Imsi TURBOCAD 11, TURBOCAD VERSION 11 User Manual

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TurboCAD

Version 11

REFERENCE MANUAL

IMSI US

100 Rowland Blvd.

Novato. CA 94945, USA

Tel: +1-415-878-4000

Fax: +1-415-897-2544

Web Site

www.imsisoft.com

www.turbocad.com

The material presented in this publication is copyright-protected © 1986–2005 by IMSI and may not be reproduced in any form, by any method for any purpose without the prior written consent of IMSI. Information in this document is subject to change without notice. It is against the law to copy the software, except in accordance with the terms of the licensing agreement.

PROGRAM LICENSE AGREEMENT

IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please read the terms of the following License Agreement carefully. Your use of the product signifies your acceptance of the terms of the Agreement. If you do not agree with the terms of this Agreement, you should promptly return the package; your money will be refunded. Retain this License Agreement for future reference.

Article 1: License Grant

The software is the intellectual property of IMSI® and its licensors, and is protected by law, including United States copyright laws and international treaties.

IMSI® grants to you a license:

1. To use the program on a single machine.

2. To make a single archival back-up copy of the program in support of your use of the single program on a single machine.

3. To modify the program and/or merge it into another program for use on a single machine.

4. To transfer the program to another party if that party agrees to accept the terms and conditions of this Agreement, and you do not retain any copies of the program, whether in printed, machine-readable, modified, or merged form. Except as expressly provided for in this license, you may not copy, modify, or transfer this program.

5. If the software in this package is licensed as a Site License, it is licensed for use on several machines. Additional master copies of the software may be made by the licensee, equal to the number of licenses purchased.

No reverse engineering. Except as stated above, YOU MAY NOT MODIFY, TRANSLATE, DISASSEMBLE, OR DECOMPILE THE SOFTWARE, OR ANY COPY, IN WHOLE OR PART.

Article 2: Term

The license is effective until terminated. You may terminate the license at any time by destroying the program together with all copies, modifications, and merged portions in any form. The license will also terminate upon conditions set forth elsewhere in this Agreement, and IMSI termination for any reason, to destroy the program together with all copies, modifications, and merged portions in any form.

Article 3: Disclaimer of Warranties and Limitations of Remedies

1. IMSI

software is licensed to you As Is. You, the consumer, bear the entire risk relating to the quality and performance of the software. In no event will IMSI® be liable for direct, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages resulting from any defect in the software, even if IMSI to have defects, you, and not IMSI®, assume the cost of any necessary service or repair. In the event any liability is imposed on IMSI®, IMSI's liability to you or any third party shall not exceed the purchase price paid for this product.

2. Thirty-day limited warranty on disks. IMSI® warrants the enclosed disks to be free of defects in material and workmanship under normal use for 30 days after purchase. During the 30-day period, you may return a defective disk to IMSI® with proof of purchase, and it will be replaced without charge, unless the disk is damaged by accident or misuse. Replacement of a disk is your sole remedy in the event of a defect. This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state.

3. THE LIMITED WARRANTY STATED ABOVE IS THE ONLY WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION OF ANY KIND WITH RESPECT TO THE SOFTWARE MADE BY IMSI CREATION, PRODUCTION, DELIVERY, OR LICENSING OF THE SOFTWARE. IMSI® AND ANY SUCH THIRD PARTY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, WITH RESPECT TO THE SOFTWARE, ITS QUALITY, RELIABILITY OR PERFORMANCE; OR ITS MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTY RIGHTS, OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

4. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of implied warranties of liability for incidental or consequential

may terminate your license if you fail to comply with this Agreement. You agree, upon such

had reason to know of the possibility of such damage. If the software proves

OR ANY THIRD PARTY INVOLVED IN THE

PROGRAM LICENSE AGREEMENT

damages, so the above limitations or exclusions may not apply to you.

Article 4. Product Serial Number and Required Activation:

Many of the software programs IMSI® produces contain a serial number and activation system designed to prevent unlicensed or illegal use of the software. If this software contains such a system you agree that IMSI® may use these measures to protect

IMSI

against software piracy. Software using this system may contain technology that limits the ability to install and uninstall the software on a computer to not more than a finite number of times for a finite number of computers. This License and the software containing this technology require activation as further set forth in the Installation program of the software. The software using this system will only operate for a finite period of time prior to software activation by you. During activation, you will be asked to provide your unique product serial number provided with the software over the Internet to verify the authenticity of the software. If you do not complete the activation within the finite period of time as prompted by the software, the software will cease to function until activation is complete, which will restore software functionality. In the event that you are not able to activate the software over the Internet, you may contact IMSI Customer Service via the telephone to complete the activation process, using the information provided by IMSI

Article 5: General

1. You may not sub-license, assign, or transfer the license or the program except as expressly provided in this Agreement.

Any attempt otherwise to sub-license, assign, or transfer any of the rights, duties, or obligations hereunder is void.

2. This Agreement will be governed by the laws of the State of California, and you agree that any claims regarding the

software shall be brought in California, and waive any objections to jurisdiction in the US District Court for the Northern District of California or the California Superior Court for Marin County.

3. You acknowledge that US laws prohibit the export/re-export of technical data of US origin, including software, and agree

that you will not export or re-export the software without the appropriate US and foreign government license.

during activation, or as may be set forth in the documentation.

TurboCAD, FloorPlan 3D and the IMSI logo are registered trademarks of IMSI.

ImageCELs® is a registered trademark of IMAGETECTS.

Adobe, Acrobat, and the Acrobat logo are trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated, which may be registered in certain jurisdictions.

Flash is a registered trademark of Macromedia.

Arthur D. Applegate

OpenDWG Alliance

Lithonia Lighting

Tidestone Technologies

All other trademarks are acknowledged.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 : Getting Started

System Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Installing TurboCAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Registration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Importing and Exporting Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Batch Conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

TurboCAD Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Other CAD Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Starting TurboCAD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Page Setup Wizard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Opening and Saving Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Opening Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Saving Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Summary Info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Getting Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Online Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Web Tutorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Help on the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Chapter 2 : User Interface

Components of the UI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Drawing Area: Model Space and Paper Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Menu Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Status Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Inspector Bar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Coordinate Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Palette Area. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Rulers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Scroll Bars. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Menus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

File Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Edit Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

View Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Workspace Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Insert Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Format Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

TurboCAD Reference Manual

Tools Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Modify Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Modes Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

AddOns Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Options Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Window Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Help Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Local Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Palettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Docking Palettes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Symbols Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Blocks Palette. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Selection Info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Measurement Info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Internet Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Color Palette. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29

Calculator Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

Design Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Part Tree Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Materials Palette. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Luminances Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Environments Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

MacroRecorder Palette. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Drafting Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

TC Explorer Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Customizing the UI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Customize Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Customize IntelliMouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Customize Toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

Customize Menus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

Customize Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

Program Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

General Setup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Desktop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

Preference. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

Toolbars and Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

Auto-Naming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

File Locations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43

Symbol Libraries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

Colors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

Warning Dialogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

Constraints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

ii For updates and additional information,

Table of Contents

Drawing Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Display Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Grid Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Advanced Grid Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Space Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Angle Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

ACIS Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Render Scene Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Render Scene Luminance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Line Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Background Color. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Print Style Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Working with Multiple Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Creating and Displaying Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Multiple Windows of the Same File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Moving and Copying Between Different Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Object Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Property Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Properties Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Styles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Brush Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Custom Properties (Database Management). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

TC Explorer Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

TC Explorer Toolbar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

General Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Drawing Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Chapter 3 : Manipulating the 2D Display

Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Zooming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Panning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Aerial View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Redrawing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Saving Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Named View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Creating a View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Previous View. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

3D View Manipulation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

TurboCAD Reference Manual

Chapter 4 : Drawing Aids

Coordinate Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87

WCS and UCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87

Absolute Coordinates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88

Relative Coordinates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88

Polar Coordinates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88

Relocate Origin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89

Locking Coordinates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89

Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89

Displaying and Manipulating the Grid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90

Printing the Grid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90

Snaps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91

Snap Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .91

Magnetic Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92

Running and Local Snaps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92

Snap Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93

Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98

Setting Up Layers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99

Manipulating Layers and Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100

Layers of Groups and Blocks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102

Layer Sets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102

Construction Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103

Construction Geometry Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103

Creating Construction Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .103

Clearing and Hiding Constructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106

Printing Construction Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106

Design Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106

Design Director Toolbar and Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .106

Design Director Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107

Design Director: Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107

Design Director: Workplanes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108

Design Director: Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108

Design Director: Cameras . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108

Design Director: Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109

Design Director: Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110

Design Director: Categories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110

iv For updates and additional information,

Table of Contents

Chapter 5 : Inserting Objects

Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Point Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Single Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Polyline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Polygon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Irregular Polygon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Rectangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Rotated Rectangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Perpendicular . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Parallel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Tangent Arc Point. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Tangent to Arc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118

Tangent from Arc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Tangent to 2 Arcs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Minimal Distance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Double Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Double Line Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Single Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Polyline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Polygon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Irregular Polygon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Rectangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Rotated Rectangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Perpendicular . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Parallel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Multi Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Multi Line Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Single Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Polyline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Polygon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Irregular Polygon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Rectangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127

Rotated Rectangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Perpendicular . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Parallel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Circle / Ellipse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Center and Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Concentric. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Double Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

TurboCAD Reference Manual

Tangent to Arc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129

Tangent to Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130

Triple Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130

Tangent to 3 Arcs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .131

Tangent to Entities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .131

Ellipse. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132

Rotated Ellipse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132

Ellipse Fixed Ratio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133

Arc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133

Center and Radius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133

Concentric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .134

Double Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .135

Tangent to Arc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .135

Tangent to Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .136

Start / Included / End . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137

Start / End / Included . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137

Tangent to 3 Arcs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .137

Tangent to Entities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .138

Tangent to 2 Entities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .140

Elliptical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141

Rotated Elliptical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141

Elliptical Fixed Ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142

Curves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142

Curve Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142

Splines and Bezier Curves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .144

Sketch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .145

Revision Cloud. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .145

Gear Contour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146

Inserting Objects from Other Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146

Inserting a File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .146

Inserting a Picture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147

Inserting an OLE Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150

Hyperlinks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .151

Deleting Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .153

Organizational Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .153

vi For updates and additional information,

Table of Contents

Chapter 6 : Selecting and Transforming Objects

Selecting Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

2D / 3D Selector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155

Using a Selection Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

Select by Entity Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158

Select by Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Select by Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Select by Attribute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Select by Fence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Select by Query. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161

Selection Info Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Select Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Geometric and Cosmetic Select Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Select Edit in 3D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166

Components of Select Edit Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167

Moving Objects in Select Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 169

Rotating Objects in Select Edit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Scaling Objects in Select Edit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170

Copying Objects in Select Edit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

Copying Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174

Linear Copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175

Radial Copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Array Copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176

Fit Linear Copy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Fit Radial Copy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

Fit Array Copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178

Mirror Copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

Vector Copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179

Offset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180

Assembling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Assemble by 3 Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181

Assemble by Edge and Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183

Assemble by Facet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Transforming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185

Move . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186

Rotate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187

Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188

Generic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

Transform Recorder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190

TurboCAD Reference Manual

Chapter 7 : Editing and Modifying 2D Objects

Edit Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .193

Moving a Node. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .193

Adding a Node . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .194

Deleting Nodes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .194

Editing Multiple Nodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .195

Breaking (Opening) Closed Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .196

Closing Open Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .196

Editing Linear Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .197

Editing Circles, Ellipses, and Arcs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .199

Editing Splines and Bezier Curves. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .200

Editing Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .202

Modifying Geometry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .203

Object Trim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .203

Stretch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .205

Split . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .205

Meet 2 Lines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .207

Chamfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .208

Line Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .210

Shrink / Extend Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .211

Multi Shrink / Extend Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .211

Arc Complement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .212

Fillet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .212

T-Meet 2 Double Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .213

Intersect 2 Double Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .214

Join Polyline. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .214

Chain Polyline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .215

Double Line Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .215

Formatting Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .216

Aligning Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .216

Distributing Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .217

Exploding Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .218

Stacking Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .219

Format Painter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .220

Regions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .221

Convert to Curve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .221

Constraining Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .223

Points Coincident . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .223

Coincident . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .224

Parallel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .225

Perpendicular . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .225

viii For updates and additional information,

Table of Contents

Tangent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226

Connect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

Concentric. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228

Symmetric. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229

Equal Radius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

Equal Length. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

Equal Distance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231

Change Chirality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233

Fix Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234

Auto Constraint. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235

Auto Dimension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237

Constraining Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238

2D Boolean Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

2D Add . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242

2D Subtract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

2D Intersect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243

Measuring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244

Coordinates of a Point. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244

Measuring Distance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244

Measuring Angles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246

Measuring Area. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 247

Geometric Parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248

Tracing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

Trace by Rectangle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251

Trace by Point. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253

Chapter 8 : Groups, Blocks, and Symbols

Auto-Naming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

Creating a Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255

Editing a Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256

Exploding a Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

Blocks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

Creating a Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257

Inserting a Block. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259

Editing a Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261

Exploding a Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263

Block Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264

External References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266

Symbol Libraries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267

TurboCAD Reference Manual

Inserting a Symbol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .267

Editing a Symbol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .268

Saving a Symbol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .269

Chapter 9 : Annotation

Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .271

Text Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .271

Inserting Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .272

Editing Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .273

Multi Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .274

Editing Multi Line Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .275

Multi Line Text Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .276

Text Along Curve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .277

Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .277

Dimension Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .278

Associative Dimensions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .282

Segment and Entity Dimensioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .282

Creating Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .283

Quick Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .291

Dimensions in Viewports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .293

Drawing Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .293

Weld Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .293

Geometric Tolerance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .294

Surface Roughness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .295

Hatching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .296

Associative Hatching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .296

Hatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .296

Path Hatching. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .297

Pick Point and Hatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .297

Editing a Hatch Pattern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .297

Chapter 10 : Working in 3D

3D Drawing Setup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .299

Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .299

ACIS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .300

Render Scene Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .301

3D Views. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .301

Standard Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .301

Saving 3D Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .302

3D Coordinate Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .302

x For updates and additional information,

Table of Contents

Workplanes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303

Displaying the Workplane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303

Changing the Workplane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304

Saving and Recalling WorkPlanes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

Editing the Workplane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309

Display Intersections with 3D Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310

Place on WorkPlane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

Creating 3D Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

3D Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311

Standard 3D Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312

Profile Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327

Creating 3D Objects by Editing 2D Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340

Intersection and Projection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340

Snaps and Dimensions in 3D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341

Examining the 3D Model. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342

The Camera. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342

Camera Movements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343

Walk Through Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343

Camera Objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345

Chapter 11 : Editing in 3D

Modifying Object Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

Edit Tool in 3D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347

Profile Editing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350

3D Boolean Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354

3D Add . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354

3D Subtract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355

3D Intersect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 355

3D Slice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356

Exploding Solids. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358

Blending Edges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358

Round . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359

Chamfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363

Shelling Solids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367

Sectioning Solids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368

Section by Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368

Section by Plane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369

Section by Workplane. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370

Section by Closed Polyline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370

Facet Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371

TurboCAD Reference Manual

Facet Deform. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .373

Pressure Load. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .373

Deform to Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .376

Surface and Solid Conversion Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .379

Create Surface from 2D Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .379

Create Surface from Face(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .379

Create Surface from Solid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .380

Create Solid from Face(s) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .382

Create Solid from Surface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .383

Imprint. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .384

Imprint Add . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .384

Imprint Subtract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .384

Imprint Intersect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .385

Imprint Limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .385

Part Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .386

Part Tree Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .387

Editing Operations in the Part Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .387

Chapter 12 : Rendering

Rendering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .391

Creating a Rendered View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .391

Render (Camera) Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .393

Lights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .397

Creating Lights - Light Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .397

Controlling Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .399

Editing Lights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .400

Luminance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .402

Luminance Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .402

Editing Luminances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .404

Luminances Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .405

Loading and Saving Luminances. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .406

Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .406

Material Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .406

Editing Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .407

Materials Palette. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .408

Loading and Saving Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .408

Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .409

Environments Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .409

Editing Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .410

Environments Palette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .411

Loading and Saving Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .411

xii For updates and additional information,

Table of Contents

Chapter 13 : Architecture Tools

Wall Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413

Wall Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413

Wall Side. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 414

Inserting Walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 415

Splitting and Joining Walls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416

Wall Dimension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417

Add Wall Modifiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418

Convert to Wall. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419

Inserting 2D Blocks in Walls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420

Roofs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420

Add Roof. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420

Roof Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421

Edit Slope Angle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 422

Openings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423

Opening Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423

Insert Opening. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 423

Edit Opening Modifier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424

FloorPlan Print Space Maker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425

Filters and Conversion Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425

Using FloorPlan Print Space Maker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 426

Material List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429

Chapter 14 : Paper Space and Printing

Paper Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431

Switching to Paper Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431

Paper Space Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432

Manipulating Paper Spaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432

Drafting Palette - Creating Standard Views. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433

Drafting Palette Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433

Parts and Assemblies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434

Inserting Standard Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 436

Properties of Standard Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443

Properties of Section Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 443

Viewports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445

Inserting Viewports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 445

Viewport Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447

Update Viewport Boundary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448

Overlapping Viewports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449

Floating Model Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 449

TurboCAD Reference Manual

Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .449

Printer Paper and the Drawing Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .449

Simple Printing and Tiled Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .450

Print Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .450

Page Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .451

Printing from Model Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .453

Print Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .454

Publish as HTML . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .455

Publish to HTML Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .455

Publish to HTML Layout. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .456

Chapter 15 : Customized Programming

Macro Recorder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .457

Recording and Playing Scripts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .457

Sample Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .458

Script Limitations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .458

SDK. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .458

xiv For updates and additional information,

1 Getting Started

This section covers what you should know before and during TurboCAD installation, and fundamental concepts of using files, including import / export and page setup.

