bric s cad training basic

8/12/2019 Bric s Cad Training Basic

1/110

V13 Basic Training


2/110


3/110

i

Table of content

CONTENT OF THE TRAINING PACKAGE ............................................ 11. Documentation ................................................................................................................................. 12. Exercises .......................................................................................................................................... 13. Software ........................................................................................................................................... 1MODULE 1: UNDERSTANDING A DWG-DRAWING ............................. 21. The BricsCAD application window ................................................................................................... 2

Exercise: toggle the display of line weights ..................................................................................... 32. Display of a DWG ............................................................................................................................. 4

Exercise: Modify the layer properties ............................................................................................... 53. The Drawing Explorer ....................................................................................................................... 7

Open the Drawing Explorer .............................................................................................................. 7Check for missing external definitions.............................................................................................. 8Exercise: Exporting a drawing .......................................................................................................... 9

4. Display commands ......................................................................................................................... 11Exercise: View manipulation .......................................................................................................... 12To save a view ............................................................................................................................... 13Exercise: To restore a saved view ................................................................................................. 13

5. Layer commands ............................................................................................................................ 14To open the Layers toolbar ............................................................................................................ 14Switching OFF the display of a layer .............................................................................................. 15Switching all layers ON .................................................................................................................. 16Freezing layers ............................................................................................................................... 16Thaw all layers ............................................................................................................................... 17Locking layers ................................................................................................................................ 17Unlocking layers ............................................................................................................................. 17Isolating layers ............................................................................................................................... 17Undo the isolation of layers ............................................................................................................ 18

6. Layer States ................................................................................................................................... 18Saving a layer state ........................................................................................................................ 18Exercise: To restore a layer state .................................................................................................. 19

7. Paper Space Layouts ..................................................................................................................... 20Checking the properties of a Layout .............................................................................................. 20Check the properties of a viewport ................................................................................................. 21

8. External References ....................................................................................................................... 22Exercise: Check for missing external references ........................................................................... 22

9. Copying between drawings ............................................................................................................ 23Composing a selection set ............................................................................................................. 23To set Selection Preview ................................................................................................................ 23

To select overlapping entities ......................................................................................................... 24Using Copy / Paste to copy entities ............................................................................................... 24To paste the selection at the original coordinates .......................................................................... 24To paste the selection using a base point ...................................................................................... 25To paste a selection as a block ...................................................................................................... 25


4/110

BricsCAD Basic Training

ii

MODULE 2: MEASURING IN A DRAWING ......................................... 261. Entity Snaps ................................................................................................................................... 26

To open the Entity Snaps toolbar ................................................................................................... 26Setting the active Entity Snaps ...................................................................................................... 26

2.

Commands ..................................................................................................................................... 27

To open the Inquiry toolbar ............................................................................................................ 273. Units in a drawing ........................................................................................................................... 28

To check the INSUNITS system variable ....................................................................................... 28Define the linear unit precision ....................................................................................................... 28

4. The Prompt History window ........................................................................................................... 29To copy the content of the Prompt History window ........................................................................ 29

5. Measuring distances and lengths ................................................................................................... 29Check the length of an entity .......................................................................................................... 29To measure the perpendicular distance between a point and a line. ............................................ 29

Adding the lengths of different entities together ............................................................................. 30Measuring the distance between virtual points .............................................................................. 31

6. Measuring areas ............................................................................................................................. 32Measuring an area by picking points .............................................................................................. 32Adding areas together .................................................................................................................... 33

7. Boundary Polyline .......................................................................................................................... 35Creating a boundary polyline ......................................................................................................... 35Creating a boundary polyline using a selection ............................................................................. 35The boundary polyline command options ...................................................................................... 36Boundary Tolerance setting ........................................................................................................... 37

8. Using fields ..................................................................................................................................... 379. Reading coordinates ...................................................................................................................... 39

Reading the coordinates of the vertices of a polyline .................................................................... 39Reading the coordinates of a point ................................................................................................ 39Coordinate systems ........................................................................................................................ 40Check the UCS icon variables ....................................................................................................... 40Moving the origin of the coordinate system.................................................................................... 40Restoring the WCS ......................................................................................................................... 41Reading relative coordinates .......................................................................................................... 41

10. Reading the properties of a selection ............................................................................................. 4211. Creating Dimensions ...................................................................................................................... 43

Terminology .................................................................................................................................... 43Exercise: Floor levels in a cross section ........................................................................................ 45

MODULE 3: PRINTING ........................................................................ 471. General information ........................................................................................................................ 47

General procedure to print a DWG ................................................................................................ 47Een Page Setup definiren ............................................................................................................ 49Creating a page setup for Model Space......................................................................................... 50Een page setup maken voor Paper Space .................................................................................... 51Printing a layout .............................................................................................................................. 52

2. Pen Assignments ........................................................................................................................... 54Check the settings in a CTB ........................................................................................................... 54

3. Adding a new layout ....................................................................................................................... 554. Adding a viewport in a layout ......................................................................................................... 575. Controlling the display in a viewport ............................................................................................... 57

To switch off the display of certain layers in a viewport: ................................................................ 57To control which layers are frozen in a viewport: ........................................................................... 57To rotate the display in a Paper Space viewport: .......................................................................... 59

6. To print a series of drawings or layouts. ........................................................................................ 60Printing a Sheet List ....................................................................................................................... 60

7. Working with Sheet Sets ................................................................................................................ 61Creating a Sheet Set ...................................................................................................................... 61


5/110

Table Of Contents

iii

MODULE 4: 2D-DRAFTING IN BRICSCAD ......................................... 631. System variables and user preferences ......................................................................................... 63

The Settings dialog box .................................................................................................................. 63User Profile ..................................................................................................................................... 64

2. Creating a new drawing.................................................................................................................. 643. Layer managment .......................................................................................................................... 65

To open the layer explorer ............................................................................................................. 65Creating a new layer ...................................................................................................................... 65Merge Layers. ................................................................................................................................ 66

4. Drawing entities .............................................................................................................................. 672D Entiteiten ................................................................................................................................... 67Setting the ByLayer property .......................................................................................................... 67Setting the current layer ................................................................................................................. 67Drawing 2D entities ........................................................................................................................ 67General procedure to draw 2D entities .......................................................................................... 68

5. Drawing accurately ......................................................................................................................... 68Polar Tracking (POLAR)................................................................................................................. 68Entity Snap (ESNAP) ..................................................................................................................... 69Snap Tracking (STRACK) .............................................................................................................. 69Using a UCS (user coordinate system) .......................................................................................... 69Dynamic Dimensions...................................................................................................................... 69Drawing Lines ................................................................................................................................. 70Drawing Circles and Arcs ............................................................................................................... 70Exercise: Tangram ......................................................................................................................... 71

6. Manipulate commands ................................................................................................................... 72Moving and copying ....................................................................................................................... 72Mirroring ......................................................................................................................................... 72Rotating .......................................................................................................................................... 72Parallel Copy (Offset) ..................................................................................................................... 72

Arraying .......................................................................................................................................... 727. Grip editing ..................................................................................................................................... 75

Exercise: Grip editing ..................................................................................................................... 758. Edit commands ............................................................................................................................... 77

Trim ................................................................................................................................................ 77Extend ............................................................................................................................................ 77Stretch ............................................................................................................................................ 77Fillet and chamfer ........................................................................................................................... 78Exercise: Edit and manipulate commands ..................................................................................... 78

