TurboCAD LTE XT & Pro - SimTechXT & Pro Getting Started Guide IMSI/Design LLC, US 64 Digital Dr. Novato. CA 94949, USA Tel: +1-415-843-8000 Fax: +1-415-884-9023 Web Site The …

TurboCAD LTEXT & Pro

Getting Started Guide

IMSI/Design LLC, US64 Digital Dr.

Novato. CA 94949, USATel: +1-415-843-8000

Fax: +1-415-884-9023Web Site

www.imsidesign.comwww.TurboCAD.com

The material presented in this publication is copyright-protected, © 1986-2013 by IMSI/Design and may not be reproduced in any form, by any method for any purpose without the prior written consent of IMSI. Information in this document is subject to change without notice. It is against the law to copy

the software, except in accordance with the terms of the licensing agreement.

TurboCAD, and the IMSI logo are registered trademarks of IMSI/Design.Spatial Technologies Copyright - ACIS© 1994-2016.LightWorks Design Copyright - LightWorks© 1990-2016.Corel OCR-TRACE Copyright (c) 1996 Corel Corporation.ImageCELs® copyright© 1989-1999 IMAGETECTS, All Rights Reserved. ImageCELs® is a registered trademark of IMAGETECTS.The RealNet logo and technology are copyright 1998-2000 RealNet Software Productions, Inc.Adobe, Acrobat, and the Acrobat logo are trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated, which may be registered in certain jurisdictions.Flash is a registered trademark of Macromedia.Portions Copyright © 2016 by:Arthur D. ApplegateOpenDWG AllianceTidestone TechnologiesAll other trademarks are acknowledged

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Getting Started GuideWelcome to the TurboCAD Getting Started Guide. The goal of this book is to get you quickly up and running, and to introduce you to the user interface and a variety of drawing and editing tools.

System Requirements• Pentium IV Processor

• Microsoft® Windows XP 512 MB RAM, Microsoft Vista1GB RAM

• 300 MB of free hard disk space depending on accessoryapplications installed, 64+ MB of swap space

• Super VGA (1024 x 768) display

• High Color (16 bit) graphics card

• 4X CD-ROM drive with 32 bit driversThe following items are recommended but not required:

• 2+ GHz Processor, 2GB RAM

• 3D Graphics accelerator card

• Wheel mouse

• Internet connection

• Microsoft Internet Explorer (tm) required for Internetregistration

• Macromedia® Flash (tm) plug-in required for on-linetutorials.

Installing TurboCAD To install TurboCAD , insert the CD into your CD-ROM. Ifthe installation process does not start automatically, selectStart / Run from the Windows taskbar and type D:\setup.exe(where D is the drive letter of the CD-ROM), in Vistanavigate to type D:\ (where D is the drive letter of theCD-ROM) and double click on setup.exe.After you have installed TurboCAD, the Setup programcreates a program folder. If you choose the default settings,TurboCAD is installed in the C:\ProgramFiles\IMSIDesign\TurboCAD folder. This folder containsseveral subfolders that contain TurboCAD program files andrelated files such as templates, sample drawings, andsymbols.

The Setup program also creates a program group containingthe TurboCAD application icon, as well as shortcuts to the Helpand the Readme file.

RegistrationIf you have purchased this copy of TurboCAD in a retail store the serialnumber and activation code will be in the box.

After installation you will be propmted to activate. Press the Get Code Online

button then enter the activation code that came with the box.

If you have Internet access, double click on the TurboCAD icon on yourdesktop. The TurboCAD:Online purchase and Activation entry dialog boxappears. Click on the Online Purchase and Request form button and fill theOnline Request Purchase Form.

You will then receive your permanent activation code. Enter the permanentactivation code in the field provided against Your activation code.

If you do not have Internet access, please call 800-833-8082 to register.Becoming a TurboCAD registered user has many advantages, includingtechnical support, access to extensive online support databases, and programupdates.

Starting TurboCADIf you accepted the default installation settings, TurboCAD can be accessedvia the Windows Start / Programs menu.

TurboCAD LTE Getting Started Guide

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1. Click the Start button on the Windows taskbar.2. Select Programs / IMSI Design, and select the version you have

installed. In Vista select the All Programs / IMSI Design, and selectthe version you have installed.

Note: You can also start TurboCAD by double-clicking the desktop icon.

In the Pro version in the opening screen, you can view a History of drawingspreviously opened, browse to folders containing drawings you want to open,or open a Template. You can also use this window to import files of othertypes. If you want to create a new drawing, click New.