System Requirements

• Pentium class Processor.

• 128 MB RAM recommended for simple files with 2D entities, 256-512 MB for large files with numerous 3D entities.

• 55 to 220+ MB of free hard disk space depending on accessory applications installed, 64+ MB of swap space.

• Super VGA (1024 x768) display.

• High Color (16 bit) graphics card.

• 4X CD-ROM drive with 32 bit drivers.

• TurboCAD Pro runs on either Windows 2000 or XP. TurboCAD Designer and Deluxe are only supported for Windows 2000 and XP, but may work on Windows 98 and ME as well.

• Mouse. Intellimouse (wheel mouse) recommended.

• Internet connection recommended.

The following items are recommended but not required:

• 1.6+ GHz Processor, 256 MB RAM

• 3D Graphics accelerator card

• Wheel mouse

• Internet connection

• Microsoft ® Internet Explorer (tm) required for Internet registration

• Macromedia ® Flash (tm) plug-in required for on-line tutorials.

Installing TurboCAD

To install TurboCAD, insert the CD into your CD-ROM. If the installation process does not start automatically, select Start / Run from the Windows taskbar and type D:\setup.exe (where D is the drive letter of the CD-ROM).

After you have installed TurboCAD, the Setup program creates a program folder. If you choose the default settings, TurboCAD is installed in the C:\Program Files\IMSI\TCWP11 folder (or TCW11 for Deluxe). This folder contains several subfolders that contain TurboCAD program files and related files such as templates, sample drawings, and symbols.

The Setup program also creates a program group containing the TurboCAD application icon, as well as shortcuts to the Help and the Readme file.

The program group is accessed through the Start menu.

Before you start the program, please read the Readme file, which contains the latest information on TurboCAD.

To remove TurboCAD from your computer:

1. In Windows, select Start / Settings / Control Panel.

2. Double-click Add/Remove Programs.

3. Select TurboCAD from the list.

4. Click Add/Remove and follow the instructions on the screen.

Registration

If you do not have Internet access, please call 800-833-8082 to register. Becoming a TurboCAD registered user has many advantages, including technical support, access to extensive online support databases, and program updates.

TurboCAD Reference Manual

Importing and Exporting Files

You can import and export data from other TurboCAD formats, as well as formats of other CAD systems.

To import from another file type:

1. Select File / Open or Ctrl+O.

2. Under Files of type, select the format you want to import.

3. If you want to specify conversion parameters, click Setup.

4. Browse to the file, and double-click it or click Open.

To export to another file type:

1. Select File / Save As.

2. Under Save as type, select the format to which you want to export.

3. If you want to specify conversion parameters, click Setup.

4. Browse to the folder and assign a file name.

To import or export only certain components of a file, use File / Extract From or Extract To. For example, you can choose to import a drawing’s layers and blocks, or export only print styles.

To insert the contents of another file as a block, create an external reference (xref). See "External References" on page

266.

Batch Conversion

Available in TurboCAD Professional only

Menu: AddOns / SDK Samples / Tools / File Converter

conversion format. Click Run to convert all files in the selected folder, and place the converted files in the target folder.

TurboCAD Formats

There are three TurboCAD file formats, TCW, TCT, and TCX, that you can use for saving vector graphics from within TurboCAD.

TCW: (TurboCAD for Windows) - a file format for saving vector graphics from within TurboCAD.

TCT: (TurboCAD Template) - a file format for saving TurboCAD drawings as templates. TurboCAD uses a template for starting a new drawing. You can save any drawing as a template.

TCX: A file format for saving a TurboCAD drawing as an ASCII file.

NOTE: If you need to save a drawing that is to be opened by

an earlier version of TurboCAD, you can save as Version 8.

TCW, TCT, TCX Import Setup

Restore render view: Opens the drawing in render mode. The file must have been saved in render mode.

TCW, TCT, TCX Export Setup

NOTE: Display the SDK Samples toolbar by right-clicking in

any toolbar area and selecting SDK Samples.

Opens the TurboCAD File Convertor window, in which you can select a source and destination folder for batch conversion. Use the Files of type field to select the

2 For updates and additional information,

Compression: Saves the file in the TCT compressed format. If the speed of operation is more important than the file size, leave this option disabled.

Full Precision: TurboCAD stores your objects with the maximum possible accuracy. Full Precision enables the maximum depth of mathematical calculations performed to

Chapter 1 Getting Started

generate and save entities. When disabled, entities will be calculated and saved using only to four decimal points of precision. This results in faster execution and smaller files, but may compromise accuracy.

NOTE: Less than full accuracy can affect the ability of the

program to correctly display and edit objects at extremely small scales. Unless you are using a slow machine, and know you do not need extreme accuracy, you should leave Full

Precision on.

Other CAD Formats

The following formats can be read by TurboCAD, either for import, export, or both. Some formats have a Setup in which you can set certain parameters for conversion. If you do not specify conversion parameters, the defaults will be used. (If no Setup is indicated, the conversion requires no additional input.)

NOTE: Some of these formats are available in TurboCAD

Professional only.

3DS: AutoDesk 3D Studio format. See "3DS File Import Setup" on page 4 or "3DS File Export Setup" on page 4.

3DV: VRML Worlds (import only)

BMF: FloorPlan format (import only).

BMP: Bitmap format, TurboCAD for Windows (export

only). A bitmap is a representation of a graphic image consisting of rows and columns of dots. See "BMP Export Setup" on page 4.

CGM: Computer Graphics Metafile (import only)

DC, DCD: DesignCAD (import only)

DGN: Intergraph Standard file format. See "DGN Import

Setup" on page 5 or "DGN Export Setup" on page 5.

DWF: Drawing Web format. See "DWF Export Setup" on page 5.

DWG: AutoCAD native format for vector graphics. See "DXF (DWG) Import Setup" on page 6 or "DXF (DWG) Export Setup" on page 6.

DXF: Drawing eXchange format, used by AutoCAD to interact with other applications.

EPS: Encapsulated Post Script format. See "EPS Import Setup" on page 6 or "EPS Export Setup" on page 7

FCD: FastCAD DOS format (import only)

FCW: FastCAD Windows format (import only). See "FCW

Import Setup" on page 7.

FP3: FloorPlan format (import only). See "FP3 Import Setup" on page 7.

GEO: VRML Worlds (import only)

IGS: IGES format. See "IGS Import Setup" on page 7.

NOTE: IGS is a file format for a public domain called IGES which is actually a neutral file format intended as an international standard for the exchange of data between different CAD/CAM systems. IGES is an ANSI standard maintained by the IGES/PDES Organization (IPO), under the direction of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The National Computer Graphics Association (NCGA) acts as the administrator of the standard.

JPG: JPEG image compression standard, full 24-color. TurboCAD for Windows (export only). See "JPG Export Setup" on page 7.

JPG: JPEG format, SDK sample filter (export only)

MTX: MetaStream format. This format enables the creation,

delivery, and viewing of scalable 3D graphics. It enables you to view images with Web browsers equipped with 3D plug-in software, and to interact with 3D Web graphics in real time by zooming, panning, or rotating objects within a Web browser. It also scales objects in real time to match the performance of your system. MetaStream compresses 3D geometry and texture information, so that files can be delivered quickly to your machine.

PLT: Hewlett-Packard Graphics Language. See "PLT Import Setup" on page 8 or "PLT Export Setup" on page 8.

SAT: ACIS solid modeling file format for storing graphics as ASCII (SAT - Save As Text) files. See "SAT Import Setup" on page 8 or "SAT Export Setup" on page 8.

TurboCAD Reference Manual

SHX: Format that saves selected entities as a single shape, that can be used in a line style (export only). This is not the same as *.shx font format. See "SHX Export Setup" on page

STL: Stereo Lithograpy format. See "STL File Export Setup" on page 9.

STP: Step format.

WMF: Windows MetaFile format, saves graphics as a series

of records that correspond to graphics function calls, such as drawing straight lines, curves, filled areas, and text. "WMF Import Setup" on page 9 or "WMF Export Setup" on page 10

WRL: Format for saving graphics as a Virtual Reality Model Language (VRML) description. See "WRL Export Setup" on page 10.

WRZ: VRML Worlds

3DS File Import Setup

Load Keyframe Information: Accepts or ignores the keyframe 3DS file data.

3DS File Export Setup

BMP Export Setup

Output Range: Creates an export file either out of the entire drawing (All) or only the part that is currently in view (View).

Use Render: Available only when Render or Hidden Line mode is active. If checked, the exported image will show the render displayed on the screen.

Size of Rectangle: Sets up the resolution for the exported graphics. By default, these values are 400 x 400 but you can customize the height and width

• Maximum resolution: The drawing will be defined by a rectangular matrix of 2000 x 2000 logical pixels. If there is at least one image object, this is set to 1000 x 1000.

• Keep View Rectangle Aspect Ratio: Keeps the same ratio of length to width.

NOTE: You can determine an object’s type by using the

Selection Info Palette. See "Selection Info Palette" on page

Preserve loaded 3DS materials: Saves unique materials

162.

from a 3DS file. If not checked, saves TurboCAD materials.

Save Keyframe: Saves the hierarchical structure of entities in a file. Do not check this option for 3DS files that you want to use as 3DS symbols in FloorPlan.

4 For updates and additional information,

Chapter 1 Getting Started

DGN Import Setup

View Number: By default, the view number is 1.

Line Widths: You customize a set of drawing line widths

identified by the indexes (0, 1, 2, etc.). To do this, use the two-column Line Width control ,where the Index column provides a reference to a particular line width, and the Width column is a data entry field. You can scale the line width values, using the Width Scale data entry field.

Fonts: As with the drawing line widths, the import file's fonts are indexed. For every index in the Index column, you can select a font from the corresponding drop-down list in the Font column. In addition to the options of the Fonts control, there is the Default Font entry field whose drop-down list lets you select a common font for the ones you haven't changed.

Set Defaults: Instead of customizing the imported file options, you can apply the default settings for the DGN file import. To do this, click Set Defaults.

Default font index to export: The DGN format requires the export file's fonts to be indexed. For every listed font, you can select an index. In addition to the options of the Fonts control, there is the Default Index entry field whose drop-down list lets you select a common index for the fonts you have not changed.

DWF Export Setup

Output Format: If Readable is selected, you can later open the exported file to view and/or edit via a text editor.

Skip Invisible Layers: Invisible layers will not be included in the export file. See "Setting Up Layers" on page 99.

Precision: Sets the export precision between 16 and 32 bits. For simple drawings there is little visual difference. More complex drawings and fine details require higher precision, but increasing the precision increases the file size.

DGN Export Setup

Ve rs io n : Choose between Versions 7 and 8.

TurboCAD Reference Manual

DXF (DWG) Import Setup

Open mode:

• Open without audit: Opens the file without checking it. If the file has errors, it will not be opened.

• Open with audit: Opens the file and corrects errors when possible. The report is displayed only if errors are found. The file is checked is after it is loaded into memory, though if the file is very corrupt it may not be able to be loaded into memory.

• Recover: Opens the file and corrects errors. The report is automatically displayed, regardless of errors. The file is checked before loading it into memory.

File Units: Replaces the units of an imported file with the selected units.

Default text font: Sets a default import font.

Overwrite existing entries for: AutoCAD stores the

settings (or values) for its operating environment and some of its commands in system variables. Checking this box overwrites these settings. In TurboCAD, these settings include World units, the numerical display format, the angular system, etc.

You can overwrite system variables for objects under the following conditions: the DXF/DWG drawing is inserted into an open file, and both files (the imported file and the receiving file), have system variables (views, blocks, layers and/or line styles) of the same names.

DXF (DWG) Export Setup

Save As: Select the AutoCAD version.

Precision: The number of decimal places for numerical

values of the exported file.

Rewrite embedded images: Relevant for files that contain image objects. Choose whether to replace images.

Groups as Blocks: Displays objects included in groups as blocks when imported into AutoCAD.

Unblock: Explodes blocks into its constituent objects.

Explode Text: Explodes any text into its constituent parts.

EPS Import Setup

Import to: Choose whether the imported file will open in Model Space or Paper Space.

PostScript Level: Level 2 is a more sophisticated version of PostScript. It provides color extensions, support for fonts with many characters, filters (for compression, etc.) and improved image handling (inclusion of JPEG files, etc).

6 For updates and additional information,

Chapter 1 Getting Started

EPS Export Setup

Explode Text: Explodes any text into its constituent parts.

Save block as procedure: Saves the drawing's blocks as

procedures in the PostScript language.

Resolution: Sets the horizontal and vertical resolutions for the two-dimensional presentation of your drawing. Check

Max Resolution to set the maximum 1600x1600 resolution.

Output file: Exports to a binary or readable format.

Header: Specify whether to include a preview image, and in

what format.

FCW Import Setup

IGS Import Setup

Adjust line pattern scale: Line style for improving line display. Because IGS files can be created in a variety of ways, either option (on or off) may work to improve precision during import.

JPG Export Setup

Create Model Space Viewports: Specify whether to create viewports for the Model Space presentation of your drawing.

FP3 Import Setup

Level: Choose to import all levels of the floor plan, or to import only a selected level.

In FloorPlan, each story is a level. Within each level, drawing objects are automatically organized into layers. TurboCAD supports the FP3 layer structure.

Output Range: Creates an export file either out of the entire drawing (All) or only the part that is currently in view (View).

Use Render: Available only when Render or Hidden Line mode is active. If checked, the exported image will show the render displayed on the screen.

JPEG quality factor: Your goal is generally to pick the lowest quality setting, or smallest file size, that decompresses into an image indistinguishable from the original. This setting can vary, but here are some rules of thumb. For good-quality, full-color source images, the default quality setting (Q 75) is very often the best choice. This setting is about the lowest you can go without expecting to see defects in a typical image. Try Q 75 first; if you see defects, then increase. If the image was less than perfect

TurboCAD Reference Manual

quality to begin with, you might be able to drop down to Q 50 without objectionable degradation. On the other hand, you might need a higher quality setting to avoid further loss. This is often necessary if the image contains dithering or moire patterns. Except for experimental purposes, avoid values above Q 95; Q 100 will produce a file two or three times as large as Q 95, but with negligible quality improvement.

Size of Rectangle: Sets the resolution for the exported graphics. By default, these values are 600 x 800 but you can customize the height and width

• Maximum resolution: The drawing will be defined by a rectangular matrix of 2000 x 2000 logical pixels. If there is at least one image object, this is set to 1000 x 1000.

NOTE: You can determine an object’s type by using the

Selection Info Palette. See "Selection Info Palette" on page

162.

PLT Import Setup

Import to: Choose whether to open the imported file in Model or Paper Space.

PLT Export Setup

Orientation: Sets the paper orientation to Portrait (vertical) or Landscape (horizontal).

SAT Import Setup

Mode: Choose one of the modes for representing SAT objects.

Default: The choice of the polygon type is determined by the surface type in the solid object model (planar, cylindrical, spherical, toroidal, etc.)

3, 4, n-sided polygons: The number of sides of polygons used for object representation.

If you wish to check what type of polygon is used for the object presentation in an imported SAT file, do the following.

1. Once the SAT file has been imported, select an object in the drawing, make a block of it, and bring this block onto the paper of the TurboCAD desktop.

2. Open the Properties window for this block, open the Block Insertion page, and assign non-zero values to the rotation coordinates.

3. When a 3D view of your object is displayed, select the object and explode it.

4. After this you can display individual elements (polygons) of the object by selecting the different parts of objects.

SAT Export Setup

Explode text: Explodes any text into its constituent parts.

8 For updates and additional information,

Select the SAT version for export.

Chapter 1 Getting Started

SHX Export Setup

SHX Export Quality Factor: A high value creates shapes that more accurately represent the selected geometry. However, large values tend to create shapes that contain more coordinate data and can be a processing burden during regeneration. Low values create less accurate shapes that are more quickly processed. You may need to experiment with different values.

NOTE: SHX export does not create an *shx font file. Once

created, the results cannot be edited.

STL File Export Setup

Binary: Saves to a binary file.

Color Binary: Saves to a color binary file.

ASCII: Saves to an ASCII text file.

WMF Import Setup

Prohibition of palette change: Prevents TurboCAD from changing the color palette.

Insert to extents of: Sets the size of the imported drawing.

• View: The size is based on the current view.

• Drawing: The size is based on the entire drawing.

• Page: The size is based on the paper sheet.

• Custom: Define your own size.

Custom extents: Enter coordinates and dimensions of the rectangle that encloses the drawing.

Open in Model Space: Opens the imported drawing in Model Space. The drawing is placed on the default By World workplane.

TurboCAD Reference Manual

WMF Export Setup

Output Range: Creates an export file either out of the entire drawing (All) or only the part that is currently in view (View).

Size of Rectangle: Sets the resolution for the exported graphics. By default, these values are 400 x 400 but you can customize the height and width

• Maximum resolution: The drawing will be defined by a rectangular matrix of 8000 x 8000 logical pixels. If there is at least one image object, this is set to 1000 x 1000.

NOTE: You can determine an object’s type by using the

Selection Info Palette. See "Selection Info Palette" on page

162.

Starting TurboCAD

If you accepted the default installation settings, TurboCAD can be accessed via the Windows Start / Programs menu.

