CADKEY 19

Product Enhancements
This document highlights all the new functionality in CADKEY 19, DRAFTPAK 19, CADKEY PARAMETRICS 19, and the CDEs Smart Layout, File Manager, Dimension Wizard, PlotDate, CKTools and PlotFast for Windows.

This information is also included in the "What's New" section of the help files for each product.

CADKEY Corporation 33 Boston Post Rd. West Marlborough, MA 01752 USA PH (508) 229-2020 FX (508) 229-2121 www.cadkey.com

Copyright and Trademark Notice

CADKEY 19 Copyright 2000 CADKEY Corporation All Rights Reserved CADKEY Corporation 33 Boston Post Road West Marlborough MA, 01752 USA Tel : (508) 229-2020 Fax: (508) 229-2121 This documentation may not be reproduced in any form, for any purpose, unless it complies with the terms presented in the CADKEY Corporation Software License Agreement. CADKEY Corporation and the program authors have no liability or responsibility to the purchaser or any other person or entity with respect to liability, loss or damage caused, or alleged to be caused either directly or indirectly by this software, including but not limited to, any interruption of service, loss of business or anticipatory profits or consequential damages resulting from the use or operation of this software. Updates will be made to this documentation periodically and incorporated in future editions.
CADKEY is a registered trademark of CADKEY Corporation. ACIS is a registered trademark of SPATIAL TECHNOLOGY INC. Microsoft, MS-DOS, and Windows are trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp. Wintab is a trademark of LCS/Telegraphics. SOFT ENGINE is a trademark of Vibrant Graphics, Inc. OpenGL is a trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc. MS-DOS is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp. Pentium is a trademark of Intel, Corp.

DXF is a trademark of Autodesk, Inc. Portions copyright OpenDWG Alliance. All rights reserved. All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Final November, 2000

Table of Contents
Introduction..........................................................................................................................1 CADKEY Core Enhancements .............................................................................................2 Zoom ...................................................................................................................................3 Zoom In ...................................................................................................................3 Zoom Out ................................................................................................................3 Rotate Part ...........................................................................................................................4 Rotate Part Dynamic.................................................................................................4 Rotate Up.................................................................................................................4 Rotate Down ............................................................................................................5 Rotate Left ...............................................................................................................5 Rotate Right.............................................................................................................5 Rotate Clockwise .....................................................................................................5 Rotate Counterclockwise ..........................................................................................5 Pan ......................................................................................................................................6 Pan Window.............................................................................................................6 Pan Up.....................................................................................................................6 Pan Down ................................................................................................................7 Pan Left ...................................................................................................................7 Pan Right .................................................................................................................7 Arc.......................................................................................................................................8 Arc by Offset ...........................................................................................................8 Point ..................................................................................................................................10 Mid-Point...............................................................................................................10 Ellipse................................................................................................................................11 Ellipse by Outer Axes.............................................................................................11 Ellipse by Inner Axes .............................................................................................12 Rectangle ...........................................................................................................................13 Using Corners and Rounded Corners.......................................................................14 Using Width/Height and Rounded Width/Height .....................................................14 Using Anchor and Rounded Anchor........................................................................14 DWG/DXF AutoCAD 2000 Support...................................................................................16 Supported Versions ................................................................................................16 Solid Enhancements ...........................................................................................................18 Blend Edges and Vertexes of a Solid...................................................................................19 Variable Radius Edge Blending ..............................................................................20 Body Warping Commands..................................................................................................27 Twist .....................................................................................................................27 Stretch ...................................................................................................................29 Create Shell from Solid ......................................................................................................33 Shelling Inward/Outward........................................................................................33 Multi-Offset Shelling..............................................................................................34

Introduction
Use of Multiple Profiles......................................................................................................37 DRAFT-PAK Enhancements ..............................................................................................39 Feature Setup .....................................................................................................................40 Creating a Structural Shape.................................................................................................41 Spring ................................................................................................................................42 Parametrics Enhancements .................................................................................................43 Features .............................................................................................................................44 Draft ......................................................................................................................44 Multiple Loops...................................................................................................................48 CADKEY CDEs Added......................................................................................................49 Smart Layout......................................................................................................................50 Create Layout.........................................................................................................50 Modify Layout .......................................................................................................51 Load Pattern...........................................................................................................52 M/L Copy ..............................................................................................................52 Setting ...................................................................................................................53 About.....................................................................................................................53 Help.......................................................................................................................53 Part File Manager...............................................................................................................54 Open Part File ........................................................................................................54 Save Part File.........................................................................................................55 Search Part File ......................................................................................................59 About.....................................................................................................................62 Help.......................................................................................................................62 Dimension Wizard..............................................................................................................63 Automatic Dimensioning ........................................................................................63 Configuration Settings............................................................................................64 Dimension Merge...................................................................................................70 Reassociate Dimension...........................................................................................71 Help.......................................................................................................................71 Info........................................................................................................................71 PlotDate.............................................................................................................................72 Application Menu Functions...................................................................................72 CKTools ............................................................................................................................76 Create Tools.......................................................................................................................77 LINANGLE ...........................................................................................................77 L-COORDS ...........................................................................................................78 O-LINES................................................................................................................78 PARLINE ..............................................................................................................78 TANANG ..............................................................................................................79 PARARC ...............................................................................................................79 ALONGAX............................................................................................................79 BOLTCIRC............................................................................................................81 MIDPOINT............................................................................................................82

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Zoom In
P-COORDS............................................................................................................83 CUBIC...................................................................................................................83 PARSPL ................................................................................................................83 SPIRALS ...............................................................................................................84 Detail Tools .......................................................................................................................85 ACTDIM ...............................................................................................................85 BALLOONS ..........................................................................................................92 CNTRLINE............................................................................................................93 COORDS...............................................................................................................94 NOTEPATH ..........................................................................................................95 NOTES..................................................................................................................95 SETTEXT..............................................................................................................96 TABLES................................................................................................................97 VALIDATE ...........................................................................................................97 Modify Tools .....................................................................................................................99 PTRIM...................................................................................................................99 KINK.....................................................................................................................99 MOVEND............................................................................................................100 ARCEDIT............................................................................................................100 JOIN ....................................................................................................................101 EXPLODE ...........................................................................................................101 ALIGN ................................................................................................................102 OFFSET ..............................................................................................................102 TUBES ................................................................................................................103 Utility Tools.....................................................................................................................104 CLEAR................................................................................................................104 COUNT ...............................................................................................................104 HOLESIZE ..........................................................................................................104 MASK .................................................................................................................105 SAMEAS.............................................................................................................105 PAN.....................................................................................................................105 SCROLL..............................................................................................................105 SHOW .................................................................................................................106 D-LAST...............................................................................................................106 V-COORDS.........................................................................................................107 PlotFast for Windows .......................................................................................................108 Install and Setup...................................................................................................108 Generic Driver Installation....................................................................................110 PlotFast Configurations ........................................................................................111 PlotFast Dialog Box .............................................................................................113 Drag and Drop Capabilities...................................................................................116 Plotting in PlotFast ...............................................................................................116

Enhancements

Introduction
CADKEY 19 incorporates changes to the core product, Solids, Parametrics and DRAFT-PAK. CADKEY 19 also contains some additional CDE utilities such as Smart Layout, Part File Manager, Dimension Wizard, PlotFast for Windows, PlotDate, and CK Tools.

See the README.TXT file on the root directory of the CADKEY 19 CD (also copied to the root directory of CADKEY once it is installed on your hard drive) for any last minute updates to this documentation.

CADKEY Core Enhancements

CADKEY Core Enhancements

View Control Functions
n n n Zoom Pan Rotate

New Creation functions

n Create Ellipse Function Group n n n n n Create Ellipse by outer axes Create Ellipse by inner axes

Create Arc by Offset Create Mid-Point Rectangle by Lines function is enhanced to have two new components: n n Rounded rectangle. Anchored rectangle.

Data Exchange
n Support for AutoCAD 2000 files

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Zoom In

Zoom
Controls the display scale. Zoom options change only the appearance of the part, not the part data. When you choose Zoom from the View Menu, the following options appear:

Zoom In
Zoom In multiplies the scale by 110%.

Zoom Out
Zoom Out multiplies the scale by (1 / 1.10 =90.909090%). This guarantees that hitting Zoom In and then Zoom Out will return you to the same scale.

Enhancements

Rotate Part

Rotate Part

Rotate Part Dynamic

Dynamically rotates your part in the active viewport. Note that you are actually rotating the viewpoint, not the actual orientation of the model in world space. Multiple click and drag operations can be performed while rotating the part. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Choose Rotate Part>Rotate Part Dynamic from the Menu bar or click the icon (left) on the toolbar. Indicate a rotation center point for the part using the standard Position Menu options. Click on the screen with the left mouse button and drag to dynamically move the part with the cursor. Release the mouse button when the part is in the position you want. You can continue to dynamically move the part until you choose ACCEPT. Choose ACCEPT to accept the defined view.

Rotate Up
This function rotates the viewport up along a horizontal axis through the center of the view by 10 degrees each time the function is invoked.

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Rotate Down

Rotate Down
This function rotates the viewport down along a horizontal axis through the center of the view by 10 degrees each time the function is invoked.

Rotate Left
This function rotates the viewport left along a vertical axis through the center of the view by 10 degrees each time the function is invoked.

Rotate Right
This function rotates the viewport right along a vertical axis through the center of the view by 10 degrees each time the function is invoked.

Rotate Clockwise
This function rotates the viewport clockwise perpendicular to the view by 10 degrees each time the function is invoked.

Rotate Counterclockwise
This function rotates the viewport counterclockwise perpendicular to the view by 10 degrees each time the function is invoked.

Enhancements

Pan

Pan

Pan Window
Redefines the center of a viewport. This option does not alter coordinate data. Pan is modal or repetitive which means that while selecting entities you can continuously pan to get a better view of your part. 1. Choose Pan from the View Menu. 2. If working with multiple viewports, choose the viewport to pan. A highlighted rectangle or square matching the selected viewport appears on screen. Your cursor is the center of the highlighted viewport. The highlighted viewport moves dynamically with cursor movements. 3. Move the cursor until the part is in the area of the highlighted viewport you want. 4. Click the left mouse button once. The part moves to the indicated position. The highlighted viewport remains on screen for further panning. 5. Choose [Esc] to stop panning.

Pan Up
When panning up the object moves up the screen by 5% each time you invoke the function.

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Pan Down

Pan Down
When panning down the object moves down the screen by 5% each time you invoke the function.

Pan Left
When panning left the object moves to the left of the screen by 5% each time you invoke the function.

Pan Right
When panning right the object moves to the right of the screen by 5% each time you invoke the function.

Enhancements

Arc

Arc
To create an arc, choose Arc from the Create Menu. The Arc options appear. CADKEY measures positive angles counterclockwise from the start to the end angle. Start and end arc angles can be negative or positive. In 2D construction mode, CADKEY creates the arc and projects the center and edge points to the current construction plane. In 3D construction mode, CADKEY locates a plane that is parallel to the current construction plane and that passes through the center point. It projects the edge point to the plane and creates the arc in the plane.

Arc by Offset
This allows you to create an arc (or circle) offset from a selected arc. The new arc will have the same start and end angle as the original arc (or circle). The radius of the new arc can be determined in two ways. The first is by giving a distance, and choosing a side of the arc to offset by that distance. The second is by choosing a point that the new arc will pass through.

If you choose a distance that is greater than the radius of the arc, and then choose the inner side of the arc, an error will be given, and no arc will be created.

Arc created by distance

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Arc by Offset
Note that the through-point selection does not have to be one that lies between the start and end angle of the arc.

Arc created by point

Enhancements

Point

Point
Choose Point from the Create Menu. The Point options appear: The display size of points is dependant on the Graphics Marker setting in the Display tab of the "Default Options" dialog box (accessible by selecting Tools, Options from the Menu bar). After changing this setting, you should regenerate your drawing to update the point size display.

Mid-Point
Given two positions, this function will create a new point that is halfway between them. In 3D construction, any two points form a line. The mid-point is the center of this line. This is not true when 2D construction is employed. When 2D construction is used, the mid-point will be placed on the CPlane and depth currently set.

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CADKEY 19

Ellipse by Outer Axes

Ellipse
An ellipse is a set of points within a plane where the sum of the distance between one fixed point to any two other fixed points is constant. There are three ways to create an ellipse: by Values and Outer or Inner Axes. The two new additions are Ellipse by Outer Axes and Ellipse by Inner Axes.

Ellipse by Outer Axes

Creates an elliptical arc by selecting three points that represent the major axes of a rectangle. An ellipse is then created that is bounded by that rectangle. 1. 2. 3. Select Ellipse by Outer Axes from the Ellipse submenu. Indicate the origin of the ellipse using one of the Position Menu options. Indicate the major axis point. The major axis is the absolute distance from the origin point to the X axis point. 4. Indicate the minor axis point. The minor axis is the absolute distance from the origin point to the Y axis point. 5. You will then be prompted for the start angle (default 0 degrees) and end angle (default 360 degrees) of the ellipse. CADKEY projects the origin to the current construction plane, and creates the elliptical arc in the current construction view, at the current depth.

Ellipse by Outer Axes

Enhancements

11

Ellipse Ellipse by Inner Axes

Creates an elliptical arc by selecting two points that represent the position and magnitude of the major axis. Then select two points that represent the position and magnitude of the minor axis. An ellipse is created that is centered on the intersection of the two axes, and oriented with the major axis. 1. 2. 3. Select Ellipse by Inner Axes from the Ellipse submenu. Indicate the origin of the ellipse using one of the Position Menu options. Indicate the major axis point. The major axis is the absolute distance from the origin point to the X axis point. 4. Indicate the minor axis point. The minor axis is the absolute distance from the origin point to the Y axis point. 5. You will then be prompted for the start angle (default 0 degrees) and end angle (default 360 degrees) of the ellipse. CADKEY projects the origin to the current construction plane, and creates the elliptical arc in the current construction view, at the current depth.

Ellipse by Outer Axes

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Ellipse by Inner Axes

Rectangle
Creates a rectangle with entered values for the width and height, or with indicated positions for two corners of the rectangle. You can create three different types of rectangles: Line Polyline Polygon In 2D construction mode, CADKEY creates the rectangle and projects the reference point to the current construction plane. In 3D construction mode, CADKEY creates the rectangle in the plane that is parallel to the construction plane and passes through the indicated reference position. When creating rectangles keep these things in mind: n n n The line rectangle has four separate line entities. Select each entity to make changes to the whole rectangle. The current depth must stay the same once you designate a position. CADKEY does not fill the corners of a line rectangle when you select line widths greater than one.

To make a rectangle of lines follow these steps: 1. 2. Choose Rectangle from the Create options. Choose the rectangle creation type:

n n n

Corners - Creates a rectangle with indicated positions for two opposite corners. Width/Height - Creates a rectangle with specified values for the width and height, and an indicated position for the lower-left corner. Anchor - Previously when creating rectangles they were automatically anchored by the lower-left corner. Now you have the option of 9 placement points to anchor the rectangle. This option creates a rectangle with specified values for the width and height and an indicated position for the anchor point of the rectangle. Rounded Rectangle by Corners- Creates a rectangle with indicated positions for two opposite corners with filleted corners. Rounded Rectangle by Width/Height - Creates a rectangle with filleted corners with specified values for the width and height and an indicated position for the lower-left corner.

n n

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13

Rectangle
n Rounded Rectangle Anchor - Creates a rectangle with filleted corners with specified values for the width and height and an indicated position for the anchor point of the rectangle.

The Rounded Corners options do not apply to polyline and polygon rectangles, only line rectangles.

Using Corners and Rounded Corners

1. 2. 3. Choose Corners or RCorner from the rectangle options. If using RCorner enter the fillet radius for the corners. Using your mouse, left click to indicate a position for one corner of the rectangle. A rubberband box connects to the cursor to dynamically display the shape of the rectangle as you create it. 4. 5. 6. Click and drag your mouse to indicate a position for the diagonally opposite corner of the rectangle. When you create a Polygon Rectangle, choose Outline or Filled to create an outlined or filled rectangle. When filling, choose a color to fill the rectangle from the Color Selection dialog box. If you outline the rectangle, it is outlined in the current color. CADKEY creates the rectangle. CADKEY always creates the rectangle in the current construction plane.

