3. Basics
3.1 Entering points
3.2 Dialog boxes
3.3 The selection menu - activating elements
3.4 Snap-to and guide functions
3.5 View menu - the zoom functions
3.6 Layers
3.7 Polygons
3. Basics  
 

This chapter addresses CAD beginners as well as CAD experienced users. Later on, in chapter 4, we will deal with each drawing function in detail. And then, these basics here will support the learning of handling CYCAS.

  • All input is either done using the mouse (left button) or using the mouse and the keyboard. This is true for all functions. You can abort any function by clicking the right mouse button outside the drawing area or by choosing a different function. The help bar at the lower left of the screen always shows you a short help-line.
    Using the right button on any drawing element an information box opens linked to that element.

  Scale : You can create a drawing without setting a scale in advance. All elements are entered 1:1. The (drawing-) scale is necessary to display text, figures of dimension chains, and the different line types correctly. This means, you start drawing without worrying about the scale. When you come to the point where you want to add text and dimension chains to your drawing, you choose the drawing scale. It is chosen at the menu Project.  

Coordinate system : Mainly, a planar cartesian coordinate system is used. The positive X-axis extends horizontally to the right and the positive Y-axis extends vertically to the top. Entering 3D the Z-axis is added and defines the hight of the elements. The drawing area itself is a plane of infinite dimension. So you are working in a certain part of the drawing area at a time. Coordinates are usually specified relatively. Watch the coordinate display and place the start point of a line. Now move the mouse and see how the coordinates are measured relatively to the point you just have placed.  

Snap-to : Within the snap-to box start points, end points, points of intersection, etc. are caught with full accuracy. CYCAS gives you a hint displayed in the snap-to frame what could be caught at the current position of the cursor. (For details on this, refer to 2.2 Mouse pointer.) Did you snap-to such an existing point with full accuracy, it is signalized by a little circle added to the cross. The snap-to is important to achieve the desired accuracy of a CAD drawing. Later on, when entering dimension chains you will take full advantage of accurately entered elements. Doing the measurement you snap-to the points of the elements again and those distances will be calculated and displayed in the figures of the dimension chains.  

Keyboard input : You will achieve an accurately drawing easily by using the keyboard input in combination with reference points. Keyboard input is made below the drawing area. (Please also refer to the Tutorial, Window.)

  • Numeric input: We recommend to use the numeric keypad on your keyboard for the numeric input. Start the input by pressing one of the arrow keys. The arrow keys correspond to the X- and the Y- axis of the coordinate system:

    • X+ : arrow right;
    • X- : arrow left;
    • Y+ : arrow up;
    • Y- : arrow down;

    After specifying a direction in the coordinate system, the input box below the drawing area will be ready for input (e.g. it turns white). Now you can enter the desired distance. (Please refer to the 8.1 Settings, Input for choosing an input dimension).

 
  • Text input : Text input also is done using the input line below the drawing area. The inscription of your drawings is done here line by line. Every time you hit the Enter key a new line will be added to your drawing.
 
Angle input : There are two possible ways to enter an angle; the first is to enter a numerical value in degrees or radians (see Appendix, section 8.1 Settings, Input.) All angles are measured counter-clockwise with the positive X-axis describing an angle of zero degrees.

The other way is, to describe the angle using a directional line. This is an imaginary line that describes the desired angle using two points (called direction points).

angle input


 
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3.1 Entering points  
 


The method of entering points in CYCAS is following the method of drawing on a conventional drawing board.  

  • At any time, you can use reference points. Coming from those points the X and Y components are specified relatively in order to find the desired position. Once the first point of an element has been placed you can accurately place all further points in relation to the first one.

    But, you can also enter a single point specifying its' position with absolute coordinates.

    The different ways of entering points are described in detail now. Please also refer to the Tutorial for a better understanding.


