Introduction Learning Resources Tips & Tricks Support Services

Volume II
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 Volume II
This eBook will help you maximize your design skills and make you more productive with
DraftSight. It features a collection of tips, tricks, videos, webinars and more. It’s a one-of-a-kind
instructional resource for designers at every skill level.
We hope you’ll find this valuable and encourage you to share it with your colleagues and friends.

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 Introduction Learning Resources Tips & Tricks Support Services
Volume II

2
®
DraftSight® Tips and Tricks eBook

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 Learning Resources
The Learning Resources that you’ll discover in this chapter are video-based and take just a
few minutes to view.

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DraftSight® Tips and Tricks eBook Volume II

Introduction
Adding Attribute

Learning Resources
Tips & Tricks
When using Blocks in DraftSight, you can increase your productivity by adding Attribute data to them.
Block Attribute definitions let you attach variable or constant text to Blocks. When you insert a Block

Support Services
containing Block Attributes, you are prompted to specify values for each Block Attribute (unless the value
is defined with a constant value).

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 Elliptical Arc

Use the Elliptical Arc command when you are creating an open Ellipse. Like an Ellipse, an Elliptical Arc has
a center, but has a longer radius along its major axis and a shorter radius along its minor axis. An Elliptical
Arc, however, is not closed like an ellipse; but is open similar to a Radial Arc.

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Introduction
Edit Polyline

Learning Resources
Tips & Tricks
One of the most useful commands in DraftSight is theEditPolyLine command. Use the EditPolyLine command
to edit PolyLines and PolyLine vertices by:
• Opening a closed PolyLine, or closing an open PolyLine
• Joining a PolyLine with other drawing entities such as Lines, Arcs, or PolyLines
• Changing the width of the whole PolyLine
• Editing the control points (vertices) of individual PolyLine segment

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You can perform many edits of one or more PolyLines with a single EditPolyLine command. If you revert
PolyLine editing with a subsequent Undo command, all the working steps are reverted as a whole.

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 Polygon

Use the Polygon command to create a regular polygon (a polygon with equal sides and angles). A polygon
is a closed multisided entity consisting of 3 to 1024 equal length sides. You could draw a polygon using the
Line command, but the more sides needed, the more complicated the construction will be. The Polygon
command will create a PolyLine entity.

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Introduction
Hands on Project - Star

Learning Resources
Tips & Tricks
Have you been using DraftSight for some time or are you a new user and want to test your skills?
Follow along with this assignment “Hands on Project – Star” and create the geometry for the star. To do

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this, you will need to know how to create a Line and a Circle. You will need to know how to Trim, Delete
and create a Pattern. You will need to make a Polyline out of a series of lines and use the Offset command.
Finally, you will need to use the Hatch/Fill command and some of its options.

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 Trim Command

The Trim Command is one of the most commonly used functions within DraftSight. It’s also one of the most
misunderstood. Follow along with this video to understand the proper way to use the Trim Command.

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Introduction
Creating Paper Snowflakes with DraftSight

Learning Resources
Tips & Tricks
With the holiday season upon us, why not use DraftSight to create some of your festive decorations.
Watch this video and see how you can create paper snowflakes using DraftSight.

Support Services

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 Migrate to Windows 7

Are you planning to migrate to Windows 7? If so, we have a tip for you – Don’t let this migration cost your
company thousands of dollars, negatively impact your 2D CAD installation and possibly cause you a lot of
work. DraftSight can help avoid all of this. Check out this video and have DraftSight come to the rescue!

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Introduction
Creating an Isometric Drawing with DraftSight

Learning Resources
Tips & Tricks
An Isometric drawing is a method of making a 2D drawing look like its 3D. Watch this video and learn how
easy it is to create one of these drawings with DraftSight.

Support Services

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 GetArea Command

Do you need to calculate an area of an oddly shaped feature? Do you need to add or subtract portions
of that area? Using the GetArea Command is an easy way to get the resulting area. Use this command to
calculate the area and perimeter by specifying a drawing entity or by specifying points that comprise an
area to measure. Watch this video and learn how easy it is to calculate area with DraftSight.

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Introduction
Batch Print

Learning Resources
Tips & Tricks
Do you have multiple sheets in one file? Would you like to print them all at once? With DraftSight this is very
simple. Check out this video to learn how to print any or all drawings that are in a specific file.

Support Services

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Tips and Tricks
The tips and tricks that you’ll discover in this chapter will take just minutes to review and could
have a dramatic impact on your productivity.

LAYER TOOL:
To activate a layer by selecting an entity, type ACTLAY then select an entity on a layer that you want to be the
Active Layer.

TOOLBAR(S):
To see the list of available toolbars that can be toggled on or off, type TOOLBARS. To create your own toolbar,
type TOOLBAR and the Customization window will open to allow you to create custom toolbars or change
existing ones.

LINEWEIGHTS:
By default, LineWeights will not appear to change in your Graphics Window. If you want to see the
LineWeights appear, type LineWeight at the command prompt and select “Display weight in graphics area”.