In TurboCAD LTE you will see a helpful tip screen. You can advancethrought the tips using the arrows. Using the arrows will also make the Closebutton appear, allowing you to close the tip screen, or you can wait forTurboCAD to load for the Close button to appear.

After the tip window you will see the New from Template window. The Newfrom Template option enables you to select a predefined template which hassize, units and layout defined.

You can also close this window by clicking Cancel. You can then select File/ New within TurboCAD to create a new drawing.

The TurboCAD User InterfaceThe main area of the TurboCAD window is the drawing area.By default, the background color is white, but you can changethat by selecting Options / Background Color and choosinganother color.

We will now look at some components of the User Interface(UI). What appears in the UI can be controlled in theWorkspace menu.All tools and options are available by selecting them from theMenu Bar at the top of the window - File, Edit, View, etc.(Most tools are available in toolbar icons as well).

Toolbars are groups of related icons. They can be locatedalong the top, bottom, and sides of the window.

By default, the TurboCAD Main toolbar appears at thetop of the window, and the TurboCAD Layers andTurboCAD Property toolbars appear just below it.Drawing tools appear along the left side.You can drag a toolbar to another location by picking it onits top or bottom edge.Located at the lower left corner of the window, the StatusBar lets you know the current status of the model, andprompts you for the next action.

While using tools TurboCAD’s Intelligent cursor will providepositive visual feedback. It also provides Dynamic Inputwhich allows you to quickly enter precision values for yourwork. Just type in your values and it will be placed in thecurrently selected field ( highlighted). You can use Tab and Shift+ Tab to move backabd forth between the fieldsas well as the Command line,coordinate fields and the Inspector Bar if it is open.

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When a tool is active you can click the right mouse button (Right Click) and a Local Menu will appear. This local menuprovides options, functions and settings specific to the tool youare currently using,frequently used functions, and generic tools.At the top of the Local menu there are Local Toolbars thatprovide quick access to coommonly used tools. These localtoolbars are fully customizable.

By default, the Inspector Bar is located immediately below thedrawing window. This can be turned on from

View/Display/UI/Inspector Bar. When On, it is locatedimmediately below the Command line window.The Inspector Bar usually contains icons for cancelling anaction and opening an object’s properties, as well as numericfields relevant to the current tool. The right side of the InspectorBar contains options relevant to the current tool or mode. Alloptions that appear here can also be accessed from the localmenu, opened by right-clicking.When creating or sizing objects, you can define points byentering them directly into the Coordinate Fields. By default,this toolbar is located at the lower right corner of the window.

Located by default on the right side of the window, the PaletteArea provides convenient access to many features, such asBlocks, the Internet, Selection Info, etc.

You can open palette under Tools/ Palettes. You can movepalettes around by clicking and dragging the tab of the palette,but only pinned palettes can be moved.Here is a description of some of the available palettes:

• Library Palette: Used to display, save, and insert symbolsand parts found in the various symbol libraries - both thoseincluded with TurboCAD installation and those you createyourself.

• Blocks: A block is a collection of objects combined into asingle object. This palette enables you to create and insertblocks.

• Selection Info: Displays information about the currentlyselected object or objects, such as entity type,measurements, location in the drawing, and physical andengineering properties. Properties can also be edited here.

• Measurement Info: Displays measurements calculatedby the Measure tools.

• Internet Palette: Provides access to the Internet fromwithin the TurboCAD window.

• Color Palette: Displays all colors currently available.


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• Tools Palette: Displays commonly-used groups of tools,and you can create your own.

• Style Manager Palette:

• Parametric Part Script Editor Palette:

• TurboCAD Command Line Palette:The Program Setup pages contain general options that applyto TurboCAD all the time, not just for the current drawing.These pages can be accessed from the Options menu, or fromthe flyout icon on the Standard toolbar.

The following are the available Program Setup pages:

• General Setup: Sets file opening and saving parameters,as well as user information.

• Desktop: Controls what appears on the window.

• Preference: General program options, such as cursorshape, axis color, zoom factor, and display of coordinatesystem icons.

• Toolbars and Menu: Usage and appearance of toolbarsand menus, plus access to customization options fortoolbars, menus, and keyboard shortcuts.

• Auto-Naming: Controls how groups, blocks, and symbolsare named.

• File Locations: Enables you to specify the folders whereTurboCAD places several types of program files.

• Symbol Libraries: Displays the folders containingsymbols.

• Colors: Enables you to add, modify, or delete colors fromthe TurboCAD palette.

• Warning Dialogs: Controls the display of TurboCADwarning messages.