  • Entering a single point
  • The help bar says, "...point:" A point can be, e.g. the starting point of a part of text or the center of a circle. A point needs to have information on its position in the drawing area, that is the X and the Y coordinate. By left-clicking in the drawing area you can place a point. It is marked with a cross. Now, you have two possibilities:
  • 1. The help bar says, "Move / Confirm:". You can move the point using the keyboard. This process is initiated by pressing the arrow key corresponding to the direction into which you want to move the point. Now, the input box below the drawing area is highlighted, and you can move the point. Enter the distance into the input box. Once you hit the Enter key the distance will be applied. The cross of that point will be moved. You can keep on moving that point until you confirm it.
  • 2. The help bar says, "Move / Confirm:" If that point is at the desired location, you can confirm this position with another mouse click (left button) into the drawing area, or you can hit the Enter key.
  • Now, test this procedure with a circle: Choose Circle from the main menu and select the function Circle. The help bar says, "Center:" Place the center of the circle by left-clicking into the drawing area, anywhere. The help bar says, "Move / Confirm:" Now, you can move the center. To do so, hit an arrow key first, corresponding to the direction into which you want to move it. Then you can enter the distance. You can repeat this process as often as you wish, until you confirm the point. To confirm it, simply left-click into the drawing area or press the Enter key. By confirming the placement of the point the procedure of input goes on to the next step. Enter the radius of the circle numerically. Now, the input procedure is finished and the circle is drawn.

 

  • Entering two points
  • Choose Line from the main menu and then Line from the function list. Place the first point.
  • The help bar says, "Move / End point:" You can move or confirm this point. If you confirm it, the second point is placed right away. There are two ways to achieve this:
  • 1. You can confirm the first point by left-clicking somewhere in the drawing area. This action sets the position of the second point. This point is also marked by a cross. The help bar says, "Move / Confirm:" You can move or confirm the second point. If you confirm the point, the input procedure is finished and the line is drawn.
  • 2. You can confirm the first point by snapping to it with a mouse click. With this action the cross of the second point sits directly on top of the first point and it partially obscures it. You can achieve the same effect by pressing the Enter key. The help bar says, "Move / Confirm:" Starting at this position you can either move or confirm the second point.
  • Every time you have to enter coordinates you can do so, according to the procedure mentioned above. At any time, you have the option to use reference points, and therefore you need to confirm each point when it has reached the correct position.

 

  • Points in absolute coordinates

    It is also possible to enter points orientated to the absolute zero (the origin) of the coordinate system.

    To do this, you do not set a point with a mouse click in the drawing area, you position the point via a keyboard entry instead. This input is started by typing "a" on the keyboard. The help bar at the bottom of the screen then says, "Abs: X/Y/Z". Enter the figures needed per coordinate. Separate the single figures with semicolon like this: "1.25; 20; 3.1". (Working in 2D the Z-value must not be entered.)

    You need to call (by typing the "a") the input using the absolute coordinates for each point. Therefore, you can enter the first point of a line absolutely, while the second point can be entered relatively to the first one.



 
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3.2 Dialog boxes  
 

Dialog Box

The dialog boxes are used to set certain options for the drawing elements. Every type of element provides a dialog box which contains different sets of options.

  • The following options may be set: You can choose the pen and line type. For walls and openings you may set their position in 3D-space. For text and dimension chains you set the text formatting options.

The settings you make in the dialog boxes during the course of a project can be named and saved separately. These data can be handled on a per-project basis, since a draft requires different settings than a presentation. (See the appendix 8.1 Settings, Local.)

?

Dialog boxes are available for these elements:

  • Wall
  • Opening
  • Dimension chain
  • Text
  • Pattern
  • Room
  • Elements such as lines, circles, and 3D-elements do not possess dialog boxes. For these elements you choose the pen and the line type in the respective function list. The Edit function list also contains controls for choosing the pen and line type. These controls may be used whenever you want to change the pen and line type of an element.
  • Taking the Wall's dialog box as an example, a description of the setup options is following:

Choose Wall from the main menu. The wall function list contains a button labeled ?. Click on this button to open dialog box. You can make as many settings as you wish, name them and save them. The name of the current dialog box will appear in the function list behind the ?. There, you can choose a different dialog box and continue drawing with these new settings.  

name Name : This one shows the name of the current wall type. If you make changes in the dialog box, you may provide them with a new name. Moreover you may save that setup. The new name will be added to the list of the settings. But, you can also work with a temporary setup without the need of saving it.
input Wall thickness / Base / Height : Here you can make the settings for the desired wall type.
material Material : This list contains pre-defined materials. These materials can be assigned to 3D-elements and may be passed on to shaders or raytracers. New materials are created in the menu 3D.
pen / line Pen / Line : Here you can choose the pen and line type. For information on defining your own custom pen and line types, please refer to the appendix at 8.1 Settings, Pen / Line.