Using Width/Height and Rounded Width/Height

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Choose Wid/Ht or RWd/Ht from the rectangle options. If using RWd/Ht enter the fillet radius for the corners. Enter the width and height of the rectangle. When you create a Polygon Rectangle (by Wid/Ht only), choose OutLine or Filled to create an outlined or filled rectangle. When filling, choose a color to fill the rectangle from the Color Selection dialog box. If you outline the rectangle, it is outlined in the current color. Using your left mouse button, indicate a position for the lower-left corner of the rectangle.

Using Anchor and Rounded Anchor

1. 2. Choose Anchor or RAnchor from the rectangle options. Choose one of the Anchoring methods available:

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Using Anchor and Rounded Anchor

n n n n n n n n n 3. 4. 5. UprLft (Upper Left) - Places the rectangle by the upper left corner. CntLft (Center Left) - Places the rectangle by the center point of the left line. LwrLft (Lower Left) - Places the rectangle by the lower left corner. UprCnt (Upper Center) - Places the rectangle by the upper center point of the top line. CntCnt (Center Center) - Places the rectangle by the center of the rectangle itself. LwrCnt (Lower Center) - Places the rectangle by the lower center point of the bottom line. UptRgt (Upper Right) - Places the rectangle by the upper right corner. CntRgt (Center Right) - Places the rectangle by the center point of the right line. LwrRgt (Lower Right) - Places the rectangle by the lower right corner.

If using RAnchor enter the fillet radius for the corners. Enter the width and height of the rectangle. Using your left mouse button, indicate a position for the specified anchor of the rectangle.

Enhancements

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DWG/DXF AutoCAD 2000 Support

DWG/DXF AutoCAD 2000 Support

Supported Versions
The DWG/DXF translator supports the following versions of CADKEY and AutoCAD: n n n You can import drawings created with AutoCAD Release 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 2000 into CADKEY 19. You can export CADKEY part files into AutoCAD Release 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 2000. You can import AutoCAD DWG or DXF files, work with them in CADKEY as AutoCAD entities and then export them to AutoCAD.

Supported Entities
The following additional AutoCAD entity types are now supported in CADKEY. AutoCAD Entity Dimension Imported into CADKEY as: The translator supports linear, circular (radial and diametric), aligned, and ordinate dimensions. It skips associated blocks. The translator supports all attached attributes, as well as some special characters in the text, such as +/-, , and the radius or diameter symbol. It defaults as converting the AutoCAD dimension entity into a CADKEY Gendim collective. Spline Entity CADKEY Spline entity.

Entities Not Supported

The following additional AutoCAD entity types are not supported in CADKEY. Entity Type Solid 3D Body AutoCAD Entity Name AD_ENT_SOLID3D AD_ENT_BODY

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Supported Versions
When importing DWG and DXF files, a progress message window is now provided for monitoring the translation process.

Enhancements

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Solid Enhancements

Solid Enhancements
Blending Enhancements
n Blend Interference Checking Variable Radius Enhancements n Constant Width Blend n n Rotated Ellipse Constant Radius

Body Warping Commands category added

n n n Bend Twist Stretch

Shelling
n n n Multi-offset shelling Shelling inward/outward Create Lip

Multiple Profiles

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Supported Versions

Blend Edges and Vertexes of a Solid

Solid blending is currently separated by blend functionality into four categories available through a tabbed dialog. The options are: n Vertex Blending n Constant Radius Edge Blending n Variable Radius Edge Blending n Face Blends The four categories of blending are covered in the following sections. All four blend types support Blend interference checking. A blend interference checkbox appears on all the tabs. It can be enabled/disabled in the dialog separately for each blend option. Allow for blend interference checking enables CADKEY to check for features that might interfere with the path of the blend surface and allows the blend to complete properly despite the interference. An interference such as a hole, protrusion or other geometric feature normally would cause the blend to fail or to complete but cause a self-intersecting solid. Enabling this checkbox prevents self-intersections from occurring and allows the blend to complete properly.

Interference checking is performing additional calculations in the background so note that when it is enabled the blending process will be slower than blending without interference checking. For example, if interference checking is not enabled if a blend is placed in such a way that the blend face will partially intersect a protrusion/hole, then the protrusion/hole is inappropriately blended. If the blend completely covers the area taken up by the protrusion/hole, then that protrusion/hole will be deleted. Enabling blend interference checking allows the blend to blend around the protrusion/hole.

Before Blend

Enhancements

19

Blend Edges and Vertexes of a Solid

Blend with interference checking turned off

Blend with interference checking turned on

In the example above with interference checking turned off, the protruding section is swallowed by the blend. But with interference checking on, the blend and the protrusion are properly trimmed to each other. To get a better understanding of how blend interference checking affects your models try this example. Create a 10 x 5 x 2 block and shell it by a thickness of .2. Blend an outer edge by 1.0, the result is a self-intersecting body. If the blend interference checking is enabled, then this intersection will be detected and blended appropriately. In CADKEY 19 there have been additional options added to the Variable Radius Edge Blending. See details to follow.

Variable Radius Edge Blending

This option blends the edges of a solid with a variable radius. Some of the options in this tab are for the benefit of designers who want non-exact methods of changing the shape of blends. They will be useful for designing parts for which the shape is mostly aesthetic. There are six types of variable radius blending as listed below. The three new options constant radius, constant width and rotated ellipse are discussed in detail below.

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Variable Radius Edge Blending

n n n n n Constant Radius - This option creates a blend that has a constant radius, but whose cross section could be non-circular through the use of thumb weights. Constant Width - This blend allows you to enter a width that specifies the distance between the edges of the blend. Rotated Ellipse - This option will create a blend whose cross section is elliptical. Start and End - The blend radius is computed as a linear taper from starting value to ending value of the edge sequence to be blended. Point/Radius Pairs - The blend radius is computed as a function of a smooth curve joining a sequence of points whose radii are provided at certain points along the edge to be blended. 2D Spline Function - The blend radius is computed as a function of a 2D curve lying on the X-Y plane centered about the origin. The value along the Y axis represents the radius, while the value along the X axis represents the length along the edge to be blended. The cross sectional shape options are available for all Variable Radius Edge Blends except Rotated Ellipses. The cross sectional shapes may be varied from circular (the default) to a non-circular spline shape. The default value of 1.0 produces a circular cross section. When the thumb weight values are increased from 1.0, the blend tends to bunch up and when the values are reduced below 1.0, the blend flattens out. Thumb weighted geometry is constructed of splines. Note this differs from other blend types that are composed of arcs.

Thumb weights are entirely for aesthetics. When working with thumb weights there will be a lot of trial and error. There is no way to get an exact desired shape, only an approximate shape can be obtained. You will need to adjust the numbers until you achieve the results you want. When entering thumb weight values keep in mind that as the thumb weight value approaches infinity, the cross section tends to a sharp corner. As it approaches zero, it tends towards a pure chamfer. The highest (1,000,000) and lowest (1e-9) thumb weight values indicate the maximum stretching or squeezing of the cross sectional shape. Thumb weight values affect the shape of the cross section. Think of it this way. Put your thumbs on the edge of the blend and apply some pressure to "squeeze or push" the blend cross section. Entering thumb weight values less than 1.0 has the reverse effect. Your thumb "pulls or stretches" the blend cross section and flattens it out.

Enhancements

21

Blend Edges and Vertexes of a Solid

Thumb weights = 4.0

Thumb weights = 0.4

Three checkboxes appear at the bottom of the dialog for all options: When you wish Solids to also blend connected edges that continue smoothly (no abrupt change in tangent) from the selected edges, select the Blend along smooth edges checkbox. Preview the blend allows you to preview the proposed blend surface geometry prior to applying the changes to the model. Preview blends are computed and drawn quickly in the CADKEY rubberband color. Blend preview surfaces are approximations of the actual resulting blend surfaces so they may not be drawn as precisely as the final outcome.

When previewing the blend, you may use immediate mode commands to dynamically pan, zoom and rotate the model in order to view the preview surfaces from any angle. Allow for blend interference checking enables CADKEY to check for features that might interfere with the path of the blend surface and allows the blend to complete properly despite the interference. Interference's such as holes, protrusions or other geometric features normally would cause the blend to fail or to complete but cause a self-intersecting solid. Enabling this checkbox prevents self-intersections from occurring and allows the blend to complete properly.

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Variable Radius Edge Blending

Three checkboxes appear at the bottom of the dialog for all options: When you wish Solids to also blend connected edges that continue smoothly (no abrupt change in tangent) from the selected edges, select the Blend along smooth edges checkbox. Preview the blend allows you to preview the proposed blend surface geometry prior to applying the changes to the model. Preview blends are computed and drawn quickly in the CADKEY rubberband color. Blend preview surfaces are approximations of the actual resulting blend surfaces so they may not be drawn as precisely as the final outcome.

When previewing the blend, you may use immediate mode commands to dynamically pan, zoom and rotate the model in order to view the preview surfaces from any angle. Allow for blend interference checking enables CADKEY to check for features that might interfere with the path of the blend surface and allows the blend to complete properly despite the interference.

Constant Radius
This blend allows for the radius to be constant with a circular cross section or have a constant radius but at the same time have a non-circular cross section through the use of thumb weights.

Enhancements

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Blend Edges and Vertexes of a Solid

Note that this constant radius blend is not exactly the same as doing a normal constant radius blend. If you want a pure circular constant radius blend then use the Constant Radius Blend tab in the dialog box.

Constant Width
With this blend you can specify a width which will specify the distance between the edges of the blend. It allows for the width or the distance between the edges of the blend surface to remain at a constant width. The radius values are calculated to maintain the desired width.

The width of a constant radius blend changes if the two faces are not perpendicular and the blended edge is not perpendicular to the next edge. This will not happen with a variable radius constant width blend. In the examples below, when the edge of the solid is blended with a constant 2 inch radius blend, the width of the blend varies with the angle of the faces in contrast with the 2 inch constant width blend.

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Variable Radius Edge Blending

Before Blend

2 inch constant radius blend

2 inch constant width blend

Rotated Ellipse
This option will create a blend whose cross section is elliptical. The major and minor axis values you enter in the dialog will determine the shape of the ellipse. The angle from normal will specify the rotation of the ellipse, as measured from the normal of one of the two faces adjacent to the blend edge. The surface normals are displayed at the mid point of the edge, and you are prompted to select the direction vector for the ellipse major axis. Any angle specified is measured from this vector.

Enhancements

25

Blend Edges and Vertexes of a Solid

Surface normals are displayed

The edge is blended with an elliptical blend

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Twist

Body Warping Commands

The body warping commands consist of bend, twist and stretch functions. New in this version are twist and stretch. All of these functions allow you to manipulate your solid bodies. Each one is discussed in detail in its own section. Bend Twist Stretch

Twist
This function provides the capability to twist solids, sheet bodies and wireframe entities. This is ideal for modeling parts that are manufactured in a flat condition then twisted into final shape. The region of twist is defined by two points, which you must indicate. These two points define a line that serves two purposes. First, it defines the axis about which the twisting occurs. Secondly, it defines the extents of the twist region. Perpendicular planes at each end of the line are intersected with the body being twisted, and only the area between the planes will be modified.

There are several options available in the Twist a Body dialog box to assist you in the creation of a twist. The options are: Twist angle - Enter the angle of the twist. There is no limit to the angle of twist. A positive twist angle indicates the direction of the twist, but you may specify a negative angle if you want to twist in the opposite direction. The two points selected to define the axis of twist also indicate the direction of the "Z" axis. Use the right-hand rule to determine the positive direction of twist. Type of entities to twist - Choose to twist solid/sheet bodies or wireframes.

Enhancements

27

Body Warping Commands

Desired continuity between twisted and untwisted sections - You can control the degree of continuity (smoothness) between the non-twisted and twisted portions of the body. Three choices of continuity are available: n n n G0 Positional - This ensures that the edge at the end of the untwisted section and the edge at the beginning of the twist meet. G1 Tangential - This ensures that the edge at the end of the untwisted section is tangent to the edge at the beginning of the twist. G2 Curvature - This ensures that the curvature at the end of the untwisted section is the same as the curvature at the beginning of the twist. This option is one level of continuity higher than tangent continuity. Curvature continuity uses a 5th degree polynomial as compared to the 3rd degree (cubic) used for tangential continuity. This more naturally approximates what a real part would do when it deforms.

Once you've made your selections in the dialog box click OK to close the dialog. Keep in mind that when twisting, one part stays fixed in place, while the other side of the part rotates along with the twist. The part of the body (if any) before the starting point of the twist axis is the side that remains fixed as long as the entire body is within the twist region. If the entire body is within the twist region then there is no part of the body before the starting point. The part of the body (if any) after the twist's ending point will be rotated about the axis by the amount of the twist angle. To perform the twist: 1. 2. 3. You are first prompted to select the body to twist. Next indicate the start point of the twist axis using one of the Position Menu options. Then indicate the end point of the twist axis. The twist is performed.

Part before twisting

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Stretch

After 275 degree twist. The twist region starts at the centerline of the first hole and ends at the tip.

Stretch
The stretch command provides the capability to stretch a part along an axis for a given distance, and also to compress or squeeze a part together in a similar manner. The stretch command is very much like a Local Operation in the editing effects that it provides. Solids, sheets and wireframe entities can all be stretched and squeezed. You must indicate two points that define the stretch region. Perpendicular planes at each end of the line are intersected with the body and only that region between the planes will be modified. You can think of the body as being clamped at these two planes and then stretched to the left or right sides as desired. The left side of the stretch is defined where the first point is indicated. Stretch may also be applied to the left and right sides independently. This means that in a left end stretch, the left end moves, but the right end does not. Think of it as holding the body with both hands. Each hand is located at the ends of the stretch axis. If you hold your right hand fixed then pull to the left with your left hand, this is a left hand stretch (zero stretch to the right and positive stretch to the left). You can stretch to the left only, right only or some combination of both and the amount stretched left to right can differ. Stretch will create law surfaces when the geometry of the stretch requires it, but it will also maintain simple analytic geometry whenever possible. Law surfaces are one of the many "spline" surface types in ACIS. Law surfaces would be created anytime the stretch was done in such a way that the geometry was no longer a simple definition. A law surface can be identified by using the Verify>Entity Info>Examine a Face function. Select the face to verify and a dialog box will come up stating "This face type is: lawsurspline." For example, if you stretch a cylinder using the centerline of the cylinder as the stretch axis, then the geometry of the cylinder doesn't really change. It just gets longer and the analytic cylinder is preserved with no need for a law surface. But if you use a stretch axis that runs at an angle to the centerline, then you create a different shape that most likely requires a law surface to be built.

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Body Warping Commands

There are options available in the Stretch a Body dialog box to assist you in the creation of a stretched or squeezed body. The options are: Stretch to the left - Enter a value to stretch or squeeze the left side of the body. The value you enter will indicate how far the body will be stretched to the left. When positive values are entered the body is stretched. When negative values are entered the body is squeezed. Stretch to the right - Enter a value to stretch or squeeze the right side of the body. The value you enter will indicate how far the body will be stretched to the right. When positive values are entered the body is stretched. When negative values are entered the body is squeezed. For example, if the left stretch value is one and the right stretch value is one, then the body will be stretched for a total of 2 inches, one inch to the left and one inch to the right. Types of entities to stretch - Choose to stretch solid/sheet bodies or wireframe entities. Once you've made your selections in the dialog box click OK to close the dialog. To perform a stretch: 1. 2. 3. You are first prompted to select the body to stretch. Next indicate the start point of the stretch region using one of the Position Menu options. Then indicate the end point of the stretch region. The stretch or squeeze is performed.

The only region of the body that will be affected by the stretch is defined by the part of the body contained within two planes perpendicular to each end of the stretch axis.

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Stretch

Manifold part before stretching

Manifold after stretching 3 inches

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Body Warping Commands

Collar part before stretch

Collar part after stretching 1 inch up in Z direction

Collar after squeezing .25 inches down in Z direction

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Shelling Inward/Outward

Create Shell from Solid

Use this local edit function to transform a solid body into a body which represents the walls of the original body with at least one face left open. Enable the checkbox to Select the faces to be opened in the dialog box.

Shelling Inward/Outward
Shelling inward and outward at the same time is possible. Note that only positive values can be entered for the shell thickness in the dialog box.

The options available in the dialog box are: Shell Inward - If this checkbox is enabled, the wall will be shelled inward at the offset value you specify. Shell Outward - If this checkbox is enabled, the wall will be shelled outward at the offset value you specify. Select faces to be opened - If this checkbox is enabled, you will be prompted in the Conversation bar for the faces to leave open. If this box is disabled, the shell will be a closed body with an internal void. To leave at least one face open when creating the shell, enable this checkbox (4). Create lip around opened faces - This checkbox is only available when you have selected to leave faces open. This option will create a 'lip' around the open faces of the shell. The lip width and thickness can be specified separately. The lip width is measured along the bottom or overhang of the lip. The lip thickness is the height of the lip, measured perpendicular to the open faces.