Drawing Setup pages are file-specific options, which are onlyvalid for the current file. They can be accessed from theOptions menu, or from the flyout icon on the Standard toolbar.

The following are the available Drawing Setup pages:

• Display Options: Options for adjusting the quality andredraw speed of the display, and options for displayingblock attribute values.

• Grid Options: Controls the grid type, size, and display.

• Advanced Grid Options: Advanced controls for thefrequency and locations of grid lines.

• Space Units: Controls for setting units in Model andPaper Space.

• Angle Options: Controls the measurement and display ofangles, as well as control over the Ortho angle.

• Layers: Layers can be used for placing objects accordingto individual categories, and can be used to change whichobjects are visible.

• Line Styles: View predefined line styles, modify or deletethem, and create new ones.

• Background Color: Changes the background color,which is white by default.

• Print Style Table: Select the print styles you want in yourdrawing.

Notes for AutoCADtm UsersThere are some differences between AutoCAD and TurboCAD.These notes are provided to reduce the time it will take to getmaximum benefit out of TurboCAD.The Selector and Handle Based EditingTurboCAD’s primary selection mode (the selection tool) isoriented around handle based editing.

The handles provide rapid access for some or the mostcommonly used actions: moving, rotating, and scaling. Inaddition to the selection box around the object you will seethree color handles. The Blue handles are for scaling, the greenhandle is for rotating, and the yellow handle is the referencepoint. Every object in TurboCAD has a reference point whichhas multiple uses.It serves as a permanent Base point for inserting blocks, andmaking copies. It is the center of any rotation or scalingevent.Crucially it can also be relocated relative to the object,

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even outside of the object, and once it is located it remains inthat location, relative to the object, until it is reset. The rotationhandle can be relocated in the same way, but that relocation istemporary for the length of the current selection.In addition to the handle the Selector provides a series ofDynamic input fields which allow you to move, scale, size,position, displace (delta), and rotate the selection with extremeprecision.

Command LineThe Command Line in TurboCAD is slightly different thanAutoCAD’s. The top level drawing and modify commands arethe same, So LINE (the command can be in uppercase,lowercase or mixed) starts the line command TRIM or TRstarts the trim command. However the sub-level commandsare slightly different.The first line of the prompt indicates what the command line isexpecting from the mouse or the keyboard for the currentcommand.

For some command there are one or two secondary lines, onefor Specify, and one for Choose. The specify line contains thesub-commands for the active Dynamic Input fields. TheChoose line contains the sub-commands for changing themode of the tool.To enter a sub-command type the entire name(in uppercase, lowercase or mixed) or type in only thecapitalized letters. In the example of the PLINE commandonce the tool is active L or LENGTH will activate the prompt,in the dynamic inputfield, for the length value. Whereas ARCSEGMENT or ASwill change the mode of the polyline tool to drawing arcs. Thiswill provide a new series of prompts.

The first highlighted area shows you the prompts that will be available before you set the first point of the arc. The

secondhighlighted are shows the prompts available after the first point is set.A key item to notice is that in the second highlighted areas there ar two command with the single capitalized C. In this instance using the C alone as a sub-command will activate the first sub-command that is valid, Circumf.Double ClickIn TurboCAD double clicking on an object almost always opens the properties of the object. The eception is text and multitext.Right ClickIn TurboCAD right clicking always opens the local menu. Itnever acts as a quick Space or Enter keystroke.Selection MethodIn TurboCAD multiple selection can vary depending on thetool. In the Selector clicking on an object will select it. Youcan also use the selection rectangle. To add to the selectionhold down the Shift Key and click on un-selected object to addthem to the selection, or click on selected objects to de-selectthem.In the Trim tool you can select additional objects without theshift key, but you do need the shift key to de-select.The Stretch tool only allows you to use the selection rectangle.StylesTurboCAD supports styles imported in a dwg for most objects,but you can only natively create styles for drawing tools, andnot for objects. Styles created in other DWG applications willbe retained in the DWG file for accurate round tripping.Annotation StylesTurboCAD does not use Annotation Styles, but the Annotationvalues are retained in imported files for accurate roundtripping.Copy ToolIn TurboCAD the copy tool uses position or delta for makingthe copy. To use length and angle for the copy you can type thevalue into any field in polar notation e.g. “10


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(sets).LayersTurboCAD does not regen or redraw non-visible layers, as aresult it does not need and does not use frozen layers.