1. Click the Start button on the Windows taskbar.

2. Select Programs / IMSI, and select the version you have installed.

You can also start TurboCAD by double-clicking the desktop icon.

In the opening screen, you can view a History of drawings previously opened, browse to folders containing drawings you want to open, or open a Template. You can also use this window to import files of other types.

WRL Export Setup

Select a version of VRML file to save. You can also explode the drawing text while creating the file for export.

10 For updates and additional information,

If you want to create a new drawing, click New.

You can also close this window by clicking Cancel. You can then select File / New within TurboCAD to create a new drawing. The New TurboCAD Drawing window appears, in which you specify what type of file you want to open.

Chapter 1 Getting Started

New from Scratch: Creates a new blank drawing with the default settings.

New from Template: Enables you to select a predefined template, which has size, units, and layout defined.

Page Setup Wizard: Opens the step-by-step guide for setting page size and scale.

Open Drawing: Opens an existing drawing. Browse to the desired folder to locate the file. For acceptable file types, see "Importing and Exporting Files" on page 2.

Open Last Edited: Opens the last file you worked on.

In the first page you can choose between English and Metric units.

On the second page you can set the type of unit you want to use - architectural (1’-3”), decimal (3.75 ft.), scientific, etc. You can also specify the main unit (inches, feet, yards) and the precision of the units.

Page Setup Wizard

A step-by-step guide to setting page size and drawing scale.

NOTE: This is not exactly the same as the Page Setup used

for printing, but any relevant parameters you set in this wizard will appear in the Page Setup. See "Page Setup" on page

451.

If you selected Page Setup Wizard in the New TurboCAD Drawing window, the wizard opens automatically. You can also access it via File / Page Setup Wizard.

TurboCAD Reference Manual

The third page contains options for paper size and orientation

- these are used when printing. You can also enter drawing information such as title, author, and comments.

The fourth page enables you to set the printing scale. This is the size of the objects when printed, relative to their actual size specified in the drawing.

from Paper Space, you get a hard copy of the Plan view of the current drawing because the Plan view is the default view for Model Space.

The sixth and final page enables you to save the settings for future drawing or to restore the initial settings. Settings can be edited in the the TC Explorer Palette (see "TC Explorer Palette" on page 74.).

The fifth page enables you to create a default viewport for mapping the Model Space drawings onto the paper sheet as defined in Paper Space. When printing the default viewport

12 For updates and additional information,

Chapter 1 Getting Started

Opening and Saving Files

Within TurboCAD you can choose to open a saved file or start a new file. You can also open new and saved files from within TurboCAD, and there are several options for saving files.

NOTE: The General page of the Program Setup contains

several settings for opening and saving files. See "General Setup" on page 39.

Opening Files

Menu: File / Open

Hotkey: Ctrl+O

Files of type: By default, you will open a *.tcw file. Use this

list if you want to open a file of a different format. See "Other CAD Formats" on page 3.

Open as read-only: A read-only file can be viewed only; it cannot be edited.

Description: Displays text entered in the Subject field of the Summary Info window. See "Summary Info" on page 14.

Show Preview: Displays a thumbnail of the drawing. Only

TurboCAD files (*.tcw and *.tct) can display previews.

Setup: When importing files of other formats, provides access to conversion options.

Saving Files

Menu: File / Save, Save As

Hotkey: Ctrl+S

Saves the current drawing to disk. If the file was not previously saved, the Save As window will appear.

Save as type: By default, you will save the file as a *.tcw file. Use this list if you want to save (export) the file to a different format. See "Other CAD Formats" on page 3.

Setup: Enables you to set parameters for the saved *.tcs file (see "TCW, TCT, TCX Export Setup" on page 2). When exporting to another file format, provides access to conversion options.

Save:

• Drawing: Saves the entire drawing.

• Selection: Saves the selected objects only.

If Prompt for Summary Info is checked in the General page of the Program Setup (Options / General), the Summary Info window will appear before saving.

TurboCAD Reference Manual

Summary Info

Menu: File / Summary Info

Records general information to be saved with the drawing.

If Prompt for Summary Info is checked in the General page of the Program Setup (Options / General), the Summary Info window will appear when you save the drawing.

File Name and Directory: Information for files that have already been saved.

Keywords: Text used when searching for this file.

Subject: Descriptive text that appears in the Open and Save

windows. This text can also potentially be used by Windows file search utilities.

• Metafile: Suitable for small files because it displays more detail. Symbol previews are generally stored using this option.

Create Preview by: Saves the preview as the plan view or by the current view and render mode.

Getting Help

There are several ways to get help on any TurboCAD topic.

Online Help

The Help menu provides access to the online help, which basically contains the same content as this book.

The help is also context-sensitive, which can be accessed in several ways:

• Click the Help button (question mark icon), then click on the tool button, menu item, tab, or palette in question.

• Place the cursor over a button, menu item, or palette, or highlight a menu item, and press F1.

• Press F1 while using a tool or window.

• Press the Help button on a window.

To see a tool tip for an icon, hold the cursor over the button for a second or two. The tool tip will appear, showing the name of the tool.

TIP: Select Help / Keyboard to see a list of keyboard

shortcuts.

TIP: If a drawing is being saved as a symbol, the Title should be a short description of the symbol, and Subject contain a more detailed description. See "Symbols" on page 266.

Save Preview Graphics with Drawing: Sets the type of graphic image that will be stored with the drawing, so that it can be previewed in TurboCAD and in other Windows programs.

• None: No preview graphics will be saved.

• Bitmap: Suitable for large files because the bitmap will use the same amount of space no matter how complex the drawing is.

14 For updates and additional information,

Select Help / Tip of the Day for helpful hints.

Web Tutorials

There are several online demo tutorials that can be accessed from the page that appears in the Internet Palette (View / Internet Palette). You need the Macromedia Flash plug-in to view these tutorials.

These short, animated demos demonstrate some basic concepts about the user interface, and show you how to use some of the TurboCAD tools.

Chapter 1 Getting Started

Help on the Internet

Select Help / TurboCAD on the Web. Each item in the submenu opens the Internet Palette to the selected web site.

Forums

Go to www.turbocad.com and click User Forums. Choose the forum for the version of TurboCAD you have.

The first time you enter the forums, you will be asked to register. Registration helps maintain your preference settings, and your real name and email address help us all interact with you better.

The TurboCAD Forums are the place to get the absolute best technical support. All the support comes from other users, including professional experts (architects, engineers, and drafters) from all over the world, some using TurboCAD full-time. There are also a few IMSI employees and programmers participating. Ours are perhaps the most active forums in the CAD industry. It's free, and everyone is quite eager to help. In fact, forum users help IMSI develop and improve the software!

Feel free to reply to a message, post a new message, or create your own new thread. Introduce yourself. Formalities are waived, and you are welcome regardless of skill level. This is where we get our questions answered and our struggles resolved on a regular basis.

Technical Support

Go to the support section of http://www.turbocad.com for detailed support options.

Paid technical support is available by calling 877-827-8776.

Technical Support will work closely with you to solve any problems related to our software. Please give our support technicians as much information as possible. Remember that they are not in front of your computer and that they need your help to diagnose the problem.

On occasion, a problem can be traced to hardware, or to another software application. Our technician will supply as much support as possible in these cases, but they are not authorized to support products manufactured or published by another company.

You might find that e-mail is a more convenient way to get technical support. If you do send e-mail, provide as much information as you can about your system and about the problem.

Technical Support CheckList

You may already have the information you are looking for. Before calling, check this manual thoroughly. To receive the fastest response to your technical questions, please be in front of your computer with TurboCAD running, and be prepared to provide the following information before you call or send e-mail:

• The type of computer and Windows version you are using.

• The name, version number, and other information about your specific version of the product. (To find this information, select Help / About TurboCAD from the TurboCAD menu.)

• The exact sequence of events that created the problem. Verify that you can reproduce the problem by following the same series of steps.

• The exact wording of any error messages.

• Steps you've taken to find the answer to your question, including resources used.

• The results of any steps you have undertaken to resolve the problem.

TurboCAD Reference Manual

16 For updates and additional information,

2 User Interface

This section provides information on your working environment in TurboCAD. In addition to descriptions of the UI and its components, information is provided about program and drawing setup, customization, and windows.

Object properties, and the various means of setting and changing properties, are also covered.

Components of the UI

The main area of the TurboCAD screen is the drawing area. When creating and inserting 2D and 3D objects, you typically work in Model Space, and when putting your model on paper, Paper Space is used.

By default, the background color is white, but you can change that by selecting Options / Background Color and choosing another color.

Nearly all components of the screen can be customized. See "Customizing the UI" on page 33.

Drawing Area: Model Space and Paper Space

Menu: Workspace / Model Space, Paper Space

For creating and laying out your drawing, TurboCAD provides you with two drawing environments: Model Space and Paper Space.

• Model Space is the environment in which you create your drawing, usually called a model. In this area you do drafting and design work, creating two-dimensional drawings or three-dimensional models.

• Paper Space is the environment in which you create the final layout of your drawing for printing or plotting it on paper. In Paper Space you usually arrange the drawing's elements on a sheet of paper.

You can use the small button at the top left corner, at the intersection of the rulers, to toggle between Model and Paper Spaces.

NOTE: If the rulers are turned off, this button will not appear.

Use Workspace / Rulers to toggle the ruler display.

You can also use the icons on the Standard toolbar to switch between spaces.

There are also workspace tabs at the lower left corner of the screen. By default, each file starts with one tab for Paper Space. Click the tabs to switch spaces.

NOTE: If scroll bars are turned off, these tabs will not appear.

Use Workspace / Scroll Bars to toggle the scroll bar display.

NOTE: Floating Model Space enables you to use Model Space tools within a viewport in Paper Space. See "Floating Model Space" on page 449.

TurboCAD Reference Manual

Menu Bar

All tools and options are available by selecting them from the menus at the top of the screen - File, Edit, View, etc. (Most tools are available in toolbar icons as well).

For details on all menu options, see "Menus" on page 22.

Toolbars

Menu: Vie w / Tool bars

Toolbars are groups of related icons. They can be located on top and below the screen, and to either side of the screen.

You can also create tabbed toolbars and popup toolbars that appear when you open the local menu. You can modify a toolbar’s icons and create your own toolbars. See "Customize Toolbars" on page 34.

In addition to the default toolbars you see when you first start TurboCAD, there are numerous other toolbars you can display. There are two ways to access additional toolbars:

• Open the Toolbars and Menus page of the Program Setup (Options / Toolbars and Menus). This window contains a list of all available toolbars; check the ones you want to see.

• Right-click in any toolbar area. The local menu that appears contains the list of all available toolbars; select a toolbar to add or remove from the screen.

NOTE: If you want to use preset toolbar configurations for 2D

and 3D work, you can click Show Configuration Button in the Toolbars and Menu window (View / Toolbars). Full removes the toolbar, and 2D and 3D are optimized for work in the two modes.

By default, the Stand ard toolbar appears at the top of the screen, and the Property toolbar (see "Property Toolbar" on page 59) appears just below it. Drawing tools appear along the left side.

Icons that have a small yellow triangle in the corner are fly-outs; if you click one and hold the mouse button, the entire toolbar will “fly out,” and you can select the desired icon.

18 For updates and additional information,

Chapter 2 User Interface

Docking Toolbars

By default, some toolbars are docked along the sides of the screen, and when you display another toolbar it appears “floating” on the screen. You can dock and undock all toolbars, and the same applies for palettes as well.

You can drag a toolbar by picking it on its top or bottom edge (for vertical toolbars) or either side edge (for horizontal toolbars).

For palettes, pick the horizontal edge near the top.

Moving a toolbar to any edge of the screen will dock it to that edge. Docking to either side creates a vertical toolbar, docking to the top or bottom of the screen creates a horizontal toolbar. You can also move a toolbar onto the drawing area, where it will “float” on the screen.

Status Bar

Menu: Workspace / Status Bar

Located at the lower left corner of the screen, the Status Bar lets you know the current status of the model.

For example, if you have just activated the Line tool, the Status Bar will contain the prompt “Define the start point of the line.”

Inspector Bar

Menu: Workspace / Inspector Bar

Enables you to create objects by defining some or all of its numerical parameters.

By default, the Inspector Bar is located immediately below the drawing window.

NOTE: You can customize the Inspector Bar appearance, by

choosing Classic or Custom in the Desktop page of the Program Setup (Options / Desktop). You can also display or

hide the Inspector Bar on this page.

If you want to prevent a toolbar or palette from being dockable, click its magnet symbol on its top right corner.

When the magnet is deactivated (grayed out), the toolbar or palette can only float and will not dock to any sides.

Click the “X” symbol to close the toolbar.

For most tools, the Inspector Bar is divided into three parts.

On the left side are two icons, Cancel and Properties.

• Cancel: Ends an operation without completing it. For some tools, once the operation is complete the tool remains active. You must click Cancel, or activate another tools, to exit the tool. The hotkey for Cancel is the Esc key.

TurboCAD Reference Manual

• Properties: Opens the Properties window for the object you are creating. See "Object Properties" on page 59.

The middle section of the Inspector Bar contains the numeric fields. For example, when creating a line segment in the Polyline tool, you can set the Length, Angle, and Start and

End Widths. For a circle, the fields would be Radius, Diameter and Circumference. When moving the cursor to

position or size an object, the values in the fields update dynamically.

You can access the numeric fields via the cursor, or by pressing Tab or Ctrl+E. You can also press Tab to scroll forward to the next field. Return to the drawing by pressing Esc or clicking in the drawing.

TIP: If you want to jump from the Coordinate Fields to the

Inspector Bar, first press Esc, then Ctrl+E.

If you enter a value and press Enter, Any Ortho or snap modes are ignored. You can also enter the results of mathematic expressions from the Calculator. See "Calculator Palette" on page 30 and "Using Expressions in Data Fields" on page 31.

Locking: For some fields you can lock their values by clicking the lock symbol. This means that no matter where you place the cursor, the value will remain fixed.

There are two common local menu options that appear for many functions: Finish and One Step Back.

• Finish: Completes the operation and exits the tool. For instance, when creating a polyline, you can click

Finish after creating the last segment. The hotkey for Finish is Alt+F.

NOTE: For many tools, double-clicking when creating the last

component of an object is equivalent to clicking Finish.

• One Step Back: For tools that require multiple steps, this enables you to scroll backward through the steps already completed until you reach the desired start point, then continue working.

When in Select Edit mode, the Inspector Bar has a different appearance. The numeric fields enable you to change the size, scale, and rotation of the selected objects, while the local menu options include Make Copy, Selector properties, etc. Size and Position fields for 3D objects are turned off by default. See "Select Edit" on page 166.

NOTE: The options that appear on the Inspector Bar in Select

Edit mode depend on whether you are in 2D or 3D Selector mode, and can be changed. See "2D / 3D Selector" on page

155.

Customizing the Inspector Bar

The right side of the Inspector Bar contains options relevant for the tool or mode.

NOTE: All options on this section of the Inspector Bar can also

be accessed from the local menu, opened by right-clicking.

20 For updates and additional information,

You can remove any of the fields or local menu option icons by right-clicking anywhere on the Inspector Bar (except the numeric fields). This opens a local menu in which you can deselect any of the controls.

You can also change the width of any of the numeric fields by dragging either side with the mouse.

Chapter 2 User Interface

Coordinate Fields

When creating or sizing objects, you can define points by entering them directly into the Coordinate Fields. By default, this toolbar is located at the lower right corner of the screen.

When moving the cursor, the values in the fields update dynamically.

The type of coordinates depends on the coordinate system you are using. In the absolute and relative coordinate systems you use X, Y coordinates. In the polar coordinate system you enter an angle and distance. See "Coordinate Systems" on page 87.

You can access the numeric fields via the cursor, or by pressing Shift+Tab or Ctrl+R. You can also press Tab to scroll between Coordinate fields.

TIP: If you want to jump from the Inspector Bar to the

Coordinate Fields, first press Esc, then Ctrl+R.

Locking: You can lock a coordinate by clicking the lock box. This means that no matter where you place the cursor, the value will remain fixed.

The Coordinate Field also provides access to snap modes. Disable the SNAP button to temporarily turn off any running snaps, and disable the GEO button to temporarily turn off any running geometric aids Right-clicking on either the SNAP or GEO fields opens the Drawing Aids window. See "Snaps" on page 91.

Palette Area

Menu: View

Located by default on the right side of the screen, the tabbed palettes provide convenient access to many features, such as Blocks, the Internet, Properties, etc.

For details on each palette, see "Palettes" on page 28.

You can also lock coordinates by using the Lock options in the Modes menu.

TIP: The Coordinate Field locks are particularly useful when

you lock just one field. If you use a locked value in one field, you can then set the second coordinate using the mouse. This makes it easy to define a series of points along a specific horizontal or vertical line.

TurboCAD Reference Manual

Rulers

Menu: Workspace / Rulers

You can work with rulers to have a visual representation of the current dimensions.

Rulers are only displayed for orthographic views (top, left, right, etc.) and display the current Model Space or Paper Space units (see "Space Units" on page 49).

TIP: Another handy visual aid, which can be used in tandem

with rulers, is the grid. See "Grid" on page 89.

Scroll Bars

Menu: Workspace / Scroll Bars

Menus

The menu bar, located at the top of the screen, provides access to all commands, tools, and functions.

NOTE: You can customize the contents of the all menus, and

add new menus via Tools / Customize. See "Customize Menus" on page 37.

