebinders can now handle faces belonging to links and faces nested in Std Parts. Pull request #11081
  • The tolerance preference was removed and the tolerance function now derives its value from the precision preference. Pull request #11379
  • The Show Draft Snap toolbar and Hide Draft snap toolbar after use preferences were replaced with one Only show the Draft snap toolbar during commands preference. Pull request #11512
  • New Show prompts in the report view preference (disabled by default) was added. Pull request #11503

FEM Workbench

The position of the color legend labels was adjusted to make the top ones less likely to be covered by the navigation cube. The default font and color of the labels was changed to increase the visibility and preferences were added to allow label color and size modification.

Pull request #10552

Further FEM improvements

Export

Material

The material handling system, including the editor, has been completely reworked. Further improvements in this regard will follow.

Pull request #10690

Mesh

Further Mesh improvements

OpenSCAD Workbench

Further OpenSCAD improvements

Part Workbench

Part Scale

Part Scale tool was added to allow for easy scaling of shapes without having to use tools from the Draft Workbench.

Pull request #10583

Part Mirroring

Part Mirror Now supports reference objects, such as a Part Plane for using an arbitrary mirror plane in addition to the standard XY, XZ, and YZ planes.

Pull request #11535

Further Part improvements

PartDesign Workbench

Pad and pocket task panels were improved (reordered UI elements, Select face option hidden when unnecessary and so on).

Pull request #10392

Offset mode was added for linear and polar pattern. The previous mode was renamed Overall Length.

Pull request #10377

Further PartDesign improvements

Path Workbench

Further Path improvements

Plot module

Points Workbench

Further Points improvements

Sketcher Workbench

Implementation of a circle overlay for arcs (to solve the issue of constraints appearing away from them) was completed with a command to switch them.

Pull request #9703


Click on the image if the animation does not start.
Contextual dimension constraint was added to enable quick and intuitive dimensioning with a single versatile tool.

Pull request #9810


Click on the image if the animation does not start.
Tool parameters were added to allow dimensioning on the go (when drawing shapes). Depending on the preference setting On-View-Parameters, they can be disabled, reduced to dimensions only (no initial coordinates) or fully enabled. Moreover, modes were added for the shape tools. They can be selected using the M key or a drop-down list in the task panel. Some tools have additional settings in the form of checkboxes in the task panel and additional keyboard shortcuts. Currently, the new features are available for points, lines, arcs, ellipses, rectangles, polygons and slots. This is a work in progress.

Pull request #11048, Pull request #11174 and following

Offset tool was added to allow offsetting curves.

Pull request #11174

Three-point rectangle mode was added in two versions - 3 corners or center and 2 corners.

Pull request #11174

Arc slot tool was added with two modes (arc ends and flat ends) to allow for the creation of curved slots

Pull request #11174

Further Sketcher improvements

Spreadsheet Workbench

Further Spreadsheet improvements

Start Workbench

A New file section that includes a number of quick-start buttons has been added to the Start Page.

Pull request #10171

The visual design of the Start Page has been overhauled. It now looks more modern and consistent.

Pull request #10391

Further Start improvements

  • The preferences page of the Start Workbench has been re-organized. Pull request #10520
  • There now is a Custom CSS option for the Start Page which allows you to customize the Start Page CSS style from the Start Workbench preferences. Pull request #10520
  • The Hide scrollbars preference has been removed. The scrollbars on the Start Page are now styled according to the theme and are much thinner. Pull request #10520
  • There are now preferences for hiding and changing the size of the file thumbnail icons on the Start Page. Pull request #10410

Surface Workbench

Further Surface improvements

TechDraw Workbench

The CosmeticCircle tool was added to allow for the creation of cosmetic circles by selecting the center and inputting the radius.

Pull request #10763

Further TechDraw improvements

  • Sections based on other sections now use the original (uncut) shape by default. This can be changed in section settings to use the previous section instead. Pull request #10281
  • Cosmetic objects and centerlines can now be deleted by selecting them and pressing the Delete key. Previously, this resulted in the whole view being deleted. Pull request #10695 and Pull request #10813
  • A new, more intuitive icon was added for the WeldSymbol tool. Pull request #10936
  • The behavior of the point + edge mode of the LengthDimension was corrected. Pull request #10860
  • A checked state was added for the ToggleFrame button so that a user can see whether the button is activated or not. Pull request #11240
  • The behavior of the DecorateLine tool was improved. Now double-clicking a line invokes this tool. And line styles are correctly restored if the user presses Cancel. Previously, there was no difference between pressing OK and Cancel. Pull request #11188
  • Color and transparency of faces can now be set per view. Pull request #11315
  • Multiselection mode was added and can be enabled in Preferences. In this mode, multiple vertices, edges and faces can be selected by left-clicking on them, without having to keep the Ctrl key pressed. Pull request #11417
  • ExtensionAreaAnnotation can now calculate areas of arbitrary faces. Pull request #11473

Web Workbench

Further Web improvements

Compilation

Known Limitations