9. Hatch and gradient ......................................................................................................................... 79Linear Hatch ................................................................................................................................... 80Pattern Hatch ................................................................................................................................. 80Gradient Fill .................................................................................................................................... 81Creating a hatch or fill .................................................................................................................... 81Edit a hatch or fill ............................................................................................................................ 82

10. Creating dimensions. ...................................................................................................................... 8311. Texts ............................................................................................................................................... 84

Text Styles ...................................................................................................................................... 84Creating texts ................................................................................................................................. 84Editing texts .................................................................................................................................... 84

12. Using Fields .................................................................................................................................... 85Setting the document properties .................................................................................................... 85General procedure to insert a field ................................................................................................. 86Updating Fields .............................................................................................................................. 87Fields in Blocks .............................................................................................................................. 87

13. Blocks ............................................................................................................................................. 87General procedure to create a block .............................................................................................. 87

Attributes in blocks ......................................................................................................................... 89Define attributes ............................................................................................................................. 89Editing attributes in a block ............................................................................................................ 90


6/110


iv

14. Placing blocks ................................................................................................................................ 9115. Inserting blocks from the Drawing Explorer ................................................................................... 92

Inserting blocks from the current drawing ...................................................................................... 92Inserting blocks from other drawings ............................................................................................. 93

16. Editing blocks ................................................................................................................................. 9317. Inserting external references .......................................................................................................... 94

Inserting a PDF underlay ............................................................................................................... 94Inserting an image. ......................................................................................................................... 9618. Working with 2D Constraints .......................................................................................................... 98

Dimensional Constraints ................................................................................................................ 98Geometric Constraints.................................................................................................................... 98Exercise: Using 2D Constraints ..................................................................................................... 98The 2D Constraint Bars ................................................................................................................ 104


7/110

1

Content of the training package

1. Documentation

BricsCADBasicTraining_V13.pdf: this training guide

BricsCADV13ForAutoCADusers-en_US.pdf: e-book from upFront.eZine Publishing. Itdescribes the similarities and differences between BricsCAD en AutoCAD.

Pdf version of the BricsCAD Help: BricsCAD.pdf, BricsCAD-UsrGui.pdf, BricsCAD-

SysVar.pdf, BricsCAD-CmdRef.pdf

2. Exercises

All dwgs needed to make the exercises in this training guide.

Blocks 2D: a series of drawings containing standard blocks

3. Software

The installer for the latest BricsCAD.


8/110


2

Module 1: Understanding a DWG-drawing

1. The BricsCAD application window

1. Menu bar

2. Toolbar (docked)3. Drawing windows

4. Viewports

5. Properties bar

6. Toolbar (floating)

7. Command bar

8. Status Bar

Command Bar

The command bar consists of two fields:

In the lower field you can type the commands and BricsCAD shows prompts, options andother information regarding the execution of commands here. If the command bar is closed,this information shows in the Status Bar.

The command history displays In the upper field of the command bar.

1. Closebutton

2. Grip: press and hold the left mouse button to drag the command bar.

3. Command History field4. CommandEditfield: type the commands and command options here

5. Scroll Buttons: Click the buttons to scroll the command history


9/110


3

Status Bar

The Status Bar sits along the bottom edge of the BricsCAD application window. It contains a lotinformation about the settings in the current drawing. The status bar consists of 16 fields. All of thesefields are optional, except the Status field. If you click the small black down arrow button at the rightend of the status bar a list of all fields displays. Click a field to toggle its display.

Right click a field to display an option menu for this field.

1. Status

displays the status of the software.

when the cursor is in a menu or on a toolbar: gives a brief description of the tool or menu

item.

when the command bar is closed: displays the tool options and keyboard entry.

double click to open / close the command bar

2. Coordinates

3. Current Layer

4. Current Color

5. Current Line type

6. Current Text Style

7. Current Dimension Style

8. Indicates whether the grid is active

9. Indicates whether the reference GRID display

10. Indicates whether the orthogonal setting is active

11. Indicates whether Polar Tracking is active12. Indicates whether Entity Snaps are active

13. Indicates whether Entity Snap Tracking is active

14. Indicates whether line weights display

15. Current workspace

16. Toggles the digitizing tablet

17. Toggles the dynamic UCS

18. Toggles the display of dynamic dimensions

19. Toggles the selection mode for 3D subentities

20. Toggles the Quad cursor menu

Exercise: toggle the display of line weights

1. Open the drawing Plan_Level0.dwg.

2. Click the Line weight field ( ) in the status bar.Line weights now display and the Line weight field is active ( ).

3. Click the Line weight field ( ) in the status bar again.Line weights do not display and the Line weight field is greyed ( ).


10/110


4

2. Display of a DWG

When you open a DWG it displays as it was last saved. A DWG has two workspaces: Model Spaceen Paper Space.Paper space consists of one or more Layouts. Below the drawing area you see aseries of tabs: Model and one for each of the layouts. Click a tab to switch between Model Space andone of the layouts. If the bottom edge of the drawing screen cannot hold all layout tabs, you can usethe navigation buttons at the left to browse through the layout tabs.

Model Space

Model Space contains the drawing entities. Generally Model Space exists of one single viewport, butyou can divide it in multiple viewports if necessary. Each viewport can show different parts of thedrawing.

Paper Space

As indicated by its name, Paper Space is used to make layout of the drawing on paper. Each drawing

has at least one layout and each layout is composed of one or more viewports. Each viewport canshow a different part of the drawing at a different scale.

In each layout you can add title blocks, legends, frames, etc. needed to complete a printed copy of thedrawing. Such entities are visible in the layout where you add them only, not in the other layouts or inmodel space.


11/110


5

Layers

All graphic information in a DWG sits on one or more layers. Each drawing has at least Layer 0 (zero).

The number of layers is not limited. The properties of a layer are user defined.

The current layer is marked ( ).

If the SHOWLAYERUSAGE system variable is ON an icon indicates whether a layer is empty or not:

layer is not empty

layer is empty

The layer properties are:

Layer Name: each layer has a unique name

On/Off: ON ( = visible) of OFF ( = invisible)

Freeze: THAWED ( = visible) of FROZEN ( = invisible)

Locked: UNLOCKED ( = editable) of LOCKED ( = not editable)

Color: each layer has a color

Line type: each layer has a line type

Line weight: each layer has a line weight

Plot Style: defines the default plot style for entities on the layer

Plot: YES ( = printable) of NO ( = not printable)

If you open the Layer Explorerwhen in paper space additional settings are available:

The VP Freeze, VP Color, VP Linetype, VP Lineweighten VP Plot Stylesettings allow to overridethe color, linetype, lineweight and/or plot style of a layer in the current layout or paper space viewport.If the SHOWLAYERUSAGE system variable is ON, the following icons indicate whether overridesexist:

current layer with overrides

not-empty layer with overrides

empty layer with overrides

Exercise: Modify the layer properties

1. Open the drawing Plan_Level0.dwg.If necessary:

Click the Modeltab.

Double click the middle mouse button (scroll wheel) to display the extents of the drawing.


12/110


6

2. In the Entity Propertiestoolbar, click the button ( ) next to the name of the current layer.The layer list rolls out.

3. Click the Display icon ( ) of the, then click in the drawing.The dimensions do not display anymore.

4. Click the Display icon ( ) again to switch the Dimensionslayeron again.

5. Repeat step 2, scroll to layer Walls First Floor.

Click the colored tile in front of the layer name.The Select Colordialog window displays.

