Draft ShapeString tutorial

Introduction
In this tutorial we will discuss how to
 * insert a text with the tool
 * extrude it to be a solid
 * position it in 3D space using placement and Draft Move with sketches as helper elements
 * doing an engraving by applying a boolean cut

It is recommended to understand the basics of the Sketcher Workbench as well.
 * Sketcher tutorial
 * Sketcher reference

Setup
1. Open FreeCAD, create a new empty document with, and switch to the Part Workbench.
 * 1.1. Press the button, or press  in the numerical pad of your keyboard, to change the view to isometric to visualize the 3D solids better.
 * 1.2. Press the button whenever you add objects in order to pan and zoom the 3D view so that all elements are seen in the view.
 * 1.3. Hold while you click to select multiple items. If you selected something wrong or want to de-select everything, just click on empty space in the 3D view.

Create the basic shape
2. Insert a primitive cube by clicking on.
 * 2.1. Select in the tree view.
 * 2.2. Change the dimensions in the tab of the property editor.
 * 2.3. Change to.

3. Create a chamfer.
 * 3.1. Select the upper edge on the front face of the  in the 3D view.
 * 3.2. Press.
 * 3.3. In the task panel go to, choose . As  choose , then set  to.
 * 3.4. Press . This will create a object.
 * 3.5. In the tree view, select, in the tab change the value of  to.



Insert the ShapeString
4. Switch to the Draft Workbench.
 * 4.1. Make sure nothing is selected in the tree view.
 * 4.2. Establish the working plane to XY (Top) by clicking on and pressing.

5. Insert the text "FreeCAD".
 * 5.1. Press on.
 * 5.2. Change to.
 * 5.3. Change to.
 * 5.4. Change to.
 * 5.5. Or press.
 * 5.6. Change to ; change  to ; change  to.
 * 5.7. Make sure points to a valid font, for example, . Press the ellipsis  to open the operating system's dialog to find a font.
 * 5.8. Press . This will create a object.
 * 5.9. Recompute the document by pressing.
 * 5.10. In the tree view, select, then press . This will hide the object, so you can see the better.



Create the 3D text
6. Switch back to the Part Workbench.
 * 6.1. In the tree view, select, then press.
 * 6.2. In the task panel go to, choose ; in , set  to ; also tick the  option.
 * 6.3. Press . This will create an object.



Insert sketch for positioning

 * Switch to sketcher workbench
 * Make sure object "chamfer" is selected in the tree view and press  to toggle its visibility to visible
 * Choose sloped face created by chamfer operation
 * Click on [[Image: Sketcher_NewSketch.png|32px]] to insert new sketch
 * Draw a line (may be horizontal or vertical, length is not of importance ...)
 * Constrain one of the endpoints to be +2,5 mm vertical distance and +2,5 mm horizontal distance away from the origin
 * Close the sketch

Positioning 3D text in 3D space

 * Make sure object "Extrude" is selected in the tree view and press  to toggle visibility to visible
 * Make sure, object "Extrude" is selected in the tree view
 * Open Placement task
 * Apply incremental placement, axis of rotation Z=90°
 * Apply incremental placement, axis of rotation Y=45°
 * Switch to draft workbench
 * Switch to wireframe mode
 * Make sure, only "snap to endpoint" is activated
 * Select "extrude"-object
 * Click on [[Image: Draft_Move.png|32px]]
 * In 3D view click on the most upper left corner point of "extrude"-object (1) and then click on the constrained point in the sketch (2)

Creating engraved text

 * Switch to part workbench
 * Switch to "As is"-view mode
 * Select the 3D text ("extrude") and then the base object ("chamfer") in the tree view
 * Apply a boolean cut by clicking on [[Image:Part_Cut.png|32px]]
 * Make sure object "Sketch" is selected in the tree view
 * Press  to toggle visibilty
 * Click on [[Image:View-axometric.png|32px]] to change to axometric view
 * Click on [[Image:View-zoom-all.png|32px]] to zoom to fit all
 * Finished