Draft Constrain

Description

Apart from entering coordinates or using snapping, there is a feature called constraining to help you draw accurately in the Draft Workbench and the BIM Workbench. For each subsequent point you can constrain the movement of the cursor to the X, Y, or Z direction of the working plane coordinate system. This can for example be used to create a perfectly vertical line.

Constraining is available with most Draft and BIM commands.

While the cursor is constrained the task panel locks the values that are not being modified

Usage horizontal and vertical constraints

1. Choose a Draft or BIM command to create your geometry.
2. Pick a first point. A previous point is required.
3. Do one of the following:
   • For a horizontal constraint: move the cursor to the left or right of the previous point.
   • For a vertical constraint: move the cursor above or below the previous point.
4. Hold down Shift.
5. The cursor is now constrained.
6. Pick the next point.
7. If the command is still active: optionally release Shift to disable the constraint.
8. Always release Shift when the command is finished.

Usage X, Y and Z constraints

1. Choose a Draft or BIM command to create your geometry.
2. Pick a first point. A previous point is required.
3. Press X, Y or Z to specify the direction.
4. The cursor is now constrained.
5. Pick the next point.
6. If the command is still active optionally do one of the following:
   • Press the same key to disable the constraint.
   • Press one of the two other keys to constrain in a different direction.
7. X, Y and Z constraints are automatically disabled when the command is finished.

Notes

• Constraining can be combined with snapping.
• The Draft Offset command and Draft Trimex command use a different type of constraining, namely to restrict the operation to a certain segment.

Preferences

See also: Preferences Editor and Draft Preferences.

• The default Constrain modifier key, Shift, can be changed: Edit → Preferences... → Draft → Grid and snapping → Constrain modifier.
• The X, Y and Z shortcuts can be changed: Edit → Preferences... → Draft → Interface → In-command shortcuts.

⏵ documentation index > Draft > Draft Constrain

This page is retrieved from https://github.com/FreeCAD/FreeCAD-documentation/blob/main/wiki/Draft_Constrain.md