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Create Shell from Solid

The oil pan above was created using a shell hollowed inward at an offset of .375 and offsetting the inner faces outward to create the lip around the open faces with a wall thickness of .05.

Multi-Offset Shelling
Individual faces may have different offset values applied to them, allowing for different wall thickness in the shelled part. This will be enabled when the Select faces for specific offsets checkbox is enabled. You will prompted to select each face and enter a thickness in the Conversation bar. Inward and outward offsets may be specified for different faces by entering negative and positive values, respectively.

When shelling a part, you can hit [Esc] to interrupt the operation. When applying different offset values for individual faces, those faces which are smoothly connected to one another (e.g. blended faces), should have the same offset value. This is because the offsetting algorithm will probably fail to re-intersect the offset faces. Faces that join with sharp intersections are good candidates for multi-offset shelling because they will reliably intersect. When specifying specific offset values, you will be prompted to indicate a face, then enter an offset value on the prompt line. A positive value indicates an inward offset, and a negative value indicates an outward offset. Faces are offset the default amount (.2) if they are not specified explicitly in the dialog box.

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Multi-Offset Shelling

Before shelling

After shelling .2 inches inward and offsetting inward faces outward .1 inches creating a lip around the opened top and side faces.

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Create Shell from Solid

A different view of the same part

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Multi-Offset Shelling

Use of Multiple Profiles

Extrusions, Sweeps, Revolves and Planar Boundary Surfaces now support the use of multiple profiles. The following sections have been added to the existing documentation. After clicking OK in the dialog box, you will be allowed to select the individual curves that comprise the closed planar profile. The following rules apply: n n n n n All curves must be lines, arcs, conics, or splines. The order of selection is unimportant. The entire set must represent closed curves. The entire set must lie on a plane Multiple closed co-planar profiles may be chosen in one operation.

When choosing multiple profiles keep in mind that: n n n Overlapping and intersecting profiles are automatically trimmed to one another. Profiles that are intended to be holes within a larger outer profile are automatically detected and cut away. Non intersecting profiles that do not satisfy the above two conditions will result in one body with multiple lumps. If "n" such non-intersecting closed profiles are selected, one body with "n" lumps will be created.

Case 1: Overlapping profiles are trimmed to one another

Case 2: Profiles intended to be holes in a larger profile are cut away

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Use of Multiple Profiles

Case 3: Non intersecting profiles result in one body with multiple lumps.

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Multi-Offset Shelling

DRAFT-PAK Enhancements
Feature Setup
n CADKEY XForm>Copy operations will now maintain DRAFT-PAK Feature data (hole type and size) used by Autolabel and Tabular Dimension functions.

Structural Shapes
n Structural shapes dialog fields now default to values previously entered in a session for each type of shape

Springs
n Springs with square ends can now be created as a solid.

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Feature Setup

Feature Setup
Select the Feature Setup icon from the Feature Menu or click on the SETUP button in any feature dialog box to bring up the Feature Setup dialog box. The Setup options give you greater flexibility when creating features, allowing you to customize the features to your drafting standards. The changes you make to the configuration will be reflected in the Preview windows of the feature dialog boxes as you create features. CADKEY XForm>Copy operations will now maintain DRAFT-PAK Feature data (hole type and size) used by Autolabel and Tabular Dimension functions. Thus the following section has been added under Use Collectives. n Use Collectives - Check this check box if you want the feature geometry to be made into a collective. Feature collectives will not be named. Features created as collectives will keep their copious data with them. Thus XForm>Copied and Moved features are able to be autolabeled. The hole list chart will reflect this. For example, a blind, drilled, XForm>Copied hole's actual depth will be written into the hole list chart instead of being listed as THRU. This behavior affects XForming only. Cut, Copy and Pasted features will not keep their copious data. Features not created as collectives have no copious data thus they can not be autolabeled.

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Multi-Offset Shelling

Creating a Structural Shape

Select the Struct icon from the Mech Menu. The Structural Shape dialog box will appear. The shape you are creating will be displayed in the Preview section of the dialog box. The "Structural Shapes" dialog box will default to previous user settings, whether using backup or invoking the function after using the function previously. When you change the type of the structural shape, the values for that type will default to the most recent user entered values.

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Spring

Spring
Select the Spring icon from the Mech Menu. The Spring dialog box will appear. Enter the information about the spring in this dialog box. Your selections will be displayed in the Preview window.

Select the End Conditions for the spring. The choices are: n n n n Plain (Side, Wire 3D and Solid) Squared (Side, Wire 3D and Solid) Plain and Ground (Side view only) Squared and Ground (Side view only)

Note that springs with square ends can now be created as solids.

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Multi-Offset Shelling

Parametrics Enhancements
Additional Feature Option
n Draft Feature

Sketch Improvement
n Multiple loop profiles

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Features

Features
Draft
Use this function to add draft to faces of a body. You can add draft with respect to an edge on the face, or with respect to a reference plane. This operation is also referred to as taper.

When you choose the Draft function from the Application Button Window, from the Parametrics pull down menu or from the Features right click Context Sensitive Menu the "Draft Properties" dialog box will appear.

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Draft
The Angle field should be used to enter the value of the draft angle. The Faces field contains the name(s) of the face(s) selected. Draft can be performed on multiple faces. If you have not already selected a face(s) to draft, click the SELECT button to choose a face on the solid in the currently active viewport. The name of that face will then appear in the display list. Use the ADD button to allow selection of additional faces to add draft to. Use the DELETE button to delete a currently selected item in the list.

Note that when selecting faces you can hold down the [Ctrl] key on the keyboard to select multiple faces. The SELECT, ADD and DELETE keys are described below: Select - Discards previous list and allows complete re-selection of items. Add - Keeps current list and allows selection of additional items. Delete - Deletes currently selected item in the list. You can add draft to faces primarily by two methods: n With respect to a draft or reference plane If you prefer to define the draft angle with respect to a parametric plane entity, use the Draft Plane option on the draft faces dialog box. Use the SELECT button to select the parametric plane entity. Parametric plane entities may either be selected by geometry or from a list of the existing planes listed in a dialog. n With respect to an edge on the face selected If you use the Edge of a face option, you will need to select the edges that the faces will draft about and a draft reference vector. The Edges of the faces field contains the name(s) of the edge(s) selected. Click the SELECT button to choose an edge(s) on the solid in the currently active viewport. The name(s) of that edge(s) will then appear in the display list. Use the ADD button to allow selection of additional edges. Use the DELETE button to delete a currently selected item in the list. The behavior of the SELECT, ADD and DELETE buttons are the same as described above for face selection.

You must make sure that each edge in the Edges of the Faces field corresponds to each face in the Faces field. For example if there are 4 faces selected to add Draft to, there must be 4 edges selected. Face #1 in the Faces field will attempt to Draft about Edge #1 in the Edges of the Faces field, Face#2 about Edge #2 and so on. The Draft Reference Vector fields contain the I, J, K components of the vector. Use the SELECT button to select a vector entity created with Solids.

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Features

Before

After

While the taper in the example above has caused a lot of change to the shape of this solid body, there has been no change to the topology of the model. There remains the same number of faces, edges, and vertexes after the edit as before, and the relationship between each pair of faces as they intersect to form the edges of the model is also left unchanged.

Shadow Draft
This local edit function provides draft to curved faces in a mold. It fills in gaps that are not visible from a specified direction. The Shadow Draft Mold Extraction Vector fields contain the I, J, K components of the vector. Use the SELECT button to select a vector entity created with Solids.

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Draft
The purpose of this operation is to remove face regions with normals perpendicular to the draft direction. It introduces new ruled faces in order to remove regions from the nominated faces where the draft is thought of as being in shadow from a beam of light traveling with the draft direction and angle. It detects special geometry cases on spheres, cones, and tori and makes a cone or plane for the draft surface rather than a spline. The mold extraction direction is very important as it determines the direction on which to base the angled silhouette curve, also known as an iso-cline curve. An incorrect direction vector will not produce the desired result. The special silhouette curve is calculated and ruled faces are added into the model and surrounding faces are extended and re-intersected with the new ruled faces. Some faces may be swallowed up in the process. For the example below, a draft needs to be added to the spherical face. The draft angle was 30 degrees. The vector (0,0,1) was used as the mold extraction factor.

Before - shows the model before the draft is performed on the spherical face.

After - shows the model after the spherical face is tapered at an angle of 35 degrees.

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Multiple Loops

Multiple Loops
Parametrics will support multiple loops in a single sketch. If the loops intersect with each other, Parametrics will trim the appropriate entities to form a single outer loop before any 3D operations are performed.

If the loops do not intersect with each other and no loop is contained in any other loop, Parametrics will generate multiple lumps for the 3D operation.

If the loops do not intersect with each other but some loops are contained in other loops, Parametrics will generate a body with holes in the shapes of those inner loops.

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Draft

CADKEY CDEs Added

New CDEs added to CADKEY 19
n n n n n n Smart Layout Part File Manager Dimension Wizard PlotDate CKTools PlotFast for Windows

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Smart Layout

Smart Layout
Smart Layout is a CDE based application that runs within CADKEY. The CKLayout.CDE can be loaded through the CDE Load function in the Application drop down menu. Or you can add it to your autoload list in Tools>Options>Startup. Once loaded, it can be accessed from the Application drop down menu or via Accelerator Keys (if assigned). The Smart Layout functions will then appear in the Application Menu Window. This CDE (CKLayout.cde) will run within CADKEY 19 and will provide the ability to automatically generate a layout in DLM (Drawing Layout Mode). n n n n n n n Create Layout Modify Layout Load Pattern M/L Copy Setting About Help

Create Layout
When the Create Layout button is selected the "Smart Layout" Dialog box appears. In this dialog box you can enter the following information: Layout Name - Name the layout. An error message will appear if you try to give the layout a name that already exists. The layout name can be a maximum of 20 characters. Description field - Allows you to add more detailed information about the layout. The description field will accept a maximum of 40 characters. Save Settings - This checkbox can be enabled (4) to save settings so each layout you create will have these same characteristics. This switch is disabled by default. For example, you can set your paper size to be A, with 2 instances in the upper position, with a specific pattern loaded. If the Save Settings checkbox is enabled then these settings will remain each time you create a new layout. To change the settings and not save them, make sure to disable the checkbox. Paper Size - Stores a variety of standard paper sizes. The different paper sizes can be accessed via the drop down menu. The paper size options cover the American standard sizes A-E, the international sizes A4-A0 and Key-in for a user-defined paper size. The selected paper dimensions in both inches and millimeters are displayed in the windows below the drop down. The first window is the height (X direction) and the second is the width (Y direction).

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Modify Layout
Load Pattern - Is a checkbox that when enabled (4) will automatically load a pattern file into the layout with the base position at 0,0. The file name below the Load Pattern switch will display the name of the Pattern file being loaded. Scale - The scale area displays the scale of the instances. If Auto is enabled (4) the scale ratio is grayed out and the scale is determined by the paper size that has been selected. If Auto is disabled, the fields become active and you can type in a scale. Instances - The Instances section is where you are able to configure/manipulate how the layout is going to look as far as the instance view placement. From the drop down box you can select from seventeen (17) predefined options for instance view placement. Twelve edit fields exist that will display the numbered views (instances) and the order in which the instances will be placed. These fields can be edited if the predefined selections are not adequate. An Add Isometric checkbox is present, which when enabled (4) will automatically add the isometric view to all the predefined options. Modelize and Instance radio buttons determine if the layout is going to be modelized or created as associated instances.

Modify Layout
This function only works in Layout mode. The Conversation bar will display a message stating "Model mode now. Execute in Layout mode," if the icon is selected while in model mode.

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Smart Layout
When this function is selected the "Modify Layout" dialog box appears. In this dialog you can change the paper size and the scale of the layout.

Paper allows you to change the paper size, this is reflected in the adjustment of the paper boundary box. The fields that reflect the paper size are grayed out and will change when a new paper size is selected from the drop down menu. If KEY-IN has been selected the fields will no longer be grayed out to accept user input for the paper size. Scale allows you to select a ratio from the drop down menu or you can select KEY-IN to type in an actual scale factor for display of the part.

Load Pattern
Load Pattern will initiate the standard "Pattern Load" dialog box from CADKEY. This will allow you to load a pattern file into your layout. A pattern file can contain geometric or dimensioning entities. Pattern files are like libraries of frequently-used information that you can retrieve and reuse in many parts.

M/L Copy
M/L Copy allows for copying geometry from Layout mode to Model mode or visa versa. It will only work with Layout specific geometry or modelized geometry when in Layout mode. This function works both in Model mode and Layout mode. When the function is selected the CADKEY Selection Menu appears. Select the geometry that you want to copy. The Position Menu appears and you are prompted to select a base position. Once the base position is selected the CADKEY window will change from Layout to Model mode or Model to Layout mode, depending on the mode in which the function was initiated. The CADKEY Position Menu appears and you are prompted to select a base position to place the new geometry.

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Setting

Setting
The Setting function opens a dialog box that allows you to set the level that the border (pattern file) will be placed on. The dimension height and note height are also set here.

About
About displays the version number and the copyright date of the product.

Help
Accesses the help file.

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Part File Manager

Part File Manager

The CKFILEMGR.CDE can be loaded through the CDE Load function in the Application drop down menu. Or you can add it to your autoload list in Tools>Options>Startup. Once loaded, it can be accessed from the Application drop down menu or via Accelerator Keys (if assigned). The Part File Manager functions listed below will then appear in the Application Menu Window. Part File Manager manages and searches part files based on property information. Property data is userdefined information that is added to the part file. This allows you to add detailed information such as scale, paper size, revision number, and material to be saved with the part file. This will be helpful in identifying the part to open, especially if there are numerous versions of the same part. n n n n n Open Part File Save Part File Search Part File About Help

Open Part File

The Open Part File command helps you open the appropriate part file by checking the property data and an image of the part file, if one exists. A file can contain title, description and a preview bitmap. When creating the property data keep these specifications in mind. The item name is completely customizable. The maximum number of items is 64. The maximum characters for an item name is 16. The maximum characters for property data is 128.

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Save Part File

When the part file name is selected by highlighting it, the corresponding property data and image are displayed, if they exist. Note that an image file must be created manually for a preview of the part file to exist. This is done when saving the part file. See the Save Part File section for more details. To open the selected part file, press the OPEN button.

Calling the Search function from the "Open" dialog box

By pressing the SEARCH button, the Search Part File command can be invoked. See the Search Part File command section for details.

Save Part File

The Save Part File function allows you to input part file property information and preview images when saving the part file. If a part image file exists in the directory, it is displayed in the Preview window located in the upper right of the dialog. Pressing the CAPTURE button can create an initial image or an updated image if one already exists. When the button is depressed, the dialog box disappears and you are prompted to indicate the viewport that contains the image to capture. Mouse click in the viewport and an image will be created and appear in the preview window of the dialog box which reappears.

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Part File Manager

Note the size of the image file could be very large if you indicate a large window viewport. Reducing the size of the image file helps improve the performance of the Part File Search function.

Editing the Property Data Fields

To edit the part file property information highlight that property item and press the EDIT button, F2 key or double click on the title.

Note entities in the part file can be used to populate the property data fields, to do this highlight the property item and press the CAPTURE NOTE button. Once this button is pressed, the dialog box disappears and lets you indicate the note in your part file. Mouse click on the note entity and you are returned to the dialog box. The note text will appear in the description of the selected item. Keep in mind that this is a one-time copy and will need to be recaptured if you change the note in CADKEY and want that change reflected in the property data.

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Save Part File

When you have finished in the "Save" dialog box, save the part file by pressing the SAVE button or the SAVE AS button. The image is saved with the same file name as the part file but with a .BMP extension in the same directory as the part file.

Note if the BMP file is not in the same directory as the PRT file, the preview will not be available.

