G UIDE - CAD Schroer

Drafting 

GUIDE 

VERSION 5.0 

www.cad-schroer.com

All rights reserved. No part of this documentation may be reproduced in any manner (print, photocopy or other) without the written 

permission of CAD Schroer GmbH. 

CAD Schroer GmbH has made its best effort to ensure that the information in this document is accurate and reliable, but cannot 

guarantee the accuracy, timeliness, reliability or completeness of any of the information contained herein. CAD Schroer GmbH 

will not make any warranty nor accept legal responsibility or liability of any kind for consequences resulting from errors or omissions. 

Registered Trademarks of CAD Schroer GmbH: 

MEDUSA, STHENO 

Trademarks of CAD Schroer GmbH: 

MEDUSA 4 , STHENO/PRO, MEDEA, MPDS 

Third-Party Products and Trademarks: 

Pro/ENGINEER, Pro/DETAIL and Pro/TOOLKIT are registered trademarks of Parametric Technology Corporation. 

All other brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. 

July 2010 

Copyright © CAD Schroer GmbH 

Fritz-Peters-Str. 26 - 30 

D - 47447 Moers 

Germany 

CAD Schroer GmbH 

Fritz-Peters-Str. 26-30 

47447 Moers 

Tel. +49 2841 91 84 - 0 

Fax +49 2841 91 84 - 44 

e-mail: info@cad-schroer.de 

www.cad-schroer.de 

Switzerland 

CAD Schroer AG 

Bettlistr. 35 

8600 Dübendorf 

Tel. +41 44 802 89 - 80 

Fax +41 44 802 89 - 88 

e-mail: info@cad-schroer.ch 

www.cad-schroer.ch 

France 

CAD Schroer France SAS 

17, Rue du Docteur Lebel 

94300 Vincennes 

Tel. +33 1 41 94 51 40 

Fax +33 1 43 77 17 68 

e-mail: info@cad-schroer.fr 

www.cad-schroer.fr 

United Kingdom 

CAD Schroer UK Ltd 

39 Newnham Road 

Cambridge 

CB3 9EY 

Tel. +44 1223 460 408 

Fax +44 1223 460 409 

e-mail: info@cad-schroer.co.uk 

www.cad-schroer.co.uk 

2 © CAD Schroer GmbH 

Italy 

CAD Schroer Italia S.R.L. 

Via Piave, 1/E 

20030 Senago (MI) 

Tel.: +39 02-38303267 

Fax: +39 02-33303399 

e-mail: info@cad-schroer.it 

www.cad-schroer.it 

USA 

CAD Schroer US, Inc. 

34 Rand Place 

Pittsford, NY 14534 

Tel: +1 866-SCHROER (866-724-7637) 

Fax: +1 866-724-1701 

e-mail: info@cad-schroer.com 

www.cad-schroer.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

MEDUSA 4 Drafting 

Preface 15 

Introduction to MEDUSA 17 

What is MEDUSA?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 

Main Features of MEDUSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 

Introduction to MEDUSA Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 

About Multi-segment Lines in MEDUSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 

Advantages of Using Multi-segment Lines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 

Starting MEDUSA 23 

Overview of the Work Environment 25 

Quick Guide to the Work Environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 

Using the Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 

Keyboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 

The Drawing Area and Popup Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 

Menu Bar and Pulldown Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 

Dialogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 

Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 

Dashboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 

Tools and Tooltrays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 

File Selectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 

File 45 

The File Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 

Creating a New Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 

Closing a Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 

© CAD Schroer GmbH 3


Saving Sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 

Opening a File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 

Sheet Administration by using Working Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 

Importing a File. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 

Exporting a File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 

Plotting a Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 

Printing a Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 

Sheet Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 

The Sheet Header Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 

Sheet History Stack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88 

Quitting MEDUSA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 

Edit 91 

The Edit Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 

Undo and Redo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94 

Cut, Copy and Paste . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 

Area Cut and Area Copy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 

Find Text and Replace Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 

Select 103 

Overview of Selection Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 

The Select Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 

The Selection Tools from the Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 

Selecting with the Mouse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 

Select with the Popup Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 

Toggling a Selection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 

Power Selection Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 

Selecting Elements by Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 

Selecting Elements by Boundary Groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 

Selecting Elements by Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 

View 123 

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 

Selecting Toolbar Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 

Set of Tooltrays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 

Zoom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 

Dynamic Pan and Zoom. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 

4 © CAD Schroer GmbH


Zoom Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 

Storing and Restoring Windows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 

View Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 

Display 139 

Grids 141 

Introduction to Grids. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 

Creating a new Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 

Choosing the Current Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 

Defining a Grid as Standard Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 

Activating and Deactivating a Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 

Drawing and Hiding a Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152 

Modifying a Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 

Deleting a Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 

Layers 157 

Introduction to Layers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 

Layers Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 

Default Layer Allocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 

Layer Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 

Set Layer Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164 

Layer Set Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 

Customize Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168 

Customize Layer Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170 

Layer Datum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173 

Layer Change. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 

Options 177 

Options Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178 

Defaults - Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 

Common Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 

Message Area Display Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182 

Legible Height . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183 

Drawing Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184 

Sheet History Stack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185 

Dashboard Element Selection Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186 



Switches - Control User Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187 

Dimension Defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192 

Hit Radius. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196 

Arc Factor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 

Settings for References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201 

Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 

Administrator Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 

Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204 

Utilities 211 

The Utilities Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .212 

The Protractor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214 

Point Functions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218 

User Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220 

Un-number & Re-number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225 

Copy to Clipboard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242 

The Calculator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243 

Trail File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245 

Instancing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249 

Add Preview to Sheet/Symbol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252 

Add Current View as Preview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 253 

Accelerator and Map Keys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 255 

Bacis1 and Windows 259 

Bacis1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259 

Windows. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260 

Licenses 261 

Toolbar 263 

Toolbar Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264 

Adjust the Contents of the Toolbar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265 

Toolbar Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266 

Sheets Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .267 

Utilities Toolbar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268 

View Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 269 

Storing and Restoring Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270 



Zoom Selection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272 

Measure Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273 

Measure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274 

Scale View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280 

Line Navigation Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288 

Tree Navigation Toolbar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289 

Tree Table Toolbar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290 

Selection Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291 

Help 293 

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294 

Using the Help Menu of the MEDUSA Menu Bar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295 

Using the Help Button in Dialogs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296 

Context Sensitive Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 297 

The Message Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298 

Dashboard 299 

Dashboard Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 

The Components of the Dashboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301 

Using the Dashboard to Display Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303 

Using the Dashboard to Modify Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304 

Using the Dashboard for Creating New Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305 

Sub-Dashboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306 

Introduction to Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 309 

Changing Styles and Style Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312 

Style Definitions and their Effect on an Element . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313 

Style Tree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314 

User-Defined Dashboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318 

Probe Specifiers 319 

Using Probe Specifiers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320 

Auto Probe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324 

Free Probe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325 

Grid Probe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326 

Intersection Probe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 327 

Near Probe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328 

Segment Probe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 329 



Perpendicular Probe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 330 

Center Probe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331 

Mid Segment Probe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 332 

Tangent Probe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .333 

Last Probe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335 

Offset from Last Probe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336 

Datum of Selected Element Probe Specifiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337 

Entering Points using Cartesian Coordinates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339 

Status Area 341 

Overview Status Area. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342 

Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344 

Displaying the Tree Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346 

Dock and Undock the Tree Viewer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347 

Creating and Ending Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348 

Reparent Elements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350 

Interacting with the Tree Viewer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351 

Query and Change Sheet Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356 

User Attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357 

Lines 359 

Overview of Create Line Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360 

Line Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .361 

Creating a Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 363 

Entering Points using Cartesian Coordinates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364 

Popup Menu While Drawing a Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 365 

Closed Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 367 

Offset Lines Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377 

Line Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380 

Line Point Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 387 

Point Functions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389 

Trace a Line Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 394 

Overview of Edit Line Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396 

Editing a Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397 

Edit Line Popup Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398 

Complex Line Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400 



Navigating a Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 416 

2D Modeling 419 

Introduction to 2D Modeling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420 

Centerlines, Hidden Lines and Crosshatching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 421 

Sweeping Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424 

Edge Projection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 427 

Popup Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428 

Project End Elevations of Shafts and Holes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429 

Rotate Profiles to Form Shafts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431 

Rotate Profiles to Form Sectioned Shafts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 432 

Rotate Profiles to Form Sectioned Holes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433 

Restore Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 434 

Transformation 435 

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 436 

Transformation on Selected Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 437 

Boundary Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 447 

Dynamically Aligning Geometry Along a Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450 

Move Geometry by Grid Spacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451 

Move Selected Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 452 

Connect and Clear Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453 

Symbols 455 

Introduction to Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 456 

Overview of Symbol Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457 

Temporary Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 458 

Symbol Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 462 

Transforming Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 463 

Symbol Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467 

Moving a Symbol’s Datum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 468 

Reversing Symbol Property Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 469 

Named Symbols. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470 

Diagram Symbols 473 

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 474 

Creating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475 



Saving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477 

Loading and Inserting a Temporary Diagram Symbol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478 

Loading and Inserting a Named Diagram Symbol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480 

Selecting and Deleting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481 

Construction Lines 483 

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 484 

Construction Line Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485 

Creating Construction Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486 

Reusing the Current Datum Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 492 

Offset Construction Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 493 

Deleting and Hiding Construction Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 498 

Confining Construction Lines to a Specific Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500 

Transported Construction Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501 

Projected Construction Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504 

Dynamic Construction Lines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508 

Creating Dynamic Construction Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 513 

Dimensioning 519 

Dimension Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520 

Dimensioning Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 521 

Setting the Default Dimension Standard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 522 

Properties, Styles and the Dashboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 526 

Creating Basic Linear Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527 

Linear Dimension Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 531 

Creating Angular Dimensions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540 

Angular Dimension Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542 

Creating Circle and Arc Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544 

Arc and Circle Dimension Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 546 

Radial Dimension Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 548 

Creating Symmetrical Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550 

Creating Half Symmetrical Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 552 

Creating Datum Offset Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 553 

Creating Isometric Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555 

Creating Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .558 

Feature Control Frames and Datum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559 



Editing Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 562 

Welding Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 572 

Surface Finish Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 578 

Text 581 

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 582 

Creating Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 583 

Text Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 585 

Replacing Text Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 589 

Using Text Styles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 590 

Editing Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 592 

Special Characters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 594 

URL Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 595 

Multi-Line Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 598 

Balloon Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 602 

Text Translator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 608 

Unicode Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 609 

Short-Info . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 611 

Tables 613 

About CSV Format Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 614 

Overview Table Creation Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 615 

Creating a New Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 617 

Edit Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 621 

Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 622 

Creating a Parts List. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 624 

Fit and Bore Hole Tables 627 

Fit Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 628 

Bore Hole Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 632 

Predefined Graphical Shapes (Prims) 643 

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 644 

Adding Prims to a Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 645 

Transforming and Deleting Prims. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 648 

Prim Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 649 

How MEDUSA Stores and Updates Prims. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 653 



Area Fills 655 

Introduction to Crosshatching and Stippling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 656 

Defining a Closed Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 657 

Using the Crosshatch or Stipple Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 659 

Crosshatch Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 663 

Stipple Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .667 

Selecting and Deleting Stippling or Crosshatching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 671 

Multiple Crosshatching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 672 

Filling Disjoint Areas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .673 

Create Gaps Under Text in Crosshatching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 674 

Masking Hidden Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 675 

Boolean Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 678 

Reference Sheet Procedure 681 

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 682 

Porthole Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 683 

Creating Porthole Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 684 

Reference Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 686 

Creating a New Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 687 

Load, Convert, Delete and Compare a Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 690 

SMART Edit 695 

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 696 

General Selection Hints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 696 

Calling SMART Edit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 697 

SMART Edit Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 699 

Edit Dimension Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 700 

Edit Dimension Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 703 

Datum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 705 

Geometry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 706 

Dragging. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 709 

Show Relations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 711 

SMART Drafting 713 

Calling SMART Drafting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 714 

Drawing Lines. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 720 

Drawing Arcs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 723 



Flipping Arcs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 724 

Using Construction Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 725 

Extending an Existing Geometry with SMART Drafting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 727 

Changing Line Direction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 728 

Customizing the User Environment 729 

Controlling User Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 730 

Customizing MEDUSA Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 731 

Copying Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 732 

Modifying Custom Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 733 

Deleting Custom Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 735 

Setting Background Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 736 

Saving Changes of the Work Environment Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 737 

List of Figures 739 

Index 747 




Book Conventions 

PREFACE 

MEDUSA 4 

The following table illustrates and explains conventions used in writing about MEDUSA applications. 

Convention Example Explanation 

Menu Choose Zoom from the View menu 

Add button 

Choose the tool Creates thin solid lines. 

Syntax acos 0.345 

The ciaddobj command 

Return or Control-g 

Indicates a command, function or 

button that you can choose from a 

menu, dialog or tooltray. 

User input, 

commands, keywords and 

keys to press on a keyboard. 

SyntaxBold Enter command> plot_config Where system output and user input 

are mixed, user input is in bold. 

SyntaxItalic tar -cvf /dev/rst0 filename Supply an appropriate substitute for 

each variable; for the given example 

replace filename with an actual file 

name. 

Filename&path medusa\med2d\m2d\src\ Shows path and filenames. 

UPPERCASE MEDUSA or CADCONVERT Names of products. 

italic left mouse button 

Drafting Guide 

bold A temporary group is a collection of ... Emphasize text. 

Indicates the buttons to press on a 

mouse and names of books. 

Please note: Illustrations showing menus and forms are taken from a window system. 

The display for other platforms can differ slightly. 


MEDUSA 4 

Preface 

Online User Documentation (HTML) 

Online documentation for each book is provided in HTML format. You can view this online 

documentation in the MEDUSA installation directoryand directly by calling it up within the 

MEDUSA user interface. 

Installation Directory 

1. Navigate to the directory where MEDUSA is installed. 

/meddoc/doc// (Unix) 

\meddoc\doc\\ (Windows) 

where is either english, german or french. 

2. Click on the file mainmenu.htm. 

3. Click the book title you want to view. 

MEDUSA Interface 

1. Click left on the entry Help inside the main menu. 

2. Choose MEDUSA Documentation from the pulldown menu. 

A browser opens showing the mainmenu.htm listing all available documents. 

Printing Version of the Documentation (PDF) 

A PDF (Portable Document Format) file is included for each online book. You must have 

Acrobat Reader installed to view and print PDF files. If you don‘t have the Acrobat Reader, you 

can download it for free from the Adobe homepage: 

http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html 

In order to search for a keyword across PDF files you can use Acrobat Reader. Therefor 

Acrobat Reader Version 6.0 or higher has to be installed. The Reader provides a multiple 

search function, i.e. you can specify complete directories containing several PDF files for 

searching. 


INTRODUCTION TO MEDUSA 

This chapter provides an overview of MEDUSA. 

• What is MEDUSA?................................................................... 18 

• Main Features of MEDUSA...................................................... 19 

• Introduction to MEDUSA Elements.......................................... 20 

• About Multi-segment Lines in MEDUSA .................................. 21 

• Advantages of Using Multi-segment Lines............................... 22 




Introduction to MEDUSA 

What is MEDUSA? 

MEDUSA is a system of linked computer programs that perform a wide range of functions for 

computer aided design and computer aided manufacture (CAD/CAM). The system includes a 

powerful drafting system for creating and manipulating all types of drawings. These drawings 

can be readily interpreted by other programs running within MEDUSA. 

Fields of application for MEDUSA are amongst others mechanical engineering, 2D/3D layout 

plant design, factory layout and electrical engineering. 

Using 2D Drawings in Other MEDUSA Programs 

Once a MEDUSA sheet is produced using the MEDUSA drafting system, it can be modified and 

interpreted by other MEDUSA applications. 

The MEDUSA drafting system is therefore an integral part of all other MEDUSA applications. 


Main Features of MEDUSA 


Main Features of MEDUSA 

Some of the main features that distinguish MEDUSA from other 2D CAD systems are: 

• The use of multi-segment lines rather than single segment lines 

• The permanent grouping of elements (for example, for building up assemblies), in 

addition to temporary association of elements through selection sets and groups 

• The graphical user interface is designed to: 

• Enhance the user’s work flow, for example a popup menu for the active tool reduces 

the number of hand and head movements 

• Increase the user’s productivity by making existing functionality more accessible 

and organizing the functionality on the screen on the basis of frequency of use 

• Allow the user to recover from mistakes by offering the facility to cancel, undo, and 

redo (for certain MEDUSA functions). 

• A Dashboard, which informs the user of the properties of geometry as it is created and 

modified 

• A tree viewer, which keeps the user aware of the logical structure of the sheet and so 

maximizes the potential of permanent groups 

• The ability to customize MEDUSA, for example, the ability to: 

• Define styles for elements 

• Rearrange the contents of the tooltrays, and assign new styles to the custom tools 

• The ability for the System Administrator to control how MEDUSA will run on site, 

including the ability to specify the type and appearance of the sheets, and the dimensioning 

standards in use. 




Introduction to MEDUSA Elements 

A MEDUSA sheet consists of different elements, known as element classes. 

These are: 

• Lines composed of one or more line segments 

• Text elements 

• Prims (predefined graphical shapes) 

• Groups (elements which are associated with each other and are manipulated as a single 

entity) 

Element Properties 

Each element class has a number of properties. These properties, known as attributes, are 

dependent on the element class. 

As you create or modify an element, MEDUSA displays the most significant attributes on the 

dashboard. You can display a full set of the different attributes in an Element Properties dialog. 

For example, line properties are displayed in the Line Properties dialog as shown below. 

Figure 1 Example of an Element Properties Dialog 

Users can easily change the properties of each element, either for the instance on the sheet, or 

for the use of the tool (until the user selects another tool), or for the MEDUSA session. 


About Multi-segment Lines in MEDUSA 


About Multi-segment Lines in MEDUSA 

In MEDUSA, a line consists of a series of points joined by line segments. A point is created at 

each vertex in the line. Moving one of the points, or adding or deleting points to the line affects 

the geometry of the whole line: 

Figure 2 Adding a Point to a Line: 

A multi-segment line can be an open line with two ends: 

Or a closed line: 

Figure 3 An Open Multi-segment Line 

Figure 4 A Closed Multi-segment Line 

A multi-segment line can be manipulated as a single entity. 




Advantages of Using Multi-segment Lines 

You can develop a shape by modifying one line (and its segments) rather than several independent 

lines. Modifications to one part of a multi-segment line automatically affect the other line 

segments. This example shows the result of successively deleting points in a multi-segment 

line: 

Figure 5 Deleting Points in a Multi Segment Line 

When you edit a line at segment level, you can, for example: 

• Convert two line segments into an arc and vice versa 

• Move a segment through a specified angle and vary its length 

• Add and remove fillets and chamfers 

You can manipulate complex shapes that are drawn as a single line as a single element. The 

outline of the design shown in Figure 6, “Shapes” is produced by drawing one half of the component 

and then duplicating and mirroring it: 

Figure 6 Shapes 


STARTING MEDUSA 

To start MEDUSA, you have several possibilities. 

Use the Start button in the Windows task bar 

1. Click the Windows Start button and move the cursor over Programs. 

2. Move the cursor to the MEDUSA entry. 

A further pulldown menu opens. 

3. Click left on the entry MEDUSA to start MEDUSA. 

Use Start-Batch-File 

1. Open a terminal window (DOS box). 

2. Type the start command with its complete path, for example: 

d:\medusa\master_project\startmedusa.bat 

3. After pressing Return MEDUSA is started. 

For starting MEDUSA in advanced mode enter the command: 

d:\medusa\master_project\startmedusa.bat -advanced 

Use Login-File and MEDUSA command 


1. Open a terminal window (DOS box). 

2. Type the login command with its complete path, for example: 

d:\medusa\master_project\login.bat 

3. After pressing Return type one of the following commands: 

• medusa -api starts MEDUSA with Bacis2. 

• medusa -advanced starts MEDUSA in advanced mode. In this mode the tool 

SMART Edit is available, for example. 

• medusa -api -advanced starts MEDUSA in advanced mode with Bacis2. 

4. After pressing Return MEDUSA is started. 



Starting MEDUSA 



OVERVIEW OF THE WORK ENVIRONMENT 

This chapter introduces MEDUSA users to the various features that make up the work environment. 

New users find this chapter a useful introduction to MEDUSA. 

• Quick Guide to the Work Environment..................................... 26 

• Using the Mouse...................................................................... 27 

• Keyboard.................................................................................. 29 

• The Drawing Area and Popup Menus...................................... 30 

• Menu Bar and Pulldown Menus............................................... 31 

• Dialogs..................................................................................... 32 

• Toolbar ..................................................................................... 34 

• Dashboard ............................................................................... 35 

• Tools and Tooltrays .................................................................. 36 

• File Selectors ........................................................................... 42 



Overview of the Work Environment 

Quick Guide to the Work Environment 

The work environment is made up of several menus that provide fast access to the drafting 

functionality. Following figure shows a graphic representation of the menus and other features 

you see when you start MEDUSA. 

Menu bar 

Dashboard 

Tooltrays 

and Tools 

Status Area 

Figure 7 Features of the Work Environment 

Active Tool 

Probe Specifiers 

Sheet Tabs 

Message Line 

Drop Area 

Toolbar 

Drawing 

Area 

Tree 

Viewer 

Output 

Message 

Area 

Please note: The output message area is not visible unless you click the Toggle output message area 

tool from the status area. The tree viewer is not visible unless you select the 

Tree toggle button , located in the status area below the drawing area. 

The Output Message Area displays any messages, for example, after probing a point inside the 

drawing area or if an error occurs. 

Additional to the Toggle output message area tool shown above you find a second arrow, which can 

also be used to display messages . A click on the arrow opens a semi-transparent message 

window in the bottom right corner of the drawing area (for details see “Overview Status 

Area” on page 342) 

Click left on the Sheet Tabs to switch between the loaded sheets displayed in the Drawing Area. 


Using the Mouse 


Using the Mouse 

The mouse buttons have the usual functionality. For example, the left button is used for choosing 

menu items or selecting elements, the middle mouse button is used for adding elements to a 

selection or create chain dimensions, and the right mouse button is used for opening a popup 

menu available for most functions inside MEDUSA providing further functionality for the current 

tool. Pressing the Shift key and using the left mouse button has the same effect as using the 

middle mouse button. 

Please note: Your mouse buttons may be mapped differently than usual. If this is the case, or 

you want to change the mapping, then contact your System Administrator. 

Using Mouse Buttons 

You can either click, double click or hold down a mouse button. 

• Click means to push down and then instantly release the mouse button. 

• Double click means to click the mouse button twice in close succession. 

• Hold down means to press the mouse button and keep it pressed until it is said to 

release it. 

Using the Mouse Wheel 

If you have a wheel mouse, you can use the wheel as follows: 

• You can zoom into and out of the sheet. The mouse wheel zoom allows the user to 

zoom in precisely on the point directly under the cursor. Pushing the wheel forward 

zooms in, pushing backward zooms out. 

• In conjunction with the pressed Ctrl key on your keyboard (in order to prevent 

changes by mistake) you can scroll inside lists, for example, when selecting a style in 

the dashboard 

Dragging 

Dragging means to hold down a mouse button and move the mouse pointer to another position. 

You use dragging to: 




• Move dialogs around a sheet. 

• Select elements on your sheet, doing following steps: 

a. Position the pointer at a corner of the area you want to select. 

b. Click the left mouse button, 

c. Drag the pointer to the diagonally opposite corner. 

As you drag a temporary selection box appears. The selection box lets you see 

what elements will be selected. 

Please note: If you select elements by clicking the left mouse button and drag the cursor, then 

all previously selected elements are deselected. However, if you press the middle 

mouse button, previously selected elements remain selected and other elements 

are also selected. See the chapter “Select” on page 103, for more information on 

selecting MEDUSA elements. 


Keyboard 

Shift-Key 


Keyboard 

The Shift-key is used in MEDUSA to enhance functions, for example by adding or subtracting 

to a selection. 

Ctrl-Key 

The Ctrl-key is used in MEDUSA for independent functionality like dynamically pan and zoom. 

If the Ctrl-key can be used for a tool, it is mentioned in the appropriate explanation. 

Esc-Key 

The use of the Esc-key has different effects depending on the context in which it is used. 

• If the mouse cursor is on the drawing area, Esc deselects all elements as defined in 

the Accelerator Key dialog (see “Utilities”, “Accelerator and Map Keys” on page 255). 

• For tools like creating lines, closed geometry, fillets or welding symbols, Esc exits the 

tool. 

• For tools like dimensioning and creating text the function of Esc depends on the state 

in which the tool currently is. Examples: 

• When creating text pressing the Esc-key closes the edit field below the dashboard 

but you can still place the text. After placing the text, you can place further texts until 

you press Esc again and exit the tool. 

• For dimensioning Esc makes nothing until the current dimension was placed on the 

sheet. Before adding the next dimension Esc exits the tool. 

• For a popup menu Esc dismisses the popup menu. 

• For a dialog Esc performs the cancel operation. 

Other Keys 

The Accelerator and Mapkey dialog allows to define frequently used tools to be called by certain 

keys (e.g. F12), shortcuts (e.g. ctrl+s) or a certain character combination (e.g. at). For 

details how to do this see “Utilities”, “Accelerator and Map Keys” on page 255. 




The Drawing Area and Popup Menus 

The drawing area is where you create MEDUSA drawings. (See “Quick Guide to the Work Environment” 

on page 26 for a diagram of the MEDUSA window.) 

Once you move the pointer into the drawing area, a popup menu becomes available. You display 

the popup menu by pressing the right mouse button. The menu gives you quick access to 

those functions most used by the active tool. 

The popup menu changes according to the active tool type. An example is shown in the figure 

below. 

Figure 8 Example for Popup Menus 

General Popup Menu 

Line Editing Popup Menu 


Menu Bar and Pulldown Menus 


Menu Bar and Pulldown Menus 

The menu bar displays the names of the pulldown menus. Pulldown menus consist of menu 

items such as Save or Print... as shown in the following figure. 

Menu name 

Menu item 

Figure 9 Section of the Menu Bar showing the File Menu 

A second-level 

pulldown menu 

To select options from the menu bar: 

1. Move the mouse cursor over the menu name of the menu bar, for example, File. 

2. Click the left mouse button. 

The pulldown menu for handling files opens. 

3. Move the mouse over the options of the pulldown menu. 

As you move over menus with an arrow to the right a second menu appears. 

4. Move your mouse over the New option. 

A second level pulldown menu appears containing a list of available sheet sizes. 

Please note: The sheet types available to you may be customized to meet your site requirements 

and therefore the list may be different from that one shown above. 

5. Click the left mouse button on a menu item to select it. 

Functions occur depending on the item you selected. 

If you select an item which ends in three dots (...), a dialog appears. 




Dialogs 

A dialog is a floating window which allows you to enter information appropriate to the current 

function or which displays a series of options or buttons appropriate to the current function. 

For example, if you select the Open option from the File menu, the Open dialog appears: 

Figure 10 Open Dialog 

To move the dialog to a convenient place on the screen: 

1. Move the cursor into the title bar of the dialog. 

2. Press and hold down the left mouse button. 

3. Keep the left mouse button pressed and move the cursor until the dialog is in the 

required position. 

4. Release the left mouse button. 

Buttons 

Dialogs have buttons for applying the changes you made inside the dialog, canceling the 

changes or opening the online help. This section explains the buttons which are often used. In 

the other parts of the manuals you find no explanations for these buttons anymore. 

The following buttons can be found often in dialogs: 


OK 

Apply 

Cancel 

Help 

Figure 11 Often Used Buttons 


Dialogs 

applies the changes you made inside the dialog and closes the dialog window. 

applies the changes you made inside the dialog but the dialog window remains open. 

closes the dialog window without applying the settings of the dialog. 

opens the HTML Online Help for the appropriate topic. If there is no link for the current 

item the global help section is opened. 




Toolbar 

The toolbar, positioned below the menu bar, has a selection of the more frequently-used items 

from the pulldown menus. By default you find items like opening and saving sheets, zoom functions 

and line navigation. 

The following figure shows the toolbar after starting MEDUSA the first time. 

Figure 12 The Toolbar 

Please note: Your toolbar can differ from that one given above if the System Administrator 

changed the settings. 

For choosing an item from the toolbar point to the button and click the left mouse button. 

You can adjust the toolbar to your needs by adding and deleting items. 

For adjusting the toolbar items using the main menu do the following: 

1. Move the cursor upon the entry View in the main menu. 


A pulldown menu opens offering the items of View. 

3. Move the cursor on Toolbars. 

The following pulldown menu opens: 

Figure 13 View Pulldown Menu 

The check mark in front of an entry shows you that the appropriate toolbar entry is visible. 

If there is no check mark the appropriate toolbar entry is not displayed. 

4. Click left on the toolbar you want to hide or display. 

The pulldown menu disappears and the toolbar is changed according to your selection. 


Dashboard 


Dashboard 

The Dashboard, which is below the toolbar, contains information about the properties of the 

MEDUSA geometry element that you are creating or modifying. You can use the dashboard for 

a number of different purposes, for example, for 

• displaying property values for selected elements, 

• setting property values for selected elements and 

• setting property values for the element you are creating. 

The dashboard displays different properties, depending on the type of items that have been 

selected on the sheet. 

The figure below shows an example of the dashboard - in this case the line dashboard. 

Figure 14 The Line Dashboard 

The use of the Dashboard is explained in “Dashboard” on page 299. 




Tools and Tooltrays 

The tooltrays are on the left hand side of the drawing area. They contain tools for creating, 

modifying, and manipulating drawings. For example, it contains tools for: 

• creating lines, including construction lines, 

• creating text, and 

• placing symbols of various types. 

You can choose between the two sets of tooltrays, Basic and Complete. Each of it contains a 

number of tooltrays. By default the Complete set is set. How to change the set of tooltrays see 

“Choosing a Set of Tooltrays” on page 37. Each tooltray contains a number of different tools 

and tool sets. Figure 15 shows the features of the Complete set of tooltrays. 

Figure 15 Features of the Tooltrays 

Tools and tool sets 


Tooltray buttons 


Figure 16 Tool sets and tools 



A series of probe specifiers is located to the right of the tooltrays. For details see “Probe Specifiers” 

on page 41. 

Tool Tips 

Tool tips are lines of text which appear next to the cursor when you position the cursor over any 

option or tool within MEDUSA. They give you hints about the use of each option or tool. 

Choosing a Set of Tooltrays 

The difference between the sets of tooltrays is the number of tooltrays, tools and tool sets. The 

following sets are available. 

Set of Tooltrays Description 

For choosing a set of tooltrays: 

Table 1 Set of Tooltrays 

Complete Contains a number of tooltrays offering the full range of MEDUSA functionality. 

Basic 

Tools and tool sets 


Contains one tooltray with tools for commonly used tasks including line creation, 

editing, text, dimensioning and crosshatching. 

1. Click on View in the menu bar to open the following pulldown menu (Figure 17). 

2. Move the cursor over the Set of tooltrays entry. 




You can now choose between Complete and Basic. The check marks the activated set of 

tooltrays. 

Figure 17 Set of Tooltrays Pulldown Menu 

3. Select one. 

The tooltrays change depending on your choice. 


Choosing a Tooltray 



Tools are kept in tooltrays. According to the chosen set of tooltrays different tooltrays are available. 

If you move the mouse cursor above a tab the tooltray tip appears (for details see ”Tool 

Tips”) showing the tooltray available by this tab. 

For choosing a tooltray: 

1. Move the cursor above the tooltray tabs. 

2. If the tool tip displays the tooltray you want (e.g. Lines + Edit) click the left mouse button. 

The chosen tooltray is selected. 

Tool Sets 

Figure 18 Tooltray Buttons 

Tool 

Tool set 

Some tools are stored with other similar tools in a tool set. Tool sets provide access to related 

tools, for example, to tools for creating lines of different thicknesses or tools that mirror selected 

elements, vertically or obliquely. You can recognize a tool set by an arrow at the lower right corner 

of the button as shown in Figure 19. 

Figure 19 Line Tool Set 

The tool set in the figure above is from the Lines + Edit tooltray. Only one of the tools in the set is 

displayed in the tooltray. 

To choose a tool from a tool set: 

1. Point to the arrow to the lower right corner of the tool set. 

2. Click the left mouse button on the arrow to display the contents of the set. 

You also can move the cursor on the toolset, click left and hold the mouse button for a 

little while. 

Figure 20 Example for a Tool Set 

Selected tooltray 




3. Move the cursor above the tool you want to select. 

4. Click the left mouse button to select the tool. 

The tool you select becomes the default tool and it is displayed inside the tooltray. 

For example, if you select the thick line in the figure above the outermost right icon is 

displayed in the tooltray. 

5. To use the tool, move the pointer into the drawing area. 

Now you are ready to use the tool. The message area below the drawing area gives 

information on the next step to do for using the chosen tool. 

Choosing a Tool 

For choosing a tool: 

1. Move your cursor over the tool. 

When you point to the tool it appears highlighted blue. A description of the tool appears 

in the message line at the bottom of the screen inside the status area and a tool tip 

appears adjacent to the cursor. 

Please note: You cannot choose a tool that is disabled and which has a dimmed appearance. 

2. Click the left mouse button to select the tool. 

Once you have chosen a tool it becomes active. The tool button gets a black border 

and appears more pale then when not selected. 

3. To use the tool, move the pointer into the drawing area. 

Now you are ready to use the tool. The message line inside the status area gives information 

on the next step to do for using the chosen tool. 

Each tool is used in a different manner. Many of the tools are described later in this 

manual. 

Please note: Some of the tools, like the create line tools, remain active after you have used 

them so that you can continue to work with them until you choose another tool. 

The active tool is always shown in the status area as shown in “Quick Guide to the 

Work Environment” on page 26. 

In addition to the tools some tool trays contain tool buttons that enable you to, for example, 

delete all the construction lines on the sheet. The action takes effect as soon as you click the 

button. 





Probe specifiers enable you to specify the type of probe you want to make, for example, to 

select a position on a line or at a grid intersection. 

You choose a probe specifier by pointing to it and clicking the left mouse button. You can 

choose probe specifiers before or after you choose a tool. 

Figure 21 Probe Specifiers 

Please note: If you probed a point inside the drawing area the default probe specifier, for example, 

Auto Probe becomes active again. 




File Selectors 

MEDUSA provides file selectors, for example, in the Open Sheet and Save As dialog, as well as in 

many other file selector dialogs. This section gives you some functions which exceed the usual 

behavior. 

Rename Directories and Files 

Files and directories can be renamed in the list directly by pressing the button F2 on your keyboard, 

or by a left mouse click on a directory or file name which is already selected. To finish 

renaming press the Return key on your keyboard. Renaming also finishes, if the file selector 

looses the focus. The figure below shows a selected file which can be renamed now. 

Figure 22 Dialog Open Sheet 

Adjust the Size of Lists 

Between the directory and the file list a thin size grip for comfortable resizing is available. 

If you move the mouse cursor on this size grip, its appearance changes indicating that the next 

left click selects the size grip. After selecting the size grip moving the mouse resizes the lists. 


Sorting File List 


File Selectors 

The file list of a file selector has three columns, giving the names of the Files, the last modification 

Date and the Size of the file. The file list can be sorted by clicking left on any of the column 

headers. A first click sorts ascending and the second one sorts descending. 

Wildcards in File Names 

In the dialogs for loading and saving sheet files you can enter wildcards for displaying only certain 

files in the field Filename. Possible wildcards are: 

• * - matches zero or more of any characters 

• ? - matches any single character 

• [..] - sets of characters can be represented in square brackets. 

You may specify several filter entries all separated by a single space or by a semi-colon. For 

example, if you enter d*.she, all the files are listed, which begin with the letter d and which 

have the extension .she. 

After typing filter entries press the Return key on your keyboard to apply your entries and display 

only the files which match the filter. 





FILE 


This chapter explains the functions which are available when you select the File option from the 

menu bar. 

• The File Menu.......................................................................... 46 

• Creating a New Sheet.............................................................. 47 

• Closing a Sheet........................................................................ 50 

• Saving Sheets.......................................................................... 51 

• Opening a File.......................................................................... 55 

• Sheet Administration by using Working Sets ........................... 58 

• Importing a File ........................................................................ 64 

• Exporting a File........................................................................ 65 

• Plotting a Sheet........................................................................ 67 

• Printing a Sheet ....................................................................... 70 

• Sheet Properties ...................................................................... 81 

• The Sheet Header Editor ......................................................... 86 

• Sheet History Stack.................................................................. 88 

• Quitting MEDUSA .................................................................... 89 



File 

The File Menu 

If you select File in the menu bar, the following pulldown menu opens. 

Figure 23 The File Pulldown Menu 


Creating a New Sheet 

You can create standard sized sheets and custom sheets (non standard size) 

To create a new sheet move the cursor over the New option. 

A list of sheet types appears top right of the File pulldown menu. 

Figure 24 Sheet Type List of the New Option 

Now you can select either a standard size sheet or a non standard size sheet. 

Standard Sized Sheet 



To create a standard sheet select one of the standard sizes, for example , as shown in 

Table 2. The new sheet opens according to the desired size. 

Standard Sheet 

standard size 

non standard size 

Table 2 Standard Sheet Sizes 

Metric (mm) 

Width Height 

Imperial (inches) 

Width Height 

E/A0 1189.00 841.00 44.0 33.5 

D/A1 841.00 594.00 34.0 22.0 

C/A2 594.00 420.00 22.0 17.0 

B/A3 420.00 297.00 17.0 11.0 

A/A4 (horizontal) 297.00 210.00 11.0 8.5 

AV/A4V (vertical) 210.00 297.00 8.5 11.0 



File 

The sizes of the standard sheets may differ from those shown and they may be specific to your 

installation. Therefore you should confirm with your System Administrator the sizes of the 

sheets supported at your installation. 

You can modify the sheet size in the Sheet Properties dialog as described in “Sheet Size” on 

page 84. 

Non standard Custom Sheet 

For creating a non standard sheet do the following: 

1. Choose New -> from the File menu for opening the Special Sheets dialog. 

Figure 25 Special Sheets Dialog 

The dialog offers the following parameters: 

Size 

provides the standard sheet sizes and a Custom entry. 

If you choose one of the standard sheet sizes, you can define the Scale, Units and the 

Type different from the default settings available with the standard sheets. 

If you choose Custom you are free in defining the Width and Height of the sheet additionally 

to the specification of Scale, Units and Type. 

Width, Height 

define the size of a Custom sheet. For the standard sizes offered by Size these entry 

fields are disabled. 

Scale 

Units 

Type 

defines the permanent scale of the sheet. For details see “Permanent and Temporary 

Sheet Scale” on page 82. 

defines the sheet units either to Metric (mm) or Imperial (inch). For details see “Units” on 

page 83. 

defines the type of the drafting. For details see “Sheet Type” on page 49. 

2. Set the parameters for the sheet as required. 




3. Click OK for creating the new sheet 

If you chose a Custom sized sheet a blank sheet is created. 

If you chose one of the standard sized sheets a new sheet is created with the settings 

you made. 

4. If you created a Custom sheet annotate the sheet as described in ”Annotating a Sheet”. 

Please note: You can only change the units if there is more than one unit type available. Units 

are set by your System Administrator. 

Sheet Type 

The sheet type varies depending on the MEDUSA application you are working in, or on the 

requirements of your company. The Type option button in the Special Sheets dialog lists the available 

sheet types for your project. For example, you would set the Type option button to 2D if you 

are working in MEDUSA Drafting. 

The range of sheet types is defined by your System Administrator. 

Please note: You cannot change the sheet type after you have created the sheet. 

Annotating a Sheet 

If you have a custom sheet there is no title block containing the name of the sheet for unique 

identification. Therefore it is essential to annotate the sheet with the sheet name so that it can 

be easily identified when you display it on the workstation screen or when you plot it. 

To annotate a sheet: 

1. Select a New Text tool . 

2. Change the text style on the dashboard to Free. 

3. Change the text type on the dashboard to Drawing Number. 

4. Type the drawing name into the text entry box on the right of the dashboard. 

5. Move your cursor until the text is in the position you require, and click left. 



File 

Closing a Sheet 

If you want to close a certain sheet choose the Close option from the File menu. 

A list of available sheets appears. If you choose a file which should be closed, the selected 

drawing is promptly closed. If you made modifications in the sheet which have not been saved 

till now the Save or Discard Sheet dialog appears and you are asked to save or discard the changes. 


Saving Sheets 

The File pulldown menu offers four different save options which are shown below. 

Figure 26 The Save Options of the File Menu 


Saving Sheets 

The Save and Save As tool is also available in the toolbar. (See also “Toolbar Overview” on 

page 264) 

Save 

saves the current sheet under its existing identity 

saves a new sheet or 

saves a copy of the current sheet under a new identity 

saves the current sheet automatically in defined intervals 

saves the current sheet as raster image file 

The Save option is only available if you have loaded an existing sheet, that is a sheet which has 

been saved before under a defined name in a specified directory. 

Click on Save stores modifications in the drawing and saves the current sheet under its existing 

identity. 



File 

Save As 

You can use the Save As option to: 

• save a new created sheet under a defined file name in a specified directory 

• save a copy of the current sheet under a new file name in a specified directory 

For saving a sheet to a new file click on Save As from the File menu. 

The Save As dialog is displayed. 

Figure 27 The Save As Dialog 

The Filename input field displays the actual path and directory and a default file name with the 

extension she. 

Please note: Your System Administrator can modify the default file name as displayed in the 

Filename input field. For further information see the MEDUSA Administration Guide. 

The left side of the Save As dialog shows the directory structure. Here you can select the folder 

where you wish to save your sheet. 

The lower field at the right hand side of the dialog displays the names of the files which are 

stored in the current directory. 

The Filter pulldown menu can be called by clicking on the arrow. It offers a list of file types. 


Figure 28 The Filter Pulldown Menu 

For saving the current sheet: 


Saving Sheets 

1. Select the directory where you wish to save your sheet. 

The directory is displayed in the Filename field. 

2. Select the file type as which you want to save your sheet. 

For example, choose AutoCAD DXF (*.dxf) for exporting the current sheet with AutoCAD 

exchange format. 

3. Click on Save. 

The current sheet is stored in the chosen directory under the defined file name. 

The dialog disappears. 

Auto Sheet Save 

1. Click on Auto Sheet Save from the File menu to open the Auto Save Dialog. 

Figure 29 The Auto Save Dialog 

2. Enter a number of seconds to define the interval in which the current sheet should be 

stored automatically. 

3. Select the Location where you wish to save the sheet from the pulldown menu list. 

Following locations are available: 

• current stores the sheet in the current directory. 

• home stores the sheet in your home directory. 

• user stores the sheet to the directory you define in the field Path Selection. 

The Path Selection field displays the path in which the sheet is saved automatically. It is 

only enabled if the Location is user. 

4. Click OK to apply the settings or Cancel to quit the dialog without applying the settings. 



File 

Save As Image 

MEDUSA enables you to save a sheet as image. 

Please note: This option will only be enabled if the RASTER product is included in your project. 

1. Click on Save as Image from the File menu for opening the Image Save As Dialog. 

Figure 30 The Image Save As Dialog 

2. Open the Image Browse Dialog by clicking the Browse button. 

3. Select the directory where you wish to save the image file and click the Open button. 

The dialog disappears and the desired path is displayed in the Filename field of the Image 

Save As dialog. 

By default the displayed file name accords with the drawing number of the current 

sheet. By default the extension for the image file is tif. 

Inside the Image Save As Dialog the type for saving as image can be chosen by the arrow 

to the right of the Save Image Type field. By default the type is tif. 

Please note: If the medcolraster product is part of your product list, the Image type options can 

differ from the one shown above (for details, see the MEDRaster User Guide). 

4. Click OK. 

The sheet is saved as image and the Image Save As Dialog disappears. 


Opening a File 



To open drawing files choose the Open option from the File menu. With this the graphical file 

manager with preview function opens allowing you to open drawings from any directory. 

Open Sheet Dialog 

For opening a drawing: 

1. Select the Open option from the File menu to open the Open Sheet dialog. 

Figure 31 Open Sheet Dialog 

You can also open the Open Sheet dialog via the Open an existing sheet button from the 

toolbar, which is explained in chapter “Toolbar Overview” on page 264. 

The Open Sheet dialog consists of two parts: 

• The left part of the dialog offers a directory browser, a file type selector and a file list. 

• The right hand side has six preview areas in which files may be viewed (for details 

see ”Preview”). 

For continuing to open a drawing: 

2. Select the directory containing the drawing you want to open inside the browser on the 

left hand side by clicking left on a path name. 

If there are drawings in the selected directory they are displayed in the list Filename. 

By default MEDUSA offers the file type with extension she in the field below Filter. 

Other sheets which can be loaded are defined by its extensions, which are tsh (old 

STHENO format), dxf (drawing exchange format) and dwg (standard AutoCAD). 



File 

3. If you reached your path select the drawing you want to open inside the Filename list. 

On the right hand side the border of the appropriate preview becomes red. 

Now the file can be opened by: 

a. Click left on the Open button. 

The chosen drawing is loaded and the Open Sheet dialog closes. 

b. Click left on the Apply button if you want to open further drawings. 

The file is loaded and the dialog remains open. 

There are two alternative ways of opening a file. Both close the Open Sheet dialog. 

• You can double click the left mouse button inside the list Filename. 

• You can click left on a preview box. 

Write Protection Display 

When you have opened a MEDUSA drawing, the tab below the drawing area displays the filename 

and at the left hand site of it the symbol of a lock. The lock informs you whether a file is 

write protected or not. 

Preview 

Figure 32 Display of File Attribute - Write Protected 

The right hand side of the Open Sheet dialog allows you to preview drawings without opening 

them. The preview drawings itself can be used for opening a drawing too. 


Figure 33 Preview of the Open Sheet Dialog 



For the preview section following functionalities are available: 

• Preview all drawings 

To preview all files click left on the Preview button. 

If the directory contains up to six files, all files are displayed in the preview windows. 

If the directory contains more than six files, scroll inside the Filename list, select the file 

you want to preview and click left on the Preview button. The files are displayed in 

’sixpacks’ and the selected file is highlighted by a red frame. If the number of files 

exceeds a multiple of six, the last files are displayed as remainder (e.g.: If the thirteenth 

of fourteen files is selected, then only the thirteenth and the fourteenth are previewed; 

If the seventh of nine files is selected, then only the seventh, the eighth and 

the ninth are previewed). 

• Preview one drawing 

To preview only one of the six drawings move the cursor above the appropriate preview 

box and click the middle mouse button. 

• Open drawings 

To open a file, click into the preview window of your choice using the left mouse button. 



File 

Sheet Administration by using Working Sets 

You can group a number of sheets under one name by using a Working Set Definition (WSD) 

file. This section describes how to group a number of sheets under one Working Set Definition 

(WSD) file and how to use WSD files. 

Sheet Working Sets Dialog 

The Sheet Working Sets dialog enables you to create and use WSD files. 

To display the Sheet Working Sets dialog, select the Working Sets option from the File menu. 

Figure 34 Sheet Working Sets Dialog 

This dialog allows you to: 

• Create, open, copy and delete WSD files 

• Load and close the sheets defined in the WSD file 

• Refresh the list of available sheets 

• Reset the list of selected sheets to that one stored in the WSD file 

• Manage the properties associated with WSD files 

• Add sheet files to and remove sheet files from a WSD file 


Popup Menu for the Lists of Sheets 



If you move the cursor over the lists of the Sheet Working Sets dialog the following popup menu is 

available: 

Figure 35 Popup Menu for Sheet Lists 

Select All, Deselect All 

selects or deselects all entries of a list. 

Sort 

is used for sorting the list entries alphabetical. This option is used after adding and 

removing sheets from a WSD file. 

Creating a WSD File 

1. Click the Defines a new multi-sheet working set button on the Sheet Working Sets dialog. 

The WSD file entry on the Sheet Working Sets dialog is left blank, that is the area of the dialog 

below the tools. 

The Available Sheets list displays the sheets of the current working directory. 

The Selected Sheets list is empty. 

If a working set is already opened, there may be some interactions. For example, if an 

old working set has been modified, you are asked to save the contents. 

Please note: If already a working set has been loaded, any sheets associated with that working 

set will be closed automatically. This occurs, if the Loaded Sheet option is set to 

Clear in the Working Set Properties dialog (for details to this dialog see “Modifying 

Loading Behavior” on page 63). 

2. Select the files that you wish to be part of the new Working Set in the Available Sheets list 

and move it into the Selected Sheets list using the Add available sheet to set button . 

3. Click the Saves the current multi-sheet set button on the Sheet Working Sets dialog. 

A file selector dialog appears. 

4. Select the directory where you wish to store the WSD file and insert a file name. 

5. Click on Save. 

6. The current working set is saved immediately. The Saves the current multi-sheet set button 

becomes disabled until you change something in the WSD file. 



File 

Creating a Copy of the Current WSD File 

1. Click the Saves current multi-sheet set under a new identity button on the Sheet Working Sets dialog 

for opening the Save As A New Working Set file selector dialog. 

2. Identify the folder for the WSD file and enter its name in the File Name field. 

3. Click OK. 

Provided the given file does not already exist, a new working set is created and the 

sheet set is updated. If the set already exists an error is reported in the output message 

area and the File Selector dialog remains on the screen to allow you to try again. 

Loading a WSD File 

1. Click the Opens a multi-sheet set button on the Sheet Working Sets dialog. 

The Open Working Set dialog opens which looks like a usual dialog for opening files. 

2. Choose the directory and WSD file which should be loaded. 

3. Choose OK. 

The sheet lists are updated according to the definitions in the loaded WSD file. 

The Available Sheets list displays all sheet files of the selected directory which are not 

defined in the current working set. The Selected Sheets list displays all sheet files which 

are defined in the current working set. Both lists together show all sheet files inside the 

selected directory. 

Deleting a WSD File 

1. Open the WSD file if it is not currently open. (Using the Sheet Working Sets dialog). 

2. Click the Deletes current multi-sheet set button on the Sheet Working Sets dialog. 

The current WSD file is deleted from the hard disk. Its settings remain until you create 

a new or load another WSD file. 

Adding Sheets to a WSD File 

To add sheets to a WSD file: 

1. Select the sheet files from the Available Sheets list on the Sheet Working Sets dialog. 

2. Click the Add option to move the files to the Selected Sheets list. 




Please note: Sheets are automatically added to a WSD file once it is active. See “Once the 

Working Set is Active” on page 62. 

Removing Sheets from a WSD File 

To remove unwanted sheets from the WSD file: 

1. Select the sheet files from the Selected Sheets list on the Sheet Working Sets dialog. 

2. Click the Remove option to move the files to the Available Sheets list. 

The selected sheet files are removed from the WSD file. 

Loading Sheets of a WSD File 

Clicking the Loads the complete working set button on the Sheet Working Sets dialog loads the files 

listed in the Selected Sheets panel into your current MEDUSA session. 

You can alter the behavior of the load process. This is explained in “Modifying Loading Behavior” 

on page 63. For example, you can modify what MEDUSA does with sheets that are not 

found and with currently loaded sheets. 

If you loaded the files of a WSD file and if you save the defaults when quitting MEDUSA (see 

“Quitting MEDUSA” on page 89), then in the next session you are asked for reloading the 

sheets of the WSD file by the following dialog: 

Figure 36 Reload WSD File 

If you choose OK, all sheets of the appropriate WSD file are loaded. Cancel aborts loading. If you 

choose the option Don’t ask unless I open another working set and click the OK button, the WSD file is 

loaded automatically when starting the next session until you load another WSD file or no WSD 

file and save the defaults with that setting. 



File 

Once the Working Set is Active 

Once a working set is loaded in MEDUSA, any sheets that are subsequently opened or created 

are automatically added into the working set. Similarly when sheets are closed (for example 

using Windows > Close) they are automatically removed from the working set. 

At the end of a session the working set is checked for modifications. If there are unsaved 

changes, the following dialog is displayed, allowing you to save or discard any changes to the 

working set definition. 

Figure 37 Save or Discard Working Set Dialog 

A similar dialog is displayed when a new working set is created or opened and you have made 

changes to the existing Working Set. 

Refresh and Reset Sheet Lists 

Click Refresh the available sheet list to display a refreshed Available Sheets list. Sheet files that are referenced 

in the WSD file are excluded. 

Click Reset the multi-sheet set to reset the Selected Sheets list to the saved WSD file and display a 

refreshed Available Sheets list. This button is only available if you moved sheets between the lists 

as explained in ”Adding Sheets to a WSD File” and “Removing Sheets from a WSD File” on 

page 61. 

Closing Sheets of a WSD File 

Clicking the Closes all files of the current multi-sheet set button on the Sheet Working Sets dialog closes 

the files listed in the Selected Sheets panel. 


Modifying Loading Behavior 



You can customize the way in which the sheets are loaded using the Working Set Properties dialog. 

To display this dialog, click the Manage the properties associated with working sets button on the Sheet 

Working Sets dialog. 

Figure 38 Working Set Properties Dialog 

1. Use the Loaded Sheets pulldown menu to define whether to retain or close any sheet files 

which are already loaded. 

• Retain keeps the sheet files already loaded. 

• Clear closes the sheet files already loaded. When you load a WSD file, you will be 

prompted to save or discard any unsaved changes. 

2. Use the Know Sheets pulldown menu to either use the sheet files already loaded in 

MEDUSA or to reload them. 

• Auto Switch uses the sheet files already loaded. 

• Always Load reloads the sheet files. When you load a WSD file, you will be prompted 

to save or discard any unsaved changes. 

3. Use the Lost Sheets pulldown menu to ignore or abort the sheet files that do not exist. 

• Ignore loads only those sheet files that are found. 

• Search displays a File Selector dialog if any sheets are not found. You can use this dialog 

to navigate to a folder where the desired sheet is located. The File Selector dialog 

will appear once for each missing sheet. 

• Abort discontinues the Load option. 

An Error dialog is displayed, listing the sheet files that are not found. Loading is 

aborted. 

Figure 39 Load WSD Error Dialog 



File 

Importing a File 

MEDUSA provides the possibility to import sheets with IGES standard and CADDS format. 

Please note: If you have no IGES license, the IGES entry is not available. 

1. Select Import from the File menu. 

The pulldown menu opens and displays a list of file types. 

Figure 40 The Import Pulldown Menu 

• IGES -> Standard opens a sheet with the standard IGES format. 

• IGES -> Cadds opens a sheet with the CADDS IGES format. 

2. Select a type. 

The Import File dialog appears. The dialog shows the directory structure on the left hand 

side. The desired file type is displayed in the Filter field on the right hand side. 

Figure 41 The Import File Dialog 

3. Choose the directory from which you wish to load the file. 

4. Select a file. 

Now the Open button is activated. 

5. Click on Open to import the chosen sheet into MEDUSA. 

The sheet is displayed. The tab below the drawing area displays an intermediate name 

of the drawing starting with IMPORT. 

For details on the IGES interface see the IGES Interface Guide. 


Exporting a File 


Exporting a File 

MEDUSA provides the possibility to export sheets to IGES and some older MEDUSA formats. 

Please note: For exporting sheets in AutoCAD drawing format (dwg) or the exchange format 

(dxf) use the menu item Save as (see “Saving Sheets” on page 51). 

If you have no IGES license, the IGES entry is not available in the Export menu. 

1. Select Export from the File menu. 

The pulldown menu opens and displays a list of file types. 

Figure 42 The Export Pulldown Menu 

• MEDUSA4 Rev.2 saves the current sheet with the format of MEDUSA4 Rev.2. 

• MEDUSA NG 2001/2003 saves the current sheet with the format of MEDUSA versions 

between 2001 and 2003. 

• MEDUSA NG 2000I2 saves the current sheet with the format of MEDUSA 2000I2 and 

earlier. 

• IGES saves the current sheet with the Standard or CADDS IGES format. For details 

see the IGES Interface Guide. 

2. Select a type. 

The Export File dialog appears. The dialog shows the directory structure on the left hand 

side. The desired file type is displayed in the Filter field on the right hand side. 

Figure 43 The Export File Dialog 



File 

3. Choose the directory in which you wish to save the file. 

Path and filename of the current sheet appear in the Filename field. 

4. Click on Save to save the sheet in the requested format and directory. 


Plotting a Sheet 

To display the Plot Sheet dialog, select the Plot... option from the File menu. 

Figure 44 Plot Dialog 

The parameters of the Plot Sheet dialog are: 





File 

Admin plot project 

defines the plot queues and plotter driver programs to be used by the plotting system 

administrator. 

Available queues 

Displays all available directories where MEDUSA sheets and plot definition files are 

stored until they are processed by a plotter driver program. Each directory is called 

queue. 

Plot templates 

Allows you to define whether you wish to use the full sheet or the current view in the 

MEDUSA drawing window as the template for the plot. 

Drawing code 

Gives the number of the drawing code used for plotting. Up to ten Drawing codes are 

defined in the code.dat. Refer to your System Administrator for more information. By 

default the value is 1. 

No of copies 

Allows you to define how many copies will be plotted. 

Priority 

Sets the priority of running the plot process on your computer It can be a value from 1 

(highest priority) to 5 (lowest priority). 

Plotter Format 

Is relevant only for particular plotters and may not be relevant at your site. Refer to 

your System Administrator for more information. 

Title 

A title box may be included at the bottom of the plotted sheet. Text in this entry box 

determines what will appear in the first line of the plot information title box if it is plotted. 

You can click in this area and edit this text if required. 

Drafting project 

This is an user project, which defines the appearance of drawing elements. The Drafting 

project can be the Admin plot project at the same time. 

Layers 

This pulldown list allows you to select which layer or specific set of layers (for example 

All layers) you would like to plot. 

Plot window 

These entry boxes define the coordinates defining precisely which area of the sheet is 

plotted. The numbers change automatically to reflect the coordinates of whichever Plot 

Template you select (that is, Sheet or Window). You may alter these coordinates if required. 

Plot scale 

This option is only active when Enable Autoscale choice box is not selected. Use this entry 

box to define a specific scale. 

Curve Factor, Max Angle, Min. Angle 

Arcs are drawn using a number of straight lines known as chords. The more chords 

that are used to draw the arc, the smoother the curve appears. The way in which arcs 

appear on your screen is not necessarily the way that they appear on the plotted sheet. 




The options Curve Factor, Max Angle, Min. Angle work together to define the arc factor for the 

plotted sheet. 

The operation of these entry boxes is the same as the operation of the entry boxes 

which are used to define the way in which arcs appear on your computer screen. 

Plot raster backdrop 

If this option is on, a raster image included in the sheet is plotted with the sheet. Additionally 

you can define whether a referenced raster is updated before plotting, and 

whether the raster is copied also into the plot queue. 

Visibility Settings of Design Objects 

this option sets the visibility of hidden, profile and load point lines on or off for plotting. 

Query Plot Queue 

opens the following dialog: 

Figure 45 Plot Queue Dialog 

The list of Available queues is shown. 

You can sort it either by priority or plot number. 



File 

Printing a Sheet 

To display the Print dialog, select the Print... option from the File menu. 

Figure 46 Print Dialog 

The parameters of the Print dialog are: 

Filename 

becomes active if you want to print to a file. In order to do this choose the File option 

from the Print output to pulldown list. You have to enter name and complete path of the 

plotfile. The File Selector button opens the dialog. You can choose a file in any directory. 

Filename and path are passed to the Filename input field. 


Directory 



Select the target directory of the output-file, when the Print output to option is set on File. 

For details see “Directory” on page 73. 

Available printers 

displays a list of all the printers configured in your system. 

Print output to 

Allows you to define the destination for printing which is either the printer or a file. If 

you choose File then the entry Filename becomes active for specifying a file name. 

Print templates 

Allows you to define whether you wish to use the full sheet or the current view in the 

MEDUSA drawing window as the template for the print. 

Drawing code 

Gives the number of the drawing code used for printing. Up to ten Drawing codes are 

defined in the code.dat. Refer to your System Administrator for more information. By 

default the value is 1. 

No of copies 

Allows you to define how many copies will be printed. 

Printer Format 

complies with the FORMAT command and is used to pass format names. Format 

names are assigned with additional predefined format-specific commands 

(DEFFORMAT commands), for example “Rotating only if A3“ or “Special paper tray, if 

A4“, or similar. 

Paper Width, Paper Height 

gives the width and height of the paper on which the sheet is printed. 

Area options 

Select the area to be printed (see “Area options” on page 74). 

Title 

Depending upon settings in the Advanced Options dialog, (see “Advanced Options” on 

page 78) a title box may be included at the bottom of the printed sheet. Text in this 

entry box determines what will appear in the first line of the print information title box if 

it is printed. You can click in this area and edit this text if required. 

Layer settings 

Enter the layernumbers which are to be printed. For further information see “Layer settings” 

on page 75). 

Print window 

These entry boxes define the coordinates defining precisely which area of the sheet is 

printed. The numbers change automatically to reflect the coordinates of whichever Print 

templates you select (that is, Sheet or Window). You may alter these coordinates if required. 

Print scale 

This option is only active when Enable Autoscale choice box is deselected. The default 

setting for Print scale is 3. Your Administrator can define another default value by setting 

the accordant keyword and the desired value in the defaults.dat (for detailed information 



File 

on this subject, please, refer to the Customization Guide). Use this entry box to define 

a specific scale. 

Curve Factor, Max Angle, Min. Angle 

Arcs are drawn using a number of straight lines known as chords. The more chords 

that are used to draw the arc, the smoother the curve appears. The way in which arcs 

appear on your screen is not necessarily the way that they appear on the printed 

sheet. The options Curve Factor, Max Angle, Min. Angle work together to define the arc factor 

for the printed sheet. 

The operation of these entry boxes is the same as the operation of the entry boxes 

which are used to define the way in which arcs appear on your computer screen. 

Print backdrop 

If this option is on, a raster image included in the sheet is printed with the sheet. Additionally 

you can define whether a referenced raster is updated before printing, and 

whether the raster is copied also into the plot queue. 

Enable Autoscale 

When this choice box is selected, MEDUSA will automatically scale the defined area to 

fit on the sheet. The graphics will not become distorted. To define a specific scale, 

ensure this choice box is not selected and use the Print scale option. 

WARNING: Normally, if auto scaling is disabled and the requested print is too large for the 

selected printer, nothing is printed. 

Enable Autorotate 

When this option is selected, MEDUSA automatically rotates the defined area to suit 

the sheet orientation, if necessary. For example, if you send a landscape shaped sheet 

on a printer which has a portrait orientation paper feed, then the sheet will be rotated. A 

portrait orientated sheet will not be rotated. If the Rotate Print choice box is selected it 

becomes deselected if you select this choice box again. 

Please note: To ensure that the area to be printed is scaled to the fullest extent for the paper 

size, ensure that both the Enable Auto scale and Enable Auto rotate choice boxes are 

selected. 

Rotate Print 

When this choice box is selected, MEDUSA always rotates the area to be printed 

through 90 degrees, for example to print a landscape shaped area on a printer which 

has a portrait orientation paper feed. If the Enable Auto rotate choice box is selected it 

becomes deselected if you select this choice box. 

Enable Optimization 

Option relevant only for pen plotter 

according to the OPT command in the description file, prevents that the pens are 

changed to often and optimizes the path of the pens. 




Advanced Options 

Opens a dialog allowing you to set further print settings. For details see “Advanced 

Options” on page 78. 

Directory 

This input field works in conjunction with the Filename field and is also only active, when the Print 

output to option is set on File. It provides the possibility to choose a predefined target directory or 

file from a pulldown list. The selected one is entered into the Filename input field of the File Selector 

dialog. The user now can add or change the filename by clicking twice on the desired file. In 

order to display the pulldown list the Administrator has to define the accordant keywords in the 

defaults.dat (for detailed information on this subject, please, refer to the Customization Guide). 

Figure 47 Directory Pulldown Menu of the Print Dialog 



File 

Area options 

Figure 48 Predefined Directory with added Filename 

During the startup of the Print dialog the directories defined in the defaults.dat are 

checked, if they exist. If not, the following error message appears. 

Figure 49 Error Message, if Predefined Directory does not exist 

These options are not normally used for general printing operations and should not require 

alteration. 

Figure 50 Selection of plotting area 


Explicit 

Hard 

Soft 

Auto 



Format definition is taken from the currently displayed window (values of the Paper Width 

and Paper Height fields). 

Allows you to define an explicit paper size. If this is not supported on the selected 

printer at your installation the graphics will be sized and located based on the sizes 

given but then they could be trimmed to the available paper size. Which parts of an 

oversized drawing are trimmed or whereabouts on the paper an undersized drawing is 

placed, is dependant on the type of printer that you use. 

Plot size according to the inquired hardware limits of the plotter at run time (and the 

plotter driver settings with WINPLOT respectively). Complies with the AREA HARD 

command in the description file. 

Sets the size of the drawing area by using the softclip limits obtained from the plotter 

itself. This can be set through the plotter control panel. If this information is not available, 

the area defaults to A4 portrait. 

Takes the information on the paper size out of the sheet; complies with AREA AUTO in 

the description file. 

Layer settings 

The section Layers is used to define which layers should be printed. 

Layers 

Figure 51 Input area, layers to be printed 

Enter the layer numbers which are to be printed. Multiple values are separated by a 

comma (,), e.g. 0-10,12,15-20. 

Configuration of layers to print 

Opens the dialog Layers to Print, in which you can select layers from a table (see “Layers 

to print” on page 76). 

Reset the configurated layers to the layers from default 

Reset the input to the values defined in the file defaults.dat. For further information see 

„customization Guide“ chapter „User Interface“, section „DEFAULTS.DAT“. 

Show a preview of the current sheet with the configured layer settings 

All elements with the defined layers as enterd in the input field Layers will be visible, the 

others will be invisible. 



File 

Shows the current sheet with the standard layer setting 

Resets the visibility of the elements. 

Layers to print 

The dialog Layers to print is used to select the desired layers which then will be entered in the 

input field Layers of the Print... Dialog. 

Abb. 52 Dialog, to select layers 




The row headers show the layer numbers. The appropriate layernames are printed in the column 

Layer Name. Choice boxes in the column On are used for the selection. Activated choice 

boxes indicate the layers which are to be printed. The options are described below. 

On 

Activates or deactivates all choice boxes at the same time. 

Print... dialog 

Only the layers defined in the input field Layers of the Print... dialog are available for 

selection. 

Used layers 

Only the layers are available for selection, which are used on the sheet. 

All layers 

OK 

Cancel 

Preview 

All layers are available for selection. 

Transfer the selected layer into the input field Layers of the dialog Print... and closes the 

dialog. 

Dismiss the selection and close the dialog. 

All elements with the defined layers will be visible, the remaining will be invisible. 

Review Reset 

Resets the visibility of the elements. 



File 

Advanced Options 

You can define advanced printing options, for example for text printing or defining a print title 

block, using the Advanced Printing Options dialog. To display this dialog, click the Advanced Options button 

on the Print dialog. 

Figure 53 Advance Printing Options Dialog 

Select the required options and define any optional user text on this dialog and click OK to return 

to the Print dialog. The fields on this dialog are described below. 

Layout Options 

These radio buttons define various sheet layout options. 

Boundary Brackets 

If On angular markers are drawn on the printed sheet, outside of the sheet borders to 

define the corners of the sheet boundary area 

Margin 

If On a blank margin is kept around the edge of the sheet. Once set to On use the Values 




button to display a dialog which allows you to specify the margin extents as X and Y 

coordinates. 

Scrubbing area 

Option only relevant for pen plotter 

Complies with the SCR ON/OFF command (Scrubbing) in the description file. It is the 

area on the plot paper, which is used for the fact, that the pens can draw undisturbed, 

so that the ink begins to flow in the right moment; i.e. if the first correct line is produced. 

Title Block 

If On a title block is drawn at the bottom of the print, outside of the graphics area. Text 

for the title block may be defined in the Title entry box on the Printer dialog and the 

Optional User Text area of the Advanced Printing Options dialog. 

Format Options 

These radio buttons define various format options 

Please note: Text may have a proportional spacing or shear attribute set but this spacing or 

shear setting may not be displayed on the screen. 

Proportional Spacing 

If the On radio button is selected text with proportional spacing attributes is printed with 

proportional spacing, even if the proportional spacing is not shown on the screen. 

Text Shear 

If the On radio button is selected text with shear attributes is printed sheared, even if 

the shear is not shown on the screen. 

Thickness Simulation 

Complies with the THKSIM ON/OFF switch 

If required, it uses a pen repeatedly, in order to create a line which surpasses the line 

width of the thickest pen. If OFF is active, the physical pen is used to create this line. 

Particularly with color plotters the number of defined pens will be very large, possibly 

too large. Using THKSIM ON, one thin per color is sufficient. 

Please note: A disadvantage is that the plot file becomes needlessly large. 

Visibility Options 

Using the On or Off radio buttons you can select wether Hidden lines, Profile Lines or Loadpoints should 

be visible or not in the print. 



File 

Optional User Text 

These text entry areas allow you to specify optional lines of text which may be included in the 

title block of the printout below the graphics area. 

Please note: The title block is not printed unless the Title Block option is set to On in the dialog. 

Each User Text entry box defines a line of text which can appear in the title block. 

1. Enter text into the text entry areas as required. 

2. If you want all user text to be shown on the printed sheet ensure that none of the Disable 

choice boxes is selected. 

3. To disable one or more lines of user text so that they are not shown on the printed 

sheet, select the appropriate Disable choice box(es). 

Perform Printing 

1. To display the Print Dialog choose the Print option from the File menu. 

2. Select a printer name from the Available Printers list. 

3. Select an option from the Print output to pulldown list to define whether you want to print 

directly to the printer or to a file. 

4. If you selected Print output to file type a name for the file in the Filename text entry box. If 

required click the File Selector... button and use the browser to define a file name and 

location in which to store the file. 

Please note: The Filename text entry box and the File Selector... button remain grayed out until you 

select the Printer option from the Print output to pulldown list. 

5. Set the other options on the dialog as required. 

6. Click OK to print either to the printer or to a file, as specified. 


Sheet Properties 



This section describes how to change the sheet properties by using the Sheet Properties dialog. 

1. Choose Sheet Properties from the File menu. 

The sheet properties dialog appears. 

Figure 54 The Sheet Properties Dialog 

You can change the following sheet properties: 

• The scale (see “Permanent and Temporary Sheet Scale” on page 82). 

• The units (see “Units” on page 83). 

• The size of the sheet (see “Sheet Size” on page 84). 

• The Layer Naming Convention field indicates whether layer names on your sheet conform to 

the default names set up in your project (in the layers.map file). 



File 

Sheet Filename 

The Filename field in the Sheet Properties dialog displays the full path name of the current sheet. The 

name displayed depends upon whether you have saved the sheet. If you have saved your 

sheet the saved name and path name are displayed. If the current sheet is a new sheet and if it 

has not been saved the default filename is displayed. 

The default name is DrgNo.she, but this may alter if your System Administrator has defined 

standard sheets for use at your site. 

Please note: You cannot change the sheet filename in this field. You save the sheet using the 

Save As... item from the File menu. 

Permanent and Temporary Sheet Scale 

The default scale of a sheet is 1:1, that is, any dimensions that you specify are the actual 

dimensions used when the element is plotted on paper. To avoid the problem, for example, of 

having to scale up something small like an integrated circuit, you can change the default sheet 

scale for the entire sheet. This enables you to enter actual object dimensions while, for example, 

creating a quarter scale drawing. 

You can set the permanent sheet scale when you create the sheet or you can set it later in the 

Sheet Properties dialog. 

Figure 55 Sheet Properties Dialog: Scale 

Please note: To change the default sheet units, use the Defaults dialog, tab Switches. See 

”Options”, “Switches - Control User Options” on page 187. 

Permanent Sheet Scale 

The Sheet field in the Sheet Properties dialog defines the permanent scale for the sheet. This scale is 

saved with the sheet. For example, if you want the dimensions you enter to be scaled down by 

a factor of two (that is, all values you enter are divided by two before being drawn on the sheet), 

you should enter 1:2. 




If you want to draw an object larger than actual size then you must enter a factor greater than 

one. For example, if you want all the dimensions you enter to be multiplied by a factor of two, 

enter 1:0.5, or 2:1. 

Temporary Sheet Scale 

The Temporary field in the Sheet Properties dialog defines the temporary scale for the sheet. This 

scale is not saved with the sheet. The temporary factor is used either until you: 

• Change or reset the permanent sheet scale (by clicking the Reset button) 

• Save and choose a new sheet 

If you save the sheet and then continue to work on it the temporary scale remains the same for 

that sheet. Enter the scale in the same way as the permanent sheet scale. 

Resetting the Default Sheet Scale 

To reset the scale to the default value, type 1:1 in the Sheet field. 

Units 

The units that are available in your project can be changed using the Sheet Properties dialog shown 

in Figure 54, “The Sheet Properties Dialog” on page 81. 

Figure 56 Sheet Properties Dialog: Units 

Permanent Sheet Units 

These units (mm or inches) are set when you create the sheet and cannot be changed. These 

units are used to store measurements internally. However, you can set temporary linear or 

angular units. 

Linear Units 

You can define a local unit to use while either dimensioning or entering coordinates in the 

Enter Coords dialog. To set a local unit choose a linear unit from the Linear pulldown list. Click the 

Apply button to update the width and height fields. 



File 

Please note: When entering coordinates, type fractions of inches in decimal format, for example, 

type half an inch as 0.5. 

Angular Units 

The Angular option button contains a list of angular units. The standard list comprises: 

• Degrees (the default angular unit) 

• Minutes 

• Seconds 

• Radians (1 radian angular unit is approximately 57.296 degrees) 

• Gradians (100 grad = 90 degrees) 

Please note: To specify a negative angle, type a minus sign before the number. 

Sheet Size 

Figure 57 Sheet Properties Dialog: Size 

You can modify the size of the sheet by typing in the actual dimensions you require in the Sheet 

Width and Sheet Height fields of the Sheet Properties dialog. 

Changing the sheet size changes the area that is plotted. It does not change the size of the border 

or title block. The dimensions of the new sheet are measured from the sheet origin in the 

lower left corner. 

Maximum Sheet Size 

You may need to define points outside the normal sheet area. For example when you: 

• Create large radius arcs you may need to define reference points that lie outside the 

normal drawing area. 

• Store text (as reminders to yourself) 

• Rotate a large object some of the points may be moved outside the normal sheet area 

during the rotation. 




You can perform such operations by using a border area around the normal sheet area. You use 

the Maximum fields to define the width of this border area. This area is not printed if you use the 

Full sheet plotting option. Plotting (printing) is explained in “Plotting a Sheet” on page 67 (“Printing 

a Sheet” on page 70). 

Setting the Maximum Sheet Size 

For setting the maximum sheet size enter the maximum width and height of the sheet and 

define a border size by typing in the actual dimensions you need in the Maximum Width and Maximum 

Height fields in the Sheet Properties dialog. For example, if you want a border that is 10 units 

wider than the sheet, enter values that are 10 units more than those you defined for the sheet 

size. 

You cannot place points outside of this area. When you click the OK or Apply buttons, the sheet 

is automatically redrawn. 

Please note: By default the maximum size is: 

Maximum width = sheet width + 2(width+height) 

Maximum height = sheet height + 2(width+height) 



File 

The Sheet Header Editor 

The text field of a drawing contains a lot of information. Manually processing this information is 

not only very laborious but it can also generate errors. The Sheet Header Editor dialog enables fast, 

efficient and interactive processing of the data. 

The special advantage of the Sheet Header Editor is its open configuration. This allows as many text 

field types as desired, all processed with the same tool. 

Another benefit is, that the content of the text field can be summarized to logical groups via the 

configuration (see the Administration Guide, chapter ”Administration”, “Setting up the Sheet 

Header Editor”). Possible groups would be, for example: standard entries (name of the drawing, 

number of the drawing, scale, material....) or the area of the revision index. Consequently, the 

processing of long lists of text field information can be structured concisely. 

The following description of the Sheet Header Editor dialog is an example only because the open 

configuration allows many more possibilities of text definitions. 

1. To display the Sheet Header Editor dialog select the Sheet Header Editor... option from the 

File menu. 

The tool needs a short moment to read all required information from the sheet, then the 

dialog box opens. The zoom window is set automatically to the area of the text field. 

Figure 58 Sheet Header Editor 

2. Edit the entries as required. 

If an input field is a mandatory field it is marked with a star (*). 

Figure 59 Mandatory Input Field 

Pulldown menu for selecting pages 

Scrolls pages back and forth 

Please note: Quitting the dialog via the button OK is only possible after all mandatory input fields 


have a content, otherwise an error message opens. 

Figure 60 Error Mandatory Input 


The Sheet Header Editor 

3. Click OK or Apply for confirming the current entries of the Sheet Header Editor dialog. 

If you choose OK the data is taken into the sheet and the dialog box closes after an 

error-free check of the input fields. 

If you choose Apply the data is taken into the sheet after an error-free check of the input 

fields but the dialog box stays open. 

If you choose Cancel the Sheet Header Editor quits and the dialog box is closed. If you made 

changes inside the edit fields these changes are lost. 

The operation and appearance of the Sheet Header Editor can be configured according to the 

user's needs via a configuration file. For detailed information about the configuration of the 

Sheet Header Editor see the Administration Guide. 



File 

Sheet History Stack 

Additional to the Open menu option (see “Opening a File” on page 55), there is also a sheet history 

stack provided within the File pulldown menu. The sheet history stack is available in the 

form of a list of previous opened files and can be found at the bottom of the File pulldown menu. 

In this form MEDUSA provides quick access to files in a manner consistent with other Microsoft 

Windows applications. 

1. Click on the entry File located on the menu bar. 

The File pulldown menu appears. The sheet history stack is located at the bottom. The 

number of files displayed is configurable. 

2. Click on a file name. 

The file is loaded in MEDUSA. 

Figure 61 Sheet History Option. 

List of last opened files 

The number of files displayed in the sheet history stack can be configured with up to a maximum 

of eight files being displayed at any one time. For more information concerning the configuration 

of the sheet history stack, please see ”Options”, “Sheet History Stack” on page 185. 


Quitting MEDUSA 

To quit MEDUSA choose Quit from the File menu. 

The following dialogs are displayed: 


Quitting MEDUSA 

• If you have created a sheet which has not been saved till now the Save or Discard Sheet 

dialog opens. 

Figure 62 The Save or Discard Dialog 1 

a. Click on Save As calls up the Save As dialog. You can store the sheet in a requested 

directory. (See also “Saving Sheets” on page 51) and quit the session. 

b. Click on Discard rejects changes and closes the MEDUSA session. 

c. Click on Cancel ignores quitting. The sheet is still loaded and you can continue your 

session. 

• If you have modified a sheet which has already been saved in a directory the 

Save or Discard Sheet dialog opens. 

The displayed message contains a hint of the path and file which has been modified. 

Figure 63 The Save or Discard Dialog 2 

The buttons Save as, Discard and Cancel work as described above. 

Click Save to store the sheet and the changes under its existing identity. 

The dialog closes and the session is terminated. 

• If you have made any changes of the defaults during the session MEDUSA displays 

the Save or Discard Defaults dialog with the according message. 



File 

Figure 64 The Save or Discard Defaults Dialog 

a. Click on Save stores the changes of the defaults, closes the dialog and quits the 

MEDUSA session. 

b. Click on Discard ignores the changes and quits the session. 

c. Click on Cancel ignores quitting and you can continue the session. 


EDIT 


This chapter explains the functions which are available when you select the Edit option from the 

menu bar. 

• The Edit Menu.......................................................................... 92 

• Undo and Redo........................................................................ 94 

• Cut, Copy and Paste................................................................ 96 

• Area Cut and Area Copy.......................................................... 99 

• Find Text and Replace Text.................................................... 100 



Edit 

The Edit Menu 

The figure below gives an overview of the available options of the pulldown menu which is displayed 

when you select Edit in the menu bar. 

Figure 65 The Edit Pulldown Menu 

In the following each option is explained in the order of appearance in the pulldown menu. 

Undo, Redo 

Undo enables you to cancel a series of actions you did before. Redo activates actions 

you canceled before with Undo. For details see “Undo and Redo” on page 94. 

Cut, Copy, Paste 

Cut, Copy is used for cutting or copying selected elements and store them in a paste 

buffer. Paste is used for placing elements from the paste buffer back onto the sheet. For 

details see “Cut, Copy and Paste” on page 96. 

Please note: Under Windows it is possible to change Copy to Copy to clipboard in order to paste 

elements also into other applications. To activate this function see “Options”, 

”Switches - Control User Options” on page 187. 

Area Cut, Area Copy 

allows you to cut/copy selected elements surrounded by a group line. For details see 

“Area Cut and Area Copy” on page 99. 

Deselect All 

All selected elements are deselected. 

Delete 

All selected elements are deleted. 


Find text 


The Edit Menu 

opens the Search Text dialog which enables you to search and find a defined text in a 

MEDUSA sheet. For details see “Find Text” on page 100. 

Replace text 

opens the Replace dialog which enables you to find a text in a sheet and replace it with a 

another text. For details see “Replace Text” on page 101. 

Unlock ProDetail elements 

Elements imported from Pro/ENGINEER into a MEDUSA sheet are locked and you are 

not able to edit it. The Unlock ProDetail elements function allows the elements imported 

from Pro/ENGINEER to be unlocked within the MEDUSA sheet. For details see the 

MEDPro Guide. 

Please note: Some of the functions described above are also available in the toolbar (see “Toolbar 

Overview” on page 264) or in the general popup menu which is displayed by 

moving the pointer into the drawing area and clicking the right mouse button. (For 

further information see “The Drawing Area and Popup Menus” on page 30) 



Edit 

Undo and Redo 

The Undo function enables you to cancel a number of work steps at the same time. 

This action can be reversed completely or partially by using the Redo function. 

Undo 

1. Choose Undo from the Edit menu. 

The Select actions to undo dialog appears. 

Figure 66 The Select actions to Undo Dialog 

The dialog displays the history of your actions. The work step that has been performed 

at last is positioned at the top of the list. 

You are prompted to select a row in the list of actions to undo. 

2. Select for example the third line and click OK. 

The dialog is closed and all actions up to this point are undone. 

When you call up the dialog again the work steps 1 - 2 (Figure 66) are disappeared 

and the steps are displayed as shown below. 

Figure 67 The Select actions to Undo Dialog 2 


Redo 

1. Choose Redo from the Edit menu. 

The Select actions to redo dialog appears. 

The actions which has been canceled are listed in the field. 

You can now proceed as described for undoing. 

Figure 68 The Select Actions to Redo Dialog 

2. Select a line in the list and click OK. 

All work steps up to this point are activated again. 


Undo and Redo 



Edit 

Cut, Copy and Paste 

The tools are used to cut or copy selected elements and paste them at a certain point on the 

sheet. While pasting you can manipulate the elements. 

Cut 

1. Select one or more elements. 

2. Choose Cut from the Edit menu. 

The selection disappears from the drawing and it is stored in the paste buffer for pasting 

the element(s). 

Cut is also available with the popup menu inside the drawing area when the default selection 

tool is active. It works a little different: 


2. Choose Cut from the popup menu. 

3. Define a datum point for the selection by probing into the sheet. 

The selection disappears from the drawing and it is stored in the paste buffer for pasting 

the element(s). The defined datum point is the point at which the elements will be 

placed. 

Copy 


2. Choose Copy from the Edit menu. 

The copied elements are stored in the paste buffer and you can paste them now. 

Please note: If the menu entry is Copy to Clipboard instead of Copy, the elements stored in the paste 

buffer are also available for pasting it within other applications. 

Copy is also available with the popup menu inside the drawing area when the default selection 

tool is active. It works the same way as described for ”Cut”. 


Paste 

Popup Menu While Pasting 

After selecting Paste from the Edit menu the following popup menu is available: 

Figure 69 Paste Popup Menu 


Cut, Copy and Paste 

Recreate structure 

If you select elements which belong to a group by using 

the Selects elements of any type tool , copy and paste them via the right mouse popup 

menu, these elements are added to the existing group. 

If you click on the entry Recreate structure before you paste the selected elements and 

paste, the copied elements build their own group. That means, the existing structure is 

reproduced. 

Rotate 90 

Rotate 

Magnify 

rotates the attached elements by 90 degree counter clockwise around the datum point 

of the selection. 

opens an edit field below the dashboard for defining any angle you like. After choosing 

this entry type the value for the angle and press Return for applying you specification 

on the selected elements. 

allows you to size the attached elements in x- and y-direction. If you choose this entry 

the appropriate edit fields open below the dashboard for entering the magnification factors. 

Positive factors larger than 1 increase the size of the attached elements and factors 

larger than 0 and smaller than 1 decrease the size. Negative values and 0 give an 

error message. After typing in the magnification factors press Return for applying the 

values. 

Dyn. scaling off, Dyn. scaling on 

Toggles dynamic scaling on or off. With dynamic scaling on, pasted elements are 

dynamically sized according to the current scale in the drawing. You can see the effect 

only if your sheet has different scale views defined. 

If you click on Dyn. scaling off dynamic scaling is switched off and the entry turns to 

Dyn. scaling on. 



Edit 

Undo 

Exit Tool 

cancels the last action. 

quits the tool. 

Perform Pasting 

1. Select Paste from the Edit menu and move the cursor into the drawing area. 

The elements from the buffer are attached at the crosshair of the cursor. 

If you want to manipulate the attached elements click right to open the popup menu. 

For details on its entries see “Popup Menu While Pasting” on page 97. 

2. Click the left mouse button to paste the attached elements. 

Now you can either 

a. choose Exit Tool from the popup menu to finish pasting or 

b. enter another datum point to paste the elements once more. 

Paste is also available with the popup menu inside the drawing area when the default selection 

tool is active. It works the same way as given above for Paste from the Edit menu. 


Area Cut and Area Copy 


Area Cut and Area Copy 

The Area copy and Area cut tools from the Edit menu allow you either to cut or copy selected 

elements surrounded by a closed line and to select a datum point to position the cut or copied 

elements. 