Click on of the colors on the color palette.The selected color appears in the large color field at the bottom of the Select Colordialogwindow.

Click the OK button.The lines on the Walls First Floorlayer display in the selected color.

Repeat the previous steps to set the color back to Index 1 (Red).


13/110


7

3. The Drawing Explorer

Apart from the graphic information a DWG contains a number of definitions and settings to control theappearance of the drawing. All these definitions can be found in the Drawing Explorer.

Layers: all layers in the drawing

Layer States: saves the settings of a layer at a certain moment in order to restore thesesettings later on.

Line types: A list of line types that can be used in the drawing. If a line type is notavailable yet, you can add it.

Text Styles: A list of text styles that can be used in the drawing. If a text style is not

available yet, you can add it.

Dimension Styles: A list of dimension styles that can be used in the drawing. If adimension style is not available yet, you can add it.

Table Styles: A list of table styles to create tables in the drawing.

Coordinate Systems: In each drawing you can define your own coordinate systems.

Views: If you zoom in on a detail you can save the display to a Saved View, which can berestored afterwards.

Visual Styles: A visual style controls the display of a drawing. Visual styles are importantfor 3D drawings only. The default visual style is 2dWireframe.

Lights: A list of lights in the current drawing and their properties.

Materials: A list of materials in the current drawing and their properties.

Blocks: A block is a compound entity which can be manipulated as a whole.

External References: A list of external drawings which are attached to the current

drawing.

Images: A list of images which are attached to the current drawing.

PDF Underlays: A list of PDF documents which are attached to the current drawing. Dependencies: A list of external files and definitions the current drawing depends on.

Missing definitions are marked.

Page Setups:All print settings (printer, paper size, ) can be saved in a page setup.

Section Planes: Section planes are used to make a cross section in 3D models. The

result can either be viewed in the drawing or saved to a block or a drawing.

Open the Drawing Explorer

1. Do one of the following:

Choose one of the setting categories in the Tools > Drawing Explorermenu.

The Drawing Exploreropens with the details of the of the selected category.

Click the Drawing Explorericon ( ) on the Standardtoolbar.The Drawing Exploreropens with the details of most recently used category.


14/110


8

Drawings: A list of all drawings that are currently open.

Open Drawings:

Click a category to see the details of this category in the Detailspane.

Click a drawing to switch between drawings.

Click the expand icon (+) to display the category list in the selecteddrawing.

Folders: A list of your favorite drawing folders. All blocks in the drawings in thesefolders can be inserted in the current drawing.

Sheets: Manages Sheet Sets.

Details: Definitions in the selected category.

Preview: An image of the selected definition (if available).

2. Select a different view mode for the selected category.

3. Click the Detail Viewicon ( ) to see the details of the definitions.

Click the Icon Viewicon ( ) to see each definition as an icon.

Click the Tree Viewicon ( ) to see the definitions as a tree structure.

Check for missing external definitions

Choose Dependenciesin the Tools > Drawing Explorermenu.A list of all external definitions and files the drawing depends on displays.


15/110


9

The Not Foundicon ( ) indicates a definition is not found.

Exercise: Exporting a drawing

If a drawing is copied from one computer to another all dependencies need to be copied along with theparent drawing. The eTransmitfunction in the Drawing - Explorer Dependenciestoolbar leads youthrough the procedure to compose the export package.

1. Open drawing Plan_Level0.dwg.

2. Choose eTransmit/eBridgein the Filemenu.The Drawing - Explorer - Dependenciesdialog displays.

3. Click the eTransmiticon ( ) in the Detailstoolbar.The eTransmitdialog displays showing a list of all files the drawing depends on..

All files are selected to be included in the export.

4. (option) Click the selection box of the files you want to exclude.

5. Click the Transmitbutton.The dialog displays, showing the various export options.

Destination folder: Accept the C:\BricsCAD\Output\ default export folder: If this folderdoes not exist yet, it will be created automatically.

Save format: Choose No conversion.

Output: Choose ZIP-file.

Select: All files in one folder.


16/110


10

6. Click the Transmitbutton.A message box reports the export.The Plan_Nivo0.zip file is created in the C:\BricsCAD\Output\folder.


17/110


11

4. Display commands

All display commands can be found in the Viewtoolbar.

The main view commands are:

Icon Name Description

Redraw/Regen Redraw/Regen flyout to redraw and regenerate the drawing.

Zoom In Zooms in by 50% (0.5)

Zoom Out Zooms out by 50% (0.5)

Zoom Zoom flyout, holding zoom and pan tools.

Zoom Previous Restores the previous view.

Real-TimeConstrained Sphere

Real-Time Motion flyout.

Set Viewpoint Sets the viewpoint through a dialog box.

Plan View Restores the plan view of the drawing.

Perspective Sets the Perspective mode: Off = isometric; On = perspective

Define View Launches the DView command.

Save/Restore ViewLaunches theView command to save the current view or to restore asaved view.

ViewportsDivides the drawing screen into two or more viewports. Choose theSingleoption to join all viewports.

Paper Space Views Creates layout viewports.

2D Context Restores the 2D context mode in the current viewport.

3D Context Restores the 3D context mode in the current viewport.


18/110


12

Display manipulation using the mouse:

Key/ Mouse Button Action Result

Scroll wheel Scroll Zoom in/out (1)

Middle button (2) Press and hold whilemoving the mouse.

Pan dynamically

Middle button (2) Double click Zoom extents

Ctrl + Shift + Left button Press and hold whilemoving the mouse.

Zoom in/out

Ctrl + Shift + Right button Press and hold whilemoving the mouse.

Pan dynamically

Ctrl + Shift + Middle button Press and hold whilemoving the mouse.

Rotate dynamically in 3D (3)

Shift + Middle button Press and hold whilemoving the mouse

Rotate dynamically in 3D around thescreen X- and Y-axis

Ctrl + Right button Press and hold whilemoving the mouse.

Rotate dynamically around the screenZ-axis.(3)

(1) The incremental change with each mouse wheel click is defined by the Zoom Factor system

variable. Type ZOOMFACTOR in the command bar to change the variable.

(2) On condition the Middle Button Pansystem variable is ON.Type MBUTTONPAN in the command bar to modify this variable. If Middle Button Pan is OFF,pressing the scroll wheel displays a context menu with all Entity Snaps (see Module 2: Measuring in a

drawing - 1. Entity Snaps).

(3) Use the Plan View( ) tool to restore the plan view of the drawing.

Exercise: View manipulation

1. Open the drawing car_door.dwg.

2. Open the Look Fromtoolbar.

3. Use the tools on the Look Fromtoolbar to restore the various standard views and the four defaultisometric views.

4. Use the mouse/keyboard shortcuts..

5. Click the Plan View( ) tool on the View toolbar to restore top view.


19/110


13

Saved Views

You can save the view in the current window as a named view. Saved views can be restored at anytime..

To save a view

1. Choose Viewsin the Tools > Drawing Explorermenu.The Drawing Explorer - Viewsdialog displays.

2. Click the Newicon ( ) in the Detailstoolbar.The Drawing Explorerwindow closes.

A prompt menu displays:

The command bar reads: View: ? to list saved views/Save/Window:

3. Choose Savein the prompt menuortype Sin the command bar, followed by Enter.

The Drawing Explorer - Viewsdialog reopens.