SWITCHING VIEWPORTS:
If you have multiple ViewPorts on your sheet, you can cycle through them by pressing CRTL+R once you have
one active.

PROPERTIES PALLET ICON LABELS:

Have you ever wondered what those icons are in the Properties Pallet? You can hover your cursor over
the icon and see the tooltip, but did you know you can show the labels for these icons? Right-click your
mouse while your cursor is in the Properties Pallet and choose “Display icons and labels”. This will add the
descriptions to all of the icons in the pallet.

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Introduction
FUNCTION KEYS:
Often overlooked is the use of Function Keys in DraftSight. Using the Function Keys, or “hot keys” allows you

Learning Resources
to quickly activate a command in DraftSight.

Here is a list of standard Function Key settings: F1 – Help, F2 – Command Window, F3 – Esnap Toggle, F5 –
Isoplane Toggle, F7 – Grid Toggle, F8 – Ortho Toggle, F9 – Snap Toggle, F10 – Polar Toggle and F11 – Etrack
Toggle.

Remember, the Function Keys are at the top of your keyboard, and you simply need to press the key to
activate.

MARK DIVISIONS:
The MarkDivisions command places evenly spaced Points or Blocks along the length or perimeter of an

Tips & Tricks

entity. The command lets you “separate” Lines, PolyLines, Circles, and Arcs into segments of equal length by
inserting construction Points or Blocks. The entity is not cut into different pieces but remains one entity. The
size of the segments is determined by the length to divide and the number of construction points to insert. In
contrast to the MarkLengths command, there is no remainder.

SPLIT COMMAND:
Use the Split command to erase part of an entity between two points. Use Split as a construction tool or to
create a gap between two parts of an entity to place Text or a symbol. Use the command with Lines, Circles,

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Arcs, PolyLines, Ellipses, Splines, InfiniteLines, and Rays, but not with RichLines.

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 APPENDING A LINE SEGMENT:
To append a line segment to an existing line or arc: Click Draw > Line (or type Line). Press Enter. The
appended continuation line attaches to the end of last Line or Arc that you drew. Click a point to define the
appended line segment and press Enter.

TEMPORARY ESNAP OVERRIDE:

When creating your geometry, there may be a need to use a temporary esnap override. The easiest way to
do this is to hold the SHIFT key down and press the right mouse button. This will bring up the menu of Esnap
options. Choose the one that you need, and continue working.

NAMED VIEW PRINTING:

If you create a “Named View” in your file, you can now select the view from the Print Dialog and print just
that view. Select the Print icon. At the dialog, select Named view in the Print range category. Choose the
view you’d like to print and click OK. This is a great way to set up a multi-sheet drawing if you plan on printing
from Model space.

ADDING SCROLL BARS TO THE GRAPHIC WINDOW:

If you prefer to use scroll bars to pan your graphic window, you can add them by clicking
Tools>Options>System Options expand Display and check the box for “show scroll bars”. Click Apply and
you’ve added the scroll bars to your graphic window.

EDITCOMPONENT:
With DraftSight, it is possible to edit a block in place, without having to explode the object. Use the
EditComponent Command (Or click Modify>Component>Edit from the pull down menu). Once you make the
change to the block, it will update all the instances of that block within your file. Use the SaveComponent
Command in order to get back to your drawing once you’re done.

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Introduction
HATCH BOUNDARIES:
You can have DraftSight create geometry for your hatch boundary. Once you’ve started the Hatch Command,
click the “Additional Options” button. In this dialog, click the “Keep boundaries” box. The geometry can be
either a Polyline, or a Region.

QUICK ZOOM FIT:

Learning Resources
There are a number of productivity tools to use within DraftSight, but by far the most popular tip is how to use
the scroll wheel of the mouse to zoom the drawing to fit the screen. Simply “double-click” the scroll wheel
in the active graphic window, and all the geometry will fit within the drawing window.

POLAR TRACKING:
Try using Polar Tracking instead of Ortho for drawing your horizontal and vertical lines. By using Polar
Tracking, you will be able to draw lines at any point on your screen, however, your cursor will also Snap to a
vertical or horizontal direction without having to use Ortho.

USING EXISTING DRAWING SETTINGS:

Tips & Tricks

You can bring in drawing settings from any existing file into you current file, such as Dimension Styles, Line
Style, Blocks and even Layers. When you open a new file, simply insert the file that contains the settings into
the new one as a block. Delete the geometry that shows in your graphics window, and what you have left is
all of the other settings from the inserted file. This will allow you to simply bring these settings into your new
file without having to recreate them.

FREEZE ALL LAYERS:

In DraftSight you cannot freeze the current layer, but you can freeze all of the remaining layers at once. Make
sure the active layer is the one you want to remain. Simply select the first layer, and then scroll down until

Support Services
you see the last layer. Hold the Shift key down and select the last one. Then click the freeze icon on any of
the layers in the layer manager. You will get a warning that says that you cannot freeze the current layer.
Click Ok, and all of the layers will be frozen except the current layer.

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