1. Create a closed line of any style/type around the objects you want to cut or copy. 

2. If it is not already selected, select the line. 

3. Select Area copy or Area cut from the Edit menu. 

All elements inside the line become selected. 

4. Choose the Apply option from the popup menu. 

5. Select a position as the datum point for the cut or copied elements. 

The selected elements are cut or copied and they are stored to the buffer, ready for 

pasting. 

6. Choose the Paste option from the right mouse button popup menu. 

The selected elements become attached to the cursor at the datum position. 

7. Move your cursor until the elements are in the required location. 

8. Click left to paste the elements on the sheet. 

Now you can either 

a. choose Exit Tool from the popup menu to finish pasting or 

b. enter another datum point to paste the elements once more. 



Edit 

Find Text and Replace Text 

The Find Text and Replace Text tools enable you to search/find a text inside a MEDUSA 

sheet to edit it or to replace it with another text. 

Find Text 

1. Choose the Find Text tool from the Edit menu. 

The Search Text dialog appears as shown below. 

Figure 70 Search Text Dialog 

Type a text which you are searching for into the Find what entry field. 

You can insert a text string or only a part of it, whereby upper and lower case has not to 

be considered. 

2. Click on the Find button at the bottom of the dialog. 

MEDUSA zooms in on the text, which accords with the text in the entry field. The text is 

highlighted, i.e. it is in the edit mode. The input field for text appears in the left upper 

corner of the drawing area. 

If required you can edit the text now. 

3. Click on Find Next. 

If there is another text which accords to the search entry, MEDUSA zooms in on this 

text and you can proceed as described before. 

You can repeat the last step until there is no other text anymore which accords to the 

searched text. 

4. Close the dialog by using the Exit button. 

The last made settings remain until you call up the dialog once more and change 

these. 


Within the dialog you can narrow down the search using different settings. 


Find Text and Replace Text 

You can define the search area on the MEDUSA sheet by using two different Find in options. 

• Whole sheet: 

The inserted text will be searched within the whole sheet. 

This is the default setting when you start your MEDUSA session and call up the dialog 

for the first time. 

• Selection: 

The inserted text is searched inside a limited area, which is defined by selection 

inside a sheet. 

The two items Match whole word only and Match case narrow down the search with regard to the text 

input. 

• Match whole word only: 

searches for a whole text string. You have to insert a complete text string in the 

upper input field. First of all upper and lower case has not to be considered. 

• Match case: 

Upper and lower case will be considered with the search. 

Replace Text 

This function enables you to search/find a text according to the description before and replace it 

with another defined text. 

1. Choose the Replace Text tool from the Edit menu. 

The Replace dialog is displayed as shown in the figure below. 

Figure 71 Replace Dialog 



Edit 

In addition to the parameters which have been already described before with the Search Text dialog 

the Replace dialog contains parameters whose functions will be explained in the following section. 

2. Insert the text which should be replaced against the text in the Find Text entry field into 

the Replace with input field. 

3. Click on the Find button to select the first text which shall be replaced. 

MEDUSA zooms in the according text. 

4. Click on the Replace button replaces the text. 

5. Click on Find next zooms in respectively the next text and you can replace the text by 

using the Replace button again. 

6. You can replace all texts according to the settings at the same time by using the 

Replace All button. 

7. Quit the dialog by using the Exit button. 


SELECT 


In this chapter you get general information about selection and the tools which enable you to 

select one or more elements that you can copy, delete, save as a symbol or transform. 

• Overview of Selection Methods ............................................. 104 

• The Select Menu.................................................................... 105 

• The Selection Tools from the Toolbar..................................... 106 

• Selecting with the Mouse ....................................................... 107 

• Select with the Popup Menu .................................................. 109 

• Toggling a Selection............................................................... 110 

• Power Selection Tool ............................................................. 112 

• Selecting Elements by Attributes ........................................... 118 

• Selecting Elements by Boundary Groups .............................. 119 

• Selecting Elements by Area................................................... 121 



Select 

Overview of Selection Methods 

There are a number of different methods to select elements: 

• You can select elements using the mouse and cursor. 

See “Selecting with the Mouse” on page 107 

• You can select elements by using either the Power Selection or 

the Select Elements by Attributes dialog which are called up from the general popup menu. 

See “Power Selection Tool” on page 112 and “Selecting Elements by Attributes” on 

page 118. 

• You can select elements using boundary groups. This is a special kind of selecting 

because it is always done while using the tools for manipulating elements or parts of 

elements enclosed by a group line. 

For details see “Selecting Elements by Boundary Groups” on page 119 

• You can select elements using groups and the tree structure. 

See “Interacting with the Tree Viewer” on page 351. 

MEDUSA provides tools for selection: 

• in the menu bar (see “The Select Menu” on page 105), 

• in the toolbar (see “The Selection Tools from the Toolbar” on page 106) and 

• in the general popup menu (see “Select with the Popup Menu” on page 109). 

Once you have selected elements, you can: 

• Copy or cut the selection set and paste it somewhere else on the sheet. 

• Delete the selection set. 

• Save the selection set as a symbol 

• Transform them using the transform tools 

• Change any properties that the elements in the selection set may share in common, 

see “Dashboard”, ”Using the Dashboard to Modify Properties” on page 304. 

• Edit the selection if you selected a single element. 


The Select Menu 


The Select Menu 

The menu bar provides some selection tools which you can find in the pulldown menu by clicking 

on Select. 

Figure 72 The Select Tools from the Menu Bar 

Select Elements by Area... 

opens the Select Elements by Area... dialog. In the dialog you have to set definitions for the 

area selection. You can find the Select Elements by Area... tool also in the toolbar. For further 

information on this tool see “Selecting Elements by Area” on page 121. 

Toggle Sheet 

selects any element which is currently deselected and it deselects all elements which 

are currently selected. For toggling the selection of single elements see “Toggling a 

Selection” on page 110. 

Select All 

selects all the elements on the sheet. 

Select Flagged 

selects all the elements marked with the option Flag Selected. 

Flag Selected 

flags all the elements on the sheet which are currently selected. 

Clear Flagged 

removes flags from all elements marked with the option Flag Selected. After using this 

option the sheet has no element, which can be selected with the option Select Flagged. 

Deselect All 

deselects any selected element in the sheet. 

You find this tool also in the right mouse popup menu. 



Select 

The Selection Tools from the Toolbar 

The default selection tool is the Selects elements of any type tool which selects any element. 

You can change the selection tool to refine the choice of elements that can be selected. To 

change the selection tool click left on the arrow to the right of the Selects elements of any type tool 

or the tool itself. The selection tools pulldown menu opens. The functions of the tools on this 

menu are shown in the following table: 

Tool Function 

Please note: You can also copy selection tools from the toolbar into your User tooltray, in order 

to have quick access to the most frequently used selection tools (see chapter 

“Customizing the User Environment”, ”Copy Tools into User Tooltrays” on page 

731). 

See also the chapter “Toolbar” on page 263. 

Table 3 Selection Tool Functions 

The Selects lines tool limits the selection to lines only. 

The Select text elements tool limits the selection to text elements. 

The Select dimensions tool limits the selection to dimensions. 

The Selects named groups tool limits the selection to elements that 

belong to groups. The group and all its elements are selected. 

See “Status Area”, ”Groups” on page 344 for details. 

The Selects elements or named groups at sheet level tool limits the selection 

to lines, text and prims (not contained in groups) and groups 

at sheet level. 

The Select sheet-level named groups tool limits the selection to elements 

that belong to sheet level groups. The group and all its elements 

are selected. 


The Selects prims tool limits the selection to prims. 

The Select Stipple tool limits the section to Stipple elements 

The Select Crosshatching tool limits the selection to crosshatch elements 

The Select elements by area tool displays the Select elements by area dialog. 

See “Selecting Elements by Area” on page 121 for details. 


Selecting with the Mouse 


Selecting with the Mouse 

This chapter shows you how to select elements using the mouse. You can select single elements, 

select elements by drawing a selection frame (dragging) and you can revert the selection 

status of elements. 

Clicking on Elements 

You can select an element by positioning the cursor over the element and then clicking left. 

When the element is selected it is highlighted in a different color. (For default it is red.) 

If you are trying to select an element that is close to another element you may not select the element 

you want. If you click left again, without moving the cursor, MEDUSA selects the next element 

near the cursor. 

Dragging 

Selection by dragging lets you select one or more elements in an area of the sheet. 

Elements are selected if they have one or more points in the drag selection area: 

• Lines are selected by any of the points defining the line. 

If the selection rectangle extends over a part of a line, but if it does not cover any points 

of that line then the line is not selected. 

• Text are selected by the datum of the text element. 

If the selection rectangle extends over a part of the text, but if it does not include the 

datum point then the text is not selected. 

• Prims are selected by the datum of the prim. 

If the selection rectangle extends over a part of the prim, but it does not include the 

datum point then the prim is not selected. 

To select by dragging: 

1. Press and hold the left mouse button at one corner of the area. 

2. Keep the left button pressed and move the cursor to the opposite corner of the area 

you want. 

MEDUSA draws an expanding box to show the area. 

3. When the cursor is at the opposite corner of the area, release the left mouse button. 

Any elements with points inside the selection area are selected and any selected elements 

become deselected unless you specify otherwise. See “Select with the Popup 

Menu” on page 109. 



Select 

The following examples show how different selection areas can select different elements. 

In the first example all elements are selected because they are completely enclosed in the 

selection area: 

Figure 73 Drag Selection, Example1 

Text Element 

Text Element 

In the second example only some elements are selected because some elements have points 

inside the selection area and some have not. The points defining the lines and the datums of 

the text elements are shown as crosses: 

Figure 74 Drag Selection: Example2 

Text Element 

Text Element 

Drag Selection Area All elements selected 

Text Element Text Element 

Text Element 

Text Element 

Drag Selection Area Only some elements selected 

(shown in bold) 


Select with the Popup Menu 


Select with the Popup Menu 

If the cursor is over the drawing area clicking right opens a popup menu providing several 

entries for selection. 

Figure 75 Popup Menu: Selection Entries 

The selection entries are: 

Deselect All 

Deselects any selected element in the sheet. You also can move the cursor to an 

empty area of the sheet and click left. 

Deselect Once 

is used while adding selections using the Shift key. Deselect Once avoids selecting currently 

deselected elements whilst dragging a selection rectangle. Any elements that 

are already deselected remain deselected while dragging over them again. 

Select Once 

is used while adding selections using the Shift key. Select Once avoids deselecting currently 

selected elements whilst dragging a selection rectangle. Any elements that are 

already selected remain selected while dragging over them again. 

Select... 

opens the Power Selection dialog. for details see “Power Selection Tool” on page 112. 

Select Elements by Attribute... 

opens the Select Elements by Attributes dialog. For details see “Selecting Elements by 

Attributes” on page 118. 



Select 

Toggling a Selection 

Toggling selected elements means that if an element is already selected then it is deselected 

and vice versa. You can toggle a selection by: 

• holding down the Shift key and click left on one element or dragging over several 

elements, or 

• moving your cursor over an element and then clicking the middle mouse button. 

Popup Menu 

While selecting elements and holding down the Shift key the right mouse button opens the 

following popup menu: 

Figure 76 Toggle Select Popup Menu 

The popup menu provides the selection tools which are also available inside the toolbar. For 

details on the selection tools see “Toolbar”, ”Utilities Toolbar” on page 268. 

Examples 

The first example in Figure 77 shows how elements are selected (and deselected) when using 

two drag selections. The second drag selection includes pressing the Shift key. 


Figure 77 Changing Selection Set: Example 1 

First Drag Selection Area Second Drag Selection Area 

Press Shift to achieve the selection result 


Toggling a Selection 

The second example shows the effect of using Select Once from the popup menu before the second 

drag selection. The second drag selection includes pressing the Shift key. 

Figure 78 Changing Selection Set: Example 2 

Select Once 

First Drag Selection Area Second Drag Selection Area 

Press the Shift key to achieve the selection result 

Similarly, you can use Deselect Once from the popup menu, if you are trying to deselect elements, 

and do not want to reselect any elements. 



Select 

Power Selection Tool 

MEDUSA provides an option to make selection of elements from a large data amount easier. 

The tool allows selection by any combination of class, style, layer and color and their properties. 

1. Move the pointer into the drawing area. 

2. Press the right mouse button to display the default popup menu. 

3. Choose the Select... option. 

The Power Selection Dialog appears. 

Figure 79 Selection Dialog 

Element Class 

Selection 

Criteria Options 

Lines 

Single Line Texts 

Multi Line Texts 

Prims 

Dimensions 

Crosshatches 

Notes 

Part Balloons 

Tables 

Style list 

Layer list 

List of shapes 

List of boldnesses 

Selection 

mode 

Element Class Buttons 

The dialog provides the following parameters: 

Save current filter settings in 

custom selector button 

Color 

Multiple Selection 

Option Button 

Selection Criteria Options 

From left to right you find the option boxes for Element Class, Style, Occupied Layers, Shape 




and Color. If a box contains a check mark the appropriate selection criteria is chosen for 

selecting elements. 

Element Class Buttons 

These buttons predefine the element class which can be selected or not. You can predefine 

Lines, Single Line Texts, Multi Line Texts, Prims, Dimensions, Crosshatches, Notes, Part Balloons 

and Tables for selection. If a class is chosen the button looks like being pressed. Buttons 

of classes which are not in the sheet are displayed dimmed. 

Style list 

gives you all element styles available in the current sheet. 

Occupied Layer list 

gives all layers available in the current sheet. 

Shape list 

Bold list 

gives all shapes available in the current sheet. 

gives all boldnesses available in the current sheet. 

For the Style, Layer, Shape and Bold lists the following is valid: 

Color list 

• Items which can be used for selecting elements are displayed black. 

• Items which are displayed grey are disabled and cannot be selected. 

• If you deselect an item in one list, items in other lists will be deselected too. For example, 

if you deselect the element class Lines, styles like construction and solid thick are deselected 

too. 

gives all colors available in the current sheet. If a color can be used for selecting elements, 

a little white square is displayed inside the color. If a grey rectangle is displayed, 

there are no appropriate elements with this color. For example, if you open a 

new sheet and select the element class Single Line Texts, all colors have a grey rectangle 

except the black one, it contains a white square. 

Selection mode 

allows you to use properties of selected elements for predefining selection criteria, or 

to use the settings from the dialog. For details see “Selection Modes” on page 114. 

Save filter in custom selector button 

allows you to save the current filter options to a user defined button placed inside the 

drop area. For details see “Save Filter as User Button” on page 117 

Multiple Selection Option Button 

opens a further list allowing you to combine settings for filtering in order to define multiple 

selection criteria. For details see “Multiple Selection” on page 116. 

Buttons: 

Select all 

selects all elements using the current selection criteria on the whole sheet. 

Draw Selection only 

hides all elements of the sheet which are currently not selected and shows all elements 



Select 

Update 

which are currently selected. Refresh Graphics from the toolbar redisplays all elements 

again. 

After modifications in the drawing this button updates the lists. 

Filter Selection 

applies the current selection criteria on the current element selection on the sheet. Use 

this button, if you want to select certain elements of a group, for example. Consider 

that you have to activate the option Modify filter / Use for selection before using this button, 

in order to change the selection filter. 

Close, Help 

work as usual. 

The following sections give further information on using the dialog. 

Lists Popup Menu - Select All and Deselect All Option 

Inside the lists of the Power Selection Dialog a popup menu is available allowing you to select or 

deselect all enabled list entries: 

1. Move the cursor either over the list of styles or layers. 

2. Press the right mouse button for opening the popup menu. 

Figure 80 Select All or Deselect All Popup Menu 

3. Choose an option. 

Select All selects all enabled entries of the current list and Deselect All deselects them. 

Selection Modes 

The Power Selection Dialog has two distinct modes: 

• Building a selection filter by selecting elements within the sheet and 

• using the filter settings of the dialog to select elements within the sheet. 


Build Filter from Element Selection within the Sheet 

To build a selection filter by selecting elements within the sheet: 



1. Select elements from the sheet. 

The Power Selection Dialog display is updated and the properties of the selected elements 

are highlighted. 

2. Click the Build filter from sheet selection radio button. 

Figure 81 Selecting Modes (1) 

3. Press Select All to use the current criteria for selecting elements on the whole sheet. 

Any elements in the current drawing become selected if their properties accord with 

the properties of the elements selected first (in step 1). 

Modify Filter and Use for Element Selection 

To use the selection criteria defined in the Power Selection Dialog to select elements on the sheet: 

1. Click the Modify filter / Use for selection radio button. 

Figure 82 Selecting Modes (2) 

The top part of the dialog is then enabled for modification. 

2. Set selection criteria in the dialog, for example, by clicking in the lists for choosing a 

certain style or layer. 

As you click on a list entry it becomes highlighted. 

Clicking a second time on the same entry deselects it. 

3. Now you either 

a. select all elements with the defined properties on the sheet by clicking Select All, or 

b. move the cursor over an element or select an area by drag selection (see “Dragging” 

on page 107) to select certain elements with the defined properties. 



Select 

Multiple Selection 

The Power Selection tool allows multiple selection criteria to be assembled. With this you define 

the filter for selecting elements more precisely and you can combine any properties (for example, 

all elements colored green and all elements colored blue on a certain layer). 

For defining a multiple selection table do the following steps: 

1. Click the button right at the bottom of the dialog. 

The multiple selection table opens. Now you can define several selection criteria. 

Figure 83 Multiple Selection Dialog 

The button extends the list of selection. 

The button removes entries out of the list. 

2. Click on a line inside the table in order to select this line. 

3. Choose a selection mode (see “Selection Modes” on page 114). 

According to your choice, now settings inside the Power Selection Dialog or selections 

inside the drawing area are applied to this selected line. 

4. Depending on step 3 either 

a. select elements inside the drawing area, or 

b. select the properties inside the Power Selection Dialog. 

As you select an element or as you choose a property in the Power Selection Dialog the line 

(you chose in step 2) of the multiple selection table updates immediately. 

Now you can define further lines. 

5. Add a new line by clicking on the button of the last line in the table. 

The new line is appended at the end of the table and it has the same entries as the 

previously line you worked on. 

6. Adjust this new line to your needs according to step 3 and 4. 

7. Repeat the steps 5 and 6 until you defined all selection criteria used for filtering selecting 

elements on the sheet. 

Now you can save these settings to a selector button. For details see “Save Filter as 

User Button” on page 117. 


Save Filter as User Button 



MEDUSA allows you to store the criteria you defined within the Power Selection Dialog to a tool button 

which you can put in your User tooltray in order to have easy access on the made filter definitions 

used for selecting elements. 

For saving filter settings to a user selector button: 

1. Click on the Save filter in custom selector button which opens the following dialog. 

Figure 84 Save Filter Dialog 

The edit field provides an automatically created name for the selection tool you are 

going to create. In front of this name an icon is given which will be used for the tool. 

2. If you want to change the tool name click left into the field and type another name. 

3. If you want to change the icon for the tool click left on the icon in front of the edit field. 

Another dialog is opened listing all symbols inside the default directory of the MEDUSA 

installation. You can choose another symbol and then click left on OK. 

4. Choose Save inside the dialog Select Icon. 

The selection tool is created inside the drop area on the left of the drawing area. 

For the figure above the tool icon looks like this: . 

Now you can put this custom tool into the User tooltray. 

If you click right on a selection custom tool inside the drop area or inside the User tooltray the 

entry Properties is provided which opens the Power Selection Dialog giving all the filter settings you 

saved with the current selection tool. Then you can edit the name of the tool and its selection 

criteria and save the modifications. 

You can also drag&drop a selection custom tool button into the open Power Selection Dialog when in 

Modify filter / Use for selection mode. The dialog will display the custom tool settings. 



Select 

Selecting Elements by Attributes 

You can select all elements that have user attributes. 

Choose the Select Elements by Attribute... option from the popup menu to display the Select Elements by 

Attribute dialog. 

Figure 85 Select Elements By Attribute 

The following options and buttons are available: 

Elements with user attribute, Elements with attribute value 

selects elements which have the defined user attribute or attribute value. The attribute 

or value has to be entered in the appropriate text field. You can type more than one 

entry. If you do so separate the entries with a space ( ), comma (,) or semi-colon (;). 

Select 

Add 

Remove 

Toggle 

Common 

Undo 

Starts a new selection set containing the specified elements. 

Adds the specified elements to the current selection set. 

Removes the specified elements from the current selection set. 

Selects all elements of the specified type that are deselected and deselects all elements 

of the specified type that are currently selected. 

Selects those elements that are common to existing or new selections. (This is equivalent 

to a mathematical “and”.) 

Cancels the last select element action. 

Close, Help 



Selecting Elements by Boundary Groups 


Selecting Elements by Boundary Groups 

A boundary group is a collection of elements (lines, texts, groups, dimensions and prims) contained 

within a group line. The group line is defined using a special group line type. 

Boundary groups are intended to set up temporary collections of elements, unlike groups in the 

tree structure which are used to associate permanent collections of elements (for details see 

“Status Area”, ”Interacting with the Tree Viewer” on page 351). You can define boundary group 

lines whenever you require and delete them after you have used them. 

The following sections show you how to define boundary groups and how to select and manipulate 

elements or parts of elements which are in such a boundary group. 

Defining Boundary Groups 

Boundary groups are defined by group lines. There are two ways of defining group lines: 

• Freehand (point by point) using the Creates group lines tool 

• Using the Creates group line boxes tool 

Both tools are available in the Creation Tools tooltray. 

Some examples of group lines are shown in Figure 86. 

Figure 86 Group Box and Freehand Group Line 

It makes no difference whether the elements are at sheet level or in a permanent group any element 

or point of an element enclosed by a group line is recognized when selecting by the group 

line. 

When you draw a group line freehand, do not create any curved line segment. Only group 

lines consisting of straight line segments are valid. 



Select 

Manipulate Boundary Groups 

Elements or points of elements which are enclosed by group lines can be manipulated, for 

example, by rotating, mirroring or shearing using any of the tools shown in the graphic below 

available in the Creation Tools tooltray. 

Figure 87 Tools for Manipulating Boundary Groups 

Move 

Rotate Mirror vertically Shear horizontally 

Mirror horizontally Magnify Shear vertically 

Usually you select elements in order to manipulate them. Against this the tools shown above 

automatically select all elements and parts of elements, which are enclosed by a group line. 

For selecting boundary groups you do this as follows: 

1. Choose one of the manipulation tools for boundary groups, for example, the 

Rotate the selected points tool. 

All elements and element points enclosed by group lines become selected. 

If you want to change the manipulation tool now use the popup menu. 

2. Now you can define the datum point, which defines, for example, the rotation point, 

either by 

a. probing into the sheet, or 

b. using the Enter Coords dialog. 

According to the chosen tool the function is executed immediately or you need to do 

further steps, for example, enter a rotation angle. Refer to the message line what to do 

next. 

When you enclose only some of the points of an element with a group line, you create a so 

called point group. If you manipulate such a group the other points defining the element are 

not affected. The graphic below shows that the effect of moving a group of this type is to shear 

the elements partially enclosed by the group line: 

Figure 88 Moving a Point Group 


Selecting Elements by Area 


Selecting Elements by Area 

MEDUSA provides advanced definitions used for selecting elements inside a certain area of the 

drawing. 

For area selection choose the Select elements by area tool from the selection tools inside the toolbar. 

The Select elements by area dialog opens: 

Figure 89 Select Elements by Area Dialog 

The Select elements by Area dialog has the following buttons: 

Select 

Add 

Remove 

Toggle 

Common 

Select 

Add 

Remove 

Toggle 

Common 

Undo 

applies the definitions for area selection and inside the drawing the selected elements 

are highlighted. 

applies the definitions for area selection and adds the selected elements to previously 

selected elements. 

applies the definitions for area selection and removes the newly selected elements 

from the previously selected elements. 

selects all elements which meet the defined parameters and which are currently not 

selected, and deselects all currently selected elements which meet the defined parameters. 

Elements which are already selected but which do not match the area definitions 

remain selected. 

This option considers the last selection for selecting new elements. For example, if you 

already selected elements, they are displayed highlighted. If you now define as selection 

criteria Group lines, Common selects all those elements which are inside the first 

selection AND which are selectable by the Group lines. Common behaves like a mathematical 

AND operation. 



Select 

Undo 

is used for canceling the last selection. 

Close, Help 

Buttons which work as usual. 

The following parameter are provided: 

Enclosed 

selects elements which are enclosed completely by the defined area. 

Consider that a geometry is recognized as Enclosed if all its points are inside the selection 

area. The following example shows this. The rectangle is recognized as completely 

Enclosed by the group line. 

Figure 90 Example: Select Elements by Area 

Partially enclosed 

selects elements which are enclosed completely and partially by the defined area. 

Boundary line 

provides the options for defining the boundary of an area. 

• Group defines that the area is enclosed by a group line. 

• Selected defines that the area is enclosed by the selected line. This option is disabled 

if there is no or more than one line selected in the sheet. After choosing Select the 

selected line is deselected. 

• Other defines that the area is enclosed by a certain line type, which can be chosen 

from the pulldown list available by the arrow on the right of the edit field. 

Level 

provides the options for defining the level of selected elements. 

• Any defines that all elements on any group level which match the area definitions are 

selected. 

• Sheet selects only elements which are on sheet level. 


VIEW 


This chapter describes the facilities that give you control over how you view, preview and how to 

store and restore views. 

• Overview................................................................................ 124 

• Selecting Toolbar Items.......................................................... 126 

• Set of Tooltrays ...................................................................... 127 

• Zoom...................................................................................... 128 

• Dynamic Pan and Zoom ........................................................ 129 

• Zoom Selection...................................................................... 130 

• Storing and Restoring Windows............................................. 131 

• View Windows........................................................................ 134 



View 

Overview 

The figure below gives you an overview of the available options of the pulldown menu which is 

displayed when you select View in the menu bar. 


The following View menu options are available. 

Toolbars 

opens a further pulldown menu for setting the items displayed inside the toolbar. For 

details see “Selecting Toolbar Items” on page 126. 

Set of tooltrays 

opens the pulldown menu where you can choose between different sets of tooltrays. 

For details see “Set of Tooltrays” on page 127. 

Full Sheet 

Window 

Pan 

Zoom 

displays the whole current sheet. 

zooms into an area you define by dragging a rectangle using the left mouse button. 

centers the view around the probed point. 

opens a further pulldown menu for different kinds of zooming. For details see “Zoom” 

on page 128. 


Zoom to scale 

zooms into the probed area until the view is to scale. 

Pan Zoom 

Redraw 

Clear 

Previous 

Next 


Overview 

allows dynamic pan and zoom with the mouse. For details see “Dynamic Pan and 

Zoom” on page 129. 

draws everything new inside the drawing area. 

hides any element on the current sheet. 

Click on the Refresh Graphics tool in the toolbar shows the elements again. 

The drawing area displays the same contents as it was last time you zoomed in. If you 

did not zoom in before nothing is done. 

Reverse function of Previous. If you did not use Previous before nothing is done. 

Store and Restore... 

is used for storing and restoring zoomed window views. For details see “Storing and 

Restoring Windows” on page 131. 

Choose Views, Close Views 

is used for displaying and closing several view windows. For details see “View Windows” 

on page 134. 

View Frames 

is used for displaying frames of the different view windows inside the main view. For 

details see “View Windows“, “Setting View Properties” on page 135. 



View 

Selecting Toolbar Items 

For adjusting the toolbar items using the menu bar do the following: 

1. Move the cursor upon the entry View in the menu bar. 





Figure 92 Toolbars Pulldown Menu 






Set of Tooltrays 


Set of Tooltrays 

MEDUSA provides different sets of tooltrays. The difference between the sets is the number of 

tooltrays, tools and tool sets. The following sets of tooltrays are available. 

Sets of tooltrays Description 

For choosing a set of tooltrays: 

1. Click on Options in the menu bar to open the pulldown menu (Figure 93). 

2. Move the cursor over the Set of tooltrays entry. 

You can now choose between Complete and Basic. The check mark indicates the activated 

set. 

Figure 93 Set of Tooltrays Pulldown Menu 

Table 4 Sets of Tooltrays 

Complete Contains a number of tooltrays offering the full range of MEDUSA functionality. 

Basic 

Contains one tooltray with tools for commonly used tasks including line creation, 

editing, text, dimensioning and crosshatching. 

3. Select one. 

The tooltrays on the left hand side of the drawing area change depending on your 

choice. 

See also ”Overview of the Work Environment”, ”Choosing a Set of Tooltrays” on page 37. 



View 

Zoom 

MEDUSA provides several possibilities for zooming into and out of the drawing. 

For zooming choose Zoom from the View menu. 


Figure 94 Zoom Pulldown Menu 

The pulldown entries are: 

Zoom In 

Zoom Out 

zooms into the drawing by a fixed factor to a probed point. The probed point is centered 

on the display. 

zooms out of the drawing by a fixed factor. 

Zoom Top Left , Zoom Top Right 

zooms into the top left/right of the current sheet. 

Zoom Bottom Left , Zoom Bottom Right 

zooms into the bottom left/right of the current sheet. 

Zoom Maximum 

zooms to the maximum extents of the sheet including any border area around the outside 

of the sheet (see “File“, “Sheet Properties” on page 81). 

Zoom Half 

zooms window of the current sheet to half size 

You can also zoom out the window to half size by clicking on Zoom Out and then using 

the short cut Ctrl+H. 

Zoom Double 

zooms window of the current sheet to double size 

You can also zoom in the window to double size by clicking on Zoom In and then using 

the short cut Ctrl+D. 


Dynamic Pan and Zoom 


Dynamic Pan and Zoom 

MEDUSA offers an easy way of zooming into and out of the sheet and panning the sheet using 

the mouse. 

Pan 

For dynamic panning: 

1. Choose Pan Zoom from the View menu. 

2. Move the cursor on the drawing area. 

3. Click and hold the left mouse button. 

4. Move the mouse around for panning the sheet. 

As you move the mouse the elements of the sheet move the same way. 

5. Release the left mouse button if you panned to the desired position. 

Alternatively you can use the CTRL key to pan dynamically. For this hold down the CTRL key 

and press the right mouse button. Then move the mouse around for panning. 

Zoom 

For dynamic zooming: 

1. Choose Pan Zoom from the View menu. 

2. Move the cursor on the drawing area. 

3. Click and hold the middle mouse button. 

4. Move the mouse forward and backward which is up and down on the sheet. 

If you move the mouse forward you are zooming into the drawing. 

If you move the mouse backward you are zooming out of the drawing. 

5. Release the middle mouse button if you want to finish zooming. 

Alternatively you can zoom in and out by the following methods: 

• Use the CTRL key to zoom dynamically. For this hold down the CTRL key and press 

the left mouse button. Then move the mouse forward and backward for zooming out 

and in. 

• If you have a wheel mouse (see also “Overview of the Work Environment“, “Using the 

Mouse” on page 27), use the wheel for dynamic zooming. If you push forward the 

wheel, you are zooming in. If you push backward, you are zooming out. 



View 

Zoom Selection 

Another kind of zooming into the sheet is provided by the toolbar. The Zoom on selected geometry 

tool enlarges the area around currently selected drawing elements. 

For example, if you select this tool when a group is active MEDUSA zooms into the area displaying 

all elements in the group in the window. 

Figure 95 Window Section Before and After Zoom Selection: 

active 

group 

Before Zoom After Zoom 


Storing and Restoring Windows 



It is often useful to define several views of a sheet in order to work on different areas of the 

geometry. Therefore, you can define views, known as window views within a drawing and 

store them. You can call up these window views later. You can either store window views for the 

duration of the current MEDUSA session, or you can save them with the sheet and use them 

again in another MEDUSA session. 

For storing and restoring window views: 

1. Zoom into the area that you wish to save with the Zoom or Window function. 

2. Select the Store and Restore option from the View menu. 

The Windows dialog appears: 

Figure 96 Windows Dialog 

The buttons of the Windows dialog are explained in the following sections. 

Storing and restoring window views is also available inside the toolbar. For details see the chapter 

“Toolbar“, “Storing and Restoring Windows” on page 270. 

Save 

Save 

Delete 

Restore 

Refresh 

Show Position 

To save the window view to use with any session: 

Sheet entry box 

Button for showing the list of 

window views stored with the sheet 

1. Type a name into the Session entry box. 

2. Click the Save button. 

The window view name appears in the Session entry box. 

For example, you may want to create a window view showing the title box. When you 

restore this window view, MEDUSA automatically zooms into this area for any sheet 

you display. 

Please note: You cannot store a window view using a name which is already in the list Session 

or Sheet. If you do so, you are prompted for choosing another name. 



View 

Delete 

Select the name of the window view to be deleted from the list and click the Delete button. The 

window view is deleted. 

Restore 

You can display any saved window view: 

1. Select the required window view name from either the Session list or the Sheet list. 

2. Press the Restore button in the Windows dialog. 

The window is restored. 

Please note: If you open a sheet which has saved window views with the same name as the 

session window views then the window view saved with the sheet is opened. 

Refresh 

The Refresh button redraws the graphics, for example, to display no longer the position frames 

after using Show Position. 

Show Position 

The Show Position button displays the locations of all window views that are saved with the sheet. 

When you press this button, red rectangles are automatically drawn on the sheet defining the 

extent of each window view. The window view names are displayed in the lower, left corner of 

each rectangle. Perhaps you need to display the whole sheet in order to see this information. 


Figure 97 Store and Restore: Show Position 





View 

View Windows 

The view window facility enables you to open up to four windows showing views of your current 

sheet, in addition to the main view window. The default window (that is, the main graphic 

display window) is named View 1 and the other windows are named Views 2 through 5. You 

can use this facility, for instance, to have the whole sheet displayed in one view window while 

you have a zoomed-in view in another. 

Please note: All view operations (for example, Zoom, see “Zoom” on page 128) and window view 

restorations (see “Storing and Restoring Windows” on page 131) occur in the current 

view window. 

Opening a View Window 

To display the sheet in a view window: 

1. Select Choose Views from the View menu. 

The following popup menu appears: 

Figure 98 Choose Views Pulldown Menu 

2. Select one of the views, which are Open View 2 through Open View 5. 

A new view window appears in the drawing area. 


Figure 99 View Window Displayed 


View Windows 

Each View has a Current View check button. It is automatically activated, when you open a new 

View window via Views > Choose Views, i.e. this View is the current one and any zoom operation happens 

in the current view, except the Dynamic pan. 

If you zoom in a detail within the main window, it is displayed in the current view window. 

You have the possibility to zoom in any arbitrary view, either in the main window or in any other 

view, and display the detail in the current view. 

If the Current View switch is not activated in any view, the main view is automatically made current. 

Setting View Properties 

To set the properties for a view window, choose View Frames from the View menu. The following 

View Frames dialog is displayed: 



View 

Figure 100 View Frames Dialog 

The View Frames dialog enables you to specify: 

• Whether frame borders are shown. 

When you select a Frame Border choice box, a frame border appears around the required 

selection area. You can see the frame in the main view as well as in the appropriate 

View, when you pan and zoom in. 

• The pen type used for the frame borders. 

The Pen number defines the line style for the border, for example, solid, dotted, chain, 

color and thickness. 

Figure 101 View Window Frame Property Example 

You can resize, move, overlap or hide view windows using your standard operating system window 

management tools. For example, you may be able to drag a corner of the window to 

enlarge or reduce the window size. 


Copy and Paste Between View Windows 


View Windows 

Full copy and paste facilities are available between all view windows providing you with an 

effective means of working efficiently on complex drawings. 

The example below shows the main view being used as a reference view to the whole sheet, 

while the view windows are used to copy geometry between different detail areas of the sheet. 

Figure 102 Copying and Pasting Between View Windows 



View 


DISPLAY 


This chapter gives the functions which are available by choosing Display from the menu bar. 

Clicking on Display in the menu bar the following pulldown menu opens. 

Clear 

Figure 103 The Display Functions from the Menu Bar 

hides any element on the current sheet. 

Click on the Refresh Graphics tool in the toolbar shows the elements again. 

Draw Selection 

makes selected elements visible. 

Undraw Selection 

makes the selected elements invisible. 

For displaying only the selected elements choose Clear and then Draw Selection. 



Display 


GRIDS 

This chapter describes how to use grids and points to align elements. 

• Introduction to Grids............................................................... 142 

• Grids Menu ............................................................................ 142 

• Creating a new Grid............................................................... 144 

• Choosing the Current Grid ..................................................... 149 

• Defining a Grid as Standard Grid ........................................... 150 

• Activating and Deactivating a Grid......................................... 151 

• Drawing and Hiding a Grid..................................................... 152 

• Modifying a Grid..................................................................... 153 

• Deleting a Grid....................................................................... 155 




Grids 

Introduction to Grids 

You may prefer to construct drawings using grids instead of construction lines. Like construction 

lines, you can use grids as a basis on which to make the actual drawing. You can make a grid 

active or inactive. You also can make it visible or invisible. 

Grids are a sheet overlay rather than actual lines. They are constructed of grid points which are 

usually connected with grid lines. You can use the Grid Properties dialog to create and use grids. 

See Figure 106, “Grid Properties Dialog” on page 145. 

Grid Points and Free Points 

Grid points help you to create and position elements on a drawing, (for example, to align geometric 

and text elements), but grid lines are present purely as a visual aid. You cannot use grid 

lines to position elements on a drawing. 

If you use a free probe specifier when a grid is active, every free point that you create is placed 

at the nearest grid point to the cursor. This action is called snapping. A grid can remain active 

even if it is not displayed. When a grid is inactive, you can create free points at the cursor position 

anywhere on the sheet. 

Grids Menu 

Inside the main menu bar you find the item Grids. The menu Grids provides the functions for setting 

the display and properties of the grid. 

Figure 104 Grids Menu 


The menu offers the following parameter: 


Introduction to Grids 

Hide Current Grid/Show Current Grid 

If Hide Current Grid is visible the grid is visible and it can be switched to invisible with this 

menu item. If the grid is invisible this menu item turns to Show Current Grid for displaying 

the current grid again. For details see “Drawing and Hiding a Grid” on page 152. 

Deactivate Grid/Activate Grid 

If Deactivate Grid is visible the grid is active and probing points inside the drawing area 

snaps to the next grid point. The grid snapping can be deactivated with this item. If the 

grid is deactivated this menu item turns to Activate Grid for activating the grid snapping 

again. For details see “Activating and Deactivating a Grid” on page 151. 

Full, Border 

With these items you can display the grid on the whole sheet (Full) or at the border only 

(Border). 

Points/Lines 

If Points is visible the current grid is displayed as lines. These lines can be drawn as 

points using this item. If the grid is drawn as points this item turns into Lines for switching 

to line display again. 

Set Origin 

This menu item is used for changing the origin of the current grid to a probed point. 

If the grid display is set to Points the origin is displayed as a small cross. 

Reset Origin 0,0 

This item resets the origin back to the coordinates 0,0 of your sheet. 

Grid Properties... 

This item opens the dialog giving the properties of the current grid. It is explained in 

chapter “Creating a new Grid” on page 144. 



Grids 

Creating a new Grid 

You can create up to ten grids for each sheet. The grids are saved when the sheet is saved. 

Procedure 

To create a grid: 

1. Select the Grids menu and click on the Grid Properties tool . 

The Grid Properties dialog is displayed, see “Grid Properties Dialog” on page 145. 

2. When you open a new sheet and call up the Grid Properties dialog the Grid name field 

already contains the entry draft. You can either: 

a. take this entry as name of your first defined grid, or 

b. enter a new name for the grid. 

The new grid name can have up to six alphanumeric characters and the first character 

must be a letter. Spaces and special characters are not allowed. 

3. Press the Apply button to accept the new name. 

The new grid name is displayed in the Grid Properties dialog. 

4. Enter the other properties of the grid as required, for example: 

a. Define the style of the grid lines by choosing Color, Type and Tickness of the line. 

b. Type 0 into the Grid origin X and Grid origin Y entry boxes, if you wish the grid origin to 

be at the lower left corner of the sheet. 

c. Enter 5 in the XSpacing and YSpacing entry box to define the spacing between the grid 

lines. 

5. Click Apply to accept the changes. 

The Grid Properties dialog remains opened and you can continue making settings. 

6. Click OK to apply the changes and dismiss the Grid Properties dialog. 

Since you can create up to 10 grids for each sheet, you can repeat these steps up to ten times. 

At each time the last entered grid name is displayed in the input field. It is added to a list, which 

can be displayed by using the arrow as shown below. 

Figure 105 The Grid Name List 

If you want to modify the properties of a grid see “Modifying a Grid” on page 153. 


Grid Properties Dialog 

Figure 106 Grid Properties Dialog 

Each grid has the following properties: 

Grid name 

Line style 



A name (maximum six alphanumeric characters) that uniquely identifies a grid (see 

also page 144). 

specifies the style of the grid lines. You can define Color, Type and Thickness of the line. 

• For selecting a color click on the Color button. The Select color dialog opens, where 

you can choose the desired color. 



Grids 

Figure 107 Color Button to open the Select Color Dialog 

• To define the type open the pulldown menu by clicking on the arrow right of the Type 

field. Choose the desired line type from the list. 

Figure 108 The Type Pulldown Menu 

• To define the thickness open the pulldown menu by clicking on the arrow right of 

the Thickness field. Choose the desired thickness from the list. 

Figure 109 The Thickness Pulldown Menu 

Default settings are black for color, Dotted for Type and the thinnest line for Thickness. 

Grid origin 

The coordinates X and Y indicate the grid origin which is the starting point for the grid. 

Usually it is 0, 0 which is the bottom left hand corner of the sheet. By default, the grid 

origin is at the same position as the sheet origin. 


Cartesian 

Polar 



gives the settings for a cartesian grid. If this option is selected (indicated by the check 

mark inside the option field) parameters for the Polar option are not accessible. The following 

settings can be made: 

X spacing, Y spacing 

defines the spacing between the grid lines in horizontal (X) and vertical (Y) 

direction. 

Rotate grid 

provides the option Isometric grid and the edit fields for rotation angles at the 

Xaxis and the Y axis. If Isometric grid is chosen all other settings are disabled 

(including the settings for Shear grid) and the grid is set to the isometric defaults 

(which is 30 degree rotation at the x axis and 60 degree rotation at the y axis, 

both counterclockwise). 

Shear grid 

provides the options Xaxis and Y axis for shearing either the grid lines in x- or y- 

direction according to the given Angle. 

gives the settings for a polar grid. If this option is selected (indicated by the check mark 

inside the option field) parameters for the Cartesian option are not accessible. The following 

settings can be made for a polar grid: 

Radial increment 

defines the distance between the circular grid lines to each other and to the 

origin of the grid. 

gives the increment in radial direction seen from the origin. For example, a 

value of 5.00 gives grid circles, which are drawn with a spacing of 5, 10, 15, 

and so on units around the grid origin. 

Origin rotation 

gives the angle by which the grid is rotated around the origin. 

Angle 

is the increment angle per segment. If you change this value the Number of 

segments is changed too. 

Number of segments 

defines the number of segments inside a circle. If you change this value the 

Angle is changed too. 

Representation 

defines wether the grid is displayed with lines or with points 

Points 

Lines 

only the cross-over points of the grid lines are displayed 

the complete grid lines are displayed 



Grids 

Extent 

Interval 

defines wether the grid is displayed as full sheet or on the border only 

Full 

Border 

the grid is displayed on the whole sheet 

the grid is displaye at the border only 

An integer value which defines what grid lines are drawn on the sheet. For instance, if 

the X interval is 4, then only every 4th grid line will be shown. 

Sub-grid increment 

Grids that are displayed as points, can use these fields to display as Major and Minor 

increments. You can only set the value of this field to be an exact divisor of the Interval 

field. For instance, if the Interval field is 4, then the sub-grid Interval can be 1, 2 or 4. 

Figure 110 The Sub-Grid Increment Pulldown Menu 


Choosing the Current Grid 


Choosing the Current Grid 

In MEDUSA it is possible to define several grids for one sheet. But, at one time you can only 

activate or display one of them. This grid is called the current grid. 

For choosing the current grid: 

1. Select the Grid Properties... tool from the Grids menu. 

The Grid Properties dialog as given in Figure 106, “Grid Properties Dialog” on page 145 

appears. 

2. Display the list of defined grids via the arrow right of the Grid name input field as shown in 

Figure 105, “The Grid Name List” on page 144. 

3. Select the grid you want to be the current grid from the list. 

The Dialog displays the properties of the grid. 

4. In order to make this grid the current one, click the OK button. 

It can now be displayed and activated as described on the following pages. 



Grids 

Defining a Grid as Standard Grid 

You can define any current grid as standard grid, both for the current session and following sessions. 

1. Select the desired grid in the Grid Properties dialog as described in section “Choosing the 

Current Grid” on page 149. 

2. Click on Set defaults. 

3. Apply the setting with OK. 

The selected grid becomes the standard grid for all sheets opened during the current 

session. 

The Grid properties dialog is closed. 

4. In order to see this effect first open another or a new sheet and then the Grid properties 

dialog. 

5. Press the Standard button and then OK. 

The grid defined as default is displayed, assumed that the Show current grid option 

(menubar > Options > Show current grid) is activated. 

If you wish to keep this default setting for subsequent sessions, you have to save the changes 

of the defaults when quitting the program. 


Activating and Deactivating a Grid 


Activating and Deactivating a Grid 

You can activate and deactivate the current grid at any time. If a grid is active probing a point 

snaps to the nearest grid point. 

Activating a Grid 

You can turn on the current grid by clicking on the Activate Grid tool in the menu Grids. 

When a grid is active, all points that you create using the free probe specifier are adjusted to the 

nearest grid point to the position of the cursor. To create free points between the grid lines you 

must deactivate the grid. 

Deactivating a Grid 

You can turn off the current grid by clicking on the Deactivate Grid tool in the menu Grids. 

When you turn off a grid, you can position points using the free probe specifier anywhere on the 

sheet. 



Grids 

Drawing and Hiding a Grid 

Although you can create up to ten grids for each sheet, you can only display one grid on your 

current sheet at a time. You can also choose the frequency of the grid lines displayed; that is, 

whether every grid line should be displayed or, for example, only every second or third grid line. 

Drawing the Current Grid 

You can draw the current grid by clicking on the Show Current Grid tool in the menu Grids. 

Hiding the Current Grid 

You can hide the current grid by clicking on the Hide Current Grid tool in the menu Grids. 

Changing the Drawing Interval 

If you find that grid lines are obscuring your view of a drawing, but you do not want to hide the 

grid, you can choose to display only some of the grid lines. For example, you can specify that 

only every second or third line is drawn. This does not affect the grid spacing. 

To display a partial grid: 

1. Click on the Grid Properties tool in the menu Grids to display the Grid Properties dialog. 

2. Enter a value in the Interval fields. 

For example, if you enter 3 for each axis, then every third grid line will be displayed. 



Modifying a Grid 


Modifying a Grid 

You can change any of the properties of an existing grid with the Grid Properties dialog. 

1. Click on the Grid Properties tool inside the menu Grids to open the Grid Properties dialog. 

Figure 111 Grid Properties Dialog 

2. Click on the arrow right of the Grid name... input field to call up the list of available grids 

(see Figure 105, “The Grid Name List” on page 144). 

3. Select the grid you want to modify. 

The dialog displays the current properties of the chosen grid. 

4. Change the properties of the grid as required. 

For details on the parameter see chapter “Creating a new Grid” on page 144. 




Grids 

Aligning a Grid With an Element 

You can move the origin of the current grid so that it is aligned with an element. This is shown 

below where the grid origin is set to the bottom left corner of the element. 

To do this: 

Figure 112 Set Grid Origin to Element Corner 

X 

Element not aligned with grid Grid origin moved 

1. Click on the Set Grid Origin tool in the Grids menu. 

2. Probe the point on the element that you want to align it to. 

Resetting the Grid Origin 

To reset the origin of the current grid to (0,0) click on the Reset Grid Origin tool in the Grids 

menu. 


X

Deleting a Grid 

To delete a grid: 

1. Click on the Grid Properties tool in the Grids menu. 

The Grid Properties dialog is displayed. 

2. Open the Grid name pulldown-list as described before. 

3. Select the grid you want to delete from the list of available grids. 

4. Press the Delete button. 

The selected grid is deleted. Another grid from the list is made current. 

5. Click OK to apply the change and dismiss the Grid Properties dialog. 

Please note: You cannot delete the last grid on the sheet. 


Deleting a Grid 



Grids 


LAYERS 

This chapter describes how to use and customize layers and layer sets. 

• Introduction to Layers ............................................................ 158 

• Layers Menu .......................................................................... 160 

• Default Layer Allocation......................................................... 161 

• Layer Properties..................................................................... 162 

• Set Layer Attributes ............................................................... 164 

• Layer Set Management.......................................................... 165 

• Customize Layers .................................................................. 168 

• Customize Layer Sets............................................................ 170 

• Layer Datum .......................................................................... 173 

• Layer Change ........................................................................ 174 




Layers 

Introduction to Layers 

The geometry on a MEDUSA sheet can be visualized as a stack of transparent films containing 

geometric elements. These films, called layers, are used to group the geometric elements so 

that they can be operated together. Each layer is used to distinguish between parts of a sheet 

that have different functions. 

Figure 113 Layers 

Your company policy could, for example, specify that one layer should contain the sheet outline, 

another the sheet tiles, a third all the text, and so on. In this way layers provide another way of 

grouping elements with similar functions. For example, you might want to create a plan view 

drawing of a building where all the geometry for each floor of the building is put on a distinct 

layer. This would then allow you to hide the geometry of some floors by making those layers 

invisible. In an industrial drawing sheet you might wish to assign all the electrical wiring elements 

to one layer and the plumbing elements to another. 

Please note: An element can only belong to one layer. Layers do not describe spatial relationships 

between elements on different layers. All elements exist at the same depth 

as there is no third dimension in MEDUSA. 

You can mark layers as being unhitable, meaning that the geometry on those layers cannot be 

selected. When printing you can choose which layers to print. 

A layer set is a collection of individual layers which can be treated as a single layer for editing 

purposes. For example, in the building sheet example above you could create a layer set consisting 

of the layers of the first five floors. You can then easily select and operate on all the elements 

of these layers. 

Please note: A single layer can belong to one or more layer sets. 



Introduction to Layers 

MEDUSA can define a maximum of 1024 layers identified internally in the system by layer 

numbers in the range of 0 through 1023 inclusive. Your System Administrator may have set up 

your system with layers and layer sets to be used on your sheets. The system also has some 

predefined layers and layer sets. The layer set All contains all the layers in the system. The 

layer All is used as neutral layer and default layer for some styles. 

Layer Attributes 

The following table gives you the layer attributes: 

Attribute Values Description 

Name text string This is the layer name. 

Number 0-1023 This is an identifier for internal use by the system. 

Visible ON 

OFF 

Hitable ON 

OFF 

Protection Unprotect 

Modify 

Full 

Color switch ON 

OFF 

This is set to ON, if the elements on the layer are to 

be drawn, and OFF if they are to be made invisible. 

This is set to ON, if the elements on the layer can be 

selected or used in determining the probe position 

when using a probe modifier (NEAR, INTERSEC- 

TION etc). Setting this attribute to OFF will stop the 

layer's elements from being selected. 

If Unprotect is activated, elements on the layer 

can be created or modified. 

If Full is activated, the system prevents elements 

being created or existing elements from being 

deleted or modified on the layer. 

Modify is the same as Full for elements which 

are on the sheet. If you load or save symbols with 

elements which are on this layer, these elements 

are not loaded or saved. 

If ON, the elements on the layer are drawn in the 

color specified by the color attribute. If OFF the color 

of the style is used 

Color color This is the color used for drawing the layer. 



Layers 

Layers Menu 

In the menu bar you find the item Layers which provides the functions for setting the display and 

properties of layers. 

Figure 114 Layers Menu 

The menu offers the following functions: 

Layer Manager 

opens the Layer Management Dialog. The layer manager provides all the functions for customizing 

layers and layer sets by two tabs. 

One tab is used for setting the attributes of layers temporary for the current session, 

see “Layer Properties” on page 162. 

The other tab is used for defining layer sets and layer names permanently, see “Layer 

Set Management” on page 165, which can be done in Administration mode only. 

Set Layer Datum 

opens the Layer Datum dialog. For details see “Layer Datum” on page 173. 

Change Layer 

opens the Change Layer dialog. For details see “Layer Change” on page 174. 

Please note: You can use layers and layer sets as a means of setting up or modifying the current 

selection. This is explained in “Select“, “Power Selection Tool” on page 112. 


Default Layer Allocation 


Default Layer Allocation 

When you create an element, it is automatically assigned to a default layer according to its 

style, class (line, text, prim, and so on) or function (sheet outline, dimensioning, crosshatching, 

and so on). The layer of the currently selected elements is displayed in the dashboard as shown 

below. 

Figure 115 Dashboard: Layers 

button for opening the 

Layer Manager 

While creating or editing an element you can change its layer either inside the dashboard or in 

the properties dialog. The dashboard also provides a button for opening the Layer Management 

Dialog whose tabs are explained in “Layer Properties” on page 162 and “Layer Set Management” 

on page 165. 

Change Layer with the Dashboard 

Inside the dashboard you can choose any layer from the pulldown list available with the arrow 

on the right hand side of the layer field. If you choose a layer which differs from the preferred 

layer set by the style then the creation button gets a yellow border to mark this fact. 

Change Layer with the Properties Dialog 

layer field 

1. Create or edit an element. 

2. Choose Properties from the popup menu available with the right mouse button. 

The properties dialog for the current element opens. 

You also can open the dialog with the properties button inside the dashboard. 

Inside the dialog you find an entry Layer providing a pulldown list with all named layers. 

3. Select a new layer name from the Layer pulldown list. 

4. Apply the new layer to the element using the button Apply or OK. 

Inside the dashboard you still see the properties of the element. The layer name has 

changed. 



Layers 

Layer Properties 

The layer management in MEDUSA allows you to set some parameters related to layers temporary 

for the current MEDUSA session. You can change the visibility and selectivity of layers and 

you can set the protection flag and the layer color. 

For defining layer properties choose either the Layer Manager option from the entry Layers in the 

menu bar, or, if you are just creating or editing an element, click left on the button View or change 

the layer properties . 

The Layer Management Dialog appears providing two tabs for Layer Properties and for Layer Set Management 

(admin only). The tab Layer Properties is open by default. 

Figure 116 Layer Manager: Tab Layer Properties 

You find the following entries on the tab: 

Layer Sets 

show options 

This text field displays the currently chosen layer set. It is empty by default, indicating 

that no layer set is chosen. If you select a layer set from the pulldown list available by 

the arrow on the right of the text field, the Layer Set Attributes of the chosen set are displayed. 



Layer Properties 

The attributes of the layer are listed below. You find information on the attributes in the section 

“Introduction to Layers“, “Layer Attributes” on page 159. 

Layer Name 

Column which gives the name of the layer. The list shows one layer per line. Each line 

of the list shows the layer number, the name and attributes of the layer. 

On 

Vis 

Hit 

Prot 

Col 

switches the check marks for visibility and selectivity on or off at the same time. 

switches on or off the layer visibility. 

switches on or off the layer selectivity (hitability). 

switches the layer protection flag to Full, Modify or Unprotected. 

switches on or off the layer color. 

Please note: If you click on the column header in the case of On, Vis, Hit and Col all check boxes 

in the list change to ON (with check mark) or OFF (empty). 

In the case of Prot, the entries change to Full, Modify or Unprotected. 

Lay Col 

opens the Select color dialog which allows you to select the color for the current layer by 

clicking on a colored button and confirming your choice with OK. 

Figure 117 Select Color Dialog 

Show Named Layers, Show Used Layers, Show All Layers 

Options for displaying either all named layers, all layers used in the current sheet, or all 

available layers from 0 to 1023. 

Reset 

sets the layer settings back to the default values. 

OK, Apply 

uses the current settings. In case of OK the dialog is closed. After Apply the button is 

disabled until you changed something in the dialog. 

Cancel, Help 




Layers 

Set Layer Attributes 

For the current MEDUSA session you can set the attributes for layers like visibility, selectivity, 

used color and the protection mode. 

Please note: The settings for layer attributes you do here are temporary. In the next MEDUSA 

session the default settings are used again. 

For setting layer attributes do the following steps: 

1. Open the dialog Layer Management Dialog by choosing Layers > Layer Manager in the menu bar 

and then the tab Layer Properties (see Figure 116, “Layer Manager: Tab Layer Properties” 

on page 162). 

In the list you see the layers according to the defined show option. It can be all, named 

or used layers. 

2. Set the parameters to your needs. You have the following possibilities: 

• Click on the header of a column to set a parameter for all listed layers to the same 

value. 

• Click on a check box to toggle its setting to on or off. 

• Click on the arrow to the right of a list entry to select a value from a pulldown list. 

This is available only for the protection flag Prot. 

• Double click on a list entry to open a further dialog for selecting a value. This is 

available for the layer color only. 

For details on the parameters see “Layer Properties” on page 162. 

3. Confirm your settings using Apply or OK. 

If you chose OK the settings are applied and the dialog is closed. 

If you chose Apply the settings are applied and the dialog remains open. 


Layer Set Management 



Please note: For the layer set management you have to be in Administrator mode. To enter 

Administrator mode choose the entry Admin Mode from the Options menu. 

If you are not in Administrator mode all entries of the tab below are disabled. 

Text 

field 

show 

options 

1. Choose either the Layer Manager option from the entry Layers in the menu bar, or, if you 

are just creating or editing an element, click left on the button View or change the layer properties 

for opening the Layer Management Dialog. 

Two tabs are available, for Layer Properties and for Layer Set Management (admin only). 

2. Click on Layer Set Management (admin only) for displaying its contents. 

Figure 118 Layer Manager: Tab Layer Set Management (admin Only) 

On top of the Layer Set Management (admin only) tab you find the following entries: 

Layer Sets 

Color 

selection 

button 

This text field displays the currently chosen layer set. It is empty by default, indicating 

that no layer set is chosen. If you select a layer set from the pulldown list available by 



Layers 

Save 

Delete 

the arrow on the right of the text field, the Layer Set Attributes of the chosen set are displayed. 

This button allows you to save the current layer set. 

deletes the current layer set. 

Below the parameters on top of the dialog you find two lists. On the left you see the list of All 

Layers (depending on the show options) and on the right you see the list of layers which belong 

to the current Layer Set (Actual Layers). Between the lists you find some buttons used for selecting 

and deselecting layers either in the left or right list, and for moving layers from one list to the 

other. 

Figure 119 Layer Manager: List Buttons 

Below the lists of the Layer Set Management tab you find the section Layer on the left hand side: 

Text field (below the list of all layers on the left) 

The field is disabled by default. If you click double on a layer number inside the list 

above, the field becomes enabled and the name is displayed in it. Now you can delete 

or change the layer name. Details are given in “Customize Layers” on page 168. 

Show Named Layers, Show Used Layers, Show All Layers 

Options for displaying either all named layers, all layers used in the current sheet, or all 

layers available in MEDUSA, which are the layers numbered from 0 to 1023. 

On the right of the Layer Set Management (admin only) tab you find the section Layer Set Attributes. 

All entries are disabled if no layer set is chosen. 

On, Off 

Deselect all available layers 

Invert selection of all available layers 

Select all available layers 

Add selected layers to set 

Remove selected layers from set 

Select all layers in set 

Invert selection in set 

Deselect all layers in set 

switches the options for visibility and selectivity at the same time On or Off. 

Visible, Invisible 

switches the selected layers Visible or Invisible. 




Hitable, Unhitable 

switches the selected layers Hitable (selectable) or Unhitable (not selectable). 

Protected Modify, Protected Full, Unprotected 

Options for allowing changes on layers or not. 

Protected Modify allows to add new layers. 

Protected Full prevents changing layer attributes and adding layers. 

Unprotected allows to change layer attributes and add new layers. 

Color ON, Color OFF 

If the option Color ON is set, the elements on the layer are drawn in the color specified 

by the color attribute. If the option Color OFF is set the elements on the layers defined in 

the current layer set are drawn with the color defined for the appropriate styles. 

Color selection button (below the option Color OFF) 

opens the Select color dialog which allows you to select the color for the current layer set 

by clicking on a colored button and confirming your choice with OK. 

Figure 120 Select Color Dialog 

The buttons in the bottom of the Layer Set Management (admin only) tab, which are OK, Apply, Cancel, 

Reset, Help, are the same as given for the tab “Layer Properties” on page 162. 



Layers 

Customize Layers 

You can customize layers when in Administrator mode. To enter Administrator mode, please 

refer to the chapter “Options“, “Administrator Mode” on page 203. 

In MEDUSA you always have 1024 layers numbered from 0 to 1023, so you cannot add new 

layers which have a higher number. 

This section shows you how to rename layers and how to delete layer names. 

For deleting a layer name do the following steps, assuming that you are already in administrator 

mode: 


and then the tab Layer Set Management (admin only) (see Figure 118, “Layer Manager: Tab 

Layer Set Management (admin Only)” on page 165). 

In the list on the left hand side you see the layers according to the defined show option. 

It can be all, named or used layers. 

2. Double click left either on a layer number or the layer name. 

Below the list the text field becomes enabled and the layer name is displayed. Additionally 

the button for deleting the layer name is activated. 

Figure 121 Example: Rename Layer Name 

3. Click left on the button Delete layer name . 

The appropriate name in the list changes to Layer_ (No is the current layer number) 

to mark it as undefined. If the show option Show Named Layers is chosen, the layer is 

removed from the list. 



Customize Layers 

For renaming a layer do the following: 


and then the tab Layer Set Management (admin only) (see Figure 118, “Layer Manager: Tab 

Layer Set Management (admin Only)” on page 165). 

2. Double click left either on a layer number or the layer name. 

Below the list the text field becomes enabled and the layer name is displayed. 

3. Click left in the text field. 

4. Type a new name or change the displayed name. 

As you do so the button Delete layer name becomes inactive and the button OK to set 

layer name is activated. 

5. Click left on the button OK to set layer name . 

The layer name is changed and the list is updated to the new name. The text field and 

both buttons on the right from it are disabled. If the currently displayed layer set contains 

the changed layer, the name is also updated in the list of layers defined in the 

layer set. 



Layers 

Customize Layer Sets 

You can customize layer sets when in Administrator mode. To enter Administrator mode, please 

refer to the chapter “Options“, “Administrator Mode” on page 203. 

There are two possibilities to define your own layer sets: 

a. using the Layer Manager or 

b. creating a layerset.xml file in the customer product. 

Defining Layer Sets using the Layer Manager 

To create, modify or delete layer sets open the dialog Layer Management Dialog by choosing Layers > 

Layer Manager in the menu bar and then the tab Layer Set Management (admin only) (see Figure 118, 

“Layer Manager: Tab Layer Set Management (admin Only)” on page 165). 

To add a new layer set: 

1. Click left in the text field Layer Sets. 

2. Type a new name for the set into the entry box. 

3. Click the Save button to create the new layer set. 

The new layer set is available in the pulldown list now. 

To change the name of a layer set: 

1. Select a layer set from the list available by clicking on the arrow on the right of the layer 

sets text field. 

2. Enter a new unique name in the Layer Sets field. 


If the name is unique the new layer set is saved immediately. 

If the layer set already exists you are asked for overwriting it. 

To add layers to a layer set: 

1. Select a layer set. 

The list on the right Actual Layers displays the layers which are defined in the current set. 

2. Click left on layers in the left list which shall be added to the layer set. 

If a layer is highlighted, it is selected and ready for moving to the right list Actual Layers. 

If you click on an already highlighted layer, it is deselected. 

3. Click left on the button Add layer to set . 

The selected layers are shifted from the left list to the right one. 

4. Click the Save button for storing the changes on the layer set. 



Customize Layer Sets 

To remove layers from a layer set: 

1. Select a layer set. 

The list on the right Actual Layers displays the layers which are defined in the current set. 

2. Click left on layers which shall be removed from the layer set in the list Actual Layers. 

If a layer is highlighted it is selected and ready for moving to the other list. 

If you click on an already highlighted layer, it is deselected. 

3. Click left on the button Remove layer from set . 

The selected layers are shifted from the right list to the left one. 

4. Click the Save button for applying the changes on the layer set. 

To delete a layer set, select the set and click the Delete button. 

Defining Layer Sets in Product Directories 

It is possible to have more than one layerset.xml files. They have to be placed into the product 

directories into m2d\src. MEDUSA looks through all m2d\src directories that are in the product 

list, starting from top, and merges any layerset.xml files that are found. An example for a layerset.xml 

file is shown above: 

 

 

SET1 

true 

0 

true 

3 

true 

1-3 5 

 

 

SET2 

true 

0 

true 

2 

true 

10-23 36-38 99 

 

 



Layers 

protection: 

• 1 - protected modify 

• 2 - protected full 

• 3 - unprotected 

Please note: Changes of the layer sets should always be done in the customer product not in 

the product directories of the original product. For information about adding user 

product directories see the Customization Guide please (available only in English 

language). 


Layer Datum 


Layer Datum 

When an element is created, it is allocated to a default layer as described in “Default Layer Allocation” 

on page 161. For example, by default construction lines are created on layer number 

27, Construction Lines. That is, they are created on the 27th layer after the datum layer. 

The layer datum is set to 0 by default. You can change the layer datum within the Layer Datum dialog 

either by choosing a name from the list or entering a number. 

The dialog provides a pulldown list of any layer names which are set in the Layer Manager dialog. 

If you choose a layer from the list, for example Miscellaneous, you activate the Layer Datum ON 

option and press Apply or OK, any new created construction line will be created on layer 

Miscellaneous. 

If you enter a layer number, for example 100, then any created construction line will be created 

on layer 127. 

To display the Layer Datum dialog, select Set Layer Datum from the Layers pulldown menu. 

Figure 122 Layer Datum Dialog 

To define a new layer datum: 

1. Select Layer Datum On. 

2. Enter either a name or a layer datum number into the Layer Datum field. 

3. Press OK. 

Please note: If you define the layer datum as 0, or you make no entry, elements are allocated 

to their default layers. This is the same result as if the Layer Datum Off option had 

been chosen. 



Layers 

Layer Change 

When an element is created, it is allocated to a default layer as described in “Default Layer Allocation” 

on page 161. The layer name is displayed in the dashboard. The Change Layer option of 

the Layer pulldown menu enables you to change the layer of elements. 

1. Select the elements for which you want to change the layer. 

2. To display the Change Layer dialog, select Change Layer from the Layers pulldown menu. 

Figure 123 The Change Layer Dialog 

The dialog provides the two different options, Absolute and Incremental. 

a. If Absolute is activated: 

You can open a pulldown menu using the right arrow. 

Figure 124 The Change Layer Pulldown Menu 

A list of the names of any available layers is displayed. 

Choose the desired layer. 

The pulldown menu closes and the name of the layer is inserted into the text field. 

Click on Apply transfers the layer to the selected elements. The name of the 

changed layer is displayed in the layer field of the dashboard. The dialog remains 

opened and you can repeat the action for other elements. 

Click on OK applies the change and quits the dialog. 


. If Incremental is activated: 

The text field right of the option is activated now and displays 0. 

Figure 125 Change Layer Dialog - Option Incremental 


Layer Change 

Each layer is assigned to a specific number (see Figure 116, “Layer Manager: Tab 

Layer Properties” on page 162). 

You can increase or reduce this number by inserting an incremental value in the text 

field. 

For example, if a selected element is on layer 6, which is the layer named General 

Notes, you enter 3 in the Incremental field and click Apply. 

The layer of this element changes to layer 9 (6 + 3 = 9). 

A click on Apply transfers the inserted value and the dialog remains opened. 

A click on OK transfers the inserted value and closes the dialog. 

Please note: When you changed the layer incrementally and the new layer is not a named 

layer, it is named automatically and displayed in the list of named layers. 



Layers 


OPTIONS 

This chapter gives you information on setting global parameters in MEDUSA. 

• Options Menu......................................................................... 178 

• Defaults - Overview................................................................ 179 

• Common Settings .................................................................. 180 

• Message Area Display Properties.......................................... 182 

• Legible Height ........................................................................ 183 

• Drawing Code ........................................................................ 184 

• Sheet History Stack................................................................ 185 

• Dashboard Element Selection Limits ..................................... 186 

• Switches - Control User Options............................................ 187 

• Dimension Defaults................................................................ 192 

• Hit Radius .............................................................................. 196 

• Arc Factor .............................................................................. 198 

• Settings for References ......................................................... 201 

• Interfaces ............................................................................... 202 

• Administrator Mode................................................................ 203 

• Configuration.......................................................................... 204 




Options 

Options Menu 

In the menu bar you find the item Options which provides functions for adjusting global settings. 

Figure 126 Options Menu 

The menu offers the following entries: 

Defaults... 

Interfaces 

opens the dialog for setting up the default values for dimensioning, global user options, 

search radii for selecting elements, arc factor for drawing arcs and circles, properties of 

messages, text legibility and the sheet history stack. For details see “Defaults - Overview” 

on page 179. 

opens the dialog for defining parameters used for importing and exporting sheets. For 

details see “Interfaces” on page 202. 

Admin Mode 

opens the Admin Mode dialog. For details see “Administrator Mode” on page 203. 

Configuration 

This entry is only available in the Administrator mode. It enables you, among other 

things, to add and configure plotter or printer. For details see “Configuration” on 

page 204. 


Defaults - Overview 


Defaults - Overview 

To set up the defaults select the Defaults… entry from the Options menu. The Defaults dialog opens. 

Figure 127 Defaults Dialog: Tabs 

The Defaults dialog has the following tabs: 

Common 

Switches 

provides the options for common settings (see “Common Settings” on page 180). 

is used for setting some global user options. For details see “Switches - Control User 

Options” on page 187. 

Dimension 

opens the Dimension Session Defaults dialog for setting dimension style and standard to use 

as default. For details see “Dimension Defaults” on page 192. 

Radii / Arc Fac 

defines certain radii values for probing on the sheet and allows you to make settings 

for the display of arcs and circles. For details see “Hit Radius” on page 196 and “Arc 

Factor” on page 198. 

Refsys 

3D 

controls the type of text transformation for a loaded reference (see “Settings for References” 

on page 201). 

defines settings for the MEDUSA 3D product. For details to the settings see the 

3D Design Guide. 

In the bottom of the dialog you find at least the buttons Cancel and Help, which work as usual. The 

other buttons depend on the current tab and they are explained in the appropriate section of this 

chapter. 



Options 

Common Settings 

Figure 128 Defaults Dialog: Tab Commo 

The sections of the dialog are: 

Message Area Display 

allows you to define global parameters for messages displayed inside the output message 

area. For details see “Message Area Display Properties” on page 182. 



Common Settings 

Text Legibility 

defines the number of pixels valid for the legibility of text. For details see “Legible 

Height” on page 183. 

Drawing Code 

defines in which way a particular element type is drawn. 10 codes are provided, code1 

to code10. You find the code definitions in the file code.dat. For details see “Drawing 

Code” on page 184. 


defines the length of the list containing the last loaded sheets provided in the pulldown 

File menu. For details see “Sheet History Stack” on page 185. 

Dashboard element selection limits 

defines the limits of element selection for the display in the dashboard. For details see 

“Dashboard Element Selection Limits” on page 186. 

Default font 

provides a pulldown list displaying all available fonts. The chosen default font is used 

for texts where text is created indirectly like in dimensions or feature control frames. 

For text styles this setting is not applied because text styles have a font given in the 

style definition. 

The buttons of the Common tab are: 

Apply 

Defaults 

uses the current settings of the dialog. 

sets the values back to default values. 



Options 

Message Area Display Properties 

You can define some properties related to messages given inside the output message area. 

To set properties of messages select the Common tab from the Defaults dialog. On top of the tab 

you find the section Message Area Display giving the parameters available for setup. 

Figure 129 Defaults Dialog: Tab Common, Section Message Area Display 

The parameters of the Message Area Display section of the Common tab are: 

Enable at startup 

If this option is marked, the message area will be displayed in the next MEDUSA session 

in the same way as it was when saving the defaults last time. 

Please note: The output message area is not visible unless you click the Toggle output message area 

tool from the status area, see page 26. 

Messages Types to Display 

This section holds the options for defining the type of messages. You can choose if 

either only Errors, Errors and Warnings, or if All messages are given. If you choose All messages 

also logging messages like after probing elements or updating the layer display 

are given. 


Legible Height 


Legible Height 

The legible height determines whether text is displayed in a legible form or as a rectangle. The 

text is always displayed legibly on the cursor. If you increase the minimum legible height the 

smaller text is drawn as a rectangle which decreases the number of lines which MEDUSA 

needs to draw. Therefore, this decreases the time needed to redraw sheets containing many 

text elements. 

To find out the default for the legible height or to change it: 

1. Choose the Common tab from the Defaults dialog. 

The dialog provides the section Text Legibility... as shown below. 

Figure 130 Defaults Dialog: Tab Common, Section Text Legibility 

2. Type in the new height in numbers of pixels. The minimum height is 1 pixel. 

3. Click the Apply button to change the legible height or click the Cancel button to dismiss 

the dialog. 

4. Select the Redraw tool from the toolbar or the Redraw option from the View menu to 

see the result of the changed legible height. 

Please note: Legible text may also be affected by settings in the Switches tab of the Defaults dialog. 

See “Switches - Control User Options” on page 187. 



Options 

Drawing Code 

The Drawing Code specifies the display of a particular element type. The Code selection list provides 

10 different drawing codes, code1 up to code10. The definitions of codes can be found within the 

code.dat. 

In order to switch to a particular code, click on the desired entry in the list and confirm the 

change by using the Apply button. The currently used code is displayed in the Code selection list 

field. If the option Apply Drawing code change to all loaded sheets is off (default), the chosen drawing 

code is only applied on the current sheet and all sheets, which will be opened subsequently in 

the current session. 

If you wish to transfer this definition as default setting for subsequent MEDUSA sessions, you 

have to approve the “Save as default” request, which appears when quitting the program. When 

starting MEDUSA again, the accordant code is displayed as current code. 

Figure 131 Defaults Dialog: Tab Common, Drawing Code Section 

When running MEDUSA for the first time the code setting depends on the settings of the Dimension 

Text switch (see “Dimension Defaults” on page 192 and page 193). If Normal (default setting) 

is activated, the currently displayed code is code1. If Bold is activated, the currently displayed 

code is code4. In order to be able to set another code as default, you have to do the following: 

By default the keyword code_default is written as comment within the defaults.dat file. 

1. Delete the command characters (--) in front of the keyword. 

2. Enter the value of the desired code. 

The default will be overwritten then. (For details refer to the Administration Guide, 

respectively the Customization Guide.) 





Inside the File menu you find a list of drawings which were opened last time. This list is called 

the sheet history stack. 

For defining the number of sheets listed in the File menu select the Common tab from the Defaults 

dialog. You see the section Sheet History Stack as given in the following figure. 

Figure 132 Defaults Dialog: Tab Common, Section Sheet History Section 

The value for History stack depth defines how many file names are displayed inside the pulldown 

list of the File menu. You can define a number from 1 to 8. See also “File”, ”Sheet History Stack” 

on page 88. 



Options 

Dashboard Element Selection Limits 

Some dashboard actions depend on the count of selected elements. If the number of selected 

elements exceed the limit count, the dashboard is not displayed or updated. 

By default these limits are: 

• general = 5000 elements 

• props = 2000 elements 

• text props = 500 elements 

You can define the limits either in the Defaults dialog (Options > Defaults > Common) or in the 

defaults.dat file of the product. For details to settings in the defaults.dat, please refer to the 

Administration Guide. 

Figure 133 shows the appropriate part of the Common tab, where you can insert the desired values. 

Figure 133 Defaults Dialog: Tab Common, Dashboard Element Selection Limits 

When you quit the program, you are asked if you want to save the changes of the defaults or 

not. If you confirm the changes, the new values will be taken over, and are valid for following 

MEDUSA sessions. 

In order to return to the default values, press the Reset button. 

Please note: The higher the values are the longer MEDUSA needs for checking. 


Switches - Control User Options 



The Switches tab allows you to control a number of user options. To set user options, select the 

Switches... tab from the Defaults dialog. 

Figure 134 Defaults Dialog: Tab Switches 



Options 

General parameters are: 

Display rubber band 

is used for drawing dynamic lines between the current point and the cursor during line 

creation and line edit operations. 

Enable Transportation lines 

enables transportation lines. For details see ”Construction Lines”, ”Transported Construction 

Lines”, ”Transported Construction Lines” on page 501. 

Enable Error bell 

is used for creating a sound every time an error occurs indicating that an error information 

is shown in the output message area. 

Define vertices with left mouse button 

allows drawing points of a line using the left mouse button. If this option is off you can 

place points of elements only with the middle mouse button. 

Load image backdrop 

If a sheet is loaded which has a referenced backdrop image the image is loaded too. 

This option is only available, if the license for images is activated. 

Store Image in Sheet 

If a sheet contains an image it is stored inside the sheet file. If this option is off the 

image is saved as reference (with path and file name) only. This option is only available, 

if the license for images is activated. 

Merge Image on Save 

allows you to control, if you will be asked to merge multiple rasters on sheet save or 

not. 

Prefer Color by Layer 

The layer color has priority over the element color. 

That is, any elements which are created on a layer assigned to a specific color will be 

displayed in this color irrespective of their element color. 

Save Window Position 

If this option is on, MEDUSA saves the coordinates of the current main window as 

default. Then, with the next start of MEDUSA the main window appears in the same 

size and on the same position. 

Create 2D Features 

If this option is on, closed geometries are created as 2D Features meaning that outline 

and center lines are grouped. 

Clip zoomed window 

If this option is on and if you zoom into the sheet using the tool Windows into the area of a 

sheet , only the elements inside the selection frame are displayed. The borders of the 

selection frame are displayed as dotted lines (you can see two of them as maximum). 

If this option is off, also elements are displayed, which are not part of the selection 

frame but which do fit into the zoomed view. 

Copy to clipboard 

If this option is on (default), the Edit menu entry Copy changes to Copy to clipboard (see 

“Edit”, ”The Edit Menu” on page 92). You then can use this entry or the shortcut 




Ctrl+c to copy the currently selected elements into the clipboard and paste them, 

also into another application like MS Word, using the shortcut Ctrl+v. 

You get the same behavior by setting the environment variable 

MED_CLIPBOARDCOPY to one in the file login.bat. 

set MED_CLIPBOARDCOPY=1 

If Copy to clipboard is off, you can copy and paste as given above but you cannot paste 

into another application. 

Please note: The option Copy to clipboard is activated under Windows only. 

Display of line thickness 

If this option is active (default), all lines are displayed according their defined thickness. 

If this option is off, all lines are displayed thinly. For this option lines also means text 

lines and lines of prims, for example. 

Parameters for Layer Manager List Switsches are: 

Show Named Layers 

All named layers are displayed in the Layer Manager list. 

Show Used Layers 

All used layers of the current sheet are displayed in the Layer Manager list. 

Show all Layers 

All layers available in MEDUSA (i.e. layers from 0 to 1023) are displayed in the Layer 

Manager list. 

Parameters for Construction Line Extent are: 

Window 

Sheet 

Maxsiz 

Construction lines are drawn until the border of the currently visible drawing area. 

Construction lines are limited by the sheet size. 

Construction lines are drawn till the maximum size of the drawing area, which can be 

defined in the dialog opened with File -> Sheet properties. 

Parameters for Save Defaults on Exit are: 

Never 

Always 

Prompt 

Changed default settings are never saved. An inquiry dialog will be not displayed, 

when leaving the program. 

Changed default settings are always saved. An inquiry dialog will be not displayed, 

when leaving the program. 

A query occurs whether changed default settings should be saved or not. 

Parameters for Text Display are: 



Options 

Decortext 

with shear 

is used for always displaying text as text if it is within the legible height. If this option is 

not selected all text appears as a rectangular box. 

allows text shear attributes to be defined and display text with shear appropriately. 

legible text 

is used for always displaying text as legible text overriding other options. 

The options for Scale text height (during paste or symbol load) define, how texts are scaled when pasting 

or loading symbols. For example, if you copy a rectangle having dimensions and a text into a 

drawing with a different scale, text and dimension text are scaled according to the following 

options: 

All texts 

All texts are scaled. 

Only dimension texts (TDM) 

All texts except dimension texts are scaled. 

None 

No texts are scaled. 

Parameters for Sheet Loading/Saving are: 

Load references 

loads the geometry of a porthole reference (see “Reference Sheet Procedure” on 

page 681). 

Save references 

keeps a porthole reference inside a sheet but the appropriate geometry is not loaded. 

Add preview on sheet save 

adds preview automatically to any sheet when saved 

Parameters for the Symbol Load/Unload section are: 

at sheet level 

If this option is set symbols are loaded or saved (unloaded) always on sheet level. The 

level on which the symbol currently is, or which was saved with the symbol is ignored. 

at current level 

If this option is set, symbols are loaded or saved (unloaded) always on the level they 

are currently on, or which was saved with the symbol. 

Add preview on symbol unload 

adds preview automatically to any symbol file when unloaded. 

Select symbol after exit tool 

After setting this option, the last symbol placed on the sheet using the tool Load named 

symbol becomes selected and highlighted after leaving the Load named symbol tool. If this 

option is deactivated, no symbol is selected after leaving the tool Load named symbol. 


Parameters for the Sheet Units section are: 

Metric 

Imperial 



sets the sheet units to the metric system (mm) to use as default each time you open a 

new sheet. 

sets the sheet units to the imperial system (inch) to use as default each time you open 

a new sheet. 

The button on this tab is: 

Defaults 




Options 

Dimension Defaults 

You can select a dimension style and standard to use as default when you create dimensioning. 

For details on dimensioning see “Dimensioning” on page 519. To set the default dimensioning 

standard select the Dimension tab from the Defaults dialog. 

Figure 135 Defaults Dialog: Tab Dimension 


You find the following entries inside the Dimension tab: 

Standard 



provides the options for the standard dimensioning. Available options are bsi, ansi, din, jis 

and iso. 

Arrows and Gaps 

shows the definitions for arrows and gaps for the selected Standard. You can change the 

settings by clicking left on the appropriate button and choose a new symbol from the 

Point Function dialog (see ”Lines”, ”Point Functions”, ”Point Functions” on page 389). 

Escape 

Blob 

is a placeholder for the display of the formats. It is used internally. 

is the symbol of the starting point when using coordinate dimensioning. 

Radial Dimension 

Certain standards can allow that radial dimensions can be drawn with or without a line 

witnessing the radius. This control allows the user to select which alternative to use. 

Please note: In addition the ISO standard can allow flipped out diameter dimensions to be 

drawn with or without a witness line exhibiting the diameter. Radial Dimension is used 

for that case too. 

For following settings you can define Prefix and Suffix of the dimension text for the appropriate 

dimensioning. Clicking left on the button Symbol opens the Special Characters dialog. You also can 

enter values by typing them on your keyboard. 

Radial 

Diametric 

Thread 

Chamfer 

defines Prefix and Suffix of the dimension text for dimensioning radii. 

defines Prefix and Suffix of the dimension text for dimensioning diameters. 

defines the Prefix and Suffix of the dimension text for dimensioning threads. 

defines Prefix and Suffix of the dimension text for dimensioning chamfers. 

Parameters for Dimension Text are: 

Normal 

Bold 

displays dimension text with normal font weight (default setting, is equivalent to 

code1). 

displays dimension text with font weight bold (default = code4/depending on the settings). 

If this option is set, boldness of plotted dimensions can be set to a certain value 

by defining environment variables inside the login.bat. For details see the Administrator 

Guide, chapter “Setting up Boldness for Plotting Dimensions“. (See also “Drawing 

Code” on page 184) 



Options 

Parameters for the DIN Tolerance Text Height section are: 

Normal 

Small 

sets the text height for the tolerance according to the text high of the dimension. 

sets the text height for the tolerance smaller than the text high of the dimension. 

Parameters for the Saved Damaged Dimensions section are: 

Prompt 

Never 

Always 

If this option is set, you are asked how to handle damaged dimensions every time, you 

try to change a dimension. For details see ”Dimensioning”, ”Editing Dimensions”, ”Possible 

Messages while Changing Dimensions” on page 566. 

Damaged dimensions are never saved but are always reverted to their original structure 

if possible. 

Damaged dimensions are always saved. 

Parameters for the Reset Tool Properties section are: 

Automatic Reset 

If this option is activated each time one of the dimensioning tools is activated, temporary 

dimensioning attributes (text height for instance) are reset in accordance with the 

default values in the same way they are when using the button Reset of the Dimension 

Properties dialog box. 

Keep User Settings 

If this option is selected, temporary dimensioning attributes (text height for example) 

are left as they were from the last use of a dimension creation tool. 

In order to get your choice when starting MEDUSA, you have to set the value of 

dim_tool_attributes in your defaults.dat file: 

• !reset -> Automatic Reset 

• !inherit -> Keep user settings 

The buttons on this tab are: 

Apply 

uses the current settings of the tab. 

Update Standard 

uses the current settings as the standard for dimensioning. 

If you wish, you can modify the dimension standards or create a personal copy of a modified 

standard. 

1. Select the Defaults … option from the Options menu. 

The Defaults dialog appears. 

2. Choose the tab Dimension. 

3. Select the dimensioning standard you wish to use. 

4. Modify the standard as required, for example, select arrows of a different style. 




5. Click: 

• Apply to apply a modified version of the dimensioning standard to the sheet. You can 

then revert to the original, default standard whenever required. 

• Update standard to reset your personal copy of that particular standard. 

