Sketcher Preferences

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Revision as of 09:37, 17 April 2023 by Roy 043 (talk | contribs) (→‎Grid)
This documentation is a work in progress. Please don't mark it as translatable since it will change in the next hours and days.
This page is currently being updated for the coming v0.21/1.0 release.

The preferences for the Sketcher Workbench can be found in the Preferences Editor. In the menu select Edit → Preferences... and then Sketcher.

There are four tabs: General, Grid, Display and Colors.

General

On the General tab you can specify the following:

Name Description
Show section 'Advanced solver control' If checked, the sketcher dialog will show the section Advanced solver control to adjust solver settings.
Improve solving while dragging If checked, a special solver algorithm will be used while dragging sketch elements. This avoids that the sketch flips around while dragging. It is an improvement for most cases, however for complex sketches this option can increase the time to solve the sketch.
Auto remove redundants If checked, new constraints that are redundant are automatically removed.
Esc can leave sketch edit mode If checked, Esc key will trigger exiting sketch editing mode. The option to disable this may be useful for users who are used to pressing Esc as part of their workflow in other CAD solutions but don't necessarily want to exit a sketch.
Notify automatic constraint substitutions If checked, you will be informed with a dialog about constraint substitutions. For example if the endpoints of two arcs are connected with the coincident constraint and you reconnect the arcs using the tangent constraint, the coincidence constraint will be substituted by the tangent constraint and you will get a popup dialog to telling you this.

Grid

On the Grid tab (introduced in version 1.0) you can specify the following:

Name Description
Grid If checked, a grid will be shown while the sketch is in edit mode.
Grid Auto Spacing If checked, grid spacing is automatically adapted based on the view dimensions.
Grid spacing The distance between two subsequent grid lines. Used as a base value if Grid Auto Spacing is enabled.
Pixel size threshold The grid spacing threshold in pixels. Only used if Grid Auto Spacing is enabled. If the onscreen spacing is smaller than this value, physical grid spacing is multiplied by the Major grid lines every value. If the onscreen spacing is larger than the threshold value times the every value, physical grid spacing is divided by the every value. If the every value is set to 1, 10 is used in these calculations.
Minor grid lines For minor grid lines you can specify:
  • Line pattern
  • Line width
  • Line color
Major grid lines For major grid lines you can specify:
  • Major grid lines every: The number of squares between major grid lines. Set to 1 to disable major grid lines.
  • Line pattern
  • Line width
  • Line color

Display

On the Display tab you can specify the following:

Name Description
Font size The font size used for the labels and constraints in the sketch.
View scale ratio introduced in version 1.0 The 3D view is scaled based on this factor.
Segments per geometry Curves are approximated by polygon segments for visualization. The segments per geometry define the number of polygons for the approximation. The lower limit are 50 segments. Higher values refine the visualization but can lead to longer calculation times, especially for B-splines.
Ask for value after creating a dimensional constraint If checked, a dialog will pop up to input a value for new dimensional constraints.
Geometry creation "Continue Mode" If checked, the current sketcher creation tool will remain active after the creation. If you use for example the line tool , it will remain active after you created a line with it. You can leave the tool any time by right-clicking into the sketch.
Constraint creation "Continue Mode" If checked, the current constraint creation tool will remain active after the creation. If you use for example the tangent tool , it will remain active after you created a constraint. You can leave the tool any time by right-clicking into the sketch.
Hide base length units for supported unit systems If checked, base length units will not be displayed in the sketch constraints. The actual base length unit is the one of the selected unit system.
Show coordinates beside cursor while editing introduced in version 1.0 If checked, cursor coordinates are displayed beside the cursor while editing a sketch.
Use system decimals setting for cursor coordinates introduced in version 1.0 If checked, cursor coordinates will use the system decimals setting instead of the short form.
Show dimensional constraint name with format introduced in version 1.0 If checked, the names of dimensional constraints (if available) are displayed using the given format:
  • %N: Parameter name.
  • %V: Dimension value.
Hide all objects that depend on the sketch If checked, all features that depend the sketch will be hidden when the sketch is opened. Note that the effect of this option might not occur when using the option Show objects used for external geometry and/or Show object(s) sketch is attached to.
Show objects used for external geometry If checked, all objects used for an external geometry will be shown. If you edit for example a sketch that uses the geometry of a pad, this pad will be shown (if not already). Other features in the model tree between the pad and the sketch will not necessarily be shown.
Show objects that the sketch is attached to If checked, objects the sketch is attached to will be shown when the sketch is opened. If you attached for example a sketch to a pocket, this pocket will be shown (if not already). Otherwise you will only see the sketch if the pocket was not shown in advance.
Restore camera position after editing If checked, the camera position is moved back to where it was before sketch was opened.
Force orthographic camera when entering edit introduced in version 0.20 If checked, camera mode will be forced to orthographic when opening a sketch for edit. Camera mode will be restored when leaving edit mode. This preference is available only if Restore camera position after editing is activated.
Open sketch in Section View mode introduced in version 0.20 If checked, when editing a sketch, it will by default open with 'Section View' active.
Apply to existing sketches If pressed, the Visibility automation settings will be applied to existing sketches too. Otherwise they will only be used for new sketches.

Colors

On the Colors tab you can specify the following colors. Unless otherwise stated the colors are only used while a sketch is in edit mode.

Name Description
Creating line The color used for sketch elements while they are being created.
Coordinate text The color used for the coordinates displayed while creating sketch elements.
Cursor crosshair The color used for the crosshair cursor displayed while creating sketch elements.
Edge The colors used for constrained and unconstrained edges.
Vertex The colors used for constrained and unconstrained vertices (points).
Construction geometry The colors used for constrained and unconstrained construction geometry.
Internal alignment edge The colors used for constrained and unconstrained internal alignment edges.
External geometry The color used for external geometry.
Fully constrained Sketch The color used for a fully constrained sketch.
Invalid Sketch The color used for an invalid sketch.
Constraint symbols The color used for driving geometric constraints.
Dimensional constraint The color used for driving dimensional constraints.
Reference constraint The color used for reference dimensional constraints.
Expression dependent constraint The color used for expression dependent dimensional constraints.
Deactivated constraint The color used for deactivated constraints.
Colors outside Sketcher: Edge The color used for edges when not in edit mode.
Colors outside Sketcher: Vertex The color used for vertices (points) when not in edit mode.

Hint: The color for selections inside sketches is the global selection setting Enable selection highlighting, see the Preferences Editor.

Note

There is another preference that has an influence on sketches. If the Transparent objects preference on the Display → 3D View tab is set to Backface pass, the arrowheads on one end of sketcher dimensions are hidden if Show grid is deactivated in the Edit controls section of the Task panel. This applies to FreeCAD version 0.19, version 0.20 and recent development versions (up to 0.21-30058, at least) except Link branch.

Front view, grid enabled and grid disabled

Rear view, grid enabled and grid disabled hiding arrowheads on the opposite end as well as the dimension value