2D ProjectThis exercise will get you familiar with many of thecommonly-used 2D drawing tools. To make things easier to seein this book we will use a White background. In TurboCAD thedefault background is Black but you can change thebackground color under Options/ Background Color. Justopen the background color page, click on the color box andselect the new color.

Drawing Lines1. Start by displaying the grid. From the Standard toolbar

along the top of the window, click Show/Hide Grid.

2. The grid appears, with lines 1/2” apart. You can changegrid spacing and colors by selecting Options / Grid. Ifrulers are displayed (View / Display / UI / Rulers), youcan see the measurements.

3. The first tool we will use is Line. From the Drawing Tools toolbar (along the left side), make sure Line is active. If it is not, click the icon to activate it.

NOTE: You can access any tool from the menu as well. For Line, select Draw/ Line

4. Before clicking the first point, look at the CoordinatesField in the lower right corner of the window. Move yourmouse around, and you can see the coordinates of thecursor location update dynamically.

5. Click anywhere to place the first point, and move the cursor toward a second point, but do not click yet.

6. Look in the Inspector Bar, in the lower left corner of thewindow. As you move your cursor, the Length and Angleof the line update.

7. Click anywhere to place the second point of the line.

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8. The line tool will finish the line segment and willimmediately begin to draw the next segment where the lastone terminated. Press Esc, or Enter, or Space to terminatethe new. If you use Space TurboCAD will drop the linetool completely and switch to the Select tool.

9. For the next object, we will use snaps. Snaps enable you toplace the cursor on an exact point, preventing you fromhaving to approximate a point’s location.

10. To display the Snap Modes toolbar right-click on SNAPnext to the Coodinate fields, or in the command line typeOSNAP.

11. The Snap Modes toolbar should appear along the top of the window.

12. Click Grid. (A snap is enabled when it appears pressed in, and you can click a snap again to disable it.)

13. Also make sure Show Magnetic Point is enabled. This means that the nearest snap point will be marked when the cursor is close to it.

14. Finally, turn off No Snap, located at the top of the toolbar. If this is on, the other snaps will not work.

If any other snaps are active, turn them off. Then click OK.

NOTE: Snaps can also be set by selecting Modes / Snaps.

15. Now look to the left of the Coordinate Fields. The SNAP button should be on (if it is grayed out, click it to enable it). SNAP enables you to quickly turn on / off all permanent snaps, and when off, whatever snaps you set on the Snap Modes toolbar will not work.

TIP: If you right-click on the SNAP or GEO (geometric aids)button, you will see a window in which you can set permanentsnaps. This is equivalent to using the Snap Modes toolbar.

16. Open the View / Display / Grid menu and click Display tomake the grid visible ( or invisible if it is on). The defaultgrid in TurboCAD is dots. Depending on your backgroundcolor these dots may be very clear or barely visible. Youcan adjust the color of the gridby going to Options / gridand clicking the major and minor buttons under Colors.

17. With the Grid snap on, you can move your cursor in thedrawing area and see the magnetic point whenever you areon or near a grid point.

18. The next object to draw is a rectangle. Select the Rectanglefrom Draw Toolbar.

19. Look at the Rectangle icon, and notice the small blacktriangle in the corner. This indicates that it is a part of aflyout toolbar which contains other similar tools. Clickand hold down the Rectangle icon until the other optionsappear. You will see the Double line rectangle tool, and theMulti line rectangle tool.

20. Select the Rectangle icon.


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21. Place the first corner at any grid point. cursor, but do not click the second point yet.

22. Press the Tab key to enter the Inspector Bar fields. Thecursor jumps to the Size A field, in which you can specifythe rectangle dimension in the X axis (horizontal). Enter45.5. The units are assumed to be in inches, so there is noneed for the (in) symbol.

23. Press Tab again to jump to the Size B field, and enter 26.25 (a point you could not find using a Grid snap).

24. Press Enter, and the rectangle is created. Assuming youdid not change your display size, you probably cannot seethe entire rectangle on the screen. Right-click to open thelocal menu and select Zoom Extents (also availale on theStandard toolbar) to resize the display so that all objectscan be seen.

25. If the rectangle looks too large, go to the Main manu, expand the Zoom toolbar and click Zoom Out as needed to make it appear smaller.

NOTE: These commands are also available on the View/Zoom menu.

TIP: If you have a wheel mouse, you can move the wheel up to zoom in, and down to zoom out. While zooming this way, the location of the cursor affects how the objects are centered on-screen..

26. Depending on your zoom size, the grid might disappear. If it is still displaye, it will look pretty cowded, so click Go back to the View manu and turn it off.