Reconfiguring the Property Information by Editing the PROFIELD.CSV File

You can also reconfigure the property information that is gathered. The PROFIELD.CSV file located in the CK19/NOT directory can be edited to change the property fields. This file is a comma delimited text file that can be opened in a text editor such as Notepad. When opened in Notepad, all of the text is separated by commas as shown below:

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Part File Manager

field, type, length, desc, caption name, STRING, 128, 1, "NAME" scale, STRING, 32, 1, "SCALE" paper, STRING, 32, 1, "PAPER" projection, STRING, 32, 1, "PROJECTION" approved, STRING, 128, 1, "APPROVED" revision, STRING, 128, 0, "REVISION" date2, STRING, 32, 0, "DATE" product, STRING, 128, 0, "PRODUCT" unitname, STRING, 128, 0, "UNIT" pname, STRING, 128, 0, "PARTS" pcode, STRING, 128, 1, "CODE" material, STRING, 128, 0, "MATERIAL" process, STRING, 128, 0, "PROCESS" quantity, STRING, 32, 0, "QTY" When editing this file, keep the following in mind: n First line "field,type,length,desc,caption" - Do not remove this line. This line indicates the meaning of each column. If the file is to be customized with additional title captions, the added lines must be in the same format as the existing lines and separated by commas. The file can contain up to 64 items. The first, or field column, must contain at least one character of text. The exact text of this column is not important. It is recommended that field names be unique. The type column must contain the text STRING. The length and desc columns should contain a number. Zero can be used in both columns. The caption column must have text no longer than 16 characters. Text over 16 characters will not display properly or not display at all. As noted above, the text must be enclosed in quotes. n n Each line from line 2 down is the property data used by Part File Manager. Each line consists of 5 columns. The only columns that should be edited are Column 1 and Column 5. Columns 2 - 4 should not be edited and should exist as they do in the default file. n n Column 1: (Field name) String data saved with property data as copious. Column 5: (Field caption) This string is used as each the title of the file property data. When editing the existing file, the text in the caption column is the text that is displayed as the Title in the "Save Part File" dialog box. The title caption must be enclosed in "quotation marks" in the CSV file. If the trailing quotation mark is missing, a vertical bar will be displayed after the caption text. Although the caption text is in all capital, or upper case, characters by default, both upper and lower case can be used. Numbers and symbols can also be used but commas and quotation marks can not. To edit this file in a program other than Notepad, copy the information out of Notepad and into Microsoft Word. Then convert the text to a table by the commas. Once you've made your changes you can convert the table back to text by and save the file as a text file with a .CSV extension. Make sure you do not save it as a DOC file.

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Search Part File

To save the edited PROFIELD.CSV file, choose File>Save As from the program Menu bar. Be sure to save the file in the CK19/NOT directory.

Search Part File

The Search Part File function searches part files by search word(s) in the part property data.

Condition Tab
Specify the folder to start the search in. To contain subfolders, enable (4) the Sub Folder checkbox. To change the start folder, use the File>Open Folder command from the Menu bar. By default, the search conditions set apply to every part file. The CLEAR button will change the search condition back to the defaults at any time. To set search condition(s), select Name, Condition, and input a search word in the Query field. Condition2 is valid only when Compound conditions are selected, "Or" or "And". Press the START button to begin searching. The number of files found is displayed in the status bar (Hit: n files). If an image files exists for those files, they are displayed in the Image and Browse tab. If you click the file in the file list, you are brought to the Image tab automatically. Search results can be copied to the Windows clipboard in text data format with tab spacing. The Edit>Copy result command does this when one or more file(s) are found.

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Part File Manager

Some spreadsheet or database software (such as Excel) can use this data. To bring this information into Excel, for example, simply open Excel and select Edit>Paste and the search results will be pasted into the spreadsheet as shown below.

Image Tab
The Image tab in the dialog will display the image and property information of the file you selected on the Condition tab, if these items are available. Double clicking on the image or right clicking and selecting Open with CADKEY from the Context Sensitive Menu will open the part file. The property information display, to the right of the image preview, can be turned on and off by choosing View>Property from the Menu bar. A checkmark (4) will appear if the view is on and will disappear when the display is off.

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Search Part File

Browse Tab
All images available for file list are displayed in the browse tab. Double clicking on the image or right clicking and selecting Open with CADKEY from the Context Sensitive Menu will open the part file. You can print the images by choosing File>Print from the Menu bar.

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Part File Manager

About
A dialog box with the product information and the version number will be displayed.

Help
Accesses the help file.

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Automatic Dimensioning

Dimension Wizard
CADKEY Dimension Wizard is a CDE (CADKEY Dynamic Extension) that provides you with a set of tools to help you quickly generate dimensions on a drawing. You can automatically generate dimensions in either Model mode or Layout mode. From the Application Menu on the Menu bar select CDE Load to load the DIMWIZ.CDE. If you want to add this CDE to your autoload list go to Tools>Options>Startup and add the DIMWIZ.CDE to your autoload list at the bottom of the dialog box. Once you have the CDE loaded either manually or through autoload, select Dimension Wizard from the drop down Application Menu on the Menu bar. The Dimension Wizard Menu (shown below) will appear in the Application Menu Window.

See the Dimension Wizard Tutorial to help get you started using this dimensioning tool. See the Dimensioning Wizard Tutorial 2 for an example of creating ordinate linear dimensions and tabular hole dimensions.

Automatic Dimensioning
Before using this function you need to either create a configuration setting or use a previously created CDW configuration setting file. Go to the Config icon to set your configuration properties. If you invoke this function and no setting information is found an error message will appear asking you to run the configuration function.

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Dimension Wizard
The Automatic Dimension (AutoDim) function automatically creates dimensions based on the configuration settings you've selected in the "CADKEY Dimension Wizard Configuration" dialog box. Auto Dim will operate in both Model mode and Layout mode.

Configuration Settings
When you select the Config icon the "CADKEY Dimension Wizard Configuration" dialog box will appear.

With the settings available in this dialog box, you will be able to control the way Dimension Wizard will automatically generate the dimensions in your drawing. You can use the defaults, set new criteria or load an existing Configuration file.

Vertical Dimension

Vertical Dimension: When this checkbox is enabled, pressing AutoDim will create vertical dimensions. If the checkbox is disabled, you will not be able to change any of the settings in this area.

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Configuration Settings
AutoDim will dimension from the lowest selectable EndEnt to the second lowest selectable EndEnt, then from the second lowest to the third lowest and so on until all selectable EndEnts are dimensioned. Position - Determine on which side of the part the dimensions will be created. n n n Right indicates that the text will be placed the Distance from the selectable EndEnt farthest on the right of the part. Left indicates that the text will be placed the Distance from the selectable EndEnt farthest on the left of the part. If Both is selected the part is virtually divided in two parts based on the center and the dimensions are created on the right and the left of the part.

Type - Indicates whether AutoDim will create Serial dimensions or Ordinate dimensions. These dimensions will conform to CADKEY's Linear dimension and Ordinate dimensions, respectively. When Serial dimensions are selected an overall dimension is also created. Distance - This is the distance of the dimension from the part. Tolerance - Vertical dimensions will ignore any EndEnt that creates a dimension less than the tolerance setting. Thus no dimension under this value will be generated.

Horizontal Dimension

Horizontal Dimension - When this checkbox is enabled, pressing AutoDim will create horizontal dimensions. If the checkbox is disabled, then you will not be able to change any settings in this area. AutoDim will dimension from the selectable EndEnt farthest to the left, to the next selectable EndEnt, moving rightward. It will keep moving to the right until all selectable EndEnts are dimensioned. Position - Determines what side of the part the dimension text will be placed. n n n Top indicates that the text will placed a Distance from the selectable EndEnt farthest on the top of the part. Bottom indicates the text will be placed a Distance from the selectable EndEnt farthest on the bottom of the part. If Both is selected the part is virtually divided into two parts based on the center and dimensions are created on the top and the bottom of the part.

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Dimension Wizard
Type - Indicates whether AutoDim will create Serial dimensions or Ordinate dimensions. These dimensions will conform to CADKEY's Linear dimension and Ordinate dimensions, respectively. When Serial dimensions are selected an overall dimension is also created. Distance - This is the distance of the dimension from the part. Tolerance - Horizontal dimension will ignore any EndEnt that creates a dimension less than the tolerance setting. Thus, no dimension under this value will be generated.

Arc Dimension

Arcs - When the arc checkbox is enabled, pressing AutoDim will create dimensions for all selectable arcs. If the arc checkbox is disabled, then you will not be able to change any of the settings in this area. Distance - This indicates the distance of the dimension from the arc. The anchor point of the dimension text will be placed at the midpoint of the angle. Type - Indicates the type of dimension you wish to create. R will create Radial dimensions. D will create Diametric dimensions. Choosing none will not create any arc dimensions (though Include Centers can still be active allowing you to include the center of the arcs in linear dimensions). Include Centers - If the Include Centers checkbox is enabled, then any horizontal or vertical dimension will add the centers of all arcs to the list of selectable points. Include Centers is only selectable if horizontal and vertical dimensions are enabled.

Circle Dimension

Circles - When the circle checkbox is enabled, pressing AutoDim will create dimensions for all selectable circles. If the checkbox is disabled, then you will not be able to change any of the settings in this area. Distance - This determines the distance of the dimension text from the circle. The dimension text will be placed at an angle of 45 degrees.

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Configuration Settings
Type - Indicates the type of dimension you wish to create. R will create Radial dimensions. D will create Diametric dimensions. Choosing none will not create any circle dimensions (though Include Centers can still be active allowing you to include the center of the circles in linear dimensions). Table will generate a table of all the circles (see the Circle Table topic for more details). Include Centers - If the Include Centers checkbox is enabled, then any horizontal or vertical dimension will add the centers of all circles to the list of selectable points. Include Centers is only selectable if horizontal and vertical dimensions are enabled. Include Z - If this checkbox is enabled, the Z values of the circle center will be added to the table (If table mode is selected). If Table is not active then this checkbox will not be selectable.

Circle Table

Table Type - Indicates whether you want to create a table that lists the Radii or the Diameter of the selected circles. Sort By - Allows you to have the table sorted by Diameter/Radius of the circles, the X or Y coordinates, or not sorted at all. The table order will depend entirely on the order in which the circles were selected. Sort Type - If a sort is selected you can indicate if it should be in Ascending or Descending order. Format Table - This section lets you determine what the table will look like. Format X Values - Indicates how many digits the system will reserve to represent the X coordinate and allots the appropriate space. You can indicate how many digits before the decimal point and how many after it will be used. The first number corresponds to the number of spaces allotted for the whole number portion of the coordinate and the second number corresponds to the number of spaces for the decimal value of the coordinate. Format Y Values - Indicates how many digits the system will reserve to represent the Y coordinate, allotting the appropriate space. You can indicate how many digits before the decimal point and how many after it will be used. The first number corresponds to the number of spaces allotted for the whole number portion of the coordinate and the second number corresponds to the number of spaces for the decimal value of the coordinate.

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Dimension Wizard
Format Z Values - Indicates how many digits the system will reserve to represent the Z coordinate if include Z is selected. You can indicate how many digits before the decimal point and how many after it will be used. The first number corresponds to the number of spaces allotted for the whole number portion of the coordinate and the second number corresponds to the number of spaces for the decimal value of the coordinate. Format R/D Values - Indicates how many digits the system will reserve to represent the Radius/Diameter value of each circle. You can indicate how many digits before the decimal point and how many after it will be used. The first number corresponds to the number of spaces allotted for the whole number portion of the coordinate and the second number corresponds to the number of spaces for the decimal value of the coordinate. Format N - Indicates how many digits the system will reserve to represent the associated number of each circle in the table, allotting the appropriate space. Spaces between Column - Indicates how many spaces will be left between each column. Half of this number will be placed before the data in a column and half will be placed after the data in each column putting the appropriate white space in the table. Distance from Part - If this checkbox is enabled, the table will automatically be positioned at the indicated distance from the part. If the table is top to bottom, the table will be positioned on the right of the top right position of the part else from the bottom right position. The information below further explains the placement of the table:
Table Type Top to Bottom Bottom to Top X Coordinate of Table XMax + Distance from part XMax + Distance from part Y Coordinate of Table YMax YMin Table Anchor Point Upper Left corner Lower Left corner

Where XMax refers to the largest X-Coordinate in the Table, YMax refers to the largest Y-Coordinate in the Table, and YMin refers to the smallest Y-Coordinate in the Table. If the Distance from Part checkbox in disabled, then the Table will be placed as follows:
Table Type Top to Bottom Bottom to Top X Coordinate of Table XMax XMax Y Coordinate of Table YMax YMin Table Anchor Point Upper Left corner Lower Left corner

Origin - If this checkbox is enabled, a point will be created on the selected origin. It determines how the X and Y coordinate values are determined in the table. You are able to select between: n n n n n Absolute: the CADKEY origin will be used LL: the origin is positioned on the lower left position of the part UL: the origin is positioned on the upper left position of the part LR: the origin is positioned on the lower right position of the part UR: the origin is positioned on the upper right position of the part

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Configuration Settings
n
Origin Type Absolute LL Part LR Part UL Part UR Part User

User: You will be prompted for the origin position

X Coord measured from Y Coord measured from Z Coord measured from

0 XMin XMax XMin XMax Universal Selection Menu

0 YMin YMin YMax YMax Universal Selection Menu

0 0 0 0 0 Universal Selection Menu

XMin refers to the smallest Absolute X coordinate, while XMax refers to the largest Absolute X-Coordinate (etc.). Bottom to Top Table - If enabled, the table is created as being read from the top to bottom, to bottom to top. This influences the automatic positioning of the table. Table as Collective - If this checkbox is enabled, all the entities for the table and for the reference numbers will be collected as a unique entity, a collective.

Dimension Generation Mode

The Dimension Generation Mode allows you to control the selection method for the dimension generation. The Create Overall Dim checkbox allows you to have an overall dimension automatically created on your model. When this checkbox is enabled, then vertical dimensions will also create an overall dimension that measures the total height of the selected geometry. Horizontal dimensions will create a dimension that measures the total width of the selected geometry. Only Overall in LM allows you to have Auto Dimension capability to create only overall dimensions on non-active instances when in Layout mode. This method will act in differently between model and layout mode. The differences are specified below: Model Mode n Manual Selection - CADKEY will ask you to select the entities to be dimensioned. Dimensions will be created on the currently active level in the current default color. n Automatic by level - CADKEY will act on all the geometry in the part file and process it on the basis of its level, going level by level. On each level CADKEY Dimension Wizard will create the dimensions for the entities on that level (i.e.

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Dimension Wizard
CADKEY will recognize different parts on different levels). The dimension will be created on the relative level and they will be created in the current default color. n Automatic by color - CADKEY will act on all geometry selecting and processing them by color. The dimensions will be created on the currently active level in the color of the geometry being dimensioned. Automatic - CADKEY will dimension all visible entities. Dimensions will be created on the currently active level in the current default color.

Layout Mode n Manual Selection - CADKEY will ask you to select the instance of the actual layout to be processed. All the entities of the instance will be processed. n Automatic - In automatic mode CADKEY will process all the entities of the active instance. On all the other instances CADKEY will generate only the overall dimensions. Instances with view 7 (isometric) or view 8 (axonometric) will be ignored. Automatic by color - Will act as automatic. No color mask will be applied. Automatic by level - Will act as automatic. No level mask will be applied.

n n

Dialog Box Buttons

When OK is selected the dialog will close and the configuration settings are saved in a file called DEFENG.CDW or DEFMET.CDW depending on the actual unit settings set in CADKEY, either English or Metric. The SAVE button allows you to save the settings made in the dialog. The configuration settings are saved in a .CDW file. The LOAD button will access a standard File Open dialog set to mask on CDW files that have previously been configured and saved. If a CDW file is loaded, then its settings will replace the current settings in the Configuration dialog. If you select CANCEL, the dialog box will close and discard any changes made since the last time the dialog was opened or the SAVE button was pressed. No data is saved and the configuration settings will resort back to the default data.

Dimension Merge
This function allows you to merge dimensions together. It combines two dimensions into one dimension. It only works on linear vertical and horizontal dimensions. To use this function you need to select two dimensions with one common point. The two dimensions must be of the same type (both horizontal or both vertical). If they are not the same an error message will appear. This function will delete the two original dimensions and create a new dimension indicating the overall dimension between the two unique points.

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Reassociate Dimension
The text of the new dimension is auto centered maintaining the same X coordinate (for vertical) or Y coordinate (for horizontal) so that the dimensions will still be aligned. The new dimension will take the attributes of the first selected dimension. So if the two selected dimensions are different heights, they will take the position of the first selected dimension. If the two chosen dimensions do not share a common point, then an error message will be displayed. If one dimension is enclosed by the other dimension, then the enclosed dimension will simply be deleted. For example, if Dim1 goes from 0,0,0 to 1,0,0 and Dim2 goes from 0,0,0 to 2,0,0 then merging the two dimensions will simply delete Dim1.