This section lists the contents of each main menu, and refers you to the information on each menu item.

File Menu

New: Starts a new TurboCAD drawing.

Open: Opens a drawing or converts from another format.

See "Opening and Saving Files" on page 13.

Extract From: Extracts selected components (layers, UCS, blocks, etc.) from another drawing into the current drawing.

Close: Closes the current drawing.

Save: Saves the current drawing to disk.

Save As: Saves the current drawing under a new name, or

exports to another format. See "Opening and Saving Files" on page 13.

Save All: Saves all open drawings.

Extract To: Extracts selected components (layers, UCS,

blocks, etc.) from the current drawing to other drawings.

Publish to HTML: Exports the current drawing to an HTML file. See "Publish as HTML" on page 455.

Store Thumbnail: A thumbnail of the file will be created, which can be seen in the Open and Save windows.

Your drawing can be larger (much larger!) than what you see on the screen. The scroll bars can be used to pan to a different area of your drawing. Click on the arrows at the ends of the scroll bars to move a small amount. Drag the scroll box itself to move faster.

22 For updates and additional information,

TIP: Another way to create thumbnails is to go to Windows

Start menu / All Programs / TurboCAD / Thumbnails Setup. Check the file types for which you want to generate

thumbnails.

Page Setup Wizard: Step-by-step guide to setting up the page size and drawing scale. See "Page Setup Wizard" on page 11.

Chapter 2 User Interface

Summary Info: View or edit document information about the current drawing. See "Summary Info" on page 14.

Print Preview: Displays a preview before printing.

Page Setup: Options for printing your drawing. See "Page

Setup" on page 451.

Print: Prints the current drawing. See "Printing" on page

449.

Send: Sends the current drawing as an email attachment, using Microsoft Mail or Outlook.

Recent File: Reopens one of the most recently used files.

Exit: Exits TurboCAD.

Edit Menu

Undo: Reverses the previous action (Ctrl+Z). You can set undo options in Options / Preference (see "Preference" on page 41).

Redo: Reverses the effect of the previous Undo command.

Cut: Removes selected objects and places them on the

Windows clipboard (Ctrl+C).

Copy: Copies selected objects to the Windows clipboard.

Paste: Pastes objects into the drawing from the Windows

clipboard. You can paste drawing objects, text, images, or Windows metafile data (Ctrl+V).

Paste Special: Pastes objects from the clipboard as data or as OLE objects. See "Paste Special" on page 150.

NOTE: When using Paste and Paste Special when Script

Blocking in Norton AntiVirus is enabled, you may have problems with pasted objects. For example, *.doc files can become uneditable pictures.

Clear: Removes the selection, all objects, a single construction, or all constructions from the drawing.

Relocate Block Reference Point: See "Relocating a Block Reference Point" on page 261.

Finish to Edit Block: Ends the editing of a block. See "Editing a Block" on page 261.

Edit Group Content: Edit the content of the selected group. See "Editing a Group" on page 256.

Finish to Edit Group: Ends the editing of a group. See "Editing a Group" on page 256.

Select: Activates the Select tool. See "Selecting Objects" on page 155.

Edit Tool: Activates node editing. See "Edit Tool" on page

193.

Select All: Selects all objects in the active drawing (Ctrl+A).

Select By: Selects objects that meet specified criteria See

"Selecting Objects" on page 155.

Copy Entities: Create single or multiple copies of objects. See "Copying Objects" on page 174.

Transform: Quickly move, rotate, or scale objects. See "Transforming" on page 185.

Transform Recorder: Record transformations to apply to other objects. See "Transform Recorder" on page 190.

Links: Changes OLE object links. See "Editing Links to OLE Objects" on page 151.

Object: Edits OLE objects in its source application. See "Editing Inserted OLE Objects" on page 151.

Hyperlink: Jumps to a specified file or URL. See "Hyperlinks" on page 151.

Facet Edit: Moves or rotates individual facets of a solid object. See "Facet Edit" on page 371.

Imprint: Modifies a facet of a solid by imprinting a closed 2D profile object. See "Imprint" on page 384.

Update Compound Profile: Enables you to modify a compound profile used to create a 3D object, thereby updating the 3D object as well. See "Updating Compound Profiles" on page 352.

Facet Deform: Applied pressure load or point deformations to existing surfaces, resulting in NURBS surfaces. See "Facet Deform" on page 373.

Offset: Creates one offset copy of a single object. See "Offset" on page 180.

TurboCAD Reference Manual

View Menu

Redraw: Refreshes a drawing that has changed.

Zoom: Options for enlarging or shrinking the view. See

"Zooming" on page 81.

Aerial View: Navigates zoomed views by use of a small overall view. See "Aerial View" on page 83.

Pan to Point: Pick a point in the drawing and move it to the center of the screen.

Vec t o r Pa n : Pick a point in the drawing and move it to a particular location on the screen.

Named View: Saves your current view, or displays a previously saved view. See "Named View" on page 84.

Create View: Uses a selection rectangle to define the area to save as a named view. See "Creating a View" on page 85.

Previous View: Returns to the previous view of the drawing.

Layer Set: Select the available sets of layers to display. See

"Layer Sets" on page 102.

Lights: Opens the Lights Properties window, enabling you to control lights. See "Controlling Lights" on page 399.

Cameras: Select the saved camera view to display. See "Camera Object Views" on page 345.

Camera: Options for orienting the camera (your eye as you view the current scene) in world space.

Walk Through: Tools for dynamically moving the camera in Model Space. See "Walk Through Tools" on page 343.

Toolbars: Displays the Toolbars and Menu window in which you can display or hide toolbars. See "Toolbars and Menu" on page 42.

Palettes: Displays the various TurboCAD palettes. See "Palettes" on page 28.

Workspace Menu

Display WorkPlane: Displays the red dashed indicator for the current workplane. See "Workplanes" on page 303.

WorkPlane: Options for creating workplanes. See "Workplanes" on page 303.

Display Horizon: Displays the horizon line when working in Perspective View mode. See "Camera Properties" on page

342.

Model Space: Opens the Model Space drawing environment for design work.

Model Space (Floating): Enables you to use Model Space tools in Paper Space, within a viewport. See "Floating Model Space" on page 449.

Update Viewport Boundary: Replaces a viewport’s boundary with a closed 2D object. See "Update Viewport Boundary" on page 448.

Paper Space: Opens the environment for creating the layout of your drawing for printing or plotting. See "Paper Space" on page 431.

Grid: Options to display, reorient and resize the grid. See "Grid" on page 89.

Cursor: Sets cursor style and aperture display.

Margins: Displays or hides the dotted-line margins in Paper

Space.

Background: Displays or hides the background in Paper Space.

Scroll Bars: Displays or hides the scroll bars. See "Scroll Bars" on page 22.

Rulers: Displays or hides the rulers. See "Rulers" on page

22.

Status Ba r: Displays or hides the Status Bar. See "Status Bar" on page 19.

Inspector Bar: Displays or hides the Inspector Bar. See "Inspector Bar" on page 19.

Coordinate Systems: Displays or hides the WCS and/or UCS indicator.

Insert Menu

Construction: Temporary geometry. See "Construction Geometry" on page 103.

Point: See "Point" on page 111.

Line: See "Line" on page 112.

Double Line: See "Double Line" on page 121.

24 For updates and additional information,

Chapter 2 User Interface

Multi Line: See "Multi Line" on page 123.

Circle / Ellipse: See "Circle / Ellipse" on page 128.

Arc: See "Arc" on page 133.

Curve: Splines, Bezier curves, sketches, and revision

clouds. See "Curves" on page 142.

Text: See "Text" on page 271.

Multi Text: See "Multi Text" on page 274.

Block Attribute Definition: Inserts AutoCAD-style

informational text associated with a block. See "Block Attributes" on page 264.

Dimension: See "Dimensions" on page 277.

Viewport: See "Viewports" on page 445.

3D Object: See "Creating 3D Objects" on page 311.

Section: See "Sectioning Solids" on page 368.

Projection: See "Projection" on page 341.

Intersection: See "Intersection" on page 340.

Wall: See "Inserting Walls" on page 415.

Camera: Camera objects are used to create and save views

with specific parameters. See "Camera Objects" on page

345.

Light: Adds lights to the drawing, which can be seen while rendering. See "Lights" on page 397.

Path Hatching: Defines a closed boundary for hatching. See "Path Hatching" on page 297.

File: Inserts contents of another file into the current drawing. "Inserting a File" on page 146.

Picture: See "Inserting a Picture" on page 147.

Object: See "Inserting an OLE Object" on page 150.

Format Menu

Properties: Displays the Properties window for selected objects or the current tool. See "Object Properties" on page

59.

Create Hatch: Fills selected closed objects with a hatch pattern. See "Hatch" on page 296.

Create Block: Defines all objects in the selection as a block and saves it in the block library. See "Blocks" on page 257.

Create Group: Defines all objects in the selection as a group. See "Groups" on page 255.

Create Region: Defines all objects in the selection as a region. See "Regions" on page 221.

Create External Reference: Creates an external definition similar to a block, but saved in a separate file. See "External References" on page 266

Explode: Breaks up an object into its constituent parts. See "Exploding Objects" on page 218.

Convert to Curve: Converts a 2D curve into a Bezier curve. See "Convert to Curve" on page 221.

Create Surface: Creates surfaces from closed profiles, from solids, or from solid faces. See "Surface and Solid Conversion Operations" on page 379.

Create Solid: Creates solid objects from faces or surfaces. See "Surface and Solid Conversion Operations" on page 379.

SAT Healing: For files imported from other CAD systems, this tool heals gaps between faces and holes within faces.

Bring to Front: Brings selected objects to the front of the object stack. See "Stacking Objects" on page 219.

Send To Back: Sends selected objects to the back of the object stack.

Forward One: Brings selected objects one level up in the object stack.

Back One: Sends selected objects one level back in the object stack.

Place on WorkPlane: Enables you to place a 2D object on the current workplane. See "Place on WorkPlane" on page

311.

Align: Aligns all selected objects on the left, right, top, bottom, vertical center, horizontal center, or along a line that you specify. See "Aligning Objects" on page 216.

Distribute: Evenly distributes selected objects. See "Distributing Objects" on page 217.

Format Painter: Copies properties from one object to another. See "Format Painter" on page 220.

TurboCAD Reference Manual

Pick Point and Hatch: Creates a hatch object from the boundary enclosing the selected point. See "Pick Point and Hatch" on page 297.

Constraint: Enables you to constrain objects to one another. See "Constraining Geometry" on page 223.

Tools Menu

Spelling: Checks spelling of text. See "Spelling Check" on page 273.

Spell Options: Customizes features of the spell checker.

Customize: Modifies or creates new toolbars, menus and

keyboard shortcuts. See "Customizing the UI" on page 33.

Database: Assign data to drawing objects and create reports from the data. See "Custom Properties (Database Management)" on page 70.

Measurement: Measures distance, angle, area and location of coordinate points. See "Measuring" on page 244.

Wizards: Creates an organizational chart. See "Organizational Chart" on page 153.

Tra ce : Creates a 2D tracing of an inserted picture or of 3D objects. See "Tracing" on page 249.

Brush Styles: Edit hatch patterns and define bitmap and gradient fill patterns. See "Brush Styles" on page 63.

Architecture: Create walls, roofs and openings.

Raster Image: Inserts images into the drawing. See

"Inserting a Picture" on page 147.

Print Style Manager: Sets color, line style, and brush of an object when printing See "Print Styles" on page 454.

FloorPlan Print Space Maker: Converts FloorPlan drawings into TurboCAD drawings. See "FloorPlan Print Space Maker" on page 425.

Modify Menu

Object Trim: Trims objects by objects defined as the cutting edge. See "Object Trim" on page 203.

Stretch: Stretches an object composed of line segments, by moving a selected set of vertices. See "Stretch" on page 205.

Split: Splits an object into two objects. See "Split" on page

205.

Meet 2 Lines: Shrinks or extends two lines. See "Meet 2 Lines" on page 207.

Chamfer: Connects two line segments with a beveled corner. See "Chamfer" on page 208.

Line Length: Changes the length of a line. See "Line Length" on page 210.

Shrink/Extend Line: Extends or shrinks a line to meet another object. See "Shrink / Extend Line" on page 211.

Multi Shrink/Extend Line: Extends or shrinks a group of lines to meet another object. See "Multi Shrink / Extend Line" on page 211.

Arc Complement: Reverses the start and end angles of an arc. See "Arc Complement" on page 212.

Fillet: Connects two lines with a tangent arc. See "Fillet" on page 212.

T-Meet 2 Double Lines: Forms a clean T intersection of two double lines. See "T-Meet 2 Double Lines" on page 213.

Intersect 2 Double Lines: Forms a clean X intersection of two double lines. See "Intersect 2 Double Lines" on page

214.

Assemble: Positions an object relative to another object. See "Assembling" on page 181.

2D Boolean Operations: Adds, subtracts and intersects 2D objects, resulting in a region. See "2D Boolean Operations" on page 242.

3D Boolean Operations: Adds, subtracts, and intersects 3D objects. See "3D Boolean Operations" on page 354.

Blend Edges: Rounds and chamfers 3D edges. See "Blending Edges" on page 358.

Shell Solid: Creates a shell with a specified thickness from a 3D object. See "Shelling Solids" on page 367.

Join Polyline: Combines line or arc objects to form a polyline. See "Join Polyline" on page 214.

Chain Polyline: Joins intersecting objects or portions of objects into a single polyline. See "Chain Polyline" on page 215

26 For updates and additional information,

Chapter 2 User Interface

Modes Menu

Snaps: Sets the current snap mode. See "Snaps" on page 91.

Coord System: Sets the current coordinate system. See

"Coordinate Systems" on page 87.

Lock X, Y, Z Position: Locks the X, Y, or Z value as you draw. See "Locking Coordinates" on page 89.

AddOns Menu

Available in TurboCAD Professional only

These are SDK tools that have been added for certain specialized tasks. Special Tools do not have code provided. The items in this menu are located in various places; check the index.

Options Menu

Program Setup: Sets program options that are saved when you exit TurboCAD. See "Program Setup" on page 39.

Materials: Options for controlling materials for 3D objects. See "Materials" on page 406.

Environments: Options for render scene environments. See "Environments" on page 409.

Luminance: Options for controlling lights assigned to 3D objects. See "Luminance" on page 402.

Drawing Setup: Sets options that are saved with your drawing. See "Drawing Setup" on page 46.

Window Menu

Options for working with multiple windows. See "Working with Multiple Windows" on page 56.

New Window: Opens a new window of the existing drawing.

Cascade: Arranges windows so that they overlap with title bars visible.

Tile: Arranges windows so that they are all visible and of equal size.

Arrange Icons: Lines up minimized windows along the bottom of the drawing area.

Close All: Closes all open windows.

Open Layout Template: Sets a window layout for the

current display of the TurboCAD desktop

Save Layout as Template: Stores the current window layout of the TurboCAD desktop as a *.twl file

Apply Layout Template: Resets a window layout for the current display of the TurboCAD desktop.

Hide Caption: Displays or hides the window caption for all drawing windows.

Auto Resize: Controls the way TurboCAD displays windows in its working area when you change the size of the overall window.

Auto Align: Controls the way TurboCAD displays windows when you change the size of any drawing windows.

Active Window: Lists all open windows; select one window to be active.

Help Menu

TurboCAD Help Topics: Opens the online help.

Keyboard: Provides a list of keyboard shortcuts. See

"Customize Keyboard" on page 38.

Tip of the Day: Provides helpful hints about general usage of TurboCAD.

Tutorial: Opens the Internet Palette in which you can find links to several web tutorials.

TurboCAD on the Web: Provides access to TurboCAD-related websites.

About TurboCAD: Provides version information.

Local Menu

The local menu, sometimes called the context menu, popup menu or context-sensitive menu, is opened by right-clicking the mouse. The contents of this menu differ depending on where you right-click, and in which tool you are working.

NOTE: You can customize the contents of the local menu via

Tools / Customize. See "Customize Menus" on page 37.

When working in a tool, options on the local menu also appear in the Inspector Bar. See "Inspector Bar" on page 19.

TurboCAD Reference Manual

In addition to customizing local menu items, you can add popup toolbars - icons that will appear each time you open the local menu. See "Popup Toolbars" on page 36.

The following items are found on most local menus:

Cancel: Cancels the current operation, and exits without completing.

Undo: Undoes the last operation and return to the previous condition. The last operation is displayed here.

Redo: Reverses Undo.

Properties: Opens the Properties window. See "Object

Properties" on page 59.

Local Snap: Sets the snap mode for the next point only. See "Snaps" on page 91 and "Snap Modes" on page 93.

Palettes

TurboCAD palettes are convenient screen areas used for performing common tasks and for obtaining information. By default, the palettes are displayed on the right side of the screen, and contain tabs for easy display and switching.

The palettes commands are available on the View menu, and can be accessed on the flyout toolbar on the Standard toolbar.

Docking Palettes

Palettes can be docked just like toolbars (see "Docking Toolbars" on page 19). In addition, palettes can be docked onto other palettes to create palette groups.

Drag a palette onto the desktop by its named tab. Use the magnet icon at the top right to make the palette Roll-up or Dockable. A dockable palette can be docked to an edge of the desktop by dragging its title bar. A roll-up palette cannot be inadvertently docked.

