Sandbox:Online Help ToC v2

Introduction
This is the documentation website of FreeCAD. It is written by the community of FreeCAD users and developers, and is continuously being updated and extended. It might therefore contain errors, inaccuracies, or articles that describe functionality that is not yet available on the version you have installed. We try our best to fix these and make this documentation better, don't hesitate to help and contribute!


 * Welcome
 * About FreeCAD
 * Features list
 * Release notes 011
 * Release notes 012
 * Release notes 013
 * Release notes 014
 * Release notes 015
 * Install on Windows
 * Install on Linux/Unix
 * Install on Mac

Getting started
FreeCAD is an open-source general purpose parametric 3D CAD modeler, made for product design, that is, anything you plan to build in the real world. It is mainly made for two categories of users: Professional users from the fields of mechanical engineering and product design but also from a wider range of uses around engineering, such as architecture or other engineering specialties, and also hobbyist and casual users who need a tool to model objects they want to build or 3D print. It can also be used by developers who wish to build their own application using FreeCAD as a base.

Modeling for product design is usually a complex task, where precision is important. FreeCAD is therefore also a complex tool with a fair learning curve. This documentation will hopefully help to make this learning phase an interesting and enjoyable experience.


 * Getting started
 * The FreeCAD interface CLEANUP
 * Navigating in the 3D space
 * The FreeCAD Document
 * Working with parametric objects CLEANUP
 * Setting user preferences

Workbenches
The FreeCAD interface is based on the concept of workbenches. Workbenches are sets of tools typically designed for a specific task. Switching between these workbenches changes several parts of the FreeCAD interface such as toolbars and menus, while still working on the same document. Most of the tasks you will do in FreeCAD will require a specific workbench to be activated.

List of tools List of tools
 * The Part Workbench provides basic tools for working with solid parts: primitives, such as cube and sphere, and simple geometric operations and boolean operations. The Part workbench provides the foundation of FreeCAD's geometry system, and is used by almost all other workbenches.
 * [[Image:Part_Box.png|16px]] Box
 * [[Image:Part_Cone.png|16px]] Cone
 * [[Image:Part_Cylinder.png|16px]] Cylinder
 * [[Image:Part_Sphere.png|16px]] Sphere
 * [[Image:Part_Torus.png|16px]] Torus
 * [[Image:Part_CreatePrimitives.png|16px]] CreatePrimitives
 * [[Image:Part_Shapebuilder.png|16px]] Shapebuilder
 * [[Image:Part_Booleans.png|16px]] Booleans
 * [[Image:Part_Fuse.png|16px]] Fuse
 * [[Image:Part_Common.png|16px]] Common
 * [[Image:Part_Cut.png|16px]] Cut
 * [[Image:Part_Extrude.png|16px]] Extrude
 * [[Image:Part_Fillet.png|16px]] Fillet
 * [[Image:Part_Revolve.png|16px]] Revolve
 * [[Image:Part_Section.png|16px]] Section
 * [[Image:Part_SectionCross.png|16px]] Cross sections
 * [[Image:Part_Chamfer.png|16px]] Chamfer
 * [[Image:Part_Mirror.png|16px]] Mirror
 * [[Image:Part_RuledSurface.png|16px]] Ruled Surface
 * [[Image:Part_Sweep.png|16px]] Sweep
 * [[Image:Part_Loft.png|16px]] Loft
 * The Draft Workbench provides tools to do basic 2D CAD drafting tasks: lines, circles, etc... and also provides generic handy tools that work with all FreeCAD objects, such as move, rotate or scale. It also provides several drawing aids, such as grid and snapping.
 * [[Image:Draft_Line.png|16px]] Line
 * [[Image:Draft_Wire.png|16px]] Wire
 * [[Image:Draft_Circle.png|16px]] Circle
 * [[Image:Draft_Arc.png|16px]] Arc
 * [[Image:Draft_Ellipse.png|16px]] Ellipse
 * [[Image:Draft_Polygon.png|16px]] Polygon
 * [[Image:Draft_Rectangle.png|16px]] Rectangle
 * [[Image:Draft_Text.png|16px]] Text
 * [[Image:Draft_Dimension.png|16px]] Dimension
 * [[Image:Draft_BSpline.png|16px]] BSpline
 * [[Image:Draft_Point.png|16px]] Point
 * [[Image:Draft_ShapeString.png|16px]] ShapeString
 * [[Image:Draft_Facebinder.png|16px]] Facebinder
 * [[Image:Draft_BezCurve.png|16px]] Bezier Curve
 * [[Image:Draft_Move.png|16px]] Move
 * [[Image:Draft_Rotate.png|16px]] Rotate
 * [[Image:Draft_Offset.png|16px]] Offset
 * [[Image:Draft_Trimex.png|16px]] Trim/Extend
 * [[Image:Draft_Upgrade.png|16px]] Upgrade
 * [[Image:Draft_Downgrade.png|16px]] Downgrade
 * [[Image:Draft_Scale.png|16px]] Scale
 * [[Image:Draft_PutOnSheet.png|16px]] Drawing
 * [[Image:Draft_Edit.png|16px]] Edit
 * [[Image:Draft_WireToBSpline.png|16px]] Wire to BSpline
 * [[Image:Draft_AddPoint.png|16px]] Add point
 * [[Image:Draft_DelPoint.png|16px]] Delete point
 * [[Image:Draft_Shape2DView.png|16px]] Shape 2D View
 * [[Image:Draft_Draft2Sketch.png|16px]] Draft to Sketch
 * [[Image:Draft_Array.png|16px]] Array
 * [[Image:Draft_PathArray.png|16px]] Path Array
 * [[Image:Draft_Clone.png|16px]] Clone
 * Draft SelectPlane
 * Draft FinishLine
 * Draft CloseLine
 * Draft UndoLine
 * Draft ToggleConstructionMode
 * Draft ToggleContinueMode
 * Draft ApplyStyle
 * Draft ToggleDisplayMode
 * Draft AddToGroup
 * Draft SelectGroup
 * Draft ToggleSnap
 * Draft ToggleGrid
 * Draft ShowSnapBar
 * Draft DXF
 * Draft SVG
 * Draft OCA
 * Draft DAT
 * Draft DXF