How to UNDO
If you selected the wrong dimension you can go back and recall the last two dimensions and then delete the new dimension that the Merge function created. You can do this by single deleting, [Ctrl] [Q] (CKWIN.KBD), the newly created dimension. Then recall the dimensions you selected initially by press [Ctrl] [U] twice or using the RECALL>LAST function from the Edit Menu. Or you can recall the dimensions first then delete the new dimension. Either way will bring you back to the state that existed before you performed the merge.

Reassociate Dimension
This function will reassociate a disassociated dimension to the model. This function only works in Layout Mode. If you try to use Reassociate Dimensions while in Model Mode, you receive an error message. Only linear and radial/diametric dimensions are supported. Select a dimension then, depending on the dimension type the system will ask you for the two new positions (for linear) or for the arc to associate the dimension to (for radial/diametric). The dimension will maintain all the attributes of the original dimension. The text position is not changed.

Help
Accesses the help file.

Info
A dialog box with the product information and the version number will be displayed.

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PlotDate

PlotDate
PlotDate is a CDE based application that runs within CADKEY. The PLOTDATE.CDE can be loaded through the CDE Load function in the Application drop down menu. Or you can add it to your autoload list in Tools>Options>Startup. Once loaded, it can be accessed from the Application drop down menu. The PlotDate functions will then appear in the Application Menu Window. This CDE (PLOTDATE.CDE) will run within CADKEY 19 and will provide usercustomizable date and time stamping of printouts from CADKEY. There are two customization interfaces to PlotDate. The first uses the CADKEY Application Menu, Conversation bar and dialog. The second uses CADL and CDE commands. This second interface can be used, for example, to set up various configurations through CADKEY CADL programs, including the startup macro.

Application Menu Functions

Enable Disable Toggle These functions turn the timestamp printing on and off. Reset Resets all the configuration values to their defaults: n n n n n n n Enabled: True Location: Top Center Font: Size: Weight: Color: Format: Arial 12 Normal black %#c (ex: Wednesday, March 11, 1998 09:37:03)

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Application Menu Functions

Set Format Prompts the user to enter the format to be used for the date and time. The current format is given as the default. The options for the format are described in more detail in the format codes section of the CADL/CDE topic. In addition to these options, the %%s option can be used to include the filename and path. If the string, once expanded with the date and time, is too long to fit in the printable area of the paper, the timestamp will not appear. New lines are not allowed in the format string. Set Location Prompts the user, using a conversation bar menu, for the location of the timestamp. The current location of the timestamp is given as the default. The possible values are: n n n n n n Top Left Top Center Top Right Bottom Left Bottom Center Bottom Right

Set Font Displays a "Font" dialog box to allow selection of the Font, Point Size, and Style of the time stamp.

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PlotDate
Set Font Color Displays a "Color" dialog box to allow selection of the color for the time stamp.

Set Left/Right Offset Set Top/Bottom Offset Prompts the user for an offset in pixels. This will offset the timestamp from the top/bottom or left/right of the printable area, to prevent it from overwriting the border, for example. You will be prompted for the pixels in the Conversation bar as shown below.

Save Settings Writes the current configuration to a CADL file. This is done in the standard "Save As" dialog box (shown below). This file can be executed to load and customize PlotDate. Setting this CADL program as a startup macro will automatically load and configure PlotDate whenever you start CADKEY.

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Application Menu Functions

About Displays the About PlotDate dialog.

Help Brings up the help file.

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CKTools

CKTools
CK Tools is a set of over 40 complied CADL programs which supplement CADKEY's toolset with user specific tools and wish list items such as: n n n n n n n n n Create ortho-lines , i.e. horizontal and vertical line "Explode " polylines, polygons, X-Hatching and dimensions Move just one end of a line or arc Edit arcs by end, edge, or between Show and Hide levels by selecting entities on those levels Step through only those levels which have entities Create lines tangent to an arc at a specified angle Validate dimensions against the geometry they reference Verify coordinate positions in any of 5 coordinate systems, in any unit, and from any datum

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LINANGLE

Create Tools

LINANGLE
Generates a line angled to another line, but unlike the CADKEY function, allows you to specify its length or trim it to another line. The specified angle and trim are those which are projected into the current CPLANE. 1. 2. 3. 4. Enter the angle of the new line. Select the reference circle, arc or line near the end desired (lines only). If a line, indicate the starting position of the new line. If a line, indicate a trimming entity or specify the length of the new line by pressing ACCEPT twice (the default length is the length of the reference line).

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Create Tools L-COORDS

L-Coords allows you to keyin line strings using any one of a number of coordinate systems including XY, XYZ, Polar, Clyndr (cylindrical), and Sphere (spherical). 1. 2. Select the desired coordinate system, i.e., XY, XYZ, Polar, Clyndr (cylindrical), or Sphere (spherical). Select the origin option, i.e., Fixed or Delta. Using a Fixed origin, all lines will be created referenced to a fixed origin. Using a Delta origin, the points or lines are created referenced to the last reference position. Indicate the origin (i.e., datum), then keyin coordinates according to the prompts given.

3.

O-LINES
Creates orthogonal lines, i.e., horizontal or vertical lines. Will also create an orthogonal line of a specified length (Length). 1. Select option, Position or Length.

2A. If Position, select Auto, Horiztl, or Verticl. Horiztl and Verticl position the line as indicated, starting at the first position selected. Auto will lock the line horizontally or vertically depending on the angle, i.e., if greater than 45 the line will snap vertically. 2B. If Length, select Horiztl or Verticl, then specify length of line, then place line using the Position Menu options.

PARLINE
Creates a parallel line string of a specified width, e.g., walls. 1. 2. 3. Enter a width. Using the Position Menu options, digitize a first position. Continue digitizing and press ACCEPT when finished; then ESC.

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TANANG

TANANG
This utility will create a line of a specified angle, tangent to a selected arc or circle. Select Arc Ang or Lin Ang. Arc Ang will create a line tangent at a specified angle on the arc. Lin Ang will create a line of a specified angle on the arc.

PARARC
Creates arcs which are "parallel," that is, have the same sweep angle and center, but a radius as determined by the Thru Pt or At Dist options. A String option creates parallel arc paths, e.g. "roads".

If Thru Pt, indicate a reference arc. Then, using the Position Menu, indicate a position that the "parallel arc" should pass through. Continue digitizing positions or press F10 to select a new reference entity. If At Dist, enter an offset distance and indicate a reference arc. Then digitize the desired side of the reference arc. Continue by selecting a new reference entity. If String, enter a width. Then, using the Position Menu, digitize a first and second position. A straight segment will always be created between the first and second positions. Continue digitizing positions to generate new parallel segments which are tangent with the preceding segment.

ALONGAX
ALONGAX creates circles along an arbitrary axis, either a line or an arc axis. If a line axis, the defined circles can be placed anywhere along the axis (Place). Or a second line (Profile/Taper) can be used to generate the edge of the circles along the axis, or by windowing around (Profile/Points) a number of point entities. The program will generate circles concentric with the line axis and passing through each one of the point entities. If an arc axis, the generated arcs/circles are swept along the arc axis, each being joined with a specified number of radial join arcs. In this manner, tires, o-rings, etc. can be generated.

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Create Tools
LinAxis, ArcAxis
Select the type of axis along which to generate the arc/circles.

If LinAxis:
Determine the circle's Z direction vector. If Line, the end of the line selected is the end nearest the origin along the Z axis and you are presented with three additional options: Edge, Radius and Diametr. If 2Pts, the first point is the point nearest the origin along the Z axis. If Circle is chosen, the axis of the referenced circle is used.

Edge, Radius, Diametr

If Radius or Diametr, enter the appropriate size, then indicate the circle's position with the Position Menu. If Edge you are presented with additional options: Place, Profile/Line and Profile/Points. If Place, the radius and location are determine by the projected distance from the indicated position onto the axis. If Profile/Line, the radii are determined with a second profile line. The number of segments (Numseg) or segment distance (Length) is then specified, and each generated arc/circle is created concentric with the axis and through the profile line. If Length is chosen there are two additional options: w/Axis and w/Taper. If w/Axis is used the length of the segments is measured along the axis line that youve chosen. If w/Taper is used the length of the segments is measured along the profile line that youve chosen.

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BOLTCIRC
If Profile/Points the radii are determined by windowing around a number of point entities. Each generated arc/circle is created concentric with the axis vector and through each point.

If ArcAxis:
Enter the radius of the circles to be generated or press F10 (backup) to specify an arc by its start and end angle. Then select the arc axis or press ACCEPT to specify either the number of sweep segments (Numseg) or the sweep angle of each segment (SegAng), and then, in a similar manner, the number of join segments.

BOLTCIRC
Generates any number of holes of specified diameter on a specified bolt circle diameter. The starting angle of the first hole can be specified, as well. Each subsequent hole is equally spaced. The centerline for the bolt circle diameter is optionally created. 1. 2. Enter a hole diameter of greater then .001 and less than 20,000 units. Enter the number of holes.

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Create Tools
3. 4. 5. Enter a bolt circle diameter greater than .001 and less then 20,000 units. Enter the start angle of the first hole. Indicate bolt circle center.

MIDPOINT
Creates a point entity at the "midpoint" of an arc (Arc) or at the linear "midpoint" of two indicated reference positions (2 Pts). 1. Select the option 2 Pts or Arc.

2A. If 2 Pts, select the 1st reference position then the 2nd reference position using the Position Menu options. 2B. If Arc, select an arc or circle.

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P-COORDS

P-COORDS
Using any one of the following coordinate systems; XY, XYZ, Polar, Clyndr (cylindrical), and Sphere (spherical); P-Coords will create Points from any datum (Fixed) or in a Delta fashion. 1. Select the origin option, i.e., Fixed or Delta. Using a Fixed origin, all points will be created referenced to a fixed origin. Using a Delta origin, the points are created referenced to the last reference position. Indicate the origin (i.e., datum), then key in coordinates according to the prompts given.

2.

CUBIC
Creates a 3D CUBIC or CLSD spline. However, each node point is marked with a point entity. This allows you to zoom without losing track of your last node point. Also you may back out each node one by one with the F10 key. The points can optionally be deleted once the spline is complete. The end conditions are Natural. For another end condition, edit the spline with CADKEY's EDIT>SPLINE function. 1. 2. 3. Using the Position Menu, indicate the first knot (i.e., node) point and then each subsequent knot point. Press F10 to delete previous knot points or, using the Position Menu, continue defining knot points. When finished, press ACCEPT. A temporary spline will be displayed. You may accept the spline or reject it. You may also press F10 at this time to continue defining knot points or continue pressing F10 to redefine previous knot points. Once the spline is accepted or rejected, indicate whether you want to delete the points used to define the spline.

4.

PARSPL
Creates a parallel, i.e., offset 2D or 3D spline. This is done by calculating the offset at each node point of the reference spline, or optionally at a specified number segments between each node point of reference spline. Offset is projected in the plane of definition for a 2D spline and in CPLANE 1 for a 3D spline. 1. Select At Dist or Thru Pt.

2A. If At Dist, enter offset distance, then select spline and indicate side. 2B. If Thru Pt, select spline then indicate offset position with Position Menu. The offset distance is calculated from this position and the selection point on the spline, i.e., the "thru position" should be in close proximity to the selection point on the spline.

Options
n n Disp Pts: If on, the node points of the reference spline and the calculated nodes of the offset spline are displayed with temporary markers. Pts/Seg: Sets the number of calculated nodes for each node of the reference spline. Increase for more accurate offsets.

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Create Tools SPIRALS

This utility creates a spiral of archimedes (i.e., a scroll) or if a helixal lead is specified, a helixal spiral. The spirals are created in the current CPLANE. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Choose either a clockwise (CW) or a counter-clockwise (CCW) spiral. Enter a radial pitch, i.e., the distance between scroll loops. Enter the helical lead, i.e., Length/Turn along the current CPLANE z-axis. Enter 0, if you want a spiral of archimedes rather than a helical spiral. Enter an inside diameter and then an outside diameter. The spiral will start at the inside diameter and spiral until it grows to the outside diameter. Indicate with the Position Menu options the center of the spiral.

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ACTDIM

Detail Tools

ACTDIM
ACTDIM is a dimensioning program using a form of CADKEY dimensions called generic dimensions. Generic dimensions are like regular CADKEY dimensions in that they are associative on themselves; they are one entity. Also, like regular dimensions, they are view dependent. They appear only in the view from which they were created. Generic dimensions differ from regular dimensions in a number of ways:

Up to nine line segments can be used, thereby allowing dimensions with multiple leaders and/or broken witness lines. They are selectable on any of their elements. They are not associated with the geometry they dimension (i.e., a box move, which stretches selected entities, will not stretch generic dimensions), but generic dimensions will transform (i.e., TRANS-A, 2DROT, SCALE, etc.). Finally, CADKEY's DETAIL>CHANGE or DETAIL>UPDATE effects generic dimensions' text string only, not the witness, leader, and arrow elements.

Because Generic dimensions can have up to nine line segments and each of these segments can be specified independently, many things can be done with generic dimensions that regular dimensions can't do such as multiple leader lines, broken witness lines and isomeric dimensions. On the other hand, generic dimension give up some of the flexibility that regular dimensions have such as DETAIL>CHANGE>TXTPOS. ACTDIM is not intended to be a replacement for CADKEY's dimensioning features but an auxiliary feature set.

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Detail Tools
ACTDIM'S options can be set with Modify>Options or "on the fly" by pressing ACCEPT or [Enter] when indicated in the prompt line (usually when the text position is requested). When options are set "on the fly," only the options that are relevant to the function are displayed. When using the "on the fly" method, pay attention to the prompt line; it will indicate whether or not the selected option is TEMPORARY or permanent, i.e., NEW. Temporary options are usually only good for the current function, e.g., T-Switch found in the Tolrnc menus will temporarily switch the tolerance values for the dimension currently being placed. Two exceptions to this are Witness and Leader options. When a witness line or a leader line is turned "off," it will stay off until another dimension type is selected, i.e., a return to ACTDIM's Main Menu. The Break option, on the other hand, will only stay active for the current dimension.

TEXT OPTIONS
ALIGNMENT (Align*) Align is a toggle option. When asterisked, the toggle is "on." When on, text will align with the dimension's leaders (linear dimensions only). Vertical dimensions will read from the right side of the page. JUSTIFICATION (Justfy*) When justification is on, the option is asterisked. Select Side or Center from the Justfy menu to turn justification on. When using Center, the text will center between the witness lines (linear dimensions only). When using Side, the text will align nearest the side selected. If any attempt is made to place the text outside of the witness lines, the justification options Center and Side are ignored, i.e., you must attempt to place the text between the witness lines for these options to work. TEXT ATTRIBUTES (Attrib) ACTDIM's automatically sets the system attributes color, level, and pen#. When ACTDIM is executed, these system attributes are stored (so as to be restored when exiting ACTDIM). These system parameters are then set to the values stored with ACTDIMS. At any time while in ACTDIMS you can change these system attributes using CADKEY's immediate modes or Status Menu. ACTDIMS will follow suit. But to store the attributes for automatic setting when executing ACTDIMS, you must set the parameters using the Options menu: (Where appropriate, an entry of 0 tells ACTDIMS to use the system setting as it finds it upon execution.) Pen Color Level Dimension Pen #, enter 0 thru 8 Dimension Color #, enter 0 thru 15 Dimension Level #, enter 0 thru 256

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ACTDIM
The following options are not stored with ACTDIM but can be set using ACTDIMS' Options menu. There are advantages to using ACTDIM to set these options rather than CADKEY's own commands. For instance, when setting font and text height with ACTDIM, you can optionally apply the new setting to either notes, dimensions, or both. Also, the Font Menu gives you a menu of defined font selections rather than requiring you to define the font with parameters such as slant and fill. (These font options are identical to older CADKEY versions, i.e., prior to v 3.5.) If CADKEY commands, e.g., the Status Menu, are used to modify these functions, ACTIM will follow suit. Font Aspect Height Text Font, select desired font from the menu, then indicate whether it applies to just Notes, just dimensions (Dimn), or to Both. Text Aspect Ratio, enter .01 thru 100.0 Text Height, enter .0005 thru 10000.0, then indicate whether it applies to just Note, just dimensions (Dimn), or to Both.