The following list of colors (respectively pen thicknesses) reflects the default settings, composed as follows:

  • black: very fine, about 0.13 mm
  • yellow: fine, about 0.18 mm
  • red: normal, about 0.25 mm
  • blue: slightly thicker, about 0.35 mm
  • purple: thick 0.5 mm
  • green: about 0.7 mm
  • brown: about 1.0 mm
  • grey: about 1.4 mm


 
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3.3 The selection menu - activating elements  
 


selection menu In order to edit or modify drawing elements, it is necessary to select the elements in advance. If you choose Move from the Edit function list, the selection menu is displayed. You select the elements that you want to edit here. This menu will be displayed for all functions that modify elements.

The selection of elements is integrated into the process of editing and it is carried out at first. Several options are offered to get good access to the drawing elements.

Selected elements are displayed white and are, therefore, understood as being active. During the selection you may zoom in or out, or you may move the area displayed. Finish your selection by choosing OK. The editing function will be continued now.

 

  • The selection functions

Active : When opening the selection menu, this button is always active and you may activate elements using the mouse. The active elements are displayed in white.

Passive : When this button is active, you can de-activate elements using the mouse. The passive elements are displayed using their original pen color. When proceeding with the editing function, these elements will not be effected.  

Switch : Toggles between active and passive.

Active Layer : Entering the selection menu this option is always active. Only elements of the active layer can be selected.

Visible Layers : This option offers access to elements on background layers.

Range : The elements within an area are made active or passive, depending on the settings. You mark an area by drawing a rectangle around it using two points. These two points must lie at diagonally opposite corners of the rectangle. Elements must be within the rectangle entirely, in order to be (de)activated.

  • The only exceptions to this rule are circle, arc, and ellipse elements, as well as text. Circles, arcs, and ellipses are selected as soon as their center is within the rectangle. Text is selected as soon as the starting point of the text is located within the rectangle. (Please pay attention to the formatting of the text).

In the following cases the mouse pointer will take the shape of an X-mark:  

Element : When the selection menu is opened, this button is always active. In this mode, you select elements by clicking on them one after the other. You have to pay attention to whether 'Active' or 'Passive' is selected.

  • These are elements
  • a line
  • a circle, arc, ellipse or spline
  • a wall, represented by wall lines
  • a dimension chain
  • a line of text or a block of text
  • a room, represented by its room borders
  • a pattern (hatch)
  • a 3D-element or unit

 

Group : These options enable the selection of groups. Groups consist of an arbitrary number of drawing elements that have been combined into a symbol.

  • Combined with the edit/move function, these options are available:

Opening : This option of the selection menu allows you to select openings. Openings are sub-objects of wall elements.  

Point : This is used to (de)activate single points. You select a range of points by drawing a rectangle around them. Active points are represented by small white crosses.


  • These are points

Start and end points of lines and splines.
The corner points of a wall, an opening, a 3D-element or a unit.
Center points of circles, arcs and ellipses.
The measurement points of a dimension chain.
The starting point of a text, depending on the text formatting.
The corner and polygon points of a room or a pattern.
Control points of splines.
 

All : This one is used to (de)activate all elements of the active layer, respectively of layers in the background.

Last : The elements which were selected last can be selected again automatically.

Filter : Filter the selection by... You may select elements meeting diverse criteria. Use the ?-button to open a dialog box in that you can choose by which criteria the selection shall be filtered. E.g. you select all elements of red color in order to give them a different pen color.

OK : Finishes the process of selection. The edit or modify function for the elements displayed in white may be executed now.


 
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3.4 Snap-to and guide functions  
 


snap-to and guide functions

The snap-to and guide functions effect the input and the editing of drawing elements. This area of the CYCAS interface also contains the Undo function and functions for the creation of guide lines. The snap-to button, the snap-to settings, as well as the construction of snap-to points are available during the creation of elements.  

Snap-to : If this button is pushed in, the snap-to is active and the mouse pointer is displayed as a small rectangle.

Exact input is only possible when the snap-to is activated.

preview snap-to

Preview Snap-to: CYCAS gives you a preview of what it could snap-to at the current position of the mouse. It indicates whether ending points, middle points, or points of intersection were available. Surely, you may de-activate this preview. (For details, please refer to 2.2 Mouse pointer, Snap-to points.)

Within the snap-to rectangle you can snap-to these points:

  • Snap-to points of elements

Lines start, end and middle points.
Circles, arcs and ellipses Center points and all those points that lie on an imaginary X or Y axis extending from the center point.
Arcs start, end and middle points.
Splines start, end and control points
Walls corner and middle points of every side.
Openings corner points.
Dimension chains measurement points.
Text start point of text (depends on the text formatting)
Rooms corner or polygon points.
Patterns corner or polygon points.
3D-elements and units corner points.


 

  • Points of intersection between two elements

Snap-to points of intersection between different elements.