Please note: If you click Update standard the standard will always reflect these modifications whenever 

you select that standard. 

When closing the session a dialog appears asking you if you want to save or discard 

the changed defaults. If you select Save then the current standard is used in 

any further MEDUSA session If you select Cancel the current standard dimensioning 

settings are lost. Next time you start MEDUSA the old default settings are used 

again. 



Options 

Hit Radius 

To find out the current hit radius, choose the Radii / Arc Factor tab from the Defaults dialog. 

Figure 136 Defaults Dialog: Tab Radii / Arc Factor 

The Search Radii section of the dialog provides following entries: 

Hit Radius 

specifies the radius which is required in order that MEDUSA finds a geometry. Hit Radius 

is not valid for Free and Auto probe specifiers. Default: 2.0 

Maximum Radius 

specifies the maximum radius of a point using Near, Intersection, Perpendicular, Segment or 

Tangent probe specifiers. Default: 50.0 



Hit Radius 

Coincidence Radius 

specifies that separate points are considered for coincidence unless they are separated 

by a distance greater than the Coincidence Radius. Default: 0.00 

The Auto Probe Radii section of the dialog provides following entries: 

Near Point Radius 

is the radius for finding the nearest point using an Auto probe specifier. Default: 2.5 

Intersection Radius 

specifies the radius for finding an intersection point using an Auto probe specifier. 

Default: 2.5 

Segment Radius 

Radius for finding a segment point using an Auto probe specifier. Default: 2.5 

Please note: The values used in the radii sections have to be specified as screen units (and not 

sheet units). 

The Arc Factor section of the dialog is explained in “Arc Factor” on page 198. 

The buttons of the dialog are: 

Apply 

Defaults 

uses the current settings of the tab. 


Set as Default 

takes the current values as default values. 



Options 

Arc Factor 

Arcs are drawn using a number of straight lines known as chords. The more chords that are 

used to draw the arc, the smoother the curve will appear. The arc factor controls the angles 

between these chords and therefore affects the number of chords which are used to display 

each arc on the MEDUSA sheet on your screen. If you set the arc factor to display curves less 

smoothly, this decreases the number of lines which MEDUSA needs to draw. Therefore, this 

decreases the time to redraw sheets containing complex geometry. 

Please note: Setting the arc factor for displaying the sheet on the screen does not affect the arc 

factor that is used when you print/plot a MEDUSA sheet. For information on how 

to set the arc factor in printing see “File”, ”Printing a Sheet” on page 70. 

The initial values for the arc factor are set to: 

• Curve factor: 0.0125 

• Maximum angle: 15.0 

• Minimum angle: 3.00 

The values submitted are limited to 0.0125 through 100000.0 for the curve factor, and 0.5 

through 60 degrees for the angles. In addition the minimum angle is silently forced to be less 

than or equal to the maximum angle. 

To find out the current arc factor or change it choose the Radii / Arc Factor tab from the Defaults dialog. 

Figure 137 Defaults Dialog: Tab Radii / Arc Fac, Arc Factor 

Please note: If you changed the arc factor choose Redraw from the View menu to see the result. 

Options of the Arc Factor section: 

Curve Factor 

If the curve factor is changed or an arc is magnified, the number of chords used to 

describe the curve changes sequentially, for example, 3 to 4 to 5. 

Large arcs (those greater than 90 degrees) are always processed in sections. Therefore, 

an arc between 90 and 180 degrees changes in the sequence 2, 4, 6, 8 and so on 

and a complete circle changes in the sequence 4, 8, 12, 16 and so on. (See values A 



Arc Factor 

and B Figure 138). See “Note on How the Arc Factor is Calculated” on page 200 for 

more information. 

Max. Angle 

If the arc factor increases (or the size of the arc decreases) the number of chords 

decreases until the minimum number of chords is reached. This minimum number is 

controlled by specifying a maximum angle for the chords in the Max Angle field. 

The maximum angle is 30 degrees when you start up MEDUSA. The largest value 

allowed is 60 degrees. (See angle C Figure 138). 

Min. Angle 

If the arc factor decreases (or the size of the arc increases) the number of chords 

increases until the maximum number of chords is reached. This maximum number is 

controlled by specifying a minimum angle for the chords in the Min Angle field. 

The minimum angle is 5 degrees when you start up MEDUSA, however. The smallest 

value allowed is 0.5 degrees. (See angle D Figure 138). 

The buttons of the tab are explained in “Hit Radius” on page 196. 

Figure 138 Display of the Arc Factor Options 



Options 

Note on How the Arc Factor is Calculated 

This information is included for the benefit of those users who need to understand how 

MEDUSA calculates the arc factor. 

The number of segments is controlled by the use of a curve factor value which is in turn determined 

by the arc factor value that you specify. As each arc is considered, the curve factor is 

compared against a value derived from the following calculation: 

curve factor = (chord_height)**4 / (chord_length)**2 

chord_height 

is the height of the arc above the chord at the midpoint of the arc (see Figure 138, B). 

chord_length 

is the length of a chord drawn between the two end points of the arc (see Figure 138, 

A). 

If the value is exceeded the arc is halved and the calculation and comparison repeated. 

This calculation and comparison is performed using sheet units and is not related in any way to 

the screen size of the element. As a result, when you zoom in or if you use small curves, the 

display of arcs becomes more ragged and you need to reduce the curve factor to maintain a 

smooth curve. The curve factor value is derived from the arc factor value using the following formula: 

curve_factor = 10**((2.0*LOGe(ARCFAC))/LOGe(2.0)) / (sheet_conv)**2 


Settings for References 


Settings for References 

The Refsys tab provides three options which are used to control the type of text transformation for 

loaded references. 

Figure 139 Refsys Tab of Defaults Dialog 

When text on the source drawing of a reference is transformed, e.g. mirrored or rotated, you 

choose a specified type of transformation (Figure 140) in the context menu (right mouse button) 

of the transformation tool. This type defines the appearance of the text after a transformation. If 

the text is part of a reference, you have to specify the same type of transformation within the 

Defaults dialog (Figure 139), in order to display the text accordingly after loading; only then, the 

transformation of text is executed also with the reference analogously to the source drawing. 

Figure 140 Context Menu of the Transformation Tools Mirror and Rotate 

For detailed information on text transformation please refer to “Transformation of Text Elements” 

on page 446. 

For detailed information on references please refer to “Reference Sheet Procedure” on 

page 681. 



Options 

Interfaces 

In MEDUSA you can set up several parameters for importing and exporting files in DXF/DWG 

AutoCAD exchange and standard format. 

Figure 141 Menu Interfaces 

DXF/DWG 

opens the dialog Options DXF/DWG-Interface, which has two tabs, one for importing files, 

which is the tab DXF/DWG -> MEDUSA, and one for exporting, which is the tab MEDUSA -> 

DXF/DWG. 

DXF Mapping Tables 

opens the dialog CADConvert Mapping Tables, which holds the tabs for all the configuration 

files defining the mapping of lines and texts when converting MEDUSA files into DXF/ 

DWG and vice versa. 

This option is only available in Admin mode! 

DXF/DWG Config Path 

opens the CADConvert Configuration Path dialog. It displays a list of all subdirectories, which 

are located in the cc_custom directory of your user product and contain a cadconvert.cfg 

file. You can choose the required one from the list. 

Figure 142 CADConvert Configuration-Path Dialog 

Please note: The dialogs are not explained in this section, because its parameters are 

explained in detail in the CADConvert Guide. 


Administrator Mode 


Administrator Mode 

If MEDUSA runs with administrator rights the item Admin Mode from the Options menu allows you 

to change the password and switching the administrator mode on and off. 

Figure 143 Pulldown Menu Admin Mode 

Admin Mode 

If a check mark is given you are in administrator mode. By clicking left the check mark 

or the item Admin Mode this mode is switched off. 

If there is no check mark in front of this entry and you click left on Admin Mode you are 

asked for the password. 

Figure 144 Admin Password 

Typing the correct password (default is admin) and choosing OK activates administrator 

mode. 

Change Admin Password 

allows you to change the administrator password. This entry is only accessible if you 

are in administrator mode. After clicking this item the following dialog comes up: 

Figure 145 Admin Password Change 

You have to type the password two times. After choosing OK the password is changed. 

If the entered and re-entered passwords do not match, an error message comes up 

and the password is not changed. 



Options 

Configuration 

Please note: The Configuration function of the Options menu is only available in the Admin mode. 

Choose Configuration to display the following pulldown menu. 

Figure 146 The Configuration Pulldown Menu 

Plotter Configuration 

The Plotter Configuration dialog allows you to add and configure printers or plotters to use 

for printing MEDUSA drawings. Details are given in “Plotter Configuration” on 

page 205. 

Fits 

compiles the data files containing the definitions for fits in metric and imperial dimensions. 

The result is a binary file used internally by MEDUSA when creating dimensions 

with fits. Details are given in “Fits” on page 208 

Select background color 

The function enables you to change the background color of the sheet. Details are 

given in “Select Background Color” on page 209 

printdef 

writes the current environment settings as text file. For details see “Printdefinition” on 

page 209. 


Plotter Configuration 


Configuration 

To display the Plotter Configuration dialog, select Plotter Configuration from the Configuration pulldown 

menu. 

Figure 147 Plotter Configuration Dialog 

The Plotters field in the Plotter Configuration dialog shows a list of plotters that are installed in your 

MEDUSA project. The plotters may be connected to different printer drivers or may be connected 

to the same printer driver but with different configurations. 

Add... 

opens the dialog for adding a printer. For details see “Adding a Printer” on page 206. 

Properties... 

opens the dialog for editing the properties of a selected printer. For details see “Properties” 

on page 207. 

Delete 

deletes a printer by selecting the printer name from the Plotters list and then click the 

Delete button. 

Edit Description 

opens a text editor with the description file for the selected printer. For details see “Edit 

Description” on page 207. 

Please note: Printing and plotting needs a temporary directory for writing intermediate files. In 

Windows this directory has to be c:\temp\ and in Unix it is /tmp/. If there is no directory 

like this on your system, please create it. 



Options 

Adding a Printer 

To install a new plotter or printer in your MEDUSA project: 

1. Click the Add... button on the Plotter Configuration dialog. 

The Add Plotter dialog appears. 

Figure 148 The Add Plotter Dialog 

The dialog displays a list of available plotter drivers. There may be a number of different 

drivers depending upon the printers available at your site. Refer to your System 

Administrator for information about each printer driver. 

2. Type a name for the printer in the Name entry box. 

3. Select the printer driver that you wish to use. 

For each driver different configuration files can exist (e.g. for the driver qtplot amongst 

others there are configuration files for creating black/white or colored PDF files). 

4. Select a Description file. 

5. Select the Logging choice box(es) if you wish to create a log file showing details of all 

your printing jobs. 

• Logging... enters general details about each print job into the log file. For example, the 

time and date at which the file was printed, the number of copies and the length of 

time it took to print. 

• Full Logging... enters more detailed information about each print job into the log file. 

This option is grayed out until you select the Logging choice box. 

Please note: The name of the log file is automatically defined to be Name with extension .log. 

6. Click OK. 


Properties 


Configuration 

The new printer is added to the Plotter list in the Plotter Configuration dialog. An information 

dialog appears, giving you information about the plotter you have created and location 

of the plotter configuration file. An example of this is shown in Figure 149. 

Figure 149 Plotter Information Dialog 

If there are no plot products in your product list, an error message is displayed. 

To view the current properties of a plotter, or to turn logging on or off, select the printer name 

from the Plotter list in the Plotter Configuration dialog, and press the Properties... button. 

The Plotter Properties dialog appears, as shown in Figure 150. 

Figure 150 Plotter Properties Dialog 

This dialog gives the name of the printer and the driver to which it is connected. 

Select or deselect the Logging and Full Logging choice boxes as required to turn log file creation on 

or off. (See “Adding a Printer” on page 206). 

Edit Description 

To configure an installed printer, you must first open the printer configuration file for editing. 

To do this, either: 



Options 

• Select the plotter name from the Plotter list in the Plotter Configuration dialog, and press the 

Edit Description... button. The file opens in a new window. 

• Use your standard system File Open options to open the relevant printer configuration 

file. The file has the name .des. 

Please note: You were informed of the name and location of this file when the printer was 

added. For example: \MASTER_PROJECT\superprint\macro\Plotter.des 

You can use this file to configure the printer in a number of different ways. Printer 

configuration is generally defined by your System Administrator. 

Fits 

Fits compiles the default definition files for fits, which are fits-metric.dat and the fits_imperial.dat 

files, to a binary file. Clicking on Fits gives you appropriate messages inside the output message 

area. The following figure gives an example: 

Figure 151 The Compiling Fits Message in the Output Message Area 

The fits-metric.dat and the fits_imperial.dat files contain the definitions for fits and you can edit 

them with a usual text editor. Within these files the System Administrator defines the fits according 

to the standards of the company. If something changes these files change and the binary file 

needs to be compiled again for the usage within MEDUSA. 

For dimensioning MEDUSA reverts to the binary file (e.g. fits.bin). In the Dimension Properties dialogs 

you have to activate Limit/fit by setting a check mark in the choice box. With this you are 

able to choose the needed fit for your dimension. 

Figure 152 Limit/Fit Choice Box in Dimension Properties Dialog 

If you click on the Look up table button the Limits and Fits dialog opens. It provides the list of defined 

fits from the .dat files. Choosing one the according identification code is added to the dimension. 

For detailed information about dimensioning see the chapter “Dimensioning” on page 519. 


Select Background Color 

MEDUSA opens sheets by default with an ivory colored background. 

You can change the background color by using the Select background dialog. 

1. Select the Configuration > Select background color option from the Options menu. 

The Select background dialog is displayed. 

By default MEDUSA offers four different background colors. 

Figure 153 The Select Background Color Dialog 

2. Choose one of the colors and click OK. 

The sheet background appears in the requested color. 


Configuration 

When you close the program you are asked if the change should be saved as default setting. 

For details see “Customizing the User Environment”, ”Saving Changes of the Work Environment 

Settings” on page 737. 

Printdefinition 

You can save the environment settings of your MEDUSA session as a text file. 

1. Select the Configuration > printdef option from the Options menu. 

The dialog for defining a text file is displayed. 

2. Choose a path in the file browser and type a file name in the appropriate text field. 

3. Click left on the button Save. 

The environment settings and variables for your MEDUSA session are saved to the 

defined text file. 



Options 


UTILITIES 


This chapter describes the functions which are available when you choose Utilities from 

the menu bar. 

• The Utilities Menu .................................................................. 212 

• The Protractor ........................................................................ 214 

• Point Functions ...................................................................... 218 

• User Attributes ....................................................................... 220 

• Un-number & Re-number....................................................... 225 

• Copy to Clipboard .................................................................. 242 

• The Calculator........................................................................ 243 

• Trail File ................................................................................. 245 

• Instancing............................................................................... 249 

• Add Preview to Sheet/Symbol ............................................... 252 

• Add Current View as Preview ................................................ 253 

• Accelerator and Map Keys..................................................... 255 



Utilities 

The Utilities Menu 

The figure below gives the options of the pulldown menu Utilities available in the menu bar. 

Figure 154 The Utilities Pulldown Menu 

Protractor... 

opens the Protractor dialog. It is used to create lines of a specific direction and length. 

For details see “Using the Protractor to Create a Line Segment” on page 214. 

Point Functions... 

opens the Point Functions dialog. The dialog is used to specify the appearance of a point 

in a line. For details see “Point Functions” on page 218. 

User Attributes... 

opens the User Attributes dialog. The dialog is used to assign a specific name and value 

(User Attributes) to an element or group. For details see “User Attributes” on page 220. 

Number 

opens the Number dialog, which you can use to insert part numbers into text strings. For 

details see “Un-number & Re-number” on page 225. 

Copy to Clipboard 

copies selected elements into the buffer for using this copy in other application programs. 

For details see “Copy to Clipboard” on page 242. 

Calculator... 

is used to execute simple arithmetic operations. Moving the cursor into a numeric input 

field and calling up the calculator the result of the operation is automatically returned to 

the field. For details see “The Calculator” on page 243. 

Trail File... 

The Trail File function enables you to store and retrieve a sequence of operations. For 

details see “Trail File” on page 245. 



The Utilities Menu 

Instancing... 

is used to place objects along a line. An object can be an element, a group of elements 

or a symbol. For details see “Instancing” on page 249. 

Add preview to sheet 

adds a preview to a sheet, when it is saved. For details see “Add Preview to Sheet/ 

Symbol” on page 252. 

Add current view as prieview 

this option adds the existing screen view to MEDUSA sheet/symbol as preview, for 

example a zoomed detail of a sheet. It can be used to create a more suitable preview 

than the auto generated one. For details see “Add Current View as Preview” on 

page 253. 

Change Directory 

changes the current directory. The chosen directory will be used, if you press the Current 

directory button of a file browser, e.g. when loading a sheet or a symbol. 

Accelerators and Mapkeys 

This entry enables you to set accelerator keys (shortcuts) and map keys for MEDUSA 

functions. For details see “Accelerator and Map Keys” on page 255. 



Utilities 

The Protractor 

You can use the Protractor to: 

• create lines of specified length in a specified direction. 

• query base angles, incremental angles or a distance between two points. 

To display the Protractor dialog select Protractor... from the Utilities menu. 

Figure 155 The Protractor Dialog 

tools to query: 

- the incremental angle 

- the base angle 

- the distance 

sets the incremental angle 

to the specified values 

sets the incremental angle 

to the specified value according 

to the direction of the arrow 

(in steps of 45°) 

In the middle of the dialog you find tools which are used to query values (query tools). 

To the right of them you find input fields displaying the prompted values. You also can enter specific 

values in these fields. 

At the border of the dialog numbers and arrows are given for setting a direction of currently created 

or edited line (the so called setting tools). 

Please note: The setting tools can only be used if you create a line and if you already set the 

starting point for that line, or if you are in the mode for editing an existing line. 

The query tools are available as soon as the dialog appears. 

Using the Protractor to Create a Line Segment 

You can create line segments with a specified direction: 

• by using fixed values for angles in steps of 45 degrees, or 

• entering free values in the input fields. 

Input fields 


Using Fixed Values in Steps of 45 Degrees 



1. Set any values of the input fields to 0. 

2. Choose one of the line creation tools from the Lines + Edit tooltray. 

3. Probe in the sheet to set the starting point of the line. 

The setting tools of the protractor are activated now. 

4. Choose for example the tool. 

The Base angle input field displays a value of 45°. 

5. Move the cursor within the drawing area. 

You see a line attached to the cursor. The line can be shortened or extended by moving 

the mouse. The direction of the line is fixed to an angle of 45° or 135°. 

6. To set the end point of the line: 

• probe anywhere in the sheet, or 

• enter a value in the Distance input field to specify the length. 

7. Press Return or click Apply. 

The line is forced to the specified angle and it is designed in the desired length. 

Any other of the setting tools ( ... / 30°, 60°, 120°...) work in this way. 

Entering Free Values 

1. Set any value in the input fields back to 0. 

2. Choose one of the line creation tools from the Lines + Edit tooltray. 

3. Probe in the sheet to set the starting point of the line 

4. Type for example 35 in the Base angle input field . 

5. Enter for example 60 in the Distance input field to define the length of 

the segment. 

6. Click the Apply button 

MEDUSA creates a line segment 60 units in length at an angle of 35° from the horizontal. 

7. Leave the entered values in the input fields and repeat step 2 and 3. 

8. Type for example 20°in the Incremental angle input field 

and click Apply. 

MEDUSA creates a second line segment 60 units in length at an angle of 55°. The 

base angle and the incremental angle have been added. 

9. Click on Cancel to close the Protractor dialog. 

Please note: The values in the input fields are not reset by closing. If you call the Protractor dialog 

again, the last defined values are displayed in the input fields. 



Utilities 

The Extend to Segment Pulldown Menu 

You can make some settings relating to the extend of line segments using the pulldown menu 

as shown in the figure below. 

Near 

On 

Off 

Figure 156 The Extend to Segment Pulldown Menu 

If you probe on the sheet near an existing element, the point of the line you draw snaps 

automatically to the prolongation of the element or to the element itself. The distance 

between probed point and element depends on the hit radius defined in 

Options > Defaults, tab Radii / Arc Fac. For details see “Options”, ”Hit Radius” on page 196. 

Same as Near but the search radius has no effect here. For drawing the next point that 

existing element is used, which is next to the current cursor position. 

The point of the line you currently draw does not snap to any existing element. The 

automatism described above is switched off. 

Using the Protractor to Query Angle and Distance 

The protractor offers some tools which can be used to query the values of angles or distances 

by probing two points on the sheet. The appropriate input fields display the requested values. 

Figure 157 The Query Tools 

Specify an incremental angle 

by probing two points on the sheet 

Specify a base angle 


Specify distance 


Query a Base Angle 

Incremental angle input field 

Base angle input field 

Distance input field 

This tool enables you to query the angle of a line based on a horizontal line, the base angle. 

The line can be an existing line or a virtual line. In both cases the angle is defined by probing 

two points on the sheet. 


Figure 158 Example of Specifying an Base Angle 

two probed points on an existing line 

define its direction 

point 1 



1. Click on the Specify an base angle by probing two points on the sheet tool . 

2. Probe two points on the sheet to specify the direction of a line as shown in the figure 

above. 

The value of the base angle is displayed in the Base angle input field. 

Query an Incremental Angle 

This tool enables you to query an incremental angle by probing two points on the sheet. As 

described before you can either probe two points on an existing line or two free points (defining 

a virtual line) on the sheet. 

1. Click on the Specify an incremental angle by probing two points on the sheet tool . 

2. Probe two points on the sheet to specify the direction of a line. 

The Incremental angle input field displays the corresponding value. 

Query a Distance 

point 2 

base angle 

0° 

point 1 

point 2 

existing line virtual line 

two probe points on a free place of the shee 

define the direction of a virtual line 

base angle 

You can query a distance between two points in the sheet by using 

the Specify distance by probing two points on the sheet tool . 

1. Click on the tool. 

2. Probe two points on the sheet 

The distance between the two point is promptly displayed in the Distance input field. 

© CAD Schroer GmbH 217 

0°


Utilities 

Point Functions 

The physical appearance of a point in a line is specified by its point function. Every point in a 

line has an associated point function. 

The point function is denoted by a number from 0 through 255 and a name having up to six 

characters. The point function at each point is used to define a symbol drawn at that point, such 

as an arrowhead or a cross. When you first create a point it is given a null point function, that is, 

it is not marked in any way. 

Point functions are divided into the following ranges: 

Ranges Point functions 

0 Null point function 

1 - 39 Default set of point functions 

40 - 50 User-assignable point functions 

51 - 100 Reserved for future MEDUSA development 

101 - 255 User-defined point functions 

If you change the point function, the appearance of the point is changed. For example, you 

could change a point without any function to an arrowhead. Some examples of the appearances 

of different point functions are shown in Figure 159. 

Figure 159 Point Functions 

Point function 8 Point function 11 Point function 25 Point function 34 

Please note: You can change point functions using either the Utilities menu or the Line Properties 

dialog. For detailed Information about the Line Properties dialog see “Lines”, ”Line 

Properties” on page 380. 

For changing a point function: 

1. Choose Point Functions... from the Utilities menu. 

If you are not creating or editing a line the dialog is grayed out. 

2. If you are not already creating or editing a line move the cursor to the point that you 

want to change and then double click left. 

The current point marker appears at the chosen point indicating that you can now 

change the point. The symbols inside the Point Functions dialog are enabled. 


Figure 160 The Standard Point Functions Dialog - Examples 

Null point function 

Use this if you do not 

want a point function 

at the selected point 



3. Choose a point function by clicking the appropriate button. 

The number of the point function appears in the Point function field (see Figure 160) 

and the point function on the sheet changes immediately. 

4. If you do not want to apply further point functions click the Close button. 

The dialog also can remain open while you go on working on your sheet. 



Utilities 

User Attributes 

To get the possibility to select special elements or groups within a sheet you have to assign 

attributes to these elements/groups named User Attributes. 

1. Choose the Query User Attribute tool from the Utilities menu. 

The User Attributes dialog appears. 

Figure 161 The User Attributes Dialog 

In the following the functions of the dialog buttons are explained: 

Adds a new, empty row to the dialog 

Deletes the currently selected row from the dialog 

Deletes all data rows from the dialog and reads the attribute data from the current 

element (e.g. a line) again into the dialog 

Changes the current element to his parent. If the element is on sheet level, this 

switch will be deactivated. It`s not possible to reach the sheet level element 

Stores the data of the selected dialog box lines into a cache, e.g for a later 

copy to other elements 


Reads the cached data and merges them into the current dialog data 



Writes the dialog data to the current set of elements (one ore more element(s) 

and closes the dialog 

Same as OK, but does not close the dialog 

Closes the dialog without any changes 

Below the buttons the dialog displays a table containing three columns for Type, Name and Value. 

Selecting Elements 

a. If you select an element to which no user attribute has been assigned so far, the dialog 

displays only the Element Type of the selected element (i.e. line). Name and Value 

fields are blank as shown in Figure 162. 

Figure 162 User Attributes Dialog - Display having Selected an Element without Attribute 

b. If you select one single element to which a user attribute has been assigned 

already, the attribute values of this element are shown in the dialog box. If you select 

another single element, the dialog is updated on the fly. 

Figure 163 User Attributes Dialog - Display having Selected an Element with Attribute 

c. If you select more than one element, the dialog is cleared. 

No attribute values are shown because of the different set of attributes each element 

can have. 



Utilities 

To Assign a First Attribute 

1. Type a name into the Name input field. 

You can insert up to 6 alphabetic or numeric characters. 

2. Choose a Datatype from the pulldown menu (Figure 161). The attributes dialog supports 

the datatypes integer, real and string. 

3. Enter a value into the Value input field. 

The input option is determind by the datatype you chose before. 

4. Click OK to assign the attribute to the selected element and quit the dialog. 

5. Click Apply to assign the attribute to the selected element and let the dialog opened for 

further actions. 

To Add Additional Attributes to a Single Element 

1. Select a single element. 

Its attribute values are shown in the dialog. 

2. Press the button . 

A new empty line is added to the dialog. 

3. Type the name of the attribute in the column field Name and the attribute value in the 

column field Value. 

4. Press either the OK or Apply button. 

The attribute is assigned to the element. 

Now, at any time you select the element and choose the Query User Attribute tool from the 

Utilities menu, the User Attributes dialog will display any attribute assigned to this element. 

To Add Additional Attributes to a Set of Elements 

1. Select more than one element. 

The dialog is cleared. 

2. Press the Add a user attribute to dialog button . 

A new empty line is added to the dialog. 

3. Type the name of the attribute in the column field Name and the attribute value in the 

column field Value. 

4. Press either the OK or Apply button. 

The attribute is written to the set of elements. 

That means, that the data are merged to possible existing attributes of each of the 


To Change a User Attribute 

1. Select the requested entry in the table. 

2. Modify the name or value in the input fields. 

3. Click Apply to accept the modifications. 

The table displays the changed user attribute. 


To Delete a User Attribute 




If some attributes exist, they are displayed in the User Attributes dialog. 

2. Select the row with the attribute that you want to delete by clicking in the numbered 

column at the start of the row or select a simple cell of the row. 

3. Press the Delete a user attribute from the dialog button . 

The row is removed from the dialog. 

4. Click either the OK or the Apply button to accept the erasure. 

Reset the Dialog 

If you made changes within the dialog without applying these and you press the Reset button , 

the dialog is cleared and the attributes of the current single element are read again. 

Change to the Parent Element 

The button Show the attribute(s) on the parent element switches from the current single to its parent 

element and updates the dialog for showing the attributes of the parent element. 

If there are no attributes, the dialog remains empty. 

If the current element is on sheet level, the button is deactivated. That means, it is not possible 

to go to the sheet element (M10). 

Copy Attributes to a Cache 


Its attribute values are shown in the dialog, if some exist. 

2. Select the attributes you want to copy. 

a. Therefore you can select the complete row by click on the numbered column at the 

start of the row or select one cell of the row. 

b. To select more than one line, use Shift+LMB (left mouse button) to select a block 

of rows or Ctrl+LMB to select different single rows. 

3. Press the Copies dialog data to temporary space button . 

The selected attributes are copied to the cache. 

Paste Attributes to Element(s) 

Cached attribute data can be copied to one single element or to a set of elements. 

1. Select one single element. 

Its attributes are shown in the dialog, if some exist. 

2. Press the Merge/add attributes from temporary space to dialog button . 

The cached data is merged to the dialog data. Existing attributes are overwritten, 

missing ones are added. 



Utilities 

If you select more than one element, you can only merge the cached data to the elements; 

that means, that the existing element attributes are not replaced by the dialog 

content. Existing attributes are overwritten, missing ones are added. 

3. Press the button OK or Apply to write the date to the element(s). 

Please note: You can also call the User Attribute dialog by using the Query and edit user attributes button 

in the status area (see “Status Area”, ”User Attributes” on page 357). 


Un-number & Re-number 



MEDUSA provides the possibility to search on a drawing for text strings and numerals, which 

follow defined strings, and replace them with consecutive numbers. This enables you to create 

e.g. consecutive part numbers on a sheet. 

Choose the Number option from the Utilities pulldown menu. 

Figure 164 Number Option in the Utilities Pulldown Menu 

The Number dialog is displayed. 

Figure 165 Number Dialog 

It provides following input fields: 

Search String 

Controls for which text shall be searched on the complete drawing. 



Utilities 

Textstyle 

String 

Wildcard 

Via the arrow you can display a pulldown list of all available text styles and choose one 

of them. 

Figure 166 Textstyle Pulldown Menu of Number Dialog 

defines the text string to search for (e.g. A, ABC) 

Here, a wildcard (e.g. #,$) can be entered. First existing numerals on the sheet are 

replaced with the wildcard. In a second step this wildcard is searched, in order to 

replace it with new numbers (see Un-number and Re-number below). 

In the lower area of the dialog definitions for the search direction are made. 

Primary Direction 

You can choose between searching in x- or y-direction, i.e. vertical (�) or horizontal (�). 

Vertical Direction 

The search is performed in the defined primary search direction either from bottom to 

top(�), from top to bottom (�). 

Horizontal Direction 

The search is performed in the defined primary search direction either from left to right 

(�) or from right to left (�). 

The dialog provides following buttons: 

Un-number 

The Un-number command prepares defined text strings for the Re-numbering. This is done 

by scanning the complete drawing for numbers, which are added to the defined text 

String. Each single numeral of the numbers is replaced with the defined Wildcard. 

Re-number 

The Re-number command scans the complete drawing for text, which begins with the 

defined string, and replaces the wildcards, which are added to this string, with 

consecutive numbers. 




If no wildcard is defined, it is searched for texts, which begin with the defined string. 

Then, the last character of each string is replaced with consecutive numbers. (For 

example: If the search string is text, the result will be tex1, tex2, tex3, etc.) 

Please note: Un-numbering as well as re-numbering searches for text of the defined style only! 

Number 

Cancel 

Help 

The Number command executes the Un-number and Re-number command automatically in 

succession. 

Quits the dialog. 

displays the documentation to the dialog. 



Utilities 

Examples 

The result of different settings shall be clarified with some examples. On basis of drawing 

Figure 167 firstly the parameters of the search direction will be explained. 

Figure 167 Basic Sheet 

Text of style slot and string A will be searched; A wildcard is not entered. 

Figure 168 Search String Settings 

In each case the examples show the result of numbering with the appropriate different settings, 

after pressing the Re-number button. 


Primary Direction: Horizontal 

Figure 169 Search Direction: horizontal-bottom up-from left 

Figure 170 Result 

Primary Direction: horizontal 

Horizontal Direction: from left (to right) 




Vertcal Direction: bottom up


Utilities 

Figure 171 Search Direction: Horizontal-bottom up-from right 



Horizontal Direction: from right (to left) 


Vertical Direction: bottom up

Figure 173 Search Direction: Horizontal-top down-from right 







Vertical Direction: top down


Utilities 

Figure 175 Search Direction: Horizontal-top down-from left 






Primary Direction: Vertical 

Primary Direction: vertical 

Figure 177 Search Direction: Vertical-bottom up-from left 








Utilities 


Figure 179 Search Direction: Vertical-bottom up-from right 






Figure 181 Search Direction: Vertical-top down-from left 








Utilities 


Figure 183 Search Direction: Vertical-top down-from right 





Seed Number 



If there are already numbers on the sheet, MEDUSA recognizes the highest number and uses 

that as a seed number. That is, the re-numbering starts with the number, which follows the highest 

existing number. An example will clarify that. Down right on the basic drawing text C has 

been replaced with number 15 and B with 24. 

Figure 185 Basic Sheet with existing Numbers 15 and 24 

Following settings have been made in the Number dialog: 

Figure 186 Example 



Utilities 

Pressing the Re-number button effects the result shown below. 


24 has been recognized as highest existing number on the sheet; with it, the re-numbering 

starts with number 25. 




A next example gives the result, if both is set within the Search String fields, a String (text) and a 

Wildcard (#). 

In this case the basic sheet contains following texts. 

Figure 188 Basic Sheet 

You can find on the sheet: 

• the string text in lower case followed by different numbers 

• the string TEXT in upper case followed by different numbers 

• the string Text in upper and lower case followed by different numbers 

• the string text in lower case with prefixed numbers 

• strings, only alphabetic characters (A, B,text,TEXT) 

• strings, only numeric characters (345) 

It shall be searched for String text followed of a number. With re-numbering the numbers shall 

be replaced with consecutive numbers. For clarification the relevant strings are highlighted in 

the drawing. 



Utilities 

Following entries are required in the Number dialog. 

Figure 189 Search String Settings: String and Wildcard 

Pressing the Un-number button effects the following result: 

Figure 190 Result of the Un-number Command 

Any numerals, which follow the text string text, were replaced with the defined wildcard (#). 

You can see, that the search has been taken place case sensitive. Only text written with small 

letters has been considered, any other numerals and strings have been ignored. 


With it, the drawing is ready for re-numbering. 

With the next step, the wildcards shall be replaced with consecutive numbers. 

Figure 191 Result of the Re-number Command 



The wildcards have been replaced with consecutive numbers. The number of wildcards, which 

follow the text string, is irrelevant. 



Utilities 

Copy to Clipboard 

The Copy to Clipboard tool enables you to store selected elements into the buffer of the operating 

system. Then you can use the stored elements in another application programs. 

(The function complies with the Copy function in the Edit menu respectively the use of Ctrl+C in 

the windows system.) 


The Calculator 

MEDUSA offers a calculator for simple arithmetic operations. 

For opening the calculator: 

1. Click on the Calculator tool inside the menu Utilities. 

Figure 192 The Calculator 


The Calculator 

2. Click on the according buttons of the Calculator to achieve the desired arithmetic operation. 

The result is displayed in the calculator input field. 

In addition to the possibility to display the calculator via the Utilities menu MEDUSA enables you 

to call it up on all numeric input fields. 

1. Open a numeric input field. 

For example, choose the Creates boxes - defined by opposite corners tool from the Lines + Edit 

tooltray. 

2. Move the cursor into one of the numeric input fields. 

3. Click the right mouse button to open a popup menu. 



Utilities 

Figure 193 Numeric Input Field with Popup Menu 

4. Click on Calculator... . 

The calculator appears as shown in Figure 192, “The Calculator” 

5. Enter the desired arithmetic operation. 

The result is automatically returned to the input field. 


Trail File 


Trail File 

The Trail File function enables you to store any work step at and up to a particular time and 

reproduce it in the correct succession. Therefore MEDUSA creates a text file containing the 

Bacis-commands in the order of execution. The file extension is .bac. You can open this file with 

a usual text editor. It can be useful for debugging. 

Select Trail File... in the Utilities menu to open the following pulldown menu. 

Figure 194 The Trail File Pulldown Menu 

Record Trail File 

opens the Record Trail File dialog for starting to record action steps you do on the sheet. 

For details see “Record a Trail File” on page 246. 

Replay Trail File 

opens the Replay Trail File dialog where you can run recorded work steps. For details see 

“Replay the Trail File” on page 247. 

Close Trail File 

closes a record. Following actions are not noted any longer. 

This step is a requirement for finishing a record and for replaying the recorded file! 

Compare Files 

compares two files under specific aspects. Details are given in “Compare Files” on 

page 248. 



Utilities 

Record a Trail File 

1. To start the record click on Record Trail File from the Utilities menu. 

The Record Trail File dialog appears. 

Figure 195 The Record Trail File Dialog 

2. Enter a filename in the Filename field with the extension .bac (e.g. test.bac) or use the button 

File Selector for choosing a path and/or file name. 

If you choose File Selector a dialog opens with the entries of a usual file browser, in which 

you can select the directory and the file name. After closing the file browser the filename 

is transmitted to the input field of the Record Trail File dialog. 

3. Enter a Macro Name in the according input field. 

The entry is mandatory. 

The Macro name is written in the first line of the recorded file. If the Macro Name fails 

MEDUSA cannot open this file. 

4. Enter a value for the Decimal places. 

This entry is optional. 

The recorded Bacis-file contains commands with coordinates. The value Decimal places 

defines the number of positions after the decimal point for these coordinates. If you left 

out this definition coordinates are stored with maximum precision, which means up to 

15 decimal places. 

5. Close the dialog using the OK button. 

The record starts. Any action on the sheet which is executed from this time on is stored 

into the defined Bacis-file until you stop recording by closing the trail file. 

Please note: Every action is recorded. So when you draw elements and you do not exit the 

appropriate tool before stopping recording, a replay of this trail file ends up in an 

active drawing tool. This is probably not intended. 

Close the Trail File 

To stop the record click on Close Trail File from the Utilities menu. The record is completed and the 

Bacis-file is saved. 


Replay the Trail File 

For recalling the commands of a saved Bacis-file do the following steps: 

1. Open a sheet, for example a new one. 

2. Choose Replay Trail File from the Utilities menu. 

The Replay Trail File dialog appears. 

Figure 196 The Replay Trail Entry Box 


Trail File 

3. Now you can enter a file name or click on the File Selector... button. 

If you choose File Selector a dialog opens with the entries of a usual file browser, in which 

you can select the directory and the file name. After closing the file browser the filename 

is transmitted to the input field of the Replay Trail File dialog (Figure 196). 

4. Click on OK in the Replay Trail File dialog. 

The recorded actions are repeated in the saved order. 



Utilities 

Compare Files 

For comparing Bacis-command-files or any other ASCII files, open the Compare Files dialog via 

the Trail File pulldown menu. 

Figure 197 The Compare Files Dialog 

You find the following sections in the Compare Files dialog: 

Filenames 

This section gives the names of Bacis-files which shall be compared. 

Enter the file names which shall be compared behind the fields File 1 and File 2. You also 

can use the button File Selector for opening a dialog with the entries of a usual file 

browser, in which you can select the directory and the file name. After closing the file 

browser the filename is transmitted to the input field of the Compare Files dialog 

Comparison Type 

defines how the comparison will be performed. You can compare files bit by bit (Exact), 

regarding to the Numeric values, and concerning the results on the Sheet. Decimal places is 

the number of positions after the decimal point as it was defined for recording. 

Comparison Action 

defines the kind of comparison.Compare and Record makes s.th.??? and Record Only 

also makes sth.??? TK oder Mark fragen, was das genau macht und wo sich eventuelle 

Ergebnisse befinden 


Instancing 


Instancing 

With Instancing... MEDUSA provides a tool to place objects along a line. Objects can be single 

elements, a group of elements or symbols loaded from a file. 

1. Create a line by using one of the line creation tools. 

This is the element at which an object will be instanced. 

2. Choose, for example, the Creates box tool from the Lines + Edit tooltray and draw a box. 

This is the element that should be placed on the line. 

3. Select the created box and open the general pulldown menu by clicking on the right 

mouse button. 

4. Choose Copy and probe on the element to set a datum point. 

The selected box is stored in the MEDUSA buffer. 

5. Select the line. 

6. Click on the Instancing... tool of the Utilities menu. 

Two arrows appear at the beginning and end of the selected line showing the direction 

of creating the line. The Instance Along a Line dialog (Figure 198) is opened. 

Please note: The Instancing... tool is only activated if you select a line on the sheet. 

Figure 198 The Instance along a Line Dialog 

7. Open the Instance pulldown menu and choose Paste buffer for defining the box, which is 

stored in the buffer, for instancing. 

8. Click Apply. 

The box is placed along the line. Where and how many times the element is placed, 

depends on the settings which are explained in the following sections. 



Utilities 

You can also use a saved symbol as an element which should be placed along the line. 

1. Open the Instance pulldown menu and choose Symbol file. 

The entry is displayed in the input field. The Symbol file input field and the Browser button 

are now enabled. 

Figure 199 The Instance Input Fields of the Instance Along a Line Dialog 

2. Click on the Browser button to open the File Select Dialog. 

3. Select the symbol file you wish to use inside the File Selector dialog and click double. 

The filename is written to the Symbol File input field of the Instance Along a Line dialog. 

You can define start and end point for instancing along a line. 

From 

To 

Direction 

Figure 200 The From/To/ Direction Input Fields of the Instance Along a Line Dialog 

specifies the point of the line where the first object is placed. By opening the pulldown 

menu via the arrow you can define Start of line, End of Line, To point and Probed point. According 

to the selected option the arrow on the line is placed at the appropriate position. If 

you choose Probed point all entries in the dialog are disabled until you probed a point on 

the line. 

specifies the point of the line where the last object is placed. The same options as 

given for From are available. 

specified the direction of placing an object. You can choose between Forward and Backward. 

According to the chosen direction the arrows on the selected line are displayed. 

You can define number and arrangement of the objects for instancing along a line. 

Copies 

Figure 201 Input Fields for Setting Number and Arrangement of the Instance 

specifies the number of the objects. 


Spacing 

Offset 

Angle 

defines the distance between the objects. 

specifies the distance between the line and an object. 


Instancing 

specifies the angle by which an object is placed rotated related to its datum point. 

At vertices 

places an object automatically at any corner of the line. 

Orient to normal 

has the effect to align the object automatically with the line. 

You can define the corner normal for instancing objects along a line. 

Figure 202 The Corner Normal Pulldown Menu 

Corner normal 

With this option you can define if an instanced object is aligned according to the orientation 

of the Incoming edge, Outgoing edge, or the Average of both edges, incoming and outgoing 

edge. The functionality of this option becomes obvious only, if the line consist at least 

of three line segments with different orientations. 



Utilities 

Add Preview to Sheet/Symbol 

A sheet/symbol can have a preview image stored in the sheet/symbol. This will be displayed in 

the Open sheet dialog, when you choose the Open option from the File menu. 

The preview can be added either by 

a. using the Add preview to sheet option of the Utilities menu. 

It works only for the current sheet. 

or 

b. using the MEDutil command preview. 

The MEDutil command takes a filename to add a preview to. 

The filename may contain wildcards. 

If you add the -R option to the preview command and specify a directory (the complete 

path is required), a preview will be added automatically to any MEDUSA sheet/ 

symbol located in this directory or subdirectory. 

The preview, which is added by using the Add preview to sheet option from the Utilities menu, will be 

auto generated, unless a file of extension .png with the same name as the sheet exists in the 

same directory. In this case the .png file is used as preview. 

You can also activate the switch Add preview on sheet save on the Defaults /Switches dialog, which is 

opened via Options > Defaults, so that a preview is added automatically to a sheet at any time 

when saving (see also chapter ”Options”, section “Switches - Control User Options” on 

page 187). 


Add Current View as Preview 


Add Current View as Preview 

The Add current view as preview option from the Utilities menu provides the possibility to add the 

existing screen view to a sheet as preview instead of the auto generated preview. It may be an 

advantage, if this view is more suitable as preview than the auto generated version, for example 

a detail of a sheet. 

Please note: The file, to which the preview is to be added, must not be open in MEDUSA. With 

this you can add any arbitrary view to a sheet. 

1. Choose the Add current view as preview option to display the Add Preview dialog. 

Figure 203 Add Preview Dialog 

2. Select the MEDUSA file to which you want to add the current screen view as preview. 

3. Quit the dialog pressing the Add button. 

The current view is added to the selected sheet. 

When you open a file via the File menu (File > Open) the Open Sheet dialog displays a preview for 

each file. In the following example the preview for the file gear.she was generated automatically. 

The preview for the file gear_1.she is a screen view showing a detail which was added to the 

sheet. 



Utilities 

Figure 204 The Open Sheet Dialog showing the Previews 


Accelerator and Map Keys 



MEDUSA provides the possibility to set up accelerator and map keys for nearly every function 

and tool you can access either in the menu, the toolbar and in the tooltrays. 

Accelerator Keys 

Accelerator keys are the shortcuts like Ctrl+C or Ctrl+V you know from other applications. In 

MEDUSA you easily can assign frequently used functions and tools to shortcuts. 

Choose Accelerators and Mapkeys to display the following dialog. 

You find two tabs, Accel and Mapkey. By default the tab Accel is open. The dialog contains a window 

which displays a table with three columns, showing Accel, Function and Icon. 

Please note: By default at first the dialog is displayed so that the column showing the icons is 

hidden. Disperse the dialog via the left mouse button, so that any column of the 

table is visible. 

Figure 205 The Accel Mapkey Editor Dialog: Tab Accel 

As you scroll through the list, you find many accelerator keys which are already assigned to 

MEDUSA functions by default. 



Utilities 

For changing an accelerator key assignment do the following steps: 

1. Click left on the line inside the list whose key shall get another function assigned. 

Below the list the accelerator key, the assigned function and its icon is displayed. 

2. Click left on the button Choose a button to map in the bottom of the tab Accel. 

The field displaying the function text is cleared. 

3. Choose a function or tool, for example, by clicking left on a button in the toolbar. 

The description of the chosen function or tool is displayed inside the field which was 

cleared in the last step. Also the icon changes to the new function. 

However it can be, that the function you choose is already assigned to a shortcut. In 

this case the accelerator field below the list changes and displays the already existing 

shortcut definition. 

If you still want to assign the function to the chosen accelerator key, you have to 

remove the assignment first and then add a new assignment (see below). 

4. Click left on the button Assign. 

The assignment is changed and the new function text and icon is displayed inside the 

list of available accelerator keys. 

5. Apply your settings by clicking OK or Apply. 

The changed accelerator key assignment can be used now. 

For changing the accelerator key, do the following: 

1. Click left on the line inside the list whose key shall be changed. 


2. Click left into the field giving the accelerator key combination below the list. 

3. Press another key combination on your keyboard, e.g. shift+k. 

If the key combination is new, the field is updated according to the pressed keys and it 

displays, for example, Shift+K. Each string belonging to the combination starts with 

an uppercase letter. The function text remains unchanged 

If the key combination already exists, the appropriate function text is given for it and 

the existing key combination is displayed in small letters. You have to restart changing 

the accelerator key. Go back to step 1. 


The assignment is changed. 


The changed accelerator key can be used now. 

For removing an accelerator key, do the following: 

1. Click left on the line inside the list whose key shall be removed. 


2. Click left on the button Remove. 

The assignment is removed from the list of accelerator keys. 


The removed accelerator key cannot be used anymore. 




For adding an assignment of an accelerator key to a function or tool do the following steps: 

1. Click left into the field giving the current accelerator key below the list. 

2. Press a key combination on your keyboard, which is not defined till now, e.g. shift+q. 

The field below the list is updated according to the pressed keys and it displays, for 

example, Shift+Q. Each string belonging to the combination starts with an uppercase 

letter. The function text remains unchanged. 

3. Click left on the button Choose a button to map in the bottom of the tab Accel. 

The field displaying the function text is cleared. 

4. Choose a function or tool, for example, by clicking left on a button in the toolbar. 

The description of the chosen function or tool is displayed inside the field which was 

cleared in the last step. Also the icon changes to the new function. 

However it can be, that the function you choose is already assigned to a shortcut. In 

this case the accelerator field below the list changes and displays the already existing 

shortcut definition. 

If you still want to assign the function to the chosen accelerator key, you have to 

remove the assignment first and then add a new assignment (see below). 


The assignment is added and the new definition is displayed inside the list of available 

accelerator keys. 


The added accelerator key can be used now. 

For using an accelerator key, do the following: 

1. Move the mouse cursor into the drawing area. 

Ensure that the drawing area is active, for example, by clicking into the drawing area 

somewhere. 

2. Press a key combination on your keyboard, e.g. shift+q. 

The assigned function is executed according to the key definition. 



Utilities 

Mapkeys 

Mapkeys are another way of building shortcuts for frequently used functions and tools. Against 

accelerator keys, a map key consists of letters. 

1. Choose Accelerators and Mapkeys to display the following dialog. 

You find two tabs, Accel and Mapkey. By default the tab Accel is open. 

2. Click left on the tab Mapkey. 

Figure 206 The Accel Mapkey Editor Dialog: Tab Mapkey 

As you scroll through the list, you find some mapkeys which are already assigned to 

MEDUSA functions by default. 

Now you can change assigned functions, change key combinations, remove mapkeys 

and add new key assignments. The procedures for editing, removing, changing and 

adding mapkey definitions are similar to those for “Accelerator Keys” on page 255. 

If your cursor is over the drawing area, and if you press a letter key on your keyboard, MEDUSA 

automatically detects this as the beginning of a map key. 


Bacis1 

BACIS1 AND WINDOWS 

The Bacis1 command and programming language is explained in: 

• the Bacis1 Design Commands Guide and 

• the Bacis1 Guide 


This chapter gives only an overview of the entries available inside the Bacis1 item of the menu 

bar. 

Figure 207 Bacis1 Menu 

Switches into Bacis1 Mode 

All menu items are disabled and 

you can enter Bacis1 commands 

inside the input command line 

Switches off Bacis1 Mode 



Bacis1 and Windows 

Windows 

This chapter shows the Windows functions available in the menu bar which enable you to change 

the current drawing and to close an opened file. 

Select 

Figure 208 The Windows Pulldown Menu 

Opens a list with any loaded file. The example below shows four opened sheets. The 

filename of the current sheet (KEILRIEMENSCHEIBE) is grayed out. 

Figure 209 The Select List 

Show Console, Hide Console 

displays/undisplays the console/DOS box. The console is hidden by default. 


LICENSES 

This chapter explains the items available in the menu Licenses. 

Figure 210 Licenses Menu 

Show Licenses 

displays the licenses which are already activated inside the console. 

USC Commands (DARS) 

activates the entries related to USC commands in the menu Bacis1. 


Parametric Symbol Load 

activates the tool for loading parametric symbols. For details see the Parametric User 

Guide. 

2D Parametrics 

activates the license for 2D Parametric. With this also Parametric Symbol Load is activated. 

For details on 2D Parametrics see the Parametric User Guide and the Parametric Reference 

Guide. 

Parts Library 

activates the MEDParts product. The tool for running MEDParts is in the Complete set of 

tooltrays, tooltray Creation Tools, toolset for loading symbols. Further information is given 

in the book Parts Library Guide. 

Raster Backdrop 

activates the license for Raster Images. For details see the MEDRaster Guide. 



Licenses 

3D Batch 

activates the license for 3D Batch. For details see the 3D Design User Guide. 


TOOLBAR 

This chapter introduces MEDUSA users to the toolbar. 

• Toolbar Overview ................................................................... 264 

• Adjust the Contents of the Toolbar......................................... 265 

• Toolbar Management ............................................................. 266 

• Sheets Toolbar ....................................................................... 267 

• Utilities Toolbar....................................................................... 268 

• View Toolbar .......................................................................... 269 

• Storing and Restoring Windows............................................. 270 

• Zoom Selection...................................................................... 272 

• Measure Toolbar .................................................................... 273 

• Measure................................................................................. 274 

• Scale View ............................................................................. 280 

• Line Navigation Toolbar ......................................................... 288 

• Tree Navigation Toolbar......................................................... 289 

• Tree Table Toolbar ................................................................. 290 

• Selection Toolbar ................................................................... 291 




Toolbar 

Toolbar Overview 

The toolbar, positioned below the menu bar, provides frequently-used functions. By default you 

find items like opening and saving sheets, zoom functions and line navigation. 

The following figure shows the toolbar after starting MEDUSA the first time. 

Figure 211 The Toolbar 

Sheets Utilities View Measure Line Navigation 

Tree Navigation 

Mini-Toolbar 

Please note: Your toolbar can differ from that one given above if the System Administrator 

changed the settings for the contents of the toolbar. 

For choosing an item from the toolbar point to the button and click the left mouse button. 

The figure above gives only some of the available toolbar items. The following list gives all the 

items which are available: 

• Sheets Toolbar 

• Utilities Toolbar 

• View Toolbar 

• Measure Toolbar 

• Line Navigation 

• Tree Navigation Mini-Toolbar 

• Tree Navigation Toolbar 

• Tree Table Toolbar 

• Selection Toolbar 

For details on adjusting the items displayed in the toolbar see “Adjust the Contents of the Toolbar” 

on page 265. 

For managing the toolbar like displaying its items in its own windows or at other positions inside 

the MEDUSA window, see “Toolbar Management” on page 266. 


Adjust the Contents of the Toolbar 


Adjust the Contents of the Toolbar 

You can adjust the contents of the toolbar to your needs by adding and deleting items. 

For adjusting the toolbar items using the menu bar do the following: 

1. Move the cursor upon the entry View in the menu bar. 












Toolbar 

Toolbar Management 

The different items inside the toolbar can be displayed in its own windows and you can place 

them wherever you want. 

Inside the toolbar in front of each item you find a vertical line which indicates that the following 

items can be moved. An example is given in the figure below. 

Please note: Disabled toolbar items cannot be moved. 

Figure 213 Utilities Toolbar 

For moving a toolbar item: 

1. Move the mouse cursor on the vertical line. 

If you do so for the Utilities Toolbar you should see a little cross with arrows indicating 

that the item can be moved. Your display should look like following: 

Figure 214 Move Utilities Toolbar 

2. Click and hold the left mouse button. 

3. Move the mouse. 

As long as you move the mouse a rectangular shape of the toolbar item is attached to 

the mouse cursor. It is drawn thin as long as you move the rectangle near the border of 

the MEDUSA window. It becomes thick if you move the cursor over the drawing area or 

outside the MEDUSA window. 

4. Release the left mouse button. 

If the cursor position is close to the border of the MEDUSA window the toolbar item 

is placed at the current position. If you release on another item the other item is shifted 

to the left, to the right, up or down depending on the space. 

If the cursor position is on the drawing area or outside the MEDUSA window the 

toolbar item is displayed in its own window. 

Please note: The positions of the toolbar items will be saved with the defaults and will be 

restored when restarting MEDUSA. 


Sheets Toolbar 


Sheets Toolbar 

The Sheets Toolbar provides frequently used items for opening and saving sheets. The following 

figure shows the tools available in the Sheets Toolbar: 

Figure 215 Sheets Toolbar 

Close Current Sheet 

Save all modified sheets 

Save As 

Save 

Open 

New 

Pulldown menu for 

selecting the sheet size 

Close Current Sheet is a modification of the Close function from the File menu. 

Save all modified sheets is a modification of the Save function. It saves all modified sheets of the current 

MEDUSA session at once. 



Toolbar 

Utilities Toolbar 

The Utilities Toolbar provides the selection tools and the tool for deleting selected elements. 

Figure 216 Utilities Toolbar 

The Deletes all the selected elements tool deletes selected elements. 

The default selection tool is the Selects elements of any type tool which selects any element. 

You can change the selection tool to refine the choice of elements that can be selected. To 

change the selection tool click left on the arrow to the right of the Selects elements of any type tool 

or the tool itself. The selection tools pulldown menu opens. The functions of the tools in this 

menu are shown in the following table: 

Tool Function 

Table 5 Selection Tools 

The Selects lines tool limits the selection to lines only. 

The Select text elements tool limits the selection to text elements. 

The Select dimensions tool limits the selection to dimensions. 

The Selects named groups tool limits the selection to elements that belong 

to groups. The group and all its elements are selected. 


The Selects elements or named groups at sheet level tool limits the selection to 

lines, text and prims (not contained in groups) and groups at sheet level. 

The Select sheet-level named groups tool limits the selection to elements that 

belong to sheet level groups. The group and all its elements are 

selected. See “Status Area”, ”Groups” on page 344 for details. 

The Selects prims tool limits the selection to prims. 

The Select Stipple tool limits the section to Stipple elements 

The Select Crosshatching tool limits the selection to crosshatch elements 

The Select elements by area tool displays the Select elements by area dialog. 

See “Select”, ”Selecting Elements by Area” on page 121 for details. 

Some of the selection tools are also available as popup menu. For this your cursor has to be 

over the drawing area and then press the Shift key and click the right mouse button. 

For more about selection see the chapter “Select” on page 103. 


View Toolbar 


View Toolbar 

The View Toolbar provides frequently used tools for the display of elements inside the drawing 

area as well as the undo and redo functions. 

Figure 217 View Toolbar 

From left to right the following tools are available inside the View Toolbar: 

Refresh Graphics 

redraws the drawing area. 

Zoom in 

Zoom out 

is used for zooming into the sheet to an area you define by drawing a rectangle. 

zooms out of the sheet by a fixed factor. 

Stores and restores windows by name 

is explained in “Storing and Restoring Windows” on page 270. 

Zoom on selected geometry 

zooms into the sheet until all selected elements are visible in the drawing area. An 

example is given in “Zoom Selection” on page 272. 

View the full area of the sheet 

displays the whole sheet. 

Dynamic pan and zoom 

allows dynamic pan (using the left mouse button) and zoom (middle mouse button). 

Alternatively, use the CTRL key to pan and zoom dynamically. 

To zoom, press and hold down the CTRL key, then press the left mouse button and 

move the mouse forward and backward. 

To pan, press and hold down the CTRL key, press the right mouse button and move 

the mouse. 

Opens the previous window, Opens the next window 

change the display of the drawing area according to zooming you did before. 

Opens the previous window is only available if you already zoomed in at least one time. 

Then also Opens the next window is available. 

Undo, Redo 

is used for canceling actions and do them again. 



Toolbar 


It is often useful to define several views of a sheet in order to work on different areas of the 

geometry. Therefore, you can define views, known as window views within a drawing and 

store them. You can either store window views for the duration of the current MEDUSA session, 

or you can save them with the sheet and use them again in another MEDUSA session. For 

example, you may want to create a window view showing a detail. When you restore this window 

view, MEDUSA automatically zooms into this area. 

For storing and restoring window views: 

1. Zoom into the area that you wish to save with Zoom or Zoom on selected geometry. 

2. Select the Stores and Restores windows by name option from the View Toolbar. 

The Windows dialog appears: 

Figure 218 Windows Dialog 

The buttons of the Windows dialog are explained in the following sections. 

Save 

To save the window view to use with any session: 

1. Type a name into the Session entry box. 


The window view name appears in the Session entry box. 

Once you saved a window view, inside the toolbar the Stores and Restores windows by name option 

changes to , indicating that there are already saved window views. 

Please note: You cannot store a window view with a name shown in the list Session or Sheet. 

If you insert an already existing name you are prompted to choose another name. 

Delete 

Save 

Delete 

Restore 

Refresh 

Show Position 

Sheet entry box 

Button for showing the list of 

window views stored with the sheet 

Select the name of the window view to be deleted from one of the lists and click the Delete button. 

The window view is deleted. 


Restore 

You can display any saved window view: 



1. Select the required window view name from either the Session list or the Sheet list. 

2. Press the Restore button. 

MEDUSA automatically zooms into the area of the stored window view. 

Alternatively you can use the Stores and Restores windows by name option from the View Toolbar: 

1. Move the cursor to the Stores and Restores windows by name option. 

2. Click the right mouse button. 

A popup menu opens showing all the stored window views. 

3. Click left on an entry of the popup menu. 

The appropriate window view is restored. 

Please note: If you open a sheet which has saved window views with the same name as the 

session window views, then the window view saved with the sheet is opened. 

Refresh 

The Refresh button redraws the graphics, for example, after using Show Position. 

Show Position 

The Show Position button displays the locations of all window views that are saved with the sheet. 

When you press this button, red rectangles are automatically drawn on the sheet defining the 

extent of each window view. The window view names are displayed in the lower, left corner of 

each rectangle. Perhaps you need to display the whole sheet in order to see this information. 

Figure 219 Store and Restore: Show Position 



Toolbar 

Zoom Selection 

The Zoom on selected geometry tool on the toolbar enlarges the area around currently selected 

drawing elements. 

For example, if you select this tool when a group is active MEDUSA zooms into the area displaying 

all elements in the group in the window. 


active 

group 

Before Zoom After Zoom 


Measure Toolbar 


Measure Toolbar 

The Measure Toolbar provides the functions for measuring and using different scales in one sheet. 

Figure 221 Measure Toolbar 

From left to right the following tools are available inside the Measure Toolbar: 

Measuring functions 

provides the measuring capability without using the dimensioning tools. For details see 

“Measure” on page 274. 

Drawing areas with a special scale 

allows you to work at several different scales within a MEDUSA sheet. For details see 

“Scale View” on page 280. 



Toolbar 

Measure 

The measuring function is used to measure lengths, distances and angles without having to create 

dimensions. 

Select the Measure tool from the toolbar to display the Measure dialog: 

Figure 222 Measure Dialog 

The tools in this dialog can be used to measure: 

• line segments, circles and circular arcs, 

• the distance between two points or the distance of the last two created points, and 

• certain angles, either over three points or between two line segments. 

Once you are finished measuring either select Exit tool from the right mouse button popup menu 

to exit the tool and leave the dialog open for later use, or press the Cancel button to close the dialog. 

Please note: If you start a tool, e.g. a line creating tool, before you exit an activated measure 

tool, the measure tool is automatically deactivated. The Measure Dialog remains 

and you can restart the measure tool by using the button on the left side of the 

dialog tab page. 


Precision of measurements 

You can define the precision of the measuring: 

1. Click the Properties button to display the Measuring Properties dialog. 

2. Define the precision of the measure tool in the field. 

Figure 223 Measuring Properties Dialog 

Measuring Line Segment 

Figure 224 Measure Dialog: Line Segments 


Measure 

To measure a line segment, select the Line segments button from the top of the dialog, then 

select the line segment you wish to measure. MEDUSA recognizes whether you have selected 

a line, circle or circular arc. 

The dialog is adjusted accordingly. Information about the selected line appears in the dialog. 

There is information about the start and end point as well as line length and position. If you 

selected a circle or circular arcs, data for the position of the center, diameter, radius, circumference 

and apex angle are also shown. 



Toolbar 

Measuring the Distance Between Two Points 

Figure 225 Measure Dialog: Distance Between Two Points 

To measure a the distance between two points, select the Distance between two points button 

from the top of the dialog, then select two points on the drawing. The dialog displays information 

about the distance, position, and so on, of the points. You can continue to select further points, 

the measuring continues until you stop this function. 

Measuring the Distance Between the Current Point and the Last Point 

Figure 226 Measure Dialog: Distance Between Last and Current Point 

To measure a line segment, select the Distance between current and last points button from the top 

of the dialog and leave the dialog open while you create your drawing. 

The dialog updates automatically as you probe new points, displaying the distance between the 

current point and the point probed at last. 


Measuring Angles 


Measure 

You can measure an angle over three points or between two line segments. The specification of 

the angle is decimal. 

Measuring an Angle Over Three Points 

Figure 227 Measure Dialog: Angle Over Three Points 

To measure an angle over three points, select the Measure between three points button from the 

top of the dialog, then select three points. The second point must be at the apex of the angle. 

The value of the angle appears in the dialog. 

Measuring an Angle Between Two Line Segments 

Figure 228 Measure Dialog: Angle Between Two Lines 

To measure an angle between two line segments, select the Measure between line segments button 

from the top of the dialog, then select the two line segments. The value of the angle appears 

in the dialog. 



Toolbar 

Measuring an Edited Line 

Figure 229 Measure Dialog: Query Line 

To get the properties of a line that you are editing, select the Query the properties of the line that you are 

editing button from the top of the dialog. 

The dialog updates automatically and it shows information on the currently edited line segment. 

Measuring 2D Properties of a Geometry 

Please note: Consider that calculations can be done only for closed geometry consisting of 

polygons. If your element selection contains geometry consisting of single lines, 

no measuring is done. 

Figure 230 Measure Dialog: 2D Properties of Geometry 



Measure 

To measure the 2D properties of a selected geometry: 

1. Select the 2D properties of a selected geometry tab from the top of the dialog. 

2. Select the elements building the geometry. 

3. If you switch on the option Show axes of inertia and center of gravity, they are displayed in the 

drawing area according to the selection of elements. 

4. Click left on the button on the left of the tab. 

The properties are listed inside the dialog. The following figure shows an exemplary 

result. 

Figure 231 Measure Dialog: 2D Properties of Geometry Output 

Additionally to the output the button for saving the properties is enabled. If you 

choose this button a dialog opens wanting you to define a file name. Type a name with 

extension sxp into the edit field on top of the dialog and choose OK for saving the file. 

Figure 232 Measure Dialog: 2D Properties of Geometry Output in File 



Toolbar 

Scale View 

The Scale Views dialog allows you to work at several different scales within a MEDUSA sheet. The 

scale views are defined as specific areas on the sheet and they and their scale information are 

saved with the sheet. The scales defined for these views become active when you move your 

cursor over them, when special conditions are fulfilled. 

To display the Scale Views dialog, select the Drawing areas with a special scale tool from the toolbar. 

Create View 

Figure 233 Scale Views Dialog 

Create new 

Delete 

Modify 

Show all 

Refresh 

By Rectangle 

Current view 

To create a new scale view do the following: 

1. Define the view area. There are several possibilities: 

• Define a rectangular area on the sheet. To do this: 

Click the By rectangle button. 

Move your cursor over the drawing sheet. 

Click the left mouse button to define one corner of the view. 

As you move your cursor a rectangle expands from this first point. 

When the rectangle has the required size, select the second corner point. 

The coordinates of the corner points of this view appear in the Coordinate left below and 

Coordinate right top entry boxes. 

Edit the coordinates in the entry boxes if required. 

• Use the current window to define the view area. To do this: 

Use the View options to zoom into the area you require. 

Click the Current view button. 



Scale View 

The coordinates of the corner points of this view appear in the Coordinate left below and 

Coordinate right top entry boxes. Edit the coordinates in the entry boxes if required. 

• Define the view area by entering the coordinates of the required area directly into 

the Coordinate left below and Coordinate right top entry boxes. 

2. Type a name for the view in the Name entry box. 

3. Define the view Scale using the following format: 

• digit:digit (For example 1:2) or 

• digit/digit (For example 1/2) or 

• digit.digit (For example 0.5) 

4. Click Create new. 

The scale view is created and added to the list. 

If any of the fields is filled out incorrectly or if it is left empty, error messages appear 

(see Figure 234). If you receive any error message edit the required fields and then 

click the Create new button again. 

Figure 234 Error Messages 

Modify the Settings for Views 

Please note: You cannot change the name of a scale view. 

To change the properties of a scale view: 

1. Display the Scale Views dialog. 

2. Select the view name from the list. 

The view area is highlighted inside the drawing area and the properties are automatically 

entered into the entry boxes. 

3. Edit the scale and coordinates as required. 

You can use the buttons By rectangle and Current view to modify the coordinates. 

4. Click the Modify button to apply the modifications. 



Toolbar 

Delete Views 

To delete a view, select a view from the list and press the Delete button. The view is deleted from 

the drawing. 

Display Views 

Click the Show all button to display the outlines of all the scale view frames that are saved with 

the sheet. See Figure 235, “Display Scale Views” for an example. Use the Refresh button to 

redraw the graphics. 

The text displayed at the bottom of the outline area gives the view name and its scale. 

Please note: The view frames are only visible whilst the cursor is over the dialog or if the cursor 

is over the appropriate part inside the drawing area. 

Figure 235 Display Scale Views 


Working with Scale Views 


Scale View 

Please note: The temporary scale is always displayed in brackets in the scale field! 

Using the Scale of a Scale View globally 

If you wish to use the scale of a scale view in the entire drawing, you can do so by freezing it. 

1. Move your cursor into the scale view defining the scale that you wish to use. 

2. Select Deactivate ScaleView functions from the popup menu (right mouse button). 

The view scale mechanism is switched off and the view scale can now be used temporarily 

for the entire drawing. The area defining the scale remains highlighted whilst its 

scale is active. 

To switch off the temporary scale and reactivate the scaled views mechanism, select 

Activate Scale View Functions from the popup menu. 

Copy / Paste 

When you paste copied elements into a scaled view, the area scale is taken automatically. 

Loading Symbols 

When you load symbols, you are automatically given the temporary scale of the view in which 

you are loading the symbols. 

The symbol size dynamically changes to correspond with the view area scale size as you move 

your cursor around the sheet. This allows you to see how the symbol size alters according to 

the view scale. 

Dynamic Scaling 

If you load symbols or if you paste copied elements you are able to switch dynamic scaling. 

If dynamic scaling is not required select Dyn.Scaling off from the right mouse button popup menu. 

If dynamic scaling is turned off select Dyn.Scaling on from the popup menu to turn it on again. 

Dimensioning 

You do not need to switch the drawing-scale to dimension parts within the scaled view. Once 

dimensioning is active, the scale will automatically change whilst you are in a scale view. 



Toolbar 

During dimensioning you may extend the dimension line with the text beyond the scale view 

area, it will continue to keep the view scale. However consider that the dimension value can 

change when modifying the dimension later on because always the scale of the area is used, in 

which the nouse pointer is located. For preventing a change of the dimension value you have 

the following possibilities: 

• Extend the scale view in that way, that all dimensions are completely inside the scale 

view. 

• Edit the dimension and switch on the option Text Lock from the popup menu. This option 

corresponds to all dimensions. Do not forget to switch it off again (by clicking on Text 

Unlock) after finishing the dimension modification. Details on the function Text Lock are 

given in “Dimensioning”, ”Popup Menu 1 for Editing Dimensions” on page 563. 

• You can freeze the scale view by moving the mouse pointer into the scale view area 

and then choosing the option Deactivate scale view functions from the popup menu. Do not 

forget to switch it off again (by clicking on Activate scale view functions) after finishing the 

dimension modification, otherwise it is applied also to elements which are outside the 

scale view area. 

Figure 236 Scale Views 


Measuring 


Scale View 

The Measure function (see the sections “Measure” on page 274) also works within scale views. 

The output of the measurements is to the correct scale. 

Dynamic Auxiliary Lines 

While drawing dynamic auxiliary lines inside scaled views, the entered values are according to 

the area scale. 



Toolbar 

Example: Detailing with Scale Views 

To detail the view below: 

Figure 237 Detailing with Scale Views 

1. Select the Scale View tool from the toolbar. 

2. Create a scale view in the top right hand area of the sheet, with the name detail x 

and the scale 1:1. 

3. Load the required detail graphics into this area. 

You have several options to do this: 

• If the selection is a group or a multiple selection, either copy the section using copy 

and paste or unload it as a symbol . 

• Use group lines and the Area Copy tool (refer to “Status Area”, ”Groups” on page 344). 

The section is attached to the crosshair and can be inserted at the correct position. 

Figure 238 Detail 


Figure 239 Insert Detail into Scale View 


Scale View 

When inserting the detail into the scale view area, the scale is changed accordingly. Now it can 

be dimensioned without changing the temporary scale. 

Figure 240 Detailed Scale View 



Toolbar 

Line Navigation Toolbar 

While editing lines you navigate around the points in the line in order to change points or to find 

out its direction. This is called line navigation. The Line Navigation tool is available inside the toolbar 

by default. This section describes how you use the Line Navigation toolbar. 

If the Line Navigation tool is not visible inside the toolbar: 

1. Move the cursor upon the toolbar and click right. 

The popup menu for selecting tools which are displayed inside the tool bar are given. 

2. Click left on the Line Navigation tool. 

The popup menu closes and the Line Navigation tool is displayed inside the toolbar. 

If no line is created or edited currently the buttons of the Line Navigation tool are disabled. 

If you draw a new line or if you edit a line the Line Navigation buttons are enabled. 

To use the Line Navigation tool: 

1. Move the cursor to the line you want to work on and double left click. 

This selects the line and puts it into edit mode. 

2. Navigate around the line or reverse the line direction by clicking on the Line Navigation 

buttons given in Figure 241. 

Figure 241 Line Navigation Toolbar 

First point Reverse Last point 

in line direction of line in line Delete point 

Previous point Next point 

in line in line 

Move point 

3. In order to move or delete a point choose one of the right tools. 

Please note: When the line edit icon is displayed in the status area, you also can move the 

cursor to a point in the selected line and click middle (or press the Shift key and 

click left). This takes you to the specified point in the line and makes this point the 

current point. 


Tree Navigation Toolbar 


Tree Navigation Toolbar 

Two kinds of tree navigation are available inside the toolbar. It is the Tree Navigation Mini-Toolbar 

and the Tree Navigation Toolbar. The Tree Navigation Mini-Toolbar provides most frequently used functions 

on trees and it is an excerpt of the Tree Navigation Toolbar. 

Figure 242 Tree Navigation Mini-Toolbar 

Figure 243 Tree Navigation Toolbar 

Create Named Groups 

The following list gives all parameter of the Tree Navigation Toolbar: 

Create Named Groups 

provides the tools for creating named groups. The following tools are available: 

Figure 244 Create Named Group Toolset 

Level Navigation Hierarchy Navigation 

Creates a Named Group containing the selected geometry 

Creates a Named Group 

Creates a Named Level 2 Group 

Creates a Named Level 1 Group 

Level Navigation 

These buttons are used for navigating through the elements and groups which are 

available on the same level and select them. From left to right the buttons navigate to 

the First, Previous, Next and Last element or group. If one of the buttons cannot be chosen 

it is disabled. For example, if the last element or group is just selected inside the current 

level the Next button is disabled. 

Hierarchy Navigation 

These buttons are used for navigating through the hierarchy of groups. From left to 

right you can navigate Up one Level, Goto Sheet Level, Down one Level, Forward and Backward 

inside the hierarchy of a group. 

For details on groups see “Status Area”, ”Groups” on page 344. 



Toolbar 

Tree Table Toolbar 

The Tree Table Toolbar provides cut and paste inside the tree viewer and refreshing the display of 

the tree viewer. This is, for example, useful for putting elements from different groups into one 

group. 

Figure 245 Tree Table Toolbar 

From left to right the following tools are available inside the Tree Table Toolbar: 

Cut from Tree 

removes selected elements or groups from the tree and stores them into the buffer. 

Paste into Tree 

pastes the previously cut elements into the tree at the current selected position. After 

pasting this button is disabled and you have to Cut from Tree again for enabling Paste into 

Tree. 

Show only selected elements in tree 

the tree display is reduced to the currently selected elements. 

Recreate, rebuild and reselect the whole tree 

redraws the tree display. 

For details on the tree viewer see “Status Area”, ”Displaying the Tree Viewer” on page 346 and 

“Interacting with the Tree Viewer” on page 351. 


Selection Toolbar 

The Selection Toolbar provides frequently used tools for selecting elements. 

Figure 246 Selection Toolbar 

From left to right the following tools are available inside the Tree Table Toolbar: 


Selection Toolbar 

Select elements by type, class and layer 

opens the Power Selection dialog. For details see “Select”, ”Power Selection Tool” on 

page 112. 

Select Once 

is used while adding selections using the Shift key. Select Once avoids deselecting currently 

selected elements whilst dragging a selection rectangle. Any elements that are 

already selected remain selected while dragging over them again. 

Deselect All 

deselects any selected element in the sheet. 

Deselect Once 

is used while adding selections using the Shift key. Deselect Once avoids selecting currently 

deselected elements whilst dragging a selection rectangle. Any elements that 

are already deselected remain deselected while dragging over them again. 

Sets the selection to alternate color 

displays all selected elements in alternative color. After selecting this function all elements 

are deselected. For not selected elements the alternative color is light grey, for 

selected it is violet. 

Resets alternate color on the sheet 

sets the display of all elements on the sheet back on its standard colors. 



Toolbar 


HELP 

This chapter explains how to get help on any feature in the MEDUSA window. 

• Overview................................................................................ 294 

• Using the Help Menu of the MEDUSA Menu Bar .................. 295 

• Using the Help Button in Dialogs ........................................... 296 

• Context Sensitive Help........................................................... 297 

• The Message Line ................................................................. 298 




Help 

Overview 

You can obtain help on: 

• Almost any part of the MEDUSA menus or window 

• Using a dialog 

• Using the active tool 

• The contents of the current tooltray 

• The current version of MEDUSA 

• The MEDUSA online documentation viewer 

You can retrieve help as follows: 

• Choosing the Help menu on the right of the menu bar. 

See “Using the Help Menu of the MEDUSA Menu Bar” on page 295. 

• Pressing the F1 key or Help key on a SPARCstation or on windows systems opens 

the online documentation. 

• Clicking the Help button in the lower right corner of a dialog. 

See “Using the Help Button in Dialogs” on page 296. 



Using the Help Menu of the MEDUSA Menu Bar 

Using the Help Menu of the MEDUSA Menu Bar 

The Help menu is a pulldown menu which contains the following menu options: 

Figure 247 Pulldown Menu of Help 

Documentation 

Displays the MEDUSA documentation in a browser. 

On Help 

On Keys 

Displays this chapter. 

Displays the accelerator and map keys. 

On Version 

Displays brief information on the version of MEDUSA that you are currently running, as 

well as copyright and trademark information. 

How to get help from the menu: 

1. Move the pointer (cursor) to the word Help at the right end of the menu bar. 

(The menu bar is the narrow strip at the top of the screen.) 

2. Click your left mouse button to open the menu. 

3. Move the pointer to one of the menu items. 

4. Click your left mouse button to choose the item and close the menu. 

Please note: If you decide to choose no item, move the pointer outside the area of the menu, 

then click your left mouse button. 



Help 

Using the Help Button in Dialogs 

To obtain help on a dialog: 

1. Move the mouse pointer (cursor) to the Help button in a dialog. 

Figure 248 Part of a Dialog Showing the Help Button 

The Help button is highlighted once the pointer is positioned over it. 

2. Click left on the Help button. 

MEDUSA starts the viewing tool for the online documentation and displays the appropriate 

page. 


Context Sensitive Help 


Context Sensitive Help 

MEDUSA help is provided as HTML. 

• To get help on a dialog press the F1 key. 

• To get help on a special tool button move the cursor over the button and press the 

F1 key. 

In both cases the defined browser is initiated and loads the corresponding page of the 

documentation. 



Help 

The Message Line 

The message line is part of the status area and it gives: 

• Information on the function of the currently displayed tool, or 

• Information on how to use the active tool. 

Getting Information on the Tools in a Tool Tray 

1. Move the pointer to one of the tools in the tool tray. 

The background color of the tool changes once the pointer is positioned over it. 

2. Look at the message line. 

It displays a brief message about the highlighted tool. 

3. Slowly move the pointer over the tools in the tool tray. 

The message line displays brief information about each tool in turn. 

Getting Information on Using the Active Tool 

1. Choose any tool by: 

a. Moving the pointer to a tool. 

b. Clicking the left mouse button. 

c. Moving the pointer back into the drawing area. 

2. Look at the message line. 

It gives you brief information on how you use the tool. 

If this information is insufficient: 

a. Move the pointer back to the tool in the tool tray. 

The active tool is still highlighted. 

b. Press either F1 or the Help key on the keyboard. 

The online documentation is opened at the appropriate page. 


DASHBOARD 

This section describes the dashboard and using styles: 

• Dashboard Overview ............................................................. 300 

• The Components of the Dashboard....................................... 301 

• Using the Dashboard to Display Properties ........................... 303 

• Using the Dashboard to Modify Properties ............................ 304 

• Using the Dashboard for Creating New Elements ................. 305 

• Sub-Dashboard...................................................................... 306 

• Introduction to Styles.............................................................. 309 

• Changing Styles and Style Properties.................................... 312 

• Style Definitions and their Effect on an Element .................... 313 

• Style Tree............................................................................... 314 

• User-Defined Dashboard ....................................................... 318 




Dashboard 

Dashboard Overview 

The Dashboard, which is below the menu bar, contains information about the properties of the 

MEDUSA geometry element that you are creating or modifying. You can use the dashboard for 

a number of different purposes, for example, for 

• displaying property values for selected elements, 

• setting property values for selected elements and 

• setting property values for the element you are creating. 

Classes 

Each element class has its own particular set of basic properties. For example lines have style, 

type, layer, color, thickness and a set of line segments, whereas prims have style, layer, color, 

thickness, type, magnification, rotation and picture. 

There is a dashboard associated with each class to provide a powerful and easy to use interface 

to inquire and modify these properties. When you select an element or a collection of elements, 

or when you start creating an element MEDUSA displays the appropriate dashboard. 

Figure 249 Line Dashboard 

properties 

Figure 250 Text Dashboard 

Figure 251 Prim Dashboard 

Figure 252 Dimension Dashboard 

Figure 253 Group Dashboard 

style layer color type thickness 

Figure 254 Crosshatching Dashboard 


The Components of the Dashboard 


The Components of the Dashboard 

The dashboard consists of a row of input fields, pulldown menus and buttons which reflect the 

properties of the current element or elements. The items in this row consist of the generic buttons 

and properties. 

Generic Buttons 

There are two generic buttons to the far left side of the dashboard. They provide the creation 

tools and the property dialogs. 

Figure 255 Dashboard: Generic Buttons 

The creation button is the first button on the dashboard. It creates an item of the appropriate 

class with the properties currently displayed on the dashboard. This button is unique because it 

is always displayed and it provides a pulldown menu with which you can choose any of the 

available dashboards. 

The following tools are available in the pulldown menu: 

Creates lines of specified type and properties 

For details see ”Lines”, “Creating a Line” on page 363 

Creates text of specified type and properties 

For details see ”Text”, “Creating Text” on page 583 

Creates prims of specified type and properties 

For details see ”Predefined Graphical Shapes (Prims)”, “Adding Prims to a Sheet” on page 645 

Default linear dimension format 

For details see ”Dimensioning”, “Creating Basic Linear Dimensions” on page 527 

Dimensions the radius of a circle 

For details see ”Dimensioning”, “Creating Circle and Arc Dimensions” on page 544 

Dimensions the length of the arc 

For details see ”Dimensioning”, “Creating Circle and Arc Dimensions” on page 544 

Default angular dimension format 

For details see ”Dimensioning”, “Creating Angular Dimensions” on page 540 



Dashboard 

Creates notes with horizontal orientation 

For details see ”Dimensioning”, “Creating Notes” on page 558 

Crosshatches the selected areas 

For details see ”Area Fills”, “Using the Crosshatch or Stipple Tools” on page 659 

Stipples the selected areas 

For details see ”Area Fills”, “Using the Crosshatch or Stipple Tools” on page 659 

Creates a table 

For details see ”Tables”, “Creating a New Table” on page 617 

Creates a named group 

For details see ”Status Area”, “Creating and Ending Groups” on page 348 

The property button displays a dialog containing the full set of properties of the current element 

or elements. 

Properties 

Properties are fields in the dashboard which display the properties which are unique to the current 

class. As an example, for text these fields are, from left to right: 

• Style (This property is explained in more detail in the Administration Guide, section 

”Administration”, “Creating and Editing MEDUSA Styles”) 

• Layer 

• Type 

• Color 

• bold, italic, underlined, superscript, subscript 

• Height 

• Justification 

• single line button 

• multi line button 

• counter 

In case of texts, below the dashboard you find the edit field for text (with an associated button 

that brings up a menu of special characters). 

Most of the properties displayed inside the dashboard are also available inside the properties 

dialog available with the property button . 


Using the Dashboard to Display Properties 

The dashboard display depends on the selection of elements. 

Single Element Selection 


Using the Dashboard to Display Properties 

If a single element is selected MEDUSA displays the class of the current element and the 

appropriate dashboard. 

Multiple Element Selection 

If two or more elements are selected there are two possible ways that MEDUSA displays the 

dashboard: 

• If all selected elements are of the same class, MEDUSA displays the appropriate 

dashboard for this class and scans the properties of all the elements. 

If all elements share the same value for a particular property, then that value will be 

displayed in the associated field on the dashboard. If several values of a property are 

found, then the associated dashboard field will be empty. If this dashboard field contains 

a pulldown menu, as for example do color and thickness, MEDUSA provides an 

empty option to display. 

• If all selected elements are not of the same class, MEDUSA filters out the set of properties 

(see “Properties” on page 302) that all the elements share and displays the 

associated fields. Thus, if the current selection consists of a line and a text the dashboard 

displays only the Style, Layer and Color fields either with values if they are common 

to both elements or empty if not. 



Dashboard 

Using the Dashboard to Modify Properties 

If you enter or modify a value in a dashboard field it is immediately applied to all selected elements 

except it is a value, which has to be confirmed to use it. For example, tolerance values 

for dimensions are confirmed either by pressing the Return or Tab key on your keyboard. 

Then the values are applied on the current element. 

Please note: Any value changed in the dashboard will be seen in the properties dialog immediately, 

but any value change made in properties dialog will not be seen in the dashboard 

until the Apply or OK is pressed. 

Modifying elements is described in more detail later in this guide (see “Changing Styles and 

Style Properties” on page 312). 

Please note: If you select a value on a field which was previously displaying the empty option, 

that option is removed from the dashboard. Therefore, there is no way to unset a 

property. The empty option will be reinstated if you make another selection that 

has a non-uniform set of values for that particular property. 



Using the Dashboard for Creating New Elements 

Using the Dashboard for Creating New Elements 

With the dashboard you can either create elements with new properties or you can create elements 

using properties of existing elements. 

Creating a New Element with New Properties 

You can create a new element with any combination of properties by first setting the properties 

in the dashboard to the desired values and then call a Create button from the dashboard. For 

example, to create a line: 

1. Select the Create Line icon from the dashboard. 

2. Choose Free style from the Style pulldown list. 

Styles are explained in more detail in the following section. For now we choose a style 

which allows us to modify all fields. 