To combine palettes into a group, drag more palettes onto a docked palette.

To replace palettes, simply drag their tabs back to the palette area.

The Desktop page of the Program Setup (Options / Desktop) lists all palettes that are displayed.

You can also display the Palettes toolbar by right-clicking on any toolbar area and selecting Palettes.

28 For updates and additional information,

Chapter 2 User Interface

Symbols Palette

Menu: View / Symbols Palette

Symbols are groups of objects available for repeated use. While groups and blocks are internal to a drawing, symbols are external files. The Symbols palette is used to display and insert symbols found in the various symbol libraries -both those included with TurboCAD installation and those you create yourself. You can also use the palette to save symbols.

See "Symbols" on page 266.

Blocks Palette

Menu: View / Blocks

A block is a collection of objects combined into a single object. Blocks are useful for storing complex, common drawing objects that you will use more than once. Blocks are stored in the drawing's internal block library and a block reference, and not the actual object, is inserted into the drawing. When a block is edited, all instances of that block in the drawing are updated.

See "Blocks" on page 257.

Selection Info

Menu: View / Selection Info

Measurement Info

Menu: View / Measurement Info

Displays measurements calculated by the Measure tools. You can measure point coordinates, distance and perimeter, angle, and area. See "Measuring" on page 244.

Internet Palette

Menu: View / Internet Palette

Provides access to the Internet from within the TurboCAD screen. The Internet Palette launches Microsoft Internet Explorer.

By default the TurboCAD home page is opened, but you can enter any URL and use the toolbar icons at the top to navigate the web. The features on this toolbar (Back, Forward, Stop, Refresh, etc.) are identical to those used in your conventional browser.

You can insert hyperlinks into your drawing that will open a web page (or a file). See "Hyperlinks" on page 151.

Color Palette

Available in TurboCAD Professional only

Menu: View / Color Palette

Displays information about the currently selected object or objects, such as entity type, measurements, location in the drawing, and physical and engineering properties.

See "Selection Info Palette" on page 162.

Displays all colors currently available. See "Colors" on page 44 for details on adding colors to the palette.

The palette toolbar has icons enabling you to open the Color page of the Program Setup, and to sort the palette by hue or brightness.

The color boxes at the bottom of the palette show the Pen color (upper box) and the Brush color (lower box).

TurboCAD Reference Manual

By default, the Brush color is set to By Pen. If you want to change the pen color, click the desired color box in the Color palette.

Use the dropper icons to select the color of an object on the TurboCAD screen.

Calculator Palette

Available in TurboCAD Professional only

Menu: View / Calculator Palette

Hotkey: F2 (Ctrl+F2 to close)

Enables you to make numerical calculations within TurboCAD, and to define variables.

You can also use this palette to assign constraints to dimensions. See "Constraining Dimensions" on page 238.

Mathematical Calculations

To perform a calculation, enter the values in the top field of the palette, using parentheses as needed to create inner expressions. No spaces are allowed. The four mathematical operators should be entered as +, -, * (multiply), and / (divide).

You can also use these commonly-used values in place of numbers:

• pi =3.1415926

• e =2.71828

The function (F) button enables you to perform a function on the value in the parentheses. For example, select sin(x) to get the sine of an angle.

sin(x) appears in the calculator field (you also could have entered this expression yourself manually).

Sine is calculated for radians, so if you have a value in degrees it must be converted. Look in the functions menu under Units Conversion and select rad(a), which converts degrees to radians.

To calculate the result, press Enter.

30 For updates and additional information,

Chapter 2 User Interface

Arrange the expression so that the parentheses are in the correct places, and include the angle in degrees (45 in this case):

Press Enter to obtain the result.

Some functions require two values, such as exponentials. pow(x, y) raises x to the y power.

Include the values and press Enter to get the result.

Defining and Using Variables

In addition to calculating numerical equations, you can use the Calculator Palette to define variables. Subsequent values and variables can then be based on variables you’ve already created.

In the calculator field, enter the variable definition in the format “variable name=value” (in this example, Length=5). The value can be a number, function, or another variable. Variables are case sensitive and cannot have spaces.

Press Enter, and the variable, value, and formula are listed in the list below.

You can also enter a variable and variable or formula directly in the fields of the list.

The next variable can be based on an existing variable. In the calculator field, enter an equation that uses a variable name, such as “Width=Length/2.”

Press Enter, and the new variable appears, with its calculated value.

Using Expressions in Data Fields

Numbers or variables from the Calculator Palette can be used as values in the Inspector Bar or Coordinate fields.

As an example, define Length and Width variables, and draw a rectangle (see "Rectangle" on page 115). Select the first corner point, but not the second point.

Press Tab to access the first field in the Inspector Bar. The value is highlighted.

TurboCAD Reference Manual

Press F2 to access the Calculator Palette. In the calculator field, type Length and press Enter.

NOTE: You could also enter a mathematical expression based

on numbers, or an expression that includes one or more variables.

Back in the Inspector Bar, the first field contains the new value.

For subsequent fields of the Inspector Bar or Coordinate Fields, do not press Tab to scroll. Instead, place the cursor in the desired field, then press F2 to access the Calculator Palette.

Design Director

Available in TurboCAD Professional only

Menu: View / Design Director

Materials Palette

Menu: View / Materials Palette

Materials (see "Materials" on page 406) can be assigned to 3D objects in order to create more realistic rendering. See "Materials Palette" on page 408.

Luminances Palette

Menu: View / Luminances Palette

Luminances (see "Luminance" on page 402) are light types that are added to an object, as opposed to lights added to the overall model. See "Luminances Palette" on page 405.

Environments Palette

Menu: View / Environments Palette

Render scene environments (see "Environments" on page

409) can be assigned to a drawing to enhance its rendering. Options are available for the model background and foreground. For details on using the palette, see "Environments Palette" on page 411.

A convenient place to perform commands related to layers, workplanes, views, cameras, and objects or object groups.

See "Design Director" on page 106.

MacroRecorder Palette

Available in TurboCAD Professional only

Menu: View / MacroRecorder Palette

Part Tree Palette

Available in TurboCAD Professional only

Menu: View / Part Tree Palette

Displays an editable history tree of 3D Boolean, Blend and Shell operations on solid objects. See "Part Tree" on page

386.

32 For updates and additional information,

Creates and plays scripts - scenarios of creating and editing objects and manipulating their properties. You can also record object transformation - moving, copying, scaling, and rotating. Scripts can be saved for future play. See "Macro Recorder" on page 457.

Chapter 2 User Interface

Drafting Palette

Available in TurboCAD Professional only

Menu: View / Drafting Palette

Enables you to place standard views of a model into Paper Space. You can also create sectional views. See "Drafting Palette - Creating Standard Views" on page 433.

TC Explorer Palette

Available in TurboCAD Professional only

Menu: View / TC Explorer Palette

A multi-purpose palette, enabling you to browse files, view components (layers, blocks, etc.) of all open files, and copy components from one file to another.

See "TC Explorer Palette" on page 74.

Customizing the UI

Menu: Tools / Customize

You can customize toolbars, menus, keyboard, and your IntelliMouse (if you use one).

For all UI customization pages, you can load and save your configurations. This enables you to work with different configurations for different users or for different tasks.

Load From: Retrieves a previously saved configuration file. There are several default configurations already created. Select the desired file from the drop-down list, then click

Load From.

Save In: Saves the current settings as a unique

configuration. Click in the text box to assign a new name, or select an existing file to replace. Then click Save In.

Customize Setup

Menu: Tools / Customize / Setup page

Enables you to manage the configuration files you create.

Before customizing, you should give thought to naming the configuration files. For example, if you create customized toolbars and menus for each screen resolution you use, assign names according to the resolutions.

You can save all customizations in one file, or separate them by function such as toolbar or menu. It is recommended to keep Load All Sections and Save All Sections checked, rather than segmenting the various customizations.

The key elements are the Load All Sections and Save All Sections boxes. If these boxes are checked, then all customization options will use the same configuration files. If one of these boxes is not checked, then you will need to individually select which customization options are active when configuration files are loaded or saved. Configurations are saved in the folder My Documents\TurboCAD

11.0\Config.

TIP: You can attach a bitmap to each configuration you create.

The bitmaps must be placed in My Documents / TurboCAD

11.0 / Config, saved with the same name as the configuration itself.

Customize IntelliMouse

Menu: Tools / Customize / Intellimouse page

Relevant if you have an Intellimouse connected to your computer.

Wheel assignment: Shows the command that will be executed when you rotate the mouse wheel forward, back, or click with it. To change it, highlight the desired command, select Forward, Backward, or Click, and click Assign to implement the change.

TurboCAD Reference Manual

Customize Toolbars

Menu: Tools / Customize / Toolbars page

The Toolbars page enables you to modify toolbars or create new ones.

NOTE: If you want to use preset toolbar configurations for 2D

and 3D work, you can click Show Configuration Button in the Toolbars and Menu window (View / Toolbars). Full removes the toolbar, and 2D and 3D are optimized for work in the two modes.

These bitmaps, and all customized configurations, are found in My Documents\TurboCAD 11.0\Config.

Standard Toolbars

A standard toolbar is a “straight” toolbar, a line of icons that does not use tabs or fly-outs.

To create a new toolbar:

1. Select the Standard option.

TIP: You can also simply drag the button onto the screen to

create the new toolbar.

To remove icons from a standard toolbar, make sure it appears on the desktop first. Open the Customize / Toolbars window, and drag icons from the toolbar into the Customize window.

Tabbed Toolbars

A tabbed toolbar contains two more groups of icons, which can be accessed by clicking a tab. This type of toolbar can contain a larger number of icons than standard or flyout toolbars.

To create a new tabbed toolbar:

1. Select the Ta bb ed option.

2. Drag the New button onto the desktop.

3. Assign a name to the new toolbar. It will appear, floating on the desktop.

4. Locate the icon you want by first selecting the Category, then selecting the icon. You can identify each icon by clicking on it to see its description.

5. Drag the icon onto the new toolbar to add it. Repeat until this tab of the toolbar has all the desired icons.

2. Drag the New button onto the desktop.

3. Assign a name to the new toolbar. It will appear, floating on the desktop.

4. Locate the icon you want by first selecting the Category, then selecting the icon. You can identify

TIP: You can also simply drag the button onto the screen to

create the new toolbar.

each icon by clicking on it to see its description.

5. Drag the icon onto the new toolbar to add it. Repeat until the toolbar contains all the desired icons.

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Chapter 2 User Interface

6. Create the remaining tabs the same way. At this point, the tabs are all separate toolbars.

7. Drag the second tab onto the first.

8. The two toolbars are combined. Repeat for all toolbars you want to combine.

To remove icons from a tabbed toolbar, make sure it is appears on the desktop first. Open the Customize / Toolbars window, and drag icons from the toolbar into the Customize window.

To add icons to an existing icon, creating a flyout:

1. Make sure the toolbar you want to expand appears on the desktop, then open the Customize / Toolbars page.

2. Select the Fly-Out option.

3. Locate the icon you want by first selecting the Category, then selecting the icon. You can identify each icon by clicking on it to see its description.

4. Drag the icon on top of the icon you want to be the first in the flyout group.

5. Drag additional icons to this new flyout toolbar.

Fly-Out Toolbars

A fly-out toolbar is a group of tools that share the same space on a toolbar; the entire group of tools "fly out" of the toolbar when you press and hold on the first tool. The use of fly-out tools makes it possible to place a large number of tools in a small toolbar, and to combine related tools in a small space. A small yellow triangle in the lower right corner identifies the first tool in a fly-out toolbar.

Fly-out toolbars must be added to existing standard or tabbed toolbars.

Any tool in an existing toolbar can become the first tool in a fly-out tool group, and a group of fly-out tools may be added to an existing toolbar without changing any existing tools in the toolbar.

6. Click Close. Now the toolbar is a flyout, opened by clicking the first icon.

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To create a new flyout toolbar on an existing toolbar, drag the icon you want to be first onto the toolbar, but do not place it on top of any existing icons. The easiest place is the very end or beginning of the toolbar.

Then you can drag additional icons on top of this new one.

Popup Toolbars

Available in TurboCAD Professional only

Popup toolbars are icons that appear with the local menu, which is opened by right-clicking. This is useful if you use certain icons frequently and want convenient access to them.

For instance, if you switch render modes often, you might want the Render toolbar as a popup. If you work in 3D, you might want the Workplanes toolbar.

1. Open the Program Setup to the Toolbars and Menu page (Options / Toolbars and Menus).

2. In the Popup Toolbars area, click Show with Local Menu and Customize.

3. All the defined toolbars are listed in the Popup Toolbars window. Select the ones you want to appear with the local menu.

4. Accept the changes. Now when you right-click to open the local menu, the selected popup toolbars will appear.

Mixed Toolbars

It is possible to create toolbars that mix standard, tabbed and fly-out styles. Start with either a standard or tabbed toolbar, then click the radio button for Ta bb ed or Fly-out. The new tools you drag onto the toolbar will be display in the selected style.

Changing an Icon Name

While customizing a toolbar, you can rename the toolbar icon by right-clicking on the toolbar icon in the customized toolbar and selecting Rename Button.

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Chapter 2 User Interface

Customize Menus

Menu: Tools / Customize / Menus page

The Menu page enables you to modify the main menu and local menus, and to add new menus.

Categories: An expandable list of all TurboCAD menus.

Commands: Lists the commands found on the menu

selected in Categories.

Change What Menu: Select a menu to modify, or select Menu Bar to create a new menu. You can modify both main

menus and local menus.

Position on menu: When you have selected a menu to modify, and have selected a command to add to it, you must select a position within the menu for the new item. The choices are:

• At Top, At Bottom: The new item will be first in the menu. Select At To p or At Bottom, then click Add.

• Separator: Separates menu items into groups.

• Add Below: Select the item below which you want to add the new item, and click Add Below.

• Auto: The items will be added in the order selected. Select Auto, then click Add.

Name: Enter a name for a menu item. To add an accelerator key (underlined letter used as a keyboard shortcut), add an ampersand (&) before the letter you want used as the shortcut. Click Rename to change an existing menu item, or Add to create a new item.

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Creating a New Menu or Submenu

To add a new main menu, select Menu Bar in Change What Menu. Then click Add Submenu and name the new menu.

To add a new submenu, select an exiting menu in Change What Menu. Then click Add Submenu and name the new

menu.

Once you have created a new menu , you may add commands to it, as follows:

1. Select the command to be added by first selecting its original menu from the Category list, then select the actual command.

2. In Change What Menu, select the menu which will receive the new command.

3. Use the Position on Menu box to define the position of each command.

Changes and additions to menus should be saved in separate configuration files, so that the original desktop will not be changed. Under Save In, assign a configuration name and click Save In.

Customize Keyboard

Menu: Tools / Customize / Keyboard page

The Keyboard page enables you to view current keyboard shortcuts (hotkeys), to modify them, or to create new ones.

TIP: Select Help / Keyboard for a list of all shortcuts.

1. Locate the Category and then the command for which you want a shortcut.

2. If a shortcut already exists, it will be listed in the Current Keys box.

You can click Remove to delete any unwanted shortcuts.

3. To assign a shortcut, type it (for instance, press Ctrl+E) and it will appear in the Press New Shortcut Key box.

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Chapter 2 User Interface

4. Click Assign to implement the shortcut.

Program Setup

Menu: Options / Program Setup

Contains pages in which you can control TurboCAD program settings. You can access each page directly from the Options menu.

The options that you set in this window are saved when you exit TurboCAD, and will remain in effect the next time you start the program.

The Program Setup pages can be accessed from the Options menu, or from the flyout icon on the Standard toolbar.

You can also display the Program Setup toolbar by right-clicking in any toolbar area and selecting Program Setup.

TIP: You can also use the System Defaults in the TC

Explorer Palette to set program setup options. See "Program Defaults" on page 76.

General Setup

Menu: Options / General

Sets file opening and saving parameters, as well as user information.

New document from: Select how files will be opened when using File / New.

Default template for new files: If no template is specified when creating a file, a default template will be used. This option sets the default template.

Prompt for template name: You will be prompted for a template each time you start a new file. If you want to use the default template without being prompted, clear this box.

Open all files as read-only: If checked, files cannot be edited.

Make backup copies: If checked, select On First Save or On Every Save to determine how often backups will be

made. Backup files have the extension *.bak. By default, backup files are saved in the same folder as your primary drawing files, but you can change this on the File Locations page.

Save drawings every: If checked, autosave copies (*.asv files) will be made at the specified intervals. After a system crash, TurboCAD will open the autosave version of your

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drawing as soon as you launch TurboCAD. Autosave files are stored in the \AutoSave folder by default, but you can change this on the File Locations page.

Prompt for summary information: The Summary Information window enables you to record user information

connected to your drawing. If checked, this window will be displayed the first time that you save any drawing to disk, and whenever you use Save As to save a new copy of the file.

Healing of SAT insertions: For imported files, heals gaps between faces and holes within faces.

Save desktop on exit: If checked, the desktop settings (toolbars, etc.) will be saved when you exit the program.

Load at startup: You can choose to load the last working file and the last window layout (see "Window Layout Templates" on page 57) each time you start TurboCAD.

Desktop

Menu: Options / Desktop

Controls what appears on the screen.

• Inspector Bar: Displays or hides the Inspector Bar. See "Inspector Bar" on page 19.