?

The dialog box for the snap-to points is opened by clicking on the ? button next to the snap-to button. Determining points of intersection needs time for their calculation. So, you may shorten this time by de-activating certain aspects of the snap-to. This could be useful in case you are working on a very large drawing.


Snap-to radius : Choose the size of the snap-to rectangle in pixels. Sizes from 2 to 12 pixels are possible.


 

  • Constructed snap-to points

In addition to the snap-to we discussed so far, you can also construct snap-to points. These may be the middle point or a dividing point of a line. This could also be the tangent point of an imaginary line running towards a circle. Furthermore, you can construct points of intersection between elements that only intersect if assuming that they are of much greater length. The following functions can be called whenever entering a point. For every point you want to place in the drawing area using the mouse, you may insert the functions for the constructed snap-to points. Enter the necessary information for constructing the snap-to points. If a snap-to point is valid it is marked with a cross. After that, the input function continues as usual.  

points of intersection i   Construction of points of intersection:

Two elements are selected, possible choices are lines, wall lines and points of intersection between circles and arcs. If a point of intersection between the elements can be computed (which is achieved by assuming infinite length for both elements) the resulting point will be snapped-to.

middle points m   Construction of middle points:

The middle point of an imaginary line will be snapped-to. This imaginary line is constructed by simply placing two points in the drawing area - typically, but not necessarily, by snapping-to two existing points.

dividing points  

d   Construction of dividing points:

Again, you enter an imaginary line as described for the "middle point" -function. In addition, specify how often this line shall be divided. Finally, you name the number of the division you want to snap-to. This function can be useful for constructing single steps of stairways in the plan view or window dividers in an elevation view.

tangent point t   Construction of tangent points:

Use this function to construct a tangent point on a circle or an arc going through an arbitrary point. Enter the start point of an imaginary tangent first. Then choose a circle or an arc to which the tangent shall be computed to.

 

Undo : The recent changes made to the drawing can be made un-done or made re-done again.

GL+ : Draw guide lines. If this button is pushed in, you can draw elements using the guide line color. When using the default settings, guide lines are displayed in pink. You can use guide lines to make notes in your drawing or to create sketches. In the Edit function list, you can change the color for the guide lines.

CYCAS will not print or plot elements drawn in the guide line color.

GL- : Delete all elements of guide line color on the active layer. If you wanted to keep a guide element, you can alter its pen color with the appropriate function of the Edit function list.


 
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3.5 View menu - the zoom functions  
 

 

Directly below the drawing area you find all functions for moving and scaling the visible area, as well as some options for the display of elements inside this area. You can change the visible area at any point in time, even while doing the input of elements.

view menu

guide points Guide points : This one activates or de-activates the display of guide points. Guide points are center points of circle elements, starting points of text, and polygon points of patterns. Guide points are displayed using the guide line color, therefore, they are not printed or plotted.

colored black All colored black : This option causes all elements to be displayed black, independent of the pen color. Colored fillings will keep their color.

lines Exact line thickness : All elements are displayed with their actual line thickness according to the drawing scale. Tip: If you combine this option with the one mentioned above, you will see a "print preview ".

Gauge : Measure the distance between two points. Place two points within the drawing area, e.g. the start and end point of a line. Confirm the second point. CYCAS will open a window containing information on the X, Y, and Z-components, as well as length and angle of the distance measured.  

+ : The scale is enlarged, while the center of the visible area remains the same.

1:500 : This button indicates the scale of the visible area. By clicking on this button you can move the visible area without changing the scale. The cross marks the new center of the visible area. Place it where you want the new center to be.
The screen display of CYCAS is true to scale, if you have set the correct aspect ratio for your screen mode. (See Appendix 8.1, Aspect ratio.)

- : The scale is made smaller, but the center of the visible area remains.

Alles All elements are displayed.
Move Move. The visible area is moved by the distance and direction specified by positioning two points.
Refresh Refresh. If elements have been edited, there is a chance that the content of the drawing area does not reflect the drawing accurately. In this case, you may click on this button. Refreshing is intentionally not done automatically, therefore, you decide when to refresh the drawing area.

Zoom : Enlarge a certain area of the screen. Draw a rectangle around the area which is to be enlarged by setting two points.
In case your mouse has a mouse wheel and it is fully integrated in your system, you can use it for zooming in or out as well.

layers Layers: Activate the Layers dialog box. (See 3.6 Layers.)