27. You should save your work often, to avoid losing data if a system crash should occur. Click the Save icon (or select File / Save, or press Ctrl+S).

TIP: You can select Options / General to open a window in which you can set time intervals for file backup and saving. intervals.

28. Name the file something like “rectangles”; the default file extension for TurboCAD files is *.2cd. .

29. Save the file to a folder you can easily find later, such as TurboCAD \Drawings OR My Documents\CAD

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30. Click Save, and the Summary Info window appears. You can use this window to save extra information about the file, such as author, subject, and how you want preview graphics to be created and appear. Fill in any information you want, and click OK.

31. You can close the current file by going to File/ Close.32. Now that the file is and reopen it, using File / Open or

Ctrl+O. In the Open window, browse to the folder you selected and highlight the “rectangles.acd” file. A preview is shown on the right side - this preview features makes it easy to quickly identify the file you want.

Properties and Snaps1. Go back to the Line tool. 2. For the next objects, we will set new object properties. The

Property toolbar is located along the top of the window,below the Standard toolbar. Set a new color, new line type(dashed, dotted, etc., and a new line width. All objectscreated from now on will have these properties.

3. In the Drawing Aid dialog from Snap Modes toolbar, turn on the Vertex (end point) and Middle Point snaps.

4. Draw a line from the top left corner (vertex) to the midpoint of the bottom edge.

When the second point has been selected, the line has thecolor, type, and thickness you set.

5. We will now recreate this line, using a different type of snap mode. First undo the line. You can click the Undo icon, or press Ctrl+Z.


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6. In the Drawing Aid dialog, Snap Modes toolbar, click No Snap so that all permanent snaps will be disabled. (You could also click the SNAP button at the bottom of the window to disable it.) When you move the cursor, magnetic points should no longer appear.

You have seen how to set running (permanent) snaps, butnow we will use local (one-time) snaps. These are snapsthat are activated just once.

7. Line should still be active. Before placing the first point, right-click and select Local Snap / Vertex.

NOTE: You can use local snaps while permanent snaps are on as well.

Warning: If the cursor is not close enough to the Snap point you

may get a warning message. There is an aperture setting whichis used to ignore non-rel;evant points. If the point you are tryingto snap to is not within the aperture youwill get the warning.Simply repeat the process but move the cursor closer todesired point. Click either the top or left edge, close to thetop-left corner. The corner is selected as the snap point.

8. Click either the top or left edge, close to the top left corner. The corner is selected as the snap point.

9. Before clicking the second point, right-click again and select Local Snap / Middle Point.

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10. Click anywhere on the lower edge, and the midpoint is selected to complete the line.

Another way to use a one-time snap point is to use a SEKE- Single Equivalent Keyboard Entry.

11. For the next line, move the cursor anywhere along the diagonal line you just drew and press the M key. This snaps to the midpoint of this line.

12. Now move to either the top or right edge, near the corner, and press V. This snaps to the endpoint of the line.

Editing 2D GeometryThe next step is to trim lines to get one closed chain. At thispoint, the rectangle cannot be used to trim other objects,because it is one object comprised of four sub-objects. Therectangle must be broken down into its individual parts first.

1. Activate the Select tool, located at the top of the Drawing Tools toolbar. (Or from the menu, select Edit / Select.)

2. Click the rectangle to select it. All four lines are contained in the selection box.

3. While the rectangle is selected, click Explode (or selectModify/ Explode). This icon is near the bottom of theDrawing Tools toolbar. If you cannot see it, click thesmall arrow at the bottom of the toolbar to see theremaining icons.

4. Click outside the rectangle to deselect it, and select therectangle again. Now only the segment you clicked isselected.


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5. Open the Modify flyout toolbar and select Trim.

NOTE: All tools on this toolbar can be found in the Modify menu.

6. When in doubt about what steps to perform, you can always look in the Status Bar - located below the Inspector Bar at the lower left corner. The first step in the Trim tools is to define the cutting edge.

7. Select the second diagonal line you drew to be the cutting edge.

8. You can click on other objects to add them as cutting edge, or press CTRL + A to select everything as a cutting edge. When you have finished selecting cutting edges press ENTER. The tool will now prompt you to now select the objects According to the prompt, you can select another cutting edge (not what we need), or select the object to trim.

NOTE: Holding down the Shift key while selecting will cause entities to extend the cutting edges rather than timming to cutting edges.

9. Select the first diagonal line, clicking it on the part youwant deleted.

This is the result - the first diagonal line is trimmed by thesecond one.