3. Set Thickness and Color. 

4. Create the line by probing on the sheet. 

The line is created with the set properties. 

Creating a New Element with Properties of an Existing Element 

The dashboard allows you to create a new element with the same properties as an element that 

already exists on the sheet. 

1. Select the element whose properties you want to clone. 

The dashboard changes to reflect the properties of that element. 

2. Click the Create new icon (the far-left button in dashboard) to start the appropriate creation 

tool. 

3. Create the new element. 

The new element is created with same property values as that one you originally 

selected. 



Dashboard 

Sub-Dashboard 

In MEDUSA there are elements which consist of several sub-elements and which are grouped. 

Such groups are 2D Features, balloon texts and dimensions. In some cases sub-elements of 

the groups need to be changed and this can be done with the sub-dashboard. 

MEDUSA detects automatically if a sub-dashboard is available for a selected element. Subdashboards 

are available for: 

• 2D features like box and circle which have sub-dashboards for: 

• outline 

• center line 

• Dimensions which have sub-dashboards for: 

• Leader line 

• Dimension line 

• Dimension text 

• Balloon texts which have sub-dashboards for: 

• Quantity text 

• Item_number text 

• Part_number text 

• Issue text 

• Lines (circle and leader, if defined) 

Please note: The following sections deal with dimensions and balloon texts only because there 

we have some specials in selecting sub-elements. 

Selection 

The entries displayed inside the sub-dashboard depend on the selection. Therefore changes 

inside the sub-dashboard affect the sub-element(s) according to the kind of selection. 

Single Selection 

If you select a dimension by a single mouse click, for example by a leader line, then the properties 

for that leader line will be shown in the sub-dashboard. If you change anything inside the 

sub-dashboard, no other leaders of the selected dimension will be affected. In the figure below 

the left leader line was selected and its color was changed. 


Figure 256 Example Sub-Dashboard: Single Leader Line Changed 

From Pulldown List (first entry on sub-dashboard) 


Sub-Dashboard 

If you select leaders from the pulldown list, the properties of the sub-dashboard will apply to all 

the leaders of the selected dimensions. In the figure below you can see that all leader lines are 

changed in its color. 

Figure 257 Example Sub-Dashboard: All Leader Lines Changed 

Sweep Select - Single or Multiple Elements 

If you select elements by drawing a selection frame (sweep select), the sub-dashboard is left 

blank, also if you selected only one element. But then you can select the sub-elements from the 

pulldown list of the sub-dashboard. 

Figure 258 Example Sub-Dashboard: Empty 

Multiple Select of Single Sub-Elements (ONLY for balloon texts) 

If you pick, for example, the issue text of one balloon using the left mouse button, you can pick 

more issue texts from other balloons using the middle mouse button. In the figure below the 

selected issue texts of both balloon texts can be changed at once. 



Dashboard 

Figure 259 Example Sub-Dashboard: Picked Several Issue Texts 

Please note: For dimensions, you cannot select more than one element from each dimension. 

Summary 

The sub-dashboard can display properties for: 

• a single selected sub-element from a group 

• all sub-elements of the type from the group 

• single selected sub-elements of the same type from multiple groups 

• all sub-elements of the type from multiple groups 

Restore Dimensions 

If you changed dimension texts and you want to get back the original text, double click on the 

dimension and place the dimension new by probing on the sheet. The text has the original value 

again and the dimension is in edit mode, which can be finished with the popup menu, choosing 

Exit Tool. 


Introduction to Styles 



All MEDUSA sheet elements have an associated Style. The style for an element is displayed on 

the left most field in the dashboard as well as on associated Properties dialogs. 

Purpose 

The purpose of the style is to encapsulate a set of properties. For example construction lines 

are thin dashed lines and they are created on their own particular construction line layer. These 

properties are stored in a style named Construction. 

At a higher level the style can be used to record what the element on the sheet is supposed to 

represent. For example, if the sheet is an electrical schematic drawing, then you might want to 

use line styles with the names Low Voltage and High Voltage. 

Style Properties 

Each style has a set of properties associated with it, so that different styles can have a distinctive 

graphical appearance. For example, the Low Voltage style could be defined to produce thin 

green lines while the High Voltage style could be defined to produce medium red lines. 

MEDUSA comes with a set of generic pre-defined styles for the different types of elements. For 

example, for lines there are, amongst others, the following styles: 

• center-line 

• solid thin 

For text there are for example: 

• circle 

• plain large 

Please note: Only if you have Administrator privileges in your MEDUSA session you can define 

new styles or edit existing styles. See the Administration Guide, chapter ”Administration”, 

“Creating and Editing MEDUSA Styles” for explanations on adding new 

styles or modify existing styles. If you have no Administrator privileges ask your 

System Administrator for defining the styles you need. 



Dashboard 

Pre-defined Tool Buttons 

MEDUSA comes pre-configured with a set of tools for creating elements with varying properties. 

Each of these tool buttons is associated with a particular style. When a tool is called, it first 

sets the dashboard to the associated style and then allows you to start creating your new element 

on the sheet. You can achieve an equivalent result by: 

1. Select the appropriate type of creation tool from the dashboard. 

2. Choose the style you want to use from the Style pulldown list box. 

Special Styles 

Free Style 

The Free style has all fields unlocked and so it gives you maximum flexibility for modification. 

Elements imported from old MEDUSA versions or external applications often have this style 

because the attributes of these elements are unlikely to exactly match any of the MEDUSA 

built-in styles. This style is built into MEDUSA and therefore it cannot be modified or deleted. 

Default Style 

Every class of element has a default style associated with it. This is the style that is displayed 

initially by the dashboard when MEDUSA is started first. Your System Administrator can modify 

this style if desired. However, MEDUSA will not permit you to delete this style. 

Why use Styles? 

You can define all of your elements as free style, for example, and then set properties of each 

element individually as you require. But with this the powerful functions offered by MEDUSA 

would not be utilized. There are several reasons why it is recommended to use styles in 

MEDUSA: 

• Capturing Design Intent 

Associating the correct style with an element is a way of incorporating design intent in 

your drawing. For example, if a line has a style High Voltage it provides more information 

to the end-user of the drawing than the style name Free. 

• Improving Consistency and Maintaining Drawing Standards 

Industry or Company standards may require that certain elements on a drawing should 

be drawn in a certain manner. You can achieve this if you create a style for that element. 

Similarly if there are different conventions within different subsections of your 




company you can also support this by asking your System Administrator to produce 

appropriate styles in order to distribute them to these subsections. 

• Ability to Switch Drawing Representation 

If you need to switch the representation of certain elements on your drawing, you can 

achieve this by redefining the appropriate style definition. Any elements that are subsequently 

created with this style will have the new set of attributes. 

Style Files 

When MEDUSA starts up, it reads in all styles defined in the standard products, as well as any 

that your administrator may have defined and packaged in a user-project, as well as any styles 

that you have defined for your personal use, either in this session of MEDUSA, or any previous 

ones. 

MEDUSA finds style definitions in several places.: 

• Firstly the products come supplied with pre-defined styles which are stored in a directory 

/m2d/styles. 

• Secondly, MEDUSA will also use any styles which have been defined in user-defined 

products in the area /m2d/styles. 

• Finally, if you define some new styles (or modify some of the existing definitions), then 

they are stored in the project as individual XML files in /user//styles. 

Note that for speed purposes, MEDUSA creates a single, merged XML style file which represents 

all the styles defined in all the standard products together with any defined in user-defined 

products.This file is stored in your project area as /m2d/bin/styles.xml. 

If any style files in the standard products or your user products are altered then this merged 

style file will be regenerated. MEDUSA will do this automatically when it is next started, or alternatively, 

you can regenerate it explicitly by using the styles command in MEDconfig. 

If you are the Administrator, then you may want to define or modify some styles and make these 

new definitions available to all your MEDUSA users in your office or company. MEDUSA provides 

a special tool which streamlines this process (for details see ”Style Tree”, “Merge User 

Styles” on page 316). 



Dashboard 

Changing Styles and Style Properties 

You can modify the visual appearance of an existing element. You can: 

• change the style of the element (which will then have the effect of changing all the 

properties of the element to match those of the style), and you can 

• modify the properties of the element and leave the style the same. 

Changing Element Styles 

For changing an element style: 

1. First create some text on the sheet using the Plain small style and make sure it is 

selected. 

The style in the dashboard reflects the style of the selected element. 

2. Choose a different style from the pulldown list box. 

If the list does not provide the style you want to use, choose the entry More for opening 

the Style Tree window. Then open the popup menu and select Use Style. For details see 

“Style Tree” on page 314. 

The dashboard display changes to the new style and all the properties associated with 

it. The selected element has this new style now. 

Changing Element Property Attributes 

Your System Administrator can define whether users can alter different style property attributes. 

You can only change an attribute which is either not used in the current style or which is set as 

unlocked for editing. Depending on how the styles are set, some property attributes are locked 

and others are unlocked. This is explained in more detail in section 

“Style Definitions and their Effect on an Element” on page 313. 

You can change the unlocked property attributes of an element while retaining the style. For 

example, if a line is selected do the following for changing line properties: 

1. Select the Create New Line button on the dashboard. 

The dashboard displays line properties. 

2. Set the style to solid thin. 

3. Change the color. 

The Create New Line button background color changes to yellow to reflect the fact that the 

attributes are different from those defined in the current style. 



Style Definitions and their Effect on an Element 

Style Definitions and their Effect on an Element 

The properties of an element can be divided into the following groups related to a style: 

• The property is not used in the style 

• The property has a value in the style but it is left unlocked. 

• The property has a value in the style and it is locked. 

The following sections describe how the properties of an element are affected when its style is 

changed. 

Unused Properties 

All properties which are not used in the new style remain unchanged. 

In this example we assume that the System Administrator has created the style thick only that 

only contain thickness values. Thus when changing the style between the predefined line styles 

solid thick and thick only the dashboard changes from: 

to: 

The unused fields (that is, Layer, Color, Type) remain at their former values and the values become 

active indicating that they can be modified. 

Locked and Unlocked Properties 

Your MEDUSA Administrator may want to set a policy for certain styles to prevent the previous 

case occurring. MEDUSA supports this by allowing the System Administrator to define certain 

properties in the style to be locked to a particular value. 

As in the previous example for the solid thin line the element properties are set to this locked 

value and in addition the associated fields in the dashboard and Properties dialog are disabled 

(greyed-out). 



Dashboard 

Style Tree 

Each style available in MEDUSA is given in the Style Tree window which is available by the entry 

More in the pulldown list of styles inside the dashboard, or by the button Sheet structure tree in the 

bottom of the MEDUSA window. The following figure gives an example: 

Figure 260 Style Tree 

standard line styles 

special line styles 

styles for prims, texts, 

crosshatching, dimensions 

and others 



Style Tree 

The Style Tree is structured by the classes of elements. Each class contains the styles for frequently 

used styles, which is the group My Favourites, standard and decor styles (if available). The 

entry My Favourites contains the styles displayed inside the style pulldown list as available inside 

the dashboard and the property dialogs. 

The following sections explain how to use the Style Tree window. 

Popup Menu 

The Style Tree window provides a popup menu for adjusting the tree and the style pulldown list to 

your needs. If you move the cursor over the Style Tree and click right the following popup menu 

opens: 

Figure 261 Style Tree Popup Menu 

The popup menu provides the following entries: 

Add Style to Favourites 

for adding the selected style to the group My Favourites (see “Add Styles to My Favourites” 

on page 316). 

Remove Style from Favourites 

for removing a style from My Favourites (see “Remove Styles from My Favourites” on 

page 316). 

Use Style 

applies the style on the selected elements. After applying the style to the selected elements 

redraw the graphics to see the result. 

If you selected elements of different types like lines and texts Use Style is not active. 

Save Style Tree 

saves the style tree into the current user project directory 

\user\\styletree.xml 

Merge User Styles 

combines style files from the user project and user product directories. For details see 

“Merge User Styles” on page 316. 



Dashboard 

Add Styles to My Favourites 

For adding a style to My Favourites: 

1. Select the style inside the tree. 

2. Now you have two possibilities: 

a. Choose Add Style to Favourites from the popup menu. 

The selected style is added immediately to the favorites of the current style class. 

b. Move the cursor on My Favourites and release the mouse button. 

Please note: If drag and drop is used to add a style to a folder other than My Favourites, then it is 

removed from the original folder. 

Remove Styles from My Favourites 

For removing a style from My Favourites: 

1. Select the style inside My Favourites. 

2. Choose Remove Style from Favourites from the popup menu. 

The selected style is removed immediately from the favorites of the current style class 

and it is placed back either in the standard or special (if available) style group. 

Merge User Styles 

Please note: The option Merge User Styles is only available if you have Administrator rights. 

If you are the Administrator, then you may want to define or modify some styles and make these 

new definitions available to all your MEDUSA users in your office or company. The option 

Merge User Styles of the style tree popup menu allows to merge several style files into a single file 

in a new product directory. 

The following steps show you how to merge style files: 

1. Define any new styles, or modify existing ones, using the Style Dialog (as explained in 

section “Changing Styles and Style Properties” on page 312). 

MEDUSA stores all these new definitions as separate XML files in your personal area 

in /user//styles. At this point, if another user used MEDUSA from the 

same project, they would not see your new style definitions. 



Style Tree 

When you are happy with these new definitions and if you want to provide them to your coworkers, 

you can create a new user-product to store them. You do this as follows: 

2. Open the Style Tree. 

3. Select a node in the Style Tree (details on nodes are given in ”Status Area”, “Displaying 

the Tree Viewer” on page 346). 

4. Choose Merge User Styles from the popup menu. 

A dialog appears entitled Merge user style files: 

Figure 262 Dialog Merge User Styles 

5. Specify the name of your user Product directory. 

This is simply a directory name, (which may be empty if you have not previously created 

a user-product). Consider that the directory has to exist. 

6. Click OK. 

MEDUSA creates a styles file in the following area: 

/m2d/styles/styles.xml 

This single file will contain all the new style definitions and modifications that you created 

in step 1. 

In addition it also moves the definitions that were in your personal area (/ 

user//styles) into the new area (/m2d/styles). These files are 

not used now, so you can delete them once you are happy that your new styles work 

as required. 

7. You now need to add this new product into your project and reconfigure the project. 

After reconfiguring the project your new styles will be available for anyone with the next 

start of MEDUSA from that project. If you have other MEDUSA projects which also 

want to share these same style definitions, then you just need to add your new product 

into the product list and reconfigure it. 



Dashboard 

User-Defined Dashboard 

Besides the usual dashboards provided in MEDUSA it can make sense to create user-defined 

dashboards for groups in order to specify certain selection criteria information which shall be 

displayed in the dashboard. If you select any group which matches these criteria, the dashboard 

shows the information as defined for the appropriate user-defined dashboard. With this you can 

easily select and modify groups with same elements. 

Please note: Dashboards can only be created by users with access to Admin Mode. For details 

see the Administration Guide. 

An example of an appropriate use is shown in the following: 

Abb. 263 Example of a Group for which a Dashboard is Created 

The example shows a weld-on hook, associated with particular properties. All elements, such 

as lines and texts, are associated to one group. For the hook an own dashboard has been 

defined, which is shown in the figure below. 

Figure 264 User Defined Dashboard 

The name of the group is specified as weld_on_hook, the producer of the group as 

MEILI.The hook has three user attributes which are displayed in the dashboard too. 

If you select a group in your sheet, whose properties exactly comply with the properties of this 

hook, the dashboard shown in Figure 264 is displayed. 


PROBE SPECIFIERS 


This chapter describes how to use probe specifiers to create new points or locate existing 

points. 

• Using Probe Specifiers........................................................... 320 

• Auto Probe............................................................................. 324 

• Free Probe............................................................................. 325 

• Grid Probe.............................................................................. 326 

• Intersection Probe.................................................................. 327 

• Near Probe............................................................................. 328 

• Segment Probe...................................................................... 329 

• Perpendicular Probe .............................................................. 330 

• Center Probe.......................................................................... 331 

• Mid Segment Probe ............................................................... 332 

• Tangent Probe........................................................................ 333 

• Last Probe.............................................................................. 335 

• Offset from Last Probe........................................................... 336 

• Datum of Selected Element Probe Specifiers........................ 337 

• Entering Points using Cartesian Coordinates ........................ 339 




Using Probe Specifiers 

The probe specifiers are located along the right edge of the tooltrays. They enable you to position 

points on the sheet at specific locations, for example at the intersection of two line segments. 

They do this by instructing MEDUSA to search for a specific type of geometry. 

Please note: If MEDUSA cannot create a point using the chosen probe specifier, it creates a 

Free probe instead (see “Free Probe” on page 325). 

The different probe specifiers are shown below. They are described in detail in this chapter. 

Figure 265 Probe Specifiers 

Auto 

Grid (snaps to grid) 

Near (nearest existing point) 

Perpendicular 

Mid Segment 

Last (most recent) 

Datum 

Free (snaps to grid if grid is active) 

Intersection 

Segment 

Center (of nearest arc) 

Tangent 

Offset from last (most recent) 

Offset from datum 


Choosing a Probe Specifier 



When starting MEDUSA the first time usually the probe specifier Auto probe is used by default. 

For choosing another probe specifier: 

1. Point to the probe specifier that you require and click left. 

The selected probe specifier becomes active. 

2. Move the cursor into the drawing area to use the probe specifier. 

Please note: After probing into the drawing area the default probe specifier is active again. 

Setting the Default Probe Specifier 

The Auto probe specifier (described in “Auto Probe” on page 324) is set as default when you 

start up MEDUSA. To change the default: 

1. Click left on the probe specifier that you want to make the default. 

If you move the cursor above the probe specifier area the following popup is available: 

Figure 266 Popup Probe Specifier 

The popup provides the following entries: 

Auto Near On exchanges the entries Intersection and Near for automatic probing (see 

“Auto Probe” on page 324). If chosen it turns to Auto: Default On. 

Set as Default sets the selected probe specifier as default for the rest of the session. 

2. Choose the Set as Default item from the popup menu (while the pointer is still positioned 

over the probe specifier). 

The chosen probe specifier becomes the new default and it is shown pressed in. 

Hit Radius 

When you use any of the probe specifiers (except for Free probe and Auto probe), you have to position 

the cursor within a specified radius of the required geometry in order that MEDUSA finds 

that geometry. This radius is known as the hit radius. 

By default, the hit radius is 2 mm but you can change this as given in “Querying and Changing 

the Current Hit Radius” on page 322. 




If the cursor is not within the specified radius when a probe is selected, a Free probe is created. 

Querying and Changing the Current Hit Radius 

1. To find out the current hit radius, choose Defaults from the Options menu. 

2. Choose the tab Radii / Arc Fac. 

Figure 267 Defaults Dialog: Tab Radii / Arc Fac 

3. You can change the current hit radius by typing in a new value in the Hit Radius field and 

choose Apply. 

The Radii / Arc Fac tab provides following entries: 

Hit Radius 

specifies the radius which is required in order that MEDUSA finds a geometry. Hit Radius 

is not valid for Free and Auto probe specifiers. Default: 2.0 

Maximum Radius 

specifies the maximum radius of a point using Near, Intersection, Perpendicular, Segment or 

Tangent probe specifiers. Default: 50.0 

Coincidence Radius 

specifies that separate points are considered for coincidence unless they are separated 

by a distance greater than the coincidence radius. Default: 0.00 




Near Point Radius 

specifies the radius for finding the nearest point using an Auto probe specifier. Default: 

2.5 

Intersection Radius 

specifies the radius for finding an intersection point using an Auto probe specifier. 

Default: 2.5 

Segment Radius 

Radius for finding a segment point using an Auto probe specifier. Default: 2.5 

Please note: The values have to be specified as screen units (and not sheet units). 




Auto Probe 

The Auto probe specifier creates a point by automatically selecting one of the six probes. 

When you choose the Auto probe specifier MEDUSA searches to see which type of probe can be 

used, dependent on which type of geometry is closest to the cursor. 

The order in which the probe is attempted is: 

• Intersection 

• Perpendicular 

• Tangent 

• Near 

• Segment 

• Free 

If none of the first five listed probe types can be used then a Free probe is selected. 

The Auto probe specifier usually supplies the probe specifier you need. However, you should note 

that it is most likely to produce the wrong result when the cursor is in an area of dense lines. 

You can ensure that the correct type of probe is used by zooming into the area. Zooming is 

described in “View” on page 123. 

When you start up MEDUSA, the Auto probe specifier is set as the default. Therefore, you do not 

have to choose the Auto probe specifier. You can position the cursor where you want the point to 

be placed and click left. 


Free Probe 


Free Probe 

The Free probe specifier allows you to create a point at any location on the sheet independent 

of any previously created point. 

A Free probe specifier creates a point at the current cursor position unless the grid is active. When 

the grid is active MEDUSA creates a point at the closest grid intersection. The coordinates of 

the point are then taken as the coordinates of the grid line intersection. 

See “Introduction to Grids” on page 142 for further information on creating free points at grid 

intersections. 




Grid Probe 

The Grid probe specifier lets you create a point that snaps to the nearest grid intersection 

even if the grid is inactive. 

See “Activating and Deactivating a Grid” on page 151 for information on active and inactive 

grids. 


Intersection Probe 


Intersection Probe 

The Intersection probe specifier allows you to create a point at the intersection of two existing 

line segments. 

This example shows how to create a line through points where two overlapping boxes intersect. 

1. Select the Intersection probe specifier . 

2. Position the cursor near the intersection where you want to have the first point of the 

line and click left. 

Figure 268 Using the Intersection Probe Specifier: 1 

A point is created at the intersection nearest to the probed position. 

3. Select the Intersection probe specifier again. 

4. Move the pointer to the opposite corner and click left. 

Figure 269 Using the Intersection Probe Specifier: 2 

A point is created at the second position that you probe and a line is drawn between 

the two intersections. 




Near Probe 

The Near probe specifier allows you to create a new point at the nearest existing point. 

This means that a Near probe specifier allows you to position a point at exactly the same coordinates 

as a point in an existing line or at the datum point of a text element or prim. 


Segment Probe 


Segment Probe 

The Segment probe specifier allows you to create a point on an existing line so that the new 

point lies as close to the cursor as possible. 

1. Choose the Segment probe specifier. 

2. Position the cursor close to the line and click left. 

A point is created on the line as shown below. 

Figure 270 Using the Segment Probe Specifier 




Perpendicular Probe 

The Perpendicular probe specifier allows you to create a perpendicular line between the current 

point and the line nearest the cursor. 

The following example shows you how to use the Perpendicular probe specifier: 

1. Using an appropriate probe specifier, create a point where you want the perpendicular 

line to start. In this example use an Auto or Segment probe specifier: 

Figure 271 Using the Perpendicular Probe Specifier: 1 

2. Choose the Perpendicular probe specifier. 

3. Move the cursor close to the position where you want the perpendicular line to end and 

click left. 

Figure 272 Using the Perpendicular Probe Specifier: 2 

A line is created perpendicular to the line that you probe in step 3. 

If you are creating the first point in a line or if you place a text or prim element and you use the 

Perpendicular probe specifier then MEDUSA uses the last point you probed on the sheet instead of 

the current point. 


Center Probe 


Center Probe 

The Center probe specifier locates the center point of the nearest curved line segment. 

For circles or arcs, the probe locates the defined center point. For other types of arcs a center 

point is inferred as the intersection of the two perpendiculars from the tangents at the ends of 

the arc, see Figure 273. If the perpendiculars do not intersect inside the arc no position is 

located. In this case the Free probe specifier is taken and a message is given inside the message 

area. 

The following example shows you how to use a Center probe specifier: 

1. Choose the Center probe specifier. 

2. Position the cursor close to the arc or circle for which you want to find the center point. 

3. Click left. 

The probed point is the center of the circle or arc. 

Figure 273 Using the Center Probe Specifier for a Fillet 




Mid Segment Probe 

The Mid Segment probe specifier locates the middle of the straight or curved line segment nearest 

to the position that you probe. 

The following example shows how to use a Mid Segment probe specifier: 

1. Choose the Mid Segment probe specifier. 

2. Position the cursor close to the line and then click left: 

Figure 274 Using the Mid-segment Probe Specifier 

A point is created in the middle of the line segment. 


Tangent Probe 


Tangent Probe 

The Tangent probe specifier allows you to create a point on the nearest arc or circle such that 

the line segment joining the new point is tangential to the arc or circle. 

The following example shows you how to use a Tangent probe specifier: 

1. Using the appropriate probe specifier, create the point where you want the tangential 

line to start. In the illustration shown below use the Free probe. 

Figure 275 Using the Tangent Probe Specifier: 1 

Existing circle 

2. Select the Tangent probe specifier . 

3. Move the cursor close to the circle, then click left. 


Probe here 

A new line is drawn between the original current point and the circle which is a tangent 

at the circle. 


Tangent line 

Current point 




If you are creating the first point in a line or if you place a text or prim element and if you use a 

Tangent probe specifier, then MEDUSA uses the last point you probed on the sheet instead of the 

current point. 


Last Probe 


Last Probe 

The Last probe specifier locates the most recent current point. This enables you to create a 

number of lines that pass through the same point without having to define that point for each 

line. 

The following procedure demonstrates how to use the Last probe specifier to create a construction 

line through the most recent current point. 

1. Create a line. End it by choosing New Line from the popup menu. 

The current point marker is no longer displayed indicating that there is no current point. 

2. Select the Horizontal Construction Lines tool . 

3. Select the Last probe specifier . 

MEDUSA creates the construction line using the most recent current point as the 

datum. 




Offset from Last Probe 

The Offset from last probe specifier locates the most recent current point and you can define an 

offset for probing from this point. This enables you to create a number of lines that pass the 

same point with a certain spacing without having to define that point for each line. If you define 

zero for the offset in x- and y-direction the specifier works the same way as the Last probe specifier. 

Please note: This probe specifier is only enabled, if you already selected one element. 

The following procedure demonstrates how to use the Offset from Last probe specifier to create a 

construction line 10 units away from the most recent current point. 

1. Create a line. End it by choosing New Line from the popup menu. 

The current point marker is no longer displayed indicating that there is no current point. 

2. Select the Creates horizontal construction lines tool . 

3. Select the Offset from last probe specifier . 

The Edit Coords dialog opens below the dashboard. 

4. Type in the offsets for x- and y-coordinates. Use 10 for both values and press Return. 

MEDUSA creates the construction line using an offset of 10 units in x- and y-direction 

from the most recent current point as the datum. The following figure shows an appropriate 

result. 

Figure 278 Example for Offset from Last Probe 

resulting horizontal construction line 

automatically created point marking the offset 

most recent current point used for the offset 


Datum of Selected Element Probe Specifiers 


Datum of Selected Element Probe Specifiers 

The datum probe specifiers allow you to create a point directly at the datum point of a selected 

element or close to it at a certain offset. 

Please note: These probe specifiers are only enabled, if you already selected one element. 

Datum Point Definition 

For line elements, the datum point is the first point in the current line. 

For text elements and prims, the datum point is the single point that is used to position that element 

on the sheet. 

For groups, the datum point is the datum point of the first line, text, or prim element that it contains. 

Datum Probe Specifier 

The Datum probe specifier allows you to use the datum point of the selected element, for 

example to place a point in a line. To do this: 

1. Select an element on the sheet, whose datum point shall be used for the starting point 

of the new element 

2. Select a tool, for example a create line tool. 

3. Choose the Datum probe specifier. 

The first point of the new element is created at the datum point of the selected element. 

The selected line is deselected and the new line becomes selected. 

Offset from Datum Probe Specifier 

The Offset from datum probe specifier allows you place a point at a certain offset from the datum 

point of the selected element. To do this: 

1. Select an element on the sheet, whose datum point shall be used for the starting point 

of the new element. 

2. Choose a tool, for example a create line tool. 




3. Choose the Offset from datum probe specifier . 

The Edit Coords dialog opens below the dashboard. 

4. Type in the offsets for x- and y-coordinates. Use 10 for both values and press Return. 

MEDUSA creates the first point of a new line using the defined offset of 10 units in x- 

and y-direction from the datum point of the selected line. The selected line is deselected 

and the new line becomes selected.The following figure shows an appropriate 

result. 

Figure 279 Example for Offset from Datum 

datum point 

of the line 

this line was selected 

before applying the offset values 

resulting new point 

current cursor position with attached rubber band 

after pressing Return and moving the cursor 


Entering Points using Cartesian Coordinates 



When you create and edit MEDUSA elements you usually use cursor probes on the sheet, but 

you can also enter coordinates directly. 

MEDUSA stores points in terms of their coordinates on the sheet, that is, the distance along the 

X-axis and the distance along the Y-axis of the point from the sheet origin. 

By default, the sheet origin is located at the bottom left corner of the sheet and is given the coordinates 

(0; 0) (X=0; Y=0). Figure 280 shows an example of a point created using the cartesian 

coordinates. 

Figure 280 Cartesian Coordinates 

Sheet origin (0, 0) 

100 

To enter coordinates directly use the Enter Coords dialog below the dashboard which opens after 

you selected a drawing tool like Creates thin solid lines. 

Figure 281 Enter Coords Dialog 

New point 

50 

1. Enter X and Y coordinates for defining a position on the sheet. 

2. Press the button Return or choose the check mark for confirming your entries. 

The new point is drawn and the entries inside the Enter Coords dialog are reset to zero. 

Please note: If you close the Enter Coords dialog by clicking the X button at the top right corner of 

the dialog, the drawing function finishes. 

By default the sheet origin is at the bottom left hand corner of the sheet (0, 0) but it is different 

if the current grid specifies a different origin. See chapter ”Grids”, “Modifying a Grid” on 

page 153 for details of changing and resetting the origin. 


Y 

X




STATUS AREA 


This chapter describes the elements of the status area including detailed explanations on 

groups and the structure tree. 

• Overview Status Area ............................................................ 342 

• Groups ................................................................................... 344 

• Displaying the Tree Viewer .................................................... 346 

• Dock and Undock the Tree Viewer ........................................ 347 

• Creating and Ending Groups ................................................. 348 

• Reparent Elements ................................................................ 350 

• Interacting with the Tree Viewer............................................. 351 

• Query and Change Sheet Properties..................................... 356 

• User Attributes ....................................................................... 357 



Status Area 

Overview Status Area 

The status area provides some useful information and buttons in order to ease designing. 

The following figures show the contents of the status area given from left to right: 

Figure 282 Status Area Left Part 

Active tool Message line Toggle output message area/window tools 

Figure 283 Status Area Right Part 

Cursor position Element owner 

The contents of the status area are from left to right: 

Active tool 

displays the current tool. If you click left on the tool button and hold the mouse button 

for a little while a pulldown menu opens giving a history of the last used tools. The pulldown 

menu looks like that one given in the following figure: 

Figure 284 Pulldown Menu Active Tool 

Last tools 

Active tool 

Scale 

Sheet structure tree 

User attributes 

Sheet properties 

Message line 

gives a short information about the next step you can do related to the active tool and 

the current status of, for example, creating a new line. 

Toggle visibility of output message area/window 

The left tool opens the output message area above the status area. It gives you 

information about executed commands and errors for example. By default the output 

message area is closed. If the area is opened, the toggle button is reversed . A click 

on the button closes the message area. 

The right tool opens a message window in the bottom right corner of the drawing 

area. After opening, the arrow turns into a Close button, which quits the window. 



Overview Status Area 

Figure 285 Message Window opened via right Toggle visibility of output message area tool 

You can display either the message area or the message window, but never both at the 

same time. 

If both, the message area or the message window, are closed, the right button appears 

red colored with a hint on an error message . When you open the 

window via the right arrow, you can read the complete error message. 

Cursor position 

gives the x- and y-coordinate of the current cursor position inside the drawing area. 

Element owner 

gives the current level on which, for example, elements are selected. If no element is 

selected usually you are on Sheet level. For details see “Members and Owners” on 

page 345. 

Sheet structure tree 

displays the tree viewer. For details see “Displaying the Tree Viewer” on page 346. 

Scale 

displays the scale of the sheet and the temporary scale for drawing in braces. For 

details see “Query and Change Sheet Properties” on page 356. 


opens the Sheet Properties dialog. For details see “Query and Change Sheet Properties” 

on page 356. 

User attributes 

opens the User Attributes dialog. For details see “User Attributes” on page 357. 



Status Area 

Groups 

This chapter introduces into groups, gives information on the definition of groups and it explains 

the meaning of owner and member referring to groups. 

Introduction to Groups 

Groups are a powerful feature of MEDUSA used to collect geometry together so that it can be 

manipulated as a single entity. Adding structure to your drawing in this manner makes it much 

easier to edit at a later date. Since groups can have user defined names much intelligence can 

be built into the drawing. Examples of groups are: 

• a hole with its center lines and dimension lines, or 

• all lines and text that make up a single view of a component. 

You can create a new group and then add geometry to it or form a group from existing elements. 

Geometry may be added to groups and edited or deleted from the group. 

To make it easy to understand what structure is within a sheet MEDUSA provides a structure 

browsing tree viewer tool to display and manipulate groups. 

What are Groups? 

Groups are permanent collections of elements. They are useful if you want to manipulate a 

number of associated elements on a sheet as if they were a single entity. 

For example, suppose you are designing an electrical circuit that contains a large number of 

identical resistors each represented as shown in Figure 286. 

Figure 286 A Resistor 

The resistor consists of: 

• A prim (the resistor symbol) 

• Some associated text 



Groups 

To create the resistor, you first open the group (by creating or selecting it), then you create the 

elements making up the resistor and finally you close the group. By creating all these elements 

as a group you can manipulate the elements as a single entity if the circuit needs to be 

changed. If you move the resistor all the elements inside the group are moved with it. If you 

delete the group all the elements making up the resistor are deleted. 

Please note: You may not need to use groups if you design simple, one-off drawings. However 

in certain applications the use of groups is essential in increasing drawing speed 

and efficiency. 

Members and Owners 

Elements which make up a group are referred to as members of the group. The group is called 

the owner of the elements which are its members. For example, in Figure 287 the sheet-level 

group Sheet is the owner of the group Title Block and therefore this group is a member of 

the owning group Sheet. A group may also be a member of another group. 

Figure 287 Example of Group Structure 

The Structure Tree of the figure above is explained in detail in “Displaying the Tree Viewer” on 

page 346. 

For details on creating groups see “Creating and Ending Groups” on page 348. 



Status Area 

Displaying the Tree Viewer 

To display or hide the tree viewer, click the Sheet structure tree button . 

The tree viewer appears to the right of the main drawing area. It displays the hierarchical tree 

structure of the current sheet, as illustrated in Figure 288. 

Figure 288 The Tree Viewer 

If you select an element on the sheet, the corresponding nodes in the tree viewer are selected 

and highlighted. If you select a node in the tree viewer the corresponding element(s) on the 

sheet are selected and highlighted. 

MEDUSA uses the concept of the current node. If you create a new element it is created as a 

child of the current node. The current node is determined as follows: 

• If there is no current selection the current node is at sheet level. Therefore all new elements 

are created on this level. 

• If there is a single element selected the current node is the group which owns this element. 

Therefore all new elements are created in that group. 

• If the selection is multiple the current node is taken to be the nearest common owner of 

all the selected elements. 

In the example in Figure 288 the current node is the Revision Block group and the tree 

viewer reflects this by highlighting the corresponding node name. There are four different kinds 

of node in the tree viewer: 

Leaf Node This is a single element such as the nodes named Solid in Figure 288 

Summary Node 

Group Node 

This is a collection of nodes of the same class. Examples for this are the nodes 

named 2 Lines and 5 Texts in Figure 288 

This is a group of summary nodes. Examples for this are the nodes named 

Revision Block and Title Block in Figure 288 

Sheet Node There is one node labelled Sheet which contains all other nodes. 


Dock and Undock the Tree Viewer 


Dock and Undock the Tree Viewer 

The tree viewer can be displayed either docked to the MEDUSA graphical user interface or 

undocked to it. If the tree viewer is displayed undocked in its own dialog, it can be placed anywhere 

on the screen. By default, the tree viewer is docked to the MEDUSA graphical user interface. 

Figure 289 The Tree Viewer, Docked 

If you press the button Undock, the tree viewer will be undocked from the graphical user interface 

and it is displayed inside its own dialog. 

Figure 290 The Tree Viewer, Undocked 

You can re-size and place the dialog as you like. During a MEDUSA session the changed size 

and position will be stored internally, in order to keep it when docking and undocking again. 

If you press the button Dock in the tree viewer dialog, the tree viewer will be docked again. 



Status Area 

Creating and Ending Groups 

Creating an Empty Group 

1. Ensure that nothing is selected. 

2. Click the Creates a Named Group tool from the toolbar. 

A new group is created. 

In the dashboard the properties of a group are displayed. 

3. Type a group name into the appropriate text field. 

The new name appears inside the status area immediately as you type. 

Any elements that you now create are automatically placed in this group. If you have the tree 

viewer visible (see “Displaying the Tree Viewer” on page 346) then you see that a new group is 

added to the structure. 

You also can use the popup menu for creating a new group (”Interacting with the Tree Viewer”, 

“Using the Popup Menu” on page 352). Additionally there you find information about changing 

the name of a group. 

Creating a Group Containing Existing Elements 

1. Select the elements in the drawing which should belong to the group. 

2. Select the Creates a Named Group containing the selected geometry tool . 



3. Type the name of the new group into the text field and click OK. 

All selected elements are in the new group now. 

In the tree viewer you can see that the elements are moved into the new group. 





Creating a Nested Group 


Creating and Ending Groups 

A nested group is a group which is created inside another group. To create a nested group: 

1. Using the tree viewer, select the name of the group which shall contain the new group. 

2. Select the Creates a Named Group tool from the toolbar. 



3. Type the name of the new group into the text field and click OK. 

A new group is created inside the selected group. 

If you now draw elements, they are created inside the new group. 




Ending Groups 

When you have finished creating the elements in a group, press the Go to Sheet Level button on 

the toolbar to return to sheet level. 



Status Area 

Reparent Elements 

You can move elements from sheet level or from a group into any other group, by reparenting 

these elements. You have 2 possibilities: 

• Reparent inside the drawing area 

• Reparent inside the structure tree 

To reparent elements inside the drawing area do the following steps (in this case we assume 

that you want to move elements into a new group): 

1. Click the Sheet structure tree button , which is located in the status area below the 

drawing area. 

The tree viewer appears to the right of the main drawing area. It displays the 

hierarchical tree structure of the current sheet. Here you can check the following steps. 

2. Create a new group (see ”Creating and Ending Groups”, “Creating an Empty Group” 

on page 348) and draw a line in this group. 

The new group is displayed inside the structure tree with the new line. 

The new line is only needed for defining the group in which you want to move elements 

later on. 

3. Inside the drawing area select the elements which shall be reparented. 

Inside the structure tree the selected elements respectively its group names are 

displayed highlighted. 

4. Open the popup menu with a right click and choose Reparent. 

The previously selected elements are displayed as deselected now. 

5. Inside the drawing area select the line of the new group (see step 2) for defining the 

group to which you want to move the elements selected in step 3. 

6. Open the popup menu with a right click and choose Apply. 

The elements selected in step 3 are moved to the new group. You can see this inside 

the structure tree because the reparented elements are displayed highlighted. 

7. Now you can delete the line drawn in step 2. 

To reparent elements inside the structure tree do the following steps: 

1. Click the Sheet structure tree button , which is located in the status area below the 

drawing area. 

2. Choose an element inside the structure tree by clicking on the appropriate entry. 

To select several neighbored elements use the Shift key. 

3. Above the selection press the left mouse button and hold it. 

4. Move the mouse cursor over the group name in which you want to move the elements 

and release the mouse button. 

The elements are moved to the chosen group and the structure tree is updated. 


Interacting with the Tree Viewer 



MEDUSA provides a variety of ways for you to interact with the tree viewer. You can: 

• ”Using the Mouse Directly” 

• ”Using the Popup Menu” 

• ”Using the Tree Navigation Toolbar” 

• ”Using the Tree Table Toolbar” 

Using the Mouse Directly 

You can use the ‘+’ and ‘-‘ boxes to the left of the node names to expand and collapse group 

nodes and summary nodes. 

• If you select a leaf node MEDUSA selects the corresponding element(s) on the sheet. 

• If you select a summary node MEDUSA will select all the elements of that class in the 

current group. 

• If you select a group node MEDUSA will select the group on the sheet and expand the 

node in the tree viewer. 

• If you select the sheet node no elements are selected. Selecting the sheet node is the 

same as using the Deselect All function. 

• Finally the tree viewer supports drag and drop – you can reparent an element or 

group by selecting the corresponding node on the tree, holding down the left mouse 

button and dragging the element or group into another node on the tree. 

Figure 291 Expanding Groups and Moving Around The Tree Structure 



Status Area 

Using the Popup Menu 

Move the mouse cursor on the tree viewer and click the right mouse button to access the tree 

viewer popup menu. The popup menu functions are described below: 

Figure 292 Tree Viewer Popup Menu 

New Group 

creates a new group as a child of the current node (that is, the group is created as a 

nested group within the current group). Selecting this item opens the Group Properties dialog 

for defining the name of the new group. You can change the name of the group 

using the Properties option (see below). 

Cut, Paste 

Refresh 

Properties 

used to cut and paste an entry of the structure tree. 

updates the display of the tree. 

displays the properties dialog for the currently selected elements. 

If a group name is selected the Group properties dialog opens: 

Figure 293 Group Properties Dialog 

The Group properties dialog gives you the Style, Layer, Type and Name of the selected group. 

With Create dashboard you can create a user defined dashboard. For details see ”Dashboard”, 

“User-Defined Dashboard” on page 318. 


Using the Tree Navigation Toolbar 



The Tree Navigation toolbar enables you to create new groups and to navigate the sheet structure. If 

the toolbar is not visible, you can open it, by select it from the popup menu available with the 

right mouse button upon the toolbar (see also chapter “Toolbar” on page 263). 

Figure 294 The Tree Navigation Toolbar 

Creating Groups 

To create a new group, use the Group pulldown menu on the left of the tree navigation toolbar. 

• Select the Creates a Named Group containing the selected geometry tool 

containing the currently selected elements. 

to create a new group 

• Select the Creates a Named Group tool to create an empty group. 

• Select the Creates a Named Level 2 Group tool or Creates a Named Level 1 Group tool to create 

an empty group on the hierarchy level 1 or 2. 

When you create a new group the new group node appears in the tree viewer. 

Navigating Around the Tree Viewer 

The arrow buttons on the toolbar are used to navigate the sheet structure, as described below: 

Moves to the first node at the current level. 

Moves to the previous node at the current level. 

Moves to the next node at the current level. 

Moves to the last node at the current level. 

Moves up one level. 

Always moves to the sheet node. 

Moves to the child node. 

MEDUSA stores a list of the sheet positions as you use the navigation buttons. You can move 

backwards and forwards through this list with the last two buttons: 

Moves back to the last sheet position. 

Moves forward after you have used the ’back’ button. 



Status Area 

Using the Tree Table Toolbar 

The tree table toolbar provides cut, paste and change display tools. These tools are described 

below. If the tree table toolbar is invisible, it is automatically displayed, when opening the structure 

tree (see “Displaying the Tree Viewer” on page 346). 

Cut 

Figure 295 Tree Table Toolbar 

Use the Cut button to remove the currently selected items from the sheet. 

Alternatively, use the Cut option on the right mouse button popup menu available if the cursor is 

above the drawing area (in this case the cut elements are attached to the crosshair of the cursor), 

or the group pulldown menu as described in ”Interacting with the Tree Viewer”, “Using the 

Popup Menu” on page 352. 

The tree stores the cut elements in a paste buffer. You can paste them at another position in the 

sheet structure by selecting a node in the tree viewer and clicking the Paste button (see below). 

Please note: If you cut one element and then cut another element only the last element is available 

to paste. 

Paste 

You can paste the cut elements either to its original place in the tree structure or at the selected 

place inside the tree. 

For pasting choose the Paste tool to paste items from the paste buffer. 

Alternatively, use the Paste option on the right mouse button popup menu available if the cursor 

is above the drawing area (in this case the cut elements are attached to the crosshair of the cursor), 

or the group pulldown menu as described in ”Interacting with the Tree Viewer”, “Using the 

Popup Menu” on page 352. 

Please note: The Paste button is disabled if no geometry is cut and if you already pasted the cut 

geometry. 

Change Display 

In the toolbar you find the following tools for changing the display of the tree: 

• Use the Show only selected elements in tree button to reduce the display of the tree to the 

selected elements only. 




• Use the Recreate, rebuild and reselect the whole tree button to update the display of the tree. 

This ensures that the tree accurately represents the current sheet structure. Alternatively, 

use the Refresh option on the right mouse button popup menu as described in 

”Interacting with the Tree Viewer”, “Using the Popup Menu” on page 352. 

For details on the toolbar see ”Toolbar”, “Tree Table Toolbar” on page 290. 



Status Area 

Query and Change Sheet Properties 

You can find out about the properties of the current sheet and change them by choosing 

Query or change the properties of the current sheet from the status area. The Sheet Properties dialog 

opens: 

Figure 296 Sheet Properties Dialog 

You can change the: 

• Sheet Scale. 

• Sheet Size (and maximum sheet size). 

• Sheet Units (temporary). 

• The Layer Naming Convention field indicates whether layer names on your sheet conform to 

the default names set up in your project (in the layers.map file). 

Please note: The Filename is displayed for information only and cannot be changed. It shows 

your current directory and the filename. 





You can open the User Attributes Dialog by choosing Query and edit user attributes from the status 

area. It displays the attribute data of a selected element and you can edit these. 

Figure 297 User Attributes Dialog 

There are several states of the button Query and edit user attributes related to the current selection of 

elements: 

• If the selected elements can get user attributes but they have not till now, the button is 

blue . 

• If the selected elements cannot get user attributes, the button is grey . 

• If the selected elements have user attributes, the button is red . 

• If the selected elements have no user attributes but they belong to a group with user 

attributes, then the button looks like that: . 



Status Area 


LINES 


This chapter explains the basic concepts that you need to understand in order to effectively create 

and edit lines. 

• Overview of Create Line Tools ............................................... 360 

• Line Geometry ....................................................................... 361 

• Creating a Line....................................................................... 363 

• Entering Points using Cartesian Coordinates ........................ 364 

• Popup Menu While Drawing a Line........................................ 365 

• Closed Geometry ................................................................... 367 

• Offset Lines Tools .................................................................. 377 

• Line Properties....................................................................... 380 

• Line Point Properties.............................................................. 387 

• Point Functions ...................................................................... 389 

• Trace a Line Tool ................................................................... 394 

• Overview of Edit Line Tools.................................................... 396 

• Editing a Line ......................................................................... 397 

• Edit Line Popup Menu............................................................ 398 

• Complex Line Editing............................................................. 400 

• Navigating a Line ................................................................... 416 



Lines 

Overview of Create Line Tools 

Figure 298 shows the standard line tools, which are in the Lines + Edit tooltray. 

Figure 298 Standard Line Tools 

Thin, medium, or thick solid lines 

Thin, medium, or thick dotted lines 

Thin, medium, or thick chain lines 

Thin, medium, or thick, short dash lines 

Thin, medium, or thick, long dash lines 

Group lines 

Center lines 

Construction lines 

Delete all group lines 

Trace a line 

Ellipses 

Rectangles 

Circles 

Polygons 

Round-ended slots 

Round-ended angled slots 

Closed Properties dialog 

Trace round selected elements 

The usage of these tools and the possibilities of using supporting functions for drawing are 

described in this chapter. 

This chapter does not contain explanations on each tool because there is, for example, no difference 

in creating a thin or group line. So the information you find in this chapter reduces to 

general explanations on the usage of the tools and the possibilities MEDUSA offers for them. 

Some of the tools do that what the tool tip gives, for example, Delete all group lines. For other tools 

we recommend to read the hints given inside the message line, for example, when using the 

tool Creates belt. 


Belt 

SMART Drafting 

Closed line 

tools

Line Geometry 


Line Geometry 

MEDUSA uses a series of points to define a line. The simplest line is defined by two points.The 

first point defines the beginning of the line and the second point defines the end of the line. A 

single line can contain up to 1000 points. 

Many line operations in MEDUSA depend on: 

• Which point is the current point 

• The line direction (the direction the points within the line are numbered) 

Current Point 

While you are creating a line, the current point is always the most recent point that you create. 

The current point is shown as an arrow. Whenever you choose an edit line tool, the current point 

in the line will be the point nearest to the cursor when you select the line by double clicking. Any 

one of the other points in the line can however be made current, as described in “Navigating a 

Line” on page 416.The current point is the point which is affected when you change the shape 

of a line. When you delete a point, the current point is deleted. 

Figure 299 Current Point 

2 

1 

point 3 moved 

3 

original line 

point 2 point 3 (current) 

point 1 

4 

point 4 

Similarly, when you move a point, the current point is moved. 

2 

1 

point 3 deleted 

When you add a point, the new point is placed in sequence after the current point. New points 

are always added after the current point. 


3 

point added 

2 

3 

4 

1 

5


Lines 

Line Direction 

A line is a sequence of points, beginning with point 1. When you create a line, the sequence in 

which you specify the points defines the direction of the line. This is shown in Figure 300. The 

current point marker indicates the direction of the lines. 

Figure 300 Line Direction 

1 2 

3 

4 

3 

1 

Knowing the direction of a line is important for adding a new point to the line as it affects the 

result that you achieve. Line direction and navigating a line is described in “Navigating a Line” 

on page 416. 

2 


2 

1 

5 

3 

4

Creating a Line 

This chapter gives you some more information about the drawing facilities. 

This procedure describes how to create a line in MEDUSA: 

1. Choose one of the Create Line tools from the Lines + Edit tooltray. 

For example the tool Creates thick solid lines. 

Figure 301 Create Solid Lines Toolset 


Creating a Line 

For tools creating lines see the section “Overview of Create Line Tools” on page 360. 

2. Create the first point in the line using one of the following methods: 

• Position the cursor at the first point in the line and click left. (You may choose a 

probe specifier first which is described in “Using Probe Specifiers” on page 320.) 

• Type coordinates in the input area using the Enter Coords dialog, described in section 

“Entering Points using Cartesian Coordinates” on page 364. 

The first point is created and if you move the cursor a line is drawn dynamically as you 

move the cursor, which looks like a rubber band. 

3. Create the next point in the line: 

• If you choose to probe the position of the point, then click the left mouse button. 

• You can also use the Protractor at this stage. 

A point is created at the position of the cursor and a line is drawn between the first 

point and the new point. 

While drawing you have the following possibilities: 

• The popup menu provides several functions for working on the current line. For 

details see the section “Popup Menu While Drawing a Line” on page 365. 

• As you work you can use any of the edit line tools shown in “Overview of Edit Line 

Tools” on page 396. 

• If required, you change the point function of each point by choosing Point Functions... 

from the Utilities menu (see page “Changing Point Functions” on page 390). 

4. If you want to finish the line, either 

• choose New Line or Close and New Line from the popup menu to draw another line, or 

• choose Exit Tool to leave the line selected ready for the next operation. 

The current point marker is removed from the line, indicating that there is now no current 

point and you cannot edit the line any longer. The drawn line remains selected. 



Lines 


When you create and edit MEDUSA elements you usually use cursor probes on the sheet, but 

you can also enter coordinates directly. 

MEDUSA stores points in terms of their coordinates on the sheet, that is, the distance along the 

X-axis and the distance along the Y-axis of the point from the sheet origin. 

By default, the sheet origin is located at the bottom left corner of the sheet and is given the coordinates 

(0; 0) (X=0; Y=0). Figure 302 shows an example of a point created using the cartesian 

coordinates. 

Figure 302 Cartesian Coordinates 

Sheet origin (0, 0) 

100 

To enter coordinates directly use the Enter Coords dialog below the dashboard which opens after 

you selected a drawing tool like Creates thin solid lines. 


New point 

50 

1. Enter X and Y coordinates for defining a position on the sheet. 

2. Press the button Return or choose the check mark for confirming your entries. 

The new point is drawn and the entries inside the Enter Coords dialog are reset to zero. 

Please note: If you close the Enter Coords dialog by clicking the X button at the top right corner of 

the dialog, the drawing function finishes. 

By default the sheet origin is at the bottom left hand corner of the sheet (0, 0) but it is different 

if the current grid specifies a different origin. See ”Grids”, “Modifying a Grid” on page 153 for 

details of changing and resetting the origin. 


Y 

X

Popup Menu While Drawing a Line 


Popup Menu While Drawing a Line 

While drawing a line the following popup menu is available by clicking the right mouse button. 

Figure 304 Popup Menu While Drawing a Line 

Please note: It depends on the stage of drawing which entries inside the popup menu can be 

chosen. For example, if the tool is active but no point is positioned only the Exit Tool 

is available and the other tools are deactivated. 

The following entries are given inside the popup menu: 

New Line 

finishes the currently drawn line and sets up the function for drawing the next line. 

Close Line 

connects the current point and the starting point of the line. The current line is still 

active and you can go on drawing this line. If you go on drawing after probing the next 

point of the line, the new segment is drawn and the whole line is closed again between 

the current point marker (given by the arrow tick) and the start point of the line. 

Close and New Line 

connects the current point and the starting point of the line. The line is finished and the 

function is set up for drawing the next line. 

Move Point 

is used for shifting the point defined by the current point marker to another position. If 

this item is chosen you can probe the new point by clicking left inside the drawing area, 

or entering coordinates directly (for details see “Entering Points using Cartesian Coordinates” 

on page 364). 

Delete Point 

removes the current point. The current point marker is set to the previous point. 



Lines 

Flip 

is only enabled if the current line segment is an arc, for example created with the tool 

Create a fillet of specified radius from the tooltray Lines + Edit. Flip switches the current arc to 

the opposite side of the virtual center point of the arc. 

Reverse Points in line 

is used for changing the line direction. If this option is chosen, the current point marker 

is placed at the neighbored segment and it is reverted. 

Undo, Redo 

Undo is used for canceling the last action. The button Redo is activated after undoing the 

first time. You can undo several actions. Its number depends on the number of actions 

stored to the history stack. 

Line Point Properties 

opens the Line Properties dialog which, allows you to: 

• adjust the style of the current line inside the tab Line Properties. For details see “Line 


• adjust the coordinates of the current point inside the tab Line Point Properties. For 

details see “Line Point Properties” on page 387. 

Exit Tool 



Closed Geometry 



This section deals with closed geometry. First you get information on usual closed geometry 

and at the end the ”2D Features” are given. 

Tools 

The closed geometry tools enable you to draw closed geometrical shapes. The tools are shown 

in the figure below. 

Figure 305 Closed Geometry Toolsets 

Toolset for ellipses 

Toolset for rectangles 

Toolset for circles 

Toolset for polygons 

Toolset for round-ended slots 

Toolset for round-ended angled slots 

Opens the Closed Geometry Properties dialog 

Each toolset for closed geometries contains several tools for the appropriate geometry. The 

tools differ in the way of drawing. For example rectangles can be drawn by probing either opposite 

corners or the center and a corner. For the steps you have to do look at the message line 

displayed in the status area. 

Creating Closed Geometry 

The following procedure describes an exemplary flow for creating a closed geometry: 

1. Set a working line style by choosing either: 

• the create line tool representing the line type you need, for example the 

Create thin solid lines tool from the Lines + Edit tooltray or 

• one of the construction tools, for example the Creates vertical construction lines tool 

from the Creation Tools tooltray, or 

• the Creates group lines tool from the Creation Tools tooltray. 

The dashboard changes showing the line style you selected. 



Lines 

2. Choose one of the closed geometry tools from the Lines + Edit tooltray. 

For example choose the tool Creates boxes - defined by opposite corners . 

3. Probe the first corner by either 

• clicking left inside the drawing area, or 

• typing the coordinates inside the X Coord / Y Coord fields (see “Entering Points using 

Cartesian Coordinates” on page 364). 


4. Probe the opposite corner. 

The rectangle is drawn. The tool is still active for further drawing. 

5. For finishing drawing you can either 

• choose another tool for drawing, or 

• choose the Exit Tool from the popup menu (see ”Popup Menu for Closed Geometry”). 

Popup Menu for Closed Geometry 

While drawing a closed geometry the following popup menu is available by clicking the right 

mouse button. 

Figure 307 Popup Menu While Drawing 


chosen. For example, if the tool is active but no point is positioned the functions 

Paste and Undo are deactivated. 

The following entries are given inside the popup menu: 

Closed Geometry Properties 

opens the dialog for defining the properties of the closed geometry. For details see 

“Closed Geometry Properties” on page 370. 


Paste 



After placing the first closed geometry you can repeat placing this geometry with the 

same properties. The following popup menu is provided: 

Figure 308 Popup Menu While Pasting 

Rotate 

opens a text field below the dashboard for entering the value of rotation. Positive 

values apply clockwise rotation angles, negative values apply counterclockwise 

angles. Entered values are applied either by using the Return key 

on your keyboard or the check mark. 

Figure 309 Popup Menu While Pasting, Rotate Option 

Undo 

cancels the last pasting. 

Dyn. scaling off 

switches off dynamic scaling in a scale view. After choosing this option it 

changes to Dyn. scaling on for switching it on again. 

Exit Tool 

quits pasting. 

Switch Center Lines On 

If you choose this entry, centerlines are displayed on the closed geometry that you create. 

The entry in the popup menu turns to Switch Center Lines Off in order to be able to 

switch off drawing centerlines. For details see “Centerline and Centerline Overlap” on 

page 372. 

Base Angle 

determines the angle at which closed geometry elements are drawn on the sheet. For 

details see “Base Angle” on page 371. 

Undo 

Exit Tool 

is used for canceling the last action. You can undo several actions. Its number 

depends on the number of actions stored to the history stack. 




Lines 

Closed Geometry Properties 

Choose the Opens closed geometry properties dialog tool to display the Closed Geometry Properties dialog. 

Figure 310 Closed Geometry Properties Dialog 

The following entries are given inside the Closed Geometry Properties dialog: 

Base Angle 

determines the angle at which closed geometry elements are drawn on the sheet. 

If you type a new angle - either positive or negative - in the Base angle field, and click OK 

the base angle is set for all closed geometry tools except for the tools inside the set of 

round-ended angled slots. For some examples see “Base Angle” on page 371. 

Center lines 

is the header for settings related to center lines. 

Add center lines at time of creation 

is the option for creating center lines for all closed geometry tools. 

Center lines overlap 

determines the amount by which the centerlines extend the outline of the element. 

Start Point Function, End Point Function 

Each button opens the Point Functions dialog for setting the appearance how a centerline 

finishes. Assuming a base angle of 0 degree the first button defines the end on the top 

of a vertical centerline and on the left of an horizontal centerline. The second button 

defines the ends vice versa (bottom and right). The edit fields on the right allow you to 

specify a point function by its number. 

Create 2D Features 

enables drawing of closed geometries as 2D features. See also “Activate 2D Features” 

on page 374. 


OK, Apply, Cancel, Help 




If you choose this entry centerlines are displayed on the closed geometry that you create. The 

entry in the popup menu turns to Switch Center Lines Off in order to be able to switch off drawing 

centerlines. For details see “Centerline and Centerline Overlap” on page 372. 

Base Angle 

The base angle determines the angle at which closed geometry elements are drawn on the 

sheet as shown in Figure 311. The base angle is set to +0.00000 degrees by default. 

Please note: The base angle cannot be set for the toolset of round-ended angled slots. 

Figure 311 Elements Created Using Different Base Angles 

Base angle 0 degrees Base angle 45 degrees 

To change the base angle: 

Base angle -30 degrees 

• Choose Base Angle... from the popup menu and enter a new angle in the Angle field. 

The following closed geometry elements you create with the current active tool are 

drawn using the defined angle. If you change the closed geometry tool the base angle 

is reset to the default value (0). 

• Open the properties dialog, then enter the new value in the Base angle field and click left 

on OK. 



Lines 

For all subsequent closed geometry elements you create, the defined angle is used. 

You can change this only inside the properties dialog by defining a new Base angle. 

Centerline and Centerline Overlap 

You can choose to display centerlines on the closed geometry that you create. The centerlines 

indicate the horizontal and vertical axis of the geometry rotated by the amount of the base angle 

as shown in Figure 311, “Elements Created Using Different Base Angles” on page 371. For the 

slot tools, the centerlines also pass through the center of the round-slot ends as shown in 

Figure 312. 

Figure 312 Displaying Centerlines on Slots 

Slot created by 

probing end points 

Slot created by 

probing center point 

and an end point 

You can specify whether centerlines are displayed by the following methods: 

• Choose Switch Centerlines On/Off from the popup menu. 

Centerlines are displayed (or not displayed) for all following closed geometry element 

you create with the current active tool. If you change the tool the option is set to default 

which is that centerlines are off. 

• Open the Closed Geometry Properties dialog, then click the Add centerlines at time of creation button 

and click left on OK. Centerlines are displayed (or not displayed) for all subsequent 

closed geometry elements you create. You can change this only inside the Closed Geometry 

Properties dialog by switching off the option Add centerlines at time of creation. 


Examples 

Creating Circle touching three Elements 



In the toolset for creating circles you find, beside others, the tool Creates a circle touching three elements. 

Figure 313 Toolset for Creating Circles 

This tool enables you, to create a circle tangentially at three elements. The elements may be 

lines or closed geometries, e.g. rectangles or circles. Figure 314 shows three examples. 

Figure 314 Example of Circles, which are created at three Elements 

Creating Polygons 

The toolset for creating polygons provides the tool Creates polygons - defined by an inscribed circle and 

Creates polygons - defined by a circumscribed circle. The figure below shows an example for each of 

them. For both tools you can specify the number of sides in the dashboard. If you want to draw 

a pentagon, for example, enter the number 5 for Sides. 

Figure 315 Example for creating polygons 



Lines 

2D Features 

All closed geometries can be created as 2D feature. This mode allows the shape and center 

lines to be grouped together. In principal it is possible by using all the tools, which are used to 

create closed geometries even you are not in 2D feature mode. One exception thereby are the 

tools for creating slots; they are especially explained in section “Creating Slots in 2D Feature 

Mode” on page 375. 

Activate 2D Features 

To enable drawing closed geometries as 2D features activate either the Create 2D Features option 

in the Switch dialog, which is opened by using the Options menu (see Figure 316, on page 374) or 

activate the Creates 2D Features switch of the Properties of closed Geometry dialog (see “Closed Geometry 

Properties” on page 370, Figure 310). 

Figure 316 Dialog Switches, Option for Creating 2D Features 

Please note: Consider that you can save the activation of 2D Features when saving the defaults 

at the end of the MEDUSA session. 

Dashboard 

The 2D Feature dashboard has a tool to add or remove center-lines and a tool to smash the 

2D Feature . Smashing has the same effect as if the shape was created conventionally. 

The 2D Feature dashboard also has a sub-dashboard to allow properties of the shape (outline) 

and center-lines to be set. 

The following figures show the dashboard while creating and selecting a closed geometry by 

the example of a box. 

Figure 317 Dashboard 2D Features: Create Box 


Figure 318 Dashboard 2D Features: Select Box 



Please note: Consider that the smash tool is only active when selecting a 2D Feature. It is 

not active while creating a 2D Feature. 

Properties 

The Properties button on the left of the dashboard opens the appropriate properties dialog for 

for the closed geometry. The parameters are the same as inside the dashboard. 

For a box the properties dialog looks like following: 

Figure 319 2D Features: Box Properties 

Please note: The display of the dashboard and the accordant properties dialog varies depending 

on the closed geometry which is created or selected. 

Creating Slots in 2D Feature Mode 

Once you are in 2D feature mode, the tools for creating round-ended angled slots are deactivated, 

now instead only one toolset is available for creating slots. With this tool you can create 

either horizontal and vertical or angled slots. 



Lines 

Figure 320 Tools to Create Slots in 2D Feature Mode 

1. Choose one of the tools for creating slots and click into the drawing to 

place the starting point of the slot. 

The dashboard of a closed geometry as 2D feature is displayed. 

Figure 321 Dashboard of a round-ended Slot 

In addition to the Width and Length field it displays the Rotation field and an input box for 

entering a numerical value, which is firstly deactivated. 

By default the option Horizontal/Vertical is displayed in the Rotation field. With this setting 

you can only create horizontal or vertical slots. 

2. Open the Rotation pulldown menu, in order to display the list of available options. 

Figure 322 Rotation Pulldown Menu 

Horizontal/Vertical 

creates horizontal or vertical slots (default setting) 

Free 

creates free rotatable slots; this option complies with the Creates a round-ended, 

angled slot ... tool , when 2D feature has not been activated. 

Custom 

creates a slot at a specified angle; when this option has been chosen, the input 

field at the right side is enabled and you can either enter the desired angle 

directly or by defining a value using the arrows. 

3. Choose one of the following options: 

• Free 

The slot is attached to the cursor and can be freely rotated around the starting point. 

Now you can place the slot at any angle on the sheet. 

• Custom 

Enter the desired angle in the appropriate field. 

The slot can now only be extended toward the given angle. 

4. Place a second point on the sheet, in order to create the slot. 


Offset Lines Tools 



MEDUSA provides three tools, which can be used to create a parallel line with a defined offset 

to a selected element. 

Figure 323 Tools to create an Offset Line to a selected Element 

The tools from left to right are: 

• Creates a line with angular corners traced around the selected element 

• Creates a line with chamfered corners traced around the selected element 

• Creates a line with filleted corners traced around the selected element 

In principle all three tools work in the same way. In the following the handling is exemplified with 

the first tool in detail. 

1. Draw e.g. a simple rectangle by using one of the tools to create lines. 

2. Choose the Creates a line with angular corners traced around the selected element tool . 

3. Select the rectangle. 

Top left of the drawing area the input field is displayed. 

4. When you move the mouse, you see a line attached to the cursor parallel traced 

around the selected rectangle. 

By moving the mouse you can create the line with an offset outside the rectangle (positive 

offset) or with an offset inside (negative offset) the rectangle. The input field displays 

the accordant offset value. 

5. Now you have the possibility to set the desired offset either: 

• By moving the mouse: 

Move the mouse as long as the line has the desired offset. Press the left mouse key 

to place the line on the sheet. Now, when you move the mouse, a line is attached to 

the cursor again and you can place it with another offset on the drawing. 

or 

• By entering a offset value into the input field: 

Enter either a positive or negative offset value in the Offset field and apply with the 

Return key. 

The line is created with the desired offset to the selected element on the sheet. 

You can repeat the procedure now as often as you want by inserting a new value. 

After having placed the line on the drawing the following popup menu is provided, 

when you press the right mouse key. 



Lines 

Figure 324 Popup Menu after having placed an Offset Line on the Sheet 

The following options are available: 

Reverse Offset 

changes a line created with a positive offset to a line with negative offset and vice 

versa. 

Reselect suspends the process and you can select another element, to which you want to 

create an offset line. The current tool remains active. 

Offset Filter ON/OFF 

controls, whether the offset line takes points from the original line which are not 

needed. If Offset Filter is ON, superfluous points are ignored for the offset line. 

Example: 

If two straight line segments of a line, from which you want to create an offset line, contain 

intermediate points, and you activate the option Offset Filter ON, the Offset line has 

no intermediate points. 

Figure 325 Example of the Offset Filter ON/OFF Option 

If the option is set to Offset Filter OFF, the offset line also contains intermediate points. 

Undo the placed line is removed and you can place a new one. 

Exit Tool quits the tool 




When you use the Creates a line with chamfered corners traced around the selected element tool , a second 

input field Cut is displayed next to the Offset field after selecting an element. 

Figure 326 Input Fields while Creating an Offset Line with Chamfered Corners 

The Cut value determines the position of the cut from the base line.The examples below show 

the evolution of the cut when changing the value from 0 to 1.414 for a square angle (square 

root). The default value is 1. 

Figure 327 Examples of different Cut Values for a square Angle 

The following figure shows another example with an acute angle. 

Figure 328 Example for an acute Angle 



Lines 

Line Properties 

Line properties determine what the line will look like on the sheet. All lines have the following 

properties: 

• Style 

• Layer 

• Color 

• Type 

• Thickness 

The properties of lines are displayed in the dashboard. For details on the dashboard see the 

chapter “Dashboard” on page 299. 

Style 

Layer 

Color 

Type 

Thickness 

Figure 329 Line Properties Dashboard 

Style Layer Color Type Thickness 

A style is a collection of properties that define what a line will look like, and the layer on 

which it is placed. For example, you can create a line style so that all lines created 

using this style have the same color and they are placed on the same layer. See “Line 

Styles” on page 381 for more information. 

The layer determines on which layer of the sheet a line is drawn. Changing the layer 

does not have a visible effect, except the layer is set to be invisible. 

See “Layers” on page 157 for more detailed information on layers. 

The color used to draw the line. You can edit and add colors to the set of default colors. 

changes the appearance of a line. The available line types are given in “Line Types” on 

page 382. 

is the line thickness. There are 8 different line thicknesses. 

Please note: The number of properties displayed for a Style depend on the line Type. For superlines 

you have additional entries as given in “Line Types” on page 382. 

For changing line properties see “Changing Properties” on page 384. 


Line Styles 



A line style is a collection of one or more line properties. For example, a line style may specify 

the line type, color and thickness of a line. Line styles are defined by your System Administrator 

who can tell you what the styles should be used for. 

Style Variants 

Each property of a line style can get a certain status. This is: 

• Used and locked - you cannot change these properties 

These properties are grayed out in the dashboard and in the Line Properties dialog. 

• Used but not locked - you can change these properties 

• Not used and not locked - any change of such a property is applied but the style is not 

recognized as variant and so the button of the dashboard turns not into yellow 

You can always change any property of the line which is not used by the style. 

If you change any of the properties of the line so that it is a variant from the standard style, then 

the background color of the generic button of the dashboard changes to yellow to show that 

this is a variant. 

For changing properties see “Changing Properties” on page 384. 

Using a Style Variant 

If you want to use the style of an existing line, including its variation, then: 

1. Select the line whose style you wish to use. 

The dashboard shows the style and the properties of the selected line. 

If the line is a variant, then the generic button of the dashboard changes to yellow. 

2. Select the generic button of the dashboard . 

3. Create points to define the line. 



Lines 

Line Types 

Figure 330 and Figure 331 show the available line types of MEDUSA separated to standard line 

types and modifiable decor lines. Decor lines have additional properties, which are width, pitch, 

aspect and shear. 

Figure 330 Standard Line Types 


Figure 331 Decor Line Types 

The following figure shows the frequently used line types again: 

Figure 332 Frequently Used Line Types 

Solid 

Chain 

Dotted 

Long Dash 

Short Dash 

Construction 

Group Area 



Construction and group area line types have specific uses. For details on them see “Construction 

Lines” on page 483 and ”Transformation”, “Creating Group Lines” on page 447. 



Lines 

Changing Properties 

You can change properties for a selected line either by using the dashboard or using the 

Line properties dialog. You also can change line properties for several selected lines at the same 

time or while drawing a line. All possibilities are described in the following sections. 

Please note: You may not be able to change line properties, if your site may have special conventions 

which control how lines are created for particular projects, for example, 

the layer on which they are stored. Properties which are locked for editing appear 

grayed out in the dashboard. If you change any of the properties of the line then 

the background color of the generic buttons (to the far left of the dashboard) 

changes to yellow to show that this is a variant style. A variant style is a style which 

has one or more properties that are altered from the original style settings. 

Using the Dashboard 

To change a property of a line directly inside the dashboard: 

1. Select a line on the sheet. 

The dashboard changes to show the properties of the selected element. 

2. Click left on the property you want to change (or click the arrow next to it, if one is 

present) in the dashboard. 

3. Select the new value for the property from the list of values displayed. 

The chosen property is changed for the selected element. 

Using the Line Properties Dialog 

For changing properties with the Line properties dialog do the following steps: 

1. Select the line you want to change. 

2. Click on the Properties button on the left of the dashboard. 

The Line properties dialog is displayed. The entries inside the Line properties dialog are the 

same as described for the dashboard on page 380. 

Figure 333 Line Properties Dialog 




3. If any entry you want to change is disabled (grayed out) click left on the button Style. 

The Style Creation Dialog opens: 

Figure 334 Style Creation Dialog 

4. Switch off the Lock option in the line of the property you want to change. 

5. Click left on the button Modify to apply the changes. 

6. Click left on the button Close to quit the Style Creation Dialog. 

Now you can adjust the unlocked line properties inside the Line Properties dialog. 

7. Make the changes you require, and press Apply. 

The changes are applied to the selected element. 

If you choose OK the changes are applied too but additionally the dialog is closed. 

If you choose Cancel the changes are not applied and the dialog is closed. 


You also can change line properties while creating or editing a line by using the Properties entry of 

the popup menu. 

To use the popup menu: 

1. Select one of the Create Line tools from the Lines + Edit tooltray. 

For example the tool Creates thick solid lines. 

2. Create the first point by probing inside the drawing area. 

3. Click right for displaying the popup menu. 

4. Click left on the Properties entry to open the Line properties dialog. 

5. Click left on the tab Line properties. 

The line properties are displayed (it looks similar to the Figure 333, “Line Properties 

Dialog” given above). 

6. Select another style from the Style pulldown menu. 

7. Apply the new style to the currently drawn line. 



Lines 

Changing Properties of More than One Line 

You also can change the properties of several selected lines at the same time. 

Please note: If a field does not have identical values for all selected lines then that field is left 

blank. 

1. Select the lines you want to change. 

The properties of the selected lines are displayed on the dashboard. 

If the lines do not have identical values for a particular property, then the appropriate 

field is left blank. 

2. Change one or more properties using the dashboard or the Line Properties dialog. 

The chosen properties are changed for all selected elements. 





You can display details about the properties of all points in a line. Assuming that a line is created 

or edited you can display the Line Properties dialog as follows: 

• Select Line Point Properties from the popup menu. 

• Click on the Properties button on the left of the dashboard. 

• If you have the Line Properties dialog displayed then just click on the Line Point Properties tab. 

Figure 335 Line Point Properties Dialog 

The Line Point Properties dialog displays: 

X, Y 

Horizontal and vertical coordinates of the point relative to the sheet origin. The coordinates 

are always displayed as cartesian coordinates. For details see “Point Coordinates” 

on page 388. 

Weight 

The Weight column shows the weight given to the invisible control point that determines 

the shape of an arc. The weight of a point is how much the arc is pulled towards the 

control point. The weight of all other points is set to 1. You can change the weight using 

the Modify the weight of the selected tangent arc tool. 

Line Functions 

Defines the geometry of the line segment that leads to the point. You cannot edit this 

field. The available entries are given in “Line Functions” on page 388. 


defines the appearance of the point. You can change these functions if you are editing 

the line. For details see “Point Functions” on page 389. 



Lines 

Point Coordinates 

The X and Y columns give the horizontal and vertical coordinates of the point relative to the 

sheet origin. The coordinates are always displayed as cartesian coordinates. 

By default the sheet origin is located at the lower left corner of the sheet at (0, 0). The position of 

the top right corner of the sheet depends on the size of the sheet selected. For example, a horizontal 

A4 sheet is 297 mm by 210 mm so the top right corner of a metric sheet would be the 

position (297,210) dependent on the sheet scale. The position of the sheet origin is dependent 

on the grid origin. (See “Modifying a Grid” on page 153 for further information.) 

To change the X or Y coordinate: 

1. Ensure that the selected line is in edit mode (that is, the current point is displayed and 

a dynamic line is displayed between the current point and the cursor). 

2. Select the Line Point Properties... option from the popup menu. 

3. Double click left in the X or Y coordinate field. 

4. Edit the value. 

5. Click Apply. 

Please note: You can only edit this information if the line is currently created or edited. 

Line Functions 

The Line functions column shows the line functions defining the geometry of the line segment that 

leads to the point. You cannot edit this field. Some examples of line functions are: 

Line Functions Descriptions 

Lin Straight line segment 

Clo Circular arc clockwise 

Ant Circular arc counter clockwise 

Arc Tangent point arc 

Inv Invisible line segment 

Nul Control point for a circular arc 

Cir 

Circle, 

first point is center, second point on circumference 

Con Control point for a tangent point arc 

Cen 

Circle, 

first point on circumference, second point is center 





The physical appearance of a point in a line is specified by its point function. Every point in a 

line has an associated point function. 

The point function is denoted by a number from 0 through 255 and a name having up to six 

characters. The point function at each point is used to define a symbol drawn at that point, such 

as an arrowhead or a cross. When you first create a point it is given a null point function, that is, 

it is not marked in any way. 

Point functions are divided into the following ranges: 

Ranges Point functions 

0 Null point function 

1 - 39 Default set of point functions 

40 - 50 User-assignable point functions 

51 - 100 Reserved for future MEDUSA development 

101 - 255 User-defined point functions 

If you change the point function, the appearance of the point is changed. For example, you 

could change a point without any function to an arrowhead. Some examples of the appearances 

of different point functions are shown in Figure 336. 

Figure 336 Point Functions 

Point function 8 Point function 11 Point function 25 Point function 34 

Using Gap Point Functions 

The gap point function can be used for a number of applications. For example, a leader line 

pointing to a part of an object crosses an existing line and makes the drawing confusing. If you 

create an additional point in the leader line at the intersection of the two lines and then specify a 

gap point function, a part of the leader line becomes invisible and prevents ambiguity. 

Figure 337 Application of the Gap Point Function 

Leader line may cause 

ambiguity 

Use of gap point function 

at point 2 reduces risk of amb 



Lines 

Arrowhead Point Functions 

The direction in which an arrowhead points depends on the line direction. In MEDUSA the following 

conventions are used for arrowheads: 

• Arrowheads facing right in the Point Functions dialog create arrowheads pointing in the 

current direction of the line 

• Arrowheads facing left in the Point Functions dialog create arrowheads pointing against 

the current direction of the line 

Arrowheads with point functions 30 through 33 inclusive are drawn with their bases on the 

required points. Figure 338 shows the effect of different point functions on an L-shaped line. 

Figure 338 Point Function Arrowheads 

Changing Point Functions 

You can replace an existing point function with one of the predefined symbols shown in “Standard 

Point Functions” on page 391 although the point functions used at your installation may be 

different to these. 

You can change point functions using either the Utilities menu or the Line Properties dialog. 

Changing Point Functions Using the Utilities Menu 

1. Choose Point Functions... from the Utilities menu. 

If you are not creating or editing a line, the dialog is grayed out. 


Figure 339 Standard Point Functions Disabled 



2. If you are not already creating or editing a line, move the cursor to the point that you 


The current point marker appears at the chosen point indicating that you can now 

change the point. The symbols inside the Point Functions dialog are enabled. 

Figure 340 Standard Point Functions 

Null point function 

Use this if you do not 

want a point function 

at the selected point. 

3. Choose a point function by clicking the appropriate button. 

The number of the point function appears in the Point function field and the point function 

on the sheet changes immediately. 

4. If you do not want to apply further point functions click the Close button. 

The dialog also can remain open while you go on working on your sheet. 



Lines 

Changing Point Functions Using the Line Properties Dialog 

To change point functions using the Line Properties dialog: 

1. If you are not already creating or editing a line, move the cursor to the point that you 


The current point marker appears at the chosen point indicating that you can change 

the point now. 

2. Select Line Point Properties... from the popup menu. 

The Line properties dialog opens displaying the tab Line Point Properties. 

3. To make the point current, to which you want to assign another point function, click left 

into the Point Functions input field of this point. 

4. Open the pulldown menu via the arrow button by using the left mouse key. The menu 

lists the point functions as symbols. 

Figure 341 Using Line Properties Dialog to Change Point Functions 

5. Select the desired point function/symbol in the list. 

6. Click the Apply button. 

The point function on the sheet changes promptly. 

7. If required, change other point functions. When you have finished, press the OK button 

to close the Line properties dialog. 

Using Named Point Functions 

The Point Functions pulldown menu displays only the point functions as symbol which are in the 

range from 0 to 34. These are provided with the standard product. However, furthermore you 

are able to assign functions between 35 - 255 to a point. These point functions do not have 

icons in the standard product and are displayed as plain numbers. The pulldown menu provides 

the Other option at the end of the list. 


Figure 342 Point Functions-Pulldown Menu - Others Option 



If you want to assign another function to a point than any from the standard set, proceed as 

follows. It is assumed that the line is still in edit mode. 

1. Select the Other entry in the Point Functions pulldown menu. 

2. Replace it with the number of the desired point function by typing the number into the 

field. 

3. Press Return. 

If a symbol has been assigned to the number, it is displayed in the table now. 

If no symbol has been assigned to the number, the number is displayed. 

4. Press the Apply button. 

The point function is displayed on the drawing, the dialog remains open for further 

entry. 

If you click OK, the point function is displayed on the drawing and the dialog closes. 

Please note: You should determine the symbols (if any) that are given if you select point functions 

40 through 50. You can use these point functions to draw any special points 

required at your installation, based on the point functions in the default set. 

Point functions 101 through 255 may also contain special symbols. These point functions can 

be defined as any symbol and do not have to be based on the default set of symbols. Ask your 

System Administrator if any of these or any other point functions have been used. 



Lines 

Trace a Line Tool 

MEDUSA provides a tool in the Lines + Edit tooltray which can be used to trace a complex line 

quickly and comfortably. The line may be both an open or closed geometry. The use of the 

Trace a line tool will be demonstrated with an example of a level. 

You wish to trace partially the outline of the level. 

1. Choose one of the Create line tools, e.g. 

2. First probe on the outline profile to set the starting point of the new line, after that set a 

second point, which defines the drawing direction, and at last probe the end point of 

your new line. 

Figure 343 Setting Starting point-, Direction- and Endpoint 

3. While you are in line edit mode choose the Trace a line tool . 

Please note: The Trace a line tool is only activated, when you probed the first point on the sheet. 

The line is traced promptly from the starting point in the direction, you defined with the 

second point, and ends at the last point, which you probed on the outline (Figure 343, 

left side). 


Figure 344 Traced Line 

4. Exit tool via the right mouse popup menu. 

The new line is still selected and can be edited. 


Trace a Line Tool 

In our example (Figure 344) the traced line has been moved to the right by using the Move 

option from the right mouse popup menu. 



Lines 

Overview of Edit Line Tools 

Figure 345 shows the edit line tools which are available in the Lines + Edit tooltray. 

Figure 345 Standard Edit Line Tools 

Change segment length 

Fit or remove smooth curve 

Divide segment 

Create or remove fillet 

Rotate segment 

Create or remove tangent point arcs 

Reverse points in line 

Move point 

Change tangent point arc 

Trims/Extends end segments of lines 

Extend line 

Orthogonalize line 

Split or join lines. 

Create or remove chamfer 

Rotate segment 

Create circular arcs or circles 

Hide or show line segment 

Delete point 

Change circular arc to tangent point arc 

Fillet lines 

Move Segments Chamfer lines 

The tools in the tool sets are described briefly below (see “Complex Line Editing” on page 400). 


Editing a Line 


Editing a Line 

You can make changes to a single point, to one or more line segments, or to the whole line. For 

example, you can edit a line by: 

• Adding a point to the line 

• Deleting a point from the line 

• Moving a point 

• Using the line editing tools, for example, to create a fillet, or to change the length or 

angle of a segment 

You can edit a line at any time, during or after its creation. You can use either the items in the 

popup menu for basic line editing or the tools in the Lines + Edit tooltray for more complex editing 

tasks. 

For editing a line you can choose between two methods. 

The first way for editing: 

1. Choose the Select tool from the toolbar. 

2. Move the cursor over the line you want to edit and click left. 

The line becomes selected and it is displayed highlighted. 

3. Choose Edit from the popup menu by clicking the right mouse button. 

The edit line icon is displayed in the status area showing that you are now editing 

the line. The current point marker appears against one of the points in the line. 

Now the current point can be edited. You have the following possibilities: 

• Use the editing entries in the popup menu. For details see “Edit Line Popup Menu” 

on page 398. 

• Use the editing tools from the Lines + Edit tooltray described in “Complex Line Editing” 

on page 400. 

• Use the Enter Coords dialog for defining new coordinates of the current point (see 

“Entering Points using Cartesian Coordinates” on page 364). 

The second way for editing: 

1. Move the cursor to the point in the line that you want to edit and double click left. 

The edit line icon appears in the status area to show that you are now editing the 

selected line. The current point marker appears against one of the points in the line. 

Now the current point can be edited. You have the same possibilities as described 

above for the first way of editing. 



Lines 

Edit Line Popup Menu 

If a line is in edit mode a popup menu is available by clicking right. 

Figure 346 Popup Menu While Editing a Line 


chosen. For example, if the current point is the end point of an arc the Flip entry is 

enabled. 

The Edit Line popup menu offers the following options: 

New Line 

finishes the currently edited line and sets up the function for drawing a new line. 

Close Line 

joins the first and last points in the line with a line segment. The current line is still 

active and you can go on editing this line. If you go on drawing after probing the next 

point of the line a new segment is drawn and the whole line is closed again between 

the current point marker (given by the arrow tick) and the start point of the line. 


joins the first and last points in the line with a line segment and it finishes the current 

line leaving you ready to start a new line. 

Move Point 

is used for shifting the current point to another position. If this item is chosen you can 

probe the new point by clicking left inside the drawing area, or entering coordinates 

directly (for details see “Entering Points using Cartesian Coordinates” on page 364). 

Delete Point 

removes the current point. The current point marker is set to the previous point. 



Edit Line Popup Menu 

Flip 

changes a clockwise arc to a counterclockwise arc. Flip is only enabled if the current 

line segment is an arc, for example created with the tool Create a fillet of specified radius 

from the tooltray Lines + Edit. 