• Classic and Compact: Two methods of displaying the Inspector Bar.

• Statu s Ba r: Displays or hides the Status Bar.

• Scroll bars: Displays or hides the scroll bars.

• Rulers: Displays or hides the rulers.

• Auto Activate palettes: When checked, the palette relevant to the current tool will be activated. For example, when selecting an object, the Selection Info Palette will become active.

Desktop Scheme: Customizes the color of paper and background, and floating palettes. Click Modify to change an element’s color.

TIP: You can also click the different elements in the preview

window.

• Show margins: Displays page (printer) margins.

• Show background: If checked, the background behind the paper will be displayed. If unchecked, the background will be white.

TIP: You can switch off the paper until you're ready to print,

then use the Page Setup (see "Page Setup" on page 451) to place your drawing on the page.

OpenGL Hardware Acceleration: Available if your video card is equipped with an accelerator, take this characteristic into account while performing a render.

Render new window: When you render your drawing, the render view will open in a new drawing window.

Background Render: With this option, TurboCAD tools work faster in Render mode; rendering will "interfere" less with other tools. This setting can only be applied when

Workspace: Controls the display of the working area and

working with one window.

the structure of dockable palettes and tabbed toolbars. See "Palettes" on page 28.

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Chapter 2 User Interface

Preference

Menu: Options / Preference

General program options, such as cursor shape, axis color, zoom factor, and display of coordinate system icons.

Coordinate system icon: You can choose to display the UCS and/or WCS. For both, you can set the color of the axes and size of the icon. For the WCS, select the corner of the screen where it will be displayed.

Drawing cursor:

• Cursor Shape: Select one of the three shapes provided.

• Show crosshairs: Overrides the normal cursor, displaying a screenwide horizontal and vertical line intersecting at the cursor position.

• Show Isometric: Overrides the normal cursor, displaying all three axes.

• Show Snap Aperture: Displays a circular area around the cursor whose radius is the Aperture Size. Aperture is used while snapping, to detect objects.

Zoom factor: Controls how much you zoom in or out of the drawing when you use View / Zoom In or Zoom Out. The default zoom step setting is 2, meaning that zooming in doubles the size. See "Zoom In and Zoom Out" on page 81.

Fixed relative origin: If checked, the relative origin will be fixed while in relative or polar coordinates. If you need to relocate the origin, it must be done manually. See "Relative Coordinates" on page 88 and "Polar Coordinates" on page

88.

Geometric select edit: If checked, objects will be selected by their geometric extents, rather than their cosmetic extents. This permits geometrically accurate scaling of objects like double lines and lines that have nonzero width. See "Geometric and Cosmetic Select Modes" on page 166.

Use Choice if several entities in aperture while selection:

If more than object lies within the aperture area during a selection, a small window appears from which you can select the desired object.

Undo/Redo:

• Undo/Redo depth: Sets the number of operations stored in the Undo buffer.

• Include Model / Paper space switch in Undo buffer: If checked, switching between Model and Paper spaces will be included in the Undo buffer.

NOTE: You can also use the Workspace / Cursor menu to

change the cursor display.

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Toolbars and Menu

Menu: Options / Toolbars and Menu, or View / Toolbars

Usage and appearance of toolbars and menus, plus access to customization options for toolbars, menus, and keyboard shortcuts.

Toolbars: Select the toolbars you want displayed. New toolbars you select will appear floating on the desktop, and you can drag them to any edge of the screen to dock them (see "Docking Toolbars" on page 19). You can choose to display toolbar icons as flat or large buttons.

Customize: Opens the Customize window in which you can customize toolbars, menus, etc. See "Customizing the UI" on page 33.

Show tooltips: Tooltips are the explanatory text that pops up next to an icon when you hold your cursor over it.

Keyboard: Resets the keyboard shortcuts (hotkeys) to the defaults, or you can customize. See "Customize Keyboard" on page 38.

Toolbar Properties: Enables the Property toolbar to change all styles for all tools.

Menus: Resets the menu items to the defaults, or you can customize. See "Customize Menus" on page 37.

• Show Configuration Button: Displays icons in the menu bar you can use to set up predefined toolbar and menu configurations. Full removes the toolbar, and 2D and 3D are optimized for work in the two modes.

NOTE: These bitmaps, and all customized configurations, are

found in My Documents\TurboCAD 11.0\Config.

Popup Toolbars: Sets popup toolbars that are displayed every time you open the local menu. See "Popup Toolbars" on page 36

NOTE: You can also display the toolbar list directly from the

drawing by right-clicking in any toolbar area.

New: Creates a new toolbar. Assign the toolbar name, then determine the toolbar type and what icons it will contain. See "Customize Keyboard" on page 38.

Rename: Select a toolbar, and click Rename to assign a new name.

Delete: Deletes the selected toolbar.

Reset All: Resets all toolbars to the system defaults.

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Chapter 2 User Interface

Auto-Naming

Menu: Options / Auto Naming

Controls how groups, blocks, and symbols are named. See "Auto-Naming" on page 255.

Prompt for name: You will receive a prompt each time a new item is created.

Generate names: Names will be automatically assigned.

Prefix: If names are automatically generated, you can enter

a string that appears before the item name. The "@" character is a placeholder for the automatic number.

Insert blocks when creating: Each block will be inserted into the drawing once it is created.

Prompt for library location: If not checked, all saved symbols will be stored in the default folder. See "Saving a Symbol" on page 269.

NOTE: If you turn off both the Prompt for name and Generate

names options, names will not be assigned to groups. Names will be assigned to blocks and symbols, however.

File Locations

Menu: Options / File Locations

Enables you to specify the folders where TurboCAD places several types of program files.

• Templates (*.tct) - Files in which you save settings as well as block libraries, symbol libraries, and scripts, that you can use to start a new drawing.

• Backups (*.bak) - Backups that are created if you check Make Backup Copies option in the General page.

• AutoSave Files (*.asv) - Files that are saved automatically, if this option is turned on in the General page. These files allow you to restore work after a system crash.

• Symbol Library Files (*.slw) - Sets of related symbols, saved to one common *.slw file, or a set of drawing files saved to a specified folder.

• Drawings (*.tcw) - Drawings and models you create in TurboCAD.

• Publish to HTML Files - Files created using File / Publish to HTML.

• Print Styles: See "Print Styles" on page 454.

TurboCAD Reference Manual

• Shapes (*.shx): Shape files (*.shx) used in the creating of line styles. (This is not the same as *.shx font files.) See "Line Style Editor" on page 54.

TIP: If you have two disk drives (or access to a network drive),

it is wise to have your backup files automatically saved to a second drive.

Symbol Libraries

Menu: Options / Symbol Libraries

Displays the folders containing symbols, as well as all *.slw files.

Colors

Menu: Options / Color Palette

Enables you to add, modify, or delete colors from the TurboCAD palette.

To add a new color, type the name and click New. You will then be prompted to select a color from the color wheel.

You can modify a color by selecting it from the list and clicking Modify. Delete a color by selecting it and clicking Delete.

NOTE: The Color palette can display all stored colors, sorted

Use this palette to select the active symbol library, to modify

by hue or brightness. See "Color Palette" on page 29.

the name of a library folder or file, and to delete or modify symbol library files and/or folders. You can also access the symbol libraries from the Symbols palette. See "Symbol Libraries" on page 267

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Chapter 2 User Interface

The Color Wheel

You can set colors by RGB values, or by Hue, Saturation, and Value numbers.

Red, Green, Blue: Sets the amount of each color in the light. Values can be a maximum of 255.

Hue: The color value, where 0 is red, 60 is yellow, 120 is green, 180 is cyan, 200 is magenta, and 240 is blue. If you change the hue, the values for red, green, and blue will be changed to match.

Sat: The saturation level for the color (amount of color), up to a maximum of 240.

Lum: The luminosity (brightness) of the color.

Warning Dialogs

Menu: Options / Warning Dialogs

Controls the display of TurboCAD warning messages. If you received a warning message with the “Don't show this message again” checkbox, the warning message will appear in this table. Use the Show column to show or hide messages.

Constraints

Menu: Options / Constraints

Settings and controls for geometric and dimensional constraints. See "Constraining Geometry" on page 223.

Auto Add Constraints: If checked, the Auto Add Constraints tool is enabled. See "Constraining Dimensions"

on page 238.

Update Connected Objects while Dragging: Dynamically updates the position, shape and size of constrained objects as you drag them within the Edit tool.

Connected Objects Editing:

• DCM Default: Changes to any part of a set of constrained objects can affect all objects equally.

• Use Priority Level: Constraint changes to any part of a set of objects will affect that part first, with minimal changes to the remaining objects.

• Incremental Evaluation: Constraint changes are constantly checked and changes are being made. If disabled, the results will be checked only after changes are made. For large scale changes, this option should be enabled.

TurboCAD Reference Manual

Constraint Markers and Dimensions:

• Place marker to the same layer with object: Constraint markers are placed on the same layer as the object that is constrained. Otherwise they are placed on their own layer.

• Show variable name in dimension text: Displays the variable name in parentheses after the dimension value.

Printing: Choose whether constraint markers and constrained dimensions will be included when printing.

Drawing Setup

Menu: Options / Drawing Setup

Sets properties related to the current drawing.

The Drawing Setup pages can be accessed from the Options menu, or from the flyout icon on the Standard toolbar.

You can also display the Drawing Setup toolbar by right-clicking in any toolbar area and selecting Drawing Setup.

TIP: You can also use the Defaults for a drawing in the TC

Explorer Palette to set drawing setup options. See "Drawing Defaults" on page 77.

Display Options

Menu: Options / Display

Options for adjusting the quality and redraw speed of the display, and options for displaying block attribute values.

Performance: When working with large files or a slow computer, you may be able to increase your display speed by selecting one or more of these options. The display speed can sometimes be slowed by heavy text, styled lines, and fill patterns.

• Quick text: Displays all text as small boxes.

• Quick line styles: Simplifies the display of line styles.

• Quick vector brushes: Simplifies the display of hatch and fill patterns.

Display:

• Solid Fill: A line of a specified width will be drawn as solid.

• Draw form-building edges: Draws form-building edges of 3D surfaces. See "Display" on page 299.

• Associative hatch: When you modify a hatched object, the hatch pattern will update to fit the new shape.

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Block Attribute: Options relevant for blocks that contain block attribute definitions.

• Force invisible: Hides all attribute values.

• Normal: Shows the attribute values as they were defined while creating.

• Force visible: Shows all attribute values, even those defined as invisible.

Suppress display of objects smaller than: Sets the size at which TurboCAD will draw a simplified representation of objects. This size is measured in device units (the "device" being your computer's display), so that one inch will be equal to approximately one inch of space on your screen. At smaller sizes, TurboCAD will display objects using a simplified representation, increasing display speed. As you zoom in, you get the detail required for precise editing; as you zoom out, you get faster redraw.

Device pen width when zero value is used: Controls the printed width of lines set to zero width.

Grid Options

Menu: Options / Grid

Show grid: Equivalent to displaying the grid using the Workspace / Grid menu or Grid toolbar.

Hide grid when finer than: This value applies to distances

on your screen which are not related to World or Paper units.

Typ e: These grid types are based, by default, on a horizontal baseline. This can be changed on the Advanced Grid page.

• Ortho: Orthogonal grid.

• Isometric: Aligned along lines measured 30º and 150º from the horizontal axis. This type of grid is used in isometric drawing, which uses perspective drawing techniques to represent 3D objects.

• Polar: Points in the polar grid radiate from the origin, and are aligned by their radial distance from the origin and their angular distance from the horizontal axis.

Style : Select Points (dots at each grid point), Crosses (crosses at each main grid point), or Lines (graph paper).

Spacing: Sets the distance between all grid lines, major and minor, without respect to frequency. Select X and Y spacing, or angular and radial values for a polar grid.

Controls the grid type, size, and display. You can set up different grid properties for Model Space and Paper Space. See "Grid" on page 89.

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Advanced Grid Options

Not listed in the Options menu; you must select it from within the Drawing Setup.

Advanced controls for the frequency and locations of grid lines. See "Grid" on page 89.

Frequency: Enables you to alternate visible grid lines with invisible grid lines. For example, if you set the frequency to 4, every fourth grid line will be displayed. You will still be able to snap to invisible grid lines.

Minor: Controls for the intermittent (lighter by default) grid lines.

NOTE: Set Grid Origin is also accessible from the Grid

toolbar.

Perspective grid: Relevant when the grid is displayed and you are working in Perspective mode (select View / Camera / Properties, and check Perspective View).

• By Drawing: An infinite grid will be displayed.

• By Size: The size of the displayed grid is determined by Perspective grid extents. This value sets the grid extents in both directions from the WCS origin, i.e. a value of 3 inches will produce a 6 x 6 grid.

• None: No minor grid lines will be displayed.

• Divisions: Establishes the number of minor grid lines by setting the number of divisions between each major grid point.

• Offset: Creates minor grid points at a fixed distance from each major grid point. Negative values can be used.

Origin: Enables you to use a "local" grid. By default, the grid origin is located at the origin of the coordinate system, at (0,0). You can reset the origin point of the grid and change the base angle, aligning the grid to a non-orthogonal object. For example, you can orient the grid of a house to its lot.

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Space Units

Menu: Options / Space Units

Controls for setting units in Model and Paper Space.

NOTE: Templates generally have units built in, but you can

change units, or create custom units.

Precision: The number of decimal digits. For Fractional or Architectural units, Precision determines the accuracy of

the denominator, in powers of two (1=1/2”, 2=1/4”, 3=1/8”, etc.).

Text units: Unit for setting and displaying the size of text.

Format: Controls the display of numbers:

• Decimal - 3.25

• Scientific - 1E+01

• Fractional - 3 3/16

• Architectural 1’-5 11/16”

• Engineering (scale): 1"= 200'

Text height specified by: Two methods to adjust text height when the current font is changed:

• Text box height (default): In specifying the height value for the text, you in fact define the height of the text bounding box. In this case, changing the font does not affect the height of the bounding box.

• Character height above the font base line: The text height value will be used as the actual height of the text. This method preserves the text height (but not the height of the text box) when you change the font.

Workspace name: Available in Paper Space only.

System: Selecting English or Metric will affect controls on

the rest of the page.

Scale: The ratio of measurements on the page (Paper units) to measurements in the object being modeled (World units).

• Architectural: 3/16" = 1'-0"

• Engineering: 1"= 200'

• Absolute: 1:500

Units: The unit of measure.

Show all units: Displays all available units, regardless of

whether English or Metric is used.

Line width units: The unit for setting and displaying the line width in the Pen page of the Properties window.

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NOTE: The value of text height is determined by the vertical size of the uppercase letter "A" in the currently selected font. This value is the sum of four components: External Leading is the amount of space that the designer of the font suggests should be added between character rows. Internal Leading is the amount of space allowed for an accent mark above a character. Ascent is the amount of space allowed for the characters that have neither an accent mark above the character nor a character part below the font base line. Descent is the amount of space allowed for the character part below base line. (Lowercase letters such as "g", "p", and "q” have a character part occupying some space below the font base line.)

Convert units after alteration: Forces unit recalculation after changing the units.

• Example 1 - Converting a drawing from feet to inches: if unchecked, 1 foot will become 1 inch. If checked, 1 foot becomes 12 inches.

• Example 2 - Converting a drawing from inches to mm: if unchecked, 1 inch will become 1 mm. If checked , 1 inch will become 25.4mm.

Angle Options

Menu: Options / Angle

Controls the measurement and display of angles, as well as control over the Ortho angle.

Angular System: Select degrees, degrees-minutes-seconds, grads, radians, or the surveyor system.

• Base angle: The default base angle is 0 degrees (right quadrant point). You can change this value to start angle measurement from another base angle.

• Precision: The number of decimal digits.

Direction: Choose whether to measure angles clockwise or counterclockwise.

Ortho Angle: By default, Ortho lines are 0 and 90 degrees. You can change this by entering new values here.

• Base angle: Sets the angle from which the Ortho angle is measured.

• Step angle: The angle to which Ortho constrains lines. If you set the step angle to 15, for example, the line will be constrained to angles 15 degrees apart. The default step angle is 90 degrees.

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Chapter 2 User Interface

Layers

Menu: Options / Layers

Enables you to create new layers, set the current drawing layer, set the properties of layers, and delete layers.

For descriptions of the options and tools in this window, see "Layers" on page 98.

ACIS Options

Available in TurboCAD Professional only

Menu: Options / ACIS

The options on this page are relevant to 3D objects. See "ACIS" on page 300.

TurboCAD Reference Manual

Render Scene Environment

Available in TurboCAD Professional only

Menu: Options / Render Scene Environment

The options on this page are relevant while rendering. You can specify a background and/or foreground for the model.

See "Rendering" on page 391 and "Environments" on page

409.

Render Scene Luminance

Available in TurboCAD Professional

Menu: Options / Render Scene Luminance

The options on this page are relevant while rendering. You can specify one or more lights to the overall drawing render.

Luminance uses the LightWorks rendering engine, and provides a wider range of effects than standard lights. You can also specify luminance for individual objects (as opposed to the overall drawing) by opening the Luminance page of the object’s Properties.

See "Luminance" on page 402.

Drawing luminance can be applied to the WCS (World Coordinate System) or UCS (User Coordinate System). See "WCS and UCS" on page 87.

