TechDraw API

(November 2018) This information may be incomplete and outdated. For the latest API, see the autogenerated API documentation.

These functions are part of the TechDraw Workbench and can be used in macros and from the Python console once the TechDraw module has been imported.

Good examples of basic TechDraw scripting can be found in the unit test scripts.

See the TechDrawGui API for more functions.

Example:

import FreeCAD
import TechDraw

page = FreeCAD.ActiveDocument.addObject('TechDraw::DrawPage', 'Page')
FreeCAD.ActiveDocument.addObject('TechDraw::DrawSVGTemplate', 'Template')
FreeCAD.ActiveDocument.Template.Template = templateFileSpec
FreeCAD.ActiveDocument.Page.Template = FreeCAD.ActiveDocument.Template
page.ViewObject.show()
view = FreeCAD.ActiveDocument.addObject('TechDraw::DrawViewPart', 'View')
rc = page.addView(view)

EdgeWalker(listOfEdges, [bool])

Description: Creates wires from edges in input by planar graph traversal. Optionally exclude the OuterWire by setting optional parameter to false.

Returns: List of wires sorted by size (descending)

findOuterWire(listOfEdges)

Description: Finds the OuterWire (largest) of a list of edges (that form a planar graph).

Returns: Outer wire

findShapeOutline(TopoShape, scale, direction)

Description: Project shape in direction and find outer wire of result.

Returns: Outline wire

viewPartAsDxf(DrawViewPart)

Description: Return the edges of a DrawViewPart in Dxf format.

Returns: String

Example:

fileSpecDxf = "fcOut.dxf"
v = App.ActiveDocument.View
s = TechDraw.viewPartAsDxf(v)
dxfEnd = "0\nEOF\n"
dxfFile = open(fileSpecDxf, "w")
dxfFile.write(s)
dxfFile.write(dxfEnd)
dxfFile.close()

viewPartAsSvg(DrawViewPart)

Description: Return the edges of a DrawViewPart in Svg format.

Returns: String

Example:

fileSpecSvg = "fcOut.svg"
v = App.ActiveDocument.View
s = TechDraw.viewPartAsSvg(v)
head = '<svg\n' + \
       '	xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1" \n' + \
       '	xmlns:freecad="http://www.freecadweb.org/wiki/index.php?title=Svg_Namespace">\n'
tail = '\n</svg>'
svgFile = open(fileSpecSvg, "w")
svgFile.write(head)
svgFile.write(s)
svgFile.write(tail)
svgFile.close()

writeDXFView(DrawViewPart, FileName)

Description: Save the DrawViewPart in Dxf.

Returns: File

Example:

import TechDraw
TechDraw.writeDXFView(myPart,myFileName)

writeDXFPage(DrawPage, FileName)

Description: Save the DrawPage in Dxf.

Returns: File

Example:

import TechDraw
TechDraw.writeDXFPage(myPage,myFileName)

DrawViewPart Cosmetics

CosmeticVertex (CV) routines accessible from Python

dvp = App.ActiveDocument.View #CV's belong to views.

Add a CosmeticVertex at p1 (View coordinates). Returns unique tag.
tag = dvp.makeCosmeticVertex(vector p1)

Add a CosmeticVertex at p1 (3d model coordinates). Returns unique tag.
tag = dvp.makeCosmeticVertex3d(vector p1)

Returns CosmeticVertex with unique id.
cv = dvp.getCosmeticVertex(string id)

Returns CosmeticVertex with name (Vertex6). Used in selections.
cv = dvp.getCosmeticVertexBySelection(string name)

Removes CosmeticVertex from View. Returns None.
dvp.removeCosmeticVertex(object cv)

Removes all CosmeticVertices from the View. Returns None.
dvp.clearCosmeticVertices()

CosmeticView attributes
Tag: unique identifier. String.
Point: location within view. Vector.

#!/usr/bin/env python
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-

# Py CosmeticVertex demo
import FreeCAD
import TechDraw

v = App.ActiveDocument.View
p = App.Vector(-3.0, -3.0, 0.0)

#make CV
tag = v.makeCosmeticVertex(p)
print("t: {}".format(tag))

#retrieve CV
cv = v.getCosmeticVertex(tag)
print("cv: {}".format(cv))
print("Tag: {}".format(cv.Tag))


cv2 = v.getCosmeticVertexBySelection("Vertex4")
print("New Point: {}".format(cv2.Point))

#make CV from 3d
p3d = App.Vector(2.0, 2.0, 2.0)
print("3d point in: {}".format(p3d))
tag3d = v.makeCosmeticVertex3d(p3d)
cv3 = v.getCosmeticVertex(tag3d)
print("3d point out: {}".format(cv3.Point))

CosmeticEdge (CE) routines accessible from Python

dvp = App.ActiveDocument.View #CE's belong to views.