 
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3.6 Layers  
 


Layers

You may compare the CYCAS layers with transparency sheets that can be put on top of each other. You work on the active layer and others can be displayed in the background. For organizing your projects 1000 layers are offered. These 1000 are grouped in lists of 100 layers each. You can name the lists as well as the single layers individually.

When sending the drawing to printer or plotter only the visible layers are printed.

You can move drawing elements from one layer to another by using the Symbol functions. These functions such as cut, copy, and paste can be found at the menu Symbol or at the Clipboard above the main menu.

 

  • Layers dialog box

    layers Click on the button symbolizing the layers next to the view menu. In this dialog box you can choose the active layer and the layers visible in the background. The elements of the active layer are displayed in strong colors while elements on the background layers will be displayed with reduced color intensity in order to clearly distinguish them from the active layer. Nevertheless, you can snap-to any point of the background layers.

    The layers are divided into lists, whereas each list contains 100 layers. Indicated by an arrow that is tinted green, you can see in which list the currently active layer can be found. You can name each layer as well as each list individually.


  • An "X" at the rows of a layer or of a list signifies the presence of drawing elements.

    Layers, Trash Use the button with the trashcan to delete all elements on that active layer.

    Layers You may move the active layer up or down in the layers list. To do so, use the buttons with the arrows pointing in the direction you want to move the layer.

  • Load or save a set of visible layers. Preferred combinations of visible layers can be saved.
Use the advantages of putting layers in the background:

You can snap-to all aspects of background layers. (See 3.4 Snap-to and guide functions, Snap-to.) This means that you can have parts of your design displayed in the background. This may help you working on the active layer. Parts can be counter drawn or simply taken for orientation. When selecting, elements in the background remain uneffected - unless you explicitly activate the altering of the "Visible Layers".

  • It is up to you to decide for which purposes you want to use the layers. The following examples are meant as suggestions:
  • Use the layers like transparency sheets:

Create your drawings, e.g. a house, one floor at a time. Draw the basement on the first layer and name the first layer accordingly. Draw the first floor on the second layer and put the basement layer in the background. Now, you can "carbon copy" all those walls of the first floor that rest on the basement walls. The offset of the first floor walls to the basement walls (if there is any) can be determined using reference points. The next step would be to use the fourth layer for the section. Put the first floor plan in the background and draw the section. Put the top floor on the third layer. Here you could again put the first floor and the section in the back. Finally you can use the fifth layer for the different views. You e.g. could put the section in the back and draw the gable views. The eaves views could also be drawn on the fifth layer and the eaves and ridge heights can be projected from the section or the other views. Place parts of the drawing that re-appear in other plans on different layers, e.g. the plan head. Create a layer that contains the plan head and put it in the background of the other layers - remember, all visible layers will be printed or plotted.
Another application would be to use one layer for every step of a project. You could put the measurements or the patterns on separate layers. This would speed up the display as the measurements and/or patterns would not always have to be visible. You could even maintain an entire project in only one file by using different layers for the draft and the final plans. You could e.g. create the plan on one layer and put the appropriate dimensions and text in the back, depending on which phase your project is currently in. 3D-data that is to be passed on to raytracing or shading programs can be distributed over several layers on a per-unit basis. Use different layers for walls, ceilings, stairs, stair rails or the roof construction. This allows you to edit the elements easily for you cannot alter the elements of the background layers accidentally.


 
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3.7 Polygons  
 

  • Entering a polygon

    Polygons can be employed in many situations. Rooms or patterns can be created with polygons, but also 3D elements, such as prisms. You can counter draw circles, arcs, or splines (e.g. on a background layer) using polygons, or you can enter polygons by entering single points.
    If you snap-to an existing polygon point again, you will achieve an Undo of that point.


polygon Polygon out of line sections : Set the first polygon point. You can either confirm or move it. As soon as you confirm it you can place the second polygon point. If you confirm that one, you go on and place the next one. You can continue adding points until you close the polygon. You close a polygon by snapping-to the first polygon point.

A polygon must have at least three points and it must be closed.

polygon Polygon out of arcs : Integrate arcs into your polygon. Snap-to the start and end points of the arc and CYCAS recognizes it and draws the polygon accordingly.
polygon Polygon out of a circle : Let CYCAS draw a circle as a polygon. To achieve this, you simply snap-to one of the circle points at the 0, 90, 180 or 270 degrees location of the circle. There, you set two points on top of each other, which is entering a start and an end point of the circle.

Polygons out of splines: If you snap-to start points and end points of a spline CYCAS will recalculate the form of the spline for the polygon.


 
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