Draft Line

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Revision as of 10:09, 29 May 2021 by Roy 043 (talk | contribs) (Angle constraint bug was fixed. https://forum.freecadweb.org/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=57303)

Draft Line

Menu location
Drafting → Line
Workbenches
Draft, Arch
Default shortcut
L I
Introduced in version
0.7
See also
Draft Wire

Description

The Draft Line command creates a straight line.

A Draft Line is in fact a Draft Wire with only two points.

Line defined by two points

Usage

See also: Draft Tray, Draft Snap and Draft Constrain.

  1. There are several ways to invoke the command:
    • Press the Draft Line button.
    • Select the Drafting → Line option from the menu.
    • Use the keyboard shortcut: L then I.
  2. The Line task panel opens. See Options for more information.
  3. Pick the first point in the 3D view, or type coordinates and press the Enter point button.
  4. Pick the second point in the 3D view, or type coordinates and press the Enter point button.

Options

The single character keyboard shortcuts available in the task panel can be changed. See Draft Preferences. The shortcuts mentioned here are the default shortcuts.

  • To manually enter coordinates enter the X, Y and Z component, and press Enter after each. Or you can press the Enter point button when you have the desired values. It is advisable to move the pointer out of the 3D view before entering coordinates.
  • You can use polar coordinates for the second point. Enter a value for the Length and a value for the Angle, and press Enter after each.
  • Check the Angle checkbox to constrain the pointer to the specified angle.
  • Press R or click the Relative checkbox to toggle relative mode. If relative mode is on, the coordinates of the second point are relative to the first point, else they are relative to the coordinate system origin.
  • Press G or click the Global checkbox to toggle global mode. If global mode is on, coordinates are relative to the global coordinate system, else they are relative to the working plane coordinate system. introduced in version 0.20
  • Press T or click the Continue checkbox to toggle continue mode. If continue mode is on, the command will restart after finishing, allowing you to continue creating lines.
  • The Undo button has no purpose for this command.
  • Press Esc or the Close button to abort the command.

Notes

  • A Draft Line can be edited with the Draft Edit command.
  • Draft Lines and Draft Wires can be joined with the Draft Wire command, the Draft Join command or the Draft Upgrade command.
  • If the Edit → Preferences... → Draft → General settings → Draft tools options → Use Part Primitives when available option is checked, the command will create a Part Line instead of a Draft Line. See Draft Preferences.

Properties

See Draft Wire.

Scripting

See also: Autogenerated API documentation and FreeCAD Scripting Basics.

To create a Draft Line use the make_line method (introduced in version 0.19) of the Draft module. This method replaces the deprecated makeLine method.

line = make_line(p1, p2)
line = make_line(LineSegment)
line = make_line(Shape)
  • Creates a Line object between points p1 and p2, each defined by its FreeCAD.Vector, with units in millimeters.
  • Creates a Line object from a Part.LineSegment.
  • Creates a Line object from the first vertex to the last vertex of the given Shape.

Example:

import FreeCAD as App
import Draft

doc = App.newDocument()

p1 = App.Vector(0, 0, 0)
p2 = App.Vector(1000, 500, 0)
p3 = App.Vector(-250, -500, 0)
p4 = App.Vector(500, 1000, 0)

line1 = Draft.make_line(p1, p2)
line2 = Draft.make_line(p3, p4)

doc.recompute()