Make a CosmeticEdge from p1 to p2(View coordinates). Returns unique tag.
tag = dvp.makeCosmeticLine(p1, p2)

Make a CosmeticEdge at center with radius radius(View coordinates). Returns unique tag.
tag = dvp.makeCosmeticCircle(center, radius)

Make a CosmeticEdge at center with radius radius(View coordinates) from start angle to end angle. Returns unique tag.
tag = dvp.makeCosmeticCircleArc(center, radius, start, end)

Returns CosmeticEdge with unique id.
ce = dvp.getCosmeticEdge(id)

Returns CosmeticEdge by name (Edge25). Used in selections.
ce = dvp.getCosmeticEdgeBySelection(name)

Removes CosmeticEdge ce from View. Returns None.
dvp.removeCosmeticEdge(ce)

Removes all CosmeticLines from the View. Returns None.
dvp.clearCosmeticEdges()

CosmeticEdge attributes
Tag: unique identifier. String.
Format: appearance attributes (style, color, weight, visible). Tuple.

#!/usr/bin/env python
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-

# Py CosmeticEdge demo
import FreeCAD
import TechDraw

#points
org = App.Vector(0.0, 0.0, 0.0)
midTop = FreeCAD.Vector (1.0, 5.0, 0.0)   # middle, top
midBot = FreeCAD.Vector(2.0, -5.0, 0.0)      # middle, bottom
stdZ = FreeCAD.Vector(0.0, 0.0, 1.0)
center = FreeCAD.Vector(0.0, 0.0, 0.0)
arcCenter = FreeCAD.Vector(3.0, 3.0, 0.0)
vPt = FreeCAD.Vector(-3.0, 3.0, 0.0)
topRight = FreeCAD.Vector(5.0, 5.0, 0.0)
bottomLeft = FreeCAD.Vector(-5.0, -5.0, 0.0)

#angles
arcStart = -45
arcEnd = 45

#styles
solid = 1 
dashed = 2
dotted = 3
#weights
weight15 = 0.15
weight75 = 0.75
#colors
pyRed = (1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0)
pyBlue = (0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0)
pyGreen = (0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0)
pyBlack = (0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0)
shadow = (0.1, 0.1, 0.1, 0.0)

radius = 5.0
style = dashed
weight = weight75

dvp = App.ActiveDocument.View

print(dvp)

print("making line")
tag = dvp.makeCosmeticLine(midTop,midBot,style, weight, pyBlue)
ce = dvp.getCosmeticEdge(tag)
print("line tag: {}".format(tag))

print("making diagonal")
dvp.makeCosmeticLine(bottomLeft,topRight,solid, weight, pyGreen)

print("making circle")
tag2 = dvp.makeCosmeticCircle(center, radius, style, weight, pyRed)
ce2 = dvp.getCosmeticEdge(tag2)

print("making circleArc")
dvp.makeCosmeticCircleArc(arcCenter, radius, arcStart, arcEnd, style, weight, shadow)

#replace
print("making new format")
oldFormat = ce.Format
newFormat = (dotted,oldFormat[1], pyRed, True)
ce.Format = newFormat

print("removing CE with tag: {}".format(tag2))
dvp.removeCosmeticEdge(tag2)

print("finished")

CenterLine (CL) routines accessible from Python

Makes a new CenterLine
tag = dvp.makeCenterLine(subObjs, mode)

Retrieves CenterLine with unique tag.
cl = dvp.getCenterLine(tag)

Retrieves CenterLine by subobject name. Used in selection.
cl = dvp.getCenterLine("Edge5")

Removes CenterLine cl from View. Returns None.
dvp.removeCenterLine(cl)

CenterLine Attributes
Tag: unique identifier. String. ReadOnly.
Type: 0 - face, 1 - 2 line, 2 - 2 point. Integer. ReadOnly.
Mode: 0 - vert, 1 - horiz, 2 - aligned. Integer.
Format: appearance attributes (style, color, weight, visible). Tuple.
HorizShift: left/right offset. Float.
VertShift: up/down offset. Float.
Rotation: rotation in degrees. Float.
Extension: additional length to be added. Float.
Flip: reverse the order of points for 2 point CenterLine. Boolean.
Edges: names of source edges. List of string.
Faces: names of source faces. List of string.
Points: names of source points (Vertices). List of string.

