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learning draftsight
3

learning draftsight

learning draftsight

(OP)
hi there - This is my first post here. I'm attempting to learn how to use draftsight. I am really a beginner at this. Can someone explain how I would size a rectangle to 2" x 1" ? I can draw one, but it comes out at a size I don't want, and I haven't been able to figure out how to resize it to 2" x 1". Anyone ?

RE: learning draftsight

fxr3102,

If you want to play with 2D CAD, I recommend LibreCAD. This is Free Software, and it is not likely to pulled off the market any time soon. Draftsight is being provided so that SolidWorks users can access and support their old AutoCAD drawings. When this requirement goes away, I would expect support for Draftsight to disappear.

On LibreCAD, you click on one corner of your rectangle, then you hit the spacebar, making the keyboard active. LibreCAD behaves like AutoCAD. Typed in coordinates are absolute. If you precede them with a ">" (???), the coordinates are relative to your present position.

--
JHG

RE: learning draftsight

"...support their old AutoCAD drawings. When this requirement goes away..."

Sometime after 2069 or so?

I think AutoCAD puts in relative coordinates using the "@" prefix, and uses ">" to denote an angle entry.

RE: learning draftsight

Before AutoCAD had a Windows interface, I learned it using the book "Inside AutoCAD", step by step. There is probably something more current available at B&N, and certainly at Amazon.

ISTR that relative coordinates in AutoCAD use '@' as a prefix:
>rectangle
(XY coord of corner)? LMB for current or 0,0 <space|return> for origin,
or absolute coordinates as X,Y pair of numbers.
(XY coord of other corner) ? LMB for current of @2,1 <space|return> to say relative 2,1.
I think Draftsight works similarly.

Old versions of AutoCAD didn't have a rectangle command, so you had to enter four points, one at a time.

>line
? 0,0 <space|return>
? 2,0 <space|return>
? @0,1 <space|return>
? @-2,0 <space|return>
? @0,-1 <space|return> or just 'c' for close.

... or something like that.

Newish versions of AutoCAD, and Draftsight, have 'grips' that allow you to LMB on a line of an existing rectangle and stretch it. Grip editing is kind of glitchy on my old slow computers.

There's much more. Buy a book.


Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

RE: learning draftsight

btrueblood,

@ and >: Thanks. That was it.

LibreCAD is a good home CAD tool. If people start using Draftsight as an enterprise drafting tool, SolidWorks will start charging for it.

--
JHG

RE: learning draftsight

Drawoh, thanks for the link, by the way... Any idea how to do the AutoCAD equivalent of the "offset" command in librecad?

RE: learning draftsight

btrueblood,

For LibreCAD, click on the line drawing menu. OFFSET is there somewhere.

There is no command entry like AutoCAD.

--
JHG

RE: learning draftsight

I find Draftsight to be the best AutoCAD replacement and it's just as FREE as LibreCAD. I tested a slew of supposed AutoCAD replacements and only Draftsight could successfully load our old custom fonts and correctly handle xref drawing blocks. And while some of our sites use SaladWorks, I don't. I doubt that Dassault is going to pull Draftsight off the market any time soon and who cares if they do? As long as you have the download you can run it.

Like any CAD software, you have to learn the interface. There are a zillion YouTube videos that will teach everything from the basic to the complex.

----------------------------------------

The Help for this program was created in Windows Help format, which depends on a feature that isn't included in this version of Windows.

RE: learning draftsight

The same is true for all software, free or otherwise.

----------------------------------------

The Help for this program was created in Windows Help format, which depends on a feature that isn't included in this version of Windows.

RE: learning draftsight

you don't need PCs with operating systems, just build a Virtual Machine and install the OS .
(of course, you do need a set of installation media, and if windows, the key code to let it run.
Keep a copy of the VM configured the way you want it as a backup.
You can also keep a backup of the copy with software installed.
The cool thing about VMs is - they don't care much about the computer or OS they're hosted on.

food for thought...

Jay Maechtlen
http://www.laserpubs.com/techcomm

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