Reverse Points in line 

changes the line direction. If this option is chosen the current point marker is placed at 

the neighbored segment and it is reverted. 

Undo, Redo 

Undo cancels the last action. The button Redo is activated after undoing the first time. 

You can undo several actions. Its number depends on the number of actions stored to 

the history stack. 


opens the Line Properties dialog which allows you to: 

• adjust the style of the current line inside the tab Line Properties. For details see “Line 


• adjust the coordinates of the current point inside the tab Line Point Properties. For 

details see “Line Point Properties” on page 387. 

Exit Tool 




Lines 

Complex Line Editing 

This chapter explains some complex line editing tools available inside the Lines + Edit tooltray 

shown in the “Overview of Edit Line Tools” on page 396. 

Complex line editing is, for example: 

• Changing the length of a line segment 

• Changing a line segment to a specified angle 

• Adding an arc to a line segment 

For editing lines, select a line and then click left on the edit line tool you want to work with. 

There are some tools which do not need edited elements. These tools are always available and 

they can be applied on lines without switching into edit mode. For explanations on these tools 

see “Miscellaneous Tools” on page 411. 

Change Segment Length 

These tools allow you to change the length of the current line segment (that is, the line segment 

between the current and previous point). 

Figure 347 Change Segment Length Tools 

From left to right, the tools are: 

Extend by factor 

extends a line by a certain factor. You can either type a value for the factor into an entry 

box which appears, or you can select a factor from the popup menu shown below. 

Figure 348 Extend by Factor Popup 

Double segment length 

doubles the length of the current segment. 

Halve segment length. 

shortens the length of the current segment by the half of its current length. 


Extend Line 



These tools allow you to extend the length of the current line segment (that is, the line segment 

between the current and previous point). 

Figure 349 Extend Line Tools 


Extend line 

allows you to extend or reduce the length of the current line segment by typing into the 

entry box which appears below the dashboard. The values in the entry boxes automatically 

update as you move your cursor. You can either: 

• Enter an Increment value by which to extend the line (positive or negative). 

• Enter an Absolute length for the line (positive or negative). 

• Move your cursor until the entry boxes show the required increment or absolute 

length and click left. 

Extend line to probed segment 

allows you to extend or reduce the length of the current line segment, so that the line 

meets another line segment 

Fit or Remove Smooth Curve 

These tools allow you to fit or remove a smooth curve through all the points of a selected line. 

Figure 350 Smooth Curve Tools 


Fit a smooth curve through the current line 

creates a smooth curve through all the points of a selected line. 

Remove the curve fitted through the current line 

is the reverse function of Fit a smooth curve through the current line. 



Lines 

Orthogonalize Line 

These tools allow you to replace sloping segments with horizontal and vertical segments inside 

the current line. 

Figure 351 Orthogonalize Line Tools 


Orthogonalize line within set tolerance 

changes the current line into horizontal and vertical lines according to the defined tolerance 

angle. This angle gives the maximum deviation of a line segment from the horizontal 

or vertical, in order that it will be orthogonalized. Segments which have larger 

deviation angles will not be orthogonalized. For defining the tolerance angle you have 

two possibilities: 

• Type a value into the edit field below the dashboard. 

• Choose a value from the popup menu. 9 entries are available from 5 to 45, step 5. 

Orthogonalize whole line 

changes the segments of the whole line into horizontal and vertical lines. No sloping 

segment remains. 

Divide Segment 

These tools allow you to divide the current line segment. 

Figure 352 Divide Line Tools 


Divide segment into specified number of divisions or at selected point 

splits the current segment into a certain number of equally-sized segments. You have 

the following possibilities: 

• Enter the number of resulting segments in the entry box appearing below the dashboard. 

• Probe the current segment to split it at a certain point. 

Divide segment into two 

splits the current segment into two equally-sized pieces. 


Split or Join Lines 

These tools allow you to split and join lines. 

Figure 353 Split and Join Line Tools 




Split segment about selected point 

If you select this tool, a new point is created at the current point, and the line is split into 

two. This new point is the last point in one line, which remains selected for editing. The 

old current point is the first point in the other line which becomes deselected. 

The line appears unchanged when you use this tool. Use the line navigation tool to 

examine the lines further (see “Navigating a Line” on page 416). 

Join current line to selected line 

When you use this tool, the current line is joined to the line you select by probing inside 

the drawing area. The duplicated point is deleted, and the complete line remains 

selected for editing. 

Create or Remove Fillets 

These tools allow you to create and delete fillets. 

Figure 354 Fillet Tools 


Create a fillet of specified radius 

deletes the current point and replaces it with two new points describing the start and 

end of the fillet. After choosing the tool an entry box appears below the dashboard for 

entering the radius of the fillet. Type in the value and either press the button Return 

on your keyboard or click left the check mark behind the entry field. 

Create a (tangent-point) fillet of specified radius 


end of the fillet. The difference to Create a fillet of specified radius is that the second point of 

the fillet is not the virtual center of the fillet arc but the crossing point of the tangents in 

the start and end point of the fillet arc. Use the Line Navigation tool to see this. 

Remove fillet 

deletes the fillet segment and replaces the original point. 



Lines 

Create or Remove Chamfers 

These tools allow you to create and delete chamfers. 

Figure 355 Chamfer Tools 


Create chamfer 


end of the chamfer. After choosing the tool an entry box appears below the dashboard 

for entering the lengths (1st Length and 2nd Length) for the chamfer. Type in the values and 

either press the button Return on your keyboard or click left the check mark behind 

the entry field. 

Remove chamfer 

deletes the chamfer segment and replaces the original point. 

Rotate Segment 

These tools are given in two separate tool sets. They allow you to rotate the current line segment 

around the previous point. 

Please note: Any other segments attached to the current point will also rotate. 

Figure 356 Rotate Segment Tools 


Rotate segment by fraction 

rotates the current segment by a specified value for fraction of the enclosed angle 

which is defined as angle between current and last segment. You can either: 

• type a Fraction into the entry box which appears and press Return, or 

• move the cursor until the line is positioned correctly and click left to place the new 

point, or 

• use the popup menu which provides the values quadruple, triple, double, half, third and 

quarter for Fraction. 

Rotate segment, halving angle 

rotates the current segment by half of the angle against the previous segment. 




Rotate segment, doubling angle 

rotates the current segment by doubling the angle against the previous segment. 

Rotate segment by specified angle 

rotates the current segment counterclockwise by the value for an angle using degrees. 

To specify the new angle either: 

• type an Increment or an Absolute angle into the entry box which appears below the 

dashboard and press Return, or 

• move the cursor until the line is positioned correctly, and click left, or 

• select one of the options (90 degrees, 45 degrees, -45 degrees, -90 degrees) from the popup 

menu. 

Rotate segment by +90 degrees 

rotates the current segment counterclockwise by 90 degrees. 

Rotate segment by -90 degrees 

rotates the current segment clockwise by 90 degrees. 

Create Arcs or Circles 

These tools are given in two separate tool sets. They allow you to create arcs or circles at or 

around the current point. 

Figure 357 Create Arcs and Circles Tools 


Create tangent point elliptical arc 

Create tangent point parabolic arc 

Create tangent point conic arc 

These tools create elliptical, parabolic or conic arcs beginning at the current point. Use 

the first probe to define the end point of the arc, and a second probe to define the vertex 

of the arc. 

Center point circular arc 

creates an arc beginning at the current point. Use one probe to define the end point of 

the arc, and a second to define the center point of the arc. The popup menu allows you 

to draw the arc at the opposite side of the center by choosing the entry Flip. 

Circular arc through three points 

creates an arc beginning at the current point. Use one probe to define the end point of 

the arc, and a second to define a point on the arc circumference. Instead of the second 

probe you also can type in the Radius or Diameter inside the edit fields appearing below 

the dashboard after probing the end point of the arc. 

Create circle 

creates a circle around the current point. Use one probe to define a point on the circle 



Lines 

circumference. Instead of probing you also can type in the Radius or Diameter inside the 

edit fields appearing below the dashboard. 

Create segments tangential to surfaces 

creates an arc which starts and ends tangential at two probed surfaces. After choosing 

the tool look at the message area for the further steps to do. 

The following figure gives an example: 

Figure 358 Example for Creating Segments Tangential to Surfaces 

edited line 

first probed surface 

second probed surface 

mouse pointer with attached rubber band 

After probing the tangent points the Tangent Arc dialog comes up. 


Figure 359 Tangent Arc Dialog and an Example for the Resulting Tangential Arc 

displayed arc after 

applying the settings 

given in the dialog 

Choose the options and Apply for displaying the result. 

Choose OK for final confirmation of the arc you want to use. 

Change Arcs 

These tools allow you to change the shape of an existing arc. 

Figure 360 Change Arc Tools 




Modify the weight of the selected tangent arc 

changes the weight of the selected tangent arc. 

To apply this tool, edit a line with a tangent point arc, move the current point marker to 

the tangent intersection point of the arc and choose this tool. You can now change the 

weight either by entering a value in the text field below the dashboard, or by probing on 

the sheet (on the line specified in the example below). 



Lines 

Figure 361 Example Modify Weight of Tangent Arc 

Change curve of the selected tangent arc 

changes the curve of a tangent arc by probing on the sheet. The application of this tool 

works similar to the tool Modify the weight of the selected tangent arc except that you cannot 

enter a certain value. The following figure illustrates how to work with this tool. 


Figure 362 Example Modify Curve of Tangent Arc 



Convert the selected circular arc to a tangent point arc 

converts a circular arc to a tangent arc. Following figure shows the result: 



Lines 

Figure 363 Example Convert Circular Arc to Tangent Arc 

center point of a circular arc 

circular arc 

tangent arc converted from 

circular arc 

tangent point of the tangent arc 

mouse cursor with rubber band 

at tangent point 


Other Tools 



The following tools are either self-explaining or they are also available in the popup menu (see 

“Edit Line Popup Menu” on page 398). 

Figure 364 Other Tools 

Miscellaneous Tools 

This section contains the explanations on tools which are available independent from editing a 

line or not. 

Figure 365 Miscellaneous Tools 


Trims/extends end segments of lines 

trims or extends non-selected straight line segments against all or selected boundary 

lines of any shape. For details see “Trim/Extend End Segments of Lines” on page 412. 

Fillet lines 

Reverse Points in Line 

Change current point into 1st point 

Move Point 

Hide or Show the line segment 

Delete Point 

This tool enables you 

a. to fillet any corner of connected line segments with a defined radius, and 

b. to insert a fillet between single, not connected line segments, which are arranged in 

an angle to each other, and to join them, if desired. 

For details see “Fillet Lines” on page 413. 

Note that this tool does not work on arcs. If you want to fillet an arc with an adjoining 

segment, edit the line and use the tools described in “Create or Remove Fillets” on 

page 403. 

Chamfer lines 

This tool works in the same way as the tool Fillet Lines, except that instead of fillets 

chamfers are created. For details see “Chamfer Lines” on page 415. 

Move segments 

moves the selected segment. Movement is restricted by neighbored segments in order 

to prevent destructed shapes and indefinite situations. For details see “Moving Segments” 

on page 415. 



Lines 

Trim/Extend End Segments of Lines 

After selecting the tool Trims/extends end segments of lines the following popup menu is available: 

Options 

Apply 

Undo 

Redo 

Figure 366 Trim/Extend Segments Popup 

opens the Line Trim/Extend dialog which provides the following entries: 

Trim or Extend against a selected boundary. Only one of these options is available. 

If you move the cursor inside the selected boundary any line which can be 

trimmed/extended and which is close to the cursor is displayed as being 

trimmed/extended. For applying trimming/extension click left as you see the 

trimming/extension result. 

If the mode Pick-N-Drop is selected Trim and Extend are disabled. 

Ignore Boundaries is used for switching off the ability to select a boundary used for placing 

a line end point after trimming. This option is only available in Pick-N-Drop mode. 

Pick-N-Drop is used for picking an end point of a line and move the point to its final trim/ 

extend position which is defined by crossing points with other segments on the 

sheet. 

is used for terminating boundary lines selection. 

cancels the last action. You can cancel several actions you did last time. 

does again the last canceled action. It is disabled until the first Undo is done. 

Re-pick end point 

is used for picking another end point. It is enabled after picking an end point in case of 

Pick-N-Drop mode. 

Exit Tool 


opens the dialog 


Fillet Lines 

After selecting the tool Fillet lines the following popup menu is available: 

Figure 367 Fillet Lines Popup 



Join and Insert 

is used for filleting line segments and connecting them, if they are not connected 

(details are given below). By default this option is switched on, indicated by the check 

mark . Each click on this option toggles its activity. If Trace Old Line was active before, 

switching on this option deactivates Trace Old Line. 

Trace Old Line 

keeps the selected line segments and puts additionally a new line consisting of the 

selected segments (or shortened or extended versions of them) and the filleting arc on 

the sheet. If Join and Insert is switched on, Trace Old Line is deactivated and can be chosen 

not until Join and Insert is switched off. By default this option is deactivated. 

Create Tangent Arcs 

is used for changing standard arcs (fillets) into tangent arcs create them of that ilk. 

By default this option is deactivated. The option is activated by clicking on it. In this 

case a checkmark is displayed. 

Undo 

Redo 

Exit Tool 

cancels the last action. You can cancel several actions. 

does again the last canceled action. It is disabled until the first Undo is done. 


After selecting the tool Fillet lines first enter the radius for the fillet inside the edit field below the 

dashboard and press Return or click left on the check mark behind the edit field. Consider that 

a Radius of zero creates a corner. 

Now you can either select connected or non-connected line segments for filleting. 

• Connected Line Segments: 

You can fillet a single corner or several corners at the same time. 

For filleting a single corner click on it with the left mouse button. If the fillet does not fit 

it remains unchanged and a message appears. 



Lines 

For filleting several corners of a line in one work step, press the left mouse button and 

select any desired corners by drawing a selection frame. As soon as you release the 

left mouse button, any corners are filleted at the same time. If a fillet does not fit, the 

appropriate corner remains unchanged. 

• Non-Connected Line Segments: 

Non-connected line segments can be joined and filleted using the middle mouse button. 

You can select only two line segments. After selecting the first line segment, it will 

be displayed blue. After selecting the second segment, joining and filleting lines is performed 

according to the selected option Join and Insert or Trace Old Line. 

We distinguish three cases: 

• If the option Join and Insert is on, line segments are either extended or shortened in 

order to add the filleting arc. The result is a single line consisting of the selected line 

segments (perhaps extended or shortened) and the new filleting arc. Only if a segment 

would be shortened to zero, filleting is aborted giving a message. 

• If the option Trace Old Line is on, filleting is performed in the same way as for the 

option Join and Insert except that the selected line segments are kept. 

• If both options are off, fillets are only inserted, when the radius causes the selected 

line segments to be extended. If the radius is too high and the segments would be 

shortened for inserting the fillet, fillteting is aborted and a message appears. 

The following figure shows some examples. 

Figure 368 Example of Inserting Fillets between Line Segments and Joining the Lines 

A 

B 

C 

Row A shows the input line segments. 


Chamfer Lines 



Row B shows the inserted fillets when using option Trace Old Line. The single line segments 

are not modified and remain unchanged. 

Row C shows how the fillets are inserted and the line segments are joined to one line, 

when the mode Join and Insert is used. In this case the selected line segments were 

removed and a new line is created. 

A chamfer is defined by two values. 1st Length and 2nd Length. The succession of using these values 

depends on the line direction. In the example below all corners of the rectangle were chamfered. 

The original rectangle is visible. The line direction is counterclockwise and the value of 

the 2nd Length is twice as big as that one of the 1st Length. 

Figure 369 Example for Inserting Chamfers 

Moving Segments 

Moving segments is done by clicking left on the segment you want to move and then moving the 

mouse cursor. The final position of the segment can be determined either by: 

• clicking left inside the drawing area, or 

• typing values inside the edit fields below the dashboard. 

The edit fields provide either coordinate entries (for x and y axis) or a radius value (for 

fillets and chamfers). 

Fillets are adjusted automatically in its radii while moving the mouse cursor. 



Lines 

Navigating a Line 

A major part of editing lines involves navigating around the points in the line in order to select 

points. This section describes how you do this using the Line Navigation tool. 

Please note: When the line edit icon is displayed in the status area, you can move the cursor 

to a point in the selected line and middle click (or press the Shift key and left 

click). This takes you to the specified point in the line and makes this point the current 

point. 

Line Navigation Tool 

You can navigate along a line that you are creating or editing to find out its direction or move to 

a particular point using the Line Navigation tool available inside the toolbar by default. For details 

on the toolbar and its customization see “Toolbar” on page 34. 

If the Line Navigation tool is not available inside the toolbar: 

1. Move the cursor upon the toolbar and click right. 

The popup menu for selecting tools which are displayed inside the tool bar are given. 

2. Click left on the Line Navigation tool. 

The popup menu closes and the Line Navigation tool is displayed inside the toolbar. 

If no line is created or edited currently the buttons of the Line Navigation tool are disabled. 

If you draw a new line or if you edit a line the Line Navigation buttons are enabled. 

To use the Line Navigation tool: 

1. Move the cursor to the line you want to work on and double left click. 

This selects the line and puts it into edit mode. 

2. Navigate around the line by clicking on the Line Navigation buttons given in Figure 370. 

Figure 370 Line Navigation Buttons 

First point in line 

Previous point 

in line 

Move point 

Last point in line 

Reverse Next point 

direction of line in line 

Delete point 


Reversing the Line Direction 


Navigating a Line 

Reversing a line numbers the points in the opposite direction. The shape of the line is not 

changed. You can only reverse the line direction when you are creating or editing a line. 

Reversing the line direction is useful when you are adding a new point to a line or making 

changes to line segments. This application of reversing the direction of a line to add points is 

demonstrated in Figure 371. 

If you add a new point at the cursor position you would end up with one of two shapes depending 

on the direction of the line. 

Figure 371 Result after Point Added, Dependent on Line Direction 

4 

5 

2 

1 

3 4 

3 2 

5 

1 

Please note: When you reverse a line the point functions may change because some of them 

depend on the line direction (e.g. arrows). See your System Administrator for further 

information. 

There are three ways to reverse a line (assuming that currently a line is created or edited). You 

can: 

• Choose Reverse Points in Line from the popup menu (when the cursor is positioned in the 

drawing area). 

See “Editing a Line” on page 397. 

• Click the Reverse Points in Line button in the Lines + Edit tooltray. 

See “Overview of Edit Line Tools” on page 396. 

• Click the Reverse Points in Line button in the Line Navigation tool. 

See Figure 370, “Line Navigation Buttons” on page 416. 



Lines 


2D MODELING 

This chapter describes how to use MEDUSA’s 2D modeling functionality. 

• Introduction to 2D Modeling ................................................... 420 

• Centerlines, Hidden Lines and Crosshatching....................... 421 

• Sweeping Profiles .................................................................. 424 

• Edge Projection...................................................................... 427 

• Popup Menu........................................................................... 428 

• Project End Elevations of Shafts and Holes .......................... 429 

• Rotate Profiles to Form Shafts............................................... 431 

• Rotate Profiles to Form Sectioned Shafts.............................. 432 

• Rotate Profiles to Form Sectioned Holes............................... 433 

• Restore Profiles ..................................................................... 434 




2D Modeling 

Introduction to 2D Modeling 

With MEDUSA’s 2D modeling functionality, you can quickly produce orthogonal views within a 

2D drawing from the minimum of geometry. Once you have created an initial view, using existing 

drafting facilities, you can then create orthogonal views of the geometry contained in the initial 

view. 

The following modeling operations enable you to produce orthogonal views from an initial geometric 

view: 

• Profile extrusion 

• Shaft volume of revolution 

• Sectioned shaft volume of revolution 

• Sectioned hole volume of revolution 

• Volume of revolution end view 

• Edge projection 

2D Modeling Tools 

The following figure shows the 2D modeling tools, which you can find in the Lines + Edit tooltray of 

the Complete set of tooltrays. 

Figure 372 2D Modeling Tool 

Sweeps profiles 

Projects end elevations of shafts 

Rotates profiles to form shafts 

Rotates profiles to form 

sectioned shafts 

Projects surfaces from profiles 

Projects end elevations of holes 

Restores profiles 

Rotates profiles to form 

sectioned holes 


Centerlines, Hidden Lines and Crosshatching 



A Properties dialog associated with each 2D modeling tool (except Create surfaces from profiles and 

Restore Profiles) allows you to define whether you wish to create centerlines or hidden lines as 

default when you use the modeling tool. 

To display the Properties dialog for a tool: 

1. Move your cursor over the tool in the tooltray. 

2. Press the right mouse button to display the popup menu. 

3. Select Properties.... 

The properties dialog opens which looks similar to that one in the figure below. 

Figure 373 Sectioned Shaft Properties Dialog 

The following parameters and buttons are offered: 

Create centerlines 

If this option has a check mark centerlines are drawn. For examples see “Create Centerlines” 

on page 422. 

Create hidden lines 

If this option has a check mark hidden lines are drawn. For examples see “Show Hidden 

Lines” on page 422. 

Hidden line style 

is only available if Create hidden lines is chosen. It sets the line style of hidden lines. 

Create crosshatching 

Only available for the tool Rotate profiles to form sectioned shafts tool described in “Rotate Profiles 

to Form Sectioned Shafts” on page 432. 

If this option has a check mark sectioned areas are drawn crosshatched. For examples 

see “Create Crosshatching” on page 423. 

OK, Cancel, Help 


Defaults 

resets the properties to the default values. 

Please note: When using the 2D modeling tools, you can override the defaults using the centerlines, 

hidden lines, and crosshatching options in the popup menus. 



2D Modeling 

Create Centerlines 

Select the Create centerlines choice box inside the properties dialog to define the centerpoint of any 

2D modelled view with centerlines. An example of this is illustrated in Figure 374. 

Figure 374 Showing Centerlines 

Selected geometry 

Show Hidden Lines 

Axis of rotation 

Direction of view 


Select the Show hidden lines choice box to draw lines that would normally be hidden from view 

direction. When you select this choice box, the Hidden line type text entry box becomes active. 

Enter the line style that you want to use for hidden lines. The default style is L1. 

An example of showing and hiding normally hidden lines is illustrated in Figure 375. 

Created 

centerlines 


Figure 375 Showing and Hiding Normally Hidden Lines 


Create Crosshatching 



Select the Create crosshatching choice box to create crosshatching with the sectioned shaft volume 

of revolution operation. An example of showing crosshatching is illustrated in Figure 376. 

Figure 376 Showing Crosshatching 






Result 

Show hidden lines 

Omit hidden lines 



2D Modeling 

Sweeping Profiles 

Profile sampling is a 2D modeling operation that produces an orthogonal view from selected 

geometry. The orthogonal view created is that which you would see by looking at the selected 

geometry from a specified view direction. An example of this is illustrated in Figure 377. 

Figure 377 Example of Profile Sampling 


Popup Menu While Sweeping a Profile 

While sweeping a profile you use the popup menu available by clicking the right mouse button. 

Figure 378 Popup Sweep Profiles 

Sampling distance 

View direction 


Swept view created from 

selected geometry 



Sweeping Profiles 

View Direction 

sets up MEDUSA for probing two points for the direction of view. The first probed point 

is the from point (see the message area for Enter from point) and the second point is the 

to point (the message area displays Enter to point). 

View Direction... 

opens the View Direction dialog. For details see “View Direction Dialog” on page 425. 


The check mark in front of this entry shows that drawing centerlines is switched on 

which is the default setting. If you click left on the entry Create centerlines the check mark 

disappears and the option is deactivated. 


Drawing hidden lines is off (default). If you click left on Create hidden lines, hidden lines will 

be drawn for the resulting profile, a check mark appears in front of the entry and the 

option is activated. 

Undo 

Exit Tool 




View Direction Dialog 

The View Direction dialog allows you to specify the direction from which you look on the profile. 

This view is used for sweeping the profile. For defining the view direction you can either choose 

an arrow or insert a value for an angle. 

While sweeping a profile open the popup menu by clicking the right mouse button and choose 

the View Direction... entry for displaying the View Direction dialog. 

Figure 379 View Direction Dialog 

The dialog offers the following entries: 

Arrow field 

is used for defining the view direction by fixed angles from 0 to 315 degree, step 45 



2D Modeling 

degree. The arrowhead points to the profile. For example, the horizontal arrow on the 

left pointing to the right means that the profile is swept from the left. It is like you would 

stay at this position and look into the direction of the profile. 

View Direction 

shows the value for the angle defining the view direction. For example, 270 degree is 

used for sweeping the profile from the bottom. 

Performing Profile Sampling 

You perform profile sampling by doing the following steps: 

1. Choose the Sweep Profiles tool . 

2. Select the geometry on which you want to perform profile sampling. 

3. Select one of the View Direction items from the popup menu in order to define the view of 

the geometry which is swept. 

For details for defining the view direction see “Popup Menu While Sweeping a Profile” 

on page 424 and “View Direction Dialog” on page 425. 

4. Specify the angle and distance of the extrusion. 

According to the choice of step 3 you can either 

• make two probes whilst the first one is the from point and the second one is the to 

point, or 

• choose an arrow or type in the angle of extrusion inside the View Direction field. 

Now MEDUSA knows from where to see the geometry for sweeping the profile. 

5. Make a probe to define the datum point which defines where to begin the sampling 

(the message area displays Enter datum point). 

6. Define the depth point which defines the distance for which the sampling is made (the 

message area displays Enter depth point). You can either 

• make another probe to define the distance, or 

• type a numerical distance in the Distance edit field appearing below the dashboard. 

The profile is swept from the desired view direction at the defined datum point with the 

specified depth. 


Edge Projection 


Edge Projection 

Edge projection is a 2D modeling operation that creates a face from an object. The line created 

is that which you would see by looking along a specified view direction at the edge of the 

selected geometry, which is considered to be of zero thickness. You can create points of interest 

on the face to aid subsequent construction. An example of edge projection is illustrated in 

Figure 380. 

Figure 380 Example of Edge Projection 


To perform edge projection: 

View direction 

1. Choose the Project surfaces from profiles tool . 

2. Select the geometry on which you want to perform edge projection. 

3. Choose the type of view you wish to create from the popup menu. 

You can choose either 

• Horizontal View to create edges perpendicular to the horizontal viewing direction from 

the selected data (this item is the default), or 

• Vertical View to create edges perpendicular to the vertical viewing direction from the 

selected data, or 

• Oblique View to make two probes in the drawing area to specify the direction of viewing 

(whilst the first probe is the from point and the second one is the to point). 

The edge projection is displayed attached to the mouse cursor. 

4. Make a probe to specify the datum point. 

The edge projection is placed inside the drawing area at the position you defined. 


Edge projection


2D Modeling 

Popup Menu 

The popup menu described in this chapter is valid for all the tools which create rotation profiles, 

elevations and sections. These tools are described in: 

• “Project End Elevations of Shafts and Holes” on page 429 

• “Rotate Profiles to Form Shafts” on page 431 

• “Rotate Profiles to Form Sectioned Shafts” on page 432 

• “Rotate Profiles to Form Sectioned Holes” on page 433 

While rotating a profile the following popup menu is available by clicking the right mouse button. 

Figure 381 Popup Rotate Profiles 


Axis of Rotation 

defines the rotation axis by making two probes in the drawing area (whilst the first 

probe is the from point and the second one is the to point). 


The check mark in front of this entry shows that drawing centerlines is switched on 

which is the default setting. If you click left on the entry Create centerlines the check mark 

disappears and the option is deactivated. 


Drawing hidden lines is off (default). If you click left on Create hidden lines, hidden lines will 

be drawn for the resulting profile, a check mark appears in front of the entry and the 

option is activated. 

Create crosshatching 

Only available for the tool Rotate profiles to form sectioned shafts described in “Rotate Profiles 

to Form Sectioned Shafts” on page 432. 

Undo 

Exit Tool 





Project End Elevations of Shafts and Holes 


Project End Elevations of Shafts and Holes 

End elevation is a 2D modeling operation that produces an orthogonal view from selected 

geometry. The orthogonal view created is that which you would see along the axis of rotation by 

revolving the selected geometry around a given axis to produce a solid shaft. You can use end 

elevation to produce end views either of a shaft or a hole. 

To create an end elevation: 

1. Choose either the Project end elevation of shafts tool or the Project end elevation of holes 

tool . 

2. Select the geometry on which you want to create an end elevation. 

In Figure 382, “Shaft End View” and Figure 383, “Hole End View” on page 430 this is 

the left-hand geometry in each case. 

3. Use the popup menu to define whether you want to create or omit centerlines and hidden 

lines. 

For details see “Popup Menu” on page 428. 

4. Select Axis of Rotation from the popup menu. 

5. Make two probes in the drawing area to define the axis of rotation (the first probe is the 

from point and the second one is the to point). 

The end elevation is attached to the mouse cursor and you can move it in x-direction to 

the left or right. 

6. Move the end elevation to its target position and click left to specify the datum point. 

The end elevation is placed at the specified datum point. 

Figure 382 Shaft End View 



2D Modeling 

Figure 383 Hole End View 


Rotate Profiles to Form Shafts 


Rotate Profiles to Form Shafts 

Rotate profile to form a shaft is a 2D modeling operation that produces an orthogonal view from 

selected geometry. The orthogonal view created is that which you would see by revolving the 

selected geometry around a given axis to produce a solid shaft. An example of this is illustrated 

in Figure 384. 

Figure 384 Example of Rotating a Profile to Form a Shaft 

To perform rotating a profile to form a shaft: 

1. If needed draw the axis of rotation at the geometry you want to work on. 

For example, in Figure 384, “Example of Rotating a Profile to Form a Shaft” you need 

not to do this because the upper two points can be used for defining the axis of rotation. 

2. Choose the Rotate profiles to form shafts tool . 

3. Select the geometry which you want to rotate. 


lines. 

For details on the popup menu see “Popup Menu” on page 428. See also “Centerlines, 

Hidden Lines and Crosshatching” on page 421. 


6. Make two probes in the drawing area to define the axis of rotation whilst the first probe 

is the from point and the second one is the to point. 

The selected geometry is rotated at the rotation axis you defined and you get the 

desired result. 



2D Modeling 

Rotate Profiles to Form Sectioned Shafts 

Rotate profiles to form sectioned shafts is a 2D modeling operation that produces an orthogonal 

view from selected geometry. The orthogonal view created is that which you would see by 

revolving the selected geometry around a given axis to produce a solid shaft that has been sectioned 

along its central axis. An example of this is illustrated in Figure 385. 

Figure 385 Example of Sectioned Shaft Volume of Revolution 



To rotate a profile to form a sectioned shaft: 

Result 

1. Choose the Rotate profiles to form sectioned shafts tool . 


3. Use the popup menu to define whether you want to create or omit centerlines, hidden 

lines and crosshatching. 




5. Make two probes in the drawing area to define the axis of rotation. 




Rotate Profiles to Form Sectioned Holes 


Rotate Profiles to Form Sectioned Holes 

Rotate profiles to form sectioned holes is a 2D modeling operation that produces an orthogonal 

view from selected geometry. The orthogonal view created is that which you would see by 

revolving the selected geometry around a given axis to produce a sectioned hole. An example 

of this is illustrated in Figure 386. 

Figure 386 Example of Sectioned Hole Volume of Revolution 

To rotate a profile to form a sectioned hole: 

1. Choose the Rotate profiles to form sectioned holes tool . 



lines. 




5. Select two points in the drawing area to define the axis of rotation. 





2D Modeling 

Restore Profiles 

You can restore profiles after performing the following 2D modeling operations: 

• ”Sweeping Profiles” 

• ”Edge Projection” 

• ”Rotate Profiles to Form Shafts” 

• ”Rotate Profiles to Form Sectioned Shafts” 

• ”Rotate Profiles to Form Sectioned Holes” 

The Restore profile tool deletes the geometry that has been created using 2D modeling facilities 

and retrieves its original profile. 

To restore a profile: 

1. Choose the Restore profile tool . 

The following dialog opens: 

Figure 387 Restore Profile Dialog 

As long as no profile is selected all entries are disabled except the buttons Cancel and 

Help. 

2. Select the modeled geometry whose profile shall be restored by clicking left near to it 

inside the drawing area. 

At this stage you can select components only. This is also given in the message area 

by the entry Choose a component. 

3. Click Continue to replace the component with the original geometry. 

The original geometry is displayed again. The Restore Profile dialog remains open but the 

entries are disabled (except the buttons Cancel and Help) until you select a further component. 


TRANSFORMATION 


This chapter describes the tools in MEDUSA which enable you to transform elements. 

• Overview................................................................................ 436 

• Transformation on Selected Elements ................................... 437 

• Move Elements.............................................................. 437 

• Rotate Elements ............................................................ 440 

• Mirror Elements ............................................................. 441 

• Shear Elements............................................................. 443 

• Magnify Elements.......................................................... 444 

• Create Arrays ................................................................ 444 

• Transformation of Text Elements................................... 446 

• Boundary Groups................................................................... 447 

• Dynamically Aligning Geometry Along a Line ........................ 450 

• Move Geometry by Grid Spacing ........................................... 451 

• Move Selected Points ............................................................ 452 

• Connect and Clear Lines ....................................................... 453 



Transformation 

Overview 

Once you select elements you can transform them. For example, you can move, rotate, mirror 

and so on. Transformation tools are located in the Creation Tools tooltray, and they are shown in 

Figure 388. Many of the tools allow you to transform the selected elements or to make a copy of 

them and transform the copied elements. 

Transformation tools also include the creation and deletion of group lines because these lines 

are used for marking several elements which then can be transformed the same way. 

Figure 388 Transformation Tools 

Move selected elements 

Mirror selected elements 

Shear selected elements vertically 

Magnify selected elements 

Transform points enclosed by group lines 

Create freehand group line 

Move selected points 

Connect lines 

Rotate selected elements 

Duplicate and mirror selected elements 

Shear selected elements horizontally 

Create an array of elements 

Create group line box 

Delete all group lines 

Dynamically align and move geometry by 

grid space 

Clear lines 


Transformation on Selected Elements 



This chapter gives you an overview of the transformation tools which are applied on already 


Figure 389 Tools for Transforming Selected Elements 

Please note: If no element is selected the tools in the figure above are disabled. 

Move Elements 

Selected elements can be moved on the sheet. In MEDUSA you have two possibilities to move 

elements: 

• using the popup menu, available in the drawing area, and 

• using the toolset in the tooltray Creation Tools. 

Using the Popup Menu in the Drawing Area 

In the popup menu, available with a right click on the drawing area, there is a move function for 

easy handling. 

Figure 390 Popup Menu Option Move 

And this is how it works: 

1. Select elements on the sheet. 

2. Choose the option Move from the popup menu. 

The selected elements are attached to the crosshair. 

Now you have the possibility inside a further popup menu to choose another datum 

point or to exit the function. 




Figure 391 Popup Menu during the Move 

Please note: You can change the default function in the file defaults.dat by changing the entry 

given below to true (then you have to re-compile the defaults, see Customization 

Guide, chapter Running MEDCONFIG). If the default function has been 

changed, you have to define the datum first before you can move by either typing 

values into the text fields below the dashboard, or clicking left into the drawing 

area. The popup menu remains unchanged. 

Entry in the file defaults.dat: 

gen_move_bydatum boolean false 

Toolset 

3. Place the selected elements by clicking left into the drawing area. 

Additionally you can duplicate the selected elements and you can repeat the movement of 

duplicated elements. 

Figure 392 Move Toolset 

From left to right you find the tools Move the selected elements, Duplicates and moves the selected elements 

and Duplicates and moves the selected elements with an optional repeat. The tool name is self-explaining 

therefore we left out a further description. The following sections give you information on the 

popup menu and the steps for moving elements. 

Popup Menu of the Tools 

If you chose one of the move tools the following popup menu is available: 

Move 

Figure 393 Popup Menu of the Move Tools 

switches to the tool Move the selected elements. This entry is disabled if the current move 

tool is already Move the selected elements. 




Duplicate and Move 

switches to the tool Duplicates and moves the selected elements. This entry is disabled if the current 

move tool is already Duplicates and moves the selected elements. 

Multiple Duplicate and Move 

switches to the tool Duplicates and moves the selected elements with an optional repeat. This entry is 

disabled if the current move tool is already Duplicates and moves the selected elements with an 

optional repeat. 

Undo, Exit Tool 


How to Move Elements 


2. Choose one of the tools for moving as given in Figure 392, “Move Toolset”. 

Now you can move the elements. If you want the elements to be duplicated or 

repeated use the popup menu for switching the function (see “Popup Menu of the 

Tools” on page 438). 

3. Move the elements by using one of the following possibilities: 

• Type in the x- and y-value by which the current selected elements shall be moved 

inside the edit fields By X and By Y below the dashboard and press the button 

Return or click on the check mark behind the edit fields. 

• Click left near the selected elements to define the datum point of the selection. The 

elements are attached to the cursor. Move the mouse and then probe the position 

where you want the elements to be moved. Finally click left for placing the elements. 

If you chose Move the selected elements the selected elements are moved immediately to 

the defined target position. 

If you chose one of the duplication tools the selected elements are copied to the target 

position. 

If you chose Duplicates and moves the selected elements with an optional repeat the edit field Repeat 

opens below the dashboard. In this case: 

a. Type in the number for repeating the duplication of the selected elements. 

b. Click left on the check mark behind the edit field or press Return. 

The copied elements are duplicated by the inserted value (minus one because you 

already placed one copy). 

Please note: While performing the movement of elements the message line displays information 

about the steps you can do at the current state of movement. 




Rotate Elements 

Selected elements can be rotated on the sheet. Similar to moving elements you can duplicate 

and repeat rotated elements. 

Figure 394 Rotate Toolset 

From left to right you find the tools Rotates the selected elements, Duplicates and rotates the selected elements 

and Duplicates and rotates the selected elements with an optional repeat. The tool name is self-explaining 

therefore we left out a further description. The following sections give you information on the 

popup menu and the steps for rotating elements. 

Popup Menu 

If you chose one of the rotation tools the following popup menu is available: 

Figure 395 Popup Menu of the Rotation Tools 

Rotate 

switches to the tool Rotate the selected elements. This entry is disabled if the current rotation 

tool is already Rotate the selected elements. 

Duplicate and Rotate 

switches to the tool Duplicates and rotates the selected elements. This entry is disabled if the current 

rotation tool is already Duplicates and rotates the selected elements. 

Multiple Duplicate and Rotate 

switches to the tool Duplicates and rotates the selected elements with an optional repeat. This entry is 

disabled if the current rotation tool is already Duplicates and rotates the selected elements with an 

optional repeat. 



How to Rotate Elements 


2. Choose one of the tools for rotation as given in Figure 394, “Rotate Toolset”. 

3. Probe the rotation axis (in the message line it is datum point). 




Now you can define the angle by which the elements are rotated. If you want the elements 

to be duplicated or repeated use the popup menu for switching the function. 

There are two ways to go on: 

• Type in the value for the angle. 

Below the dashboard the edit field Angle allows to define the rotation angle. If you 

type in a value and click on the check mark or press Return rotation is finished. 

• Probe the angle. 

If you probe rotation the first probe specifies the start of the angle. After this the 

selected elements are attached to the cursor and as you move the cursor you can 

see the effect of rotation. If you probe a second time you define the angle by which 

the elements are rotated. 

If you chose Rotates the selected elements the selected elements are rotated immediately. 

If you chose one of the duplication tools the selected elements are copied and rotated. 

If you chose Duplicates and rotates the selected elements with an optional repeat the edit field Repeat 

opens below the dashboard. In this case: 

a. Type in the number for repeating the duplication of the selected elements. 

b. Click left on the check mark behind the edit field or press Return. 

The copied elements are duplicated by the inserted value (minus one because you 

already placed one selection). Each copy uses the rotation angle related to the previous 

copy. For example, if the first copy is rotated by 12 degree then the second one is 

rotated by 24 degree, the third one is rotated by 36 degree and so on. 

Please note: While performing the rotation of elements the message line displays information 

about the steps you can do at the current state of rotation. 

Mirror Elements 

Selected elements can be mirrored on the sheet either in horizontal, vertical or oblique direction. 

Similar to moving elements you can duplicate and repeat mirroring. 

Figure 396 Mirror Toolsets 

From left to right you find the following tools: 

• Mirrors the selected elements vertically 

• Mirrors the selected elements horizontally 

• Mirrors the selected elements obliquely 

• Duplicates and mirrors the selected elements vertically 

• Duplicates and mirrors the selected elements horizontally 

• Duplicates and mirrors the selected elements obliquely 




The sections below give information on the popup menus and the steps for mirroring elements. 

Popup Menus 

If you chose one of the mirror tools the following popup menu is available: 

Figure 397 Popup Menu of the Mirror Selected Elements Tools 

Mirror Vertical, Mirror Horizontal, Mirror Oblique 

switches to the appropriate mirror tool. The tool which is currently selected is disabled. 

For example, in the figure above the tool Mirrors the selected elements vertically is currently 

selected. 

Mirror Lock 

controls whether dimension text is transformed during a mirror process. 

If Mirror Lock is activated (default setting), the dimension text is not mirrored. 

If Mirror Lock is not activated, the dimension text is mirrored. The following example 

shows the effect. 

Figure 398 Example of the Mirror Lock/Mirror Unlock Functionality 






If you chose one of the duplicate and mirror tools the following popup menu is available: 

Figure 399 Popup Menu of the Duplicate and Mirror Selected Elements Tools 

Duplicate and Mirror Vertical, Duplicate and Mirror Horizontal, Duplicate and Mirror Oblique 

switches to the appropriate mirror tool. The tool which is currently selected is disabled. 

for example, in the figure above the tool Duplicates and mirrors the selected elements vertically is 

currently selected. 

How to Mirror Elements 


2. Choose a tool for mirroring (see Figure 396, “Mirror Toolsets” on page 441). 

Now you can mirror the elements. If you want the elements to be mirrored by another 

axis use the popup menu for switching the function (see “Popup Menus” on page 442). 

3. Click left inside the drawing area to define the position for the virtual axis at which the 

selected elements are mirrored. 

After probing, the selected elements are displayed mirrored immediately. If you chose 

a duplication tool the elements are copied otherwise they are moved. 

Please note: While mirroring of elements the message line displays information about the steps 

you can do at the current state of mirroring. 

Shear Elements 

Selected elements can be sheared on the sheet either in horizontal, vertical or oblique direction. 

Similar to moving elements you can duplicate and repeat shearing. 

Figure 400 Shear Toolsets 




On the left you see the tools for shearing in vertical direction. The tools on the right shear horizontal. 

Each toolset allows you just to shear elements, shear and duplicate elements, or shear 

and repeat elements. 

The shear tools provide a popup menu which allows to switch between the tools of a toolset. It 

is similar as given in “Move Elements“, “Popup Menu of the Tools” on page 438. 

Shearing elements has the same work flow as it is for rotation. You select elements, choose the 

tool, define the datum point, specify the angle or ratio by which the elements are sheared, and 

define the number of repeats, if required. For details on the work flow see “Rotate Elements“, 

“How to Rotate Elements” on page 440. 

Magnify Elements 

Selected elements can be magnified on the sheet. Similar to moving elements you can duplicate 

and repeat magnified elements. 

Figure 401 Magnify Toolsets 

From left to right you find the tools Magnify the selected elements, Duplicates and magnifies the selected elements 

and Duplicates and magnifies the selected elements with an optional repeat. The tool name is self-explaining 

therefore we left out a further description. 

The magnify tools provide a popup menu which allows to switch between the tools of the 

toolset. It is similar as given in “Move Elements“, “Popup Menu of the Tools” on page 438. 

Magnifying elements has the same work flow as it is for movement. You select elements, 

choose the tool, define the datum point, specify the magnification factor, and define the number 

of repeats, if required. For details on the work flow see “Move Elements“, “How to Move Elements” 

on page 439. 

Please note: Magnifying can also be used for scaling down. You only need to insert factors 

between o and 1. 

Create Arrays 

Selected elements can be copied and arranged as arrays by defining rows and columns and the 

steps for placing the selected elements. 

For defining an array choose the Array tool from the Creation Tools. The following dialog opens: 


Figure 402 Array 

The Array dialog has the following items: 

Sheet Units, Grid Units 

defines the kind of units used for X step and Y step. 



X step, Y step 

defines the spacing between the placements of the selected elements. For example, if 

you define 100 for the X step and the selected element is a rectangle then the spacing 

between the left bottom points of the placed rectangles is 100 units. 

Number in X, Number in Y 

defines the number of placements of the selected elements in x-direction (columns) 

and y-direction (rows). 

OK, Apply 

place the selected elements as an array. In case of OK the dialog is closed. In case of 

Apply the dialog remains open. Whenever you apply placing an array a new one is created. 

So, if you want to change an already placed array Undo the last placement using 

the popup menu before applying your changes again. 

Cancel, Help 






Transformation of Text Elements 

If you select a text element, which you want to transform, on your sheet, you can open the 

following context menu by clicking the right mouse key on some of the transformation tools. 

Figure 404 Popup Menu during Transformation of Text Elements 

The options Legible, Fixed and Rigid control the display of a text after an appropriate transformation. 

The activated option is appears disabled in the context menu. 

Legible The text remains legible after the transformation. 

For example, a text is mirrored along an axis but it is not displayed mirror-inverted. 

Fixed The direction of a text is kept how it has been saved. 

E.g. an originally horizontally created text, which is transformed with the rotation tool, 

remains always horizontally aligned. 

Rigid The text is handled in the same way as other elements, regardless of its legibility. 

For example, a text, which is mirrored along an axis, is also displayed mirror-inverted. 



Boundary Groups 



A boundary group is a collection of elements (lines, texts, groups, dimensions and prims) contained 

within a group line. The group line is defined using a special group line type. You can 

manipulate a boundary group, for example, by moving, rotating, or copying. 

Because the selection of elements or parts of elements enclosed by boundary groups is special, 

you find information on boundary groups also in chapter “Select“, “Selecting Elements by 

Boundary Groups” on page 119. 

Overview of the Tools 

The following figure gives you an overview of the tools which create and delete group lines and 

which transform boundary groups. 

Figure 406 Tools for Boundary Groups 

Toolset for manipulating boundary groups 

Comparison with Other Methods of Grouping 

Boundary groups are intended to set up temporary collections of elements, unlike groups in the 

tree structure which are used to associate permanent collections of elements (for details see 

“Status Area“, “Interacting with the Tree Viewer” on page 351). You can define group lines 

whenever you require and delete them after you have used them. 

Creating Group Lines 

Creates group lines 

There are two ways of creating group lines: 

• Freehand (point by point) using the Creates group lines tool 

• Using the Creates group line boxes tool 

Creates group line boxes 

Deletes all group lines 

Please note: When you draw a group line freehand, do not create any curved line segments. 

Only group lines consisting of straight line segments are valid. 




Both methods for creating group lines work the same way as drawing any other type of line or 

as drawing an ordinary rectangle. You have the usual possibilities provided with the popup 

menu while drawing a group line. Some examples of group lines are shown in Figure 407. 

Figure 407 Group Box and Freehand Group Lines 

Please note: It makes no difference whether the elements in the group are at sheet level or in 

a permanent group (see the section “Groups” on page 344). 

When you enclose some of the points of an element with a group line, you create a 

point group. The other points defining the element are not affected by any operation that you 

carry out on a point group. The graphic below shows that by the effect of moving a point group 

in order to shear the elements partially: 

Figure 408 Moving a Point Group 

Deleting Group Lines 

To delete all group lines, select the Deletes all group lines tool . 


Transform Boundary Groups 



You can manipulate boundary groups using any of the tools shown in the graphic below. 

Figure 409 Tools for Manipulating Boundary Groups 

Move 

Rotate Mirror vertically Shear horizontally 

Mirror horizontally Magnify Shear vertically 

For transforming points and elements which are inside a group line: 

1. Choose one of the tools for manipulating boundary groups. 

All group lines and all elements which are crossed or inside the group lines become 

selected inside the drawing area. If you want to change the transformation tool now, 

use the popup menu. 

Figure 410 Popup Menu for Transform Groups 

Items for switching to the 

other transformation tools 

for update dimensions of the selected elements 

2. Probe the datum point used for the transformation, for example, as rotation axis if you 

chose the tool Rotates the points enclosed by group lines . 

3. Choose Switch Dimension Update On from the popup menu in order to keep affected dimensions 

correct (when quitting MEDUSA and saving the defaults, this setting is saved 

too). 

Now you can go on with the transformation. The working steps depend on the tool you 

chose and they are similar to those explained for the appropriate transformation tool 

given in the following sections of “Transformation on Selected Elements” on page 437: 

• “Move Elements“, “How to Move Elements” on page 439 

• “Rotate Elements“, “How to Rotate Elements” on page 440 

• “Mirror Elements“, “How to Mirror Elements” on page 443 




Dynamically Aligning Geometry Along a Line 

You can dynamically align elements on existing line segments. Such line segment can be 

straight, circular arcs, complete circles or even ellipses. The selected geometry is copied and 

the original geometry remains unchanged. 

To dynamically align elements: 

1. Select the geometry that you wish to align. 

2. Select the Aligns geometry along a line tool . 

3. Select a datum point around which the selected elements are transformed. 

A copy of the selected elements is displayed attached to the crosshair. 

4. Switch on dynamic aligning by using Dyn. aligning on from the popup menu. 

Figure 411 Popup: Dynamic Aligning and Scaling 

Now you are able to align the selected elements at any existing line of the sheet. 

5. Move the cursor around the sheet, close to other elements until the elements are 

aligned as required. 

If you want to change the properties of the selected geometry use the right mouse button 

to open the Temporary Properties dialog (for details on this dialog see “Symbols“, “Temporary 

Symbols” on page 458). For example, the geometry attached to the crosshair 

contains the current scale. To cancel the scaling, open the Temporary Properties dialog, 

select Unscale and then scale of the geometry is not considered anymore. 

6. Click left to place the elements on the sheet. 


Move Geometry by Grid Spacing 


Move Geometry by Grid Spacing 

MEDUSA provides the possibility to move a geometry by a specified factor of the current grid 

spacing in a defined direction. The tool, which is used to do this, is located in the shown 

toolset . 

The tool is only active, when you already selected the geometry, which shall be moved. 

1. In order to clarify the mode of operation of the tool, display the current grid via the 

menu option Grid > Show current Grid. 

2. Choose Grid > Grid Properties in the menubar. 

The Grid Properties dialog opens. It displays the settings of the X and Y spacing of the 

current grid. In this example the grid spacings of both the x and Y direction amounts 5 

sheet units. 

Figure 412 Grid Properties Dialog with Settings of Spacings 

3. Choose the Moves geometry multiple of a grid offset tool . 

The MovebyGrid dialog appears. 

Figure 413 MovebyGrid Dialog 

4. Enter e.g. factor 3 and click on the rightmost arrow. 

The selected geometry is moved rightwards in x-direction by 3 grid spacings, i.e. by 

3 x 5 = 15 sheet units. 

Accordingly you can enter an arbitrary factor and move the geometry in the direction according 

to the selected arrow. 

When the Polar option in the Grid Properties dialog is activated (see Figure 412), the MovebyGrid 

dialog is disabled. With this setting, moving the geometry is not possible by using the tool . 




Move Selected Points 

Selected points of elements can be moved on the sheet. You can either move complete elements, 

some points of one element, or points of several elements. 

To move selected points: 

1. Choose the Move the selected points tool . 

Select the points that you wish to move by drawing a selection frame. 

The selected elements become highlighted but only the points which were inside the 

selection frame will be affected by moving. 

Two input fields are displayed in the upper left corner of the drawing area where you 

can specify a delta x and a delta y value . 

2. MEDUSA provides two different possibilities to move the points: 

a. Probe on the sheet to define the datum point. 

The selected points are attached to the cursor. 

As you move the cursor, you see rubber-band-like lines which are connected to the 

element points, which do not move. 

Probe on the sheet to define the target point of movement. 

b. Specify the delta x and/or delta y value by which you want to move the points and 

press the Enter key. 

The points are moved. 

The elements remain selected. For further movement you need to select points again, 

so go on with step 2. 

Please note: After choosing the tool the message line below the status area shows you at any 

state of the function, what to do next. 


Connect and Clear Lines 


Connect and Clear Lines 

With MEDUSA you can remove points, which lay over each other, in order to have only one 

point at a place. You also can connect single lines with overlapping points in order to create a 

poly line. 

Figure 414 Connect and Clear Lines Toolsets 

From left to right the following tools are displayed in the figure above: 

Connect lines to one new line 

Lines which have overlapping end points are connected to one line. All lines on the 

sheet are evaluated. Closed lines and circles are not considered. Only line segments 

of the same type and on the same level and layer are connected. Since the tool works 

fully automatic, non-explicit connecting situations are omitted (e.g. if the direction can 

not be determined clearly). 

Since all lines are verified the execution time of the function can be several seconds 

with larger drawings. The use of this tool results in a reduction of the amount of data 

when importing DXF files. This becomes apparent in improved performance. 

When you move the cursor over the tool and click the right mouse button a popup 

window opens showing a Properties... item which opens the JoinLine Properties dialog. 

Figure 415 JoinLine Properties Dialog 

Within the dialog you can select different settings, which are used to control the joining 

of lines to one line on the whole sheet accordingly. All the options are self explaining. 

By default the Only join lines on same level in same group and Join tangent point arcs, too switches 

are activated. When you deactivate Join tangent point arcs, too, these arcs are not enclosed 

within a line, but remain as separate line segment. 

The switches are set in the defaults.dat file (for details see the Customization Guide, 

chapter User Interface, section DEFAULTS.DAT, sub-section Joinline Properties). 

Connect the current line with adjoining lines 

Same as Connect lines to one new line but the tool is executed on the selected line only. 




Clear lines 

This tool deletes points placed one above the other in connected line segments. 

Clear the current line 

Same as Clear lines but points are cleared for the selected line only. 


SYMBOLS 


This chapter describes the use of symbols and explains how you can change its properties. 

• Introduction to Symbols ......................................................... 456 

• Overview of Symbol Tools...................................................... 457 

• Temporary Symbols ............................................................... 458 

• Symbol Properties.................................................................. 462 

• Transforming Symbols ........................................................... 463 

• Symbol Size........................................................................... 467 

• Moving a Symbol’s Datum ..................................................... 468 

• Reversing Symbol Property Changes.................................... 469 

• Named Symbols..................................................................... 470 



Symbols 

Introduction to Symbols 

A symbol consists of elements from a sheet that have been stored in a symbol file. This file can 

then be used to load the stored elements onto other sheets, or onto the same sheet. A symbol 

may be a single element or a number of elements. 

Symbols are a powerful instrument of quickly creating a new drawing where a high degree of 

repetition is involved, or where extensive use is made of standard symbols such as in electrical 

schematics and logic diagrams. The availability of standard symbol libraries considerably 

reduces the work required to create such a drawing and also ensures a uniform drawing standard. 

Temporary and Named Symbols 

Symbols are distinguished according to their use: 

• Symbols that you require only for a short time during one MEDUSA session are called 

temporary symbols. 

• Symbols that you want to keep for a period of time are called named symbols. 

Symbol Libraries 

Symbol libraries are directories where regularly-used symbols are stored. There can be up to 30 

symbol libraries on your system. You can load a symbol onto your sheet from a symbol library. 

You may also be able to create symbols and store them in a library assuming that you have 

write permission to the directory. 

For symbol libraries available on your system consult your System Administrator. 

MEDUSA offers the possibility to work with two different kinds of symbols: 

• standard symbols 

• diagram symbols 


Overview of Symbol Tools 


Overview of Symbol Tools 

The symbol tools described in this chapter are shown in Figure 416. They are available inside 

the Creation Tools tooltray of the Complete set of tooltrays. 

Figure 416 The Symbol Tools 

Save temporary standard symbol Load temporary symbol 

Save named standard symbol Load named symbol 

Parts Library Explode Parts 

Save diagram symbol 

Select diagram symbol 

Create diagram symbol 

The Parts Library tool will be activated, after you have chosen the appropriate license. Information 

on the function is given in the Parts Library Guide. 



Symbols 

Temporary Symbols 

Temporary symbols are created during a MEDUSA session and they are stored on the hard disk 

(usually in the path defined by the environment variable HOMEPATH). Names of temporary 

symbols are created automatically and cannot be defined by the user as it is for named symbols 

(see “Named Symbols” on page 470). 

Saving a Temporary Symbol 

Popup Menu 

While saving elements as temporary symbol clicking right provides the following popup menu: 

Figure 417 Saving Temporary Symbol Popup Menu 


Sheet Level 

is used for ignoring the level information of the symbol while saving. If this option is 

chosen it changes to Current Level in order to reset storing the information of the current 

level with the symbol again. 

Exit Tool 


Perform Saving 

You can save up to 99 temporary symbols. To save a temporary symbol: 

1. Select the elements you want to save as a symbol. 

2. Select a Save temporary symbol tool from the Save temporary symbol toolset in the Creation Tools 

tooltray of the Complete set of tooltrays. 

Figure 418 Save Temporary Symbol Toolset 

The Save temporary symbol tools numbered 1 through 3 save the symbol under the corresponding 

temporary symbol number. 

The Save temporary symbol tool numbered ?... displays the Symbols dialog. 


Figure 419 Symbols Dialog 

Use this dialog to enter the number with which to save the symbol. 

3. Probe the sheet to define the datum point for the symbol. 

The temporary symbol is stored. 

4. Select Exit Tool from the popup menu to finish saving. 

Loading a Temporary Symbol 



While loading a temporary symbol you can change its properties. Therefore first the popup 

menu is given before explaining how to load a temporary symbol. 

Popup Menu 

After chosen a Load temporary symbol tool the following popup menu is available by clicking the 

right mouse button. 

Figure 420 Loaded Symbol Popup Menu 




Symbols 

Rotate by 90 

rotates the current symbol by 90 degrees. For rotation of 180 and 270 degrees use this 

entry twice or three times. 

Mirror Vertical, Mirror Horizontal 

is used for mirroring the symbol at the y (Mirror Vertical) or x axis (Mirror Horizontal). 

Move Datum by Probing 

is used for changing the datum point of the symbol temporary. If you choose the symbol 

again the original datum point is used again. 

Temporary Properties 

opens the Load symbol Temporary Properties dialog (see “Symbol Properties” on page 462). 

Revert 

reverses all transformation you did on the loaded symbol. 

Sheet Level 

defines that the symbol is placed on sheet level. If switched on the entry changes to 

Current Level in order to use the level saved with the symbol. 

Use DLL translation 

If this option is chosen elements are changed according to the settings in the file ddltrans.dat. 

Undo 



Dyn. aligning on, Dyn. aligning off 

is used for aligning the symbol to an element on the sheet. 

Dyn. scaling on, Dyn. scaling off 

is used for scaling the symbol to the current scale on the sheet. If you switch off scaling 

with Dyn. scaling off, then the scale stored with the symbol is used. 

Exit Tool 


Perform Loading 

To load a temporary symbol: 

1. Select a Load temporary symbol tool from the Load temporary symbol toolset in the Creation Tools 

tooltray of the Complete set of tooltrays. 

Figure 421 Load Temporary Symbol Toolset 

The Load temporary symbol tools numbered 1 through 3 allow you to load the symbol that is 

saved under the corresponding temporary symbol number. 

The Load temporary symbol tool numbered ?... displays the Symbols dialog shown in 

Figure 419, “Symbols Dialog” on page 459. 




2. If the Symbols dialog is open, enter the number of the temporary symbol you want to 

load. 

3. If you want to transform the symbol use the popup menu (see “Popup Menu” on 

page 459) or the Load Symbol Temporary Properties dialog (see “Symbol Properties” on 

page 462). 

4. Probe the sheet to position the symbol. 

The symbol is placed at the probed position. It remains attached to the cursor for further 

placement. 



Symbols 

Symbol Properties 

Once you have loaded a symbol, you can change its properties before you place it on the sheet. 

To change the properties of a loaded symbol, select Temporary Properties... from the popup menu to 

display the Load Symbol Temporary Properties dialog: 

Figure 422 Load Symbol Temporary Properties Dialog 

The Load Symbol Temporary Properties dialog allows you to: 

• Transform a symbol by rotating, shearing, magnifying or mirroring, 

see “Transforming Symbols” on page 463. 

• Specify whether the symbol is loaded scaled using the current sheet scale or unscaled, 

see “Symbol Size” on page 467. 

• Move a symbol’s datum, see “Moving a Symbol’s Datum” on page 468. 

• Specify the layer on which symbol’s elements are loaded by entering the layer offset 

(incrementally from the symbol element’s existing layer(s)) into the Layer Offset field. . 

Some of the more commonly changed symbol properties are also accessible directly from the 

popup menu itself, for example Rotate by 90 degrees and Move Datum by Probing. 

Changes that you make to the properties of a symbol apply only until you select another tool. If 

you load the symbol again it is loaded with the properties it was originally created with. 

Please note: While the Load Symbol Temporary Properties dialog is displayed, you can undo any 

changes to the symbol on the cursor by clicking the Untransform button. This undoes 

the transformation but leaves the values defining the transformation displayed in 

the dialog. 


Transforming Symbols 



You can transform a symbol, after you have loaded it but before you place it on the sheet. You 

do this using the Load Symbol Temporary Properties dialog (see Figure 422) or the transformation 

options on the right mouse button popup menu. 

The advantage of using the Load Symbol Temporary Properties dialog (see Figure 422) to transform a 

symbol, as opposed to the popup menu or transformation tools, is that you can carry out several 

transformations at once. The Load Symbol Temporary Properties dialog also gives you greater control 

over how you transform a symbol. For example, it allows you to rotate a symbol by a specified 

angle, as opposed to the popup menu which only allows you to rotate a symbol in increments of 

90 degrees. 

You can also transform a symbol after you have placed it on the sheet using the transformation 

tools. 

This chapter gives you following information: 

• ”Modifying a Symbol that Contains Text” 

• “Rotating a Symbol” on page 464 

• “Magnifying a Symbol” on page 464 

• “Shearing a Symbol” on page 465 

• “Dynamic Alignment” on page 466 

Modifying a Symbol that Contains Text 

If you are rotating, shearing, mirroring, or magnifying a symbol that contains text, be aware that 

the text is changed too. You can control the effect that property changes have on text using the 

text field on the Load Symbol Temporary Properties dialog which is the field with the pulldown menu to 

the right of the Rotate field. The options allow you to specify what will happen to the text when 

you modify the symbol. Available options are: 

• Fixed changes the position of the text if necessary and retains the orientation, justification 

and original scale of the text. 

• Rigid retains the original justification and orientation of the text. 

• Legible changes both the orientation and justification of the text but leaves it readable 

when viewed from bottom and right of the drawing. 



Symbols 

Rotating a Symbol 

You can rotate a symbol to any angle that you require. The symbol is rotated about its datum 

point. To rotate a symbol using the Load Symbol Temporary properties dialog: 

1. Load the symbol that you require. 

2. Select Temporary Properties... from the popup menu. 

The Load Symbol Temporary Properties dialog is displayed. 

3. Enter the angle into the Rotate field. 

4. Specify whether you want any text in the symbol to be Legible, Fixed, or Rigid. 

5. Click OK. 

6. Click left to place the symbol on the sheet. 

7. Use the popup menu to exit the tool or place another copy of the symbol on the sheet. 

To rotate a symbol using the popup menu: 

1. Load the symbol that you require. 

2. Select Rotate by 90 from the popup menu. 



Magnifying a Symbol 

You can magnify a symbol along its X-axis and Y-axis. To do this: 

1. Load the symbol that you require and select Temporary Properties... from the popup menu. 


2. Enter the magnification factors that you want to apply to the symbol into the Magnify X 

field, Y field, or both fields. 


4. Click OK. 




Mirroring a Symbol 



You can mirror a symbol horizontally and vertically. To mirror a symbol: 


The Load Symbol Temporary Properties dialog appears. 

2. Click on either or both of the Mirror horizontal button or Mirror vertical buttons. 


4. Click OK. 



To mirror a symbol using the popup menu: 

1. Load the symbol that you require 

2. Select Mirror Horizontal or Mirror Vertical from the popup menu. 



Shearing a Symbol 

You can shear a symbol to the left or to the right. To do this: 


The Load Symbol Temporary Properties dialog appears. 

2. Choose Angle or Ratio from the button to the right of the shear fields to specify the shear 

factor. 

3. Enter the shear factor either by: 

• Typing the ratio in the Ratio field 

• Typing the angle in the Angle field 

To shear the symbol to the left enter a negative value for the shear factor. 


5. Click OK. 





Symbols 

Dynamic Alignment 

You can dynamically align loaded symbols with other geometry on the sheet before placing the 

symbols on the sheet. 

Figure 423 Dynamically Aligning Symbols 

To do this: 

1. Load the symbol that you require 

2. Select Dyn. Alignment On from the popup menu. 

As you move your cursor around the sheet the symbol dynamically alters its orientation 

to align perpendicular to any adjacent geometry. 



Please note: Once the function is activated, you can align the symbol until it is in the desired 

position. After deactivating the function the orientation from last alignment 

remains. You can place the symbol with the same orientation in another location. 

For getting back the orientation input conditions use Revert from the popup menu. 


Symbol Size 


Symbol Size 

By default, a symbol is loaded onto a sheet the same size as it was originally created. If a symbol 

is created on a sheet with a scale of 1:10, then it will be drawn ten times larger when loaded 

onto a sheet with a scale of 1:1. While this result is desirable when the symbol is a scale drawing 

of a real object, it may not be desirable when you are using schematic symbols, which 

should normally be drawn at the same size, regardless of the sheet scale. For details see chapter 

Controlling the Effect of the Sheet Scale on Symbols 

You can control the effect of the sheet scale on symbols by clicking the Unscale button in the 

Load Symbol Temporary Properties dialog. When you do this, the sheet scale is ignored and the symbol 

is loaded at the same size that it was originally created. For example, a symbol created and 

saved on a sheet with a scale of 1:10 and then loaded onto a sheet with a scale of 1:100 is 

loaded at the same size that it was created originally. 

Dynamic Scaling 

This function may be used in connection with scaled views (see “Scale View” on page 280). 

If you select Dyn. Scale On from the popup menu the loaded symbol is automatically and dynamically 

sized according to the scale of the view. It does not have any impact when loading the 

symbol into a drawing without scaled views. 

To turn this function off, select Dyn. Scale Off from the popup menu. 



Symbols 

Moving a Symbol’s Datum 

When you create a symbol, you specify the datum that will be used to position the symbol when 

you load the symbol onto a sheet. You can change the datum for a symbol, after you have 

loaded it, but before you place it permanently on the sheet. 

Please note: You can return a symbol’s datum back to its original position by clicking the 

Move Datum button in the Load Symbol Temporary Properties dialog. For further information, 

refer to “Reversing Symbol Property Changes” on page 469. 

Specifying the Coordinates of the New Datum 

1. Load the symbol that you require, then choose Temporary Properties... from the popup 

menu. 

2. Click the Move datum button. 

3. Specify the new position for the datum by entering values into the fields below the 

Move datum button according to the following definitions: 

• Enter cartesian coordinates into the By fields. 

• Enter grid units into the By grid fields. 

• Enter polar coordinates into the Polar fields. 

4. Click Apply or OK. 

The symbol is attached at the cursor using the new datum position. 

Specifying the New Datum by Probing 

1. Load a symbol. 

2. Choose Move Datum by Probing from the popup menu. 

3. Temporarily place the symbol on the sheet by clicking left into the drawing area. 

4. Probe the position where you want to move the datum. 

The symbol is made active again with the cursor at the new datum position. 


Reversing Symbol Property Changes 


Reversing Symbol Property Changes 

You can reverse some or all of the changes that you make to a symbol’s properties before you 

place the symbol on the sheet. You can: 

• Reverse all property changes made to a symbol 

• Untransform a symbol 

• Move a symbol’s datum back to its original position 

Reversing all Property Changes for a Symbol 

If you make changes to the symbol properties, and then decide that you want to return the symbol 

to its original state, select Revert from the popup menu. All changes are undone and the original 

symbol properties are reinstated. 

Untransforming a Symbol 

You can untransform a symbol before you place it on the sheet. That is, you can undo any property 

changes that you may have applied using the Load Symbol Temporary Properties dialog. 

To do this, click the Untransform button in the Load Symbol Temporary Properties dialog. 

The advantage of using Untransform over the Defaults button is that the values defining the transformation 

are still displayed, so you can transform the next symbol before you place it on the 

sheet by clicking the Untransform button again. 

Moving a Symbol’s Datum Back to its Original Position 

You can move a symbol’s datum back to its original position before you place the symbol on the 

sheet and still retaining the other property changes. 

To do this: 

1. Select Temporary Properties... from the popup menu. 


2. Click the Move Datum button. 

The edit fields for defining a new datum point are enabled but do not insert anything. 

3. Click the Apply button. 

The symbol’s datum is reverted to its original position. 



Symbols 

Named Symbols 

Named symbols are similar to temporary symbols except that the user can define the name of a 

symbol. 

Symbol Manager 

The Symbol Manager enables you to load named symbols into your current drawing. 

The Load Named Symbol dialog is a graphical manager and has a preview function. 

To open the Load Named Symbol dialog select the Load Named Symbol tool from the Creation Tools 

tooltray. The following dialog appears: 

Figure 424 Symbol Manager Dialog 

Dock Symbol Manager dialog 

to graphical user interface 

New directory 

Change to current directory 

One directory up 

Back to last directory 

Refresh 

Moving this bar sizes the width 

of directory and file list 

Preview 

windows 


Previewing Symbol Files 


Named Symbols 

You can view the symbols prior to selection. This ensures that you choose the correct symbol. 

You can either preview symbols in all preview windows or in selected windows only: 

Previewing in all preview windows: 

1. Use the browser part of the dialog to select the directory that contains the required 

symbol files. 

2. Click left on the Preview button. 

Symbols are displayed in the preview windows. 

3. If there are more files than preview windows select a file name from the lower part of 

the list to display other symbol files in the preview windows. 

Previewing in individual preview windows: 

1. Use the browser part of the dialog to select the directory that contains the required 

symbol files. 

2. Ensure that the Preview button is not pressed. 

There are only symbols names displayed in the preview windows. 

3. If there are more files than preview windows select a file name from the lower part of 

the list to display other symbol files in the preview windows. 

4. To preview a certain symbol click on the desired preview window with the middle 

mouse button. 

The symbol is displayed in the preview window. 

Loading Named Symbols 

To load a named symbol either: 

• Double click left on the desired filename. 

• Select a filename and click OK. 

• Click on one of the preview windows with the left mouse button. 

After loading, the symbol is attached to the cursor crosshairs. Once a symbol is loaded you can 

use any of the transform options of the popup menu to transform the symbol before you place it 

on the sheet. 

You can quit the symbol manager using the Cancel button. 



Symbols 

Loading DXF Symbols 

The standard MEDUSA symbol manager enables you to open DXF symbols as well as 

STHENO or MEDUSA symbols. 

Select the desired file type from the list as shown in the following figure. 

Figure 425 Filter Pulldown-Menu 

Please note: No preview is displayed. 


DIAGRAM SYMBOLS 


Additionally to the standard symbol tools MEDUSA provides a diagram mode for basic applications 

in the schematics construction. The symbols for this are called Diagram Symbols. This 

chapter describes the use of the Diagram Symbols. 

• Overview................................................................................ 474 

• Creating ................................................................................. 475 

• Saving.................................................................................... 477 

• Loading and Inserting a Temporary Diagram Symbol............ 478 

• Loading and Inserting a Named Diagram Symbol ................. 480 

• Selecting and Deleting........................................................... 481 



Diagram Symbols 

Overview 

The tools to create these symbols can be found in the Creation Tools tooltray shown in Figure 426. 

Figure 426 Overview of Diagram Symbol Tools 

Save diagram symbol 

Select diagram symbol 

Create diagram symbol 

A diagram symbol consists of a group which contains graphics, a datum prim and one or more 

connection point texts. Any other elements may be included. 

Agreed to the standard symbols you can create and load: 

• Temporary Diagram Symbols that you require only for a short time by using the Temporary 

diagram symbol buttons. 

• Named Diagram Symbols which you want to keep for a period of time by using the 

Named diagram symbol buttons. 

You can work with self created diagram symbols but also MEDUSA provides a catalog of complete 

diagram symbols which can be loaded. 


Creating 


Creating 

To create a diagram symbol you need a graphic element, a datum prim and at least one or more 

connection point texts. 

1. Create an element, for example a rectangle, by using the Lines + Edit tooltray. 

For help placing the diagram connection texts and the diagram datum prim later on 

switch on center lines. 

2. Switch to the Creation Tools tooltray. 

You can find there the Create diagram symbol tools. 

Figure 427 The Create Diagram Symbol Tools 

Create diagram connector text 

3. Choose the Create diagram connector text tool. 

The mouse cursor changes to a crosshair while moving within the drawing area. 

The dashboard displays the properties of the connector text. The active cursor is positioned 

in the text field for input. 

Figure 428 The Text Dashboard 

Create diagram datum prim 

Text input field Character Size 

4. Type the text for the first connection point, for example P1. 

The entered text attaches crosshairs. 

5. Click left to place the first connection point on the element. 

Crosshairs and connector text remain at the cursor. 

6. Type a new text, for example P2,in the field to create a second connection point. 

Promptly the text attached to the cursor is replaced by the new text. 

7. Probe the new connection point text on the element. 

Please note: It is mandatory to make an input in the text field. If the text should be not visible 

set the character size to zero. 




Figure 429 Creating Connection Point Texts 

8. Choose the Create diagram datum prim tool. 

9. Click on the element to define a diagram datum prim. 

Figure 430 Creating a Diagram Datum Prim 

Position of placing the datum prim 

Connection point text 

10.Select Exit Tool from the popup menu. 

All three components required to create a diagram symbol are available now. 

Please note: A symbol with two connection point texts in line with its datum can be inserted into 

a straight line, one with three texts requires two or three intersection lines and so 

on. 


Saving 


Saving 

Corresponding to the standard symbols you can save diagram symbols either temporary or 

named. For saving a diagram symbol there are special tools. For loading a diagram symbol use 

the same tools as for loading standard symbols. 

1. Select all three components (rectangle, diagram connection texts and diagram datum 

prim) which you wish to be saved as a diagram symbol. 

2. Choose the Save diagram symbol toolset. 

3. Click the arrow to open the popup menu which is shown in Figure 431. 

The available tools allow you to save a symbol as a temporary or named symbol. 

Figure 431 Save Diagram Symbol Tools 

Save temporary diagram symbol 1....99 

Save named diagram symbol 

4. For saving 

a. a temporary diagram symbol click on the desired Save temporary diagram symbol tool. 

The procedure of saving a temporary diagram symbol is equal to saving a standard 

symbol. 

b. a named diagram symbol choose the Save named diagram symbol tool. 

The Save named symbol dialog is displayed as shown in the following figure. 

Figure 432 The Save Named Symbol Dialog 

Type the file name in the File Name field and choose the directory in which you wish to 

save the file. 




5. Select Exit Tool from the popup menu to finish saving. 

You have now created: 

a. a temporary diagram symbol or 

b. a named diagram symbol 

Please note: Saving a diagram symbol is only possible if all three components are available. 

If any component is missing an error message is displayed in the output message 

area. 

Loading and Inserting a Temporary Diagram Symbol 

For loading a temporary diagram symbol use the Load temporary symbol tools. 

1. Click on the arrow to open the popup menu which is shown in Figure 433 and choose 

one of the tools. 

Figure 433 Load Temporary Symbol Toolset 

The diagram symbol is loaded. While moving the cursor over the drawing area the 

temporary saved diagram symbol is attached to the cursor with a cross over it. 

Figure 434 Diagram Symbol Attached to Cursor 

2. Move the cursor over the line where you wish to insert the symbol. 

The symbol is not crossed out any longer. 

A special auto orient and insert mode is entered during loading the diagram symbol. 

The symbol aligns itself at a line. 


Figure 435 Diagram Symbol Over Line 

The following popup menu is available: 


Loading and Inserting a Temporary Diagram Symbol 

Figure 436 Diagram Symbol, Popup Menu while Placing 

Next and Prev Orientation are used to change the orientation of the symbol in a line. Both 

are deactivated, if the symbol cannot be placed. 

Disable Diagram Mode loads the diagram symbol as usual symbol. 

3. Probe on the line to place the diagram symbol as required. 

The symbol is inserted into the line. Between the two connection points the line is interrupted. 

The loaded symbol remains on the cursor. You are able to insert it again until 

you select Exit Tool from the popup menu. 

Figure 437 Diagram Symbol after Placement 

Effect of the Auto Orient Mode 

Please note: If you want to place a diagram symbol with 3 or 4 connection points at a intersection 

of lines, the two crossing segments must be owned by two different lines. You 

cannot place a diagram symbol with 3 or 4 connection points at a crossing where 

a line intersects itself. 




Loading and Inserting a Named Diagram Symbol 

1. Click on the Load named symbol tool . 

The Load Named Symbol dialog appears. 

MEDUSA offers a number of diagram symbols In the diagram symbols folder ready for 

use. 

a. Select one of these symbols or 

b. choose the directory where you have saved your diagram symbols and select one. 

2. Load the desired symbol 

Placement works in the same way as in “Loading and Inserting a Temporary Diagram 

Symbol” on page 478. 


Selecting and Deleting 

Selecting 

1. Select a diagram symbol by using 


Selecting and Deleting 

a. the Select a diagram symbol tool from the Creation Tools tooltray, or 

b. the Select sheet-level named group tool available in the popup menu of the selection 

tools button inside the toolbar. 

The Select a diagram symbol tool allows diagram symbols to be cut, copied, pasted, moved 

and deleted keeping up the intelligent behavior which is characteristic for diagram 

symbols. 

2. Select one or more symbols. 

Please note: An incomplete symbol cannot be selected. 

Deleting 

Delete a diagram symbol using 

a. the Delete option from the popup menu available with the Select a diagram symbol tool , 

or 

b. the Deletes all the selected elements function from the toolbar, or 

c. the Delete button from the keyboard. 

The selected diagram symbols are removed, the interrupted lines are restored automatically. 





CONSTRUCTION LINES 


This chapter shows the different kinds of construction lines and how to create and delete them. 

• Introduction ............................................................................ 484 

• Construction Line Tools.......................................................... 485 

• Creating Construction Lines................................................... 486 

• Reusing the Current Datum Point .......................................... 492 

• Offset Construction Lines....................................................... 493 

• Deleting and Hiding Construction Lines................................. 498 

• Confining Construction Lines to a Specific Area.................... 500 

• Transported Construction Lines............................................. 501 

• Projected Construction Lines................................................. 504 

• Dynamic Construction Lines .................................................. 508 

• Creating Dynamic Construction Lines.................................... 513 



Construction Lines 

Introduction 

In conventional drafting, it is often convenient to set up temporary construction lines. 

MEDUSA therefore provides a range of tools that enable you to create different types of construction 

lines, such as circles and angled lines. You can use the construction lines as a basis 

on which to make the actual drawing. When you no longer require the construction lines, you 

can hide them or delete them. 

You can either create: 

• Freehand construction lines point by point in the same manner as standard lines 

• Automatic construction lines, either one at a time or in sets of parallel lines 

You can place construction lines exactly where you want them, either in free space, or in relation 

to the points of an existing line. Construction lines extend to the limits of the current view 

window. 

You can change the default settings for the extent of construction lines using the Construction Line 

Extent options in the Switches dialog (Options > Defaults > Defaults > Switches). (For details see ”Options”, 

“Parameters for Construction Line Extent are:” on page 189.) 

For the following chapters it is assumed that the default settings are kept, i.e. construction lines 

extend to the limits of the current window. 


Construction Line Tools 

The tools to create construction lines are provided in the Creation Tools tooltray. 

Figure 438 The Construction Lines Tooltray 

horizontal construction line 

offset horizontal construction line 

oblique construction lines 

free construction line or 

orthogonal construction line between two points 

construction line through two probed points 

construction line perpendicular to two points 

tangential construction circles 

construction circles 

construction line 

bisecting two line segments 

Figure 439 Tools for Projecting Construction Lines 

construction lines projected from profiles 


Construction Line Tools 

vertical construction line 

offset vertical construction line 

offset oblique construction lines 

crossed construction lines 

offset construction line 

from two probed points 

construction lines 

traced around selected element 

construction lines through 

tangential points of circles 

construction boxes 

switch on/off transportation lines 

construction lines projected from a section line create transportation or section line 




Creating Construction Lines 

You can create construction lines by selecting a construction line tool and specifying a point 

through which the construction line will pass. The point you select is called the datum point. 

Once you have specified the datum point, you can create additional construction lines through 

this point. 

Some tools create construction lines as single segment lines, others create multi-segment lines 

with invisible segments. 

Figure 440 Tools and Toolset for Creating Single Construction Lines 

Creates horizontal construction line Creates vertical construction line 

Creates construction lines Creates construction lines 

at 0 and 90 degrees at 45 and 135 degrees 

Creating a Single Construction Line 

Creates construction lines 

at 30,60,120 and 150 degrees 

To create a construction line: 

1. Choose either the Creates horizontal construction lines tool or 

the Creates vertical construction lines tool . 

2. If necessary choose a probe specifier. 

3. Select a point on the drawing which the construction line shall pass and click left. 

A horizontal/vertical construction line is drawn on the sheet through the point you 

selected. The selected point becomes the datum point which can be used for further 

drafting (see “Reusing the Current Datum Point” on page 492). 

4. Create additional construction lines on the sheet by repeating step 2 and step 3. 

Any other tools shown in Figure 440, “Tools and Toolset for Creating Single Construction Lines” 

work in the same way as described before. 


Creating an Oblique Construction Line 



For creating an oblique construction line MEDUSA offers a toolset which contains three different 

tools. 

Figure 441 Creates Oblique Construction Line Toolset 

Creates oblique construction line 

1. Select the Creates oblique construction line tool . 

An angle entry box appears in the top left of the drawing window, below the dashboard. 

If it is the first time you draw an oblique construction line in the current MEDUSA session 

the default entry is 45.00 degrees. 

Figure 442 Angle Entry box 

Creates construction lines at +45 degrees 

Creates construction lines at -45 degrees 

2. Move the cursor into the Angle input field and type the requested angle value. 

3. Select a point on the drawing through which the construction line is to pass and click 

left. 

A construction line is drawn on the sheet through the probed point at the specified 

angle. The selected point becomes the datum point which can be used for further drafting 

(see “Reusing the Current Datum Point” on page 492). 

The length of the construction line is restricted by the currently displayed drawing area 

(see also “Introduction” on page 484). 

The other tools of the toolset for creating oblique construction lines (Figure 441) work the same 

way on principle but without calling up the angle entry box. In both cases the angle of the construction 

line is fixed on 45.00 degrees and cannot be modified. 




Creating a Construction Circle 

MEDUSA offers some tools for creating construction circles. Like other circles MEDUSA creates 

segment lines instead of real circles in order to reduce the time for redrawing the graphics. 

If you zoom in, you can see that a circle line consists of several straight segments. Each of the 

construction circles is built in this way. 

Figure 443 Tools to Create Construction Circles 

Creates a construction circle defined 

Creates a construction circle 

by a center point and radius 

defined by diameter end points 

1. Choose the Creates a construction circle defined by a center point and radius tool. 

2. Probe in the sheet to set the center point of the circle. 

An entry box appears in the top left of the drawing window, below the dashboard. 

Figure 444 Diameter and Radius Entry Box 

3. Type a value either in the Diameter input field or in the Radius input field 

4. Click the check mark behind the entry fields or press the button Return on your keyboard. 

The construction circle appears on the sheet corresponding to the requested dimension. 

5. Repeat Step 2 to Step 4 to create another construction circle. 

6. Choose Exit Tool from the right mouse popup menu to quit the tool. 

Creating Construction Circles tangential 

MEDUSA provides a toolset containing tools, which can be used to create construction circles 

tangential to lines (straight lines, circles etc.). 

Figure 445 Toolset for creating Construction Circles tangential 

Creates construction circles 

tangential to a line in two steps 

The tools work as follows: 

Creates construction circle tangential 

to two lines 

It is assumed that a line already exists on your sheet. 

Creates construction circles 

tangential to a line in three steps 


Creating Construction Circles tangential in two Steps 



1. Choose the Creates construction circle tangential to a line in two steps and click left on the line. 

When you move the mouse, you see a construction circle attached to the cursor which 

is aligned tangential to the line. When you move the mouse, the size of the circle and 

its position along the line are changed. 

In the top left corner of the drawing area input fields for Diameter, Radius and the X- and Y- 

Coordinate are displayed. 

2. Define the size of the circle and place it at the desired position by doing one of the following: 

• Move the mouse, until the circle has the desired size and position, and click left. 

• Move the circle to the desired position by using the mouse, enter a value for Diameter 

or Radius and press the Enter key. 

• Enter a value for Diameter or Radius in the accordant input field to define the size, enter 

values in the X- and Y-Coord fields to define the position, and press Enter. 

Creating Construction Circles tangential in three Steps 

Using this tool you also create a construction circle tangential to a line. Unlike to the tool 

described before, size and position of the circle are set in two steps, one after the other. 

1. Choose the Creates construction circle tangential to a line in three steps tool and click left on the 

line. 


is aligned tangential to the line. 

In the top left corner of the drawing area input fields for Diameter, Radius and the X- and Y- 

Coordinates are displayed. 

2. Define the size of the circle by doing one of the following: 

• Move the mouse, until the circle has the desired size, and click left. 

• Enter a value in the Diameter or Radius input field and press the ENTER key. 

Now the circle is sized. 

You can still move the circle along the line using the mouse, but the size of the circle 

will be kept. 