4. Type a name in the View Namefield.

Exercise: To restore a saved view


2. Choose Viewsin the Tools > Drawing Explorermenu.The Drawing Explorer - Viewsdialog displays.

If necessary click the Detail Viewicon ( ).

3. Click the empty column in front of the saved view Dining.

The current view is General.

4. (option) Click the empty column in front of one of the other saved views.

5. Close the Drawing Explorer - Viewsdialog.


20/110


14

5. Layer commands

In the Layerstoolbars you can find a series of tools to quickly switch layers off, freeze or isolate layers

without knowing the name of the layers..

To open the Layers toolbar

If the Layers toolbar is not open yet, do the following:

1. Move the cursor over a toolbar, then right click..

A context menu displays.

2. Move the cursor to BricsCAD.

A list with all available toolbars displays.

Toolbars which are already open are marked.

3. Click Layersin this list.

The Layerstoolbar displays.Drag the toolbar to an appropriate place in the BricsCAD application window.


21/110


15

Command Icon Description

LAYON Sets the display of all layers ON.

LAYOFF Sets the display of the layers of the selected entities OFF.

LAYLCK LOCKS the layers of the selected entities.

LAYULK UNLOCKS the layers of the selected entities.

LAYFRZ FREEZES the layers of the selected entities.

LAYTHW THAWS all layers.

LAYISOSets the layers of unselected entities OFF or LOCK. Choose SETTINGS, thenOFF or LOCK to set your preference.

LAYUNISO Undoes the actions of the LAYISO command.

Note:

The entities in a block can sit on different layers. Whether Layer commands apply to a block as awhole or to each layer separately depends on the settings of the Layer commands. The same counts

for Xrefs (external references).

Special settings apply to Paper Space viewports.

Switching OFF the display of a layer

1. Click the Layers Officon ( ) in the Layerstoolbar.

The LAYOFFprompt menu displays.

The command bar reads: Select an entity on the layer to be turned off or [Settings]:

2. (option) Choose Settingsin the prompt menu to adjust the settings for the LAYOFFcommand.

3. Click an entity in the drawing.The layer of the entity is switched off.

4. (option) Repeat the previous step to switch off more layers.

5. Right click or press Enter to conclude the command.


22/110


16

Settings of the LAYOFF command

Viewports:

Vpfreeze: Freezes the layers of the selected entities in the current viewport. This action canonly be undone in the Drawing Explorer/Layers.

Off: Switches the display of the layers of the selected entities off. This counts for model

space and all viewports in all layouts.

Blocks (including external references):

Block: Switches the display of the layer of the block off. Entities in the block which are noton this layer remain visible..

Entity: Switches the display of layer(s) of the selected entities in blocks off.

None: No layers are switched off if an entity in a block is selected.

Switching all layers ON

Click the Layers Onicon ( ) in the Layerstoolbar.

The display of all layers is switched ON.

Note: FROZENlayers are not affected by the LAYON command. Click the Thaw Layers icon

( ) in the Layerstoolbar bring back such layers.

Freezing layers

1. Click the FreezeLayer icon ( ) in the Layerstoolbar.

The LAYFRZprompt menu displays.

The command bar reads: Select an entity on the layer to be frozen or [Settings]:

2. (option) Choose Settingsin the prompt menu to adjust the settings of the LAYFRZcommand.

Settings of the LAYFRZ command

Viewports:

Vpfreeze: Freezes the layers of the selected entities in the current viewport. This action canonly be undone in the Drawing Explorer/Layers.

Freeze: Freezes the layers of the selected entities. This counts for model space and all

viewports in all layouts.

Blocks(including external references):

Block: Freezes the layer of the block. Entities in the block which are not on this layer remainvisible.

Entity: Freezes the layer(s) of the selected entities in blocks.

None: No layers are frozen if an entity in a block is selected.

3. Click an entity in the drawing.The layer of the selected entity is frozen. All entities on this layer no longer display.

4. (option) Repeat the previous step to freeze more layers.

5. Right click or press Enter to conclude the command.


23/110


17

Thaw all layers

Click the Thaw Layers icon ( ) in the Layerstoolbar.

All layers are THAWED.

Note: Layers which are switched OFFare not affected by the LAYTHW command. Click the

Layers On icon ( ) in the Layerstoolbar bring back such layers.

Locking layers

Entities on a LOCKED layer remain visible, but they cannot be modified anymore.

6. Click the LockLayer icon ( ) in the Layerstoolbar.

The command bar reads: Select an entity on the layer to be locked:

7. Click an entity in the drawing.

The layer of the entity is LOCKED. The display does not change.

8. (option) Right click to repeat the command.

Unlocking layers

9. Click the UnlockLayer icon ( ) in the Layerstoolbar.

The command bar reads: Select an entity on the layer to be unlocked:

10. Click an entity on the locked layer.

The layer is UNLOCKED. The display does not change.


Isolating layers

12. Click the Isolate Layericon ( ) in the Layerstoolbar.

The LAYISOprompt menu displays.

The command bar reads: Select entities on the layer(s) to be isolated or [Settings]:

13. (option) Choose Settingsin the prompt menu to adjust the settings of the LAYISOcommand.Settings of the LAYISO command

Off: Switches the display of the layers of the other entities OFF.

Lock: Locks the layers of the other entities.

14. Click an entity on a layer you want to isolate.The selected entity displays in dashed lines.

15. Repeat the previous step to select more entities.

16. Right click to conclude the command.

Depending on the settings (see step 2):

Only the layers of the selected entities display. All layers of the other entities are LOCKED.


24/110


18

Undo the isolation of layers

Click the Unisolate Layericon ( ) in the Layerstoolbar.

The layer state that was active before the execution of the LAYISO command is restored.

6. Layer States

Depending on the complexity of a drawing it might take some time and effort to adjust the display of adrawing for a specific job. Which layers must be visible? Which layers need to be locked? Maybe youtemporarily want to apply a different color to some layers, In order to quickly restore these changes,you can save them in a Layer State, then restore the layer state.

Layer states can be copied between drawings and can be saved to a file, which can then be imported

in another drawing on a different computer.

Saving a layer state

1. ChooseLayer States in the Tools > Drawing Explorermenu.

2. Click the Newicon ( ) in the Detailstoolbar.

The current settings of the layers are saved to a new Layer State.

If necessary click the Tree Viewicon ( ) to see the layout below.

3. Click the Namefield and type a new name to replace the NewLayerState1default name.

4. (option) Type description in the Descriptionfield.

5. (option) Check the properties you want to be restored by this layer state.

Click the All Officon ( ) in the Detailstoolbar to unselect all properties.

Click the Al Onicon ( ) in the Detailsto select all properties.

Click a checkbox to select/unselect the property.


25/110


19

Exercise: To restore a layer state


2. Choose Layer States in the Tools > Drawing Explorermenu.

3. Click the Icon Viewicon ( ) in the Detailstoolbar.

4. Double click the layer state NoDim_NoTexts.

Texts and dimensions are not displayed anymore.

5. Click theTree Viewicon ( ) in the Detailstoolbar.

6. Select the layer state Walls, then click the Restoreicon ( ) in the Detailstoolbar.Interior and exterior walls only display.

7. Select the layer state Black, the Restoreicon ( ) in the Detailstoolbar.The walls now display in black.

The layer state Blackrestores the Colorproperty only.

