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Smart Draw Tool

The Smart Draw tool makes drawing parts very easy.

Smart Draw Tool was introduced in version 7.0.0.

Actions

Draw Rectangle

Draw a volume based on a rectangular shape.

Draw Rectangle

Using this tool is performed in several steps:

  1. Click to define the first corner ↳ Hit ←, ↑ or → to lock perpendicular along the Green, Blue or Red axis. The rectangle will then be perpendicular to the locked axis. ↳ Hit CTRL (on Windows) or OPTION (on Mac) to toggle Measure relative to the nearest vertex

  2. Click to define the opposite corner or enter measure ↳ Hit CTRL (on Windows) or OPTION (on Mac) to toggle Rectangle Centered

  3. Click to set the elevation or enter measure

    ↳ Press SHIFT to lock the elevation to the last used value ↳ Hit CTRL (on Windows) or OPTION (on Mac) to toggle Elevation Centered

  4. The drawing is now complete and the tool is ready to start again. But first, you can still change the elevation value by entering a new measure.

At any time, you can :

  • Hit SHIFT + X to toggle Construction Lines

  • Type 10x to set the Offset to 10 or -5x to set the Offset to -5

Options

  • Offset: Apply an offset to the shape line

  • Construction Lines: Draw as construction lines

  • Rectangle Centered: Center rectangle on the first point

  • Elevation Centered: Center elevation on the first point

  • Parts naming: Enter part names manually

Draw Circle

Draw a volume based on a circular shape.

Draw Circle

Using this tool is performed in several steps:

  1. Click to define the center ↳ Hit ←, ↑ or → to lock perpendicular along the Green, Blue or Red axis ↳ Hit CTRL (on Windows) or OPTION (on Mac) to toggle Measure relative to the nearest vertex

  2. Click to define the radius or diameter or enter measure ↳ Press SHIFT to lock the radius to the previously used value ↳ Hit CTRL (on Windows) or OPTION (on Mac) to toggle Measure from radius or diameter

  3. Click to set the elevation or enter measure ↳ Press SHIFT to lock the elevation to the previously used value ↳ Hit CTRL (on Windows) or OPTION (on Mac) to toggle Elevation Centered

  4. The drawing is now complete and the tool is ready to start again. But first, you can still change the elevation value by entering a new measure.

At any time, you can :

  • Hit SHIFT + X to toggle Construction Lines

  • Type 10x to set the Offset to 10 or -5x to set the Offset to -5

Options

  • Offset: Apply an offset to the shape line

  • Number of Segments: Define the number of segments in the circle

  • Construction Lines: Draw as construction lines

  • Smoothing: Smooth curves

  • Measure: Measure circle by its diameter

  • Elevation Centered: Center elevation on the first point

  • Parts naming: Enter part names manually

Draw Polygon

Draw a volume on a polygonal shape.

Using this tool is performed in several steps:

  1. Click to define the first point ↳ Hit ←, ↑ or → to lock perpendicular along the Green, Blue or Red axis ↳ Hit CTRL (on Windows) or OPTION (on Mac) to toggle Measure relative to the nearest vertex

  2. Click to set more points, as many as you want or enter measure from previous point ↳ Hit ←, ↑ or → to lock along Green, Blue or Red axis from previous point ↳ Hit CTRL (on Windows) or OPTION (on Mac) to toggle Inverted Measure

  3. Click on a point already added to validate the 2D shape

  4. Click to set the elevation or enter measure ↳ Press SHIFT to lock the elevation to the previously used value ↳ Hit CTRL (on Windows) or OPTION (on Mac) to toggle Elevation Centered

  5. The drawing is now complete and the tool is ready to start again. But first, you can still change the elevation value by entering a new measure.

At any time, you can :

  • Hit SHIFT + X to toggle Construction Lines

  • Type 10x to set the Offset to 10 or -5x to set then Offset to -5

Options

  • Offset: Apply an offset to the shape line

  • Construction Lines: Draw as construction lines

  • Inverted Measure: Reverse the measurement

  • Elevation Centered: Center elevation on the first point

  • Parts naming: Enter part names manually

Shortcuts

  • Use TAB or SHIFT + TAB to navigate forward or backward through actions, respectively.

  • Use CTRL + TAB (Windows) or OPTION + TAB (Mac) to navigate through the first action's modifier.

Entering Measurement

Entering measurements in OpenCutList follows the basic principles of SketchUp's native tools via the VCB field. However, a few useful features have been added.

  • @ allows you to compute a simple operation using the value pointed to by the mouse

  • + - * / allows you to compute right value with @ value

  • = allows you to duplicate previous value

Examples

  • @+10 adds 10 of current model length unit to the mouse value

  • @-12mm subtracts 12 mm to the mouse value

  • -12mm is converted to 12 mm but by reversing the direction

  • @*3 multiplies the mouse value by 3

  • @/2 divides the mouse value by 2

  • 10,20 defines a pair of value v1 = 10, v2 = 20

  • 100mm= is equivalent to 100mm, 100mm

  • 50== is equivalent to 50, 50, 50

  • 10=,@-30 is equivalent to 10, 10, @-30

  • ,-10 is equivalent to @, -10

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