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Chapter 2 User Interface

Line Styles

Menu: Options / Line Styles

View predefined line styles, modify or delete them, and create new ones.

An object’s line style can be set in the Property toolbar (see "Property Toolbar" on page 59) or in the Pen page of its Properties (see "Pen Properties" on page 61).

If you click New or Modify, you will access the Line Style

Editor.

Add to Defaults: New line styles will be saved so that they

can be used in future drawings. Otherwise the line styles will be used only in the current drawing.

TIP: You can use the TC Explorer Palette to view line styles

defined for any open drawing. See "Line Styles" on page 79.

Applying a Line Style

To apply the line style, you can use the Property toolbar. You can also set the line style, and adjust its scale, in the Pen page of the object’s Properties. See "Pen Properties" on page 61.

1. Create the object, which appears in the default line style.

2. Select the desired line style from the Property toolbar.

The line style is applied.

TIP: You can use the TC Explorer Palette to view line styles

defined for any open drawing, and to import line styles from one drawing to another. See "Line Styles" on page 79.

TurboCAD Reference Manual

Line Style Editor

Available in TurboCAD Professional only

Enables you to edit an existing line style or define a new one.

The example shown above (line style “Utility”) has four components: one dash, one text, and two shapes (hexagons). You can also add dots and spaces. Either click Add Item to add another component, or click the relevant button (Dash, Dot, etc.)

For each type of line style component you can set various parameters. For Shape you can choose the actual shape and its size and spacing. For Tex t , you can choose the font and angle. The Preview window helps you see how the line style will look; use it as a guide when adjusting the parameters.

NOTE: Shapes are read from *.shx files (not to be confused

with *.shx font files), found in TurboCAD’s Shapes folder.

Once the line style has been created, it appears in the Line Style s page of the Drawing Setup.

The new style also appears on the Property toolbar.

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Chapter 2 User Interface

Background Color

Menu: Options / Background Color

Changes the background color, which is white by default.

Click in the rectangle on this page to invoke the Background Color window, from which you can select the new background color.

Print Style Table

Menu: Options / Print Styles

Select the print styles you want in your drawing.

Print styles are specific pen and brush settings you can apply to objects when printing. See "Print Styles" on page 454.

TurboCAD Reference Manual

Working with Multiple Windows

TurboCAD uses a multiple document interface (MDI). This means that the TurboCAD application window can contain multiple windows, each of which contains a TurboCAD drawing. Whenever you open a drawing or start a new drawing, the drawing will appear in its own window within the TurboCAD application window. You can also use multiple windows to display varying views of the same drawing.

One advantage of the multiple document interface is that it allows you to intuitively move and copy objects from one drawing to another.

The window commands can be accessed from Window menu or from the Window toolbar, opened by right-clicking on any toolbar and selecting Window.

Creating and Displaying Windows

These commands apply to all open windows, whether or not they belong to one drawing or multiple drawings.

New Window

Menu: Window / New Window

Cascade

Menu: Window / Cascade

Resizes and arranges all windows so they overlap, with their title bars showing.

Tile

Menu: Window / Tile

Opens another window for the currently active drawing. The contents of this window are identical to those of the active window, but are displayed in Zoom All (zoomed so that all objects are visible in the window).

If the current window is maximized, the new window will also be maximized.

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Resizes and arranges all windows so that they are all visible, do not overlap, and are laid out to fill the screen area.

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Arrange Icons

Menu: Window / Arrange Icons

When you minimize a drawing window, Windows shrinks it to an icon. Use Arrange Icons to line up these minimized drawing windows along the bottom of the TurboCAD window. (The command does not affect windows that have not been minimized.)

Close All

Menu: Window / Close All

Closes all open windows. You will receive a warning if any file has unsaved changes.

Hide Caption

Menu: Window / Hide Caption

Removes the title bars from open windows.

not. Occupying the same side of the line of alignment, windows may overlap each other or be separated by space. In all these cases, whenever you catch the side of a window "belonging" to the line of alignment and then drag the window to change its size in the direction perpendicular to the line of alignment, all the windows "belonging" to the same line of alignment will change their size accordingly.

Multiple Windows of the Same File

When working on a large and complicated drawing, it is often useful to have simultaneous close-up views of more than one part of the drawing. Not only can you have multiple windows open on the same drawing, you can also start an operation in one window and finish in another.

For example: You may need to draw a line connecting two widely separated objects. Open a second window and tile the windows (Window / Tile). Adjust the zoom value in each window to get a close-up of each item. Then start the line in the first window, and finish it by clicking at the correct location in the second window.

Window Layout Templates

Menu: Window / Open Layout Template

Enables you to customize the layout of multiple windows of the same drawing.

Auto Resize

Menu: Window / Auto Resize

Preserves the relative proportion of windows when the TurboCAD window is resized.

Auto Align

Menu: Window / Auto Align

You can resize a group of windows if the following is valid for every window: one side of the window lies on a line common to the entire group. This is the line of alignment. The aligned windows can be on the same side of the line of alignment or occupy both sides of it. When placed on opposite sides, the aligned windows may touch each other or

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Several predefined layouts can be selected from the bottom of the window. If you previously saved a template (using Save Layout Template), you can browse to select the layout template file.

The Hide Caption, Auto Resize, and Auto Align options can be used to customize some of the window layout properties. These options are also available on the Window menu.

You can also start a new session with the last window layout from the last session. Check Last Window Layout in the General page of the Program Setup (Options / General). See "General Setup" on page 39.

Saving a Layout to a Template

Menu: Window / Save Layout Template

Saves the current layout as a template you can use for other files. The files are saved with the *.twl extension.

Applying a Layout Template

Menu: Window / Apply Layout Template

Applies the last template used.

Moving and Copying Between Different Files

There are two basic methods for copying and moving objects between drawings: copy and paste (or cut and paste), and OLE drag and drop.

Cut and Paste

You can use the Windows clipboard to transfer objects between drawings.

1. Select the objects in the source document that you want to copy or move.

2. Select Edit / Copy (Ctrl+C), or Edit / Cut (Ctrl+X). This places a copy of the objects on the Windows clipboard. Copy leaves the source objects in place, while Cut removes them.

3. Activate the target document by clicking in its window or on its title bar, or by choosing it from the Window menu.

4. Select Edit / Paste (Ctrl+V). The objects will be pasted from the Windows clipboard into the target document. The pasted objects will appear at the center of the target document window.

Drag and Drop

OLE drag and drop provides a simple and intuitive way to copy objects between drawings. You can drag objects from one drawing window into another, and you can drag objects stored in block and symbol libraries from their palette into another drawing.

1. Select the objects that you want to drag into another drawing.

2. Place the cursor over the reference point of the selection, and it becomes a double arrow.

3. Drag the selected objects into the window of the target document. An outline of the selection will follow the mouse cursor as you drag. Release the mouse button to place the objects.

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WARNING: The behavior of snap modes is slightly unusual when you are moving an object using OLE drag and drop. It is therefore not a recommended method for moving objects that require precise placement.

To drag blocks and symbols, simply drag them from their palette into the target drawing window.

Object Properties

Menu: Format / Properties

You can set an object’s properties before or after it is created.

Setting properties for a group of tools (setting properties before creating an object):

Right-click on the tool icon to open the Properties window. Or activate a tool, then select Format / Properties. Whatever properties you set here will be applied not only to the selected tool, but to all tools on the same toolbar. For example, if you set Line to be drawn in red, the Polygon and Rectangle tools will also share this color.

NOTE: If you change properties of a tool, the new properties

will be assigned to all future objects created with the entire set of tools. However, objects already created will not be affected.

Setting properties after creating an object:

You can set certain basic properties, such as color and layer, directly on the Property toolbar. For more options, there are several ways to set the remaining parameters:

• With the Select tool active, double-click the object.

• Right-click anywhere in the drawing and select Properties from the local menu.

• Click the Properties icon on the Inspector Bar.

TIP: You can take properties from one object and assign them

to other objects. See "Format Painter" on page 220.

Property Toolbar

Provides a quick and convenient way of setting some basic properties of a selected object or group of objects, or for setting the default properties of a drawing tool. If the

Property toolbar is not visible, you can display it using the View / Toolbars window.

If no objects are currently selected, the settings on the Property toolbar apply to the active drawing tool. For example, if you activate a Line tool and then change the settings on the Property toolbar, the settings will apply to all objects drawn with any Line tool.

If there are objects selected, settings in the Property toolbar apply to the selected objects.

TIP: For properties to appear, the number of selected objects

must be less than or equal to Maximum Multiple Entity Property Count, which is set in the Program Defaults page

of the TC Explorer Palette.

Entity Style: Applies predefined property settings to a drawing tool. You can save styles in the Properties window. This control can be used only to set the properties of a drawing tool; it is unavailable if you are setting the properties of selected objects.

Layer: Set the layer on which objects are drawn, or move selected objects to a layer. See "Layers" on page 98.

• Open the Selection Info Palette. You can set properties within the table that appears in the palette, or access the object’s Properties window from within the palette. See "Selection Info Palette" on page 162.

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Color: Sets the pen color. You can select a predefined color, or define your own using RGB or HSL values. The last three icons in the color thumbnail rows enable you to set the color by layer, by block or open a menu in which you can change how the colors are sorted.

For more on colors, see "Colors" on page 44.

Pen Style: Sets the line style of the line. See "Line Styles" on page 53.

Brush Pattern: Sets the fill pattern for closed objects. See "Brush Properties" on page 61.

Pen Width: Sets the line width.

Font: Available for text objects.

Text Height: Available for text objects.

Properties Window

An object’s Properties window consists of a series of categories, each on its own page. There are categories that are common to all objects: General, Pen, 3D, Luminance, Brush (for 2D objects) and Custom - these are all described in this section.

General Properties

These are properties generally not related to geometry or other physical characteristics.

Attribute: For text and dimension objects, contains the text string. For groups, contains the group name.

Hyperlink: Specifies the location of a desired file on your hard disk or on a company's network,or specifies a URL. You can type in the field or browse your system or the web to find the desired path.

Layer: Set the object’s layer by selecting from the drop-down box. See "Layers" on page 98.

Print Styles: Select the print style you want to use when printing. See "Print Styles" on page 454.

Style : A group of properties defined for a group of tools. See "Styles" on page 63.

Other categories depend on the selected object. For instance, a sphere has a Sphere category, and text objects have a Te xt category.

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Pen Properties

Properties of the pen and line style.

TIP: You can also use the Design Director to quickly set the

color of an object or group of objects. For single objects, see "Design Director: Graphics" on page 110. For groups of objects, see "Design Director: Categories" on page 110.

Pattern: Select a continuous line or one of many dot-and-dash patterns. If By Layer or By Block is used, the pattern will depend on the layer or block. There are several predefined line styles to choose from, or you can create your own. See "Line Styles" on page 53.

Dash Scale: Scale of the dot-and-dash pattern.

Alignment: Align the pattern so that the corners of

rectangles and polygons are always solid.

Width:

• Va lu e: Pen width. A zero width uses one screen pixel, and will print at one unit of the printer's available resolution (a 300 dots-per-inch printer will print a zero width line at 1/300".)

• Geometry: Used only when World is selected for the Scaling. If checked, TurboCAD creates external and internal "walls" for the object obtained by applying a thickness method to a 2D object. You can render your drawing to see the effects of this option.

Brush Properties

Fill and hatch properties of objects. A brush pattern can be applied to fill any closed 2D object. Several patterns are provided, but you can use Brush Styles (see "Brush Styles" on page 63) to create new hatch patterns, and to also create gradient or bitmap patterns.

TIP: You can use the TC Explorer Palette to view brush

patterns of all open drawings, and to apply brushes. See "Brush" on page 79.

Setting the Brush pattern for the group of Hatch tools establishes the hatch pattern that will be applied. See "Hatching" on page 296.

These settings are relevant for closed objects such as circles and polygons, and for flexible text.

• Scaling: Determines whether the width of the line will be scaled, or remain the same size, when you zoom in and out of the drawing. With Device, the width will be scaled relative to your computer screen, and will remain the same size at any magnification. With World, the width will be scaled with your drawing and will change size as you zoom. This setting also applies to the size of the elements in the dot-and-dash pattern.

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Pattern: Select solid fill, or one of the predefined hatch patterns. To define your own hatch, bitmap, or gradient pattern, see "Brush Styles" on page 63. In the Preview window, the red diagonal line is to help visualize transparency, in the case of a solid or gradient fill.

• Color: Set the color of the brush.

• Scale: Sets the scale of the hatch pattern. A scale of 2 doubles the size.

• Angle: Sets the angle of the pattern.

• Crossed: The pattern will be drawn a second time, perpendicular to the first pattern.

Origin: By default, hatch patterns use the origin as a point of reference. If you want to modify the placement of hatches without changing their angle, you can modify the point of origin used to place the hatch. Wor ld uses the WCS, and Entity uses the lower left corner of the object being hatched. Use the Offset fields to change the reference origin.

Draw Mode: Options for how hatch patterns are drawing over overlapping objects.

• Winding: The same hatch pattern will cover areas where filled objects overlap

• Alternate: The hatch pattern to be drawn on every other overlapping layer, creating an alternating pattern.

• Transparency (%): For solid or gradient fills. A percentage of 0 means the fill is opaque, and 100 means the fill is invisible.

Gradient Fill: Relevant for gradient brush styles, which must be defined using Brush Styles (see "Gradient Patterns" on page 67). The parameters in this section are the same as the ones already set for the gradient pattern. For Fit Mode and Center Point mode, use By Brush Style to keep the parameters as defined for the pattern. Changing either setting overrides the pattern’s settings. For Focus Scale, a value of

-1 keeps the focus scale the same as the pattern definition. Use a value between 0 and 1 to override it.

3D Properties

Properties relating to 3D, either for a standard 3D object such as a sphere or box, or for a 2D object made into 3D by assigning it a thickness.

See "3D Properties" on page 311.

Luminance Properties

Light properties of objects, which is different than the lights contained in the overall model.

See "Luminance" on page 402.

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Custom Properties

Available in TurboCAD Professional only

Attributes you can add to objects via the database.

See "Custom Properties (Database Management)" on page

70.

Styles

A style is a group of properties (Pen, Brush, etc.) defined for a group of tools. For example, you can one style to create blue, dashed lines on Layer 5, and use another style to create red thick lines on Layer 2. Styles provide a convenient way to quickly assign a set of properties to objects.

Styles can be accessed on the General page of an active tool’s Properties window. Styles are only applicable to tools, not objects. You cannot apply a style to selected objects, nor can you define a style based on the properties of selected objects.

To create a new style:

1. Right-click on an icon for a group of tools to open the tool’s Properties window. The tool must be active for the Styles field to be editable.

2. On the General page, enter a new style name and click New.

3. Make any changes to the other properties (Pen, Brush, etc.). The available properties depend on the type of object (for example, the Properties window for Te xt tools contains a Tex t page). These properties will be saved to the new style.

To edit an existing style, select it from the Style menu and make any property changes.

Brush Styles

Menu: Tools / Brush Styles

Also available from the icon on the Standard toolbar:

The Brush Styles palette appears by default in the palette area, on the right side of the screen. This tool enables you to modify existing hatch patterns and create new ones You can also define and edit bitmap and gradient patterns. Brush styles can be used to fill a closed 2D object, either by using an object’s Brush Properties (see "Brush Properties" on page 61or by Hatching (see "Hatching" on page 296).

NOTE: You can use this tool to update existing patterns. Select

the hatch, bitmap, or gradient pattern, make the changes, and click Update Style. Return to the drawing, and the fill will update in each object where it appears. If the update is not immediate, click the object in Select mode.

NOTE: Properties set for a tool affect all other tools in its group. For instance, setting Line properties affects Rectangle, Polygon, etc. Styles are separate for different sets of tools.

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Hatch Patterns

You can use Brush Styles to edit existing hatch patterns and create new ones.

As an example, select Hatch Patterns for Brush Style Mode and set the Brush Style to ANSI35.

This style consists of two Patterns - each pattern is a line that repeats at constant offsets. Highlight each pattern number to see the line highlight in red below, in the Preview area.

In this case, Pattern 1 is the dashed line and Pattern 2 is the unbroken line.

Highlight Pattern 1 (the dashed line), and you can see that it consists of four Pattern dashes.

Dashes are always defined in pairs; odd numbers represent the line segments and the even numbers represent the dashes. The length value for dashes is always negative.

Specify Dashes is used to create a dashed pattern from an unbroken line. Use Add Dashes and Delete Dashes to modify the dash pattern. You can update pattern lengths manually or use the 3-dot icon to define length on-screen.

The following example shows how to define a new hatch pattern.

1. At the top of the palette, click New and enter a new name for the hatch pattern.

To edit a Pattern line, you can change its Origin Point manually, or click the 3-dot icon to select an origin on-screen. You can set the Angle and Offset values the same way. If you click Specify Angles and Offset by Vector, you

2. The new pattern will be based on whatever pattern was active when the new pattern was created (ANSI35 in this case). Click Delete Pattern so that only one pattern line remains.

can define two vectors on-screen: the first defines the angle of the line, and the second defines the spacing between repeating lines.

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3. Click Specify Angle and Offset by Vector.

4. Draw a line on-screen that has the angle you want in the pattern. You can snap to existing points or draw a free-form line.

5. Next, draw a line on-screen that defines the offset between repeating lines.

7. The first line on-screen defines the length of the line segment of the dashed pattern. Be sure to define this length in the same direction you used to create the original pattern line.