10. The next trimming tool is better demonstrated when twolines intersect. We can change a line for this purpose. Pressthe Spacebar - this activates Select - and click the trimmedline.

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11. Note the blue squares at the corners and sides of theselection box. These are drag handles; you can use them toresize the selected objects. Click and drag the lower-righthandle to make the line a bit longer. (You can also click ahandle, release the mouse, and click again for its newlocation.)

12. Now select Meet 2 Lines from the Modify toolbar.

13. Click the two lines shown, this time clicking them on the parts you want to remain.

Here is the result - both lines were trimmed to one another.

TIP: We have just used several tools from the Modify toolbar.If you often use a particular toolbar, you can keep itpermanently displayed in its entirety. Right-click in any toolbararea and select the toolbar you want to see, in this case theModify toolbar.

14. Activate Select once again and press Shift so that you canselect multiple objects. Click both lines shown, and theyare both selected. (When using Shift, you can also click aselected object to deselect it.)

15. Press the Delete key to erase these lines.

16. The remaining four lines are each separate objects, which you can verify by selcting each line one by one.

17. Make sure no lines are selected ( click away from an object to deselect it. To join the lines into one object, select the menu option Modify/ Join Polyline.

18. A Polyline is a chain of connected line and arc segments,that is considered to be a single object( like the rectangleyou created. A polyline cannot be opened or closed.


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19. You could select each line one by one, but it is easier if youselect Auto joining. This option can be activated throughthe local menu or Command line.

20. Click any line and the chain is automatically identified.We now have a single object, which has uniformproperties-line type, line weight, and color.

21. Use Select to select the polyline - it is one object.

To change its properties, click the properties icon in the Maintoolbar. You could also select Modify/ Properties or prIn theProperties window, open the Pen page. Set the line type toContinuous, and change the color and weight. This does notaffect the settings in the Property toolbar, it only changes the

properties of whatever is selected.ess Ctrl+F). In the

Properties window, open the Pen page. Set the line type toContinuous, and change the color and weight. This does notaffect the settings in the Property toolbar, it only changes theproperties of whatever is selected.

Click OK to close the Properties window, and here is themodified polyline (click outside the polyline to deselectit).

TIP: You can set properties in advance for a group of tools - i.e.all tools located on the same toolbar. For example, you canright-click on the current icon in the Line toolbar. This opens the

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Properties window. Once you modify the properties, all objectscreated via the Line toolbar (rectangles, polylines, polygons,etc.) will now share these properties.

22. For another way to open the Properties window, activate Select and double-click the polyline. Now open the Brush page. Here you can set the pattern, or solid-colored fill, that fills a closed shape. Select a brick pattern and reduce the scale.

NOTE: Brush patterns can also be set on the Property toolbar.

Here is the result:

Click OK to close the Properties window, and here is themodified Polyline ( click outsid the Polyline to deselect it).

Creating a Polyline1. Start a new file by clicking the New icon (or select File /

New, or press Ctrl+N).

2. Click OK.

3. Start by changing the units. Select Options / Space Units and set the units to Metric, with mm as the base unit.

4. Click OK, and the rulers should now show mmmeasurements.


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5. Open the Draw toolbar and select Polyline.

6. For the first point, press Shift + Tab to enter the Coordinatefields. This way you can start the object at a specific pointin space. Enter 5.5 for X, and press Tab and enter 2.5 for Y.Press Enter.

7. The polyline’s first point is now set at point (5.5mm,2.5mm). Do not select more points yet.

8. Until now we have been using Absolute coordinates, butif you know an object’s measurements already, it is easierto enter distances from the last point, rather than enteringexact coordinates each time.

9. In the Command Line type “@4,0” and then press Enter. The @ sign indicates that you are entering a relative coordinate.The first segment, 4 mm long, has been created.

10. Polylines can contain line or arc segments. In theCommand line type “AS” and the Enter.(you could alsouse local menu)

11. The arc starts at the end of the line, and is tangent to it.Type “@0, 2.5” to place the arc endpoint 2.5 mm abovethe last point.

12. Here is the arc segment. Move the cursor to see that ArcSegment is still the current setting.

13. In the Command Line type “LS” and then Enter to switchback to Line Segment, and make the line 4 mm long, tothe left (@-4, 0).

14. We want to close the polyline with another arc. First selectArc Segment in the local menu, then select Close. Youcould also have typed “close” and enter in the CommandLine.

NOTE: A polyline does not have to be closed. You can create an open polyline by selecting Finish, or you can double-click the last point

This is the resulting polyline.

Creating Circles and Arcs1. Explode the object created by polyline and select a curve.