Click the expand icon (+) in front of layer state name, then click the expand icon in front of LayerProperties to restoreto see which properties are restored.

Click the collapse icon (-) to hide the properties list.

8. Select the layer state General, then click the Restoreicon ( ) in the Detailstoolbar in order torestore all layers using their original colors.

A Regenmight be necessary to restore the Generallayer state.

Remarks:

Before modifying the color setting of layers it is recommended to save the original colorsettings in a layer state.

Use saved views to quickly zoom in on a specific area in the drawing.


26/110


20

7. Paper Space Layouts

In a DWG-drawing the drawing itself sits in Model Space. To print the drawing on a sheet of paper, alayout is composed in Paper Space. You can create multiple layouts in a drawing

Checking the properties of a Layout

1. Open the drawing House.dwg.

2. Click the layout tab A2_Level0.

3. Choose Printin the Filemenu.

The Printdialog displays.

To print a layout as designed by the author of the drawing it is necessary that the Printer / PlotterConfigurationand the Plot Style Tablerefer to the appropriate settings.

If the Printer / Plotter Configurationis not found, a warning displays when you open the PageSetupdialog:

When you click the OKbutton the Printdialog opens.Under Printer / Plotter Configuration the default printer settings are selected:


27/110


21

Because the selected printer determines which paper sizes are available it is important that thedefault printer supports all of the paper size that are used in the various layouts. Otherwise thedrawing cannot be printed properly.

A missing Plot Style Tableis indicated as follows:

In case no Plot Style Tableis attached, the plot style table setting reads:

Apart from colors, also line weights are defined in a plot style table (along with a series of otherline properties such as line type, end style, join style ). Without the original plot style table it isoften impossible to print a drawing correctly. In such case it is good practice to set all colors toblack and all line weights to 0.2 mm.

Paper Space Viewports

A Layout contains one or more Viewports. Each viewport can show a different part of the drawing in

Model Space, on a different scale and using a different layer visibility.

Check the properties of a viewport

Click viewport border.The properties of the viewport display in the Properties Bar.


28/110


22

8. External References

Using an external reference or Xref a drawing can be inserted in another drawing. Instead of copyingthe drawing, only a reference to the source drawing is saved in the parent drawing. You can attachmultiple drawings to a single parent drawing.

The advantages of Xrefs are: You limit the size of the parent drawing.

The source drawings can be edited simultaneously.

The parent drawing always shows the latest version of each of the source drawings.

Exercise: Check for missing external references

1. Open the drawing_Plotsheet.dwgin the Housefolder.

2. Choose Xrefsin the Tools > Drawing Explorermenu.

3. (option) Click theDetail Viewicon ( ).

In the Saved Pathcolumn you can see where the various Xrefs were saved at the moment oftheir attachment to the parent drawing.

When you open a drawing with Xrefs, BricsCAD searches for the attached drawings in the currentfolder of the parent drawing. If an Xref is found here it is shown in the Found Pathcolumn.

If the Xrefs are not found in this folder, BricsCAD searches for the folder which is defined in theSaved Pathof the Xref. If an Xref is found here, the content of the Saved Pathcolumn and theFound Pathcolumn is identical.

If the Xref is not found, the Found Pathcolumn reads: (!Not Found).

4. (option) Click the Icon Viewicon ( ).

Xrefs which cannot be found display with the Not Foundicon ( ).

5. (option) Click theTree Viewicon ( ).

Xrefs which cannot be found are preceded by the Not Foundicon ( ) in the tree structure.


29/110


23

9. Copying between drawings

To copy entities between drawings the following commands are available:

COPYCLIP, COPYBASE, PASTECLIP, PASTEORIGen PASTEBLOCK

Copyclipand Pasteclip: to paste the selection using a default base point.

Copyclipand Pasteorig: to paste the selection using the coordinates of the source drawing.

Copybaseand Pasteclip:to paste the selection using a user defined base point.

Copybaseor Copyclipand Pasteblockto paste the selection as a block.

Composing a selection set

The first step to copy entities between drawings is to compose a selection set. The fastest method toselect entities are the Window Insideand Window Overlapmethods. When no command is active aselection window is drawn if you click the left mouse button, then move the mouse. When moving themouse to the left, the selection window is dashed; click again to select all entities that are inside oroverlapped by the selection window. When moving to the right the selection window is continuous;

click again to select all entities that are completely within the boundary of the selection window. Apartfrom the selection window boundary (dashed or continuous) an icon next to the cursor arrow indicatesthe selection method: Window Overlap or Window Inside.

Window Overlap Window Inside

You can select entities separately just by clicking.

If the Shift key is pressed when clicking an entity or using a selection window method, already

selected entities are removed from the selection set.Press the Esckey to clear the selection set.

When you click on overlapping entities, only the top (most recently drawn) entity can be selected. Inorder to select the overlapped entity we need to use Selection Preview.

To set Selection Preview

Do one of the following:

Type selectionpreviewin the command bar, followed by Enter then type 3 + Enter.

Choose Settingsin the Settingsmenu, then expand the Selectionsettings group underProgram Optionsas indicated in the image below.

Entities now highlight when the pick box moves over them.

The PREVIEWEFFECT system variable lets you choose between dashed lines or thickened lines.


30/110


24

To select overlapping entities

1. Open the drawing SelectionPreview.dwg.

2. Make sure SELECTIONPREVIEW system variable is set to 3 (see above).

3. Move the cursor to the intersection point in the center of the square (1).The vertical line highlights.

4. Press and hold the Shift key, then repeatedly press the space bar.All overlapping entities highlight one by one.

5. When the entity you want to select highlights, release the Shift key, then click to select the entity.Green handles display to indicate the entity is selected.

6. Repeat the previous steps to select more entities.

Using Copy / Paste to copy entities


2. Click the Qnewicon ( ) in the Standardtoolbar.A new drawing opens. This drawing is a copy of the default Template Drawingas defined by theBaseFileuser preference.

If this user preference is not defined, a window opens where you can select a template drawing.The default template folder is defined by the TemplatePathuser preference (e.g.C:\Users\\AppData\Local\Bricsys\BricsCAD\V10\en_US\templates\). Select atemplate drawing, then press the Openbutton.

3. Make sure you are working in Model Spaceand the drawing is zoomed out completely (zoomextents).

4. Select the garage: move the cursor above the top left corner of the garage, then click and movethe cursor until the garage is within the boundary of the selection window and click again.

All selected entities display in dashed lines with green grips.

5. Press Ctrl + C(press and hold the Ctrl key then press the C key).

The selection is now copied to the clipboard. The selection set is cleared.

6. Go to the empty drawing: press and hold the Ctrl key, then press the TAB key.

7. Press Ctrl + V(press and hold the Ctrl key then press the V key).

The selection is now attached to the cursor. The base point is the lower left corner of thebounding box of the selection.

8. Click to paste the selection in the drawing.

9. Choose Save Asin the Filemenu and save the drawing as: CopyAndPaste.dwg.

To paste the selection at the original coordinates

1. Continue working in the drawings Plan_Level0.dwgandCopyAndPaste.dwg.

2. Go to drawing Plan_Level0.dwg.

3. Select the kitchen(method: see step 4 in the previous exercise).

4. Press Ctrl + Cto copy the selection to the clipboard.

5. Go to the drawing CopyAndPaste.dwg(see step 6 in the previous exercise).


Choose Paste to original coordinatesin the Editmenu.