The Sketcher workbench

 * Sketcher Workbench
 * The PartDesign workbench
 * Part Workbench (was The Part workbench )
 * Assembly Workbench
 * Mesh Workbench (was The Mesh workbench )
 * Arch Workbench (was The Architecture workbench )
 * Drawing Workbench (was The Drawing workbench )
 * Raytracing Workbench (was The Raytracing workbench )
 * FEM Workbench
 * OpenSCAD Workbench
 * Robot Workbench (was The Robot workbench )
 * Ship Workbench
 * Image Workbench (was [[Image Module|The Image workbench] )
 * Plot Workbench
 * Spreadsheet Workbench
 * List of all FreeCAD commands
 * Tutorials
 * Scripting and Macros
 * Working with macros
 * Introduction to Python
 * Python scripting tutorial
 * FreeCAD Scripting Basics
 * Mesh Scripting
 * Part Scripting
 * Converting between Meshes and Parts
 * The Coin Scenegraph
 * Working with Pivy
 * Working with PyQt
 * Creating parametric objects
 * Embedding FreeCAD
 * API documentation
 * Scripting Examples
 * Code snippets
 * Line drawing function
 * Dialog creation


 * Developing applications for FreeCAD
 * Licence
 * Compiling FreeCAD
 * Finding assistance
 * Compiling on Windows
 * Compiling on Unix
 * Compiling on Mac
 * Third Party Libraries
 * Third Party Tools
 * Start up and Configuration
 * Build Support Tools
 * The FreeCAD build tool
 * Adding an application module
 * Debugging FreeCAD
 * Testing FreeCAD
 * Modifying FreeCAD
 * Branding
 * Translating FreeCAD
 * Installing extra python modules
 * Source documentation


 * Credits
 * Contributors


 * Customizing the interface