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2. For the next object, select Circle Center and Radius.

3. Move the cursor anywhere along the arc segment on theleft side of the polyline and press Alt+C. This snaps thecenter of the new circle to the center of the arc.

4. Move the cursor outward and click to place a point on thecircle’s circumference.

5. Select the circle, and move the cursor over the smallyellow dot at the center. This dot is the reference point,which can be used to move the selected objects. Click thispoint.

6. Move the reference point so that it is concentric with thearc on the right side. You can use the Alt+C key as before,or use a local snap, or even set the Center snap in theDrawing Aids dialog.

TIP: When using the Snap Mode, keep in mind that thesesnaps stay active even when you might not want them. If youare having trouble selecting a certain point, check the SnapModes in the Drawing Aids dialog to make sure the right snapsare set. Right on SNAP next to the Coordnate fields to open theDrawing Aids dialog.

7. Now for an arc - go to the Arc flyout toolbar and select ArcCenter, Start, End.

8. Place the arc center at the midpoint of the lower line. (Usethe midpoint snap, by any method you chose.)

9. Move the cursor outward until you have a circle with aradius of approximately 1 mm. (Don’t Click)

10. The next two clicks set the start and end angles. Arcs arecreated in the counter-clockwise direction.

11. Press Tab to move into the Angle field of the Intelligentcursor.

12. Then start the arc by ‘0’ and Enter.


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13. The End Angle field will appear. Type “180” and Enter.

TIP: Ortho mode can also be set in the Snap Modes.

14. The next tool is Arc 1,2,3, located on the Arc flyout toolbar.

15. Use Vertex snaps to place the start and end points at theends of the upper line. Click again to set the arc bulge.

16. Activate Trim as before, selecting the half-circle arc firstas the cutting edge, pressing enter, and then select thelower line of the polyline. to be trimmed.

17. While still in Trim, press Enter, then CTRL+A to selcteverything as a cutting edge and Press Enter.

18. Select the upper line and the line will be Trimmed. Then press Space (the space bar) to end the trimming tool.

Scaling, Copying, and Rotating1. Select all objects by press CTRL+A. To make the entire

drawing shorter, drag down the blue handle on the upperline and click to resize.

2. The side handles only scale in one direction. To scale in two directions, drag the top left corner handle.

TIP: While in Select mode, the values in the Dynamic Input fields can be used to scale by exact values. These fields also update dynamically as you drag the handles.

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3. Move the cursor over the small green dot - this is therotation handle.

4. Click this point and move the cursor to rotate the objects.The reference point is now used as the center of rotation.Do not click to set the rotation yet.

5. If Intelligent Cursor is on then it automatically provides a Dynamic Input Rotation field. Inspector bar also provides the facility for. Type a rotation angle and press Enter.

6. Now to copy these objects. 7. Use the reference point to move the objects to the right. 8. Click on the reference point to pick up the objects

9. Hold down CTRL. Note that the move cursor now has a“+” symbol, indicating that you are in copy mode.

10. Click to place the copy.

11. Make sure everything is deselected. For another way toselect multiple objects, activate Select once again, andclick and drag a box around the right set of copied objects.


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12. To make a mirrored copy of this set, enter -1 for DynamicInput Scale X field or in the Inspector Bar and press Enter.

Points and Curves1. Start another file, or pan to some blank space in the current

file. (You can pan by dragging the scroll bars up or down,or side to side.)

2. Open the Point fly-out toolbar, and select a square point.

3. Create a few points randomly like this:

TIP: In the Properties of these points, you can change the pointsize.

4. Select these points.

5. The next tool is in one of the Copy tools which are in theModify toolbar.

6. From the Modify toolbar, select Array Copy. Thisenables you to copy the selected objects multiple times inthe X and Y directions.

7. Enter values like this. Adjust your Y Step value as neededto get a reasonable spacing (15mm approx.) - the previewline will update as you change the value. Enter three rowsand one column.

8. Press Enter. You should have three rows (and one column) of the selected points.

9. Now find the Curves flyout toolbar in the drawing toolsand select Spline by Control Points. This draws a splineusing points as a guide, but the curve does not actuallypass through the points.

10. Click the points in the top set, one by one. If you want tosnap to them, use the Alt+V key, or turn on the Vertexsnap.

11. Select Finish from the local menu. (You can also pressAlt+F.)

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The spline looks like this - it passes through the first andlast points only, and the other points guide its curvature.

NOTE: If you had selected Close instead of Finish, the spline would make a loop, and would not pass through any points. Also, if you want to finish an open spline, you can double-click its last point.