Press Ctrl + V then press Enter.


31/110


25

To paste the selection using a base point



3. Select the hall(method: see step 4 in the previous exercise).

4. Right click and choose Copy with basepointin the context menu.The command bar reads: Select base point:

5. Identify the base point.

6. Go to the drawing CopyAndPaste.dwg.

7. Press Ctrl + V(press and hold the Ctrl key, then press V).The selection set is attached to the cursor at the base point (see step 5)


To paste a selection as a block



3. Select the bathroom(method: see step 4 in the previous exercise).


Press Ctrl + C(press and hold the Ctrl key, then press C).The bottom left corner of the bounding rectangle of the selection will be the origin of theblock.

Right click and choose Copy with basepointin the context menu.The command bar reads: Select base point:

Identify the base point.5. Go to the drawing CopyAndPaste.dwg.

6. Choose Paste as blockin the Editmenu.

The selection set is attached to the cursor at the base point (see step 4)


8. (option) The block is created in the target drawing with a automatically generated name. ChooseBlocksin the Tools > Drawing Explorermenu, then select the block to give it an appropriatename.


32/110

26

Module 2: Measuring in a drawing

1. Entity Snaps

In order to measure accurately you need to click points in the drawing exactly. The drawing aid for this

purpose is called Entity Snaps.When using Entity Snaps the following attributes help you to exactly select the desired point:

SNAP MARKER (1): displays at the selected point, showing the current entity snap mode.

APERTURE BOX (2): a square box which is attached to the crosshairs. All entities whichare overlapped by the Aperture Box are processed for potential snap points.

TOOLTIP (3): Identifies the current Entity Snap mode.

The appearance of the snap marker is controlled through 3 user preference settings, which can befound in the Settingsdialog under Program Options > Display.

To open the Entity Snaps toolbar

To open the Entity Snapstoolbar do the following:

1. Position the cursor on top of a toolbar, then right click.A context menu displays.

2. In the context menu, position the cursor on BricsCAD.A list with all available toolbars displays.All open toolbars are marked in the list.

3. Click Entity Snapsin the list.

Setting the active Entity Snaps

The icons of active entity snaps are pressed in the Entity Snapstoolbar.

To activate an entity snap click the icon in the Entity Snapstoolbar.A pressed icon indicates the entity snap is active.

Click a pressed icon to deactivate an entity snap..

Click the Clear Entity Snapsicon ( ) to deactivate all Entity Snaps.

If you activate an entity snap while executing a command, all other active entity snaps are temporarilydeactivated until the next mouse click.

Alternatively you can set the entity snaps as follows:

Press and hold the Shift key, then right click.

If the MBUTTONPAN system variable is OFF the entity snaps list displays if the middlemouse button (scroll wheel) is pressed.


33/110


27

Entity Snap methods:

Name Icon Mark Description

Nearest Snaps to the nearest point on an entity.

Endpoint Snaps to the nearest endpoint of an entity or polyline segment.

Midpoint Snaps to the midpoint of an entity or polyline segment.

Center

Snaps to the center point of an arc, circle, polygon, ellipse orelliptical arc.

Snaps to the center of gravity of a closed polyline.

Perpendicular

Snaps to the perpendicular point of another entity. You can snapto an arc, circle, ellipse, line, polyline, infinite line, ray, spline oredge of a plane to form a perpendicular alignment with that entityor with an extension of that entity.

TangentSnaps to the point on an arc, ellipse, spline or circle that, whenconnected to the previous point, forms a line tangent to that entity.

QuadrantSnaps to the closest quadrant (0, 90, 180 of 270) of an arc,circle, ellipse, or elliptical arc.

Insertion Snaps to the insertion point of an attribute, block or text entity.

Point Snaps to a point entity.

Intersection Snaps to the intersection of any combination of entities.

ApparentIntersection

Snaps to the apparent intersection in the current view of twoentities that do not intersect in three-dimensional space..

ExtensionSnaps to the extension of an entity or to the intersection of theextension of two entities..

Clear Turns off all entity snap modes.

FromAllows to start drawing at a specified distance from a specifiedpoint.

Middle of 2Points

Snaps to the middle of two specified points.

2. Commands

All measuring commands are grouped on the Inquirytoolbar.

To open the Inquiry toolbar

1. Position the cursor on top of a toolbar, then right click.A context menu displays.

2. In the context menu, position the cursor on BricsCAD.A list with all available toolbars displays.All open toolbars are marked in the list.

3. Click Inquiryin the list.


34/110


28

3. Units in a drawing

The measuring unit in a DWG is the DRAWING UNIT (DU). The length of one DU is defined by theuser. In a typical building plan in France or Belgium 1 DU = 1 cm, while in the Netherlands1 DU = 1 mm en in Germany 1 DU = 1 m. In the US 1 DU = 1 inch.

The results of all measuring commands are expressed in drawing units.The Insertion Units(INSUNITS) controls the automatic scaling when a drawing is inserted as a block

or Xref in another drawing, which uses a different DU.

To check the INSUNITS system variable

1. Choose Settingsin the Settingsmenu.

2. Go to Drawing > Drafting > Drawing Unitsin the Settingsdialog.

Define the linear unit precision

The Linear Unit Precision (LUPREC) system variable defines the display precision of coordinates,distances, areas an volumes. You can choose between 0 to 8 decimal places. The LUPREC systemvariable does not influence the internal precision of a drawing..

If 1 DU = 1 cm and you set LUCPREC = 2, then the accuracy of the measurement is 0.1 mm.


2. Go to Drawing > Drafting > Drawing Units > Linear Units in the Settingsdialog.

Command Icon Description

DIST Distance between two points.

AREA

Depending on the option chosen:

The area and perimeter of a zone defined by points.

The total area and perimeter of multiple closed polylines, circles

or ellipses.

The total length of multiple linear entities (lines, polylines, arcs,splines, )

ID The coordinates of a point.

LISTAll geometric information of one or more entities.

Press F2 to open the Prompt History window.


35/110


29

3. Type the precision of your choice in the Linear unit precisionfield.

4. The Prompt History window

The results of all measurement show in the command bar of which the display is usually limited to 3lines: 1 command line and 2 history lines. Measurement results might take more than 3 lines todisplay. In such case, press the F2function key to open the Prompt Historywindow. Press F2again

to close the window.

To copy the content of the Prompt History window

If you want to copy some of the measurement results in a text document or a spreadsheet you cancopy the content of the Prompt History window to the clipboard and paste it in your text or spreadsheetdocument.

1. Click where you want to start copying.

2. Scroll down to the end of the part you want to copy, then press and hold the Shift key and click..

3. Right click and choose Copyin the context menu;or press Ctrl+C(press and hold the Ctrl-key then type C).

4. Go to the target document and press Ctrl+V(press and hold the Ctrl-key then type V).

5. Measuring distances and lengths

The length of an entity shows in the Properties Bar.

The DIST command measures the distance between two points.

The AREA command can add the lengths of different entities together

Check the length of an entity

The length of a line, polyline, arc or spline shows in the Properties Bar. Select the entity, then go toGeometry > Length.

To measure the perpendicular distance between a point and a line.


36/110


30

1. Set Endpointand Perpendicularthe Entity Snaps.

2. Click the Distanceicon ( ) in the Inquirytoolbar.The command bar reads: Starting point for distance:

3. Select the punt from which you want to measure.The command bar reads: Endpoint:

4. Move the cursor to the line you want to measure the perpendicular distance to.The Perpendicular( ) snap marker displays.

