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The DWG file format is the most used Computer Aided Design (CAD) format. It is used in all areas of technical drawings. Another drawing file format is DXF, mainly used for communication between CAD programs. There are several programs that work with DWG and DXF files, with similar commands and work processes, with DraftSight being among them.
Dassault Systèmes (www.3ds.com), one of the two major CAD companies in the world, licenses the ARES Commander software from Graebert GmbH (www.graebert.com) and uses it as the CAD engine. The first version was released in February 2011. Currently there are versions for Windows 32-bit, Windows 64-bit (XP, Vista, and 7), Mac OS X, and several Linux operating systems (Fedora, Suze, Mandriva, or Ubuntu).
Actually, there are 15 languages available, including English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese (traditional and simplified), and Russian. DraftSight is free for any personal or commercial application.
DraftSight can be downloaded from www.draftsight.com, selecting the proper operating system. The executable file is around 100 MB and installs very fast. It does not prompt for the language selection, thus installing the local language, but this can be changed after starting DraftSight.
After installation, DraftSight can be initiated by double-clicking the DraftSight desktop icon or by accessing the Windows Start menu and navigating to All Programs | DassaultSystemes | DraftSight.
When starting DraftSight, its graphical user interface is displayed with a blank new drawing called NONAME_0.DWG. The interface can be customized; it contains the following elements by default, which are displayed in the screenshot in the following section:
First, we may choose a different language for using DraftSight. When installing, a language based on user’s location is automatically applied, which may not be the desired one. To choose a different language, the _LANGUAGE command must be applied (without forgetting underscore before command name) along with the language corresponding number (a question mark displays all available). Then, reinitiating DraftSight will set up the chosen language.
It is very simple to configure DraftSight. The OPTIONS command includes almost all settings and system options. We can access the command by digitizing its name, OP as its alias, choosing Options on the menu displayed by pressing the mouse right button, or Options on the Tools main menu.
The command displays a dialog box with several sections on the left column. Choosing one of these sections, the corresponding options are displayed on the right area with a tree structure:
The default drawing area is black. A white drawing area was adopted throughout this article to improve images visualization.
After configuring DraftSight, let’s start a new drawing and configure it.
The NEW command (shortcut Ctrl + N,
When starting a new drawing, we may start from a blank drawing (any one coming with DraftSight) or from a template with some configurations already done. Templates are drawing files with the DWT extension by default, placed at C:UsersuserAppDataRoamingDraftSight1.2.265Template or similar, depending on the operating system and DraftSight version. With the OPTIONS command, going to the File Locations | Drawing Support | Drawing Template File Location, we may change this location.
To create a template, we prepare the drawing to be used and then apply the SAVEAS command by selecting Drawing Template (*.dwt) on Save as type list.
The SMARTNEW command (no alias or icon) allows us to start a new drawing without displaying the file dialog box. We may configure which template will be applied with the OPTIONS command, System Options | Open / Save As | Template file name for SmartNew.
When using a blank template (for instance, standardiso.dwt, coming with DraftSight), we may configure it, especially units. Again with the OPTIONS command, going to Drawing Settings | Unit System, we can configure the following drawing options:
By digitizing the UNITSYSTEM command name we get access directly to this section of the OPTIONS command. But a better way is to simply digitize UN (or UNITS).
The OPEN command (shortcut Ctrl + O,
It only displays a standard file dialog box to select the file, including a preview area.
DraftSight allows several open drawings. To activate another open drawing, we may press Ctrl + Tab or apply the Window main menu and select the drawing by its name.
When saving drawings, there are two commands depending on whether or not you want to modify the name or location.
The SAVE command (shortcut Ctrl + S,
If we want to modify the name, location, type of file, or version, the SAVEAS command (shortcut Ctrl + Shift + S or the File main menu) must be used. This command displays a standard file dialog box and we can specify name, location and type/version of drawing file. On the Save as type list, as displayed on next image, there are several possibilities covering all DWG and DXF versions for last twenty years. Saving as a template, DWT file is also available.
There is a third command to save drawings, called SAVEALL (no alias and not on menus). This one allows us to save all open drawings at once.
To close the current drawing without closing DraftSight, the CLOSE command (File main menu)should be applied. This is equivalent of pressing the lower X button on the upper-right corner of the user interface. If the drawing has modifications that have not yet been saved, a warning box is displayed, reminding us to save the drawing.
The CLOSEALL command (Window main menu) allows us to close all drawings without closing DraftSight. To each drawing that has modifications not yet saved, a warning box is displayed, allowing us to save that drawing.
To quit DraftSight, the EXIT command should be used. This is the equivalent of pressing the upper X button on the upper-right corner of the user interface. If any drawing has modifications that have not yet been saved, a warning box is displayed, allowing us to save that drawing.
In this article, we covered an introduction to the free DraftSight program, including where to download, how to start and how to configure it, followed by creating and configuring a drawing, namely units. Then, all commands to open, save, and close were presented.
Further resources on this subject:
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