TEXT PLACEMENT (TextPlc) When placing the text, the location of the dimension text relative to the pick point is a function of these options. The asterisks indicate the current settings. These settings are unique to ACTDIM and are not affected by the similar CADKEY functions. LEAD & TAG TEXT (LeadTxt & TagTxt) All of ACTDIMS' linear and radial dimensions may contain lead (prefix) or tag (suffix) text. This is a temporary setting. After selecting the desired option (i.e., TagTxt or LeadTxt), enter the text or press F1 to clear the current text. DIMENSION VALUE (DimVal) Use this option to enter the dimension's value. This must be a numeric entry. By using this option, tolerancing will be accounted for, unlike DimStr. DIMENSION STRING (DimStr) Use this option to enter any text string to be used in the dimension. By using this option, tolerancing will not be accounted for, unlike DimVal. LEAD ZEROS (LdZero*) A toggle option. When asterisked, lead zeros will be displayed; otherwise, they will not.

ARROW OPTIONS
Arrow options cannot be set using CADKEY's Status Menu or immediate modes; these options must be set using ACTDIM. ARROW DIRECTION (In/Out) An asterisk denotes current selection.

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Detail Tools
ARROW STYLE (Style) Style1 (Open) or Style2 (Filled). An asterisk denotes current selection.

PRECISION
Use to set the displayed number of significant digits in the dimension.

TOLERANCING
Using the Set +/- menu, enter the positive tolerance or the negative tolerance. All entered values are in CADKEY's current base units. If the magnitudes of the positive and negative tolerances are equal, you may opt to have the tolerance displayed as a single + tolerance by turning on DoubleUp (denoted by an asterisk). The P-Switch option permanently swaps the positive and negative values. When using the "on the fly" Options menu, the T-Switch option will switch the tolerances for the current dimension only. LIMIT TOLERANCING Using the SetLim menu, enter the first or second limit in the current base units. The PSwitch option permanently swaps the first and second limits. When using the "on the fly" Options menu, the T-Switch option will switch the limits for the current dimension only.

WITNESS OPTIONS
If Witness is selected from the Modify/Options menu, only the permanent (NEW) witness margins can be set. All other options will appear when accessed "on the fly," since they are temporary settings. Select Both from the witness menu to affect the setting of both witness lines; otherwise, select the option dealing with the desired witness line, i.e., Top or Bottom and Right or Left. (The option reads differently depending on the slope of the leaders.) Selecting Reset will clear all temporary settings. DISPLAY OPTIONS Select Off to turn off the appropriate witness line, or select Normal to turn it on (current selection denoted by an asterisk). Selecting Broken will tell ACTDIM to prompt you for a break location for the appropriate witness line after placing the text. The break option is active only for the current dimension; Off is active until a new dimension type is selected (i.e., a return to the ACTDIM's Main Menu). SETTING MARGINS Selecting Margins from the Witness menu will permanently change the witness line margin (the gap between the witness line and the corresponding dimension reference location). Selecting Margins from the specific witness line menu (i.e., Both, Top, Bottom, etc.) changes the corresponding witness line margin temporarily (i.e., the current dimension only). Enter inches regardless of the current base units. Enter 0 to turn on automatic margins. Automatic margins will be a function of the dimension height.

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If selected from the Modify/Options, only the permanent (NEW) leader margins can be set. All other options appear when accessed "on the fly," since they are temporary settings. Select Both from the Leader menu to affect the setting of both leader lines; otherwise, select the option dealing with the desired leader line, i.e., Top or Bottom and Right or Left. (The option reads differently depending on the slope of the leaders.) Selecting Reset will clear all temporary settings. DISPLAY OPTIONS Select Off to turn off the appropriate leader line or Normal to turn it on (current selection denoted by an asterisk). Off is active until a new dimension type is selected (i.e., a return to the main menu). SETTING MARGINS Selecting Margins from the Leader Menu will permanently change the leader line margin (the gap between the leader line and the text). Selecting Margins from the specific leader line menu (i.e., Both, Top, Bottom, etc.) changes the corresponding leader line margin temporarily (i.e., the current dimension only). A margin less than the dimension height will not be used. Enter inches regardless of the current base units. Enter 0 to turn on automatic margins. Automatic margins will be a function of the dimension height.

UNITS
If Inches or Feet are selected, a second menu will be displayed asking for the text format, i.e., Decimal, Fraction, or Ft-In. An asterisk denotes the current setting. Selecting an option other than Decimal will display the Roundoff menu; again an asterisk denotes the current setting. ACTDIM uses the appropriate conversion regardless of the status of CADKEY's current base units. Also, both the dimension and the tolerance are affected by any of the Units options with the exception of Scale. Scale affects only the dimension value, not the tolerance value. If a Scale value other than 1 is entered, the option is asterisked.

VERIFY DIMENSIONS
A toggle option. When asterisked, you will be asked to verify that each dimension, note, or label is "OK" before it is actually added to the database. LINEAR DIMENSIONS HORIZONTAL (Horiztl) 1. Indicate the 1st reference position using CADKEY's Position Menu. If you would like to dimension to an arc or circle, press ACCEPT or [Enter]. If dimensioning to an arc/circle, indicate whether it is an Edge or Cntrlin dimension by answering the prompt. If a centerline, you will be given the option to Create the centerline. (It may already Exist.) When dimensioning to an edge, the edge nearest the side of the arc/circle selected is used.

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2. Indicate the 2nd reference position in the same manner. If centerline to centerline dimensioning has been selected and the centerlines are at the same elevation, you will be asked if you want to link the two centerlines. Indicate the text position, or press ACCEPT or [Enter] for options. (See Options.) If you try to locate the text outside of the witness lines, you will be asked for a 2nd leader position. If you choose No, press ACCEPT. If you opt Yes, you will be asked for a tag location. If you would like a typical tag, i.e., a function of the text height, press ACCEPT or [Enter].

3.

VERTICAL (Verticl) 1. Indicate the 1st reference position using CADKEY's Position Menu. If you would like to dimension to an arc or circle, press ACCEPT or [Enter]. If dimensioning to an arc/circle, indicate whether it is an Edge or Cntrlin dimension by answering the prompt. If a centerline, you will be given the option to Create the centerline. (It may already Exist.) Indicate the 2nd reference position in the same manner. If centerline to centerline dimensioning has been selected and the centerlines are on the same vertical, you will be asked if you want to link the two centerlines. Indicate the text position, or ACCEPT or [Enter] for options. (See Options.) If you try to locate the text outside of the witness lines and align is on, you will be asked for a 2nd leader position. If you choose No, press ACCEPT or [Enter]. If you opt Yes or align is off, you will be asked for a tag location. If you opt for a typical tag, press ACCEPT or [Enter].

2.

3.

PARALLEL (Paralel) 1. Indicate the 1st reference position using CADKEY's Position Menu. If you would like to dimension to an arc or circle, you must first use the More/Cntrlin option. (See Miscellaneous.) If dimensioning to an arc/circle, select the appropriate centerline created by More/Cntrlin. Indicate the 2nd reference position in the same manner, then indicate the text position, or press ACCEPT or [Enter] for options. (See Options.) Multiple leader lines are not supported for parallel dimensions.

2.

OFFSETS (Offsets) 1. Indicate a line that defines the reference slope, or press ACCEPT or [Enter] to define the slope with two reference locations. 2. Indicate the 1st reference position using CADKEY's Position Menu. If you would like to dimension to an arc or circle, you must first use the More/Cntrlin option. (See Miscellaneous.) If dimensioning to an arc/circle, select the appropriate centerline created by More/Cntrlin. Indicate the 2nd reference position in the same manner, then indicate the text position, or press ACCEPT or [Enter] for options. (See Options.) Multiple centerlines are not supported for offset dimensions.

3.

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RADIAL DIMENSIONS RADIUS 1. Select the reference arc or circle; then indicate the text position, or press ACCEPT or [Enter] for options. (See Options.) 2. Indicate the start point of the arrow, or press ACCEPT or [Enter] for tag and/or leader options. The displayed options will be a function of whether the text is inside or outside the radius of the reference arc or circle. When placing the arrow start point without the following options, the arrow will always be radial with the center of the reference arc/circle and will terminate on the arc periphery. If both the text and the start point are inside the text location, a leader identifying a phantom center (zigzag) will be generated, unless there isn't any room or if the leader would pass through the center. In the former case, a simple arrow is generated between the text and the arc periphery. In the latter case, the leader is generated so that it starts at the center.

Text outside radius Pressing when the arrow start prompt is displayed will display the following options. The first three options generate a tag and an arrow that is radial with the center of the reference arc/circle and terminates on the periphery of the arc. The arrow will point toward the center or away from the center, depending on the status of the Arrows/Direct option. (See Options.) Left or Right Select these options for left or right leaders. Place Select this option to place the tag. Unlike the previous two options in which the tag is a fixed length (proportional to the text height), this option allows you to make the tag any length. (A tag is the horizontal extension from the text.) Text inside radius (ToCenter) Press ACCEPT or [Enter] when the arrow start prompt is displayed to generate a radial arrow which starts at the center of the reference arc/circle, passes through the text, and terminates on the periphery of the reference arc/circle. DIAMETER 1. Select the reference arc or circle; then indicate the text position, or press ACCEPT or [Enter] for options. (See Options.) 2. Indicate the start point of the arrow, or press ACCEPT or [Enter] for tag and/or leader options. The displayed options will be a function of whether the text is inside or outside the radius of the reference arc or circle. When placing the arrow start point without the following options, the arrow will always be radial with the center of the reference arc/circle and will terminate on the arc periphery.

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Text outside radius Pressing ACCEPT or [Enter] when the arrow start prompt is displayed will display the following options. The first three options generate a tag and an arrow, which is radial with the center of the reference arc/circle and terminates on the periphery of the arc. The arrows will point toward the center or away from the center, depending on the status of the Arrows/Direct option. (See Options.) Left or Right Select these options for right or left leaders. Place Select this option to place the tag. Unlike the previous two options, in which the tag is a fixed length (proportional to the text height), this option allows you to make the tag any length. (A tag is the horizontal extension from the text.) "ISO" DIMENSIONS Linear dimensions and radial dimensions will work in the current CPLANE, provided that the CPLANE's projection is not more than 31 degrees in the current view. ACTDIM will create the correct witness and leader projections and determine the correct projected value in the CPLANE for the selected dimension type. The dimension is always created planar and at the perceived "depth" of the first reference location. ACTDIM attempts to make the text appear in the CPLANE by adjusting its slant angle. If the text does not look correct, you have two options. Turn Verify "on," if it isn't already, and select the option called Flip. If this still does not create the appropriate slant angle, then manually adjust the slant angle with Tilt+ or Tilt-, also found in the Verify menu, until it looks correct. This slant will then be used for all subsequent dimensions. Select Auto to have ACTDIM attempt to set the correct slant angle, i.e., when dimensioning in another CPLANE after having used Tilt. Several options are not operable when dimensioning in a CPLANE, notably those options which require two lines of text such as +/- tolerancing (unless it can be displayed with DoubleUp), and limit tolerancing. Since CADKEY disables CPLANE's while in the drawing layout mode, select CPLANE from ACTDIM's root menu while in the drawing layout mode. This option will not be available while in the model mode.

BALLOONS
Creates five different balloon types; circle, triangle, hexagon, square, and target. Select the type of balloon, i.e., Circle, Triangle, Hexagon, Square, or Target. 1. 2. Enter the desired balloon # (the previously used number plus 1 is displayed as the default), or press F2 to enter a desired text string. Indicate the balloon text location. If you press [Enter] prior to indicating the balloon position, a menu of attribute options will appear, i.e., Pen#, Font, and Size.

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Balloon Attribute Options If you want the balloon attributes to follow the current CADKEY attributes for dimensions, then select CADKEY from the Font menu, enter 0 for Pen#, and 0 again for the Size/Txt and Size/Bal options. (These are the defaults.) If Size/Txt is not 0 and Size/Bal is 0 (i.e., Auto), the balloon radius (Size/Bal) will be a function of the text height (Size/Txt). If Size/Txt is 0 (i.e., Auto) and Size/Bal is not 0, the text height will be a function of the balloon radius. If both are 0 (i.e., Auto), the balloon text height will be the current dimension text height and the balloon radius will be a function of the text height. 3. Indicate the arrow position using the Position Menu options or press [Enter] for leader options.

Balloon Leader Options

Pressing ACCEPT or selecting None when the following options are displayed will resume without a selection of one of the tag options. n n n n Note - No leader will be generated and you will be asked to enter a note string. Press [Enter] if you don't require a note string. Left or Right - Select these options for left or right leaders. JogIt - Select this option to generate a two-segment leader that does not necessarily form a horizontal tag line. Arrow/Bullet/Slash/Point - These leader types are all contained in the same button on the Conversation bar. Click on the button to scroll through the various types. When you decide which one you want, i.e. Arrow, make sure Arrow is showing in the Conversation bar as in the graphic above. Press ACCEPT and then indicate the arrow location.

CNTRLINE
This option creates centerlines for any arc or circle. The centerlines are always created in the construction plane of the arc or circle. Select the arc or circle or press ACCEPT or [Enter] to display the centerline options.

OPTIONS
Display (Hor/Ver, VerOnly, HorOnly) Hor/Ver creates both the horizontal and vertical centerlines. HorOnly creates only the horizontal centerline. VerOnly creates only the vertical centerline. Point Diameter (Pt Dia) Enter the diameter, in the current system units, which defines the center point size.

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Centerline Size (Ratio) Enter the ratio of the centerline (L) to the arc or circle radius (R). 1.5 is the default. Centerline Rotation (Rotate) Enter the centerline rotation angle by selecting Angle from the menu, or select Paralel from the menu to align the centerlines with an existing slope. The slope can be referenced from an existing line or defined with two reference positions.

COORDS
Coords is a multi-purpose utility making use of any of a number of coordinate systems including XY, XYZ, Polar, Clyndr (cylindrical), and Sphere (spherical). Using any of these coordinate systems, Coords will generate Labels or Tables of coordinate dimensions from a datum. Select coordinate system.

Label
1. 2. Indicate an origin (i.e., datum.) Select an option from the Selection Menu or press ACCEPT or [Enter] for a menu of options. Most of the options presented, i.e., Text, Units, and Precisn, are described elsewhere in this help file. (See ACTDIM) Arrow1/2 selects the arrow style for the leader where Arrow1 is the open arrow style and Arrow2 is the filled arrow style. (Arrow applies only to the Single selection option.) Refrnc will make the label a reference label, i.e., enclose the text in parentheses. When parentheses are used, an asterisk will denote Refrnc. If Single is selected from the Selection Menu, then indicate a reference position using the Position Menu. If any of the other Selection Menu options are selected, e.g., Window, the program will only look for point entities, then automatically place the coordinate values near each point entity, without a leader. If Single was used, then indicate the position of the coordinate text position after indicating the reference position. See previous step. Finally, select the leader option, i.e., None, Left, or Right.

3.

4.

Table
1. Indicate the table position or press ACCEPT or [Enter] for a menu of options. The options presented, i.e., Text, Units, and Precisn, are described elsewhere in this manual. (See ACTDIM) Indicate the datum (i.e., origin). Indicate each reference position using the Position Menu. As you do so, the coordinate text is placed in the table. If you make a mistake, F10 (BACKUP) will remove rows, one by one, from the table. Press ACCEPT when finished to create the ruled table lines.

2. 3.

4.

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NOTEPATH
Provides tools for the generation of notes on an arc, scroll, or skewed path.

Skew
For Skew notes, enter the text string and the skew angle, then indicate the text position. Prior to placing the text, you may press ACCEPT or [Enter] for a list of options. Align will align each character with the skew angle. Spacing controls the spacing between each character and is a function of the current note height. Use CADKEY's Status Menu to change the text attributes, such as font, text height, etc.

Rotate
For Rotate notes, enter the text string, an arc radius along which the text will be placed, a start angle and a sweep angle; finally, indicate the arc center position. The text aspect is adjusted in order to fit the text in the specified sweep angle, e.g., 180 degrees.

Scroll
For Scroll notes, enter the text string, starting radius (i.e., the outside or largest radius), and start angle; finally, indicate the scroll center position. Prior to placing the text, you may press ACCEPT or [Enter] for a list of options. Pitch sets the scroll pitch, i.e., the distance between scroll loops. It is a function of the text height, e.g., a pitch of 1.6 means 1.6 x text height. Spacing adjusts the spacing between characters. It is also a factor of the current text height. Use CADKEY's Status Menu to adjust text attributes, such as font and text height.

NOTES
Provides several unique features including the creation of "ISO" notes (i.e., those that appear to lay in the current CPLANE). As well as several note editing tools including the alignment and ordering of existing notes using Order and Align and the joining or breaking up of existing notes with Join and Break.