5. Click to accept the perpendicular entity snap..The measured distance shows in the command bar.

Distance: the measured distance

Angle in XY Plane: the angle between the measured line and the X-axis.

Angle from XY Plane: the angle between the measured line and the XY-plane.

Delta X: the difference between the X-coordinates of the start point and the endpoint.

Delta Y: the difference between the Y-coordinates of the start point and the endpoint.

Delta Z: the difference between the Z-coordinates of the start point and the endpoint.

Adding the lengths of different entities together

1. Click the Areaicon ( ) on the Inquirytoolbar.The command bar reads: Entity/Add/Subtract/:



37/110


31

2. Choose Add areas togetherin the prompt menuorType Afollowed by Enter.

The command bar reads: Adding: Entity/Subtract/:


3. Choose Add entities to areain the prompt menu

ofType Efollowed by Enter.

The command bar reads: Adding area:

Click the first entity.The length of the entity displays in the command bar: Total length =The command bar reads: Adding area:

4. Repeat the previous step to add more entities.The total length displays in the command bar.Right click twice to stop.

5. (option) Press the F2function key to open the Prompt History window.

Measuring the distance between virtual points

Using Polar Trackingand Snap Trackingyou can measure distances between virtual points.

1. Open the Distance_Virtual.dwg drawing.

We will measure the distance between points 1 and 2.

2. Set the Endpointentity snap.Make sure both Polar Tracking( ) and Entity Snap Tracking( ) are active. Ifnecessary click the POLARand STRACKfields in the status bar.

3. Click the Distanceicon ( ) in the Inquirytoolbar.

4. Hover the cursor above point auntil a small +-sign in the snap marker color displays.

5. Hover the cursor above point buntil a small +-sign displays, then move the cursor vertically awayfrom point b. A tracking line displays. When at the height of point a, a second tracking linedisplays. The intersection of the tracking lines is marked by an X.

6. Click to accept the point.

7. Hover the cursor above point cuntil a small +-sign displays.


38/110


32

Hover the cursor above point duntil a small +-sign displays then move the cursor horizontally tothe left. A tracking line displays. When right below point a, , a second tracking line displays. The

intersection of the tracking lines is marked by an X.

8. Click to accept the point.

The measurement results of the Distancecommand display in the command bar.

6. Measuring areas

The AREA command measures areas. You can choose between the following methods:

Pick points to define the area to be measured.

Find the area of a single closed entity.

Adding areas together.

Adding and subtracting areas.

Measuring an area by picking points

1. Set the appropriate Entity snap modes (e.g. Endpointand Midpoint).

2. Click the Areaicon ( ) in the Inquirytoolbar.The command bar reads: Entity/Add/Subtract/:

3. Subsequently pick the points that define the area. BricsCAD previews the area with a dashedpolygon.

4. Right click to stop picking points.

The areaand perimeterdisplays in the history field of the command bar:


39/110


33

Exercise:

In the Plan_Level0.dwg drawing measure the area and perimeter of the living/dining room.

The command bar should read:

The area is: 46.74 m; the perimeter is: 30.16 m.

Adding areas together

1. Click the Areaicon ( ) in the Inquirytoolbar.The command bar reads: Entity/Add/Subtract/:


2. Choose Add areas togetherin the prompt menuorType Afollowed by Enter.

The command bar reads: Adding: Entity/Subtract/:


3. Choose Add entities to areain the prompt menuorType Efollowed by Enter.

The command bar reads: Adding area:

Pick a closed polyline, circle or ellipse.The area and perimeter of the selected entity displays in the command bar:

The command bar reads: Adding area :

4. Repeat the previous step to add more entities.

or

Right click to stop adding entities..



40/110


34

5. (option) Choose Subtract areasin the prompt menuorType Sfollowed by Enter.

The command bar reads: Subtracting: Entity/Add/:


6. Choose Subtract entities from areain the prompt menu

orType Efollowed by Enter.

The command bar reads: Subtracting area:

Pick a closed polyline, circle or ellipse.The area and perimeter of the selected entity is subtracted from the total length and total area.

The command bar reads: Subtracting area :

7. Repeat the previous step to pick more entitiesorRight click to stop subtracting entities.



Go back to step 3 to add entities.

Go back to step 6 to subtract entities.

Right click to stop.

9. (option) Press the F2function key to open the Prompt History window.

Exercise:

Open drawing Area.dwgand add the areas of the black entities together, then subtract the areas of

the red entities.

The total area is 264.59 m.

In this case the result of total lengthdoes not make sense.


41/110


35

7. Boundary Polyline

The Boundary(or Bpoly) command creates a closed polyline by detecting an area that is defined bylinear entities. You can either select the enclosing entities yourself or click in the enclosed area to letBricsCAD detect the boundary entities.

The creation of boundary polylines can be used to calculate the perimeter and area of complexshapes.

Creating a boundary polyline

1. Open the drawing Boundary.dwg.

2. Click the Boundary Polylineicon ( ) in the flyout of the Draw 2Dtoolbar

The Boundarydialog displays.

3. Click the Pick points in boundariesbutton ( ).The Boundarydialog closes temporarily.The command bar reads: Select a point to define a boundary or hatch area:

4. Click in the drawing at position 1.The polyline displays in dashed lines.

5. Click in the drawing at position 2.A second polyline displays in dashed lines.

6. Click in the drawing at position 3.

4 new polylines display in dashed lines.

7. Right click to stop defining boundaries.The Boundarydialog reopens.

8. Click the OKbutton.The polylinesare created.

Creating a boundary polyline using a selection

1. Continue working in the drawing Boundary.dwg.

2. Start the Boundary Polyline command (see step 2 in the previous exercise).

3. Click the New Boundary Set button ( ).The Boundarydialog closes temporarily.The command bar reads: Select entities:

4. Select the entities which define area 4, except the blue lineand thebluecircle.

5. Right click to stop selecting entities.The Boundarydialog reopens.

6. Click Pick points in boundariesbutton ( ).The Boundarydialog closes temporarily.The command bar reads: Select a point to define a boundary or hatch area:

7. Click in the drawing at position 4.

The polyline displays in dashed lines.Notice that the blue line and the blue circle are ignored.


42/110


36


9. Click the OKbutton.The polylineis created.

The boundary polyline command options


2. Start the Boundary Polyline command.

3. Click the Pick points in boundariesbutton ( ).The Boundarydialog closes temporarily.

4. Click in the drawing at position 5.4 polylines display in dashed lines.

5. Press the Esc key or choose Cancelin the prompt menu.The Boundarydialog reopens.

6. Choose the Outeroption under Islands.


8. Only 3, instead of 4, polylines now display in dashed lines.The islands within another island are ignored now.

9. Press the Esc key or choose Cancelin the prompt menu.The Boundarydialog reopens.

10. Choose the Ignoreoption under Islands.

11. Click the Pick points in boundariesbutton ( ).The

Boundarydialog closes temporarily.

12. Only one single polyline displays in dashed lines.All islands are ignored.




43/110


37

Boundary Tolerance setting

In case of small gaps between the boundary entities the Boundary Tolerance setting defines the

maximal gap to be bridged automatically. The default value of this setting is 0.1 drawing units.