3. Move the circle to the desired position and click left to place it. 

Creating a Construction Circle tangential to two Lines 

Using this tool you can create a construction circle tangential to two lines. 

1. Choose the Creates construction circle tangential to two lines tool. 

2. Click left on the first line and subsequently on the second. 


is tangential aligned to both lines. By moving the mouse, the circle changes it’s position 

along both lines and at the same time it’s size. Two examples of construction circles in 

different positions are shown below. For clarity the cross-hair is left out. 




Figure 446 Examples of Construction Circle in different Positions 

In the top left-hand corner of the drawing area, input fields for Diameter and Radius are 

displayed. 

3. Define the size of the circle and place it on the desired position by doing one of the 

following: 

• Move the mouse to find the desired position and with it the size, and click left. 

• Enter a value in the Diameter or Radius input field and press ENTER. 

The circle jumps automatically to the position, which is possible with the defined 

size. 

Creating Construction Line tangential at two Circles 

MEDUSA provides a toolset containing tools, which can be used to create construction lines 

tangential at two circles. 

Figure 447 Toolset for the Creation of tangential Construction Lines 

Creates construction lines Creates construction line 

through tangent 

tangential at two circles 

points of two circles 

The first tool works as follows: 

1. Choose the Creates construction lines through tangent points of two circles tool. 

2. Click on the first and then on the second circle. 

Promptly both appear as construction line on the sheet, the tangent at the two circles 

and the perpendiculars through the tangent points. 


Figure 448 Example of the Creation of Construction Lines through Tangent Points 



The second tool works as follows: 

1. Choose the Creates construction lines tangential at two circles. 

2. Click left on the first and then on the second line. 

The tangent is created on the sheet as construction line at the two circles. 

Figure 449 Example of the Creation of a Tangent as Construction Line 

Creating a Bisection Line 

MEDUSA provides a tool, which can be used to create the bisection line between two straight 

line segments. The line segments can be created in any angle to each other. They can intersect 

themselves but need not do this. They also can be arranged parallel; in this case the 

construction line is placed axial between the two parallels. 

1. Choose the Creates construction line bisecting two line segments tool . 

2. Click on the first line segment and then on the second. 

The bisection line is promptly created. 




Reusing the Current Datum Point 

Once you have placed a construction line on the sheet, you can create another construction line 

of the same or a different orientation through the same datum point. 

1. Create a single construction line as described on page “Creating a Single Construction 

Line” on page 486. 

2. Click the right mouse button to display the popup menu for the active tool. 

Figure 450 Popup Menu while Creating Construction Lines 

The menu contains items corresponding to the different orientations of construction 

lines. 

3. Choose an option from the popup menu. 

According to the selected orientation a construction line appears which crosses the 

datum point you created with the first construction line (step 1). 

4. Repeat step3 to create other construction lines through the datum point. 

5. When you have finished creating construction lines, select Exit Tool from the right 

mouse button popup menu. 


Offset Construction Lines 



You can offset construction lines from a datum point using the tools shown below: 

The Create offset horizontal construction lines tool. 

The Create offset vertical construction lines tool. 

The Create offset oblique construction lines tool. 

The Create offset construction lines at +45 degrees tool (in the same toolset as 

the Create offset oblique construction lines tool). 

The Create offset construction lines at -45 degrees tool (in the same toolset as 

the Create offset oblique construction lines tool). 

This section explains the offset definition and how to create offset construction lines. 

Offset Definition 

By default: 

• A vertical construction line is offset to the right (positive side) of the datum point 

• A horizontal construction line is offset above (positive side) of the datum point 

Using Negative Offsets 

You can enter a negative value in the Offset field to offset a line on the other side. 

Figure 451 Positive and Negative Offsets 

Datum Point 

Datum Point 

Vertical - offset: 20 Vertical - offset: -20 

Construction 

Lines 

Horizontal - offset: 20 Horizontal - offset: -20 

Datum Point 

Datum Point 




Reversing the Offset 

After creating a construction line, you can reverse the side on which the offset appears by 

choosing the Reverse Offset menu item from the popup menu for the tool (when the cursor is positioned 

in the drawing area). 

Entering a Positive and Negative Offset 

You can enter a positive and negative offset of the same value, prefixing the value with an asterisk 

(*). Two construction lines will appear at the same time, one to the left side of the datum 

point and the second one to the right side of the datum point. 

Figure 452 Positive and Negative Offset Created at the Same Time 

Negative Offset 

Vertical - offset: *20 

20 20 

Creating an Offset Construction Line 

1. Choose one of the tools shown above and, if necessary, choose a probe specifier. 

The Offset entry box appears below the dashboard. 

Figure 453 Offset/Angle Entry Box 

Datum Point 

Positive Offset 

2. Enter the offset distance by typing a value into the Offset and the Angle field (in case of 

creating oblique lines), or 

The last entered offset/angle value is valid until you modify it. 

Please note: If you press Return or if you click on the tick button the construction line is drawn 

immediately using the current datum point. If you want to probe on the sheet do 

not do this. 

3. Probe on the sheet to define the datum point for the construction line. 

MEDUSA creates a construction line offset from the specified point. 




4. Now you can either 

a. select Exit Tool from the popup menu to quit the tool or 

b. create more offset construction lines of the same type. 

For details see “Creating More Offset Construction Lines” on page 495. 

Figure 454 Vertical and Horizontal Offset Examples 

Datum Point 

Figure 455 45 Degree Offset Examples 

Figure 456 Oblique Offset Example 

Creating More Offset Construction Lines 

Using the Same Datum 

After you have created an offset construction line, you can create more construction lines, using 

the same datum, by entering a new value in the Offset field and then pressing Return. 

If you created a oblique offset construction line you can also enter a new angle. 

Using a New Datum 

Vertical - offset: 20 Horizontal - offset: 20 

Offset 

20 

Construction Line 

+45 degrees - offset: 20 -45 degrees - offset: 20 

20 

45° 

Oblique - offset: 20 angle: 30 

20 

30° 

If you want to create another offset line of the same type, but using a different datum, then enter 

the new offset value (but do not press Return) and then probe on the sheet for the new datum. 




If you created an oblique offset construction line you can also enter a new angle. 

Creating Series of Offset Construction Lines 

You can create series of construction lines by specifying the interval between the lines (incremental 

offset) or the absolute distance from the datum point (absolute offset). The tools 

described in “Offset Construction Lines” on page 493. 

Figure 457 Example of Offset Vertical Construction Lines 

Incremental Offset 

60 30 

Absolute Offset 

You can create the construction lines shown in Figure 457 in two ways. 

a. You enter the incremental offsets for the construction lines as: i60 i30 

The letter i denotes incremental offsets. 

b. You enter absolute offsets for the construction lines as: a60 a90 

The letter a denotes absolute values and specifies that the dimension is taken from 

the datum.It will have no effect on any following incremental number. 

Please note: The Administrator can set a default for your project either for incremental or absolute 

offsets. 

Depending on the defaults, you will not need to specify the a or the i. 

For example, if the default is for incremental offsets, the entry of the i is dispensable, 

you only need to specify a when you want to use an absolute offset 

You can also combine incremental or absolute values with using the asterisk (*) to enter multiple 

positive and negative offsets. The example below shows the offset entry if the default is set to 

an incremental offset. 


60 

90

Figure 458 Example for Incremental Default Offset 

Default setting: incremental offset, Offset *60 *30 

30 

60 

60 30 



If the default for your project is absolute offsets then you have to type *60 *i30 to achieve the 

result shown above. 




Deleting and Hiding Construction Lines 

Construction lines are drawn on a single layer of a MEDUSA sheet. You can remove the construction 

lines either by deleting them or by hiding them. 

Deleting all Construction Lines 

To delete all construction lines: 

1. Click the Deletes all temporary construction lines tool . 

2. You have two possibilities to cancel this action: 

a. Choose Undo from the Edit menu, or 

b. Choose Undo from the popup menu by clicking the right mouse button. 

Deleting a Single Construction Line 

To delete a single line: 

1. Select the line you want to delete using the Select tool from the toolbar. 

2. Now you have two possibilities to delete the line: 

a. Choose Delete from the Edit menu, or 

b. Choose the Deletes all the selected elements tool from the toolbar. 

MEDUSA deletes the selected construction line. 

Please note: You can also delete several selected construction lines. “Overview of Selection 

Methods” on page 104 explains the different methods for selecting elements. 


Hiding Construction Lines 


Deleting and Hiding Construction Lines 

You can hide construction lines by making the construction line layer invisible. 

1. Open the Layer Manager dialog via Layers > Layer Manager... in the menu bar. 

By default the tab Layer Properties is displayed. 

Figure 459 The Layer Manager Dialog: Tab Layer Properties 

Switch to set the selected 

visible or invisible 

2. Select the Construction lines Layer from the layer list. 

3. Deactivate the Visible switch by clicking on the check mark. 

4. Click OK to apply the setting and quit the dialog. 

5. Redraw the view by clicking on the Refresh Graphics tool from the toolbar (if this is not 

done automatically.) 

The construction lines are now hidden but not deleted. 

In order to make the construction lines visible again proceed as described before and activate 

the Visible switch. 

For detailed information about the Layer Management dialog see ”Layers”, “Layer Properties” on 

page 162. 




Confining Construction Lines to a Specific Area 

You often need construction lines to help designing small or detailed parts of a sheet. 

Lines extending from one side of the sheet to the other may complicate areas where the lines 

are not required. To prevent such long construction lines zoom into the sheet so that the area 

you want to work on fills the screen. Now draw the required construction lines. Remember that 

construction lines extend to the limit of the current view window, unless you changed the default 

settings of the construction line extent in the Switches dialog (see also “Introduction” on 

page 484). 

The following steps give an example on limiting construction lines to a certain area: 

1. First zoom in to the area in which you want to work. 

Figure 460 Example Confine Construction Line 1 

2. Then draw the construction lines you require. 


3. Finally redraw the sheet at full size. 

The construction lines do not extend beyond the area of the previous window. 



Transported Construction Lines 



In conventional drafting you can set up temporary construction lines running from one drawing 

elevation to another. That is you can create construction lines between elevations that are perpendicularly 

adjacent. You can also project construction lines into elevations that are not perpendicularly 

adjacent. This process involves transporting ordinary construction lines to different 

locations on a sheet. You can do this using transportation lines. 

Transportation lines 

1. Choose the Creates transportation lines tool from the Creation Tools tooltray. (see also 

Figure 439, “Tools for Projecting Construction Lines” on page 485) 

2. Probe in the sheet to enter the start point of the transportation line. 

3. Probe once again to enter the end point. 

A dashed line appears on the sheet. Start and end point of the transportation line are 

marked with small squares. 

You can activate or deactivate a transportation line via the Switch on/off transportation line tools. 

(see Figure 439) 

These tools are only enabled if the transportation line is selected otherwise they are disabled. 

• If the transportation line is activated start and end point squares are filled out. 

• If the transportation line is deactivated start and end point squares are empty. 

Figure 463 Tools to Switch Transportation Lines On and Off 

switch on switch off 

transportation line 

You can deactivate all of the transportation lines at once. 

1. Open the Defaults dialog via Options > Defaults from the menu bar. 

2. Choose the tab Switches. 





By default the Enable Transportation lines option is activated. 

3. Delete the check mark in the field and quit the dialog by clicking the Close button. 

There is no transportation line active any more. 

Please note: In this case start and end point squares are still filled out. So you cannot recognize 

active or inactive transportation lines by there start and end point. 

4. To reverse the action and activate the transportation lines again click the Defaults button 

of the Switches tab. 


Deflection Angles 



When a construction line intersects a transportation line, that is switched ON, the resulting 

transported construction line is projected at a deflection angle. The deflection angle is equal 

to the angle of the intersection between the construction line and the transportation line. 

Figure 465 The Deflection Angle of Transported Construction Lines 

The construction line intersects the 

Transportation line at q angle 

Construction line 

Using Transported Construction Lines as Construction Aids 

When you have transported construction lines to different locations on the sheet, you can use 

these lines as a basis on which to make a new drawing elevation. Figure 466 shows an example 

of a construction line that has been transported to different locations on a sheet. 

Figure 466 Transporting a Construction Line 

Transportation line 

Second 

intersection 

Transportation line 

TransportedTransportation 

line 

construction 

line 

The transported construction line is deflected 

at q angle to the transportation line 

First 

intersection 

Transported construction line Vertical construction line 

created at this point 

Transported 

Construction line 




Projected Construction Lines 

You can project orthogonal construction lines from existing design geometry and use the resulting 

construction lines to create other drawing elevations. 

You can project construction lines: 

• Horizontally, vertically, or obliquely through a profile 

• From a section line through part of the design 

• From a rotated section line through part of the design 

Projecting Construction Lines Through a Profile 

When you project construction lines through a profile, construction lines are projected through 

points of interest on the selected geometry that would be seen as edges when viewed from the 

projection direction. Figure 467 shows an example. 

Figure 467 Projecting Construction Lines from a Profile 

To create construction lines through a profile: 

1. Select the profile. 

2. Choose the Projection construction lines from profiles tool . 

3. Move the mouse pointer into the drawing area and click right to open the popup menu. 


Figure 468 Popup Menu For Projection Construction Lines from Profiles 



4. Select: 

a. Horizontal 

Horizontal lines are created considering each important point of the profile. 

b. Vertical 

Vertical lines are created considering each important point of the profile. 

c. Oblique and specify the direction of the construction lines by entering a from and to 

point or entering an angle via Utilities > Protractor 

Construction lines are created according to the specified direction. 

5. Click Exit tool to discard the tool. 

Projecting Construction Lines Through a Section 

When you project construction lines through a section line, construction lines are projected 

through each intersection of the section line with the associated geometry. and through each 

vertex in the section line (except the end points). 

Figure 469 and Figure 470 show the use of the default projection angle of 90 degrees. 

Figure 469 Creating a Single Sectional View 




Figure 470 Creating a Multi-plane Sectional View 

The plane break line (B-B) is also projected as an aid to offset crosshatching. You can ignore 

the plane break line during crosshatching if you prefer as shown in Figure 471: 

Figure 471 Crosshatching a View (Ignoring the Plane Break Line) 

To create construction lines through a section line: 

1. Choose the New section line tool . 

2. Create a horizontal, vertical or oblique line which intersects the profile by setting start 

and end point of the line. 

3. Select the Project the construction lines from a section line tool . 

Construction lines are projected through each intersection of the section line with the 

associated geometry. 

You can also project construction lines from rotated section lines: 

1. Choose the New section line tool . 

2. Create a line which intersects the profile by setting first a start point, a second point 

where the line changes its direction and at last an end point. 

3. Select the Projects a rotated construction line from a section line tool . 




The construction lines are projected as shown in the following figure. 

Figure 472 Projected Construction Lines From a Rotated Section Line 

section line 

projected rotated construction line 

Please note: The Projects the construction lines from a section line/rotated section line tools are only enabled 

if a section line is selected. 




Dynamic Construction Lines 

MEDUSA also provides extremely powerful tools for producing dynamic construction lines. 

You can use the tools shown below to automatically draw dynamic construction lines tangential, 

perpendicular or crossed to lines, circles and arcs. 

The use of these tools is explained later in “Creating Dynamic Construction Lines” on page 513. 

In this chapter you get information on the topics ”Popup Menus”, ”Properties”, ”Point Recognition”, 

”Angle”, ”Fixed Point Definition”, ”Offset” and ”Keyboard Buttons” related to dynamic construction 

lines. 

Popup Menus 

Figure 473 Dynamic Construction Lines Tools 

For dynamic construction lines the following popup menus are on the right mouse button: 

Figure 474 Popup Menus 

Deletes auxiliary Lines 

deletes all construction lines on the sheet. 

Undo 

removes the dynamic construction lines last created with this tool. 

Properties... 

opens the X-Line Setup dialog. For details see “Properties” on page 509. 

Exit Tool 

Popup when cursor positioned 

over tool 

terminates the function. 

Popup when cursor positioned 

over drawing area - tool must be switched on 


Properties 

To display the X-Line Setup dialog: 



1. With your cursor positioned over any of the Dynamic Construction Lines tools click the right 

mouse button. 

2. Select Properties... from the popup menu which appears 

Figure 475 XLine - Setup Dialog 

Search Radius 

indicates the size of an area around the cursor in which MEDUSA uses to search for 

and detect other geometry. 

Angular increment width 

indicates the angle offset with which the dynamic construction lines are constructed 

from a fixed point. In order to fix points press the Ctrl Key of your keyboard to define 

the fixed point (see “Keyboard Buttons” on page 512). 

Point Recognition 

When you select a Dynamic Construction Lines tool, MEDUSA automatically recognizes suitable 

points at which the construction lines may be created as you move your cursor around the 

drawing. The points that are recognized depend upon the type of element that is within the 

search radius. As each suitable point is found, the cursor display changes to show the point, 

and the possible construction line that could be created at that point. The search radius for finding 

points is configurable via the XLine - Setup dialog as described above. 

• With circles, tangent points are defined as suitable locations. When these are found, 

the cursor display changes to a T (=Tangential) or inverted T. 

• With lines, the point, through which the auxiliary line is drawn, is always indicated as a 

small box. This moves, depending on the adjusted point function, dynamically along 

the line or stops at the point found last, until the next point is found. 

When no geometry is found within the search radius, the display of the point switches over to 

Fre for a free point. 




Angle 

When you select one of the tools either the tangential or perpendicular Dynamic Construction Lines 

tool, Angle and Offset entry boxes appear at the top left corner of your drawing area, as shown in 

Figure 476. With these tools the field for the Offset input is actived in this state and you have to 

move the cursor into the Angle field in order to enter a value. 

When you select the tool Dynamic Construction Lines, crossed, only the Angle field appears. The field is 

activated and the input can take place directly. 

Figure 476 Dynamic Construction Line Angle and Offset Entry Boxes 

For example, to create an auxiliary line to this circle tangential under 130°: 

1. Move the cursor into the proximity of the correct point of tangent. 

Notice that the data in the angle entry box updates dynamically. 

2. Once you have identified the location leave the mouse in that position and type to enter 

the desired angle into the Angle entry box. 

3. Press Return. 

The dynamic construction line is created at the specified angle. 

Figure 477 Example Dynamic Construction Line 

Fixed Point Definition 


1. Use the XLine - Setup dialog as described in section “Properties” on page 509 and define 

the Angular increment width as 20. 

2. Select an auxiliary line tool. 

3. Move your cursor over the drawing until the display shows a free point. 

4. Press and hold the Ctrl key to define a datum point. 




As you move your cursor you will notice that sample construction lines are displayed at 

20 degree intervals through the datum point. 

5. Move your cursor until the line you want is displayed and click left. 

The construction line is created. 

Please note: If you define a datum point on a circle the line is drawn through the circle center. 

Offset 

Tangential and perpendicular dynamic construction lines can also be drawn with offset. 

The Offset input field is activated as soon as you select one of these tools. 

To create an offset construction line: 

1. Type the desired value in the Offset field (see Figure 476, “Dynamic Construction Line 

Angle and Offset Entry Boxes” on page 510) and select a point on the drawing. 

The construction line is created with the desired offset under the specified angle. 

2. If you want to create a further line with another offset, you have to move the cursor into 

the Offset field again in order to be able to insert a new value. 

Offsets can be negative or positive. As you move the mouse pointer over the drawing, the line is 

shown offset from the cursor crosshairs. A positive value creates the line on the same side of 

the recognized points as the cursor. A negative value places the line on the opposite side of the 

recognized point to the cursor. This is dynamically shown on the screen as you move your cursor 

around the drawing. 

Figure 478 Positive and Negative Offsets 

positive offset negative offset 




Keyboard Buttons 

Ctrl Pressing Ctrl fixes the datum point as described in section “Fixed Point Definition” on 

page 510. 

Shift Pressing Shift helps you to create tangents between circles and circular arcs. 


Creating Dynamic Construction Lines 



You can create dynamic construction lines tangential, perpendicular or crossed to an element at 

a certain datum point. This is described in the following sections. 

Tangential Dynamic Construction Line 

The Dynamic auxiliary line, tangential tool creates a dynamic construction line which is tangential 

to the selected geometry. 

1. Click left on the Dynamic auxiliary line, tangential tool. 

The Angle and Offset input fields appear below the dashboard. The default setting of 

both values is 0.00. The focus is set on the Offset field. You can switch between the 

input fields by using the tabkey. 

If you changed the setting during the session, the last used value is displayed. 

2. If another value is set than the default one, enter 0.00. 

3. Move the pointer close to the line you would like to work on. 

The tool detects the line closest to the cursor and snaps to the closest point on the line. 

The dynamic construction line is always displayed dynamically and tangentially to the 

found line. 

4. Click the left mouse button to create the construction line. 

Figure 479 Tangential Dynamic Construction Line 

cursor position 

Dynamic Construction line 

current point of line 




Perpendicular Dynamic Construction Line 

The Dynamic auxiliary line, perpendicular tool creates a dynamic construction line, perpendicular to 

the selected geometry. This function works in the same manner as explained in ”Tangential 

Dynamic Construction Line”. 

Figure 480 Perpendicular Dynamic Construction Line 

current point of line 

auxiliary line 

Crossed Dynamic Construction Line 

cursor position 

The Dynamic auxiliary line, crossed creates two dynamic construction lines which are perpendicular 

to each other. One of the construction lines is tangential to the selected geometry. This function 

works in the same manner as explained in “Tangential Dynamic Construction Line” on 

page 513 with the difference that only an Angle input filed is displayed. 


Figure 481 Crossed Dynamic Construction Line 

current line point 

auxiliary line 1 

Cursor position 

Usage of Dynamic Construction Lines 



The following sections give you some examples for using the dynamic construction lines. 

Creating Dynamic Construction Lines Parallel to Angled Lines with Offset 

You can quickly produce offset lines in both directions for diagonal lines: 

1. Select the Dynamic auxiliary line, tangential tool. 

2. Enter an offset value in the input field . 

3. Move the cursor close to, but below the diagonal line, and click the left mouse button. 

An offset construction line appears below the line. 

Figure 482 Example Dynamic Construction Lines with Offset 1 

auxiliary line 2 

4. Now move the cursor until it is slightly above the line and click the left mouse button 

again. 

A second offset construction line appears, but this time, it is offset above the line. 




Figure 483 Example Dynamic Construction Lines with Offset 2 

Creating Construction Lines Perpendicular to Diagonal Lines 

To create construction lines perpendicular to diagonal lines: 

1. Select the Dynamic auxiliary line, perpendicular tool. 

2. Enter an offset value of 0 in the input field . 

3. Move the cursor close to the diagonal line and click the left mouse button. 

Figure 484 Example Dynamic Construction Lines Perpendicular to Diagonal Outlines 

Creating Dynamic Construction Lines as Tangents Between Two Circles 

To create a construction line tangential to two circles: 

1. Select the Dynamic auxiliary line, tangential tool. 

2. Move the cursor close to the first circle. 

3. As soon as the tangent is found, press and hold down the Shift key. 

Figure 485 Example Dynamic Construction Line as a Tangent between 2 Circles 1 




4. Keep Shift pressed and move the cursor close to the second circle until the required 

tangent point is found. 

Now you see a further tangential mark T at the second arc or circle. 

5. Click the left mouse button to create the tangent between both circles. 

Figure 486 Example Dynamic Construction Line as a Tangent Between 2 Circles 2 

Creating Dynamic Construction Lines as Crossed Tangents Between Two Circles 

1. Select the Dynamic Auxiliary Line, Crossed tool. 

2. Repeat steps 2 to 5 of the previous example. 

Figure 487 Example Dynamic Construction Lines as a Crossed Tangent Between 2 Circles 1 

Deleting Dynamic Construction Lines 

This function deletes all construction lines from the drawing. 

Please note: Remember, if you want to restore accidentally deleted construction lines, you can 

select the Undo option from the Edit menu and select the Delete all construction lines 

option from the Undo list. 





DIMENSIONING 


This chapter contains background information and procedures for creating and editing dimensions. 

• Dimension Tools..................................................................... 520 

• Dimensioning Standards ........................................................ 521 

• Setting the Default Dimension Standard ................................ 522 

• Properties, Styles and the Dashboard ................................... 526 

• Creating Basic Linear Dimensions......................................... 527 

• Linear Dimension Properties.................................................. 531 

• Creating Angular Dimensions ................................................ 540 

• Angular Dimension Properties ............................................... 542 

• Creating Circle and Arc Dimensions ...................................... 544 

• Arc and Circle Dimension Properties ..................................... 546 

• Radial Dimension Properties ................................................. 548 

• Creating Symmetrical Dimensions......................................... 550 

• Creating Half Symmetrical Dimensions ................................. 552 

• Creating Datum Offset Dimensions ....................................... 553 

• Creating Isometric Dimensions .............................................. 555 

• Creating Notes....................................................................... 558 

• Feature Control Frames and Datum ...................................... 559 

• Editing Dimensions ................................................................ 562 

• Welding Symbols ................................................................... 572 

• Surface Finish Symbols ......................................................... 578 



Dimensioning 

Dimension Tools 

There are many types of dimension available in MEDUSA, as well as ancillary dimensioning 

tools, such as geometric tolerancing and Feature Control Frames. Most are variations of the 

dimension types and they are explained in this chapter. 

The dimension tools are provided in the Text + Dimension tooltray. 

Figure 488 Dimension Tools 

Datum Chain 

Coordinate 

Diameter 

Angle 

Offset from a datum and 

Datum named group 

Isometric 

Feature Control Datum 

Arrange and explode dimensions 

Radial and Offset Radius 

Arc length 

Symmetrical 

Half symmetrical 


Note 

Free Feature Control Frame 

Gaps in overlapping dimension leader lines 

Load welding symbol Load surface finish symbol 

Edit dimensions

Dimensioning Standards 


Dimensioning Standards 

In conventional drafting, dimensioning is generally drawn to recognized national or international 

standards, which determine the format of the dimensioning. The dimensioning may also be subject 

to internal company standards, which may define the way in which dimensioning values are 

presented. 

MEDUSA allows you to create dimensions to one of five standards, namely: 

• ANSI 

• ISO 

• BSI 

• DIN 

• JIS 

The dimensioning standard that you use determines how the dimensioning is presented. For 

example, Figure 489 illustrates the difference between ISO and ANSI standards. 

Figure 489 Dimensioning Standards 



Dimensioning 

Setting the Default Dimension Standard 

You can select a dimension style and standard to use as default when you create dimensioning. 

To set the default dimensioning standard select the Defaults … option from the Options menu. 

The Defaults dialog appears displaying the tab Dimension by default. 

Figure 490 Defaults Dialog: Tab Dimension 

You find the following entries inside the Dimension tab: 

Standard 

Enables you to select from one of the standards: bsi, ansi, din, jis and iso. For an example 

see modifying the dimension standards, see page 524. 





shows the definitions for arrows and gaps for the selected Standard. You can change the 

settings by clicking left on the appropriate button and choose a new symbol from the 

Point Function dialog (see ”Lines”, ”Point Functions” on page 389). 

Escape 

Blob 

is a placeholder for the display of the formats. It is used internally. 

symbol of the starting point when using coordinate dimensioning. 

Radial Dimension 

Certain standards can allow that radial dimensions can be drawn with or without a line 

witnessing the radius. This control allows the user to select which alternative to use. 

Please note: In addition the ISO standard can allow flipped out diameter dimensions to be 

drawn with or without a witness line exhibiting the diameter. Radial Dimension is used 

for that case too. 

For following settings you can define Prefix and Suffix of the dimension text for the appropriate 

dimensioning. Clicking left on the button Symbol opens the Special Characters dialog. You also can 

enter values by typing them on your keyboard. 

Radial 

Diametric 

Thread 

Chamfer 

defines Prefix and Suffix of the dimension text for dimensioning radii. 

defines Prefix and Suffix of the dimension text for dimensioning diameters. 

defines the Prefix and Suffix of the dimension text for dimensioning threads. 

defines Prefix and Suffix of the dimension text for dimensioning chamfers. 

Parameters for Dimension Text are: 

Normal 

Bold 

displays dimension text with normal font weight (default setting, equivalent to code 1). 

displays dimension text with font weight bold. If this option is set, boldness of plotted 

dimensions can be set to a certain value by defining environment variables inside the 

login.bat. For details see the Administration Guide, chapter “Setting up Boldness for 

Plotting Dimensions“. 

Parameters for the DIN Tolerance Text Height section are: 

Normal 

Small 

sets the text height for the tolerance according to the text high of the dimension. 

sets the text height for the tolerance smaller than the text high of the dimension. 

Parameters for the Saved Damaged Dimensions section are: 



Dimensioning 

Prompt 

Never 

Always 

If this option is set, you are asked how to handle damaged dimensions every time, you 

try to change a dimension. For details see ”Dimensioning”, ”Editing Dimensions”, ”Possible 

Messages while Changing Dimensions” on page 566. 

Damaged dimensions are never saved but are always reverted to their original structure 

if possible. 

Damaged dimensions are always saved. 

Parameters for the Reset Tool Properties section are: 

Automatic Reset 

If this option is activated each time one of the dimensioning tools is activated, temporary 

dimensioning attributes (text height for instance) are reset in accordance with the 

default values in the same way they are when using the button Reset of the Dimension 

Properties dialog box. 

Keep User Settings 

If this option is selected, temporary dimensioning attributes (text height for example) 

are left as they were from the last use of a dimension creation tool. 

The buttons on this tab are: 

Apply, Close, Help 

Apply applies the settings currently shown in the dialog. 

Close closes the dialog without making any further changes. 

Help opens the online documentation. 

Update Standard 

uses the current settings as the standard for dimensioning, see note below. 

If you wish, you can modify the dimension standards, or create a personal copy of a modified 

standard. 

1. Select the Defaults … option from the Options menu. 

The Defaults dialog appears. 

2. Select the tab Dimension. 

3. Select the dimensioning standard you wish to use. 

4. Modify the standard as required, for example, select arrows of a different style. 

5. Click: 

• Apply to apply a modified version of the dimensioning standard to the sheet. You can 

then revert to the original, default standard whenever required. 

• Update standard to reset your personal copy of that particular standard. 

Please note: If you click Update standard, the current settings become standard and they will be 

used whenever you select that standard. 

When closing the session after selecting any of these options, a dialog appears, 




explaining that you have changed the defaults. The dialog asks if you wish to save 

or discard these changes. If you select Save then the current standard is used in 

any MEDUSA session. If you select Cancel the current standard dimensioning settings 

are lost. Next time you start MEDUSA the old default settings are used again. 



Dimensioning 

Properties, Styles and the Dashboard 

All properties of any dimension may be set by using the appropriate dialog. According to the 

kind of dimension following dialogs are available: 

• Linear Dimension Properties dialog (see “Linear Dimension Properties” on page 531) 

• Angular Dimension Properties dialog (see “Angular Dimension Properties” on page 542) 

• Radial Dimension Properties dialog (see “Radial Dimension Properties” on page 548) 

• Arc Dimension Properties dialog (see “Arc and Circle Dimension Properties” on page 546) 

As with other MEDUSA entities, the most commonly accessed attributes are displayed on the 

dashboard, an example is given in Figure 491. 

Figure 491 Dashboard: Dimensioning 

The dashboard and the Properties dialogs are used to display properties and set them, both for 

single dimension and multiple dimension types. 

You can: 

• Add a diameter symbol to the dimension text 

• Specify the number of decimal places 

• Position the text outside the dimension line 

• Select a different dimension style 

• Access the full dimension properties 

• Create a new dimension in the last selected dimension style 

Properties may be set before the dimension is positioned, during positioning and after a dimension 

has been positioned. Any particular dimension set-up may be stored as a style, with a 

name for instant re-use. To store a style MEDUSA has to be in administration mode. 

To create a new dimension style use the properties dialogs, for example, the 

Linear Dimension Properties dialog (see “Linear Dimension Properties” on page 531) to set up the 

various properties of your new dimension. Select the Style button at the bottom of the dialog and 

use the style system to create a new style. Further details of creating styles are given in ”Dashboard”, 

”Changing Styles and Style Properties” on page 312. 


Creating Basic Linear Dimensions 



You can create linear dimensions in one of three formats, coordinate, chain or datum format. 

Figure 492 shows an example for each format. 

Procedure 

Figure 492 Linear Dimension Formats 

To create linear dimensions: 

1. Choose one of the linear dimension tools (see Figure 492) from the Text + Dimension tooltray. 

2. Choose a probe specifier (optional). 

3. Move the cursor to the point on the line where you want to start the dimension, and 

then click left. 

The dimension appears on the cursor. 

4. Move the cursor to the next point that you want to dimension. 

• If this is not the last point you wish to dimension, click the middle mouse button. 

• If this is the last point you want to dimension, click the left mouse button. 

The leader lines extend and the dimension line moves to wherever you position the 

cursor. 

5. Repeat step 4 until you have selected the last point for dimensioning. 

6. If you wish to specify the direction of the dimension, click right and select from the 

popup menu. Otherwise, the direction will change depending on the cursor position. 

For a horizontal dimension, move the cursor above or below the dimension. For a vertical 

dimension, move the cursor to the left or the right of the dimension. For a parallel 



Dimensioning 

dimension, move the cursor so it is either inside or outside both the horizontal and vertical 

regions described. For details on the entries inside the popup menu see “Popup 

Menu While Dimensioning Linear” on page 528. 

7. Move your cursor to the place where you wish to position the dimension text and then 

click left. 

The dimension is created. 

You can remove the whole dimension by choosing Undo from the popup menu. 

Popup Menu While Dimensioning Linear 

While dimensioning the following popup menu is available by clicking the right mouse button. 

Figure 493 Popup Menu For Linear Dimensions 

The following entries are available: 

Horizontal 

Vertical 

Parallel 

snaps dimensioning to the horizontal direction. If it is chosen it becomes disabled. 

snaps dimensioning to the vertical direction. If it is chosen it becomes disabled. 

snaps dimensioning to a parallel line against a virtual line between the first and second 

point probed for dimensioning. If Parallel is chosen it becomes disabled (see Figure 494, 

“Example of Parallel Dimension” on page 529). 


Figure 494 Example of Parallel Dimension 



Perpendicular 

creates the dimension at right angles with a (virtual) line crossing the datum point and 

a specified end point. 

Figure 495 Example of Perpendicular Dimension 

(virtual) line 

datum point for a 

symmetrical dimension specified end point of 

the dimension 

datum point for a 

symmetrical dimension 

right angle 

specified end point 

of the dimension 

(virtual) line 



Dimensioning 

Automatic 

snaps dimensioning to that direction which comes closest to the current position of the 

cursor related to the points probed for the dimension. If Automatic is chosen it becomes 

disabled inside the popup menu. 

Probe points 

is used for snapping probing inside the drawing area to the next point of an element. If 

this option is chosen Probe line is enabled. This option is enabled only before probing the 

first point for dimensioning. 

Probe line 

Properties 

Undo 

Exit Tool 

is used for snapping probing to the next line segment of an element. This option is useful 

for dimensioning a single segment. If this option is chosen Probe points is enabled. 

This option is enabled only before probing the first point for dimensioning. 

opens the Linear Dimension Properties dialog. For details see “Linear Dimension Properties” 

on page 531. 





Linear Dimension Properties 



You can use the Linear Dimension Properties dialog to create or edit the default linear dimension 

properties. To display the Linear Dimension Properties dialog, select a dimension line, and then select 

the Properties... option from the popup menu. 

The Linear Dimension Properties dialog has two tabs: 

• ”Style and Format” (see below) and 

• „Text and Arrows“ explained on page 535. 

The buttons are explained on page 539. 

Style and Format 

Figure 496 Linear Dimension Properties: Style and Format Tab 

The entries of this tab are explained on the following pages. 



Dimensioning 

Dimension and Tolerance Style 

Figure 497 Dimension and Tolerance Style Buttons 

The Dimension and Tolerance style buttons control the manner in which the basic dimension value is 

displayed. 

The upper row defines how tolerance values are displayed, from left to right it is: 

• No tolerance values but only tolerance code is given 

• Tolerance shown as limits of dimension 

• Tolerance shown as dimension plus variations 

• Tolerance shown as dimension plus symmetrical variation 

The lower row defines the style of the dimension. The options, from left to right are: 

• Normal dimension (no identification marking of dimensions) 

• Absolute dimension (marked by a rectangle) 

• Unscaled dimensions (underlined) 

• Test dimension (marked by a sausage) 

Please note: To change the calculated value of an unscaled dimension, see “Dimension and 

Tolerance Format” on page 533. 

Standard 

Figure 498 Standard 

The Standard option allows to change the standard for selected dimensions. The Standard option is 

merely the same functionality as can be accessed by using the popup menu when editing a 

dimension, see ”Editing Dimensions”, “Popup Menu 1 for Editing Dimensions” on page 563. 

The Tolerance Text Height buttons apply on DIN dimensions only. The DIN standard supports two 

layouts of dimension with variance. The main dimension value and the two variances can all 




have the same height, in which case the lower limit and main value are adjacent to each other 

. Alternatively the two variance values are drawn with a smaller height (70%) and the 

main dimension value is raised to be between the two variance values (default). 

Dual Dimension 

Figure 499 Dual Dimension Buttons 

The Dual dimension buttons allow dimensions to be simultaneously displayed in metric and imperial 

units. The basic display is always in sheet units and the dual display is in the other. 

The options, from left to right are: 

• Toggle dual dimensioning On/Off 

• Dual dimension beneath primary dimension 

• Dual dimension other side of witness line 

• Dual dimension alongside primary dimension 

• Spaces is the value defining the space MEDUSA will leave between primary and dual 

dimension components. This distance is in sheet units. The setting is valid if using dual 

dimension alongside primary dimension. 

Dimension and Tolerance Format 

Figure 500 Dimension and Tolerance Format Options 

This area controls the numerics and text parts of the dimension. 

Prefix, Suffix 

The Prefix and Suffix fields control any fixed text surrounding the numerical dimension 

data. To define a prefix or suffix, either: 

• The common options Default linear dimension format , Linear dimension format for diameter 

, radius , metric threads and chamfers 45° affect both prefix and suffix. The 

point of having the buttons is that they set the prefix and suffix to the values defined 



Dimensioning 

Value 

Limit/Fit 

Tolerance 

Dual 

in the used dimension standard. If you switch to ANSI and use the buttons, you see 

the prefix disappears and the suffix is set to DIA or R. 

It is also possible to specify user defined prefixes and suffixes in the defaults.dat (see 

the Customization Guide, User Interface, Defaults.dat). 

• Select an option from the Prefix or Suffix pulldown menu 

• Type a value into the Prefix or Suffix entry box 

To enter special symbols into the Prefix or Suffix entry box, click in the entry box, click 

the Symbol button, and select the required symbol from the Symbol dialog. 

The dimension value itself is automatically calculated from the drawing. To change the 

calculated value for the dimension, select the Value choice box and type the required 

dimension value in the text entry box below the choice box. 

Limit and Fit values may be entered for any dimension style which uses them. 

To define and display limit and fit values, select the Limit/Fit choice box, and then type 

the required information into the text entry box. 

If required, you can select the text from a lookup table which shows all company standard 

options. This function is only available, when MEDMECH product is included in 

the product list of your project. To display this lookup table, select the Look up table button. 

The button is grayed out until you select the Limit/Fit choice box. 

Figure 501 Limits and Fits Dialog 

Tolerances, in the form of upper and lower limits, may be entered for any dimension 

style which displays them. You can enter the values manually or you can select the 

Auto tolerance choice box to allow MEDUSA to calculate them. If Auto Tolerance is selected 

you must define a Limit and Fit in order for the calculation to be performed. 

Dual tolerances may be specified for dual dimensions that display tolerances. If Auto 

Tolerance is used then the values are calculated automatically. 




Test percentage 

is active when a Test Tolerance Usage is selected. It is limited to the range 0 to 100, and if 

it is set to zero then the test percentage text block is not displayed in the dimension. 

Figure 502 Example Test Dimension 

Text and Arrows 

The Text and Arrows tab on the Linear Dimension Properties dialog controls the graphical display properties. 

These options are mostly used when creating new styles. 

Figure 503 Linear Dimension Properties: Text and Arrows 



Dimensioning 

Text Position 

Figure 504 Text Position buttons 

MEDUSA automatically calculates whether there is sufficient space within the leader lines to 

accommodate the dimension text. If there is not sufficient room, it repositions the text outside 

the leader lines. This Text position area allows the user to override these defaults. The options 

from left to right are: 

Layer 

• Position Auto (default) 

• Force Inside 

• Force Outside 

Figure 505 Layer selector 

Allows the dimension to be positioned on an alternative layer. By default the layer Dimensions is 

selected. 

Direction 

Figure 506 Direction buttons 

Allows the selection of the direction of geometry being dimensioned to be set. Options from left 

to right are: 

• Automatic direction selection 

• Horizontal 

• Vertical 

• Parallel 

• Perpendicular 


Imperial Text 

Figure 507 Imperial Text Options 



When dimensioning an imperial sheet, or using dual dimensioning on a metric sheet, you have 

several extra options. Drawings tend to be constructed in inches, but large dimensions are often 

displayed in feet. Options available from left to right are: 

• No units 

• Display as inches 

• Display as feet and inches 

• Display as feet 

You can also choose to display imperial dimensions using fractions. 

Dimension Type 

Figure 508 Dimension Type Options 

A wide variety of dimension types are available in MEDUSA, the following types of dimension 

are available from left to right: 

• Coordinate dimension 

• Datum dimension 

• Chain dimension 

• Symmetrical dimension 

• Half a symmetrical dimension 

• Dimension offset from a datum 

Spacing 

Figure 509 Dimension Spacing Option 

You can use this area to control the spacing between witness lines for dimensions which have 

multiple witness lines. 



Dimensioning 

Text Format 

Figure 510 Text Format Options 

This area provides control over the physical display of the dimension text. You can choose the 

text height (in sheet units) and a special scale for a particular dimension. 

You can format the dimension with any number of decimal places, also with a different number 

being displayed for the dual part of a dual dimension. Formats for primary and dual part of dual 

dimensions are arranged to display the required number of decimal places. 

There is a toggle option to control the display of trailing zeros on exact dimensions. So with a 

dimension format set to show three decimal places you can choose whether to display 15.000 

or 15. Decimal places which are non zero are always displayed for example, 15.5, 15.75. 


Figure 511 Arrows and Gaps Options 

You can set the point functions for arrows and gaps, which appear on leader and witness lines, 

to suit special requirements. Click left the icon displaying the sign that you want to change and 

a dialog of all point functions appears. Select the required point function. 

The basic set-up for arrows and gaps is a function of the dimension standard, see “Dimensioning 

Standards” on page 521. 


Graphic Scaling 

Figure 512 Graphic Scaling Option 



Graphic Scaling changes arrow heads, gaps and texts of the selected dimension to the set Graphics 

Scale value (default is 1.00). For example, if you set the value to 2.00, arrow heads, gaps and 

texts will be enlarged by the factor 2. If a Null is entered an error message is given. Values lower 

than Null are impossible. Scaling is valid for the graphical display only. Properties like the text 

format are not changed. 

Buttons 

OK and Apply 

The buttons apply the current settings on the selected dimension. Ok additionally closes the dialog. 

Cancel 

This button closes the properties dialog. The settings are not applied on the selected dimension. 

Style 

This button is only active in Administration Mode. For details see the Administration Guide, 

chapter Administration, section Creating and Editing MEDUSA Styles. 

Reset 

The Reset button updates the properties of the dialog to reflect the various defaults defined in the 

file styles.xml. 

Help 

This button opens the online documentation. 



Dimensioning 

Creating Angular Dimensions 

You can dimension the internal or external angle between: 

• Two existing line segments 

• An existing line segment and a specified reference line 

• Two angled lines that do not intersect. 

Examples of different dimensions are shown in Figure 513. 

Figure 513 Creating Angular Dimensions 

When you create angular dimensions, you use a number of probes to define different elements 

of the dimension, depending upon the dimensioning tool you selected. The three methods of 

dimensioning angles are shown in the figure above. 

Please note: If you use the three-point method to define your dimension, it is important to probe 

all the points either in a clockwise or counterclockwise manner to form the dimension. 

All other methods are not restricted. 

To change the dimension from an internal angle to an external angle, or vice-versa then, before 

placing the final point, move the cursor across one of the leader lines and the dimension 

changes. 

Popup Menu While Dimensioning Angles 

While dimensioning angles clicking the right mouse button gives you different kinds of popup 

menus: 


Properties 

Undo 

Exit Tool 


Creating Angular Dimensions 

• As long as you probe points to specify the angle which shall be dimensioned the popup 

provides the entries Properties, Undo and Exit Tool. They are also in the popup menu given 

below. 

• If the last probe was made and the dimensioning value is visible at the cursor the 

popup changes as given in the following figure. 

Figure 514 Popup Menu for Angular Dimensions 

opens the Angular Dimension Properties dialog. For details see “Angular Dimension Properties” 

on page 542. 






Dimensioning 

Angular Dimension Properties 

The angular dimension properties are similar to linear dimension properties. The main difference 

is in formatting. There are no dual dimensions and the format options are different. 

Text Format is explained in “Text Format” on page 543. For details on the other entries see the relevant 

descriptions in “Linear Dimension Properties” on page 531. 

Figure 515 Angular Dimension Properties: Style and Format Tab 

Figure 516 Angular Dimension Properties: Text and Arrows Tab 


Text Format 

Figure 517 Angular Dimension Text Format Options 

Angles may be displayed in the following formats: 

• Degrees 

• Degrees to the required number of decimal places (0-3) 

• Degrees and minutes 

• Degrees, minutes and seconds 


Angular Dimension Properties 



Dimensioning 

Creating Circle and Arc Dimensions 

You can dimension: 

• The radius and diameter of a circle 

• The radius, diameter, and length of an arc 

• The radius of a circle or arc when the center of the circle or arc is outside of the sheet. 

Dimensioning the Radius of a Circle 

1. Choose the tool Create radial dimension . 

2. Probe the position on the circumference of the circle where you want the dimension’s 

leader line to exit. 

A radial dimension line appears on the sheet. 

3. Move the cursor to the position where you want the dimension text, then click left. 

The dimension text is placed on the sheet. 

Dimensioning the Diameter of a Circle 

1. Choose the Dimensions the diameters of circles and holes tool . 

2. Probe the position on the circumference of the circle or arc where you want the dimension’s 

leader line to exit. 

A diametric dimension line appears on the sheet. 

3. Move the cursor to the position where you want the dimension text, then click left. 

The dimension text is placed on the sheet. 

Dimensioning Arcs 

1. Choose the Dimension the length of the arc tool . 

2. Probe the position on the arc where you want the dimension line to start. 

3. Probe the position on the arc where you want the dimension line to end. 

4. Specify whether you want the dimension text inside or outside of the dimension line by 

probing inside or outside of the arc. 

The dimension appears on the cursor. 

5. Position the dimension on the sheet by moving the cursor and then click left. 


Dimensioning a Radius with an Off Sheet Center 


Creating Circle and Arc Dimensions 

1. Choose the Dimensions the offset radius tool . 

2. Probe the position on the arc, where you want the dimension line to start. 

3. Probe the position where you want the dimension text to be. 

4. Probe the position to place the end of the dimension line and then click left. 

Popup Menu While Dimensioning Circles and Arcs 

While dimensioning circles and arcs clicking the right mouse button opens the following popup 

menu: 

Properties 

Undo 

Exit Tool 

Figure 518 Popup Menu for Dimensioning Circles and Arcs 

opens either the Angular, Arc or Radial Dimension Properties dialog. For details see “Angular 

Dimension Properties” on page 542, “Arc and Circle Dimension Properties” on 

page 546 and “Radial Dimension Properties” on page 548. 






Dimensioning 

Arc and Circle Dimension Properties 

The arc and circle dimension properties are similar to linear dimension properties. The difference 

is the additional Arc Length Indicator in the Standard section of the Style and Format tab and the 

sections Direction, Type and Spacing in the Text and Arrows tab which are not needed for arc and circle 

dimensions. Arc Length Indicator is explained in “Standard” on page 547. For details on the other 

parameters see the relevant descriptions in “Linear Dimension Properties” on page 531. 

Figure 519 Arc Dimension Properties: Style and Format Tab 

Figure 520 Arc Dimension Properties: Text and Arrows Tab 


Standard 



Arc and Circle Dimension Properties 

The Standard option and the Tolerance Text Height buttons work in the same way as given in ”Linear 

Dimension Properties”, “Standard” on page 532. 

The Arc Length Indicator supports two methods of indicating that a dimension is of an arc length. 

Either a long arc is drawn above the dimension value or a small arc is drawn just in front of it 

(default). 



Dimensioning 

Radial Dimension Properties 

The radial dimension properties are similar to arc dimension properties. The difference is the 

buttons for Radius Visibility instead of Arc Length Indicator in the Standard section of the Style and Format 

tab and the additional section Type in the Text and Arrows tab. Radius Visibility is explained in “Standard” 

on page 549. Type is explained in “Type” on page 549. For details on the other parameters 

see the relevant descriptions in “Linear Dimension Properties” on page 531. 

Figure 522 Radial Dimension Properties: Style and Format Tab 

Figure 523 Radial Dimension Properties: Text and Arrows Tab 


Standard 



Radial Dimension Properties 

The Standard option and the Tolerance Text Height buttons work in the same way as given in ”Linear 

Dimension Properties”, “Standard” on page 532). 

The Radius Visibility allows to show or hide (default) the dimension line, which indicates the radius 

inside the arc or circle. 

Please note: In addition the ISO standard allows flipped out diameter dimensions to be drawn 

with or without a witness line indicating the diameter. Radius Visibility is used for that 

case too. 

Type 

Figure 525 Type 

The Type buttons change the type of radial dimension. From left to right the dimension will be 

displayed as a radius, diameter or a offset radius. By default Type is locked and cannot be 

changed. This can be changed in administration mode by editing the style (see Administration 

Guide, chapter Administration, section Creating and Editing MEDUSA Styles). 



Dimensioning 

Creating Symmetrical Dimensions 

MEDUSA provides a tool to create dimensions which are symmetrical to a specified point. 

Figure 526 Example of a Horizontal Symmetrical Dimension 

X 

To create the symmetrical dimension you have to choose 

Horizontal from the popup menu 

datum point for the 

symmetrical dimension 

can be placed anywhere 

on the line 

For creating symmetrical dimensions, do the following steps: 

1. Choose the Symmetrical dimension tool . 


3. Position the cursor at the centerline of the line that you want to dimension and click left. 

The probed point defines the symmetry datum point to which the dimension relates to. 

The dimension is created attached to the cursor. When you move the cursor, the 

dimension line extends symmetrically to both sides of the specified point. 

4. Move the cursor to the point on the line where you want to end the dimension line and 

click left or click middle if you wish to dimension more than one point. 

5. Move the cursor to the point where you wish to position the dimension and click left. 

The dimension is placed on the sheet. 

Please note: Note that the leader lines extend and the dimension line moves to any point you 

position the cursor. 

6. Repeat the described procedure to dimension further points 

7. Choose Exit tool from the popup menu to quit the tool. 

While dimensioning a popup menu is available by clicking the right mouse button. You can use 

the different entries to change the orientation of the dimension. The popup menu accords to that 

one explained in “Popup Menu While Dimensioning Linear” on page 528. 



Creating Symmetrical Dimensions 

If you call up the Linear Dimension Properties dialog by using the Properties entry from the popup 

menu, you find symmetrical in the Style field at the bottom of the dialog. 

Figure 527 Cutout of the Properties Dialog 



Dimensioning 

Creating Half Symmetrical Dimensions 

MEDUSA provides a tool to create half a dimension. The text denotes the whole symmetrical 

geometry even though only one half is designed. 

Figure 528 Example of a Horizontal Half a Symmetrical Dimension 

datum point for the 

half symmetrical dimension 

For creating half symmetrical dimensions, do the following steps: 

1. Choose the Half a symmetrical dimension tool . 


3. Position the cursor where the start point of the line that you want to dimension meets 

the centerline of the geometry and click left. You created now the datum point of the 

half symmetrical dimension. 

The dimension appears attached to the cursor. 

4. Move the cursor to the end point of the line that you want to dimension and click left or 

click middle if you wish to dimension more than one point. 

The dimension is created attached to the cursor. 

5. Move the cursor to the point where you wish to position the dimension and click left. 

The dimension is placed on the sheet. 

6. You can dimension further points by repeating the described procedure until you quit 

the Half a symmetrical dimension tool. 

While dimensioning the right mouse popup as described in “Popup Menu While Dimensioning 

Linear” on page 528 is available. You can use it to change the orientation of the dimension. 

If you call up the Linear Dimension Properties dialog by using the Properties entry from the popup 

menu, you find half symmetrical in the Style field at the bottom of the dialog. 

Figure 529 Cutout of the Properties Dialog 

X 

To create this horizontal 

half symmetrical 

dimension you have 

to choose “Horizontal” 

from the popup menu 


Creating Datum Offset Dimensions 


Creating Datum Offset Dimensions 

You can dimension an element when only half of the element is drawn on the sheet, or when the 

location of an element is important with regard to another point which is not on the sheet. You 

do this by using the tools creating a datum offset dimension. 

Figure 530 The Datum Offset Dimension Creation Tools 

Creates a datum named group 

for an offset datum dimension tool 

The Creates a datum named group for an offset datum dimension tool creates a group with a datum prim and 

text to define the datum position. 

It is important that you know the exact location of the datum prim on the sheet as the start of the 

dimension line will be based on this location. 

The Dimension offset from a datum tool creates the dimension with regard to the datum point. 

Figure 531 Example of Offset Dimensioning 

horizontal offset 

dimension 

offset datum 

Dimension offset from 

a datum 

For creating a datum offset dimension, do the following steps: 

vertical offset 

dimension 

1. Choose the Creates a datum named group for an offset datum dimension tool . 

A coordinates input field is displayed top left in the drawing area. 



Dimensioning 

Figure 532 The coordinates input field 

2. Enter the coordinates for the datum into the X Position and Y Position fields (you can use 

the Tab key to move from the X field to the Y field) and press the Enter key or click on 

the checkmark to apply the entries. 

The datum prim and the inscribed X- and Y coordinates appear crosshair attached to 

the cursor. 

3. Move the cursor to the position on the sheet where you want to place the datum prim 

and click left. 

The datum prim and the coordinates for the datum location are placed on the sheet. 

This acts as the datum for the dimensions. 

4. Choose the Dimension offset from a datum tool . 

5. Probe the datum prim on the sheet. 

6. A dimension appears attached to the cursor. When you move the cursor on the sheet, 

the dimension text changes according to the distance between the offset datum to the 

current mouse pointer position. 

7. Click left on the point of the element where you want to end the dimension, or click 

middle if you wish to dimension more than one point. 

8. Place now the dimension on the sheet by moving the cursor to the requested position 

and click once more left. 

9. Repeat the described steps to create another datum offset dimension or quit the tool. 

While creating the dimension a popup menu is available. You can use it for changing the 

arrangement and properties. For details see “Popup Menu While Dimensioning Linear” on 

page 528. 


Creating Isometric Dimensions 

Dialog 

The Creates isometric dimensioning tool opens the Axonometric Dimension dialog. 

Figure 533 Axonometric Dimension Dialog 

The dialog contains the following entries. 

Isometric 



standard isometric 

buttons to set the 

dimension to the 

desired orientation 

base angle input field 

the default value 

is 45 degrees 

angle input fields 

sets the angles for the dimension to the standard isometric defaults (see also 

Figure 534, “Isometric Default Angles” on page 556). 

Base angle 

activates the base angle input field. The default entry is 45 degrees but you can also 

enter a different value. The orientation of the dimension complies with the entered 

angle. 

Define angle 

activates the angle input fields for entering your own angles. 



Dimensioning 

Isometric Scaling 

You have two possibilities: 

• The dimension text shows the real length of the line according to the sheet 

scale. 

• The dimension text shows the projected length of the line according to a 3D 

point of view. 

The angles stated in Figure 534 are the isometric defaults. They are relative to the horizontal. 

The angles will be different to those shown below, if you change the base angle or if you specify 

your own angles for the dimension or leader lines. 

Figure 534 Isometric Default Angles 

The angle of the 

leader line is 

150 degrees and 

the angle of the 

dimension line 

is 30 degrees 






is 90 degrees 



-90 degrees and 



is 30 degrees 

Procedure 

button 

For creating a isometric dimension, do the following steps: 






is -30 degrees 






is 90 degrees 






is 30 degrees 

1. Choose the Creates isometric dimensioning tool . 

The Axonometric Dimension dialog box is displayed. For details on the parameters see 

“Dialog” on page 555. 

You can use the isometric default angles or enter your own angle values. 

2. Define the angles: 

• If you want to use the isometric default angles, set the checkmark for the Isometric 

option. 




• If you want to specify your own angles for the dimension, activate either the Base angle 

or the Define angles option. 

The default value for the base angle is 45 degrees. 

3. Click the standard isometric button that you require (see Figure 534, “Isometric Default 

Angles” on page 556). 

4. If you want the dimension text to show the projected length instead of the real length of 

the line, activate the button in Isometric Scaling. 

5. Move the cursor to the start for the dimension and click left. 

6. Move the cursor to the end of the dimension and click left, or click middle if you wish to 

dimension more than one point. 

7. Place the dimension on the sheet by moving the cursor to the requested position and 

click left. 

8. To dimension further points repeat the steps 5 to 7. 



Dimensioning 

Creating Notes 

MEDUSA provides a toolset containing different tools to create notes. The notes consist of a 

leader line and a text. The tools differ in the alignment of text and leaderline. 

Figure 535 The Creates Notes Tools 

Creates notes with: 

opens the toolset 

For creating a note, do the following steps: 

1. Choose one of the create note tools. 

The dashboard displays a text input field. 

2. Type in the text of the note. 

3. Point to the position of the arrow of the leader line for the note and click left. 

4. Position the text of the note by moving the cursor. 

5. To place the text click left. 

While creating a note a popup menu is available which is similar to those ones of dimensioning. 

For details see “Popup Menu While Dimensioning Linear” on page 528. The entry Properties 

opens the Note Properties dialog which is shown in the figure below. 

Figure 536 The Note Properties Dialog 

horizontal vertical parallel 

orientation orientation orientation 

You can change the Style, the Layer on witch the note text is created, the text Height, the Type 

which is plain, boxed or underlined, the Text entry. 

The note tools create NTE groups. You can therefore select the whole group using the select 

group tools. 


Feature Control Frames and Datum 



To specify the shape tolerance and the position tolerance you use two different tools from the 

dimension tooltray. 

Figure 537 The Feature Control Frames and Datum Tools 

The Creates a free feature control toolset provides tools which differ in the alignment of text and arrow. 

Creating a Feature Control Frame Datum 

1. Choose the Creates a Feature Control frame datum tool . 

A symbol, which contains a specified text, appears attached crosshair on the cursor. 

Below the dashboard an edit field opens for changing the text. 

2. If you want to change the text, type it on the keyboard. 

If the edit field is not active, click left into the edit field. 

3. Place the symbol by probing on the element that should be set in correlation to another 

one. 

While creating a feature control frame datum following popup menu is available. 

Figure 538 The Feature Control Frame Datum Popup Menu 

Rotate 90 Degrees. 

rotates the symbol to 90 degrees anti-clockwise. Clicking again on the entry repeats 

the rotation. 

Undo 

Exit Tool 

Creates a 

Feature Control frame datum 

is used for canceling the last action. 


Creates a 

feature control 

frame toolset 




Dimensioning 

Creating a Free Feature Control Frame 

1. Choose one of the Creates a feature control frame tools shown in Figure 537. 

The dashboard is displayed as shown above. 

Figure 539 Example: Dashboard During Creating a Horizontal Feature Control Frame 

2. Type the text of the feature control frame in the text input field. 

Feature control frames can also contain special characters. 

3. Click on the icon in the dashboard to open the Special Characters dialog. 

4. Choose the desired symbol and click left. 

The symbol is inserted into the text input field and the dialog disappears. 

5. Probe on the position where the arrow of the leaderline should point to. If you move the 

cursor the leaderline extends. 

6. Click left to place the text frame. 

7. Repeat the steps described above to create other feature control frames or quit the 

tool. 

Before placing the text frame you can open the following popup menu. 

Figure 540 The feature Control Frame Popup Menu 

Horizontal 

switches on the Creates horizontal Feature Control Frame tool. 

Vertical 

Free 

style entry when using 

the creates horizontal 

feature control frame 

defines the 

size of the text 

switches on the Creates vertical Feature Control Frame tool. 

switches on the Creates a free Feature Control Frame tool. 

text input field: 

to enter the text 

displayed in the frame 

opens the 

Special 

Character 

Dialog 


Right Angled 

switches on the Right angled Feature Control Frame tool. 

Properties 

opens the Note Properties dialog. 

For details see “The Note Properties Dialog” on page 558 

Undo and Exit Tool 


Supplementary Information 



The symbol for the feature control datum is located in \med2d\m2d\symbol\fcdat.sym. 

This symbol can be replaced by another symbol under the same name. 



Dimensioning 

Editing Dimensions 

Once you have selected a dimension, you can: 

• Change the length of a dimension line 

• Change the length and position of a leader line 

• Reposition the text 

• Add additional dimension segments 

• Delete an existing segment 

• Delete the entire dimension 

For editing a dimension consider the following figure which shows the different parts of a dimension. 

You see leader line (A), dimension text (B) and dimension line (C). 

Figure 541 Linear Dimension Example 

Quick Selection Tools 

The quick selection tools are used for selecting any part of a dimension. 

Figure 542 Quick Selection Tools for Dimensions 

From left to right the tools select dimension texts, leader lines or dimension lines. 

For each tool only one element can be selected at the same time and a popup menu is available, 

as explained in “Popup Menu 3 for Editing Dimensions” on page 565. 

Please note: Having chosen one of the tools you are in the modify mode, which allows changing 

points of lines and text values. 

If you want to move a leader line or the position of the dimension text, use the 

methods explained in “Edit a Dimension Part” on page 563. 


Edit a Dimension Part 



To edit a dimension part: 

1. Select the part of the dimension you want to change either by: 

• position the cursor over the part of the dimension and double click left, or 

• click left on a dimension, choose Edit from the popup menu and then click left on the 

part of the dimension. 

2. According to your selection you have the following possibilities now: 

• If you selected the leader line (A) you can probe a new point for changing the points 

which are dimensioned. 

• If you selected the dimension text (B) you can move the text on the dimension line to 

a new position. 

• If you selected the dimension line (C) you can probe a new point for changing the 

spacing of the dimension text to the dimensioned points. 

In each phase of editing dimensions a popup menu provides further editing possibilities: 

• Having selected the whole dimension and then Edit from the general popup menu, the 

”Popup Menu 1 for Editing Dimensions” is available. 

• Having chosen a part of a dimension, the “Popup Menu 2 for Editing Dimensions” on 

page 564 is available. 

Popup Menu 1 for Editing Dimensions 

This popup menu is available when the whole dimension was selected and Edit was chosen 

from the general popup menu. 

Figure 543 Popup Menu 1 for Editing Dimensions 



Dimensioning 

Change to BSI, Change to ANSI, Change to DIN, Change to JIS, Change to ISO 

sets the dimension text to be in BSI, ANSI, DIN, JIS or ISO standard. 

Text Lock disables adding and deleting leader lines with Add and Delete. Once this option was chosen 

it turns to Text Unlock for reverting the setting again. 

In scale views you can lock dimensions, which outstand a scale view and which are to 

be modified, in order that the dimension text corresponds to the scale of the scale view 

further on (see also ”Toolbar”, ”Scale View”, ”Dimensioning” on page 283). 

Add allows you to add one further leader line by probing the new point which shall be 

dimensioned against the first point in the dimension chain. For details see “Adding a 

Segment to an Existing Dimension” on page 565. 

This option is disabled for angular and arc dimensions. 

Delete allows you to remove one leader line. If a leader line is removed from the middle of a 

dimension chain, after removing the other dimensions are adjusted for correct appearance 

of the whole chain. If the dimension is a single one, an error message is given 

(see “Possible Messages while Changing Dimensions” on page 566). For details on 

deletion see ”Deleting Whole Dimensions” and “Deleting a Part of a Dimension” on 

page 566. 

Modify allows you to change each sub-element of a dimension either as text or line. After 

selected Modify the “Popup Menu 3 for Editing Dimensions” on page 565 is available. 

We recommend not to do that because the dimension can get wrong. 

Undo is used for canceling the last action. You can undo several actions. Its number 


Exit Tool quits the tool. 


This popup menu is available when the position of a line or text of a dimension will be changed. 


Horizontal .... Automatic 

are the snap modes of the dimension. The current mode is grayed out. For details on 




the modes see ”Creating Basic Linear Dimensions”, “Popup Menu While Dimensioning 

Linear” on page 528. 

Reselect is used for selecting another part of the dimension. 

Exit Tool quits editing the dimension. 


This popup menu is available when a line or text value of a dimension will be changed. 


Edit If you select a sub-element of a dimension, Edit changes into the appropriate edit mode 

either for texts or lines. If no sub-element is selected Edit switches back into first edit 

mode for dimensions and the popup menu as given in “Popup Menu 1 for Editing 

Dimensions” on page 563 is available again. 

Delete deletes either the whole dimension or a dimension line. It depends on the current 

selection. If a dimension line is removed from the middle of a dimension chain, after 

removing the other dimensions are adjusted for correct appearance of the whole chain. 

If the dimension is a single one, an error message is given (see “Possible Messages 

while Changing Dimensions” on page 566). For details on deletion see ”Deleting 

Whole Dimensions” and “Deleting a Part of a Dimension” on page 566. 

Exit Tool quits editing the dimension. 

Adding a Segment to an Existing Dimension 

To add a further dimension to a line that is already dimensioned: 

1. Select the dimension. 

2. Choose Edit from the popup menu. 

3. Choose Add from the popup menu. 

4. Move the cursor to the position where you want to define the new dimension line. 

5. Click left to create the dimension. 

You automatically use the format and standard of the existing dimension line. 



Dimensioning 

Deleting Whole Dimensions 

To delete whole dimensions: 


2. Choose Delete from the popup menu or use the X icon on the toolbar. 

The dimension is deleted. 

Deleting a Part of a Dimension 

To delete a part of a multi-segment dimension: 


2. Choose Edit from the popup menu. 

3. Choose Delete from the popup menu. 

4. Move your cursor over the leader line you want to delete, and click left. 

The according dimension segment is deleted. The other parts of the dimension are 

altered if necessary to display the adjusted dimension values (for example, if the middle 

segment of a chain dimension is deleted). 

Possible Messages while Changing Dimensions 

If you change a dimension, after quitting the modification tool, it will be checked whether the 

structure of the dimension is correct. If a dimension is damaged after the change, different messages 

can appear. The messages are not displayed, if the entries Never or Always for the option 

Save Damaged Dimensions in the dialog Defaults, tab Dimension, were chosen (see ”Options”, “Dimension 

Defaults” on page 192). 

Example 1 - Changing a Sub-Element of a Dimension 

For example, if you deleted the leader line of a simple single span dimension, by choosing first 

Edit from the global popup menu and then Modify from the edit popup menu, you get the following 

message after exiting the tool. 

Figure 546 Message when Changing Dimensions 1 




If you choose Cancel, the change of the dimension will be undone and the status before your 

change will be restored. If you have additionally switched on the option Do not ask again, in the dialog 

Defaults, tab Dimension, the option Save Damaged Dimensions is set to Never and in future no more 

messages will be displayed. However you also cannot change a dimension anymore, because 

the correct dimension structure will always be re-created automatically. 

If you choose Retain, your change will be applied and the dimension will be damaged. If you 

additionally have switched on the option Do not ask again in the dialog Defaults, tab Dimension, the 

option Save Damaged Dimensions is set to Always and in future no more messages will be displayed. 

Future changes of a dimension will be applied always. The correct dimension structure existed 

before the change can only be restored, if in the dialog Defaults you set back the option Save Damaged 

Dimensions to Prompt. Then the message given in Figure 547, “Message when Changing 

Dimensions 2” on page 567 will be displayed with the next change and you can revert the 

dimension back to its original structure. 

Example 2 - Changing an Already Changed Dimension Again 

If you re-edit an already changed dimension, by selecting the dimension, choosing Edit from the 

global popup menu and then, for example, click on a leader line, following message is given: 


If you choose Cancel, editing the dimension will be quitted. 

If you choose Revert, your original, most recent correctly structured dimension will be restored. 

All changes you made on the dimension since then will be undone. 

Example 3 - Changing a Dimension of an Earlier Revision of MEDUSA 

If you load a sheet with damaged dimensions that were created in an earlier revision of 

MEDUSA and if you want to change a dimension, by selecting the dimension, choosing Edit 

from the global popup menu and then, for example, click on a leader line, following message is 

given: 



Dimensioning 


After pressing Ok you can re-select the dimension. Then select Edit from the global popup menu 

and Modify from the edit popup menu to change this dimension. 

This dialog will also appear if the dimension selected cannot be reconstructed even using the 

latest valid information. For example, if the dimension is an Off Sheet Datum dimension (see 

“Creating Datum Offset Dimensions” on page 553) and the Off Sheet Datum group, which provides 

essential information, can no longer be found on the sheet, reconstruction is impossible. 


Arranging Coordinate Dimensions Text 



For coordinate dimensions it may happen that the single dimensions are as close together that 

its texts overlap each other. The Arrange coordinate dimensions text tool rearranges the leader 

lines in that way that texts become legible. 

The following figure shows an example for a coordinate dimension whose texts overlap each 

other on the left hand side: 

Figure 549 Example for Arranging Coordinate Dimensions 1 

If you select this dimension now and click left on the Arrange coordinate dimensions text tool the leader 

lines are adjusted and each of the texts is readable. 

Figure 550 Example for Arranging Coordinate Dimensions 2 



Dimensioning 

Explode Dimensions 

If you want to explode a dimension, consisting of several measures in order, for example, to add 

a fit value, MEDUSA provides the Explode dimensions tool . With this tool the dimension, created 

as one element, is split into its segments. After choosing this tool each segment is a single 

dimension and you can change each of them individually. 

The following figure gives an example, in which a dimension was exploded in its segments in 

order to add tolerance values to the middle dimension. 

Figure 551 Example Explode Dimension 

Gaps in Overlapping Dimension Leader Lines 

After finishing dimensioning it can happen that dimension leader lines overlap or cross each 

other. For this MEDUSA provides a toolset which enables you to create and remove gaps in 

dimension leader lines. Furthermore it contains a tool for setting gap properties. 

Figure 552 The Gap Tools 


Create gaps in overlapping Remove gaps Set parameters for 

dimension leaders from dimensions dimension gaps tool 

You can either create gaps in individual selected leader lines or for all leader lines on a sheet in 

one step. 

For adding gaps in single selected dimension leader lines: 

1. Select dimensions. 

2. Choose the tool Create gaps in overlapping dimension leaders. 

Gaps are added to the dimensions using the defined gap parameters 

Process whole sheet for gaps 


For adding gaps in dimension leader lines on the whole sheet: 



1. Choose the tool Process whole sheet for gaps. 

All dimensions on the whole sheet are automatically selected and gaps are added to 

the dimensions using the defined gap parameters 

Removing gaps works the same way as given for adding. 

For setting parameters for gaps, do the following: 

1. Select dimensions. 

2. Choose the tool Set parameters for dimension gaps tool. 


Figure 553 Set Gap Parameter Dialog 

3. Define the Gap Mode. 

The following modes are available: 

• Horizontal defines that the gaps are inserted in horizontal lines. 

• Vertical defines that the gaps are inserted in vertical lines. 

• Natural defines that the gaps are inserted wherever it fits. 

4. Type a value for the Gap Function. 

Gap Function defines the spacing for the inserted gaps which is available as a point function. 

The point functions can be seen in a dialog available by Utilities -> Point functions. 

Possible point functions for Gap Function are 2 to 5. Default value is 4. 

5. Choose OK for applying the settings. 

Now the defined parameter are used, if you add gaps to dimensions. 



Dimensioning 

Welding Symbols 

You can create welding- and soldered joint symbols conforming to the current standard. The 

welding symbol consists of different parts which can be put together dynamically in a dialog window. 

It remains alterable on the cross hair until the second mouse click. 

Click on the Load welding symbol tool to open the Welding symbol input dialog. 

The dialog contains text input fields and icons. Other symbols are hidden behind the icons and 

can be displayed by clicking on the arrows. 

Part 1 

Part 2 

Figure 554 The Welding Symbol Input Dialog 

2 3 4 

1 

upper text input fields 

5 

Input field for a symbol name 

lower text input fields 

defines the symbol for the beginning of the line. Click on the arrow opens the following 

popup menu. 

Figure 555 Welding Symbol Popup Menu 1 

6 

One mouse click (left mouse button) on the desired symbol sets it as point function into 

the welding symbol. 

serves auxiliary symbols which gives hints on the run of the seam. Click on the arrow 

opens the following popup menu. 


7 

Text input fields 

Opens a pulldown menu 

which listed the existing 

named symbols

Part 3 

Part 4 

Part 5 


One mouse click on the desired symbol sets it into the welding symbol. 



defines the reference line of the seam. Click on the arrow opens the following popup 

menu. 



You can enter additional specifications in the upper and lower text field. 

defines the upper basic symbol which specifies the kind of the seam. Click on the 

arrow opens the following popup menu. 



As soon as you have chosen the basic symbol a further button appears above. Click 

on the arrow opens another popup menu for the selection of an additional symbol. 

Figure 559 Welding Symbol Popup 4a 

additional 

symbol 

upper 

basic symbol 

popup for the selection of additional symbols 

defines the lower basic symbol which specifies the kind of the seam. Click on the arrow 

opens the following popup menu. 



Dimensioning 

Part 6 

Part 7 



As soon as you have chosen the basic symbol a further button appears below. Click on 

the arrow opens another popup menu for the selection of an additional symbol. 

Figure 561 Welding Symbol Popup Menu 5a 

lower 

basic symbol 

additional 

symbol 

Clicking on the icon for shifted seams enables it and two text input fields become available. 

You can enter additional specifications. 

Figure 562 Welding Symbols 6 

popup menu for the selection of additional symbols 

Clicking on the arrow opens a popup menu with two symbols which activate additional 

text input fields. They can be used for the specifications of the welding process. 

Which input field (fields) appears depends on your choice of the symbol. 


Figure 563 Welding Symbols 7 



If you select the fork, there are four input fields available where you can enter free text. 

For the entry in the Process field you can also call up a selective list which contains the 

current standards of welding and soldered process. Clicking on one entry of the list 

sets it into the input field. 

Figure 564 Welding Symbols 7a/7b and the Welding Process List 

opens the list to the right which contains 

the current standards of welding and 

soldered process 

Named Welding Symbols 

After creating a welding symbol you can save it under a defined name. You have to 

enter the name in the input field and click the Save button at the bottom of the dialog. 

The name is written into a list which can be displayed by using the arrow. 



Dimensioning 

Exit 

Reset 

Save 

Delete 

Figure 565 List of Named Welding Symbols 

Selecting a named welding symbol out of the list displays the according saved symbol 

in the dialog window. Probing on the sheet sets the start point for the loaded symbol. 

closes the dialog. 

removes any entries in the Welding symbol- input dialog. After compiling and placing a symbol 

in the sheet the entries for this symbol will remain in the dialog box until you click 

on the Reset button. 

stores a created welding symbol under a defined name in the session. 

removes a selected named welding symbol out of the session buffer. 

Please note: If you made changes to the session buffer (e.g. saved a named symbol or deleted 

a named symbol) and close MEDUSA, the following dialog opens: 

Figure 566 Dialog: Save or Discard a Named Welding Symbol as Default 

If you confirm with Save, the named symbols are saved permanently into the directory 

\user\, file weldsym.xml, and you can use them in further sessions. 

If you Discard, the welding symbols stored in this session will be lost. 

Please note: If you want to make your welding symbols system wide available, you can put the 

file weldsym.xml into the path \m2d\src and/or 

\user\common. Consider that saving is always done in the user directory 

only, so you have to copy the file weldsym.xml manually into the customer product 

or \user\common path. 


Rotating a Welding Symbol 



You can rotate a selected welding symbol by choosing one of the four available options of the 

right mouse button popup menu. 

Figure 567 Right Mouse Button Popup Menu 

Please note: The alignment can be set only before setting the endpoint of the welding symbol. 



Dimensioning 

Surface Finish Symbols 

MEDUSA enables you to create surface finish symbols with or without coordinating lines. The 

specific statements concerning for example roughness height etc. are entered in the Surface Finish 

Symbol dialog. 

To create a surface symbol two different Load surface finish symbol tools are available. 

Figure 568 The Load Surface Finish Symbol Toolset 

Load surface finish symbol tool (without leading line) Load surface finish symbol tool 

1. Choose one of the Load surface finish symbol tools to open the Surface Finish Symbol dialog. 

Figure 569 The Surface Finish Symbol Dialog 

Symbol for the process 

appears according 

to the choice 

of the button above 

Removes the entries 

from the dialog 

Buttons to define the symbol for the process 

2. Select one of the symbols which define the process. 

You can choose between the following icons. 

basic symbol - no production process is regulated 

symbol with crossline, surface is created by machining 

Defines 

size of 

symbol 

Settings 

to define 

the process 



Surface Finish Symbols 

symbol with circle, the surface is produced via non-cutting processing 

3. Define the size of the symbol by choosing either small or large. 

4. Enter the desired values for Roughness factor, 2nd Roughness factor, Manufacturing process, 

Direction of crease, Machining allowance and 3nd Roughness factor. 

5. If the definition shall be used on the complete surface, activate the Use on complete surface 

option. 

In this case, a circle is added to the symbol which is displayed in the dialog. 

Figure 570 Detail of the Surface Finish Symbol Dialog 

6. Move the cursor over the point where you wish to place the symbol. 

• If you use the Load surface symbol tool (without leading line) tool, the created symbol 

attaches cross hair on the cursor and is automatically oriented orthogonal to the line 

on which it is dropped. 

• If you use the Load surface symbol tool you have first to probe on the line. The created 

symbol attaches on a rubber band cross hair on the cursor and is always horizontal. 

7. Click left to drop the symbol on the sheet. 

8. Click on the Close button to quit the dialog. 

Please note: The surface symbol (without leading line) can be placed free on the sheet; a line 

is not required, in order to place the symbol. However, if a line is close-by, the 

symbol will be aligned at this line. 

It is possible to specify certain user defined parameters like the text styles for small and large 

surface symbols in the defaults.dat (details are given in the Customization Guide, User Interface, 

Defaults.dat). 

If a Load surface symbols tool is active, clicking the right mouse button over the drawing area opens 

the following menu. 



Dimensioning 

Figure 571 The Surface Symbol Popup Menu 

0 degree, 90 degree, 180 degree, 270 degree 

rotates the symbol according to the choosen degrees.However, if the symbol is close 

to a line, it will be aligned at the line and the setting of degrees will be ignored. 

Sheet level, Current level 

defines whether the surface symbol is created on the current level, i.e. within the current 

group, or on sheet level. Default setting is Current level. In this case the item 

Sheet level is displayed. When you click on Sheet level, this option will be active and the 

popup menu displays the item Current level. 

Input 

opens the Surface Finish Symbol dialog. 

Undo 

Exit Tool 

allows you to take back the last processing step. 



TEXT 


This chapter explains the basic concepts that you need to understand in order to effectively create 

and edit text. This chapter includes: 

• Overview................................................................................ 582 

• Creating Text.......................................................................... 583 

• Text Properties....................................................................... 585 

• Replacing Text Properties ...................................................... 589 

• Using Text Styles.................................................................... 590 

• Editing Text ............................................................................ 592 

• Special Characters................................................................. 594 

• URL Text ................................................................................ 595 

• Multi-Line Text........................................................................ 598 

• Balloon Text ........................................................................... 602 

• Text Translator ....................................................................... 608 

• Unicode Text .......................................................................... 609 

• Short-Info ............................................................................... 611 



Text 

Overview 

You can create plain texts and text with special features. The following figure shows the text 

tools. 

Figure 572 Text Tools 

From left to right the following tools are available: 

These tools create text without any feature. 

Creates large plain text 

Creates medium plain text 

Creates small plain text 

Create boxed text arrows 

creates arrows for multiline texts which have a text box, for details see “Multi-Line 

Text”, ”Create Arrows at a Text Box” on page 599. 

These tools create text with feature 

Creates text enclosed in a circle 

Creates text with a visible datum point 

Creates underlined text 

Creates boxed text 

Creates text enclosed in a box with rounded ends 

Replaces the properties of the selected text with the properties of another text element 

For details see “Replacing Text Properties” on page 589. 

Create new Item Number Balloon 

Reads all balloon texts to a table 

For details see “Balloon Text” on page 602. 

Writes the balloon data of multiple sheets to a table 

For details see “Tables”, “Creating a Parts List”, ”Scanning multiple sheets to create a 

Parts Balloon Table” on page 625. 

Short-Info of sheet contents 

Delete Short-Info 

For details on both tools see “Short-Info” on page 611. 

Please note: Text appearance may also be affected by settings in the Defaults dialog. See “Customizing 

the User Environment”, ”Controlling User Options” on page 730. 

The Tab key on your keyboard cannot be used in text entry fields in MEDUSA. 


Creating Text 

This section shows you how to comment your drawing by adding text elements. 

Popup Menu While Creating Text 


Creating Text 

After choosing a text creation tool a popup menu is available by clicking the right mouse button. 

Figure 573 Create Text Popup Menu 

The following entries are given: 

Rotate 90 Degrees 

rotates the text by 90 degrees counterclockwise. 

New Text... 

deletes any entry in the text input field and you can type a new text. 

Fixed Size 

is applicable on multiline text only (see “Multi-Line Text” on page 598). By default this 

option is off. If you choose this entry, it is switched on indicated by a check mark . 

Properties... 

opens the Text properties dialog explained in “Text Properties” on page 585. 

Undo 

Exit Tool 

cancels the last action. 




Text 

Perform Creating Text 

1. Select one of the text creation tools from the Text + Dimension tooltray, for example, the 

Create small plain text tool . 

The dashboard displays the properties of the chosen text tool and the cursor changes 

to a crosshair. The field for entering the text is active, so you can type in a text now. 

The following figure is similar to that what you should see now: 

Figure 574 Text Dashboard 

crosshair 

dashboard text entry field opens the 

Special Characters 

dialog 

2. Type a text in the text field or insert ”Special Characters” with the button . 

The text appears immediately at the crosshair. Any time you change the text MEDUSA 

automatically updates the text on the cursor. 

3. Move the cursor to an empty area on the sheet. 

If you want to change the text properties use the popup menu. 

4. Click left to place the text. 

MEDUSA displays the text on the sheet. The text remains on the cursor so you can 

place it again. 

Please note: You can easily delete unwanted text by selecting it and then choosing Delete from 

the Edit menu or from the popup menu, or by selecting the Delete tool from the 

toolbar. 

If you change the text tool the properties of the text change but the text itself, which you typed in 

at last, remains unchanged. This is because MEDUSA retains the current text until you change 

it or exit from MEDUSA. 

You can change the properties of the text you are creating at any time. This is explained in 

detail in “Text Properties” on page 585. 


Text Properties 



In addition to the standard properties, text elements have specific properties. Text properties are 

available either in the dashboard or in the text properties dialog. As for lines, you can select 

more than one text element, and then use the dashboard or the dialog to change properties 

Dashboard 

If you chose a text creation tool or if you edit text the dashboard displays the text properties. 

Besides the standard properties like type, layer and style you also find some specific properties 

as given in the figure below. 

Figure 575 Dashboard: Text Properties 

The dashboard provides the following specific settings and properties for texts: 

Bold, Italic, Underline 

These options apply the usual text decoration and they can be used together for getting 

a bold, italic, underlined text. 

Superscript, Subscript 

is used for placing text parts high and low (e.g. text high , text low ). If you add Superscript 

text followed by Subscript text, both texts are displayed one over each other. This is 

used, for example, for writing tolerances. 

Height 

Superscript 

Italic 

Subscript 

Underline 

Bold 

Height 

Justification 

Single line 

Multi line 

When you create text it is created at a standard height. You can change this by entering 

a new height in the Height field and then pressing the Return key on your keyboard 

or by clicking on the arrows to increase or decrease the height value by steps of 0.5, 

or by using the wheel, if available, on your mouse. 

Please note: For the settings Bold, Italic, Underline, Superscript, Subscript and Height changes will only 

affect the text selected when the change is made, or to text entered after the 

change is made. 

Justification 

Changes the vertical or horizontal justification of the text. 

Counter upper-/lowercase 



Text 

Single line, Multi line 

allows you to define texts which have only one line and texts which have more than 

one line. If you are in Multi line mode and if you press Return on your keyboard, a new 

line is created and according to the number of lines the text field gets a scroll bar. For 

details see “Multi-Line Text” on page 598. 

Counter 

The first number found inside a text is counted up (+n) or down (-n) by the factor defined 

in the text field (default value is 1). 

upper-/lowercase 

is the toolset for changing selected text into upper- or lowercase font. The available 

tools are Uppercase (tt->TT) , Lowercase (TT->tt) , Uppercase (tt->Tt) . 

Textbox 

Dialog 

is activated only for multiline texts. For details see “Multi-Line Text” on page 598. 

launches an URL in the default internet browser. This button is only activated when the 

current text was defined with an URL. For details see “URL Text” on page 595. 

As well as changing the properties of a text element using the dashboard you can also use the 

Text Properties dialog to change the properties of selected text. 

To open the Text Properties dialog select the text you want to change or select a text tool from the 

Text & Dimensions tooltray and then click on the Properties tool on the left of the dashboard or 

select the Properties... option from the popup menu. 