Note
1. 2. Enter the text string or press F1 to clear the current text string. Press [Enter] prior to placing the text to set text options such as font, text height, etc. Make sure Verify is "on" when placing text in CPLANES other than the view plane, in order to have an opportunity to adjust the note perspective. (See "ISO" DIMENSIONS in the ACTDIM section)

Join
This option allows you to join several notes into one. Select each note (not exceeding 937 total characters) then indicate a text position for the new note. You will then be asked if you want to delete the original notes. The new note will have the current system attributes, such as color, font, text height, line spacing, etc.

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Break
Use this option to parse (i.e., break) a note of multiple lines into an individual note for each line. The notes created for each line will have the same attributes as the reference note. The reference note is automatically deleted. If you need to recall it, use CADKEY's CTRL-U (EDIT>RECALL>LAST). This option, in combination with Join, can be used to reorder lines within a single note. To do so, Break the note first, then re-assemble the note in the desired order using Join.

Order
Use this option to order or re-order a number of note entities. Select each note in the order desired, enter a spacing factor to be used for spacing the notes then indicate a text position. Each note will be moved and placed in a top-down fashion in the order selected.

Align
Align will align notes selected singularly with Single, or all the notes it finds in a Window, with an indicated vertical axis. The notes will maintain their vertical position, i.e., their Y coordinate, and move in the horizontal so that they are all evenly aligned on the indicated X coordinate (i.e., a vertical axis).

SETTEXT
Sets text attributes such as text height, aspect, and font. Differs from CADKEY's functions in many ways: n When setting text height or font you will have the option to set both the note and dimension parameters, (i.e., NoteDimn) or just note (NoteOnly) or just dimension (DimnOnly) parameters. You can also set the current text height and aspect according to a specified point size and pitch, i.e., Points. When setting text height you can set it with any units desired regardless of the current system units mode. When setting font (OldFont), your options are as they were in versions of CADKEY previous to v 3.5, i.e., Box, Slant, BldBox, etc.

n n n

Height
1. 2. Select NoteDimn if you want to change both the note and dimension text height or select NoteOnly or DimnOnly. Enter the new text height in the current system units or select F1 to enter the text height in any unit, regardless of the current system units.

Aspect
Enter the new system text aspect ratio. (Same as CADKEY's function.)

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1. 2. Enter the desired point size. The default size is what the current note height is in points (i.e. 120 pnts/in). This will be true regardless of the current system units. Enter the desired pitch, i.e., the number of characters per unit length. The default pitch is what the current pitch is, based on the current note height and aspect ratio. Entering a new pitch will change only the current aspect ratio.

OldFont
1. 2. Select NoteDimn if you want to change both the note and dimension font or select NoteOnly or DimnOnly. Select the desired font style, i.e., Box, Slant, BldBox, BldSlt, OpnBox, OpnSlt.

TABLES
Ruled tables are created with this option. Both the row and column definitions can be defined independently with one of several options. RowSeg/ColSeg allows you to specify the number of rows/columns or height/width of each row/column. Height/Width sets the row or column spacing in current base units for All rows/columns or Each row/column (up to 10 maximum). NumChar sets the row or column spacing in number of characters, based on the current system note height and text aspect ratio for All rows/columns or Each row/column (up to 10 maximum). MarkOff sets the row or column spacing by indicating each location with the Position Menu (up to 10 maximum). When indicating the table position, if NumSegs or All was specified for either Height/Width or NumChars, then the table size in that dimension, i.e., rows or columns, is unbounded. That is, the number of rows or columns is unlimited. For bounded tables, i.e., each row or each column was defined with either Each or MarkOff, indicate the top left corner. If the rows are unbounded, then indicated the bottom border (row) position. If the columns are unbounded then indicate the right border (column) position. If both the rows and columns are unbounded, indicate any one corner of the table, then indicate the opposing diagonal corner of the table.

VALIDATE
Dimension values created by ACTDIM and CADKEY's own regular dimensions can be changed from those represented by the actual geometry they depict. Validate verifies both ACTDIM dimensions and CADKEY dimensions against the actual geometry. Use the Verify option to see the actual dimension vs. the indicated dimension. After selecting the dimension, the prompt line will look similar to the following: CDKVAL: Ind=0.500000; Act=0.500000; I/A=1.000000; I-A=0.000000

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The first word in the prompt line refers to the dimension type, its origin, i.e., created by ACTDIM (ACT) or by CADKEY(CDK), and whether the dimension is a "value" (VAL) or a string (STR). Value dimensions are either unmodified dimensions or dimensions modified with the DimVal option (both ACTDIM and CADKEY have this option) or modified by scaling. A string dimension has been created in ACTDIM with the DimStr option or has been edited in CADKEY with the EDIT TX option. Validate will validate either type of dimension against the actual value. Following the dimension type is the indicated (Ind) value and the actual (Act) value. I/A is the ratio of the indicated and actual value. Use this to determine whether the problem is a scaling problem, e.g., I/A = 2.000000, or a units problem, e.g., I/A = 25.40000. The latter may be the case with 3rd Dimension's Dual dimensions, since Validate only checks the upper value, i.e., the first number it finds in the dimension. The last value in the prompt line is the difference between the indicated and actual dimension. The Hilite option will validate any number of dimensions selected with the Selection Menu. Dimensions which are "OK" are highlighted green; dimensions which are not "OK", i.e., the indicated and actual values are not within a specified tolerance, are highlighted red; and dimensions which cannot be validated are highlighted gray. Notes and labels are also highlighted gray because these cannot be validated, and they are often used to denote dimension values. CADKEY's ordinate dimensions are not currently supported, and hence are also highlighted gray. An options menu can be displayed when using either the Verify or the HiLite options. Press [Enter] just prior to selecting a dimension when using Verify, or when the Selection Menu is displayed when using HiLite. Select Scale to offset the actual value by some scale factor. Check the I/A value reported by Verify to determine if this is required. DimTol will set the tolerance value for linear and radial dimensions, and AngTol will set the tolerance value for angular dimensions. When the difference between the indicated and actual value exceeds these tolerance values, the HiLite option will highlight these dimensions in red.

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Modify Tools

PTRIM
This utility is a more functional CADKEY POSITN trim. Unlike CADKEY's POSITN trim, PTRIM works in the current CPLANE, and unlike CADKEY, PTRIM will trim not only to the perpendicular (Perpend) projection, but also to the horizontal (Horiztl) and vertical (Verticl) projections as well. 1. 2. 3. Set the desired CPLANE with CADKEY's ALT-K or turn off the CPLANE (ALT-K, F7) to use the current view plane. Choose the desired type of trim, i.e., Perpend, Horiztl, Verticl. Select the line to trim. Then indicate the trim position using the Position Menu options.

KINK
KINK will break a line, i.e., allow you to dynamically move the "kink" vertex. The movement of the vertex can be snapped orthogonally, i.e., horizontally or vertically. Using this utility a notch could easily be created. 1. 2. 3. Select line to "kink", then dynamically drag "kink" vertex. Place the "kink" vertex w/ the Position Menu. Press [Enter] again to leave the vertex "as is". To orthoganally snap segments, press H for horizontal; V for vertical; and s to switch segment.

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MOVEND
Moves the end of a line to another specified location. 1. 2. Select the desired end of a line; then, using the Position Menu, locate the end of the line at another location. Continue, or press F10 to select another line.

ARCEDIT
Specifies new radius or dynamically modifies arcs and circles. Both arcs and circles can be modified By Edge, which is by dynamically dragging the edge or radius of the arc. Only arcs can be modified By End or Between. By End allows you to pick up the end of an arc and place it elsewhere and Between swings an arc between it's endpoints. In all cases the arc or circle can only be modified within the arc's plane of definition, e.g., if you try to move an arc's endpoint to a point not in the plane of the arc, the position is projected back onto the plane. 1. 2. 3. 4. Select the desired option. By Edge, By End, and Between are dynamic options. By Rad changes the selected arc/circle to the specified new radius. Select the arc or circle to modify (circles can only be modified By Rad or By Edge). If a dynamic option, dynamically drag the arc/circle. Press ACCEPT or [Enter] to leave the arc\circle "as is" or press [Enter] again to locate it precisely using the Position Menu. Once an arc or circle has been modified using ArcEdit, the original arc/circle can be recovered using CTRL-U (undelete).

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JOIN
This utility will join any two lines or any two arcs having the same radius and center. This is useful for removing vertices or for joining lines and arcs that have been X-FORM'd w/ MIRROR. 1. 2. Select a line or an arc to join. If a line, be sure to select it near the end to join with another line. If a line was selected in the first step, select another line near the end to join with the first line. If an arc was selected in the first step, select another arc having the same center and radius.

EXPLODE
"Explodes" polygons, polylines, and X-HATCHING into line segments or dimensions into dimensional elements such as lines, arrows, and notes. Exploding dimensions may be useful in transferring data into other CAD systems. WARNING - Create a backup file before exploding large groups of dimensions. Exploded dimensions cannot be re-assembled. All elements of an exploded entity retain the attributes of the original dimension, including color, level, pen#, group#, and subgroup#. However, the current system font will be used for note elements.

Please note: Explode does not work on Angular Dimensions.

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1. 2. 3. Select Geom or Detail If Geom, select a single polygon, polyline, or X-HATCH to "explode." If Detail, use the Selection Menu to select any number of CADKEY's dimensions or labels; or any number of balloons and dimensions created with the CKTools UTILITIES.

ALIGN
Displays and/or aligns the database vector directions of lines in a chained string. The string can contain arcs (lines and arcs only). This function is useful to prep data for post processes. 1. 2. Select Align to change vector alignment in database or select Display to display the alignment only. Chain select the string to Align or Display.

OFFSET
Creates the parallel offset of a chain selected profile. The offset can be specified with Thru Pt, At Dist, or w/ Draft. w/ Draft specifies the offset with a draft angle and depth. The profile can only contain lines and arcs, and two consecutive arcs are not currently supported, i.e., an arc must be connected to a line on either side. The offset profile is always projected to the current CPLANE. 1. 2. 3. Select offset option, i.e., Thru Pt, At Dist, or w/ Draft. Chain select the profile path to offset. Select the transform option, i.e., Move, Copy, or Join.

4A. If Thru Pt, you will use the Selection Menu to indicate a position that the offset profile should pass through. Always select the offset position near the first entity in the chain. The offset profile will be created at the same depth as the reference profile if CONST is set to 3D. If 2D, the offset profile will be created at the current depth.

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TUBES
4B. If At Dist, you will indicate which side by specifying Left or Right. Left and right are relative to the direction of chaining. As you walk along the direction of chaining is the offset to fall to your left or right. The offset profile will be created at the same depth as the reference profile if CONST is set to 3D. If 2D, the offset profile will be created at the current depth. 4C. If w/ Draft, specify the draft angle and the distance. This option is independent of the CONST switch, i.e., 2D/3D.

TUBES
Given a centerline, TUBES will create a 3D tubular shell (i.e., a pipe) along the centerline. It is suggested that prior to using TUBES, you create a centerline with a line string, then fillet the vertices along the string with the desired bend radii. 1. 2. Choose either Radius or Diamter, then specify either accordingly. Indicate whether you want to delete the centerline after generating the tube.

3A. Use Chain to select a centerline previously created as described above. Select the first element along the centerline, then indicate the chaining direction, then press ACCEPT or [Enter]. 3B. Use Single to create a tube about an individual line, arc, or circle. 4. While the Chain\Single menu is displayed, you may press [Enter] to specify the segment options for the tube. If you don't, the default segments are 1 segment for each axial element and 8 join segments.

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Utility Tools

CLEAR
The CKTools' Utilities only clear the variables defined by the utility itself. If other programs do not clear their own variables, there may not be enough remaining for the utility you are trying to use. This program will clear all register variables, whether defined by you, a macro, or another CADL program. Use this program if you are ever prompted with a message similar to the following: "Can't make variable X1...."

COUNT
Counts the number of entities selected with the Selection Menu. Use property masking (CTRL-M) to count specific types of entities, e.g., the number of conics. Select the entities to count using the Selection Menu.

HOLESIZE
HiLites or changes attributes of arcs/circles within a specified size range. Can be used to change pen, color and level all of the holes between .5" and 1", for example. Can be useful for CNC postprocessors that require all holes of a given punch size be on a unique level. Select whether the specified range of arcs/circles are to be Changed or just HiLited. If Changed, several attributes can be changed. If HiLited, the specified arcs/circles will be indicated by a temporary intensified white color. The program will only change selected arcs/circles within the range.

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MASK

MASK
Sets the "selection flag" of specified entities or clears the "selection flags" of all entities. Setting the selection flag of an entity, makes that entity no longer selectable (i.e., it is masked). Selection flags are not saved, i.e., saving and loading a file should clear the selection flags. The Clear option will also clear flags that were previously set or inadvertently set by CADKEYor other CADL programs. 1. 2. If Set, select entities to mask. When finished, press ACCEPT or [Enter]. To clear all selection flags, whether set by this program or otherwise, select Clear.

SAMEAS
Sets the system parameters (Ent->Sys) color, level, line type, line width, and pen number to correspond with the attributes of a selected reference entity, or does the same for selected entities (Ent->Ents). For Ent->Sys, if the reference entity is a note or label, the text height and aspect are also set, and if a dimension, the dimension height and the text aspect are set accordingly. When applying the current system parameters to a particular entity (Sys ->Ent), you will use the Selection Menu options to select the entities to change, no reference entity is required. 1. 2. For Ent ->Sys and Ent ->Ent, indicate a reference entity, i.e., the entity that has the attributes you want to use as reference. For Ent->Sys, no other action is required. The system attributes conform to those of the selected reference entity and all new entities created will have those attributes. For Ent>Ents, use the Selection Menu to select the entities to have the same attributes as the reference entity. For Sys->Ent use the Selection Menu options to select the entities you want to change to the current system attributes.

PAN
Allows pans by basepoints. PAN is very useful with multiple viewports. By selecting a basepoint in any viewport, you can pan any other viewport to that basepoint simply by digitizing in the desired viewport. 1. 2. Using the Position Menu options, indicate a basepoint. Cursor digitize in the same viewport or any other viewport. Press F10 to indicate another basepoint, or continue digitizing.

SCROLL
Pans by paging. That is, pressing the RIGHT arrow on the cursor control keypad pans to the right one full viewport width, pressing UP pans up one viewport height, and so forth. Pressing + or - doubles or halves the current scroll distance. PG-UP and PG-DWN zooms. 1. 2. 3. If multi-viewports are on, digitize the viewport to scroll. Using the cursor control keypad, press the LEFT, RIGHT, UP, or DOWN arrows to scroll the viewport. To return to the "home" position, press HOME.

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Utility Tools
4. To change the scroll width, press + or - . - halves the current scroll width and + doubles the current scroll height.

SHOW
Turns on or off the level(s) of selected entity(ies), then restores previous visibility, if desired. Also searches entire part file for levels that contain entities, displaying each level one by one. This utility does not work properly if the SoftEngine/CK video display list is turned on.

HideLev, ShowLev, EachLev, EntLevs

HideLev allows the user to select entity(ies) for which level(s) will be turned off. After selecting entities, press [Enter]. The levels on which the selected entities reside will be turned off. Select Restore to reset the previous display list, or exit from the program to leave the current display list. ShowLev allows the user to select entity(ies) for which level(s) will be displayed. After selecting entities, press [Enter]. All levels are then turned off except those levels on which the entities reside. Select Restore to reset the previous display list or exit from the program to leave the current display list in effect. EachLev will search the entire part for levels on which entities reside, then display each level one by one. To terminate the display sequence, press ESC or F10. EntLevs will search the entire part for levels on which entities reside, then set the current display list accordingly. Restore will restore the level visibility when the program was entered. This option is only displayed when the level list has been changed with the other options in this program.

D-LAST
Deletes entities, or moves entities to another level, backwards through the database. Allows you to easily delete or move entities just created or to delete or move multiple copies, e.g., a pattern file placed more than once. The latter option, i.e., MultCopy, works by deleting or moving entities to another level until 1 copy remains of the total number of copies you indicate. This only works if there is an exact multiple of copies. If there aren't, e.g., several entities were singularly deleted then some of the original copy may be effected as well. 1. Select OneByOne to delete or move entities in a singular fashion. Choose MultCopy to delete or move a known number of copies of something, e.g., 3 copies of a border pattern. Indicate whether the entities are to be Deleted or moved (MoveTo) to another level.

2.

