DenebaCAD tutorial documents

Starting a DenebaCAD project: procedures and tips

This document presents an overview of how to set up a project in DenebaCAD. It explains how to specify a measurement system, output configuration, grid settings, layer structure, and classes, as well as how to define 3D planes for the working drawings of a house.

Launching DenebaCAD

To start using DenebaCAD, double-click the DenebaCAD application icon.

When DenebaCAD begins running, it opens a Draft mode window with "Untitled-Draft-Top" in the title bar. You can configure all of the following settings with this window active.

Overview of new project setup

Before you begin a project, you'll want to set up the measurement system, output settings, and grid settings.You might also want to set up Libraries, layers, classes, and 3D planes before you begin drawing.

Once you configure DenebaCAD with settings that you want to use again, you can create a template document, so you won't need to reconfigure the same settings again.

The following is an overview of the general procedure for setting up a new project.

1. Choose the Units Setup command in the Layout menu to select the measurement system and the units of measure you want to use in the document.

When you launch DenebaCAD the first time, the US measurement system is selected. Also, dimensions are set up to display feet and decimal inches. If you normally use this configuration, you can skip the Units Setup step.

2. Choose the Output Setup command in the Layout menu to select the output scale and number of pages for printing.

3. Choose the Grid Setup command in the Layout menu to specify the grid spacing.

If the Show Grid command is active, DenebaCAD displays and spaces the dots in the grid based on the current units and measurement system.
Setting up the grid spacing does not activate grid snap or display the grid. To display the grid, choose the Show Grid command in the Layout menu. To activate grid snap, choose the Snap to Grid command in the Layout menu, or click the Snap Grid button.

4. You can use the Layer Manager to set up layers. Choose the Layer Manager command in the Window menu to open the Layer Manager.

The active window is a Draft mode window set to Top view. In Draft mode, a separate layer structure exists for each view. If you want to set up layers for another view, switch to the view you want to work in using the View menu.
If you want to configure layers for Sculpt mode, open a Sculpt mode window using the Show Sculpt command in the Window menu.

Once you set up measurement units, output, the grid, and layers, you can begin to draw. There are, however, other things you might want to set up that will save time.

5. You can import Library Objects and Symbols, establish classes, and define 3D planes before you start to draw.

If you want to import Library Objects and Symbols, you can use the Library tool to open the Library Manager. The Add command in the pop-up menu lets you select a Library Object or Symbol from any saved DenebaCAD document.

6. You can choose the Class Manager command in the Window menu to set up classes. If you do not need to categorize objects for reports, you can skip this step.

7. You can choose the Define 3D Plane command in the Layout menu to define extrusion planes. You can choose the Save 3D Plane command in the Layout menu to save extrusion planes. Saving extrusion planes lets you select the ones you need to to create 3D objects.