Book Image

Getting Started with DraftSight

By : JOAO ANTONIO C DOS SANTOS
Book Image

Getting Started with DraftSight

By: JOAO ANTONIO C DOS SANTOS

Overview of this book

Computer-aided design (CAD) uses computer systems to assist in the creation, modification, and analysis of a design. DraftSight is a 2D computer-aided design (CAD) software application. DraftSight includes all the main tools to draft with precision, and it works with DWG files, the most popular CAD file type. It runs on a wide variety of operating systems, including Windows, Mac, and Linux. Getting Started with DraftSight addresses all the main phases for executing and printing a mechanical project. These concepts and commands can easily be applied to other areas. Beginning with the very basic concepts, and going through all the necessary drawing steps, you will finish by printing a full scale mechanical drawing. The illustrative examples will help you understand the design process and teach you how to utilize DraftSight features in your mechanical design projects. You will start with an overview of the mechanical design process, which will help you understand the different commands, tools, and tasks involved in DraftSight projects. You will then proceed to executing all the phases of the design process. This includes setting up a drawing, drawing and editing with precision, organizing with layers, and finally obtaining valid information from the drawing. Furthermore, you will also learn to apply fills, patterns, and dimensions, and the process of defining and printing sheets. With "GettingStarted with DraftSight" you will learn how to specify and document parts and print drawings with the help of DraftSight. Towards the end of this book you will be introduced to some advanced concepts like additional layer commands, and methods to reference other drawings or images, which can be very useful when dealing with complex projects.
Table of Contents (18 chapters)
Getting Started with DraftSight
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Opening, saving, and closing drawings


The OPEN command (shortcut Ctrl + O, on the Standard toolbar or File main menu) opens a drawing in formats DWG or DXF. Also, it allows opening template files, DWT extension, to edit these.

It only displays a standard file dialog box to select the file, including a preview area.

Note

DraftSight allows several open drawings. To activate another open drawing, we may press Ctrl + Tab or apply the Window main menu and select the drawing by its name.

When saving drawings, there are two commands depending on whether or not you want to modify the name or location.

The SAVE command (shortcut Ctrl + S, on the Standard toolbar, or File main menu) saves the current drawing, maintaining its format, name and location. If the current drawing has no name, the next command is automatically applied.

If we want to modify the name, location, type of file, or version, the SAVEAS command (shortcut Ctrl + Shift + S or the File main menu) must be used. This command displays a standard file dialog box and we can specify name, location and type/version of drawing file. On the Save as type list, as displayed on next image, there are several possibilities covering all DWG and DXF versions for last twenty years. Saving as a template, DWT file is also available.

Note

There is a third command to save drawings, called SAVEALL (no alias and not on menus). This one allows us to save all open drawings at once.

To close the current drawing without closing DraftSight, the CLOSE command (File main menu)should be applied. This is equivalent of pressing the lower X button on the upper-right corner of the user interface. If the drawing has modifications that have not yet been saved, a warning box is displayed, reminding us to save the drawing.

The CLOSEALL command (Window main menu) allows us to close all drawings without closing DraftSight. To each drawing that has modifications not yet saved, a warning box is displayed, allowing us to save that drawing.

To quit DraftSight, the EXIT command should be used. This is the equivalent of pressing the upper X button on the upper-right corner of the user interface. If any drawing has modifications that have not yet been saved, a warning box is displayed, allowing us to save that drawing.