#!/usr/bin/env python
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-

# Py CenterLine demo
import FreeCAD
import Part
import TechDraw

start = FreeCAD.Vector (1.0, 5.0, 0.0)   # middle, top
end = FreeCAD.Vector(1.0, -5.0, 0.0)      # middle, bottom
faceNames = ["Face0"]
edgeNames = ["Edge2", "Edge3"]
vertNames = ["Vertex1", "Vertex2"]
vMode = 0   #vertical
hMode = 1   #horizontal
aMode = 2   #aligned
#styles
solid = 1 
dashed = 2
dotted = 3
#weights
weight15 = 0.15
weight75 = 0.75
#colors
pyRed = (1.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0)
pyBlue = (0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0)
pyBlack = (0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0)
#adjustments
hShift = 1.0
vShift = 1.0
extend = 4.0
rotate = 30.0
flip = False;

dvp = App.ActiveDocument.View

print("making face CenterLine")
tag = dvp.makeCenterLine(faceNames,vMode)
cline = dvp.getCenterLine(tag)
print("cline tag: {}".format(tag))

#replace
print("making new format")
oldFormat = cline.Format
newFormat = (dotted,oldFormat[1], pyRed, True)
cline.Format = newFormat
cline.Extension = 10.0

print("making edgeCenterLine")
cline2 = dvp.makeCenterLine(edgeNames,hMode)

print("making vertexCenterLine")
cline3 = dvp.makeCenterLine(vertNames,aMode)

print("finished")

DrawViewPart Geometry

[topoShapeEdge] = dvp.getVisibleEdges()

[topoShapeEdge] = dvp.getHiddenEdges()

topoShapeEdge = dvp.getEdgeByIndex(i)
topoShapeEdge = dvp.getEdgeBySelection("Edge1")

topoShapeVertex = dvp.getVertexByIndex(i)
topoShapeVertex = dvp.getVertexBySelection("Vertex1")

Redraw the graphic for this View.
dvp.requestPaint()

TechDraw

• Pages: Insert Default Page, Insert Page using Template, Redraw Page, Print All Pages
• Views: Insert View, Insert Active View, Insert Projection Group, Insert Section View, Insert Complex Section View, Insert Detail View, Insert Draft Workbench Object, Insert Arch Workbench Object, Insert Spreadsheet View, Insert Clip Group, Share View, Project Shape
• Stacking: Move view to top of stack, Move view to bottom of stack, Move view up one level, Move view down one level

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• Decorations: Hatch Face using Image File, Apply Geometric Hatch to Face, Insert SVG Symbol, Insert Bitmap Image, Turn View Frames On/Off
• Dimensions: Insert Length Dimension, Insert Horizontal Dimension, Insert Vertical Dimension, Insert Radius Dimension, Insert Diameter Dimension, Insert Angle Dimension, Insert 3-Point Angle Dimension, Insert Horizontal Extent Dimension, Insert Vertical Extent Dimension, Link Dimension to 3D Geometry, Insert Balloon Annotation, Insert Axonometric Length Dimension, Insert Landmark Dimension, Adjust Geometric References of Dimension
• Annotations: Insert Annotation, Add Leaderline to View, Insert Rich Text Annotation, Add Cosmetic Vertex, Add Midpoint Vertices, Add Quadrant Vertices, Add Centerline to Faces, Add Centerline between 2 Lines, Add Centerline between 2 Points, Add Cosmetic Line Through 2 points, Add Cosmetic Circle, Change Appearance of Lines, Show/Hide Invisible Edges, Add Welding Information to Leader, Add Surface Finish Symbol, Add Hole or Shaft Tolerances

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• Extensions:
  • Attributes and modifications: Select Line Attributes, Cascade Spacing and Delta Distance, Change Line Attributes, Extend Line, Shorten Line, Lock/Unlock View, Position Section View, Position Horizontal Chain Dimensions, Position Vertical Chain Dimensions, Position Oblique Chain Dimensions, Cascade Horizontal Dimensions, Cascade Vertical Dimensions, Cascade Oblique Dimensions, Calculate the area of selected faces, Calculate the arc length of selected edges, Customize format label
  • Centerlines and threading: Add Circle Centerlines, Add Bolt Circle Centerlines, Add Cosmetic Thread Hole Side View, Add Cosmetic Thread Hole Bottom View, Add Cosmetic Thread Bolt Side View, Add Cosmetic Thread Bolt Bottom View, Add Cosmetic Intersection Vertex(es), Add an offset vertex, Add Cosmetic Circle, Add Cosmetic Arc, Add Cosmetic Circle 3 Points, Add Cosmetic Parallel Line, Add Cosmetic Perpendicular Line
  • Dimensions: Create Horizontal Chain Dimensions, Create Vertical Chain Dimensions, Create Oblique Chain Dimensions, Create Horizontal Coordinate Dimensions, Create Vertical Coordinate Dimensions, Create Oblique Coordinate Dimensions, Create Horizontal Chamfer Dimension, Create Vertical Chamfer Dimension, Create Arc Length Dimension, Insert '⌀' Prefix, Insert '〼' Prefix, Remove Prefix, Increase Decimal Places, Decrease Decimal Places

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• Export: Export Page as SVG, Export Page as DXF
• Additional: Line Groups, Templates, Hatching, Geometric dimensioning and tolerancing, Preferences

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• Basics: About FreeCAD, Interface, Mouse navigation, Selection methods, Object name, Preferences, Workbenches, Document structure, Properties, Help FreeCAD, Donate

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