Figure 576 Text Properties Dialog 




Please note: Disabled properties cannot be changed. If the button Style is disabled you are not 

in Administrator mode and therefore you can change properties temporary only. 

The options on the Text Properties dialog are: 

Style 

Layer 

Color 

Thickness 

A text style is a collection of properties. For example you can create a text style so that 

all text elements using that style are drawn in one color and are placed on a specific 

layer. See “Using Text Styles” on page 590 for more information. 

determines which layer of the sheet the text is drawn on. Changing the value does not 

have a visible effect (unless the layer is set not to be visible). Normally you should not 

change the layer on which a text element is created as your site may have special conventions 

which control how layers are used for particular projects. See “Layers” on 

page 157 for more detailed information on layers. 

determines which color is used to draw the text element. You can also edit and add to 

the default colors. 

This option sets the unbold value of the text. Text that is set to bold using the dashboard 

is thicker than this value. You choose between eight thicknesses to draw the text. 

X Position, Y Position 

The X Position and Y Position entry boxes define the position of the text datum on the 

sheet. If text is selected, the values in these fields represent the location of the text 

datum. 

To move the text datum and the associated text to a specific location, change the values 

in the X Position and Y Position fields and click Apply. 

Type 

Font 

changes the appearance of the text element. Some text types are shown below: 

Figure 577 Text types: 

defines the font used for the text. Select the required font from the list of available 

fonts. 



Text 

Rotate 

Height 

Shear 

Spacing 

Width 

Aspect, 

Gap 

The Rotate field in the Text Properties dialog determines the amount by which a text element 

is rotated. The angle of rotation is relative to the horizontal and it is an absolute 

angle. So if a text is already rotated and you want it rotated more you have to insert the 

whole angle for rotation again. 

When you create text it is created at a standard height. You can change this by entering 

a new height in the Height field. 

defines the amount by which the font is sheared. To remove any shear from the text 

enter a shear value of 0. Shear may not be available or visible unless switched on in the 

Defaults dialog. 

is the line spacing for multiline text. This option is deactivated for single line text. 

defines the width of the text string. An alternative way of specifying this is to set the 

gap and aspect ratio. 

Aspect determines how changing the height of the character affects its width. 

Gap defines the distance between each character in the font (depending how the font is 

defined by your System Administrator). 

Justification 

determines how the text is aligned relative to the datum point. By default the datum 

point is positioned in the center of the text element. The text datum is positioned at the 

intersection of the cross on the cursor, allowing you to position the text with precision. 

Figure 578 Text Justification Panel 

The selected position on the justification panel defines the datum. The datum shown in 

the figure above is the center position. To change the justification of the selected text 

element, click one of the other buttons on the justification panel. 

When you click Apply on the Text Properties dialog, any selected text moves relative to the 

datum point to the position you chose in the justification panel. The datum point 

remains in the same place on the sheet unless you change the X Position or Y Position 

values as well. 

Single line, Multi line 

allows you to change texts, which have only one line and texts which have more than 

one line, from Single line in Multi line mode. If you edit text and if you are in Multi 


Textbox 

Url 


Replacing Text Properties 

line mode and if you press Return on your keyboard a new line is created and according 

to the number of lines the text field gets a scroll bar. For details see “Multi-Line 

Text” on page 598. 

is activated only for multiline texts. For details see “Multi-Line Text” on page 598. 

is activated only when a True Type Font is used either for the whole text or a part of it. 

For details see “URL Text” on page 595. 

Replacing Text Properties 

When you use the Replace text properties tool you do not need to know what the properties of any 

text element are. If they look correct, you can simply apply them to other text elements on the 

sheet. 

1. Select the Replace text properties tool from the Text + Dimension tooltray in the Complete set 

of tooltrays. 

2. Select the text with the properties you want to use. 

3. Select the text with the properties you want to replace. 

The properties are applied to the selected text. 

You do not have to select text of the same type. For example, you can replace the 

properties of boxed text with properties derived from text enclosed in a circle. 

Please note: Replacing text properties uses only the properties of the whole text and ignores 

any changes made within the text. 



Text 

Using Text Styles 

Text styles work in a similar way to line styles. A text style is a collection of one or more text 

properties. For example, a text style may specify the text type, color and height of text. Text 

styles are defined by your System Administrator who can tell you what each style should be 

used for. 

Creating a Text Element with a Style 

To create a text element with a given style: 

1. Either choose one of the text creation tools or select the Creates text tool from the tool 

set to the left of the dashboard. 

2. Select the text style you want from the dashboard. 

In the style field you find the entry More, which opens the style tree on the right of the 

drawing area providing all available styles. In the tree you can select a style with the 

popup menu entry Use Style (for details see “Dashboard”, “Style Tree”, ”Style Tree” on 

page 314). 

Figure 579 Dashboard: Text Style 

3. Enter text in the text entry field of the dashboard. 

4. Probe the sheet to position the text. 

The text style remains current until you: 

• Select a different text style 

• Use a text creation tool that sets the text style. 

Changing Text Style 

Using the dashboard 

Style 

1. Select the text element(s) you want to change. 

2. Select the required style from the dashboard. 


Using the Text Properties dialog 


Using Text Styles 

1. Select the text element(s) you want to change 

2. Select Properties from the popup menu or click on Properties tool on the dashboard. 

The Text Properties dialog is displayed. 

3. Select the required style from the list of available styles in the style field and click Apply. 

Changing Properties of a Text Style 

A text style can include properties that are: 

• Set and locked - you cannot change these properties 

These properties are grayed out in the dashboard and in the Text Properties dialog. 

• Set but not locked - you can change these properties 

You can also change any properties of the text that are not set by the style. 

If you change any of the properties of the text then the background color of the Create text tool 

changes to yellow to show that this is a variant style. A variant style is a style which has one or 

more attributes that are altered from the original style settings. 

If you want to copy the style of an existing text including its variation then: 

1. Select the text whose style you wish to use. 

The dashboard shows the style and properties of the selected text. 

If the line is a variant then the Create text tool changes to yellow. 

2. Select the Create text tool . 

3. Enter text in the text buffer. 

4. Probe the sheet to position the text. 



Text 

Editing Text 

This chapter shows you how to edit and copy text, and it gives some hints on working with multiple 

selections of text. 

Changing the Text Content 

You can change the content of a text element using the text edit field in the dashboard: 

For editing text: 

1. Select some text in the drawing area and choose Edit from the popup menu. 

You also can edit text by double clicking on it. 

The text is displayed inside the text entry field. It is highlighted so that it is replaced if 

you type in the new text. 

Figure 580 Dashboard: Text Entry field 

2. Type the new text. 

The text is automatically updated on the sheet. 

Repeat Texts 

If you edited text you can place the same text again. 

1. Select a text inside the drawing area. 

The dashboard changes and the text entry field displays the selected text. 

2. Now choose a text creation tool: 

a. If you want only the text string to be repeated without using its properties, choose 

one of the text creation tools as given in Figure 572, “Text Tools” on page 582. 

b. If you want the text to be repeated with its current properties then choose the 

Create text tool from the dashboard. 

The text is attached to the crosshair of the cursor. 

3. Move the cursor to the position where you want to place the text and click the left 

mouse button. 

The previously selected text is placed and you have copied it now. If you want to 

repeat the text, go on placing it at other positions. 


Multiple Selections of Text 


Editing Text 

This section gives you some explanations in the case of selecting several texts, either singleline 

texts, multi-line texts or a mixture of them. 

General 

• If the texts are the same, the text string will be displayed inside the text edit field otherwise 

it is blank. 

• You can select different texts and change the properties without losing the text string. 

• You can select different texts and replace all the texts by typing in the empty text edit 

field. 

Increase/Decrease Numbers 

• The increase/decrease buttons (see “Text Properties”, ”Dashboard” on page 585) work 

independently on all the selected texts even if they are different. the example below 

shows three different single texts. The numbers were counted up at the same time 

using the counter button +1. 

Figure 581 Example Text Count 

Multi-line - Single-line 

• If you have a number of single-line texts selected, pressing the multi-line button will 

collect them into a single multi-line text, in case they are positioned over each other in 

y direction. Texts which are placed side by side are put into different multi-line texts. 

• If you have one or more multi-line texts selected, pressing the single-line button will 

change them into single-line texts. 

• If you have a mixed selection of single-line and multi-line texts and press the multi-line 

text button it will not change the multi-line texts but it will collect all the single-line texts 

into a multi-line text in case that they are not positioned side by side. 



Text 


You can add special characters, such as those shown in Figure 582 to a text element: 

Figure 582 Examples of Special Characters in Text Elements 

To add a special character: 

1. Select a text creation tool like Create small plain text tool from the Text + Dimension tooltray. 

2. Enter a text and place the cursor at the position where you want to have the symbol. 

3. Press the Symbol button on the dashboard to display the Special Characters dialog. 

Figure 583 Special Characters Dialog 

4. Click the button for a symbol. 

MEDUSA inserts the symbol at the position of the cursor in the text entry box. 

5. Place the text on the sheet. 

6. Choose Exit Tool from the popup menu. 


URL Text 


URL Text 

You can apply an URL (Uniform Resource Locator) to any text using the properties dialog. 

Creating an URL 

Follow the steps below to apply an URL to a new text (see “Creating Text” on page 583) or a 

currently selected text (see “Editing Text” on page 592). 

1. Open the Text Properties dialog by clicking on the Properties tool on the left hand side of 

the dashboard or select the Properties... option from the popup menu. 

Figure 584 Text Properties Dialog 

The text field Url is activated only when a True Type font is used either for the whole 

text or a part of it. 

2. Choose a True Type font (e.g. TT Arial) from the pull-down list of the Font option. 



Text 

Figure 585 Text Properties Dialog, Fonts, Pulldown List 

3. Insert a text into the Url text field, e.g. http://www.cad-schroer.de. 

For details on possible entries see ”Possible URLs”. 

4. Apply the properties to the current text. 

Now the current text has an URL attribute attached and the dashboard button is 

activated for launching the URL in the default internet browser (see ”Launching an 

URL”). 

Possible URLs 

Generally you can define any type of URL which your default internet browser supports. URLs 

can be either addresses in the internet, files located on the network or on your computer locally. 

The following table shows some examples: 

URL Type Example 

Internet Address http://www.cad-schroer.de 

File on the network \\Csgftp\MPDS4Brochure_en.doc 

Local file file://c:/example.pdf 

MEDUSA Sheet file e:\work\drawings\example.she 

How an URL is handled by a browser (i.e. Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox) is given in the following 

list: 

• Internet Addresses, text files, Word documents, PDF files and other file formats will be 

displayed inside the browser, if the appropriate plugin was installed, or the appropriate 

application will be started. 

• If the URL is a sheet file and CSGJustview is installed on your computer, the file will be 

displayed inside the browser using CSGJustview. 



URL Text 

• If an URL is not supported by your browser, a menu is shown for selecting the application 

to open or other handling is provided (this depends on the used browser and URL 

type). 

Please note: We recommend to enter the URL always completely with protocol (e.g. file:// 

c:/example.pdf) because we cannot guarantee that your browser supports the 

simple syntax (e.g. c:\example.pdf). 

Launching an URL 

For launching an URL you only have to select a text and then press the dashboard button . 

The default internet browser opens, handling the URL accordingly (see list in “Possible URLs” 

on page 596). 

If the selected text has no URL attribute, the dashboard button remains deactivated. 

Deleting an URL 

For deleting an URL from a text, select the text, open its text properties, delete the Url text string 

and Apply the text properties. 

You also can delete an URL by applying a font which is not True Type. After Apply, the URL text 

will be deactivated which can be seen in the properties dialog. 



Text 

Multi-Line Text 

Multi-line text is handled a little different to single line text. The following sections show you how 

to create, edit, place, save, reload and modify multi-line text. 

Create Multi-Line Text 

For creating multi-line text, do the following steps: 

1. Select one of the text creation tools from the Text + Dimension tooltray, for example, the 

Create small plain text tool . 

The dashboard displays the properties of the chosen text tool and the cursor changes 

to a crosshair. The field for entering the text is active, so you can type in a text now. 

2. Click left on the Multi-Line button . 

3. Type a text in the text field and press Return for creating several lines. 

You can also insert ”Special Characters” with the button . 

The text appears immediately at the crosshair. Any time you change the text MEDUSA 

automatically updates the text on the cursor. The following figure gives an example of 

a multi-line text: 

Figure 586 Multi-line Text Example 

text entry field 

multi-line text 

attached to crosshair 

opens the 


dialog 

enlarges edit field 

4. Move the cursor to an empty area on the sheet. 

5. Place the text. You have two possibilities: 

• If the option Fixed Size from the popup menu is switched on ( 

tion in the sheet, where you want to position the text. 

), click left at the posi- 




• If the option Fixed Size is off, do this: 

a.Click left to place the text. 

As you move the cursor the width of the text changes and line breaks adjust automatically. 

b. Click left to define the width of the text. 

MEDUSA displays the text on the sheet. The text also remains on the cursor so you 

can place it again. If you want to place single line text again, choose the button . 

The first line of the multi-line text remains in the text entry field. The multi-line text 

remains in the buffer until you change the current text. 

Create a Text Box around Multi-line Text 

If you want to create a text box around multi-line text, click left inside the option Text box inside 

the dashboard while adding or editing multi-line text. This option is disabled, if you add or edit 

single-line text. 

Figure 587 Dashboard for Multi-Line Text (right part only) 

The text box can be visible (checkmark is set) or invisible. During creation or editing of text box 

arrows (see next section) the text box will be always visible. 

Create Arrows at a Text Box 

The tool Create Boxed Text Arrows in the create texts toolset creates and edits arrows emanating 

from a text box. 

The right mouse button provides the following popup menu: 

Figure 588 Popup Menu of the Create boxed Text Arrows Tool 

When you choose the tool Create Boxed Text Arrows , all deletion entries are disabled. The 

entries are used for the following tasks: 



Text 

• Delete a Single Arrow - by editing an arrow and choose Delete Arrow. 

• Delete all arrows - entry Delete All. 

• Delete intermediate points - by moving the point and choose Delete Point. 

• Change the point function of all arrowheads - entry Arrowheads. This option opens the 

usual point function dialog for selecting the new point function used for arrow heads of 

the arrows of the current text box. 

The two options Delete All and Delete Box require the text box to be selected. A text box is 

selected, if you draw a new arrow, edit an existing one, or click left on the text inside a text box. 

Create Arrows 

Use the left mouse button to draw an arrow starting from the text box and pointing outwards. 

With the first left click you place the start point and with a further left click you place the end 

point of an arrow. For kink or knee points use the middle mouse button. 

Figure 589 Example for an arrow with two intermediate points 

Canceling to draw an arrow is done with a left click in the text box. 

Extend an Existing Arrow 

To extend an arrow, start drawing from its tip. 

• If you start drawing with the left mouse button, the tip becomes a kink. 

• If you start drawing with the middle mouse button, the tip becomes attached to the 

mouse cursor and you can move it to another position (see ”Moving Arrow Points”). 

Moving Arrow Points 

Use the middle mouse button to pick and move any arrow kink point. After you have picked an 

arrow kink point, use the middle mouse button again for placing the point at the new position. 

If you press the left mouse button, moving the current arrow point is aborted. 

Please note: If you are editing the first arrow point (the one that is on the box) there is auto clip- 




ping and you can only move the point where it is valid to do so while you are guaranteed 

that the new arrow will not cross the box. 

Please note: You can start the Create Boxed Text Arrows tool also directly from the selection tool 

by double clicking on an arrow point. 

Move the Text Box while Dragging Arrows 

Use the middle mouse button to pick a multi-line text in the centre and press the middle mouse 

button again to drop where desired. While moving the text box the tips of the arrows remain at 

its positions. 

The operation cannot be canceled. Use the Undo button from the toolbar, if you want moving to 

be undone. 



Text 

Balloon Text 

Balloon texts are used for numbering elements inside your drawing, for example, to mark components 

on your sheet. For creating balloon texts MEDUSA provides the Create new Item Number 

Balloon tool which opens the following dialog: 

Figure 590 Create Item Number Balloon Dialog 

The dialog has the following parameter and buttons: 

Item Number 

gives the number of the balloon text to place next. 

Lowest, Next, Highest 

finds the lowest, next or highest Item Number. After clicking on one of these buttons the 

entry for Item Number is updated. 

Part Number 

is a user defined number. By default there are the placeholders #####. 

Quantity 

Issue 

is a user defined number for the amount of components marked with the balloon text. 

By default this value is 1. 

is a user defined number for the version of components marked with the balloon text. 

By default this value is 1. 

Symbol file 

provides a pulldown list for selecting the symbol used for the balloon text. The default 

symbol is named b1. For details on using and defining symbol files for balloon texts 

see “Use Symbols for Balloon Texts” on page 606. 

Please note: The following explanations use the standard symbol b1 for balloon texts. 



Balloon Text 

Leader line 

applies a leader line to the balloon text. If this option is chosen, you can define the 

pointer in the field below by choosing one of the arrows. 

Pointer 

is only available, if the option Leader Line is chosen. Pointer provides several buttons 

which are used to attach different arrows to the leader line. 

Multisheet check 

enables a consistency check for balloon texts on all sheets of a loaded working set. 

For loading a working set see “File”, ”Sheet Administration by using Working Sets” on 

page 58. 

Cancel, Help 


Creating Balloon Texts 

For creating balloon texts: 

1. Select the Create new Item Number Balloon tool . 

The Create Item Number Balloon dialog opens (see “Balloon Text Properties” on page 605). 

The balloon text is attached to the cursor. 

2. Click left on the button Lowest to ensure that the lowest available number is used. 

3. Adjust the other settings to your needs. 

4. Move the cursor to the position where you want to place the text and click left. 

The balloon text is placed on the sheet. 

5. If the option Leader line is on probe into the drawing area for placing the end point of the 

leader line. 

Now the first balloon text is finished and you can go on placing the next text. 

6. Choose the button Next in the Create Item Number Balloon dialog. 

The item number changes to the next number. 

7. Move the cursor to the position where you want to place the text and click left to place 

it. 

8. If the option Leader line is on probe into the drawing area for placing the end point of the 

leader line. 

Now the second balloon text is finished and you can go on placing further texts. For 

this do the steps 6 to 8 again until all balloon texts are placed. 

If you deleted some balloon texts and you want to place some new texts which shall use the 

numbers of the deleted texts use the buttons Lowest and Highest inside the Create Item Number Balloon 

dialog to find and use them. 



Text 

Creating Balloon Texts for Design Objects 

If you want to create balloon texts for design objects, its name is automatically inserted into the 

Part Number field of the Create Item Number Balloon dialog. 

Procedure (assuming that the option Leader Line is off): 

1. Select a design object on the sheet. 

2. Select the Create new Item Number Balloon tool . 

The Create Item Number Balloon dialog opens (see “Balloon Text Properties” on page 605). 

The balloon text is attached to the cursor. 

The Part Number field is filled with the name of the selected design object. 

3. Click left on the button Lowest to ensure that the lowest available number is used. 

4. Adjust the other settings to your needs. 

5. Move the cursor to the position where you want to place the text and click left. 

The balloon text is placed on the sheet. 

Now the first balloon text is finished. 

6. For the next design object click right and choose Reselect from the popup menu. 

The fields in the dialog are deactivated. 

7. Click left on the design object which shall get the next balloon text. 

If you want to abort selecting the next design object, choose Continue from the popup 

menu. 

The fields in the dialog are activated again. 

8. Choose the button Next in the Create Item Number Balloon dialog. 

The item number changes to the next number. 

9. Move the cursor to the position where you want to place the text and click left to place 

it. 

Now the second balloon text is finished and you can go on placing further texts. For 

this do the steps 6 to 9 again until all balloon texts are placed. 

Error Messages while Creating Balloon Texts 

If there is an error while creating balloon texts, in the Create Item Number Balloon dialog the text field 

background for Item Number changes its color from white to either yellow or red. Additionally the 

tooltip displays what conflict occurred. For example, if the background color is yellow, the current 

Item Number is already used in a balloon on the sheet. 


Balloon Text Dashboard 

As you create or edit balloon text the dashboard shows its properties. 

Figure 591 Dashboard Balloon Texts 

For the entries see ”Balloon Text Properties” below. 

All elements of selected balloon texts can be changed in the sub-dashboard. 

Figure 592 Sub-Dashboard for Lines of Balloon Texts 

Balloon Text Properties 


Balloon Text 

As you create or edit balloon text the dashboard provides the tool Properties opening the following 

dialog. 

Figure 593 Balloon Text Properties 

The figure shows the properties dialog and a balloon text. The lines show you which entry of the 

dialog is which part of the balloon text. 



Text 

Creating a Table from Balloon Texts 

If you created balloon texts, you can write these texts automatically into a table by using the 

Reads all balloon texts to a table tool . With this all data of balloon texts are read and written to a 

file. For details on creating a part list see “Tables”, ”Creating a Parts List” on page 624. 

You also can create a parts list table from multiple sheets. For details see “Tables”, “Creating a 

Parts List”, ”Scanning multiple sheets to create a Parts Balloon Table” on page 625. 

Use Symbols for Balloon Texts 

MEDUSA provides the ability to create balloons from custom symbol file with custom edit fields. 

In the balloon create dialog (see Figure 590, “Create Item Number Balloon Dialog” on 

page 602) there is a Symbol File pulldown menu to choose the balloon symbol. 

The standard symbol is ballon_def but also any symbol files that are found in the symbol 

folder in the MED2D product are listed in this menu. When a customized balloon symbol is chosen, 

the Create Item Number Balloon dialog changes showing custom edit fields as defined for the 

appropriate symbol. 

Figure 594 Create Item Number Balloon Dialog, Example Symbol 



Balloon Text 

Please note: Symbols which shall be used as balloons can only be created by the system 

administrator. For details on this see the Administration Guide, chapter Administration, 

section Create Balloon Text Symbols. 

The custom fields in the creation dialog (Figure 594) also appear in the Balloon properties dialog 

(see Figure 593) and in the Parts Balloon Table (see “Tables”, ”Creating a Parts List” on page 

624). 

For demonstration of using symbols as balloons MEDUSA is installed with one additional balloon 

symbol called balloon_usr which can be found in the directory med2d\m2d\symbol. 



Text 

Text Translator 

The Text Translator of MEDUSA enables you to translate text on MEDUSA sheets into different 

languages. Relating to the Text Translator two different buttons are available in the Text + Dimension 

tooltray. 

Figure 595 Text Translator Tools 

Opens the Database Dialog 

Opens the Translation Parameters Dialog 

For detailed information about the Text Translator please see the MEDUSA Text Translator 

Guide. 


Unicode Text 

General 


Unicode Text 

MEDUSA can use system true type fonts for the display of text. A Unicode (true type font) has 

font number of 1000 or greater. 

The Unicode fonts are defined by two files: 

• unicodefont.dat: 

This define the font number and the full system name of a font. For example: 

1000 Arial 

1001 Time New Roman 

1002 MingLiU 

This file is found in m2d\src and the MEDconfig ufont command compiles it to 

m2d\bin in the project. The file is loaded into 2D using the font command. 

• unicodefonts.map: 

This gives the font numbers and the display name for the font in the user interface. For 

example: 

-- This is the unicode fonts file. 

-- Format : FONT_LABEL 

-- The Unicode font numbers start at a 1000 

FONT_LABEL 1000 "Arial" --> Arial 

FONT_LABEL 1001 "Time New Roman" --> Times New Roman 

FONT_LABEL 1002 "MingLiU" --> MingLiU 

FONT_LABEL DEFAULT "Arial" unicodefont 

Unicode text can be used for any piece of MEDUSA text. 

Please note: It is possible that the underlying OS does not support all the Unicode characters 

in file and directory names or text in a file so care must be used in using Unicode 

in MEDUSA text that may be used for this purpose. 

You can set the default MEDUSA font to the defined Unicode text by the Options -> Defaults -> Common 

dialog (see “Options”, ”Defaults - Overview” on page 179). 

The font used by part balloons or feature control frames can be set by editing the appropriate 

symbol. The font for a table can be set using the properties dialog or the dashboard. 



Text 

Limitations 

Usage 

• Only the MEDPLOT_QTPLOT and MEDPLOT_QTRASTER drivers support Unicode 

text. 

• You can convert a text created from Unicode to normal MEDUSA and vice versa but 

the font may not have the character to display. 

To enter Unicode character it may be necessary to use the operating system 

input method (IME). 


Short-Info 


Short-Info 

Please note: Short-Info is only available with the advanced version of MEDUSA, which can be 

started with the option -advanced. For details on starting MEDUSA see “Starting 

MEDUSA” on page 23. 

This function allows you to attach a short information containing the login name of the author, 

the date of modification and a brief description text to the current sheet. If a sheet was saved 

with short information and if it is opened in MEDUSA, the Short-Info dialog opens automatically. 

Figure 596 Short Info Dialog 

The dialog contains following information: 

Author is the login name of the user who added or modified the short information. 

Date is the date of last modification. 

Message is the brief description of the sheet contents or other information which should be 

saved with the current sheet. 

The buttons are: 

OK attaches the current short information to the sheet and closes the dialog. 

Cancel closes the dialog without changing the short information. 

Delete removes the short information from the sheet. 

Help opens the Online-Documentation. 

For adding, displaying and modifying the tool Short-Info of sheet content is available in the Text + 

Dimension tooltray. If you have chosen this tool the dialog Short-Info opens and you can edit the 

text. Author and Date will be set automatically. All contents of the Short-Info dialog are saved within 

the sheet. 



Text 

Once a sheet contains short information, the tool Delete Short-Info becomes active and the 

short information can be removed. If this tool is chosen the short information text, author and 

date will be removed immediately from the sheet. Deletion becomes definite, when the sheet 

will be saved. 


TABLES 


MEDUSA provides the creation of tables. You can enter data directly in the table or you can 

load data from Comma Separated Values (CSV) files. 

• About CSV Format Files ........................................................ 614 

• Overview Table Creation Dialog............................................. 615 

• Creating a New Table............................................................. 617 

• Edit Tables ............................................................................. 621 

• Properties............................................................................... 622 

• Creating a Parts List .............................................................. 624 



Tables 

About CSV Format Files 

Comma Separated Variable (CSV) files are used to specify tables of information. A CSV file 

contains lines of text which are divided into data elements using commas. Each data element 

represents a table cell. For example, to represent the elements 1,2,3, and 4, each in its own 

table cell, the CSV file appears as follows: 

1,2,3,4 

The table data shown in Figure 597, “Table Creation Example” on page 615 would be created 

like this: 

Name,Address,Age,Telephone 

Mr P Eye,1 The Heights,54,6494 8371 

Ms O Oyle,33 Sun Lane,33,2075 9320 

Mr B Rutus,7 Frazer Street,49,4443 2398 

Occasionally you may need to put a comma into one of the data elements (or fields), and need 

to ensure that this comma is not used as a separator. 

• To include commas in fields, begin and end the field with quotation marks. 

• To include a quotation mark in the middle of a field, put in two consecutive quotation 

marks. 

A field that needs to have a quotation mark and a comma in the middle would be created like 

this: 

"The quotation mark goes here"" and the comma goes here, and that's 

it" 

and would expand to show the following field: 

The quotation mark goes here" and the comma goes here, and that's it 


Overview Table Creation Dialog 

This section gives you an overview of the Table Creation dialog. 


Overview Table Creation Dialog 

For displaying the Table Creation dialog click left on the Create a Table tool located in the 

Text + Dimension tooltray. 

Figure 597 Table Creation Example 

On top of the dialog the following buttons are provided given from left to right: 

New Table 

creates a new table. For details see “Creating a New Table” on page 617. 

Load Data 

Save Data 

is used for loading a CSV file, see “Creating a New Table”, ”Load Tables” on page 620. 

is used for saving the table to a CSV file. This entry is available if you loaded a table 

from a file or if you already saved the table with Save Data as. 

Save Data as 

is used for saving the table to a new CSV file. For details see “Creating a New Table”, 

”Save Tables” on page 619. 

Delete Selection 

removes the selected table text. If a complete row or column is selected it is deleted 

completely from the table. If several cells are selected which do not make a complete 

row or column only the containing text is deleted and the cells remain empty. 

Left justify selection, Mid justify selection, Right justify selection 

is used for justifying the text inside the table cell either to the left, in the middle or to the 

right. For details see “Creating a New Table”, ”Justify Text” on page 619. 

Set table justification 

This toolset provides justification of the table to the left bottom, left top, right bottom 



Tables 

and right top corner. According to this setting the table is attached at the crosshair of 

the cursor while placing. 

Synchronize table with balloons on sheet 

updates table according to the currently available balloon texts on the sheet (see “Creating 

a Parts List”, ”Edit Parts List Tables” on page 624). 

The Table Creation dialog provides the following tabs: 

Data entry 

Properties 

is the tab providing the rows and columns of the table. For information on using this tab 

see “Creating a New Table” on page 617. 

is the tab for defining the properties of the table text and the table lines. For details see 

“Properties” on page 622. 

In the bottom of the Table Creation dialog you find the following buttons: 

OK, Apply 

is used for applying the current table to be placed. In case of OK the dialog is closed. In 

case of Apply the dialog remains open. 

Cancel, Help 


Style 

Button for setting the Use and Lock options in order to change the table style. Style is only 

enabled if you are in Administrator mode. For details see “Properties” on page 622. 


Creating a New Table 



For creating a new table open the Table Creation dialog by clicking left on the Create a Table tool 

located in the Text + Dimension tooltray. 

The dialog opens providing the Table Data tab showing the default table: 

Figure 598 Table Creation: Data Entry 

1. Choose the tool New Table from the top of the dialog. 

The following window opens: 

Figure 599 Create Table Dialog 

The left edit field shows the number of rows and the right one the number of columns. 

2. Choose the amount of rows and columns. 

3. Click left on the button OK to apply the settings. 

The table in the Table Creation dialog changes immediately to the new number of rows 

and columns. 

4. For filling the cells of the new table click left into a cell and type the text. 

If the table is ready for placement you can define the datum point by using the 

Set table justification tools, for example, the Set table justification to top left tool . 

5. Select Ok or Apply. 

The table is attached to the crosshair of your cursor. If you want to change the table 

you can do so editing in the Table Creation dialog. Then you have to choose Ok or Apply 

again to update the attached table to the changes you made. 

6. Click left at the position inside the drawing area where you want to place the table. 



Tables 

Selecting Text 

For justifying or deleting text you can select several table cells at the same time. You can either 

select complete rows or columns, or you can select certain table cells. 

For selecting a complete row click left on the row button in front of a table line. 

If you want to select a column click left on a column button on top of the table. 

For selecting certain cells: 

1. Click left on the first cell and hold the mouse button. 

2. Move the mouse to the last cell you want to select. 

As you move the mouse the selected cells become highlighted. 

3. Release the mouse button. 

All selected cells are highlighted. now, for example, you can justify them. 

Add and Delete Rows and Columns 

If the cursor is on the table inside the Data entry tab of the Table Creation dialog then a popup menu 

is available to add and delete rows and columns. 

Figure 600 Create Table Popup Menu 

To add rows or columns, click Insert Row or Insert Column respectively. 

Rows are added above the currently selected table cell. 

Columns are added to the left of the currently selected table cell. 

If no cell is selected rows and columns are added at the end of the table. 

To delete rows or columns, click Delete Row or Delete Column respectively. 

If a cell is selected the current row or column is deleted. 

If no cell is selected rows and columns are deleted from the end of the table. 


To append a row below the existing rows click on Append Row. 

To insert a column right from the existing columns click on Add Column. 



To sort a column move the cursor on the appropriate column and choose Sort Up or Sort Down. 

Justify Text 

Text can be justified either to the left, middle or right of the edit field by the following tools: 

Figure 601 Justify Text Tools 

For justifying text: 

1. Select the table cells whose text shall be justified. 

2. Click left on one of the justification tools. 

The text is justified according to the chosen justification tool. 

Save Tables 

Tables can be saved as comma separated files (CSV files, explained in “About CSV Format 

Files” on page 614). 

If the current table is new: 

1. Choose the Save as tool . 


Figure 602 Save Table Data Dialog 

The dialog provides the usual entries for a Save as dialog. On top you find the currently 

selected file name. In the figure above no file is selected and the directory is given only. 



Tables 

2. Type in the new Filename or select a file from the Filename list to overwrite this file. 

3. Click left on the button Save. 

The dialog closes and the table is saved to the chosen file. 

If the table was loaded from a file or if you already saved the table the Save tool is available. 

In this case: 

1. Choose the Save tool . 

The following message comes up: 

Figure 603 Overwrite Message 

2. Choose Overwrite for saving the table. 

Cancel closes the message and aborts saving. 

Load Tables 

Tables can be loaded as comma separated files (CSV files, explained in “About CSV Format 

Files” on page 614). To load data from a CSV file into the table: 

1. Choose the Load data tool for opening the following dialog. 

Figure 604 Load Table Data Dialog 

The dialog provides the usual entries for a Load dialog. On top you find the last used file 

name. 

2. Type in the new Filename or select a file from the Filename list. 

3. Click left on the button Open. 

The dialog closes and the table is loaded into the Table Creation dialog. 


Edit Tables 


Edit Tables 

Editing tables work as in most common text processing programs. So this section is limited to 

the special features in MEDUSA. 

For opening a table in the Table Creation dialog: 

1. Click left on the Create a Table tool located in the Text + Dimension tooltray. 

2. Now you can either 

• select a table in the sheet by clicking left on a part of it, or 

• load a table from a file (see “Creating a New Table”, ”Load Tables” on page 620). 

The selected table is displayed in the Table Creation dialog. 

Please note: You also can double click left on a table inside the sheet. With this the Table Creation 

dialog is opened and the selected table is loaded to it. 

The possibilities of editing is given in the following list: 

• Click left on a table cell allows you to type a new value. As you type in, the current 

value is overwritten. 

• Double click left on a table cell highlights the current value. If you type in now, the 

value is replaced with the new entries. 

As you type in text or values inside the table cell the usual popup menu of the table dialog as 

given in “Creating a New Table”, ”Add and Delete Rows and Columns” on page 618 changes to 

the following popup menu: 

Figure 605 Popup Menu While Typing into Table Cell 

As you see, MEDUSA provides the common functions for editing table cell entries. You can cut, 

copy, paste and clear, as well as undo and redo actions. The shortcuts given in the figure above 

behind the functions are available on Windows systems. For other operating systems they can 

differ. 



Tables 

Properties 

The Properties tab allows you to specify various style options for the table. 

Figure 606 Table Creation: Properties 

The Properties tab of the Table Creation dialog provides the following parameter: 

Style 

is the name of the table style. 

Use row height 

is the option for defining a row height which differs from the default value. If this option 

is chosen the edit field below is enabled for specifying the value for the height of the 

row. 

Table layer 

defines the layer of the table. 

Text Type, Text Color, Text Thickness, Text Height, Font 

defines the style of the text inside the cells and the used font (Quick Text by default). You 

can define the text type, its color, the thickness and the height. 

Line Type, Line Color, Line Thickness 

defines the style of the lines surrounding the cells. You can define the type, its color 

and the thickness. 

File entry separator 

defines the sign used for separating the column entries for each table row. It is used for 

the case of storing the table as a CSV file (see “About CSV Format Files” on page 614 

and “Save Tables” on page 619). 

The Properties tab of the Table Creation dialog provides the following buttons: 

OK, Apply, Cancel, Help 



Style 


Properties 

is only available if you are in Administrator mode. 

If you are in Administrator mode and if you want to change locked or unused properties, 

click left on the button Style for opening the following dialog: 


a. Setup the Use and Lock options for text and line properties to your need and apply the 

settings with the button Modify. 

If you set the Lock option for an entry, the appropriate parameter inside the Properties 

tab is disabled. 

b. If all options are set Close the dialog. 

Now you can set the properties for the table in the Table Creation dialog. 

Please note: The changed options are not applied until you have chosen Modify in the 

Style Creation Dialog although you see the changes in the Properties tab of the 

Table Creation dialog when you set or unset the Lock options. 



Tables 

Creating a Parts List 

You can create a parts list table using the balloon texts of your sheet. For creating balloon texts 

see “Text”, ”Balloon Text” on page 602. 

Procedure 

For creating the parts list do the following steps: 

1. Choose the Reads all balloon texts to a table tool located in the Text + Dimension tooltray. 

The table creation dialog opens containing all balloon texts of your sheet. 

You also can create a parts list table from multiple sheets. For details see “Scanning 

multiple sheets to create a Parts Balloon Table” on page 625. 

2. Choose Apply. 

The table is attached to the cursor. 

You can change properties now. 

3. Click left on the sheet to place the table. 

You also can save the table to a comma separated file (CSV file, explained in “About 

CSV Format Files” on page 614) as described in “Save Tables” on page 619. 

4. Save the sheet in order to store the parts list table with the sheet. 

Configure Column Titles 

The titles of the table columns can be configured with the help of the file 

\MED2D\M2D\SRC\ball2tab.cfg 

Each column in the table has one entry in the configuration file. The default configuration file 

looks like this: 

--col1 = Position 

--col2 = Name 

--col3 = Number 

--col4 = Issue 

The lines start with a comment sign -- and therefore they are not used for a parts list table by 

default. If you uncomment a line, the entry overwrites the appropriate default column header for 

balloon texts. 

Edit Parts List Tables 

A parts list table can be edited by clicking left on it in the graphics area and then choose Properties 

from the popup menu. 

In the top right corner of the opened table dialog you find the tool Synchronize table with balloons on 

sheet which refreshs the table with new information to reflect changes in the sheet while 

keeping the existing table column widths and sorting options. 


Scanning multiple sheets to create a Parts Balloon Table 


Creating a Parts List 

There is a tool Writes the Balloon data of multiple sheets to a table in the Parts Balloon Table tool set, 

to create a table on the current sheet with all Parts Balloon data of several sheets. 

You can choose a set of drawings that will be scanned with the help of a selector dialog: 

Figure 608 Sheet selector dialog 

On the top of the dialog the current directory is displayed, you can change it with a directory 

selector by choosing the button behind the text field on the right hand side. 

On the left side all sheet files of the selected directory are listed. Select the ones you want to 

scan and add them to the list on the right side with this button: 

To remove drawings from the right list select them and use this button: 

To clear the complete right list, use this button: 

Having selected all the sheets you want to scan, click OK. The system will check if the drawings 

are already open, otherwise they will be opened, scanned and closed again. 

As result you will get a table with the data of all selected sheets. 



Tables 


FIT AND BORE HOLE TABLES 

• Fit Tables................................................................................ 628 

• Bore Hole Tables.................................................................... 632 




Fit and Bore Hole Tables 

Fit Tables 

Please note: Fit Tables is only available with the advanced version of MEDUSA, which can be 

started with the option -advanced. For details on starting MEDUSA see “Starting 

MEDUSA” on page 23. 

This section shows you how to create and edit tolerance (fit) tables. 

Creating Fit Tables 

This function provides the possibility to create automatically a table of fits and limits. You can 

decide, whether all fits and limits from the sheet or only certain dimension, which you select, 

should be transferred into the table. 

1. In order to create a fit table choose the Creates a table of fits from whole sheet or selection tool 

from the Text and Dimension tooltray. 

The Fit table properties dialog is displayed. 

Figure 609 Dialog Fit Table Properties 

The following table properties can be defined: 

• General 

You can select between the options Column title on top and Column title on bottom. 



Fit Tables 

• Format 

Two different table formats are available: 

Format 1 contains the columns Fit size, Max. extent and Min. extent. 

Format 2 contains the columns Nominal width, ISO, under-allowance and over- allowance. 

2. After choosing the kind of column title and the table format choose the button OK. 

The dialog Table Creation opens. 

Figure 610 Dialog Fit Table Properties 

By default the tab Table Data is displayed showing three or four columns depending on 

the selected format. Inside the table either all the fits in the sheet or only those ones of 

selected dimensions are entered. 

Now you can also define the properties of the table. For details see “Properties” on 

page 622. 

3. Choose OK or Apply to place the table on the sheet. 

The table is displayed attached to the crosshair of the mouse cursor. 

4. Click left on the sheet to place the table. 

If the table is placed the tool is exited automatically. 

Editing Fit Tables 

You can edit the table contents and the properties of the table. 

1. First select one or several fit tables. 

2. Inside the popup menu choose the entry Properties. 

The dialog Table Creation opens. now you can change the table contents, tab Table Data, 

or the properties of the table. For details see “Edit Tables” on page 621. 




Please note: A double click on a tolerance table also opens the dialog Table Creation. 

Example 

The following figure shows examples of tables with different settings. 

Figure 611 Example for Fit Tables 


Distributed Example Fits XML File 


Fit Tables 

With the release of MEDUSA an example file is delivered, which contains some fit definitions. 

The file fits.xml can be found in \med2d\m2d\src\ by default. 

Please note: Consider that we cannot guarantee correctness and completeness for any definition 

in \med2d\m2d\src\fits.xml. The user has to create its 

own file to ensure correct and complete fit definitions. 

Because the creation of this file is a little bit exhausting a Bacis2 conversion program is available, 

which generates a new fits.xml from, for example, an old MEDAS-X file. 

The Bacis2 command is: 

fittab_import_fit2xml (fileinput, fileoutput, format) 

where: 

fileinput is the path to the source file 

fileoutput is the path to the target file 

format is either !ascii or !csv 

If the source file is processed, empty and comment lines (lines starting with two dashes --) are 

ignored. 

For the import of a MEDAS file the command can look like this: 

fittab_import_fit2xml ("c:\tmp\mytol.dat", "c:\tmp\fits.xml", !ascii) 

How to start MEDUSA with a console in which you can type in the Bacis2 command is given in 

“Starting MEDUSA” on page 23. 




Bore Hole Tables 

Please note: Bore hole tables are only available with the advanced version of MEDUSA, which 

can be started with the option -advanced. For details on starting MEDUSA see 


Drilling table tools allow constructing engineers to easily create bore hole tables. 

As a function of freely positionable reference coordinate system (RCS) all relevant data of a 

drilling (coordinates, diameter, tolerance data, comments) can be displayed at minimum expenditure 

in clear tabular form. Thus a pedantic and an unclear measuring of the individual drilling 

is omitted completely, as well as the manual gathering of the necessary information. 

With the arranged information the creation of e.g. CNC programs is substantially accelerated, 

since the information is to be found fast and is represented clearly. 

Creating a Table 

A drilling table consists of a reference coordinate system (RCS), which can be positioned freely 

on the sheet, and a base table. The RCS and the table are thereby connected by an identification 

number, which is displayed both in the symbol of the reference coordinate system and in 

the table foot. 

The flow of creating a table is divided into two work procedures, positioning the RCS symbol 

and positioning the base table (those are the first two lines of the table consisting of the table 

designation and the column headings for the data lines). 

Step 1 - Position the RCS Symbol 

Click the button Create a new table to open the following dialog: 

Figure 612 Create a new table 

In this dialog you have the following adjustment possibilities: 


Table number 

is the identification number between the RCS and the table. 



Name of origin of coord System 

is the text, which is written below the symbol of the RCS together with the table number. 

Name of Table 

Together with the table number the table designation is entered into the foot of the 

table. 

All lines of the dialog can be edited as desired up to issuing the symbol for the RCS by clicking 

the left mouse button. The RCS symbol is attached to the cross hair. Modifications within the 

first two input lines on the symbol are adjusted dynamically. The first two input lines are blocked 

after dropping. 

Furthermore the RCS symbol can be manipulated. Via the right mouse button a popup menu is 

available, in which you can select the following angular adjustments: 

0 degree 

Figure 613 Popup While Creating a New Table 

The symbol is represented parallel to the axles of the absolute world-coordinate system. 

+30 degree 

Outgoing from the current angle the symbol is turned around +30°. 

-30 degree 

Outgoing from the current angle the symbol is turned around -30°. 

If you select one of the options, the adjustments will transfer dynamically to the symbol placed 

at the crosshair. 

The option Properties opens a further dialog, which enables you to adjust a free Absolute angle. 

Figure 614 Properties 




The adjustment is assumed and the dialog is closed via the OK button. Select Apply, if you would 

first like to see the location of the angle symbol placed at the cross hair and select OK afterwards.Via 

Cancel you may close the dialog without taking over the adjustments. 

Step 2 - Position the Base Table 

In the second step, the base table is placed on the sheet, if the RCS is defined via issuing the 

symbol. A frame attached to the cross hair, with the dimensions of these two lines, clarifies the 

width of the later table. The table designation in the dialog can be edited up to issuing the base 

table via clicking the left mouse button. 

Up to the point in time of issuing the base table you can terminate the procedure by either using 

the option Cancel in the dialog Create new table or in the popup menu via Exit tool, without effects to 

the sheet. 

Example 

The following figure shows an example of a placed RCS and a new drilling table. 

Figure 615 Example Drilling Table 1 

Adding Drillings to a Table 

Adding a drilling to a table is divided into the following steps: 

• the selection of reference coordinate system (RCS) 




• the selection of the desired drilling 

• the positioning of a marking arrow with an identification number for the drilling 

Step 1 - Select Reference Coordinate System (RCS) 

1. Choose the tool Add data to table . 

2. Click into the proximity of the RCS-symbol, to which the drilling is to be assigned. 

The RCS symbol as well as the appropriate table are represented emphasized. At the 

same time the dialog Edit Data of circle is opened: 

Figure 616 Add Data to Table 

The data fields of the dialog can be edited now, except for the circle specific instructions 

x-/y-coordinate and Diameter. 

Step 2 - Select Drilling 

3. If you now click the desired drilling, it will also be represented emphasized. 

However, it is not yet transferred to the procedure as a selected drilling. You thus still 

have the possibility of selecting another drilling then the represented emphasized drilling 

(e.g. in the case of concentric drillings). If you select another drilling, it is then 

emphasized and the preceding is again normally represented. 

4. In order to transfer the drilling to the procedure of adding it to the table, select Apply 

from the popup menu via the right mouse button. 

Figure 617 Popup While Adding Data to Table 




Step 3 - Position Arrow 

5. With the next mouse movement, a rubber band line starting from the range of the drilling 

to the current crosshair position will appear. 

This line represents the first part of a marking arrow, at whose end the Circle number that 

was indicated in the dialog, is offered. 

6. Via one click with the left mouse button, you determine the position of this section of 

the marking arrow. 

Now the identification number of the drilling is aligned to the cursor. Thereby, the 

adjustment takes place parallel to the axles of the world-coordinate system. The number 

is aligned accordingly, depending upon the position of the cross-hair. 

7. Close the procedure for the current circle/hole with one click of the left mouse button 

after you have found the desired alignment. 

The data of the dialog is then entered as a new line into the table. 

You can now process further drillings or terminate the procedure via OK in the dialog or Exit tool 


You may terminate the procedure without effects on the sheet, up to issuing the alignment of the 

identification number via Cancel in the dialog or via Exit tool in the popup menu. 



Editing Drilling Data 



You can edit the data of a drilling entered into a table, excluded x-/y-coordinates and diameters, 

with the tool Update circle data in table . 

The dialog Edit data of circle will open. Its data entries are empty until you select a drilling. 

Figure 619 Edit Data of Circle 

If you select a drilling now, the associated reference-coordinate system (RCS), as well as the 

table row will be displayed emphasized.The data from the table row are read into the dialog and 

can be edited now. 

With OK you terminate the procedure and the data of the table and at the marking arrow are 

updated. The dialog is closed. 

If several drillings need to be edited, select Apply for each edited drilling Here the sheet data of 

the current drilling is also updated, however, the function remains active and can be continued 

with the selection of the next drilling. This drilling must thereby not belong to the same RCS. 

Select Cancel from the dialog or Exit tool from the popup menu, in order to terminate the function 

without effects on the sheet. 

The following example shows the data of a selected drilling. The changes were already applied. 





Updating Individual Tables 

In the course of the life cycle of a drawing various modifications are made to the geometry. In 

the available case, e.g. drillings are shifted, modified or deleted in the diameter. Further, the 

position and the angle position of reference-coordinate system (RCS) can changed. Likewise, 

drillings can be removed from the table. Also, accidents by inadvertent deletion of a section of 

the database of a table are conceivable. The modification of setup adjustments sometimes also 

make updating necessary. 

In all these cases, updating of the database of a table is necessary. To do so use the tool Update 

single table . 

After the selection of a reference-coordinate system (RCS), the database is first checked during 

the updating run. All data records, which are no longer complete, are deleted. A prerequisite is 

however that the elementary structure, created under “Creating a New Table” on page 617, is 

intact. (If the structure was damaged, an error message will appear. For further information 

please read the chapter “Cleanup” on page 640.) 




The data of the updatable entries are thereafter again calculated, concerning geometry. User 

inputs (tolerance data etc.) are not changed thereby. Basis of the updating are the adjustments 

in the user parameters or in the general defaults. 

User-adjustable Parameters 

The appearance of the drilling tables is determined by a multiplicity of parameters, from which 

the user can adapt a section to his needs. 

All parameters adjustable by the user are summarized in the dialog Setup coordinate table which is 

available with the tool Setup . 

Figure 621 Setup Coordinate Table 

The dialog provides the following parameters: 

Sorting 

Layer 

Determines the sequence of the drilling entries in the table. 

• Ascending 

The drilling entries are sorted in ascending order, the smallest drilling number is situated 

directly over the column inscriptions. 

• Descending 

ditto, only in reverse succession 

Here you can adjust a layer number for all drawing items of the table. If the number is 

outside of the area 0...1023, the new value is rejected and the old value is preserved. 




Places 

Here you can set the number of post-decimal places for the representation of the coordinate 

specification in the table. 

Line type table / Line type arrow 

Enter the desired type of line for the table and arrow lines here. 

Text types: Table / Arrow 

Enter the desired type of text for the table and arrow lines here. 

Text height 

Here you can set the text heights for the table designation (lowest table line), the column 

designation and the lines with the drilling entries. 

Column width 

Here you can enter the width of each column. 

Please note: The following restriction applies in this version of the tools for line types and text 

types: 

A check whether the adjusted type for the application is admitted in groups of the 

type SET, S2T and S3T does NOT take place. Incorrect adjustments can lead to 

unpredictable results. 

If you choose the button Default, the pre-defined settings for tables are loaded and your customized 

definitions inside the dialog will be overwritten. 

If the current settings shall be taken, leave the dialog with the button OK. Cancel rejects the current 

settings. In both cases the dialog is closed. 

Cleanup 

The created elementary structure of the table must be error free for the updating of an individual 

table. Important system information is lost if this structure became damaged, for example by the 

deletion of the symbol for reference-coordinate system (RCS) or by deletion one of the two first 

table rows. In such a case only the manual deletion of the entire group structure of the table 

remains. Please use the MEDUSA functionalities for the deletion of groups for a "clean" deletion. 

A deletion of only the visible drawing items does not have the complete removal of the 

group structure from the sheet as a consequence. 

The deletion of the group structure of the table does not have influence on the system information, 

which is linked with the drillings. As long as a drilling has such system information, it cannot 

be added to a table. Therefore, the task of the Cleanup functionality is it to delete the system 

information linked to the drillings and to release the drilling again. 

After choosing the tool Cleanup , a safety query takes place before the start of Cleanup: 


Figure 622 Warning: Start Cleanup 



Select OK if you want to execute the Cleanup run and then click the symbol of the RCS to be 

cleaned up. 

Select Cancel in order to terminate this function. 






PREDEFINED GRAPHICAL SHAPES (PRIMS) 

Predefined graphical shapes, or prims, are used to represent commonly-used shapes, for 

example, tolerance symbols. 

• Introduction ............................................................................ 644 

• Adding Prims to a Sheet ........................................................ 645 

• Transforming and Deleting Prims........................................... 648 

• Prim Properties ...................................................................... 649 

• How MEDUSA Stores and Updates Prims............................. 653 



Predefined Graphical Shapes (Prims) 

Introduction 

Prims are a special type of element that are used to represent predefined graphical shapes. In 

its simplest form, a prim consists of one or more line elements that define a commonly used 

shape. 

Prims are similar to symbols although you cannot edit the geometry of a prim once it is displayed 

on the sheet. For this reason you only can use a prim which is predefined. 


Adding Prims to a Sheet 



There are two ways that you add a prim to a sheet: 

• Using a prim tool, see “Adding Standard Prims” on page 645 

• Choosing a prim from a prim library, see “Adding a Named Prim” on page 646 

Positioning a Prim Using the Datum Point 

Prims, like text elements, contain a single reference point known as the datum point. This point 

is used to position the prim on the sheet. You cannot reference any other point on the prim. The 

datum point of a prim is marked inside MEDUSA with a little cross. Figure 623, “Standard Prim 

Tools” on page 645 show the position of the datum points for standard prims. 

Adding Standard Prims 

To add a standard prim to a sheet: 

1. Choose one of the standard create prim tools from the Text + Dimension tooltray of the 

Complete set of tooltrays. 

Figure 623 Standard Prim Tools 

The cursor changes its shape to an elongated cross. The prim is displayed attached to 

the cursor with the prim datum at the center. 

2. Change the properties of this prim if required. 

For details see “Prim Properties” on page 649. 

3. Move your cursor to the position for the datum point and click left. Now you can either: 

• cancel the last prim by choosing Undo from the popup menu or 

• place another prim on the sheet by repeating steps 2 and 3. 

As long as you do not change the prim tool the currently set properties are also used 

for further placements of the prim. If you change to another prim for adding by 

selecting the tool from the toolset then the properties of the prim revert to the default 

properties. This is also if you choose the same prim as before. 




Adding a Named Prim 

Prims are stored in separate directories referred to as prim libraries. If you do not have the right 

prim tool, then you can choose a prim from a library using the dashboard. 

1. Choose the Creates prims of specified type and properties tool from the Text + Dimension tooltray. 

The dashboard displays the prim entries: 

Figure 624 Dashboard: Prims 

Properties 

Prim Style 

Prim button 

2. Choose default as the style if it is not already selected. 

3. Click the prim button in the center of the dashboard, as shown above. 

The Prims dialog appears: 

Figure 625 Prims Dialog 

The prims shown in the dialog are not necessarily to scale. The prims are shown with 

their datum points represented by small crosses. This is to help you position the prims 

accurately on the sheet. The cross is not shown on the sheet. 

Please note: You can only click the prim button in the dashboard if the prim has a Superprim property. 

This is shown in the grayed out field to the right of the Prim button. If Superprim 

is not displayed, change the Prim style to default. 

1. In order to select a prim, you have two possibilities: 

a. Use the pulldown menu to select the required prim library and select the required 

prim from the dialog. 




b. Enter the prim code directly into the text field and click either the Prim button or the 

Return key. 

In both cases the chosen prim is attached to the cursor. 

2. Move the cursor to position the prim datum, and click left. 

The prim is placed on the sheet. 

3. Change the properties of this prim if required. Either 

• select the Properties... option from the popup menu and use the Prim Properties dialog to 

change the prim properties (see “Prim Properties” on page 649, or 

• use the prim dashboard to change the prim properties. 

4. You can add other prims by repeating steps 3 through 6. 

Please note: The input of the code in the Prim text field is independent from the prim library displayed 

in the dialog! 

Popup Menu While Placing Prims 

While placing a prim the following popup menu is available by clicking the right mouse button. 

Properties 

Undo 

Exit Tool 

Figure 626 Popup Menu While Placing Prims 

opens the Prim properties dialog. For details see “Prim Properties” on page 649. 







Transforming and Deleting Prims 

A prim is treated as a single element, so you can manipulate it more easily than the complex 

pattern of lines it represents. You can manipulate a prim in a number of ways but you cannot 

shear it. 

Transforming Prims 

You can magnify, rotate, or move prims as for any other element. To do this you use any of the 

transform tools for rotating, moving, or mirroring. See “Transformation” on page 435 for further 

information. 

Deleting Prims 

To delete a prim: 

1. Select the prim(s) using the Select prims tool or the Select tool using any of the 

selection methods described in ”Select”, ”Selecting with the Mouse” on page 107. 

2. Choose Delete from the Edit menu or from the popup menu. 

The selected prims are deleted. 


Prim Properties 



Prims have the standard properties of Style, Layer, Color, Thickness, and Type and additional 

properties that are specific to prims which are described below. 

Prim properties are available in the dashboard (see ”Dashboard”) and in the Prim properties dialog 

(see “Dialog” on page 650). 

Changing properties is given in “Changing Prim Properties” on page 651. 

Dashboard 

If you have chosen a prim tool or if you selected a prim inside the drawing area, the dashboard 

displays its properties. In front of the dashboard the Creates prims of specified type and properties tool is 

displayed. 

Figure 627 Prims Dashboard 

Properties Prim Style 

Prim button 

Magnification Rotation 

The following list explains the parameter as named in the figure above: 

Properties 

opens the Prim properties dialog. For details see ”Prim Properties”, ”Dialog” on page 650. 

Prim Style 

gives the style of the selected prim. Available styles are Free, default and the standard 

styles blo, dot, dtm, ear, pap and tri. 

Prim button 

opens the Prims dialog for selecting another picture for the current prim. For details see 

”Adding Prims to a Sheet”, ”Adding a Named Prim” on page 646. 

Magnification 

is the value for increasing or decreasing the default size of the prim. The default value 

is 1.00. If you use the arrows for changing this value it changes step wise up or down 

by one (e.g. 2.00, 3.00). 

Rotation 

gives the value (units are degrees) by which a selected prim rotates. The default value 

is 0.00. If you use the arrows for changing this values it changes step wise up or down 

by five (e.g. 5.00, 10.00). 




Dialog 

To use the Prim properties dialog select the prim you want to change and click left on the Properties 

tool on the left of the dashboard. 

The Prim properties dialog appears and you can make the changes you require. 

Figure 628 Prim Properties Dialog 

The following entries are found in the dialog: 

Style, Layer, Color, Thickness 

are the standard properties 

X position, Y position 

gives the coordinates of the datum point of the selected prim. 

Type 

Picture 

Magnify 

Rotate 

gives the type of the selected prim. 

opens the Prims dialog for selecting another picture for the current prim. For details see 

”Adding Prims to a Sheet”, ”Adding a Named Prim” on page 646. 

Enlarge or reduce the size of the prim by entering the magnification factor. The default 

value is 1.00. If you use the arrows for changing this values it changes step wise up or 

down by one (e.g. 2.00, 3.00). 

Rotate the prim by entering the angle of rotation. The default value is 0.00. If you use 

the arrows for changing this values it changes step wise up or down by five (e.g. 5.00, 

10.00). 


Changing Prim Properties 

There are several methods for changing prim properties. 

Using the Dashboard 



To change a property of a prim directly inside the dashboard: 

1. Select a prim on the sheet. 

The dashboard changes to show the properties of the selected prim. 

2. Click left on the property you want to change (or click the arrow next to it, if one is 

present) in the dashboard. 

3. Type inside the edit field a new value for the property or select the new value from the 

list of values (available by the arrow). 

The chosen property is changed for the selected element. 


To use the popup menu: 

1. Select a prim on the sheet. 

2. Click right for displaying the popup menu. 

3. Click left on the Properties entry. 

The Prim properties dialog opens. Go on with step 4 in the next section. 

Using the Properties Dialog 

For changing properties with the Prim properties dialog do the following steps: 

1. Select the prim you want to change. 

2. Click on the Properties tool on the left of the dashboard. 

The Prim properties dialog is displayed. 

For details see ”Prim Properties”, ”Dialog” on page 650. 

3. If any entry you want to change is disabled (grayed out) click left on the button Style. 

The Style Creation Dialog opens: 





4. Switch off the Lock option in the line of the property you want to change. 

5. Click left on the button Modify to apply the changes. 

6. Click left on the button Close to quit the Style Creation Dialog. 

Now you can adjust the unlocked prim properties inside the Prim properties dialog. 

7. Make the changes you require and press Apply. 

The changes are applied to the selected prim. 

If you choose OK, the changes are applied too but additionally the dialog is closed. 

If you choose Cancel, the changes are not applied and the dialog is closed. 


How MEDUSA Stores and Updates Prims 


How MEDUSA Stores and Updates Prims 

This section describes how MEDUSA stores and displays prims. It also gives the advantages 

this offers you. 

Storage of Prims 

Prims get their name from the fact that they are PRIMitive elements. They are termed primitive 

because only the prim properties are stored in memory with the other sheet information. (See 

“Prim Properties” on page 649 for a description of the prim properties.) 

A description of the geometry of the prim is not stored on the sheet. For this reason very little 

space is used to store the prim information. This means that prims are very useful on sheets 

which contain large numbers of similar items. 

For example, in applications where you need to draw electronic circuits, you may need to create 

hundreds of components on a single sheet. Using prims less memory is required to store that 

sheet. 

Automatic Updating of Prims on Sheets 

The central storage of prims offers the advantage of storing a large number of identical symbols 

held in separate directories. Suppose that the design of a prim needs to be modified. Only the 

prim definition needs to be changed. Any sheets that reference the prim are updated with the 

modified design the next time they are redrawn or plotted. You can incorporate changes to the 

original prim definition into all your relevant drawings very quickly. 





AREA FILLS 


This chapter describes how to fill enclosed areas with a specified pattern. You can fill areas with 

lines using the crosshatch tool and with a pattern using the stipple tool. 

• Introduction to Crosshatching and Stippling........................... 656 

• Defining a Closed Area .......................................................... 657 

• Using the Crosshatch or Stipple Tools ................................... 659 

• Crosshatch Properties ........................................................... 663 

• Stipple Properties................................................................... 667 

• Selecting and Deleting Stippling or Crosshatching ................ 671 

• Multiple Crosshatching........................................................... 672 

• Filling Disjoint Areas .............................................................. 673 

• Create Gaps Under Text in Crosshatching ............................ 674 

• Masking Hidden Lines............................................................ 675 

• Boolean Operations ............................................................... 678 



Area Fills 

Introduction to Crosshatching and Stippling 

You can cover an area of a drawing with regularly spaced lines, known as crosshatching, or 

with a pattern of predefined symbols, known as stippling. 

Crosshatching 

The crosshatching tool allows you to cover an area of a drawing with a regularly spaced pattern 

of lines. You can change the style of the crosshatching by changing its properties. Figure 630 

shows some examples of crosshatching. 

Stippling 

Figure 630 Examples of Crosshatching 

The stipple tools allow you to stipple an area with a symbol. For example, you could create a 

star, save it as a symbol, and then stipple an area of a drawing using the star as the stippling 

symbol. 

You can either create a solid pattern of symbols, with no spacing between the symbols, or you 

can specify the spacing between adjacent symbols. Figure 631 shows some examples of stippling 

patterns. 

Figure 631 Examples of Stippling 


Defining a Closed Area 


Defining a Closed Area 

The area that you want to fill should be enclosed. A closed are can be defined by: 

• Closed line(s), either at sheet level or in a group (you can use any line type). 

• A closed temporary line (see below). 

• Any number of individual lines, if they make up a closed area. 

You can create these lines using any of the normal techniques for drawing lines. The area can 

have any shape you like. 

Drawing a Temporary Line 

If you want to fill an area bounded by a number of existing lines you must create a temporary 

line that coincides with the separate lines so that it encloses the area to be filled. For example, 

you could create a construction line to enclose the required area as shown in Figure 632. 

Figure 632 Temporary Lines Defining the Area to be Filled 

Area to be 

crosshatched 

Temporary 

closed line 

Deleting the Temporary Boundary Line 

Resulting area 

of crosshatching 

You can delete the temporary line when the area has been filled. It is recommended that you 

use a construction line type for the temporary lines. This makes it easier to delete the temporary 

boundary line as construction lines are created on a separate layer. 



Area Fills 

Seed Point Crosshatching or Stippling 

As an alternative to drawing a temporary line to define the area that you want to fill, you can use 

the Seedpoint menu item, which is on the popup menu for the crosshatch or stipple tools. 

Seed Point enables you to fill the area shown in Figure 632, “Temporary Lines Defining the 

Area to be Filled” on page 657 without first having to define a temporary line. This is because it 

looks for the area defined by the intersection of the five lines. 

If there is a problem with the area as defined by the lines that you select, then an arrow appears 

on the drawing at the appropriate point. 


Using the Crosshatch or Stipple Tools 



You can fill any shape assuming it is defined by a suitable line as explained in “Defining a 

Closed Area” on page 657. You cannot fill text elements or prims. 

Figure 633 Crosshatch and Stipple Tools 

The following sections give the steps for hatching and stippling separately because both kinds 

of filling an area work a little different. 

Crosshatching Areas 

Crosshatching areas works in general by choosing the crosshatch tool, selecting elements and 

then using the popup menu. Therefore, before giving the steps for hatching areas, here is the 

popup menu available by the right mouse button after chosen the crosshatch tool: 

Apply 

Figure 634 Popup Crosshatch Tool 

executes crosshatching on all areas defined by the currently selected elements. If the 

elements which enclose one area do not belong together, the result of crosshatching 

can get wrong. In this case use Seed Point for defining the area which shall be filled. 

Seed Point 

makes MEDUSA to find an area enclosed by several selected elements which intersect. 

If you choose Seed Point, you have to probe the appropriate area inside the drawing 

area to execute filling. 

Sheet Level 

forces MEDUSA to place the crosshatch on sheet level also, if the selected elements 

are on another level. 

Properties 

opens the Crosshatch Properties dialog explained in “Crosshatch Properties” on page 663. 



Area Fills 

Undo 

Exit Tool 




For crosshatching do the following steps: 

1. Select the Crosshatches the selected areas tool . 

2. Change the properties of the Crosshatch tool if required. 

For details see “Crosshatch Properties” on page 663. 

3. Select the element(s) or the line(s) defining the area that you want to fill. 

4. Either choose the Apply or the Seed Point option from the popup menu 

• If you chose Apply, the selected area will be filled and the crosshatch becomes 

selected after the operation. 

If you want to fill the same area with a different pattern, you have to select it again. 

• If you chose Seed Point, move the cursor inside the area to fill and click left. 

The selected area, in which you placed the seed point, is filled. The elements 

selected in step 3 remain selected and you can go on filling the area with other patterns 

(for examples see “Multiple Crosshatching” on page 672). 

Now you can 

• cancel the area fill by choosing Undo from the popup menu, 

• fill other areas using the same properties, or 

• change the area fill properties and then fill other areas. 

Filling Areas with Symbols 

Filling areas with symbols, the so called stippling, works in general by choosing the stippling 

tool, selecting elements and then using the popup menu. Therefore, before giving the steps for 

stippling areas, here is the popup menu available by the right mouse button after chosen the 

stippling tool: 

Figure 635 Popup Stippling Tool 


Apply 



executes stippling on all areas defined by the currently selected elements. If the elements 

which enclose one area do not belong together the result of stippling can get 

wrong. In this case use Seed Point for defining the area which shall be filled. 

Seed Point 

makes MEDUSA to find an area enclosed by several selected elements which intersect. 

If you choose Seed Point you have to probe the appropriate area inside the drawing 

area to execute filling. 

Properties 

opens the Temporary Stipple Properties dialog explained in “Stipple Properties” on page 667. 

Undo 

Exit Tool 




For filling areas with symbols do the following steps: 

1. Select the Stipples the selected areas tool located in the Text + Dimension tooltray. 

The Load Named Symbol dialog appears: 

Figure 636 Load Named Symbol Dialog 

a. Choose the symbol that you want to use. 

b. Click Load. 

The dialog closes and the chosen symbol is attached to the cursor. 

2. Change the properties of the stipple tool if required. 

For details see “Stipple Properties” on page 667. 

3. Select the element(s), or the line(s) defining the area that you want to fill. 



Area Fills 

4. Either 

• choose the Apply option from the popup menu, or 

• choose Seed Point from the popup menu, then move your cursor inside the area, and 

finally click left. 

5. Probe a point where you want to start stippling from inside the selected area. 

The selected area is filled. The elements selected in step 3 remain selected. 

Now you can 

• cancel the area fill by choosing Undo from the popup menu, 

• fill the same areas again, for example, by rotating the stipple symbol with Rotate by 90 

from the popup menu (see also “Multiple Crosshatching” on page 672), 

• fill other areas using the same properties (re-start with step 3), 

• stipple other areas using a different symbol by choosing New Symbol from the popup 

menu and go on with step 3, or 

• change the area fill properties (for example, spacing) and then fill other areas. 

Please note: If you know the path name of the symbol you want to stipple with, you can point to 

the stipple tool, choose Temp Properties... from the popup menu, and type in the pathname 

of the symbol. 


Crosshatch Properties 



To crosshatch an area, the system first constructs a temporary reference line. This is known as 

the seed line, based on the angle that you specify as shown in Figure 637. 

The rest of the crosshatching lines are then drawn parallel to the seed line and on both sides 

using the offset and spacing that you specified. However, only those crosshatch lines that fall 

within the crosshatching boundary are displayed on the sheet. 

Figure 637 Angle, Spacing, and Offset 

Seed 

Offset 

The default settings for the crosshatch properties are: 

Property Default Setting 

Offset 0 mm 

Line Type Solid 

Layer Crosshatching 

Angle 45 degrees 

Spacing 5mm 

Spacing 

Crosshatching 

Angle 

Crosshatch properties are available in the dashboard (see “Dashboard” on page 664) and 

inside the Crosshatch Properties dialog (see “Dialog” on page 665). 

Changing properties is explained in “Changing Crosshatch Properties” on page 666. 



Area Fills 

Dashboard 

If you have chosen the crosshatch tool or if you selected a crosshatch inside the drawing area, 

the dashboard displays its properties. In front of the dashboard the Crosshatches the selected areas tool 

is displayed. 

Properties 

Figure 638 Crosshatches Dashboard 

The following list explains the parameters as shown in the figure above: 

Properties 

Style 

Layer 

Angle 

Spacing 

Offset 

opens the Crosshatch properties dialog. For details see ”Crosshatch Properties”, ”Dialog” 

on page 665. 

gives the type of the crosshatch. Predefined crosshatches are Free, default, single and 

double. single and double are available with angles of +/- 30, 45 and 60 degrees. 

gives the layer Crosshatching which is the default layer for crosshatching and stippling. 

gives the angle of the crosshatch lines from the horizontal. 

sets the distance between neighbored crosshatch lines in sheet units as shown in 

Figure 637, “Angle, Spacing, and Offset” on page 663. 

sets the offset for the seed line from the sheet origin. This is used to calculate the position 

of the other crosshatch lines as shown in Figure 637, “Angle, Spacing, and Offset” 

on page 663. 

Double line 

option for drawing two lines instead of one. Once the Double line option is switched on 

the Gap option is also enabled. 

Gap 

Style 

Layer 

Properties 

is the offset for the spacing between first and second line of a double lined crosshatch. 

If Double line is off this entry is disabled. 


Dialog 



To use the Crosshatch Properties dialog select the crosshatch you want to change and click left on 

the Properties tool on the left of the dashboard. 

The Crosshatch properties dialog appears and you can make the changes you require (given in 

“Changing Crosshatch Properties” on page 666). 

Figure 639 The Crosshatch Properties Dialog 

The dialog provides the same properties as explained for the dashboard on page 664. Therefore 

here only those parameters are given which were not explained before: 

Type sets the type of line. 

Color sets the color of the line. 

Thickness sets the thickness of the line. 

Create, Apply 

applies the changes you made inside the dialog. The dialog window remains open. 

Create additionally draws the crosshatch into the selected geometry. 

OK, Cancel, Help 

work as usual. For details see ”Overview of the Work Environment”, ”Dialogs”, ”Buttons” 

on page 32. 

Style (button) 

opens the Style Creation Dialog. For details on its usage see ”Administration”, ”Creating 

and Editing MEDUSA Styles” inside the MEDUSA Administration Guide. 



Area Fills 

Changing Crosshatch Properties 

Crosshatch properties can be changed temporary or permanently. 

You can identify the mode of properties, temporary or default, in a simply way. If the crosshatch 

tool is chosen or a crosshatch is selected the basic crosshatch properties are displayed in 

the dashboard. On the left of the dashboard there is the Crosshatches the selected areas button . 

• If the change of properties is set to default, the button has the standard background. 

• If the change of properties is temporarily, the background of the button is yellow. 

Change Temporary 

To set the crosshatch properties temporarily, use the Crosshatch Properties dialog. 

1. Click on the Crosshatches the selected areas tool 

2. Select elements which define an area. 

3. Click the right mouse button to display the popup menu. 

4. Choose the Properties option. 

The Crosshatch Properties dialog appears as given in Figure 639. 

5. Choose crosshatch properties as required. 

Details are given in ”Crosshatch Properties”, ”Dialog” on page 665. 

6. Click 

• Apply to apply the properties and retain the Crosshatch Properties dialog. 

• OK to apply the properties and close the dialog. 

Once you change temporary properties they remain at the new settings until you change them 

again or choose another style from the Style pulldown menu. 

Change Permanently 

Please note: Before changing default crosshatch properties the Administrator mode must be 

enabled. 

For changing properties permanently you also use the Crosshatch properties dialog as shown in 

Figure 639, “The Crosshatch Properties Dialog” on page 665. For further information about creating 

or modifying properties styles see ”Administration”, ”Creating and Editing MEDUSA 

Styles” in the MEDUSA Administration Guide. 


Stipple Properties 



When you fill an area with a stipple pattern, you create the pattern from a symbol. Therefore 

many of the properties are similar to symbol properties. For example, see ”Symbols”, ”Transforming 

Symbols”, ”Rotating a Symbol” on page 464 or “Magnifying a Symbol” on page 464. 

Properties Dialog 

You can open the properties dialog while creating stipples by clicking right and choosing Properties 


Figure 640 Temporary Stipple Properties Dialog 

The Stipple Properties dialog provides the following parameters: 

File 

is the path and file name of the currently used symbol. You can change the symbol that 

is used for stippling by typing a new name for the symbol. If this field is blank, the Load 

New Symbol dialog (see Figure 636, “Load Named Symbol Dialog” on page 661) is displayed 

when you choose the Stipples the selected areas tool. 



Area Fills 

Layer 

Move 

on which stippling is placed. It is Crosshatching by default, see “Layers” on page 157. 

The Horizontal and Vertical fields enable you to move the datum of the symbol that you 

used for stippling. The datum point is the position on the sheet that you probed when 

the symbol was saved. (See “Symbols” on page 455). 

scaled, unscaled 

displays the symbol scaled or unscaled. 

Rotate 

is used for rotating the stipple symbol by the defined angle. A positive value rotates 

counterclockwise. A negative value rotates clockwise. 

legible, fixed, rigid 

defines the display of texts within a symbol. The option rigid defines that texts are displayed 

the same way as other elements of the symbol. (This means, possibly the text 

is not more legible, e.g. after rotating the symbol) The option fixed keeps the text orientation 

as saved with the symbol, the legibility of the text remains.The option legible guarantees 

that the text is always readable (either from left to right or from bottom to top) 

also in the case that the symbol is rotated or mirrored. 

Magnify 

Step 

Shear 

is used for sizing the symbol separately in Horizontal and Vertical direction. 

sets the spacing between the symbols in rows and columns. You can set the row and 

column spacing and the horizontal and vertical offset between the symbols as shown in 

Figure 641, “Setting the Spacing Between Symbols” on page 669. The default spacing 

is that there is no space between the symbols. To increase the spacing you need to 

enter a value greater than the dimensions of the symbol. 

is used for shearing the symbol separately in Horizontal and Vertical direction. 

Angle, Ratio 

defines that the values for shearing are evaluated either as an Angle or a Ratio. 

Mirror 

is used for mirroring the symbol separately at a Horizontal or Vertical axis. 


Figure 641 Setting the Spacing Between Symbols 

Changing Stipple Properties 



Changes the spacing between the columns Changes the vertical offset of the symbols 

You can change the stipple properties either by changing the default properties or by changing 

the properties temporarily. 

Change Permanently 

To set default stipple properties: 

1. Move your cursor over the Stipples the selected areas tool . 

2. Right click to open the popup menu. 

Input fields of the 

Properties dialog 

Changes the spacing between the rows Changes the horizontal offset of the symbols 



Area Fills 

3. Select Properties. 

The Stipple Properties dialog opens. 

4. Change the properties of the stipple tool. 

For details see ”Stipple Properties”, ”Changing Stipple Properties” on page 669. 

5. Choose Apply or OK for confirming your changes. 

Please note: The properties are used for all stipple operations you do in the current session. 

For getting back the default settings use the Defaults button in the properties dialog. 

Change Temporary 

To set temporary stipple properties: 

1. Select the Stipples the selected areas tool located in the Text + Dimension tooltray. 

The Load Named Symbol dialog appears (see Figure 636, “Load Named Symbol Dialog” 

on page 661). 

2. Choose the symbol that you want to use and click left on the button Load. 

The dialog closes and the chosen symbol is attached to the cursor. 

3. Right click to open the popup menu and select Properties. 

The Stipple Properties dialog opens. 

4. Change the properties to your needs. 

For details see ”Stipple Properties”, ”Properties Dialog” on page 667. 

5. Choose Apply or OK for confirming your changes. 

The stipple properties are set for this use of the tool only. They are used as the new 

settings until you change them again, you select another symbol for stippling, or you 

exit the tool. 

Please note: Changing the temporary properties does not affect the default property settings. 

Both the Stipple Properties dialog and the temporary Stipple Properties dialog have the same options. 



Selecting and Deleting Stippling or Crosshatching 

Selecting and Deleting Stippling or Crosshatching 

After creating stippling or crosshatching you can select them using the selection tools available 

inside the toolbar. 

Figure 642 Selection Tools for Stippling and Crosshatching 

Select Stipple 

Selecting Area Fills 

To select stippling or crosshatching: 

1. Move the cursor over the black arrow down to the right of the Selects elements of any type 

tool . 

2. Click left on the icon of the appropriate selection tool. 

3. Move the cursor to a line in the filled area and click left. 

The selected crosshatch or stipple becomes highlighted which marks it as selected. 

Deleting Area Fills 

Select crosshatching 

To delete all the crosshatching or stippling on a sheet: 

1. Select the crosshatch or stipple elements you want to delete. You have two possibilities: 

• Choose the Select Stipple tool to select stippling, or the Select crosshatching tool to 

select crosshatching. 

• Select the area fills using the Attribute Select Elements dialog as explained in ”Select”, 

”Selecting Elements by Attributes” on page 118 

2. Choose Delete from the Edit menu or click the button on the toolbar. 

The crosshatching or the stippling is deleted but not the selected elements. 



Area Fills 

Multiple Crosshatching 

You can create complex patterns by repeatedly crosshatching the same area using different 

crosshatch properties. 

Examples 

To achieve the pattern shown in Figure 643: 

1. Crosshatch the selected element at 45 degrees. 

2. Choose Negative Angle from the popup menu. 

3. Choose Apply from the popup menu. 

Figure 643 Creating Multiple Crosshatching 

To achieve the pattern shown in Figure 644. 

1. Choose Vertical from the popup menu. 

2. Select the element. 

3. Choose Temp Properties... from the popup menu. 

4. Set the offset to 2, and click Apply. 


Figure 644 Creating Offset Multiple Crosshatching 


Filling Disjoint Areas 


Filling Disjoint Areas 

You can crosshatch or stipple disjoint areas at the same time leaving one or more islands that 

are not crosshatched within the normal crosshatch boundary as in Figure 645. Alternate areas 

are considered to be inside and outside the boundary line. 

Figure 645 Crosshatching Disjoint Areas: 1 

1. Select either the Crosshatches the selected areas tool or the Stipples the selected areas tool . 

2. Select the area that you want to fill using the Selects elements of any type tool . 

For example you can drag the cursor diagonally across the area until a drag box 

encloses the elements and then release the left mouse button: 

Figure 646 Crosshatching Disjoint Areas: 2 

Move the cursor at this position 

and press the left mouse button 

Release the mouse button 

at this position 


The area is crosshatched and the boundary of the crosshatching is highlighted. 



Area Fills 

Create Gaps Under Text in Crosshatching 

For making text clearly readable on a crosshatched area MEDUSA provides a tool, which 

removes an existing crosshatching under the text and creates a gap between text and crosshatching. 

1. Select the desired text and the crosshatching, which should be removed under the 

text. 

2. Choose the Create gaps under text in crosshatching tool in the Text + Dimension tooltray. 

The crosshatching under and around the text will be immediately removed. 

Figure 647 Example of Using the Create Gaps Under Text in Crosshatching Tool 


Masking Hidden Lines 



MEDUSA provides the tool Perform HLR operations on geometry which works on two selection 

sets. One selection set is masked by positioning the other selection set above it. The part of the 

geometry which is masked is displayed as hidden line (e.g. dashed or dotted). 

Please note: The selected geometry which is on top has to consist of closed geometry. 

2D shapes that take part in HLR operations are post-processed as follows: 

• shapes that are still valid are left intact 

• shapes that have become invalid are smashed 

• shapes that have become empty (or with only centrelines) are deleted 

The selection sets can be crosshatched or stippled. In that case you have to select besides the 

geometry also the crosshatching or stippling. 

Setting Properties for Masking 

Before using the masking tool you can set some properties for the operation which are used for 

the whole MEDUSA session. For opening this popup menu move the cursor over the 

Perform HLR operations on geometry tool and click right. 

Figure 648 Popup Global Settings for HLR Operations 


controls the display of hidden lines. When the option is activated (check mark is set), 

hidden lines are displayed. 

Consider centerlines 

defines, whether centerlines of geometries, which have been created with centerlines, 

are also displayed as hidden lines or not; i.e., when the option is activated (check mark 

is set), the centerlines of a hidden geometry are displayed according to the settings for 

hidden lines, e.g. dotted or not at all. When the option is deactivated (default setting), 

centerlines are shown as usual. 

Please note: When quitting MEDUSA and saving the defaults, the settings for both options will 

be saved too. 



Area Fills 

Change HLR type 

opens the dialog for defining the line style of hidden lines. 

Figure 649 Dialog HLR Type 

Via arrow you can display a list of available styles, which can be used for hidden lines. 

Apply uses the defined line style, the dialog remains opened. With OK the chosen line 

style will be applied and the dialog is closed. 

Perform Masking a Selection Set 

1. Click left on the Perform HLR operations on geometry tool. 

Now the following popup menu is available whose entries are explained in the following 

steps. 

Figure 650 Popup HLR Operations 




2. Choose the first selection set. 

3. Depending if you want the current selection set on top or beneath: 

• select Above, if you want the current selection on top, or 

• select Below, if you want the current selection below the next selection. 

4. Choose the second selection set. 

Inside the popup menu the entry Apply is enabled now. 

Now you have the following possibilities using the popup menu: 

• Choose Apply for masking the hidden lines. 

• Choose Above or Below for masking the hidden lines. 

5. If you do not agree with the result, you can Undo the masking you did and redo steps 2 

to 4 for masking other selection sets. 



Area Fills 

Boolean Operations 

The tool Perform boolean operations on geometry combines two selection sets with each other and 

creates a new closed geometry from them. You can do the following operations: 

• Connect two areas (Union). 

• Subtract one area from another. 

The result depends on the succession of selection (Difference). 

• Subtract one area from another but keeping the subtracted area (Difference (keep)). 

• Intersect two areas (Intersection). 

After a boolean operation both selection sets are replaced by the result. This tool works on 

closed geometry, crosshatching and stippling only. 

Please note: 2D shapes that take part in boolean operations are post-processed as follows: 

• shapes that are still valid are left intact 

• shapes that have become invalid are smashed 

• shapes that have become empty (or with only centrelines) are deleted 

For applying boolean operations on closed geometries: 

1. Click left on the Perform boolean operations on geometry tool. 

Now the following popup menu is available whose entries are explained in the list on 

top of this page. 

Figure 651 Popup Boolean Operations 

2. Choose the first selection set. 

3. Choose a boolean operation from the popup menu. 

4. Choose the second selection set. 

Inside the popup menu the entry Apply is enabled now. 

5. Choose Apply for executing the operation. 

6. If you do not agree with the result, you can Undo the operation. 

The type of line used for the result is determined by following rules: 



Boolean Operations 

• Using the operations Union and Intersection the resulting elements contain the line types 

of the first and the second selection. 

• Using the operations Difference and difference (keep) the resulting elements contain the line 

types of the first selection only. 

The following examples give the results for the union, difference and intersection operations. 

The outermost left picture always gives the input for the results given on the right. 

Figure 652 Example Boolean Operation Union 

For boolean operations which subtract the succession of selection is important. The following 

figures show the results for selecting first the horizontal bar (on the left) and selecting first the 

vertical bar (on the right). 

Figure 653 Example Boolean Operation Difference 

Figure 654 Example Boolean Operation Difference (keep) 



Area Fills 

Figure 655 Example Boolean Operation Intersection 


REFERENCE SHEET PROCEDURE 


The reference sheet procedure is an easy way of getting a first overview of an assembly by referencing 

single drawings or parts of drawings in one sheet. 

• Overview................................................................................ 682 

• Porthole Tools ........................................................................ 683 

• Creating Porthole Elements ................................................... 684 

• Reference Tools ..................................................................... 686 

• Creating a New Reference..................................................... 687 

• Load, Convert, Delete and Compare a Reference................. 690 



Reference Sheet Procedure 

Overview 

MEDUSA provides the possibility to reference drawings inside a sheet. Reference tools are 

located in the Dimensions + Text tooltray and they are shown in Figure 656. 

Figure 656 Reference Sheet Tools 

Create a porthole element 

Load, convert and delete and 

compare selected reference 

Load a new reference 


Porthole Tools 


Porthole Tools 

Porthole elements are used to define a certain part of a drawing for using it as reference. This 

chapter gives you an overview of the tools which create porthole elements. 

Figure 657 Tools for Creating Porthole Elements 


Create a porthole group 

allows you to create a group from the porthole elements. 

