Draft ShapeString
Menu location |
---|
Drafting → Shape from text |
Workbenches |
Draft, Arch |
Default shortcut |
S S |
Introduced in version |
0.14 |
See also |
Draft Text, Draft Label, Part Extrude |
Description
The Draft ShapeString command inserts a compound shape that represents a text string. This shape can be used to create 3D letters with the Part Extrude command.
The Draft ShapeString command is not intended for standard text annotations. The Draft Text command or the Draft Label command can be used for that purpose.
Single point required to position the ShapeString
Usage
- There are several ways to invoke the command:
- Press the
Draft ShapeString button.
- Select the Drafting →
Shape from text option from the menu.
- Use the keyboard shortcut: S then S.
- Press the
- The ShapeString task panel opens.
- Click a point in the 3D view, or type coordinates.
- Optionally press the Reset Point button to reset the point to the origin.
- Enter a String.
- Specify the Height.
- To select a font do one of the following:
- Enter a file path in the Font file input box.
- Press the ... button and select a file.
- Press the OK button to close the task panel and finish the command.
Options
- Press Esc or the Close button to abort the command.
Preferences
- The default font file can be changed in the preferences: Edit → Preferences... → Draft → Texts and dimensions → Default ShapeString font file. See Draft Preferences.
Notes
- Supported fonts include TrueType (.ttf), OpenType (.otf) and Type 1 (.pfb).
- The current version is limited to left-to-right writing.
- Very small text heights may result in deformed character shapes due to loss of detail in scaling.
- Many fonts will generate problematic geometric. This is because font contours are allowed to overlap, have small gaps and have varying directions within a glyph. These conditions are considered errors in the Wires used to define faces.
- Draft ShapeStrings can also be created with the Macro Fonts Win10 PYMP.
- To create Draft ShapeStrings arranged in a circular fashion use the Macro FCCircularText.
Tutorials
- Draft ShapeString tutorial: extrude a ShapeString, position it in 3D space, and create an engraving in another body.
- How to use ShapeStrings in PartDesign
Properties
See also: Property editor.
A Draft ShapeString object is derived from a Part Part2DObject and inherits all its properties. It also has the following additional properties:
Data
Draft
- DataFont File (
File
): specifies the path of the font file used to draw the text. - DataSize (
Length
): specifies the general height of the text. - DataString (
String
): specifies the text string to display. Unlike a Draft Text, a Draft ShapeString can only display a single text line. - DataTracking (
Length
): specifies the additional inter-character spacing of the text.
View
Draft
- ViewPattern (
Enumeration
): specifies the Draft Pattern with which to fill the faces of the text. This property only works if ViewDisplay Mode isFlat Lines
. - ViewPattern Size (
Float
): specifies the size of the Draft Pattern.
Scripting
See also: Autogenerated API documentation and FreeCAD Scripting Basics.
To create a Draft ShapeString use the make_shapestring
method (introduced in version 0.19) of the Draft module. This method replaces the deprecated makeShapeString
method.
shapestring = make_shapestring(String, FontFile, Size=100, Tracking=0)
- Creates a
shapestring
compound shape using the specifiedString
and the full path of a supportedFontFile
. Size
is the height of the resulting text in millimeters.Tracking
is the additional inter-character spacing in millimeters.
The placement of the ShapeString can be changed by overwriting its Placement
attribute, or by individually overwriting its Placement.Base
and Placement.Rotation
attributes.
Example:
import FreeCAD as App
import Draft
doc = App.newDocument()
font1 = "/usr/share/fonts/truetype/msttcorefonts/Arial.ttf"
font2 = "/usr/share/fonts/truetype/dejavu/DejaVuSerif.ttf"
font3 = "/usr/share/fonts/truetype/freefont/FreeSerifItalic.ttf"
S1 = Draft.make_shapestring("This is a sample text", font1, 200)
S2 = Draft.make_shapestring("Inclined text", font2, 200, 10)
zaxis = App.Vector(0, 0, 1)
p2 = App.Vector(-1000, 500, 0)
place2 = App.Placement(p2, App.Rotation(zaxis, 45))
S2.Placement = place2
S3 = Draft.make_shapestring("Upside-down text", font3, 200, 10)
S3.Placement.Base = App.Vector(0, -1000, 0)
S3.Placement.Rotation = App.Rotation(zaxis, 180)
doc.recompute()
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