8. The next vector defines the length of the dash, resulting in two dash patterns. If you want more dash patterns, always in pairs, continue defining vectors in the same direction.

9. Create more patterns and dashes as needed to get the entire pattern.

When the style is defined, click Update Style to use it in the current drawing, or Add to Defaults to be able to use it in future drawings.

6. To make this a dashes line, click Specify Dashes.

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Bitmap Patterns

To create a brush style from an image, select Bitmap for Brush Style Mode and then click New. Enter the name of the

style at the top of the palette.

In the middle section, use the browser to locate the image file you want to use. A preview of the image appears in the lower section. The size of the repeating image is controlled by the Width and Height values. You can change these values manually, or click Advanced for more control.

When you click Advanced, the following window appears. In the left window, use the dotted border to set the section of the image that will repeat. The tiled pattern updates dynamically under Pattern Preview. You can also set the border by entering values for Left, Top , Width, and Height.

• Smooth edges up to n pixels: Smooths the transition between bitmap repetitions by blending adjacent edges.

• Output bit depth: The number of bit used for the bitmap.

• Calculate adaptive palette: Forces the color down-sampling to match the original color palette as closely as possible. Available only if the Output bit depth is lower than the value which the original bitmap used.

When the style is defined, click Update Style to use it in the current drawing, or Add to Defaults to be able to use it in future drawings.

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Now when you open the Properties (see "Properties Window" on page 60) for a 2D closed object, the bitmap style appears in the Brush page (see "Brush Properties" on page 61). The style also can be used in the Hatching tools (see "Hatching" on page 296)

Gradient Patterns

To create a gradient style, in which the fill changes gradually from one color to another, select Gradient Fill for Brush Style Mod e and then click New. Enter the name of the style at the top of the palette.

There are four types of gradient fills: Linear, Radial, Diamond, and Custom. Each type is explained later in this section.

Mode (called Fit Mode in the Brush Properties):

• Exact Fit: The gradient completely fills the object itself. In this example, the fill completely reaches the second gradient color at the boundary of the circle.

• Fit to Extents: The gradient completely fills the extents rectangle that encloses the object. In this example, the second gradient color is only reached at the boundary of the extents rectangle, which is larger than the circle itself. This is why the color at the circle boundary is lighter than in the example above.

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Center Point:

• Modes: Select Extents center to center the fill at the center of the object’s extents rectangle. Reference point centers the fill at the object’s reference point (see "Components of Select Edit Mode" on page 167).

• Focus Scale: This must be a value between 0 and 1. Zero means the color interpolation start from the center (left image below). A value of 0.5 will start the interpolation halfway between the center and the edge (right image below).

NOTE: Settings for Fit Mode, Center Point, and Focus Scale

are set here as the fill defaults. These values can be overridden for filled objects by modifying the object’s Brush Properties (see "Brush Properties" on page 61).

Linear Gradient

Linear fill moves from one color to the other along a straight vector. Under Control Points, highlight First and set the Color. Do the same for Second.

By default, the First color runs vertically along the left side and changes to the Second color along a left-to-right vector. To change this vector, click the icon with the three dots.

Define the new vector on the screen. The first point of the vector controls where the First color appears.

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Radial Gradient

Radial fill moves from one color to the other along a radial path. Under Control Points, highlight Center and set the center color. Highlight Radius and set the outer color.

Set the radius manually, or click the 3-dots icon and set the radius on-screen.

Diamond Gradient

Diamond fill moves from from the center outward in four directions, each separated by 90 degrees. Under Control Points, highlight Center and set the color of the center and linear patterns. Highlight Radius-Vector and set that appears in between the Center color lines.

By default, the Center color runs vertically and horizontally to either side. To change this vector, click the icon with the three dots.

Define the new vector on the screen. The first point of the vector controls where the Center color appears. The second point of the vector controls the angle of the four lines.

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Custom Gradient

Use this type to create a custom polyline and apply colors to each polyline point. The results will resemble a Diamond Gradient, but can have numerous points, each with its own color.

Color 1 runs from the center outward to each point. By default there are three other points (triangular polyline). To change the polyline, click the icon with the three dots.

Define the polyline on the screen, proceeding in the order of Color 2, Color 3, and so on. The polyline automatically closes, and cannot intersect itself. Select Finish from the local menu to complete the polyline. You can also select an existing polyline from the drawing; click the arrow icon in the Inspector Bar to do this.

If the polyline has more than three points, the number of Control Points increases, and you can set a color for each point.

When the style is defined, click Update Style to use it in the current drawing, or Add to Defaults to be able to use it in future drawings.

Custom Properties (Database Management)

Available in TurboCAD Professional only

Menu: Tools / Database

All properties of an objects are elements of a database. Standard database property items include line width, color, coordinates of points that comprise the object, etc.

The database management feature enables you to add information to objects and to create reports using this information. For example, you can add custom fields to provide information on suppliers, manufacturers, price, etc.

Is most productive to plan in advance how you manage the database.

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Custom property fields can be seen and manipulated in the Custom page of an object’s Properties window. You can also access database tools from this page.

NOTE: Currency fields will not appear in the Custom page.

Defining Database Fields

Menu: Tools / Database / Define Fields

The first step in creating a database is to define the types of information to be recorded. The Define Fields window, which initially contains all standard fields (layer, pen color, etc.) is used to create new fields.

• Double: Decimal numbers.

• Currency: Dollar amounts. This type will not appear in an object’s Custom page of the Properties window.

Visible: If checked, the field will be visible and available for use in the Edit Object Data and Report windows.

TIP: If you know you will not be using certain fields in reports,

it is helpful to turn off visibility.

Editable: If checked, the field can be edited in the other database dialogs. Auto fields are always non-editable.

NOTE: The first six automatic fields (ObjectID, Layer, Type,

Attribute, Pen Color, and Brush Color) are not editable; they represent data elements that must be changed as properties. Object ID cannot be changed.

Description: An optional field for notes or other comments.

To delete a record, click the square at the beginning of the row, and click Delete.

To add a field to the database, click in the first empty field under Field Name, and type the new field name, such as Manufacturer or Cost. Then continue to fill in the other fields.

Data Type:

• Text: Alphanumeric information which does not have to be calculated.

• Integer: Whole numbers.

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Edit Object Data

Menu: Tools / Database / Edit Object Data.

Once field names and data types have been established, the next step is to add information about each item into the database. Select one or more objects in the drawing, then select Tools / Database / Edit Object Data.

In this window you can enter values for any editable fields and for new fields you created in the Define Fields window.

Show All: Changes the view to a table listing all selected items and their properties. Click Collapse to return the summary view.

Example: Saving a symbol with database information

1. Create the symbol and save it as a *.tcw file.

2. In the symbol file, define database fields and set the values.

3. Resave the symbol file.

Future uses of the symbol will contain the database information.

Reports

Menu: Tools / Database / Report

After fields have been created, and data entered, the database can be used to generate reports.

To create a report, click Create in the Reports window.

The Report Edit window appears, which has two tabs:

Report and Advanced Report.

Report Tab:

Regenerate

Menu: Tools / Database / Regenerate

If new drawing elements have been created, and new data entered into the database, select use Regenerate to update the database to account for all new objects and data.

72 For updates and additional information,

Report Type:

• Detail: Only values from editable fields may be edited before printing.

• Summary: All values may be edited before printing, even if they come from a non-editable field.

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Available Fields: All fields previously marked as visible in the Define Fields window will appear in this list. Select the fields you want to add to the report one by one, or add them all.

Report Fields: All fields that will appear in the report.

Query Criteria: Shows any query created to sort data. To

create a query, click Edit. See "Select by Query" on page

161.

Advanced Report Tab:

Once you have setup the report, close the Report Edit window, and click Report in the Reports window.

The Summary Report window contains the following tools:

Export: Saves the report as a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet (XLS), Microsoft Access Database (MDB), a Comma Separated Value (CSV), or a Tabbed Text File (TXT).

Page Setup: Sets the format of a printed version of the report.

The appearance of this tab depends on whether you are creating a Detail or Summary report. For a Detail report,

Print: Prints the report using the Print Setup options.

Field Names can be edited. For a Summary report, Report Header Names may be edited, and one of five math

functions may be added to a field:

• SUM: Calculates the total sum of all values.

Copy: Places all report data on the Windows clipboard, so that it can be pasted into another Windows application.

• AV G : Calculates the average of all values.

• MIN: Displays the smallest amount among all values.

• MAX: which displays the largest amount among all values.

• COUNT: Calculates the number of values (not the

Sort Ascending / Descending: Click a column header, then use these buttons to sort the column,

sum of values).

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Grand Total: Click a blank field at the bottom of any column, then click this button. If the field has a data type of Currency, Integer or Double, the total will be calculated for the column. If the data type is Text, the total number of items will be calculated.

If new data has been added to the database since the last time the report was generated, click Update (at the bottom of the window) to regenerate the report. This is equivalent to using Tools / Database / Regenerate.

Report Page Setup

Header / Footer tab: Enables you to add the page number, number of total pages, date, and/or time to the header or footer of each report page.

Layout tab: Enables you to set the margins, alignment, page order, and scale of the report pages, and whether grid lines, row headings, and column headings will be printed.

TC Explorer Palette

Available in TurboCAD Professional only

Menu: View / TC Explorer Palette

This palette enables you to perform many operations in one place. It serves as a file browser with previews, and displays components and editable parameters for all open drawings.

Level Up: Moves up to the higher folder in the explorer tree.

View: Determines how the contents of the folder are

displayed: icons, thumbnails, detailed list, etc.

Sort: Arranges the contents of the folder by date, size, etc.

Palette Options: Sets the palette display and file filters.

• The Panel tab contains choices for panel appearance, and enables you to select what components of the palette are visible.

TC Explorer Toolbar

File filter: Enables you to select which files will be listed for a selected folder of the explorer tree. You can define your own file filters in the Palette Options (last icon).

Back and Forward: Scrolls backward or forward in the explorer tree.

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• The Thumbnails tab enables you to control the size, shadows, and borders of thumbnails.

Image Size and Space are both measured in pixels. Space refers to pixels around the icon plus its name.

• The Filters tab enables you to add, delete, or edit file filters. Filters control which files appear in a folder’s contents, and are set according to file extensions.

General Settings

All branches of the explorer tree except the last one (Drawings) enable you to set parameters for the program as a whole.

Files

This branch acts just like Windows Explorer. The files that are listed for a highlighted folder depend on what Filters are set. You can list all files, only TurboCAD files, only image files, or you can define your own filter for files of specific extensions.

You can expand a folder by clicking the “+” icon, or by pressing the * on the numeric keypad.

If you highlight a TurboCAD file (*.tcw) or an image file, a preview of the file will appear.

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Program Defaults

Here you can control default program settings - parameters that are active for all files. For example, you can change the aperture size and toggle Auto Add Constraints on and off. Most of these parameters can also be set in Options / Program Setup.

Symbol Libraries

Enables you to change the path for user-defined symbols. You can also drag symbols as you would from the Symbols palette.

Drawing Settings

The Drawings branch of the tree enables you to view components of all open drawings. Click the Drawings header to see a list of all open drawings.

For each drawing there are six components you can view, edit and/or share between drawings.

See "Symbol Libraries" on page 267.

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Chapter 2 User Interface

Drawing Defaults

Here you can control default drawing settings - parameters that apply onto to the relevant drawing. For example, you can change the colors of the major and minor grid lines. Nearly all of these parameters can also be set in Options / Drawing Setup.

Print Spaces

Lists all paper spaces in the drawing. (See "Paper Space" on page 431.)

If you highlight a Paper Space, you can edit its properties.

Blocks

Displays all blocks defined in the drawing (see "Blocks" on page 257). Highlight a block’s icon or thumbnail to see a preview of the block’s contents.

You can use the palette to insert blocks from one open drawing into another open drawing. For example, the West_Building.tcw file contains two blocks. If you open East_Building.tcw, drag the Desk_Large block’s icon into

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the drawing. The block will then be listed under East_Building’s blocks. It will also appear in that drawing’s Blocks palette.

Layers

Displays all layers defined in the drawing (see "Layers" on page 98).

For example, the West_Building.tcw file contains four layers. If you open East_Building.tcw, drag the Electrical layer’s icon into the drawing. The layer will then be listed under East_Building’s layers, and will appear in Options / Layers as well.

To change an object’s layer, select the object and then double-click the desired layer’s icon. If you double-click a layer belonging to another drawing, that layer will automatically be imported into the current drawing. The active drawing tool will automatically be placed on the double-clicked layer.

You can use the palette to import layers from one open drawing into another open drawing. This imports a layer’s name, color, style, width, etc., but does not import a layer’s objects.

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Chapter 2 User Interface

Line Styles

Displays all line styles defined in the drawing (see "Line Styles" on page 53). Highlight a line styles’ icon or thumbnail to view it.

To import a line style from one open drawing into the current drawing, drag and drop or double-click its icon.

To change an object’s line style, select the object and then double-click the desired layer’s icon. If you double-click a line style belonging to another drawing, that line style will automatically be imported into the current drawing.

You can also make any line style active by double-clicking its icon. All new objects will be created in the current line style. You can also change line styles while creating objects; for example, you can select one corner point of a rectangle, change the line style, and complete the rectangle.

Brush

Displays all brush (hatch) styles defined in the drawing (see "Brush Properties" on page 61). Highlight a line styles’ icon or thumbnail to see how the line style appears.

To change an object’s brush, select the object and then double-click the desired brush’s icon.

You can also make any brush active by double-clicking its icon. All new objects will be created in the current brush. You can also change brushes while creating objects; for example, you can select one corner point of a rectangle, change the brush, and complete the rectangle.

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Settings

Lists parameters such as units, fonts, and tables currently defined in the drawing.

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3 Manipulating the 2D Display

This section covers ways to obtain the desired view of your model, and how to save views for future use.

Views

The view is the area of the drawing space that appears on your screen. As your drawing becomes larger and more complex, it's important to find views that let you work at the right location in your drawing, at an appropriate level of detail.

Tip: Layers are a useful way to change how objects. You can place objects on various layers and then manipulate layer visibility. See "Layers" on page 98.

This section covers views in 2D. When working in 3D, there are additional viewing tools and other ways to examine your model. See "3D Views" on page 301 and "Examining the 3D Model" on page 342.

Zooming

Zooming means to move “closer to” or “farther from” the drawing space, viewing the drawing at a greater or smaller level of detail.

You can always check the current zoom percentage via the zoom indicator, located, by default, at the lower right corner of the screen.

Some wheel mice are set up by default to scroll instead of zoom. If you would like your wheel to zoom, select Tools / Customize and open the Intellimouse page. You will be able to assign commands to the wheel functions. This feature works with other wheel mice as well.

Zoom In and Zoom Out

Menu: View / Zoom / Zoom In / Out

Hotkey: <+> or <-> (on numeric keypad)

Magnifies or shrinks the current view. The zoom factor is equal to two by default, but you can change this in the

Preference page of the Program Setup (Options / Preference).

TIP: Change the zoom factor to 1.4 to double the view every

two zoom steps.

If you zoom using the <+> and <-> keys of the numeric keypad, the view centers on the cursor. If you use the View menu commands or icons, the zoom will center on the current view, regardless of the position of the cursor.

NOTE: As you zoom out, the representation of small objects is

Using a Wheel Mouse

Zooming with a wheel mouse is a particularly handy way to get around in a drawing. Move the cursor to where you want to work, and move the wheel backward to zoom out or forward to zoom in.

Some wheel mouse setups require that the scroll bars be turned off for zooming to work (Workspace / Scroll Bars).

simplified, thereby increasing redraw speed. You can set the size at which this occurs using the Suppress display field on the Display page of the Drawing Setup (Options / Display).

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Zoom Window

Menu: View / Zoom / Zoom Window

Hotkey: Ctrl+Home

Zooms to an area defined by a rectangle. The rectangle is defined by selecting its two opposite corners, or by dragging the mouse from one corner to the other.

NOTE: Because the dimensions of the zoom rectangle will

probably not be exactly proportional to the screen, the closest view that includes the entire rectangle will be used.

Zoom Extents

Menu: View / Zoom / Extents

Hotkey: Ctrl+Backspace

Zooms to an area that completely contains all visible objects (including lights and camera objects). This is the same area enclosed by the selection rectangle if you select all the objects.

Any objects on an invisible layer will not be taken into consideration.

Zoom Selection

Menu: View / Zoom / Selection

Hotkey: Alt+Backspace

Zooms to an area that completely contains all currently selected objects.

TIP: You can also use the Design Director to quickly zoom on

an object or group of objects. For a single object, see "Design Director: Graphics" on page 110. For a group of objects, see "Design Director: Categories" on page 110.

Printed Size

Menu: View / Zoom / Printed Size

Zooms at approximately the size the drawing will be when printed. In this view, one inch of screen space is approximately equal to one inch on paper. The exact ratio of screen space to Paper Space will vary, depending on your graphics display and screen resolution.

Uniform for All Views

Menu: View / Zoom / Uniform for all views

Used for multiple windows of the same drawing, enables you to zoom all windows simultaneously.

Zoom Full View

Menu: View / Zoom / Full View

Hotkey: Shift+Backspace

Only available in Paper Space, displays the entire drawing sheet. The drawing sheet may consist of multiple printer paper sheets, indicated by dashed lines.

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