12. Select 2D Spline by Fit Points from the Draw menu. 13. Select the points in order like before. This time the spline

does pass through the selected points.

14. For the third and last set, use Bezier from the curve toolbaror from the Draw / Curve menu.

15. This creates a curve similar to Spline by Fit Points, butwith different tangency and curvature properties.

Selection Info PaletteMenu: Tools / Palettes / Selection Info Displays information about the currently selected object orobjects. You can also change properties of objects here.

1. Create a few objects, then select them all.

All of the objects are listed in the upper window of theSelection Info Palette.

2. Highlight any item, such as the polyline. If theHighlighting icon is activated.

...the object will also be highlighted onscreen.

3. For the highlighted object, its properties are listed in thelower section of the palette. Use the small + signs next tothe property categories to expand and close groups ofproperties. You can change colors, line widths, etc., aswell as geometric properties such as radius or point


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coordinates. (If a field cannot be edited, it will be grayedout.) In this example, the Line color of circle waschanged.

The change is made automatically.

Opening and Saving FilesWithin TurboCAD you can choose to open a saved file or starta new file. There are several options for saving files.

NOTE: The General page of the Program Setupcontainsseveral settings for opening and saving files.

Opening FilesMenu: File / OpenHotkey: Ctrl+OFiles of type: By default, you will open an *.2cd file. Use thislist if you want to open a file of a different format. Open as read-only: A read-only file can be viewed only, it cannotbe edited.Show Preview: Displays a thumbnail of the drawing. Only.TurboCAD files (*.2cd and *.2ct) can

display previews.Setup: When importing files of other formats, providesaccess to conversion options.

Saving FilesMenu: File / Save, Save AsHotkey: Ctrl+SSaves the current drawing to disk. If the file was notpreviously saved, the Save As window will appear.Save as type: By default, you will save the file as a *.2cdfile. Use this list if you want to save (export) the file to adifferent format. .Setup: When exporting to another file format, providesaccess to conversion options.Save:• Drawing: Saves the entire drawing.• Selection: Saves the selected objects only.If Prompt for Summary Info is checked in the Generalpage of the Program Setup (Options / General), theSummary Info window will appear before saving.

Getting HelpThere are several ways to get help on any TurboCAD topic.

Online HelpThe Help menu provides access to the online help, whichbasically contains the same content as this book.The help is also context-sensitive, which can be accessed inseveral ways:• Click the Help button (question mark icon), then clickon the tool button, menu item, tab, or palette in question.• Place the cursor over a button, menu item, or palette, orhighlight a menu item, and press F1.• Press F1 while using a tool or window.• Press the Help button on a window.To see a tool tip for an icon, hold the cursor over the button fora second or two. The tool tip will appear, showing the name ofthe tool.

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TIP: Select Help / Keyboard to see a list of keyboardshortcuts. Select Help / Tip of the Day for helpful hints.

Web TutorialsThere are several online demo tutorials that can be accessedfrom the page that appears in the Internet Palette (Tools /Palettes / Internet Palette). You need the Macromedia Flashplug-in to view these tutorials.These short, animated demos demonstrate some basic conceptsabout the user interface, and show you how to use some of theTurboCAD tools.

Technical SupportGo to the support section of http://www.TurboCAD.com fordetailed support options.Paid technical support is available by calling 877-827-8776.Technical Support will work closely with you to solve anyproblems related to our software. Please give our supporttechnicians as much information as possible. Rememberthatthey are not in front of your computer and that they needyourhelp to diagnose the problem.On occasion, a problem can be traced to hardware, or to anothersoftware application. Our technician will supply as muchsupport as possible in these cases, but they are not authorized tosupport products manufactured or published by anothercompany. You might find that e-mail is a more convenient wayto get technical support. If you do send e-mail, provide as muchinformation as you can about your system and about theproblem.

Technical Support CheckListYou may already have the information you are looking for.Before calling, check this manual thoroughly. To receive thefastest response to your technical questions, please be in frontof your computer with TurboCAD running, and be prepared toprovide the following information before you call or sende-mail:• The type of computer and Windows version you are using.• The name, version number, and other information about yourspecific version of the product. (To find thisinformation, select Help / About TurboCAD from theTurboCAD menu.)

• The exact sequence of events that created the problem. Verifythat you can reproduce the problem by following the sameseries of steps.• The exact wording of any error messages.• Steps you've taken to find the answer to your question,including resources used.• The results of any steps you have undertaken to resolve theproblem.


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