2. Start the Boundary Polyline command.


4. Click in the drawing at position 6.No polyline can be created because the top right vertex is no closed.

5. Right click.The Boundarydialog reopens.

6. Type 10in the Tolerancefield.


8. Click in the drawing at position 6.The Close Gapsquestion box displays:Detected gaps can be closed. Do you want to proceed?

9. Click the OKbutton.The polyline displays in dashed lines.

10. Right click.The Boundarydialog reopens.


8. Using fields

In the next exercise we will use fields to the display the area and perimeter of a polyline.

1. Open the drawing Fields.dwg.

2. Choose Insert Fieldin the Insertmenu.

3. On the Fielddialog, choose Objectunder Objects.

4. Click the Selectbutton.The Fielddialog closes.The command bar reads: Select entity:

5. Select the polyline.

The Fielddialog reopens.6. In the Propertylist select Area.

7. In the Formatoptions list, select Decimal.The Precisionoptions list button displays.

8. Click the Precisionoptions list button and choose 0.


44/110


38

9. Click the OKbutton.The Fielddialog closes.

An Mtext entity (Multiline Text) displays dynamically.

10. Click the place the Mtext entity.

11. Double click the Mtext entity.The Text Formattingtoolbar displays.

12. Modify the width of the Mtext entity by dragging green double arrow field.

13. Type Area:in front of the field.

14. Click the Insert Fieldbutton ( ) on the Text Formattingtoolbar.The Fielddialog opens.

15. Add a field to display the Length(perimeter) of the polyline.

16. Select the polyline, then move one or more grips.

17. Regenerate the drawing: type Regenin the command bar or click the Regentool ( ) on theRedraw/Regenflyout of the Viewtoolbar.

The fields are recalculated.


45/110


39

9. Reading coordinates

The XYZ-coordinates of the start point and end point of a line, the vertices of a polyline and themidpoints of arcs, circles and ellipses display in the Properties bar when such entity is selected.

The ID command reads the coordinates of point.

Reading the coordinates of the vertices of a polyline

1. Select the polyline.

The properties of the polyline display in the Properties Bar.

The X and Y-coordinates of the start point (or the first vertex in case of a closed polyline) showunder Position.

You can read the Z-coordinate in the Elevationfield.

2. Click the Vertexfield, then click the arrow buttons on the right hand side of the field to read the

coordinates of the next or previous vertex.

Reading the coordinates of a point

1. Set the appropriate Entity Snap (e.g. Endpoint).

2. Click the IDicon ( ) in the Inquirytoolbar.The command bar reads: Select point to identify coordinates:

3. Pick the point you want to read the coordinates from.

The coordinates of the selected point display in the history field of the command bar..



46/110


40

Coordinate systems

In a DWG drawing by default coordinates display in the World Coordinate System (WCS). The

nature of the current coordinate system shows in the ucs icon. If the WCS is active, a W shows in theucs icon. If a User Coordinate System(UCS) is the current coordinate system, no W displays.

WCS icon UCS icon

The display of the icon is controlled through the UCS icon(UCSICON) system variable. The position

of the ucs icon is defined by the Ucs icon position(UCSICONPOS) system variable.

Check the UCS icon variables


2. Go to Drawing > Drafting > Drawing Units > User coordinate system in the Settingsdialogwindow.

3. The settings of the UCS iconsystem variable are:

Show icon: defines whether the icon shows or not

at origin: defines whether the ucs icon shows at the origin of the coordinate system or in acorner of the drawing window.If the origin of the coordinate system is not within the current zoom area, the icon shows inthe a corner of the drawing window, as defined by the UCSICONPOS system variable.

4. The UCS icon positionsystem variable defines the corner to display the ucs icon in case the atoriginoption of UCS iconsystem variable is OFF or if the origin of the coordinate system is notwithin the current zoom area.

Moving the origin of the coordinate system

1. Set the appropriate entity snap (e.g. Endpoint).

2. Type UCS followed by Enter.

The command bar reads: Specify origin of UCS :

3. Pick the point you want to use as the origin of the new coordinate system.

The command bar reads: Point on X-axis or :

4. Right click to accept the new ucs.If the at originoption of the UCS iconsystem variable is ON, the ucs icon jumps to the neworigin point.

All coordinates now display with respect to the new coordinate system.


47/110


41

Restoring the WCS

Type UCS then hit Enter twice.

Reading relative coordinates

1. Open drawing Walls_0.dwg.

We want to read relative coordinates with respect to the bottom left corner of the house, which wewill therefore define as the origin of a new ucs first.

2. Make sure Endpointentity snap on.

3. Execute the Moving the origin of the coordinate system procedure(see above)

In step 3, pick the bottom left corner of the house as indicated in the image below.

.

4. Click the IDicon ( ) in the Inquirytoolbar.

The command bar reads: Select point to identify coordinates:

5. Pick the top right corner of the house.The (relative) coordinates display in the command bar.

6. Right click to repeat the IDcommand and read the coordinates of other key points of the house.


48/110


42

10. Reading the properties of a selection

The LIST command displays the properties of one or more entities in the Prompt History window.

1. Click the List entity infoicon ( ) in the Inquirytoolbar.

The command bar reads: Sort/Tracking/:

2. Pick the entities you want to list the properties of.

Right click to stop picking entities.

The Prompt History window opens.

3. Press the F2function key to close the Prompt Historywindow.


49/110


43

11. Creating Dimensions

Terminology

In BricsCAD there are 5 dimension entity types: linear, arc, angular, radial, diametricand ordinate.

When creating dimensions you can either identify an entity or click points.

Dimensions toolbar

1. Stacked baseline dimension +

2. Radial dimension

3. Angular dimension

4. Aligned linear dimension

5. Ordinate dimension

6. Center mark

7. Vertical linear dimension

8. Diametric dimension

9. Rotated linear dimension

10. Leader with text

11. Stacked horizontal linear dimension +

12. Arc Length dimension


50/110


44

Dimension Style

Dimension entities are created on the current layer using the current dimension style, which definesthe appearance of the dimension block. A dimension style is a collection of settings and definitions forall parts of the dimension block: dimension line, extension lines, arrows, dimension text, etc. Eachdrawing can have multiple dimension styles of which only one can be the current dimension style.

See the BricsCAD Help for more information about dimension styles.

Dimension block

Dimension entities are created as a dynamic block composed of a dimension line, arrows, extension

lines and dimension text.

1. Dimension text prefix (d=)

2. Dimension text (258)

3. Tolerance (1)

4. Dimension text suffix (cm)

5. First arrowhead

6. Second arrowhead

7. Dimension line

8. First extension line

9. Second extension line

10. Extension line extend

11. Extension line offset

12. Arrow size

13. Text offset


51/110


45

Associative Dimensions

BricsCAD creates associative dimension entities which will be updated automatically if thedimensioned entity is modified or moved. If necessary you can force associative dimensions to updateusing the DIMREGEN command.

Exercise: Floor levels in a cross section

1. Open the drawing Section.dwg.

2. Zoom in on the blue circle.

3. Click the ID Coordinatesicon ( ) in the Inquirytoolbar.The command bar reads: Select point to identify coordinates

4. Snap to the finished floor level of the ground floor.The command bar reads: X=3140.79 Y=1713.31 Z=0.00

Since this is a 2D drawing, the Z-value is of no importance. Vertical distances are measured alongthe Y-axis. We will therefore define a user coordinate system (UCS) of which the origin is on thefinished floor level of the ground floor..

5. Type ucsin

bric s cad training basic

Documents