3A. If OneByOne, select the first entity to delete (or move), or press [Enter] to start with the last entity in the database. The entity's ID# about to be deleted will be displayed in the prompt line. If this entity has not already been deleted and it is visible on the screen, it will begin flashing. If an entity is not flashing continue to press [Enter] until one does. Press [Enter] again to continue to the next one or press [Ctrl] [Enter] to delete or move it.

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V-COORDS
3B. If MultCopy, enter the total number of copies, including the original copy. Select the entire set of copies with the Selection Menu. The program will begin deleting (or moving) entities, starting with the last one in the selection list, until only one copy remains.

V-COORDS
Using any of the following coordinate systems; XY, XYZ, Polar, Clyndr (cylindrical), or Sphere (spherical); V-Coords will verify positions from any specified datum. 1. 2. Choose the coordinate system to use. Select the origin option, i.e., Fixed or Delta. A Fixed origin will not change with each position verification. A Delta origin will change with each position verification, so that the next position verified will be referenced from the last position verified. Indicate a reference position using the Selection Menu. Pressing ACCEPT or [Enter] at this point will present a menu of options, i.e., Units and Precsn. These options will apply conversion factors and format the verification prompts accordingly. The values indicated on the prompt line are also stored in the indicated CADKEY variables. For example, if the prompt line displayed is as follows:

3.

XV = 1.00

YV = 2.00

Then the indicated values are stored in the variables XV and YV. This may be useful if you need to use these numbers elsewhere in CADKEY or use them in CADKEY's on line calculator.

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PlotFast for Windows

PlotFast for Windows

PlotFast for Windows is an offline utility that works with the CADKEY Uniplot format (.PLT). PlotFast will only run with Uniplot files (PLT) from CADKEY. This utility is useful for CADKEY users who: n n n Have older vector plotters and/or plotters that arent supported in Windows. Need vector HPGL output for desktop publishing. Are familiar with the DOS PlotFast utility.

Be aware that the utilities in PlotFast are not Windows drivers. Some of the advanced capabilities of PlotFast for Windows are: n n Batch plotting of .PLT files. Assigning different plot configurations with ease.

Limitations of PlotFast for Windows are: n n Truetype fonts do not work in PlotFast for Windows. Custom fonts created in DOS versions will work in PlotFast for Windows as long as you make sure to copy the SFNT files to corresponding PFNT files for plotting.

Install and Setup

PlotFast can be run locally on your machine or on a network. It is recommended to install a Generic /Text Only driver for each plotter connected to a local serial port. See the Generic Driver Installation section for details.

Installing Locally
To install PlotFast locally follow the steps below. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Run the setup.exe program. The PlotFast installation welcome screen appears. Choose NEXT to continue. Choose your destination location. Use the BROWSE button to select a different location than the default. When complete choose NEXT to continue. Select the program manager group. Choose NEXT to continue. You are now ready to install PlotFast. Choose NEXT to perform the installation. When the installation is done, click FINISH to close the dialog box.

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Install and Setup Installing on a Network

To install PlotFast on a network follow the steps below. The PlotFast installation program can be copied to a network file server directory and installed from client workstations. 1. 2. 3. 4. Using Windows Explorer, locate the PlotFast installation program in the shared server directory. Double-click on the setup executable program, setup.exe. When Setup opens, click NEXT. In the next dialog box, accept the default installation folder or click BROWSE to select another folder. When installing to another folder, edit the folder name in the Browse dialog. Click OK when you are done. Click NEXT. In the next dialog box, the name for the Windows Start Menu group can be chosen. Accept the default or choose another group name. Click NEXT > NEXT. When the installation is done, click FINISH to close the dialog box.

5. 6.

Be aware that PlotFast can not share a port with any other device, Windows thread or process. Plotter output errors will result. An example of a device conflict is if the plotter is connected to a port that a tablet driver is set to. PlotFast will not use the port until the tablet driver is reset to another port or uninstalled. Accidentally plotting to a port that a serial mouse is connected to can also cause this problem. If the MODE command is used from a DOS prompt within Windows on a port that PlotFast uses, PlotFast will give a "Plotter output error" when plotting to that port. The DOS prompt must be closed before plotting to the port can resume. This is a documented Windows issue and it is described in Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q130402.

Uninstalling PlotFast
PlotFast can be uninstalled by opening the PlotFast program group in the Windows Start Menu. 1. 2. Click Uninstall PlotFast. The uninstall program will automatically remove the PlotFast program files, shared files, and the PlotFast Windows registry sub-keys. There will be prompts to remove shared Windows components. Click No to All.

PlotFast can also be uninstalled from the Add/Remove Programs applet in the Windows Control Panel.

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PlotFast for Windows Generic Driver Installation

It is recommended to install a Generic /Text Only driver for any local port. This will enable spooling multiple plots to the plotter, and plotting at the highest serial communications speed that the plotter will allow. A generic driver can also be installed on a server for a plotter that has no driver. When the driver is shared to the network, clients that are running PlotFast can send plots to the generic driver. The driver will spool the plot job and send it to the connected plotter port.

If you have Windows 95/98 or later:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Click on Start > Settings > Printers > Add Printer > Next > make sure that Local printer is selected > Next. In the next window, scroll through the list of printers in the left pane until Generic is visible and click on it. Generic/Text Only will be highlighted in the right pane. Click Next. Select the serial port that the plotter is connected to. Click Configure Port to set the port communications parameters if necessary and click NEXT. Select a descriptive name for the driver and click NEXT. Select NO for printing a test page and click Finish. When the driver installs, F5 on the keyboard may be pressed to update the Printers applet list to make the driver icon visible. Right click on the driver and click on Properties. Click on the Paper tab and set the default paper size option. Custom paper sizes can be defined by scrolling to the end of the paper size selection list and choosing CUSTOM. Click OK when the driver has been configured.

9.

If you have Windows NT4 or later:

To install the driver in Windows NT4, you must have administrator permissions to the computer. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Click on Start > Settings > Printers > Add Printer > select My Computer > Next. In the next window, select a port for the plotter, configure it if necessary, and click Next. The next window will present you with a list of printers. Scroll the left pane to "Generic" and select it. In the right pane click on "Generic / Text Only" and then OK. Select a descriptive name for the driver and click Next. In the next window, make sure "Not shared" is selected and click Next. Select "No" for printing a test page and click Finish. The next window may prompt you for the Windows NT installation CD. Insert the CD in your CD drive and if necessary use the Browse button to locate the \i386 folder on the CD. Click OK to complete the installation.

9.

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PlotFast Configurations
10. When the driver is installed, right-click on the icon in the Printers applet and select Properties from the menu. Click on the Device Settings tab and select the default paper size. 11. Click OK when done. Under Windows NT4, if a plotter is not ready after PlotFast sends the file, there will be an error from Windows that it can not write to the port and that the device is not ready. The error does not need to be acknowledged. Windows will continue to attempt plotting to the port until the plotter is on-line.

PlotFast Configurations
PlotFast has flexible configuration options. Allowing you to easily assign different configurations to different plots. PlotFast by default will use the PLCONFIG.DAT file found in the same directory as the executable. Other configurations can be loaded via the LOAD CONFIG button, and saved via the SAVE CONFIG button in the PlotFast dialog box. If the plot file was called CLIP.PLT, then a temporary configuration file named CLIP.DAT will be created. This establishes the relationship between the PLT file and the custom configuration file.

The configuration files are backward compatible with the DOS version. Configuration files can be associated with an individual plot file by highlighting the file name in the dialog box and right clicking to bring up the context menu. Choose Use Custom Config and the Open dialog box will appear for you to select the .DAT file to associate with this PLT file.

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PlotFast for Windows

This will automatically set this plot file to plot using the selected custom .DAT file. However, from the context menu you can also choose to use the default configuration even for plot files where a custom configuration has been saved. When you make changes to the configuration detail section of the PlotFast dialog box a message box will appear asking you to save or not to save the old configuration in the following cases:

When you exit PlotFast and have not saved the configuration changes. When loading a new profile after modifying the current profile. When a new plot file is selected and the current configuration has not been saved.

The context menu contains the following options:

Plot selected
Will only plot the files that are highlighted.

Remove selected
Will remove the files that are highlighted.

Use default config

Will use the default configuration PLCONFIG.DAT.

Use custom config

Will use a custom configuration that you have saved and associated with a particular file (as described above).

Remove custom config

Use to remove a CUSTOM.DAT from the highlighted plot file. This permanently removes the CUSTOM.DAT file from the selected plot file.

When files are viewed in PlotFast, one of three icons will appear in front of the file name. The icon that appears will be based on what configuration files you have associated with that file.

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PlotFast Dialog Box

Plain Paper There is no custom configuration available, and the default is being used. Red Paper with S There is a custom configuration available, and it is being used. Plain Paper with S There is a custom configuration available, but the default is being used.

PlotFast Dialog Box

The PlotFast dialog box is the controller of the PlotFast utility. Here you set up which files you want to plot, how they should be plotted, where to send the file, and so on. Each item in the dialog box is discussed in detail below. See also Drag and Drop capabilities. When you first execute PlotFast, the dialog box appears in its condensed form as shown above. The DETAILS button expands the dialog box to reveal all of the detailed information on the right side (see below). Once the dialog box is expanded, the DETAILS button will serve to detract from the dialog box to hide this information.

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PlotFast for Windows

Plotter This is a drop down menu that displays various plotter types for you to choose from. Plot Files This section lists plot files names you want to plot. Add Brings up the Open dialog box for you to choose .PLT files to add to your list. Remove Highlight the plot file name in the list and press the REMOVE button to delete this file from your list. Plot When you have made all of your selections press this button to plot your image. This will plot all files in the selection list. Load Config Brings up the Open dialog box for you to choose the plotter configuration .DAT file that you wish to load for plotting. There is also an Open as a read-only checkbox in this dialog box, which if checked (active) will not allow changes to be saved to the file. Whichever configuration you load will become the default configuration for that session. To reload the PLCONFIG.DAT as the default click Load Config and choose PLCONFIG.DAT. Save Config Brings up the Save As dialog box for you to save the configuration file that you currently have loaded. You can rename the configuration file in this dialog box if you choose or just click SAVE. Help Brings up the on-line help file on PlotFast. Exit Closes the PlotFast dialog box. Communication Port Use Port to send the plot to a specified output port or file. A drop down menu gives you the following choices: COM1, COM2, COM3, COM4, LPT1, LPT2, LPT3, LPT4 and FILE. If you choose to print to a COM port you can also choose the Baud, Parity, Data Bits, and Stop Bits. Otherwise these selection boxes are grayed out. Paper Drop down menu to choose paper type. Units This allows you to choose the measurement method to display the paper size. Your choices are inches, millimeters, feet, centimeters, yards, and meters. Paper Size X and Y These default to the size of the paper type chosen above. They are grayed out unless the paper type chosen is user defined. Plot Scale Use Plot Scale to scale your part to the paper size without distorting the part. Or you can let CADKEY automatically determine the scale by activating the checkbox to the right Automatic Plot Scale.

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PlotFast Dialog Box

Before plotting make sure you set the configuration on your plotter to match the paper size and plot scale selections chosen in this dialog box. Pen Sort Determines the method of pen sorting for the plotter. Pen sorting reduces pen selection time. Your choices are Off, On or Optimize. Off Deactivates sorting. When you do not use pen sorting, the plotter draws each entity as its encountered and selects a new pen each time a pen number changes. Activates sorting and analyzes the figure for a Pen# assignment. PlotFast draws all entities in order of their pen assignment. Saves the analysis time that On uses to sort the pens. It selects the first entity and plots all entities that have the same pen assignment. Then it selects the next pen and plots entities with this pen color. This process is repeated until all entities are drawn.

On

Optimize

Prompt for pen change This checkbox, when activated, prompts you when the pen needs to be changed. Pen Velocity Sets the plotter pen speed in centimeters per second. This determines how quickly the pens move when they plot your file. Pen Width Sets the plotter pen width. Indicates the width of pen movement used in filling operations. The start and end points of dashed or broken lines always end in a full segment, complete dash. Curve Tol This determines how PlotFast segments curve entities. A higher value generates a smoother curve but may take longer to plot. You can enter a minimum curve tolerance of 1.0. 200 is the highest recommended curve tolerance. Assign Pens This is where you set your pen assignments. Pen assignments set specific pens numbers to specific colors in the CADKEY palette. Rotation Sets a plot rotation angle in degrees. The plot rotation angle determines the angle at which PlotFast plots your drawing. X and Y Offset Sets values to compensate for any offset the plotter may add. PlotFast calculates offset values from either the center or lower left corner, depending on the plotter. Copies Enter the number of copies to be plotted. Clip Limits Defines a maximum plotting area. To set the clip limits, refer to the setup section of your plotter manual. Some manuals call them soft clip limits.

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PlotFast for Windows

To set the clip limits, enter the minimum and maximum x and y values for the clip limits.

If you have trouble with autoscale plotting, set the soft clip limits to the hard clip limits.

Drag and Drop Capabilities

While in the PlotFast dialog box, you can click on .PLT files in Windows Explorer, drag and drop them in the Plot Files list in the dialog box to be plotted.

Plotting in PlotFast
There are a few different methods of plotting when using PlotFast for Windows.

Double Click to Plot

From Windows Explorer double click on a .PLT file and it will automatically plot using the default settings in the PlotFast dialog box. If a custom config has been assigned to the file it will plot using the custom configuration. Otherwise, if there is no custom config it will plot using the PLCONFIG.DAT.

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Plotting in PlotFast
If plot files need to be plotted in a certain order, they must be individually selected by double clicking from the plot file selection list.

Computer to Local Device

When your plotter is directly hooked to your computer plotting with PlotFast for Windows is very easy. 1. 2. 3. 4. First choose your setup options in the PlotFast dialog box. Next, pick which files you want to plot. Decide on a configuration file for the plot. Then plot your file by pressing the PLOT button in the dialog box.

Computer thru a Network to Device

Plotting to a shared network plotter is also possible in PlotFast. You can use the ports available in the list just like a local printer. PlotFast supports LPT ports one through four. LPT1 is the physical local port that a printer or plotter is cabled to. If your computer has only one LPT port LPT two through four are logical LPT ports that do not physically exist but can be used by Windows to redirect output. The LPT port to be used must not be in use by other shared devices. The Windows version determines how this is checked and changed. In our examples below, we will use LPT3 to plot to a CalComp plotter on the server Techprint from PlotFast.

If you have Windows 95/98:

1. 2. 3. Click on Start > Settings > Printers. Right-click on any printer and click on Properties from the menu. Click on the Details tab and on the down arrow for "Print to the following port:". If LPT3 is not listed in the drop down list, it is not being used. If it is listed, note which device is using the port. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Click OK twice to close the printer properties. Right-click on the printer using LPT3 and click on Properties from the menu. Click on the Details tab and then Capture Printer Port... Click on the down arrow to open the Device list. There should be nine LPT ports listed. Click on an unused port and then on the down arrow to open the Path: list. Select the name of the printer you are reassigning. If the printer share name is not in the list, it will have to be typed in.

10. Click OK and then on End Capture... 11. Select LPT3 and then click OK. 12. Click on the down arrow for "Print to the following port:".

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PlotFast for Windows

13. Select the new port assignment and then click OK. LPT3 is now available for PlotFast.

Windows NT4:
1. 2. 3. Click on Start > Settings > Printers. Right-click on any printer and click on Properties from the menu. Click on the Ports tab. Note any printers using LPT3. If there are none, click Cancel to close the Properties. If a printer is using LPT3, rightclick on the printer using it and click on Properties from the menu. 4. 5. 6. 7. Click on the Ports tab and choose another port for the printer. If one is not available, click on Add Port > select "Local Port" > click New Port > under "Enter a port name:". Type in a new port name followed by a colon > click OK and OK again in the next dialog box > click Close. There should now be an additional LPT port in the list. Click the checkbox next to the new port to reassign the printer and click OK to close the Properties dialog. LPT3 is now available for PlotFast. The LPT port must now be redirected to the network share for the plotter. To do this, open a MS-DOS or command prompt in Windows and type the following: net use [port] [share name] [port] is the LPT port that is being redirected. In our example it is LPT3. [share name] is the network path to the plotter on the server. In our example it is \techprint\\calcomp. Using the example information above, the command to redirect LPT3 would be: net use lpt3 \\techprint\calcomp

Note that the placement of the backslashes in the [share name] is important. If the redirection is successful, you will get a prompt that says "The command was completed successfully." Plotfast can now plot to a network connection. In PlotFast, select LPT3 as the port to plot to. The plot will now be spooled at the print server for the plotter.

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