Create a porthole line 

creates a porthole line. 

Create a rectangular porthole 

creates a rectangular porthole. 

Create the porthole datum prim 

creates the porthole datum prim. 

Create porthole definition text 

create the porthole definition text. 

Control Copy Protect Flag 

opens the copy protect flag dialog which allows you to switch whether a porthole element 

can be copied or not. 

While creating porthole elements popup menus are available which provide the same functions 

as for creating regular elements like lines, texts and rectangles. Creating porthole groups and 

datum prims is executed immediately on the selected elements therefore there is no popup 

menu available. 




Creating Porthole Elements 

If you want a drawing or a part of a drawing used as reference inside other sheets, for example, 

to assemble a machine, then you have to define it as porthole. 

The following procedure shows you how to do that: 

1. Open the sheet from which you want a part to be referenced. 

2. Choose the Create a porthole group tool . 

The field near the tree toggle button inside the status area shows you that the current 

level is the porthole group (CPH). With this you are able to create porthole elements 

now. 

3. Define the area containing the part of the sheet you want to use as reference either by 

a. choosing the Create a porthole line tool and then drawing a closed line, or 

b. choosing the Create a rectangular porthole tool , then click left to probe the left bottom 

corner of the rectangle and then click left to probe the top right corner. 

Now you have the area enclosing the elements which shall be referenced. 

4. Choose the Create the porthole datum prim tool . 

5. Click left inside the drawing area to place the prim, in order to define the point at which 

the porthole will be placed as reference inside the assembly sheet. 

6. Choose the Create porthole definition text tool . 

The Porthole Definition dialog opens. 

Figure 658 Porthole Definition Dialog 

7. Select a Porthole-Type. 

Following options are available: 

• Inside Group 

Only elements, which are completely inside the porthole line/rectangle, belong to 

the porthole element. 

• Points 

Only elements on sheet level, which have at least one point inside the porthole line/ 

rectangle, belong to the porthole element. 



Creating Porthole Elements 

• Section 

All elements, which are inside the porthole line/rectangle and which are cut by the 

border line, belong to the porthole element. 

• Elements 

Only elements, which have at least one point inside the porthole line/rectangle, 

belong to the porthole element. 

8. Behind the entry Porthole type in the name by which the porthole will be called for referencing 

it inside the assembly sheet. 

9. Click left inside the drawing area to place the porthole definition text. 

10.Save the sheet. 

The creation of the porthole is complete and the sheet can be referenced inside an 

assembly sheet now. For creating a reference to this sheet you just made, see the 

chapter “Creating a New Reference” on page 687. 




Reference Tools 

Once you defined references you can use them for an assembly, for example. This chapter 

gives you an overview of the tools which work on references. 

Figure 659 Tools for References 


Load a new reference 

This option creates a reference on the sheet. Then you can display the referenced 

sheet with Load reference and use the other reference tools. For details see “Creating a 

New Reference” on page 687. 

Load reference 

This option allows you to load (display) all or selected references. You can use this 

option only if you already created at least one reference on the sheet with Load a new reference. 

Convert reference 

This option allows you to convert all or selected loaded references to regular elements. 

This function only works on references which are already displayed with Load reference. 

Delete reference 

This option deletes (hides) all or selected references. This function only works on references 

which are already displayed with Load reference. 

Compare selected reference 

The tool is used to compare a selected reference with the source drawing in order to 

make pending modifications of the source drawing visible. A click on the tool opens the 

Compare reference dialog and a file selector dialog. For details see “Comparing a Reference” 

on page 691. 


Creating a New Reference 



Before you can display a drawing or part of it as reference you have to create this reference. 

In order to create a reference on your sheet, proceed as follows: 

1. Open the sheet on which you want to reference the created porthole elements. 

2. Choose the Load a new reference tool . 

The Open Sheet and Reference Group dialogs open. 

Abb. 660 Open Sheet Dialog 

3. Inside the Open Sheet dialog select the file name of the sheet on which the porthole element 

has been defined which you want to load as reference and confirm your choice 

with Open. 

The Reference Group dialog displays the chosen file name with the complete path in the 

Sheet field. In this dialog the commands for the reference appearance are defined, 

which can be included in the target sheet. 

Figure 661 Dialog Reference Group 




4. Enter the porthole name, as defined while creating a porthole element, in the Porthole 

field. (See “Creating Porthole Elements” on page 684). 

Please note: The specification of the porthole name is the only mandatory command and is written 

as REFSHT text string on your target sheet. Only one REFSHT command is 

allowed. 

5. Following additional reference appearance commands can be specified within the 

Reference group dialog. 

• Source layers/Target layers 

Defines the layers of the source sheet, which shall be loaded into the target sheet. 

Source layers are mapped on the Target layers whereas the layers are automatically 

switched to visible and hitable. The command for source layers and target layers is 

written as REFLAY text string on the target sheet. Within one reference call several 

REFLAY-commands are possible. 

• Source lines/Target lines 

Maps the line styles of the source to line styles of the target sheet. The commands 

for source lines and target lines is written as REFLIN text string on the target sheet. 

Within one reference call several REFLIN-commands are possible. 

• Magnification 

Specifies the magnfication of reference information, which is loaded on the target 

sheet. The magnification command is written on the target sheet as REFMAG text 

string. 

Furthermore you can define settings for visibility and selectivity. The command is written 

as REFSWT text string on your target sheet. 

• Visible/Hitable 

The reference is visible and selectable on the sheet. 

• Visible/Unhitable 

The reference is visible but not selectable on the sheet. 

• Invisible/Hitable 

The reference is not visible but selectable - in the structure tree. 

• Invisible/Unhitable 

The reference is neither visible nor selectable. 

6. Confirm your settings with Apply. 

The reference is attached to the cursor and the Reference Group dialog remains open. 

or 

7. Confirm your settings with Ok. 

The reference is attached to the cursor and the Reference Group dialog closes. 

8. Click left on the sheet to place the reference. 

The Open Sheet dialog opens again for choosing another file for referencing. 

9. You can do now the following: 

• If you want to reference another file continue with step 3, or 




• If you want finish placing references choose Cancel inside the Open Sheet dialog as well 

as inside the Reference Group dialog. 

Now you should have at least one reference on your sheet which looks like the example given 

in the following figure. The first line REFSHT gives the file name, the second line REFMAG shows 

the magnification and the last line REFSWT shows you the set switches for visibility and selectivity 

(in the figure below it is set to visible VIS and selectable HIT) 

Figure 662 Example For a Reference 




Load, Convert, Delete and Compare a Reference 

If you have references in your sheet MEDUSA provides the tools for displaying, converting and 

hiding the referenced drawing. For all these reference tools a popup menu is available which 

allows you to apply the current function either on selected or all references of a sheet: 

Loading References 

1. Choose the Load reference tool . 

2. If you want to apply the function on selected references only, select references by 

drawing a selection frame. 

3. Load the reference by using the popup menu. 

Figure 663 Popup Menu for Reference Tools 

After choosing an application entry from the popup menu the drawings or parts of 

drawings are displayed immediately on the sheet. 

Converting References 

The Convert reference tool allows you to convert referenced drawings into regular elements. 

With this you can edit these elements inside the current sheet. The procedure is the same as 

given for ”Loading References”. 

Please note: There is no undo function for Convert reference. Converted references cannot be 

changed to references again. 

Deleting References 

The Delete reference tool allows you to make referenced drawings or parts of drawings become 

invisible. The procedure is the same as given for ”Loading References”. 


Comparing a Reference 



The function provides the possibility to compare a selected reference with the source drawing in 

order to show pending modifications of the source geometry. 

1. Load a new reference and display it on the sheet. 

The Reference clump is created and shown in the structure tree, with a PDS subgroup, 

which complies with the displayed referenced geometry. 

Figure 664 Structure Tree showing the Reference Clump 

2. Select the reference you wish to compare with its source either on the sheet or in the 

structure tree. 

3. Choose the Compare selected reference tool . 




A file selector dialog appears simultaneously with the Compare reference dialog. 

Figure 665 File Selector and Compare Reference Dialog 

4. Choose the source drawing of the reference in the file selector dialog. 

5. Click twice on the filename to transfer the path of the drawing to the Sheet input field and 

close the file selector dialog. 

Figure 666 Compare Reference Dialog with Input of Source File 

Sheet gives the full path to the sheet on which the original of the referenced geometry 

is placed. 

Layer defines the layer on which the current geometry of the source will be written 

after having executed the compare process. Default setting is Graphical error 

messages. If desired, you can select another layer from a pulldown list. 

Apply starts the compare process. The dialog remains open for the next comparison 

OK starts the compare process. The dialog is closed. 

Cancel closes the dialog and aborts the Compare selected reference tool. 

Undo reverses the comparison process. The dialog remains open. 

Help opens the online documentation. 

6. Click Apply or OK to start the compare process. 




The current geometry of the source reference is drawn into the sheet on the chosen 

layer. 

7. Update the structure tree using the Refresh option from the right mouse popup menu. 

A new RDS group is created within the Reference Clump. 

The structure tree shows the differences between the previous (PDS group) and current 

version (RDS group) of the referenced geometry. 

Figure 667 Structure Tree showing the current (RDS) and previous Version (PDS) of the Reference 

8. Select the RDS group in the tree to highlight the geometry of the current reference in 

the drawing, subsequently select the PDS group to highlight the previous state of the 

geometry - and compare both versions. 

9. To delete the updated geometry use the Undo button from the Compare Reference dialog 

10.Press the Cancel button in the Compare reference dialog to close the Compare Reference dialog. 





SMART EDIT 

This chapter explains the functionality of SMART Edit. 


Please note: SMART Edit is only available with the advanced version of MEDUSA, which can 

be started with the option -advanced. For details on starting MEDUSA see 


• Introduction ............................................................................ 696 

• General Selection Hints ......................................................... 696 

• Calling SMART Edit ............................................................... 697 

• SMART Edit Tools.................................................................. 699 

• Edit Dimension Values ........................................................... 700 

• Edit Dimension Lines ............................................................. 703 

• Datum .................................................................................... 705 

• Geometry ............................................................................... 706 

• Dragging ................................................................................ 709 

• Show Relations...................................................................... 711 



SMART Edit 

Introduction 

The SMART Edit tool is provided to enable you to edit geometry and dimensions. The general 

idea is that the geometry or dimensions can be dragged to new positions or new values given 

and it will behave intelligently. 

SMART Edit is designed to work on geometry that is undimensioned, partly dimensioned, fully 

dimensioned or over-dimensioned. 

• If a dimension value is edited, other dimension values are not changed. 

• If a line is dragged, it retains its orientation which remains horizontal, vertical or at an 

angle. 

• If an arc or circle is dragged, it retains either its centre or its tangency condition. 

Connectivity is retained so that joined lines remain joined, relations are maintained so that tangencies 

remain tangent and coincident lines remain coincident. 

General Selection Hints 

Before choosing SMART Edit, select geometry and dimensions you wish to edit. This might be: 

• part of a view 

• a whole view 

• a number of related views 

MEDUSA provides various possibilities of selection. For details see “Select” on page 103. 

SMART Edit changes the color of the selected elements. Dimensions are displayed using color 

2 (for default blue) and Geometry is displayed using color 3 (for default cyan). Reference 

dimensions, which are uneditable, are displayed using the usual highlight color (for default) red. 

Whilst in SMART Edit, the cross-hair cursor is removed leaving a simple arrow cursor. 

Please note: The selection is limited to 1000 elements. If this limit is exceeded, an error message 

will be displayed. 

The limit is defined by smart_size_limit in the defaults.dat file of the product. 

If necessary, you can change the value of smart_size_limit. However, larger 

selections take longer to process and might result in an error because of system 

resource limits. 


Calling SMART Edit 


Calling SMART Edit 

SMART Edit is available on selected elements. For calling up SMART Edit do the following 

steps: 

1. Select geometry you wish to edit. 

In the general popup menu the entry SMART Edit is activated. 

Please note: SMART Edit is active only if a geometry is selected. 

If no element is selected SMART Edit is disabled. 

Set datum 

Figure 668 General Popup Menu 

2. Click the right mouse button and choose SMART Edit from the general popup menu. 

The selection is highlighted in a different highlight color. You may now drag the geometry 

or dimensions or enter new values in the dialogs which appear at the top of the 

drawing area below the dashboard. The following popup menu is available now: 

Figure 669 SMART Edit Popup Menu 

This option allows you to move the reference point of the selected geometry defined by 

the prim, which was placed automatically after started SMART Edit mode. 



SMART Edit 

Show over-dimensions 

This option shows all dimensions which are extra. If you choose this option extra 

dimensions are shown bold. 

Reset all dimensions 

This option resets all dimensions of the selection to the values they had when started 

SMART Edit. This option is no undo, so if you deleted any dimension you cannot get it 

back with this option. 

Deselect All 

is used for deselecting an element in order to display all relations for the whole geometry 

again (see “Show Relations” on page 711). 

Undo 

Exit Tool 



quits SMART Edit. You can exit SMART Edit also by choosing another tool. 

Please note: SMART Edit uses the usual tools for Undo and Redo available inside the Edit menu 

and the toolbar. With these tools you can undo and redo single actions done in the 

SMART Edit session. 

If you want to undo all changes done in a SMART Edit session, quit SMART Edit 

and then choose the function Undo. 


SMART Edit Tools 


SMART Edit Tools 

After calling SMART Edit, a toolset appears in the dashboard area providing selection filter tools 

and the tool for showing relations. 

By default, you can select any geometry and any dimension element (all tools are active). With 

the selection filter tools you can restrict the selection to the entities of interest. 

Figure 670 SMART Edit Tools 

The tools in detail are (from left to right): 

• Select dimension value (see “Edit Dimension Values” on page 700) 

• Select dimension line (see “Edit Dimension Lines” on page 703) 

• Select leader line (see “Edit Dimension Lines” on page 703) 

• Select geometry (see “Geometry” on page 706) 

• Show relations (see “Show Relations” on page 711) 



SMART Edit 

Edit Dimension Values 

You can edit linear, radial or angular dimension values. 

When in SMART Edit mode, you can change a dimension value by selecting the dimension text 

with the left mouse button. The dimension value dialog appears at the top of the drawing area: 

Figure 671 SMART Edit: Dimension Value Dialog 

From left to right you see the following options: 

Dimension value 

If you enter a new value and press Return, the dimension(s) will change to this value. 

The mouse wheel can also be used to change dimension values. When a dimension 

value is changed in this way, all other dimension values will remain unchanged unless 

they are over-dimensioned. 

Reset dimension value to original 

This button will change the dimension to the value it had when you entered 

SMART Edit. The original value is shown at the right of the button. See “Resetting All 

Dimensions” on page 702. 

Reverse dimension 

This button effectively switches the dimension value from plus to minus. Negative values 

cannot be entered. 

Set dimension value to zero 

This button not only sets the value to zero but also deletes the dimension. Zero cannot 

be entered as a dimension value. This can be used, for example, for making angled 

lines orthogonal. 

Delete dimension 

This button deletes the dimension. 

Toggle reference dimension 

This button makes the selected dimension(s) editable or uneditable. See “Over-Dimensioning” 

on page 701. 

If you wish, you may select further dimension values using the middle mouse button and edit 

them at the same time. For example, you may wish to select a number of corner radii and set 

them to the same value. If you do so, consider that the field showing the original measure is 

cleared if the values differ. 


Over-Dimensioning 


Edit Dimension Values 

Geometry is over-dimensioned when there are too many dimensions. In that case, SMART Edit 

marks some dimensions as reference. Reference dimensions cannot be edited directly, 

although the value is shown, but they will change when other dimensions in the chain are 

edited. 

When SMART Edit is initialized, reference dimensions are indicated with the usual highlight 

color (for default red) (see Figure 672, left picture). 

If a reference dimension is selected, the dimension lines forming the chain are indicated with 

the usual highlight color (see Figure 672, picture in the middle). 

You can change which dimension in the chain is the reference dimension in two ways: 

• You can select the current reference dimension and press the Toggle reference dimension 

button in the dialog. The selected dimension is now editable and another dimension in 

the chain is shown as reference. (see Figure 672, right picture). 

• Alternatively, you can select the dimension you wish to be marked as reference and 

press the Toggle reference dimension button. The previous dimension will now be editable 

and the selection dimension not. 

Figure 672 SMART Edit: Over-Dimensions 

If you wish to know which dimensions are reference, use Show over-dimensions from the popup 

menu (see Figure 669, “SMART Edit Popup Menu” on page 697). 

Dragging Dimension Values 

Instead of using the dialog to enter a new dimension value, you can also drag the dimension 

value. To do this select a dimension text with the left mouse button but do not release the button. 

Drag the dimension text along the dimension line. (See “Dragging” on page 703) 



SMART Edit 

Resetting All Dimensions 

How to reset a single dimension was described on page 700. You can also reset all dimensions 

by using the option Reset all dimensions from the popup menu (see Figure 669, “SMART Edit Popup 

Menu” on page 697). 

Reset all dimensions changes all dimensions back to the values they had when SMART Edit was initialised. 

Reset all dimensions only changes dimensions and does not affect undimensioned geometry. 


Edit Dimension Lines 


Edit Dimension Lines 

Dimension lines and leader lines can be moved. First select the dimension or leader line you 

wish to move using the left mouse button. 

The dimension line dialog will appear in the top of the drawing area. 

Distance 

Move 

Dragging 

Figure 673 SMART Edit: Dimension Line Dialog 

The value shown is the distance of the selected line from the datum. 

Enter a new distance in the dialog and press Return or use the mouse wheel. (To 

change the datum see “Datum” on page 705) 

If multiple lines have been selected which are not at the same distance from the 

datum, the value is shown as 0.0. If this value is changed, all the selected lines will 

move to the given distance from the datum. This can be used, for example, to align all 

dimension lines at a particular position. If the line selected is at the datum, or if no 

datum is visible, the value is shown as 0.0 and any value entered will move the 

selected line by the given value. 

If you enter a value and press Return, the selected line will move by the given distance. 

The value in the dialog will return to 0.0 because the value is always relative to 

the current position.The mouse wheel may be used. 

Instead of entering a value, the dimension line or leader line can be dragged by using the left 

mouse button and holding the button down while dragging. (See also “Dragging” on page 709) 

Leader line 

Moving the leader line will also move all the geometry and dimensions associated with it. Unlike 

editing a dimension value, this change is not propagated along a dimension chain. All the 

dimensions associated with the selected leader line will change its value so that the other end of 

each dimension is not moved. 



SMART Edit 

Figure 674 SMART Edit: Drag Leader Line 

Dimension line 

If you move a dimension line across the geometry it relates to, the ends of the leader lines will 

automatically be re-evaluated. 

Figure 675 SMART Edit: Drag Dimension Line 


Datum 


Datum 

When you change a dimension in a fully dimensioned view, there is a unique interpretation. 

However, where the revised geometry is placed on the sheet depends on which point in the 

object is considered to be the datum. 

SMART Edit sets an arbitrary datum when it initializes. The datum is shown using a datum prim 

- a circle divided into quarters. 

You can change the position of the datum by selecting Set datum from the popup menu (see 

Figure 669, “SMART Edit Popup Menu” on page 697). If you now select a point or a vertical or 

horizontal line on the geometry or on a dimension, the datum will move to that position. If a line 

is selected, the datum will be moved in one axis only. If a point is selected then the datum will 

move in X and Y. 

Once the datum has been changed, any edit to a dimension value will leave that position fixed. 

If you move a leader line or geometry that the datum is on, then the datum will move with that 

entity. 

Figure 676 SMART Edit: Datum 



SMART Edit 

Geometry 

When in SMART Edit, you can edit the geometry whether or not is has dimensions. Any line, circle 

or arc can be selected and moved either by entering a value and confirming it with Return, 

by using the mouse wheel after clicking left into the text field, or by dragging (see “Dragging” on 

page 709). 

The lines are identified as being one of the following types: 

• Orthogonal lines - vertical or horizontal lines 

• non-orthogonal lines - any angled line 

• Arcs and circles 

Orthogonal lines 

If you select an orthogonal line, you will see a dialog at the top of the drawing area. 

Distance 

Move 

Length 

Figure 677 SMART Edit: Orthogonal Line Dialog 

The value shown is the distance of the selected line from the datum. Enter a new distance 

in the dialog and press Return or use the mouse wheel. (To change the datum see 

“Datum” on page 705). If multiple lines have been selected which are not at the same 

distance from the datum, the value is shown as 0.0. If this value is changed, all the 

selected lines will move to the given distance from the datum. If the line selected is at 

the datum, or if no datum is visible, the value is shown as 0.0 and any value entered 

will move the selected line by the given value. 

Enter the value by which you want the line to move and press Return. The movement 

is perpendicular to the direction of the line. The mouse wheel can be used to change 

the position of the line (see Figure 678, left and middle picture). 

The length of the line is given and might be editable. If the length is changed, one end 

moves depending on the direction in which the line was defined. Enter a new value in 

the dialog and press Return or use the mouse wheel (see Figure 678, left and right 

picture). 

Alternatively, orthogonal lines can be dragged by holding down the left mouse button. 


Figure 678 SMART Edit: Drag Orthogonal Lines 

Non-orthogonal lines 


Geometry 

If you select a non-orthogonal line, you will see a dialog at the top of the drawing area. 

Distance 

Move 

Angle 

Figure 679 SMART Edit: Non-Orthogonal Line Dialog 

The value shown is the distance of the selected line from the datum. See also “Orthogonal 

lines” on page 706. 

Enter the value by which you want the line to move and press Return. The movement 

is perpendicular to the direction of the line. The mouse wheel can be used to change 

the position of the line (see Figure 680, left and middle picture). 

Enter a new angle in the dialog and press Return or use the mouse wheel (see 

Figure 680, left and right picture). 

Alternatively, angled lines can be dragged by holding down the left mouse button. The line will 

maintain its angle but pass through the cursor. 

Figure 680 SMART Edit: Drag Non-Orthogonal Lines 



SMART Edit 

Arcs and circles 

If you select an arc or a circle, you will see the following dialog at the top of the drawing area. 

Figure 681 SMART Edit: Dialog for Arcs and Circles 

Radius / Diameter 

give radius or diameter of the current arc or circle. 

Centre X / Centre Y 

give the XY coordinates of the centre point. 

Fix circle centre 

The center remains unchanged, only the arc/circle itself can change. 

Drag circle centre 

The arc/circle remains unchanged, only the position of the center can change. 

Previous solution / Next solution 

Click left on one of these buttons displays a possible arc solution. 

Figure 682 SMART Edit: Solutions for Arcs 


Dragging 


Dragging 

When you drag any dimension or geometry, the previous image can be seen in grey in the 

background: 

Figure 683 Example of dragged Geometry 

Except when dragging dimension values, the probe specifiers are in operation. 

This means that the line being dragged will "stick" to other elements depending which specifiers 

are set. This includes the original greyed out image which means that, if drag an element back 

over the grey image, it will snap back to its original value. 

Geometry can be dragged to coincide with other geometry: 

Figure 684 Example of Dragged Geometry 2 

Dimension lines can be dragged to line up with other dimension lines: 

Figure 685 Example of Dragged Dimension Line 



SMART Edit 

The geometry used for the probe need not be part of the SMART selection. In this example, an 

"Intersection probe" has been used to position a dragged line. 

Figure 686 Example of Dragged Geometry 3 

The distance that the probe snaps within is controlled by the Hit Radius. 


Show Relations 


Show Relations 

When running SMART Edit, a icon appears in the dashboard for displaying relations 

between attaching segments. With this tool relations can be displayed using symbols. It has two 

modes: 

• when nothing is selected, it displays all the relations 

• when an entity is selected, it displays just the relations on that entity 

The defining relations are displayed in red and the dependent ones are grey. This means that, if 

you select an entity, the red relations show the relations that construct that entity. 

For example, selecting an arc might show: 

• in red: a tangency with another arc and a tangency with a line 

• in grey: the centre lines 

If you change the radius of the arc, it will remain tangential to the other arc and line but that the 

centre will move. 

Figure 687 SMART Edit - Display of Relations, Selected Arc 

On the other hand, you might have the reverse: 

• in red: the centre lines 

• in grey: a tangency with another arc and a tangency with a line 

In this case, the centre will remain fixed and, if the radius is changed, the tangential arc and tangential 

line will move to remain tangent to the arc you edited. 



SMART Edit 

Figure 688 SMART Edit - Display of Relations, Selected Arc 

Some relations are not displayed: 

• those on the datum 

• hidden relations - these are relations used to position dimension, for example 

• dimensions because these are themselves relations 

• symmetry 

• parallel and perpendicular 

With the Deselect all option on the popup menu all relations can be seen. 


SMART DRAFTING 


SMART Drafting is a tool for easy drafting in MEDUSA providing to draw geometry in a modern 

way. 

SMART Drafting allows fast and easy designing without drawing construction lines manually 

before drawing the geometry itself. SMART Drafting works with construction points, easy to set 

at any position on the sheet at any time. In SMART Drafting construction lines are generated 

automatically between the placed construction points and the current point and the construction 

lines are displayed dynamically as you move the mouse cursor inside the drawing area. 

• Calling SMART Drafting......................................................... 714 

• Drawing Lines ........................................................................ 720 

• Drawing Arcs.......................................................................... 723 

• Flipping Arcs .......................................................................... 724 

• Using Construction Points...................................................... 725 

• Extending an Existing Geometry with SMART Drafting ......... 727 

• Changing Line Direction......................................................... 728 




Calling SMART Drafting 

For calling up SMART Drafting choose the tool SMART Drafting from the Lines + Edit tooltray. 

A property dialog opens and the mouse cursor on the drawing area changes. Additionally a 

popup menu is provided and some shortcuts are available to make drawing easier. 

Properties Dialog 

Figure 689 SMART Drafting Properties 

AUTO Snap Grid Steps Angle 

Grid Steps Length Angle absolute/incremental 

From left to right the following buttons are provided: 

Define fixed values 

AUTO Snap 

If this button is pressed (default) automatic snapping is switched on and when probing 

on the sheet for example near or segment points are found. You can switch to several 

snap modes using the popup menu (see “Popup Menu” on page 716). Default snap 

mode is Auto Point. 

If this button is off, snapping is off and you can probe anywhere on the sheet, no point 

will be found for snapping to. 

Grid Steps Length 

If this button is pressed the grid steps length given in the field on the right hand side of 

the button is used for drawing the next point. By default it is off. The value can be 

increased or decreased with the arrow buttons on the right of the field. Default value is 

1.00. 

Grid Steps Angle 

If this button is pressed (default) the grid steps angle given in the field on the right hand 

side of the button is used for drawing the next point. The value can be increased or 

decreased with the arrow buttons on the right of the field. Default value is 5.00. 

Angle absolute/incremental 

If this button is not pressed (default) the angle is displayed absolutely related to the 

global coordinate system. 

If this button is pressed the angle is displayed incremental relatively related to the last 

line. 

Define fixed values 

In these fields the values for the current point are displayed while drawing. For the first 

point of a line the fields are deactivated. 




For lines Length and Angle are displayed, for arcs it is Radius and Angle. 

For entering a value into a field click left inside the field, type the value and press 

Return on your keyboard or click left on the check mark behind the input field. 

Instead of clicking left inside a text field you also can use the short cuts Alt+v for 

Length/Radius and Alt+b for Angle. 

Instead of clicking left on the appropriate check mark you also can use the short cuts 

Alt+1 for Length/Radius and Alt+2 for Angle. 

Once you have made your settings in the properties dialog, you can close it by clicking on the x- 

button . You can re-open the dialog at any time using the popup menu entry Properties (see 

“Popup Menu” on page 716). 

Mouse Cursor 

In the drawing area the mouse cursor changes after calling SMART Drafting. Information fields 

are attached now, which are empty until you have drawn the first point: 

Figure 690 SMART Drafting Mouse Pointer 

The information fields are: 

Length gives the length of the currently drawn segment. 

Angle gives the angle of the currently drawn segment. 

Both information fields update immediately when moving the mouse. Also additional information 

will be given while drawing. Details are given later in the sections for drawing like “Drawing 

Lines” on page 720 and “Drawing Arcs” on page 723. 




Popup Menu 

If you press the right mouse button on the drawing area, the following popup menu opens: 

Figure 691 SMART Drafting Popup Menu 

AUTO Snap 

Selecting this entry provides the following popup menu showing the available snap 

modes which can be pre-defined. 

Figure 692 AUTO Snap Popup Menu 

The snap modes work in the same way as the probe specifiers, therefore these are not 

explained in detail here. For each snap mode a cross reference to the appropriate 

probe specifier explanation is given below: 

Auto Point 

described in “Probe Specifiers”, “Auto Probe” on page 324. 

Nearest Point 

described in “Probe Specifiers”, “Near Probe” on page 328. 

Middle Point 

described in “Probe Specifiers”, “Mid Segment Probe” on page 332. 


Line 

Arc 

Flip Arc 

New Line 

Close Line 

Tangent Point 

described in “Probe Specifiers”, “Tangent Probe” on page 333. 

Center Point 

described in “Probe Specifiers”, “Center Probe” on page 331. 

Per Point 




described in “Probe Specifiers”, “Perpendicular Probe” on page 330. 

defines the current element to be a line (default). For details see “Drawing Lines” on 

page 720. 

defines the current element to be an arc. For details see “Drawing Arcs” on page 723. 

draw the bending of the current rubber band arc the other way round. This entry is only 

active, if Arc was chosen before. For details see “Flipping Arcs” on page 724. 

Delete Point 

All these entries work in the same way as the usual line editing options given in 

“Lines”, “Popup Menu While Drawing a Line” on page 365. 

Add Construction Point 

At the current position of the mouse cursor a construction point will be created. If you 

move the mouse, a construction line will be drawn between construction point and the 

mouse cursor. Instead of the menu entry you also can use the shortcut Alt+c on your 

keyboard. 

Remove this Construction Point 

If there is a construction point at the current mouse cursor position, it will be deleted. 

Instead of the menu entry you also can use the shortcut Alt+d on your keyboard. 

Properties 

Undo 

Redo 

Exit Tool 

opens the SMART Drafting properties dialog (see “Properties Dialog” on page 714). 

cancels the last work step. 

executes the work step canceled before. It is not activated, if there is no previous work 

step in the history stack. 

quits SMART Drafting. 




Shortcuts 

Shift Key 

The Shift key fixes the angle to the current value as long as you keep the Shift key 

pressed. 

The direction from the last point is indicated by the background of the Angle information field. It is 

blue as you move the cursor on the same side related to the last point when you pressed the 

Shift key. It turns to orange if you move the mouse cursor to the opposite side of the last 

point. Following figure illustrates this behavior. 

Alt+a 

Figure 693 Example Background Color Angle Field 

Toggle AUTO Snap in the properties dialog to be on or off. 

Alt+c 

If you press Alt+c on your keyboard a construction point is created at the current position of 

the mouse cursor. When moving the cursor after placing a construction point, a construction line 

is drawn between the construction point and the cursor. 

Alt+d 

The shortcut Alt+d deletes a construction point. Move the mouse cursor on a construction 

point and press Alt+d on your keyboard. 

Alt+s 

Toggle Grid Steps Length in the properties dialog to be on or off. 


Alt+q 

Toggle Grid Steps Angle in the properties dialog to be on or off. 

Alt+x 



Toggle Angle absolute/incremental in the properties dialog to be on (incremental) or off (absolute). 

For details on the properties dialog see “Properties Dialog” on page 714. 

Shortcuts for using Fixed Values 

Alt+v 

Sets the focus on the input field Length/Radius for entering a fixed value. 

Alt+b 

Sets the focus on the input field Angle for entering a fixed value. 

Alt+1 

Confirms the input for the field Length/Radius and switches on the check mark . 

Alt+2 

Confirms the input for the field Angle and switches on the check mark . 




Drawing Lines 

As you draw lines with SMART Drafting a rubber band and the current point is displayed while 

moving the mouse cursor. 

Please note: If the snap mode is not Auto Point, the rubber band between last point and mouse 

cursor turns into chain style until the cursor approaches an existing point on the 

sheet, which matches the current snap mode, then it turns back into dotted style. 

Snap Mode Information 

As you move the cursor close to existing elements, the information window expands showing 

the current snap mode. 

If you move the cursor close to a point of an existing element, the snap mode is Nearest Point and 

Near appears above the information fields, see figure below. 

Figure 694 Example: Snap Mode Information, Nearest Point 

If you move the mouse pointer close to the center of a line, Middle Point snap mode becomes 

active and Middle is given. 

Figure 695 Example: Snap Mode Information, Middle Point 



Drawing Lines 

According to the other snap modes, which can be pre-defined, the following entries are given in 

the information window: 

The information window also gives snap modes, which cannot be set in the SMART Drafting 

popup menu explicitly (see “Calling SMART Drafting”, “Popup Menu” on page 716). For example, 

if you move the cursor close to a segment but apart from a line point, Segment is shown. 

Figure 696 Example: Snap Mode Information, Segment Point 

If you move the cursor close to a position, where lines intersect, Intersection is shown (for an 

example see Figure 706, “Example: Using construction points 4” on page 726). 

Snap mode information is also given when drawing arcs (see “Drawing Arcs” on page 723). 

Relation to Last Segment 

Snap Mode Display 

Tangent Point Tangent 

Center Point Centre 

Per Point Perpendicular 

As you draw a line the relation to the last segment is displayed according to the current mouse 

position. 

If the current segment is parallel against the last one, two parallel short lines are shown. 

Figure 697 Example: Segment is parallel against last one 

If the current segment is perpendicular against the last one, a uppercase letter L is drawn at the 

intersection point, see figure below. 




Figure 698 Example: Segment is perpendicular against last one 


Drawing Arcs 

Please note: Before you can draw an arc you have to draw a line. 

You cannot draw an arc as first segment. 

Choose Arc from the SMART Drafting popup menu. 


Drawing Arcs 

The arc is drawn tangential at the last segment. This is indicated by the uppercase letter T in the 

drawing area. 

Figure 699 Example: Drawing Arcs 1 

Also between arcs the intersection is always tangential. 

Figure 700 Example: Drawing Arcs 2 




Flipping Arcs 

If you want the arcs bending to be on the opposite side of the last point (respectively the current 

point), use Flip Arc from the popup menu. 

For example, draw an arc and then move the cursor as given in the following figure related to 

the last drawn point. 

Figure 701 Example: Flip Arcs 1 

Now choose the entry Flip Arc from the SMART Drafting popup menu. 

The bending of the arc changes to the opposite side of the last point. 

Figure 702 Example: Flip Arcs 2 


Using Construction Points 


Using Construction Points 

At any time you can place construction points on the sheet helping you to draw your design. A 

construction point is displayed as a prim. The number of construction points is not restricted. 

For placing a construction point do following: 

1. Move the cursor to the coordinates where to place the construction point. 

2. Press Alt+c on your keyboard. 

A prim is drawn immediately at the current position. 

Please note: When quitting SMART Drafting all construction points are deleted. 

The following simple example illustrates the use of construction points: 

1. Draw a line and a construction point which is perpendicular to the last segment. 

Figure 703 Example: Using construction points 1 

2. Go on constructing (including the second construction point) according to the following 

figure. 





3. Place the next point of the polygon. 

As you move the mouse cursor down, you can see that a construction line is drawn 

between 2nd construction point and the current point. 


4. Place the next point of the polygon according to the following figure. 

5. Move the mouse cursor to the right and down on the y-coordinate of the first construction 

point. 

Now two construction lines are drawn, from 2nd construction point to current point and 

from 1st construction point to current point. The intersection of both construction lines 

is the point to draw next in this construction. 


The result of this simple example construction looks like in the following figure. 




Extending an Existing Geometry with SMART Drafting 

Extending an Existing Geometry with SMART Drafting 

If you have a geometry and you want to extend it using SMART Drafting, you have to edit the 

element and then choose the tool SMART Drafting. In SMART Drafting the rubber band always will 

be attached to the last point of the element. 

For example, you have the following geometry: 

Figure 708 Example: Continue Geometry 1 

1. Double click on the element or choose Edit from the popup menu. 


The geometry is displayed highlighted. 

2. Choose the tool SMART Drafting . 


SMART Drafting is activated and the information window appears close to the cursor. 

Now you can go on smart drafting as usual. 




Changing Line Direction 

While drawing in SMART Drafting it can be helpful to continue drawing at the opposite side of 

the polygon for constructing reasons, for example. This is done easily by changing the line 

direction. 

For example, in the following polygon you want to have a similar arc on the left hand side on the 

same y-coordinate as the arc on the right side. 

Figure 711 Example: Change Line Direction 1 

Turn the line direction for changing the last point to be first point and vice versa. Automatically 

the previously first point of the already drawn part of the polygon becomes the last point and the 

rubber band is attached there. 

Figure 712 Example: Change Line Direction 2 



CUSTOMIZING THE USER ENVIRONMENT 

This chapter describes the ways in which you can customize the user environment: 

• Controlling User Options........................................................ 730 

• Customizing MEDUSA Tools ................................................. 731 

• Copying Tools ........................................................................ 732 

• Modifying Custom Tools......................................................... 733 

• Deleting Custom Tools ........................................................... 735 

• Setting Background Color ...................................................... 736 

• Saving Changes of the Work Environment Settings .............. 737 



Customizing the User Environment 

Controlling User Options 

The Switches tab allows you to control a number of user options. To set user options, select the 

Switches... tab from the Defaults dialog (via the Options menu). 


Details on the parameters are given in „Options”, „Switches - Control User Options” on 

page 187. 


Customizing MEDUSA Tools 

Copy Tools into User Tooltrays 


Customizing MEDUSA Tools 

The majority of MEDUSA drafting function tools are located within the tooltrays. A detailed 

description of how the tooltrays work can be found in the chapter „Overview of the Work Environment”, 

„Tools and Tooltrays” on page 36. 

Tools in tooltrays and tool sets in MEDUSA are set up and grouped together in a logical manner 

but not everyone uses MEDUSA in the same way. For that reason MEDUSA allows you to customize 

the tools. Tools which have been modified are called custom tools. 

You can copy tools from other tooltrays into a User tooltray, for example, to set up a tooltray containing 

the tools you use most frequently. For details see “Copying Tools” on page 732. 

In addition to tools from tooltrays you can also copy tools from the toolbar into your User tooltray. 

Customize Style and Image of Tools 

Most element creation tools have a default style and image associated with them. For example, 

a line creation tool may be labelled with an image showing a line and it has an associated 

default line style Solid Thin. 

You can associate a different style and image with some of the copied tools. See “Modifying 

Custom Tools” on page 733. 

Adjust Toolbar 

The toolbar provides buttons and tools you also can customize to your needs. For details see 

„Overview of the Work Environment”, „Toolbar” on page 34. 




Copying Tools 

When you copy a tool, you drag it first to the drop area and then to the required User tooltray. 

The drop area has been designed to act as a scratch area for custom tools, where tools are 

held prior to copying to alternate User tooltrays. The drop area is positioned below the probe 

specifiers beside the tooltray tabs (see “Quick Guide to the Work Environment” on page 26). 

Copying a Tool to the Drop Area 

To copy a tool to the drop area: 

1. If the tool is inside a toolset you have to open the toolset first by clicking left on the 

small black arrow. 

Then you can choose the wanted tool from the open toolset. 

2. Press and hold the left mouse button over the tool you wish to copy. 

3. With the left mouse button still pressed drag the cursor over to the drop area. 

Please note: As you are moving over the current tooltray, you will notice the cursor change to 

the following sign: . This indicates that you cannot drop the selected tool into 

this area. If you attempt to do so the copy operation aborts. 

As you move over the drop area the cursor changes to the picture of the tool you 

are just copying. This indicates that this is a valid drop area. 

4. Release the left mouse button to place the tool inside the drop area. 

Moving a Tool to the User Tooltray 

The copied tool can remain in the drop area but since there is little room in this location it will 

generally be moved to one of the User tooltrays. There is one User tooltray in each set of tooltrays. 

1. Open the required User tooltray. 

2. Press and hold the left mouse button over the tool you wish to copy from the drop area 

to the User tooltray. 

3. With the left mouse button still pressed drag the cursor over to the User tooltray. 

4. Release the left mouse button for placing a copy of the tool into the selected tooltray. 

Please note: The tool copied from the drop area is not automatically removed. This is because 

you may wish to copy the custom tool to another user tooltray. 


Modifying Custom Tools 


Modifying Custom Tools 

If you have tools inside a User tooltray these tools are called custom tools. Within MEDUSA you 

can associate a different style and image with some custom tools. The tools you can customize 

are mainly the more general creation tools such as Create thin solid line. 

MEDUSA pre-selects appropriate styles and images depending on the class of tool you are customizing. 

Classes within MEDUSA are Line, Text, Prim and Dimensions. 

To modify a custom tool: 

1. Move your cursor over the custom tool inside the User tooltray and click the right mouse 

button. 

If the tool is one of the tools you can modify a popup menu appears. 

2. Select the Style Selection option to display the Style Selection dialog. 

Figure 714 Style Selection Dialog 

This dialog contains two entries which show the current style on the left and the image 

used for the custom tool on the right. 

3. If you want to change the style select the required style from the pulldown menu available 

by clicking left the black arrow on the right of the style list. 

4. If you want to change the image of the tool click left on the image on the right of the 

Style Selection dialog. 

The Icon Selector dialog opens: 

Figure 715 Icon Selection Dialog 




a. Search the icon you want to apply by using the scroll arrows on the right. 

b. If you found the icon you want to use click left on the appropriate line inside the list 

and click left on OK. 

The Icon Selector dialog closes and the image of the tool inside the Style Selection dialog 

changes to the chosen icon. 

5. Click OK for applying your settings. 

The custom tool button inside the User tooltray is updated immediately with your 

changes. 

Please note: You can also update non-custom tools in this way but the changes only last on a 

per session basis and they are lost when you exit MEDUSA. 


Deleting Custom Tools 


Deleting Custom Tools 

You can only delete custom tools. You cannot delete tools from any of the pre-defined tooltrays. 

Deleting a Custom Tool from the User Tooltray 

To delete a custom tool from the user tooltray, drag the custom tool from the selected user tooltray 

and drop it over the Remove buttons from a customisation area button within the drop area. The 

tool is removed from the user tooltray immediately. 

Deleting a Tool from the Drop Area 

To delete a tool from the drop area, either 

• drag the custom tool from the drop area and drop it over the 

Remove buttons from a customisation area button , or 

• click the Remove buttons from a customisation area button . 

The Remove Custom Buttons dialog opens listing all custom tools currently available within 

the drop area. 

Figure 716 Remove Custom Buttons Dialog 

To delete single custom tools: 

a. Select the required tool from the pulldown list within the Remove Custom Buttons dialog. 

b. Click Remove. 

To delete all custom tools within the drop area, press Remove All. 




Setting Background Color 

MEDUSA opens sheets by default with an ivory colored background. 

You can change the background color by using the Select background dialog. 

Please note: You have to be in the Admin Mode for opening the dialog. 

1. Select the Configuration > Select background color option from the Options menu. 

Figure 717 The Configuration Pulldown-Menu 

The Select background dialog is displayed. 

For default MEDUSA offers four different background colors. 

Figure 718 The Select Background Color Dialog 

2. Choose one of the colors and click OK. 

The sheet appears in the requested color. 

When you close the program you will be asked if your changes should be saved as default setting. 

For details see “Saving Changes of the Work Environment Settings” on page 737. 

The System Administrator is able to modify any color of the background color scheme. For further 

information see the Administration Guide, chapter “Administration”, “Setting up Standard 

Colors”. 



Saving Changes of the Work Environment Settings 

Saving Changes of the Work Environment Settings 

All work environment settings like custom tool changes and background color settings are 

saved when the MEDUSA session ends. 

If you have made any changes to your work environment and if you quit MEDUSA the following 

dialog is displayed allowing you to save your work environment: 

Figure 719 Save or Discard Defaults Dialog 

• Click on Save accepts the changes as default and closes MEDUSA. 

When you reopen the program the work environment appears with the changed settings. 

• Click on Discard sets the work environment to the previous default and closes MEDUSA. 

When you reopen the program the previous default settings are used. The current settings 

are lost. 

• Click on Cancel aborts closing MEDUSA. 





Figure 1 Example of an Element Properties Dialog . .20 

Figure 2 Adding a Point to a Line:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 

Figure 3 An Open Multi-segment Line . . . . . . . . . . . .21 

Figure 4 A Closed Multi-segment Line . . . . . . . . . . . .21 

Figure 5 Deleting Points in a Multi Segment Line . . . .22 

Figure 6 Shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 

Figure 7 Features of the Work Environment . . . . . . .26 

Figure 8 Example for Popup Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 

Figure 9 Section of the Menu Bar showing the File Menu 

31 

Figure 10 Open Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 

Figure 11 Often Used Buttons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 

Figure 12 The Toolbar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 

Figure 13 View Pulldown Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 

Figure 14 The Line Dashboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35 

Figure 15 Features of the Tooltrays . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 

Figure 16 Tool sets and tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 

Figure 17 Set of Tooltrays Pulldown Menu . . . . . . . . . .38 

Figure 18 Tooltray Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 

Figure 19 Line Tool Set. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 

Figure 20 Example for a Tool Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 

Figure 21 Probe Specifiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 

Figure 22 Dialog Open Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 

Figure 23 The File Pulldown Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 

Figure 24 Sheet Type List of the New Option . . . . . . . .47 

Figure 25 Special Sheets Dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 

Figure 26 The Save Options of the File Menu . . . . . . .51 

Figure 27 The Save As Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52 

Figure 28 The Filter Pulldown Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 

Figure 29 The Auto Save Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 

Figure 30 The Image Save As Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54 

Figure 31 Open Sheet Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55 

Figure 32 Display of File Attribute - Write Protected . . .56 

Figure 33 Preview of the Open Sheet Dialog . . . . . . . .57 

Figure 34 Sheet Working Sets Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . .58 

Figure 35 Popup Menu for Sheet Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . .59 

Figure 36 Reload WSD File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61 

Figure 37 Save or Discard Working Set Dialog. . . . . . .62 

Figure 38 Working Set Properties Dialog . . . . . . . . . . .63 

Figure 39 Load WSD Error Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63 

Figure 40 The Import Pulldown Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64 

LIST OF FIGURES 


Figure 41 The Import File Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 

Figure 42 The Export Pulldown Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 

Figure 43 The Export File Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 

Figure 44 Plot Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 

Figure 45 Plot Queue Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 

Figure 46 Print Dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 

Figure 47 Directory Pulldown Menu of the Print Dialog 73 

Figure 48 Predefined Directory with added Filename . 74 

Figure 49 Error Message, if Predefined Directory does not 

exist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 

Figure 50 Selection of plotting area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 

Figure 51 Input area, layers to be printed. . . . . . . . . . . 75 

Figure 52 Dialog, to select layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 

Figure 53 Advance Printing Options Dialog . . . . . . . . . 78 

Figure 54 The Sheet Properties Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 

Figure 55 Sheet Properties Dialog: Scale . . . . . . . . . . 82 

Figure 56 Sheet Properties Dialog: Units . . . . . . . . . . . 83 

Figure 57 Sheet Properties Dialog: Size . . . . . . . . . . . 84 

Figure 58 Sheet Header Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 

Figure 59 Mandatory Input Field. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 

Figure 60 Error Mandatory Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 

Figure 61 Sheet History Option. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 

Figure 62 The Save or Discard Dialog 1 . . . . . . . . . . . 89 

Figure 63 The Save or Discard Dialog 2 . . . . . . . . . . . 89 

Figure 64 The Save or Discard Defaults Dialog . . . . . 90 

Figure 65 The Edit Pulldown Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 

Figure 66 The Select actions to Undo Dialog . . . . . . . . 94 

Figure 67 The Select actions to Undo Dialog 2 . . . . . . 94 

Figure 68 The Select Actions to Redo Dialog. . . . . . . . 95 

Figure 69 Paste Popup Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 

Figure 70 Search Text Dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 

Figure 71 Replace Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 

Figure 72 The Select Tools from the Menu Bar . . . . . 105 

Figure 73 Drag Selection, Example1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 

Figure 74 Drag Selection: Example2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 

Figure 75 Popup Menu: Selection Entries . . . . . . . . . 109 

Figure 76 Toggle Select Popup Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 

Figure 77 Changing Selection Set: Example 1. . . . . . 111 

Figure 78 Changing Selection Set: Example 2. . . . . . 111 

Figure 79 Selection Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 

Figure 80 Select All or Deselect All Popup Menu. . . . 114 



List of Figures 

Figure 81 Selecting Modes (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 

Figure 82 Selecting Modes (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 

Figure 83 Multiple Selection Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 

Figure 84 Save Filter Dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 

Figure 85 Select Elements By Attribute . . . . . . . . . . . 118 

Figure 86 Group Box and Freehand Group Line . . . . 119 

Figure 87 Tools for Manipulating Boundary Groups . 120 

Figure 88 Moving a Point Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 

Figure 89 Select Elements by Area Dialog . . . . . . . . 121 

Figure 90 Example: Select Elements by Area . . . . . . 122 

Figure 91 View Pulldown Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 

Figure 92 Toolbars Pulldown Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 

Figure 93 Set of Tooltrays Pulldown Menu . . . . . . . . 127 

Figure 94 Zoom Pulldown Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 


. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 

Figure 96 Windows Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131 

Figure 97 Store and Restore: Show Position . . . . . . . 133 

Figure 98 Choose Views Pulldown Menu . . . . . . . . . 134 

Figure 99 View Window Displayed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 

Figure 100 View Frames Dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 

Figure 101 View Window Frame Property Example . . 136 

Figure 102 Copying and Pasting Between View Windows 

137 

Figure 103 The Display Functions from the Menu Bar. 139 

Figure 104 Grids Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 

Figure 105 The Grid Name List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 

Figure 106 Grid Properties Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 

Figure 107 Color Button to open the Select Color Dialog . 

146 

Figure 108 The Type Pulldown Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 

Figure 109 The Thickness Pulldown Menu . . . . . . . . . 146 

Figure 110 The Sub-Grid Increment Pulldown Menu. . 148 

Figure 111 Grid Properties Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 

Figure 112 Set Grid Origin to Element Corner . . . . . . . 154 

Figure 113 Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 

Figure 114 Layers Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 

Figure 115 Dashboard: Layers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161 

Figure 116 Layer Manager: Tab Layer Properties . . . . 162 

Figure 117 Select Color Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 

Figure 118 Layer Manager: Tab Layer Set Management 

(admin Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 

Figure 119 Layer Manager: List Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . 166 

Figure 120 Select Color Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167 

Figure 121 Example: Rename Layer Name. . . . . . . . . 168 

Figure 122 Layer Datum Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173 

Figure 123 The Change Layer Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 

Figure 124 The Change Layer Pulldown Menu . . . . . . 174 

Figure 125 Change Layer Dialog - Option Incremental 175 

Figure 126 Options Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178 

Figure 127 Defaults Dialog: Tabs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 

Figure 128 Defaults Dialog: Tab Commo. . . . . . . . . . . 180 

Figure 129 Defaults Dialog: Tab Common, Section Message 

Area Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182 

Figure 130 Defaults Dialog: Tab Common, Section Text 

Legibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183 

Figure 131 Defaults Dialog: Tab Common, Drawing Code 

Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184 

Figure 132 Defaults Dialog: Tab Common, Section Sheet 

History Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185 

Figure 133 Defaults Dialog: Tab Common, Dashboard Element 

Selection Limits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186 

Figure 134 Defaults Dialog: Tab Switches . . . . . . . . . 187 

Figure 135 Defaults Dialog: Tab Dimension . . . . . . . . 192 

Figure 136 Defaults Dialog: Tab Radii / Arc Factor . . . 196 

Figure 137 Defaults Dialog: Tab Radii / Arc Fac, Arc Factor 

198 

Figure 138 Display of the Arc Factor Options . . . . . . . 199 

Figure 139 Refsys Tab of Defaults Dialog. . . . . . . . . . 201 

Figure 140 Context Menu of the Transformation Tools Mirror 

and Rotate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201 

Figure 141 Menu Interfaces. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 

Figure 142 CADConvert Configuration-Path Dialog . . 202 

Figure 143 Pulldown Menu Admin Mode. . . . . . . . . . . 203 

Figure 144 Admin Password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 

Figure 145 Admin Password Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 

Figure 146 The Configuration Pulldown Menu . . . . . . 204 

Figure 147 Plotter Configuration Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . 205 

Figure 148 The Add Plotter Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206 

Figure 149 Plotter Information Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 

Figure 150 Plotter Properties Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207 

Figure 151 The Compiling Fits Message in the Output Message 

Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208 

Figure 152 Limit/Fit Choice Box in Dimension Properties 

Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208 

Figure 153 The Select Background Color Dialog . . . . 209 

Figure 154 The Utilities Pulldown Menu . . . . . . . . . . . 212 

Figure 155 The Protractor Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214 

Figure 156 The Extend to Segment Pulldown Menu . . 216 

Figure 157 The Query Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216 

Figure 158 Example of Specifying an Base Angle . . . 217 

Figure 159 Point Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218 

Figure 160 The Standard Point Functions Dialog - Examples. 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219 

Figure 161 The User Attributes Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . 220 

Figure 162 User Attributes Dialog - Display having Selected 

an Element without Attribute . . . . . . . . 221 

Figure 163 User Attributes Dialog - Display having Selected 

an Element with Attribute . . . . . . . . . . 221 

Figure 164 Number Option in the Utilities Pulldown Menu 

225 

Figure 165 Number Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225 

Figure 166 Textstyle Pulldown Menu of Number Dialog . 

226 

Figure 167 Basic Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228 

Figure 168 Search String Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 228 

Figure 169 Search Direction: horizontal-bottom up-from left 

229 

Figure 170 Result . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229 

Figure 171 Search Direction: Horizontal-bottom up-from 

right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230 

Figure 172 Result . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230 

Figure 173 Search Direction: Horizontal-top down-from 

right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231 


Figure 174 Result . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .231 

Figure 175 Search Direction: Horizontal-top down-from left 

232 

Figure 176 Result . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .232 

Figure 177 Search Direction: Vertical-bottom up-from left . 

233 

Figure 178 Result . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .233 

Figure 179 Search Direction: Vertical-bottom up-from right 

234 

Figure 180 Result . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .234 

Figure 181 Search Direction: Vertical-top down-from left . . 

235 

Figure 182 Result . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .235 

Figure 183 Search Direction: Vertical-top down-from right . 

236 

Figure 184 Result . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .236 

Figure 185 Basic Sheet with existing Numbers 15 and 24 . 

237 

Figure 186 Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .237 

Figure 187 Result . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .238 

Figure 188 Basic Sheet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .239 

Figure 189 Search String Settings: String and Wildcard. . . 

240 

Figure 190 Result of the Un-number Command . . . . . .240 

Figure 191 Result of the Re-number Command . . . . . .241 

Figure 192 The Calculator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .243 

Figure 193 Numeric Input Field with Popup Menu . . . .244 

Figure 194 The Trail File Pulldown Menu . . . . . . . . . . .245 

Figure 195 The Record Trail File Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . .246 

Figure 196 The Replay Trail Entry Box . . . . . . . . . . . . .247 

Figure 197 The Compare Files Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . .248 

Figure 198 The Instance along a Line Dialog . . . . . . . .249 

Figure 199 The Instance Input Fields of the Instance Along 

a Line Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .250 

Figure 200 The From/To/ Direction Input Fields of the Instance 

Along a Line Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . .250 

Figure 201 Input Fields for Setting Number and Arrangement 

of the Instance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .250 

Figure 202 The Corner Normal Pulldown Menu . . . . . .251 

Figure 203 Add Preview Dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .253 

Figure 204 The Open Sheet Dialog showing the Previews. 

254 

Figure 205 The Accel Mapkey Editor Dialog: Tab Accel. . . 

255 

Figure 206 The Accel Mapkey Editor Dialog: Tab Mapkey . 

258 

Figure 207 Bacis1 Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .259 

Figure 208 The Windows Pulldown Menu. . . . . . . . . . .260 

Figure 209 The Select List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .260 

Figure 210 Licenses Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .261 

Figure 211 The Toolbar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .264 

Figure 212 View Pulldown Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .265 

Figure 213 Utilities Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .266 

Figure 214 Move Utilities Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .266 

Figure 215 Sheets Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .267 

Figure 216 Utilities Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .268 

Figure 217 View Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .269 



Figure 218 Windows Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270 

Figure 219 Store and Restore: Show Position . . . . . . . 271 

Figure 220 Window Section Before and After Zoom Selection:. 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272 

Figure 221 Measure Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273 

Figure 222 Measure Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274 

Figure 223 Measuring Properties Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . 275 

Figure 224 Measure Dialog: Line Segments . . . . . . . . 275 

Figure 225 Measure Dialog: Distance Between Two Points 

276 

Figure 226 Measure Dialog: Distance Between Last and 

Current Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276 

Figure 227 Measure Dialog: Angle Over Three Points. 277 

Figure 228 Measure Dialog: Angle Between Two Lines. . . 

277 

Figure 229 Measure Dialog: Query Line. . . . . . . . . . . . 278 

Figure 230 Measure Dialog: 2D Properties of Geometry . . 

278 


Output. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279 


Output in File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279 

Figure 233 Scale Views Dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280 

Figure 234 Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281 

Figure 235 Display Scale Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 282 

Figure 236 Scale Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284 

Figure 237 Detailing with Scale Views . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286 

Figure 238 Detail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286 

Figure 239 Insert Detail into Scale View. . . . . . . . . . . . 287 

Figure 240 Detailed Scale View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287 

Figure 241 Line Navigation Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288 

Figure 242 Tree Navigation Mini-Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . 289 

Figure 243 Tree Navigation Toolbar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289 

Figure 244 Create Named Group Toolset . . . . . . . . . . 289 

Figure 245 Tree Table Toolbar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290 

Figure 246 Selection Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291 

Figure 247 Pulldown Menu of Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295 

Figure 248 Part of a Dialog Showing the Help Button . 296 

Figure 249 Line Dashboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 

Figure 250 Text Dashboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 

Figure 251 Prim Dashboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 

Figure 252 Dimension Dashboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 

Figure 253 Group Dashboard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 

Figure 254 Crosshatching Dashboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 

Figure 255 Dashboard: Generic Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . 301 

Figure 256 Example Sub-Dashboard: Single Leader Line 

Changed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307 

Figure 257 Example Sub-Dashboard: All Leader Lines 

Changed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 307 

Figure 258 Example Sub-Dashboard: Empty . . . . . . . . 307 

Figure 259 Example Sub-Dashboard: Picked Several Issue 

Texts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308 

Figure 260 Style Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314 

Figure 261 Style Tree Popup Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315 

Figure 262 Dialog Merge User Styles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317 

Figure 263 Example of a Group for which a Dashboard is 

Created. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318 




Figure 264 User Defined Dashboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318 

Figure 265 Probe Specifiers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320 

Figure 266 Popup Probe Specifier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321 

Figure 267 Defaults Dialog: Tab Radii / Arc Fac . . . . . 322 

Figure 268 Using the Intersection Probe Specifier: 1. . 327 

Figure 269 Using the Intersection Probe Specifier: 2 . 327 

Figure 270 Using the Segment Probe Specifier. . . . . . 329 

Figure 271 Using the Perpendicular Probe Specifier: 1 330 

Figure 272 Using the Perpendicular Probe Specifier: 2 330 

Figure 273 Using the Center Probe Specifier for a Fillet . . 

331 

Figure 274 Using the Mid-segment Probe Specifier . . 332 

Figure 275 Using the Tangent Probe Specifier: 1 . . . . 333 



Figure 278 Example for Offset from Last Probe. . . . . . 336 

Figure 279 Example for Offset from Datum . . . . . . . . . 338 

Figure 280 Cartesian Coordinates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339 

Figure 281 Enter Coords Dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339 

Figure 282 Status Area Left Part . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342 

Figure 283 Status Area Right Part . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342 

Figure 284 Pulldown Menu Active Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . 342 

Figure 285 Message Window opened via right Toggle visibility 

of output message area tool . . . . . . .343 

Figure 286 A Resistor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344 

Figure 287 Example of Group Structure . . . . . . . . . . . 345 

Figure 288 The Tree Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 346 

Figure 289 The Tree Viewer, Docked . . . . . . . . . . . . . 347 

Figure 290 The Tree Viewer, Undocked . . . . . . . . . . . 347 

Figure 291 Expanding Groups and Moving Around The 

Tree Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 351 

Figure 292 Tree Viewer Popup Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352 

Figure 293 Group Properties Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 352 

Figure 294 The Tree Navigation Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . 353 

Figure 295 Tree Table Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354 

Figure 296 Sheet Properties Dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 356 

Figure 297 User Attributes Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357 

Figure 298 Standard Line Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 360 

Figure 299 Current Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 361 

Figure 300 Line Direction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 362 

Figure 301 Create Solid Lines Toolset. . . . . . . . . . . . . 363 

Figure 302 Cartesian Coordinates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364 


Figure 304 Popup Menu While Drawing a Line . . . . . . 365 

Figure 305 Closed Geometry Toolsets . . . . . . . . . . . . 367 


Figure 307 Popup Menu While Drawing . . . . . . . . . . . 368 

Figure 308 Popup Menu While Pasting . . . . . . . . . . . . 369 

Figure 309 Popup Menu While Pasting, Rotate Option 369 

Figure 310 Closed Geometry Properties Dialog . . . . . 370 

Figure 311 Elements Created Using Different Base Angles 

371 

Figure 312 Displaying Centerlines on Slots . . . . . . . . . 372 

Figure 313 Toolset for Creating Circles . . . . . . . . . . . . 373 

Figure 314 Example of Circles, which are created at three 

Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373 

Figure 315 Example for creating polygons. . . . . . . . . . 373 

Figure 316 Dialog Switches, Option for Creating 2D Features 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374 

Figure 317 Dashboard 2D Features: Create Box . . . . 374 

Figure 318 Dashboard 2D Features: Select Box. . . . . 375 

Figure 319 2D Features: Box Properties . . . . . . . . . . . 375 

Figure 320 Tools to Create Slots in 2D Feature Mode 376 

Figure 321 Dashboard of a round-ended Slot . . . . . . . 376 

Figure 322 Rotation Pulldown Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 376 

Figure 323 Tools to create an Offset Line to a selected Element 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377 

Figure 324 Popup Menu after having placed an Offset Line 

on the Sheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378 

Figure 325 Example of the Offset Filter ON/OFF Option. . 

378 

Figure 326 Input Fields while Creating an Offset Line with 

Chamfered Corners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379 

Figure 327 Examples of different Cut Values for a square 

Angle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 379 

Figure 328 Example for an acute Angle . . . . . . . . . . . 379 

Figure 329 Line Properties Dashboard . . . . . . . . . . . . 380 

Figure 330 Standard Line Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 382 

Figure 331 Decor Line Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383 

Figure 332 Frequently Used Line Types . . . . . . . . . . . 383 

Figure 333 Line Properties Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 384 

Figure 334 Style Creation Dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 385 

Figure 335 Line Point Properties Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . 387 

Figure 336 Point Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 389 

Figure 337 Application of the Gap Point Function . . . . 389 

Figure 338 Point Function Arrowheads . . . . . . . . . . . . 390 

Figure 339 Standard Point Functions Disabled . . . . . . 391 

Figure 340 Standard Point Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391 

Figure 341 Using Line Properties Dialog to Change Point 

Functions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 392 

Figure 342 Point Functions-Pulldown Menu - Others Option 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393 

Figure 343 Setting Starting point-, Direction- and Endpoint 

394 

Figure 344 Traced Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395 

Figure 345 Standard Edit Line Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 396 

Figure 346 Popup Menu While Editing a Line . . . . . . . 398 

Figure 347 Change Segment Length Tools. . . . . . . . . 400 

Figure 348 Extend by Factor Popup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 400 

Figure 349 Extend Line Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401 

Figure 350 Smooth Curve Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401 

Figure 351 Orthogonalize Line Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402 

Figure 352 Divide Line Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402 

Figure 353 Split and Join Line Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403 

Figure 354 Fillet Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403 

Figure 355 Chamfer Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404 

Figure 356 Rotate Segment Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 404 

Figure 357 Create Arcs and Circles Tools. . . . . . . . . . 405 

Figure 358 Example for Creating Segments Tangential to 

Surfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406 

Figure 359 Tangent Arc Dialog and an Example for the Resulting 

Tangential Arc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407 

Figure 360 Change Arc Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407 

Figure 361 Example Modify Weight of Tangent Arc . . 408 


Figure 362 Example Modify Curve of Tangent Arc . . . .409 

Figure 363 Example Convert Circular Arc to Tangent Arc . 

410 

Figure 364 Other Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .411 

Figure 365 Miscellaneous Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .411 

Figure 366 Trim/Extend Segments Popup . . . . . . . . . .412 

Figure 367 Fillet Lines Popup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .413 

Figure 368 Example of Inserting Fillets between Line Segments 

and Joining the Lines . . . . . . . . . . .414 

Figure 369 Example for Inserting Chamfers . . . . . . . .415 

Figure 370 Line Navigation Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .416 

Figure 371 Result after Point Added, Dependent on Line 

Direction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .417 

Figure 372 2D Modeling Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .420 

Figure 373 Sectioned Shaft Properties Dialog . . . . . . .421 

Figure 374 Showing Centerlines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .422 

Figure 375 Showing and Hiding Normally Hidden Lines. . . 

423 

Figure 376 Showing Crosshatching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .423 

Figure 377 Example of Profile Sampling. . . . . . . . . . . .424 

Figure 378 Popup Sweep Profiles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .424 

Figure 379 View Direction Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .425 

Figure 380 Example of Edge Projection . . . . . . . . . . . .427 

Figure 381 Popup Rotate Profiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .428 

Figure 382 Shaft End View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .429 

Figure 383 Hole End View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .430 

Figure 384 Example of Rotating a Profile to Form a Shaft . 

431 

Figure 385 Example of Sectioned Shaft Volume of Revolution 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .432 

Figure 386 Example of Sectioned Hole Volume of Revolution 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .433 

Figure 387 Restore Profile Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .434 

Figure 388 Transformation Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .436 

Figure 389 Tools for Transforming Selected Elements.437 

Figure 390 Popup Menu Option Move . . . . . . . . . . . . .437 

Figure 391 Popup Menu during the Move. . . . . . . . . . .438 

Figure 392 Move Toolset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .438 

Figure 393 Popup Menu of the Move Tools . . . . . . . . .438 

Figure 394 Rotate Toolset. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .440 

Figure 395 Popup Menu of the Rotation Tools . . . . . . .440 

Figure 396 Mirror Toolsets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .441 

Figure 397 Popup Menu of the Mirror Selected Elements 

Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .442 

Figure 398 Example of the Mirror Lock/Mirror Unlock 

Functionality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .442 

Figure 399 Popup Menu of the Duplicate and Mirror Selected 

Elements Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .443 

Figure 400 Shear Toolsets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .443 

Figure 401 Magnify Toolsets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .444 

Figure 402 Array . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .445 


Figure 404 Popup Menu during Transformation of Text Elements 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .446 


Figure 406 Tools for Boundary Groups. . . . . . . . . . . . .447 

Figure 407 Group Box and Freehand Group Lines. . . .448 



Figure 408 Moving a Point Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448 

Figure 409 Tools for Manipulating Boundary Groups. . 449 

Figure 410 Popup Menu for Transform Groups . . . . . . 449 

Figure 411 Popup: Dynamic Aligning and Scaling . . . . 450 

Figure 412 Grid Properties Dialog with Settings of Spacings 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451 

Figure 413 MovebyGrid Dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451 

Figure 414 Connect and Clear Lines Toolsets . . . . . . . 453 

Figure 415 JoinLine Properties Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . 453 

Figure 416 The Symbol Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457 

Figure 417 Saving Temporary Symbol Popup Menu . . 458 

Figure 418 Save Temporary Symbol Toolset . . . . . . . . 458 

Figure 419 Symbols Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459 

Figure 420 Loaded Symbol Popup Menu . . . . . . . . . . . 459 

Figure 421 Load Temporary Symbol Toolset . . . . . . . . 460 

Figure 422 Load Symbol Temporary Properties Dialog 462 

Figure 423 Dynamically Aligning Symbols . . . . . . . . . . 466 

Figure 424 Symbol Manager Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470 

Figure 425 Filter Pulldown-Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472 

Figure 426 Overview of Diagram Symbol Tools . . . . . . 474 

Figure 427 The Create Diagram Symbol Tools . . . . . . 475 

Figure 428 The Text Dashboard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475 

Figure 429 Creating Connection Point Texts . . . . . . . . 476 

Figure 430 Creating a Diagram Datum Prim . . . . . . . . 476 

Figure 431 Save Diagram Symbol Tools . . . . . . . . . . . 477 

Figure 432 The Save Named Symbol Dialog . . . . . . . . 477 

Figure 433 Load Temporary Symbol Toolset . . . . . . . . 478 

Figure 434 Diagram Symbol Attached to Cursor . . . . . 478 

Figure 435 Diagram Symbol Over Line . . . . . . . . . . . . 479 

Figure 436 Diagram Symbol, Popup Menu while Placing . 

479 

Figure 437 Diagram Symbol after Placement . . . . . . . 479 

Figure 438 The Construction Lines Tooltray . . . . . . . . 485 

Figure 439 Tools for Projecting Construction Lines . . . 485 

Figure 440 Tools and Toolset for Creating Single Construction 

Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 486 

Figure 441 Creates Oblique Construction Line Toolset 487 

Figure 442 Angle Entry box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487 

Figure 443 Tools to Create Construction Circles . . . . . 488 

Figure 444 Diameter and Radius Entry Box . . . . . . . . . 488 

Figure 445 Toolset for creating Construction Circles tangential. 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 488 

Figure 446 Examples of Construction Circle in different Positions 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 490 

Figure 447 Toolset for the Creation of tangential Construction 

Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 490 

Figure 448 Example of the Creation of Construction Lines 

through Tangent Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491 

Figure 449 Example of the Creation of a Tangent as Construction 

Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 491 

Figure 450 Popup Menu while Creating Construction Lines 

492 

Figure 451 Positive and Negative Offsets . . . . . . . . . . 493 

Figure 452 Positive and Negative Offset Created at the 

Same Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494 

Figure 453 Offset/Angle Entry Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 494 

Figure 454 Vertical and Horizontal Offset Examples . . 495 




Figure 455 45 Degree Offset Examples . . . . . . . . . . . 495 

Figure 456 Oblique Offset Example. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495 

Figure 457 Example of Offset Vertical Construction Lines 

496 

Figure 458 Example for Incremental Default Offset . . . 497 

Figure 459 The Layer Manager Dialog: Tab Layer Properties 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499 

Figure 460 Example Confine Construction Line 1 . . . . 500 



Figure 463 Tools to Switch Transportation Lines On and 

Off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501 

Figure 464 Defaults Dialog: Tab Switches . . . . . . . . . . 502 

Figure 465 The Deflection Angle of Transported Construction 

Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 503 

Figure 466 Transporting a Construction Line. . . . . . . . 503 

Figure 467 Projecting Construction Lines from a Profile . . 

504 

Figure 468 Popup Menu For Projection Construction Lines 

from Profiles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 505 

Figure 469 Creating a Single Sectional View. . . . . . . . 505 

Figure 470 Creating a Multi-plane Sectional View . . . . 506 

Figure 471 Crosshatching a View (Ignoring the Plane 

Break Line). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 506 

Figure 472 Projected Construction Lines From a Rotated 

Section Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507 

Figure 473 Dynamic Construction Lines Tools . . . . . . 508 

Figure 474 Popup Menus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 508 

Figure 475 XLine - Setup Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 509 

Figure 476 Dynamic Construction Line Angle and Offset 

Entry Boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 510 

Figure 477 Example Dynamic Construction Line . . . . . 510 

Figure 478 Positive and Negative Offsets . . . . . . . . . . 511 

Figure 479 Tangential Dynamic Construction Line . . . 513 

Figure 480 Perpendicular Dynamic Construction Line. 514 

Figure 481 Crossed Dynamic Construction Line . . . . . 515 

Figure 482 Example Dynamic Construction Lines with Offset 

1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 515 

Figure 483 Example Dynamic Construction Lines with Offset 

2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 516 

Figure 484 Example Dynamic Construction Lines Perpendicular 

to Diagonal Outlines . . . . . . . . . . . . 516 

Figure 485 Example Dynamic Construction Line as a Tangent 

between 2 Circles 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 516 

Figure 486 Example Dynamic Construction Line as a Tangent 

Between 2 Circles 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 517 

Figure 487 Example Dynamic Construction Lines as a 

Crossed Tangent Between 2 Circles 1 . . . 517 

Figure 488 Dimension Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 520 

Figure 489 Dimensioning Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 521 

Figure 490 Defaults Dialog: Tab Dimension . . . . . . . . 522 

Figure 491 Dashboard: Dimensioning . . . . . . . . . . . . . 526 

Figure 492 Linear Dimension Formats. . . . . . . . . . . . . 527 

Figure 493 Popup Menu For Linear Dimensions . . . . . 528 

Figure 494 Example of Parallel Dimension . . . . . . . . . 529 

Figure 495 Example of Perpendicular Dimension . . . . 529 

Figure 496 Linear Dimension Properties: Style and Format 

Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 531 

Figure 497 Dimension and Tolerance Style Buttons . . 532 

Figure 498 Standard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 532 

Figure 499 Dual Dimension Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 533 

Figure 500 Dimension and Tolerance Format Options 533 

Figure 501 Limits and Fits Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534 

Figure 502 Example Test Dimension . . . . . . . . . . . . . 535 

Figure 503 Linear Dimension Properties: Text and Arrows 

535 

Figure 504 Text Position buttons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536 

Figure 505 Layer selector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536 

Figure 506 Direction buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 536 

Figure 507 Imperial Text Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537 

Figure 508 Dimension Type Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537 

Figure 509 Dimension Spacing Option . . . . . . . . . . . . 537 

Figure 510 Text Format Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538 

Figure 511 Arrows and Gaps Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . 538 

Figure 512 Graphic Scaling Option . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539 

Figure 513 Creating Angular Dimensions . . . . . . . . . . 540 

Figure 514 Popup Menu for Angular Dimensions . . . . 541 

Figure 515 Angular Dimension Properties: Style and Format 

Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542 

Figure 516 Angular Dimension Properties: Text and Arrows 

Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 542 

Figure 517 Angular Dimension Text Format Options . 543 

Figure 518 Popup Menu for Dimensioning Circles and Arcs 

545 

Figure 519 Arc Dimension Properties: Style and Format 

Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 546 

Figure 520 Arc Dimension Properties: Text and Arrows Tab 

546 


Figure 522 Radial Dimension Properties: Style and Format 

Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 548 

Figure 523 Radial Dimension Properties: Text and Arrows 

Tab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 548 


Figure 525 Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549 

Figure 526 Example of a Horizontal Symmetrical Dimension 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 550 

Figure 527 Cutout of the Properties Dialog . . . . . . . . . 551 

Figure 528 Example of a Horizontal Half a Symmetrical Dimension. 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 552 

Figure 529 Cutout of the Properties Dialog . . . . . . . . . 552 

Figure 530 The Datum Offset Dimension Creation Tools . 

553 

Figure 531 Example of Offset Dimensioning . . . . . . . . 553 

Figure 532 The coordinates input field . . . . . . . . . . . . 554 

Figure 533 Axonometric Dimension Dialog . . . . . . . . . 555 

Figure 534 Isometric Default Angles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 556 

Figure 535 The Creates Notes Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . 558 

Figure 536 The Note Properties Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . 558 

Figure 537 The Feature Control Frames and Datum Tools 

559 

Figure 538 The Feature Control Frame Datum Popup 

Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 559 

Figure 539 Example: Dashboard During Creating a Hori- 


zontal Feature Control Frame . . . . . . . . . . .560 

Figure 540 The feature Control Frame Popup Menu . .560 

Figure 541 Linear Dimension Example . . . . . . . . . . . . .562 

Figure 542 Quick Selection Tools for Dimensions . . . .562 

Figure 543 Popup Menu 1 for Editing Dimensions . . . .563 



Figure 546 Message when Changing Dimensions 1. . .566 



Figure 549 Example for Arranging Coordinate Dimensions 

1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .569 

Figure 550 Example for Arranging Coordinate Dimensions 

2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .569 

Figure 551 Example Explode Dimension . . . . . . . . . . .570 

Figure 552 The Gap Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .570 

Figure 553 Set Gap Parameter Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . .571 

Figure 554 The Welding Symbol Input Dialog. . . . . . . .572 

Figure 555 Welding Symbol Popup Menu 1 . . . . . . . . .572 




Figure 559 Welding Symbol Popup 4a . . . . . . . . . . . . .573 


Figure 561 Welding Symbol Popup Menu 5a . . . . . . . .574 

Figure 562 Welding Symbols 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .574 

Figure 563 Welding Symbols 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .575 

Figure 564 Welding Symbols 7a/7b and the Welding Process 

List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .575 

Figure 565 List of Named Welding Symbols . . . . . . . . .576 

Figure 566 Dialog: Save or Discard a Named Welding 

Symbol as Default. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .576 

Figure 567 Right Mouse Button Popup Menu . . . . . . . .577 

Figure 568 The Load Surface Finish Symbol Toolset . .578 

Figure 569 The Surface Finish Symbol Dialog . . . . . . .578 

Figure 570 Detail of the Surface Finish Symbol Dialog.579 

Figure 571 The Surface Symbol Popup Menu . . . . . . .580 

Figure 572 Text Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .582 

Figure 573 Create Text Popup Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . .583 

Figure 574 Text Dashboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .584 

Figure 575 Dashboard: Text Properties . . . . . . . . . . . .585 

Figure 576 Text Properties Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .586 

Figure 577 Text types: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .587 

Figure 578 Text Justification Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .588 

Figure 579 Dashboard: Text Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .590 

Figure 580 Dashboard: Text Entry field . . . . . . . . . . . .592 

Figure 581 Example Text Count . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .593 

Figure 582 Examples of Special Characters in Text Elements 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .594 

Figure 583 Special Characters Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . .594 

Figure 584 Text Properties Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .595 

Figure 585 Text Properties Dialog, Fonts, Pulldown List . . 

596 

Figure 586 Multi-line Text Example. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .598 

Figure 587 Dashboard for Multi-Line Text (right part only) . 

599 

Figure 588 Popup Menu of the Create boxed Text Arrows 



Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 599 

Figure 589 Example for an arrow with two intermediate 

points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 600 

Figure 590 Create Item Number Balloon Dialog. . . . . . 602 

Figure 591 Dashboard Balloon Texts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 605 

Figure 592 Sub-Dashboard for Lines of Balloon Texts. 605 

Figure 593 Balloon Text Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 605 

Figure 594 Create Item Number Balloon Dialog, Example 

Symbol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 606 

Figure 595 Text Translator Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 608 

Figure 596 Short Info Dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 611 

Figure 597 Table Creation Example. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 615 

Figure 598 Table Creation: Data Entry. . . . . . . . . . . . . 617 

Figure 599 Create Table Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 617 

Figure 600 Create Table Popup Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . 618 

Figure 601 Justify Text Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 619 

Figure 602 Save Table Data Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 619 

Figure 603 Overwrite Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 620 

Figure 604 Load Table Data Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 620 

Figure 605 Popup Menu While Typing into Table Cell . 621 

Figure 606 Table Creation: Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . 622 

Figure 607 Style Creation Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 623 

Figure 608 Sheet selector dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 625 

Figure 609 Dialog Fit Table Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . 628 

Figure 610 Dialog Fit Table Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . 629 

Figure 611 Example for Fit Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 630 

Figure 612 Create a new table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 632 

Figure 613 Popup While Creating a New Table . . . . . . 633 

Figure 614 Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 633 

Figure 615 Example Drilling Table 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 634 

Figure 616 Add Data to Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 635 

Figure 617 Popup While Adding Data to Table . . . . . . 635 


Figure 619 Edit Data of Circle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 637 


Figure 621 Setup Coordinate Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 639 

Figure 622 Warning: Start Cleanup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 641 

Figure 623 Standard Prim Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 645 

Figure 624 Dashboard: Prims. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 646 

Figure 625 Prims Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 646 

Figure 626 Popup Menu While Placing Prims . . . . . . . 647 

Figure 627 Prims Dashboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 649 

Figure 628 Prim Properties Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 650 

Figure 629 Style Creation Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 652 

Figure 630 Examples of Crosshatching . . . . . . . . . . . . 656 

Figure 631 Examples of Stippling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 656 

Figure 632 Temporary Lines Defining the Area to be Filled 

657 

Figure 633 Crosshatch and Stipple Tools . . . . . . . . . . 659 

Figure 634 Popup Crosshatch Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 659 

Figure 635 Popup Stippling Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 660 

Figure 636 Load Named Symbol Dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . 661 

Figure 637 Angle, Spacing, and Offset. . . . . . . . . . . . . 663 

Figure 638 Crosshatches Dashboard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 664 

Figure 639 The Crosshatch Properties Dialog . . . . . . . 665 

Figure 640 Temporary Stipple Properties Dialog . . . . . 667 

Figure 641 Setting the Spacing Between Symbols . . . 669 




Figure 642 Selection Tools for Stippling and Crosshatching 

671 

Figure 643 Creating Multiple Crosshatching . . . . . . . . 672 

Figure 644 Creating Offset Multiple Crosshatching . . . 672 

Figure 645 Crosshatching Disjoint Areas: 1. . . . . . . . . 673 

Figure 646 Crosshatching Disjoint Areas: 2. . . . . . . . . 673 

Figure 647 Example of Using the Create Gaps Under Text 

in Crosshatching Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 674 

Figure 648 Popup Global Settings for HLR Operations 675 

Figure 649 Dialog HLR Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 676 

Figure 650 Popup HLR Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 676 

Figure 651 Popup Boolean Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . 678 

Figure 652 Example Boolean Operation Union . . . . . . 679 

Figure 653 Example Boolean Operation Difference. . . 679 

Figure 654 Example Boolean Operation Difference (keep) 

679 

Figure 655 Example Boolean Operation Intersection . 680 

Figure 656 Reference Sheet Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 682 

Figure 657 Tools for Creating Porthole Elements . . . . 683 

Figure 658 Porthole Definition Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . 684 

Figure 659 Tools for References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 686 

Figure 660 Open Sheet Dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 687 

Figure 661 Dialog Reference Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 687 

Figure 662 Example For a Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . 689 

Figure 663 Popup Menu for Reference Tools . . . . . . . 690 

Figure 664 Structure Tree showing the Reference Clump. 

691 

Figure 665 File Selector and Compare Reference Dialog . 

692 

Figure 666 Compare Reference Dialog with Input of Source 

File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 692 

Figure 667 Structure Tree showing the current (RDS) and 

previous Version (PDS) of the Reference . 693 

Figure 668 General Popup Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 697 

Figure 669 SMART Edit Popup Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . 697 

Figure 670 SMART Edit Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 699 

Figure 671 SMART Edit: Dimension Value Dialog. . . . 700 

Figure 672 SMART Edit: Over-Dimensions . . . . . . . . . 701 

Figure 673 SMART Edit: Dimension Line Dialog . . . . . 703 

Figure 674 SMART Edit: Drag Leader Line . . . . . . . . . 704 

Figure 675 SMART Edit: Drag Dimension Line . . . . . . 704 

Figure 676 SMART Edit: Datum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 705 

Figure 677 SMART Edit: Orthogonal Line Dialog . . . . 706 

Figure 678 SMART Edit: Drag Orthogonal Lines . . . . . 707 

Figure 679 SMART Edit: Non-Orthogonal Line Dialog. 707 

Figure 680 SMART Edit: Drag Non-Orthogonal Lines . 707 

Figure 681 SMART Edit: Dialog for Arcs and Circles . 708 

Figure 682 SMART Edit: Solutions for Arcs . . . . . . . . 708 

Figure 683 Example of dragged Geometry . . . . . . . . . 709 

Figure 684 Example of Dragged Geometry 2 . . . . . . . 709 

Figure 685 Example of Dragged Dimension Line . . . . 709 

Figure 686 Example of Dragged Geometry 3 . . . . . . . 710 

Figure 687 SMART Edit - Display of Relations, Selected 

Arc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 711 

Figure 688 SMART Edit - Display of Relations, Selected 

Arc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 712 

Figure 689 SMART Drafting Properties. . . . . . . . . . . . 714 

Figure 690 SMART Drafting Mouse Pointer . . . . . . . . 715 

Figure 691 SMART Drafting Popup Menu. . . . . . . . . . 716 

Figure 692 AUTO Snap Popup Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . 716 

Figure 693 Example Background Color Angle Field . . 718 

Figure 694 Example: Snap Mode Information, Nearest 

Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 720 

Figure 695 Example: Snap Mode Information, Middle Point 

720 

Figure 696 Example: Snap Mode Information, Segment 

Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 721 

Figure 697 Example: Segment is parallel against last one 

721 

Figure 698 Example: Segment is perpendicular against last 

one . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 722 

Figure 699 Example: Drawing Arcs 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 723 

Figure 700 Example: Drawing Arcs 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 723 

Figure 701 Example: Flip Arcs 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 724 

Figure 702 Example: Flip Arcs 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 724 

Figure 703 Example: Using construction points 1 . . . . 725 





Figure 708 Example: Continue Geometry 1 . . . . . . . . 727 



Figure 711 Example: Change Line Direction 1 . . . . . . 728 

Figure 712 Example: Change Line Direction 2 . . . . . . 728 

Figure 713 Defaults Dialog: Tab Switches . . . . . . . . . 730 

Figure 714 Style Selection Dialog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 733 

Figure 715 Icon Selection Dialog. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 733 

Figure 716 Remove Custom Buttons Dialog . . . . . . . . 735 

Figure 717 The Configuration Pulldown-Menu . . . . . . 736 

Figure 718 The Select Background Color Dialog . . . . 736 

Figure 719 Save or Discard Defaults Dialog . . . . . . . . 737 


A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 

Numeric 

2D Features 

activate 374 

Dashboard 374 

properties 375 

2D Modeling 

centerlines 421 

crosshatching 421 

edge projection 427 

hidden lines 421 

introduction 420 

override 



hidden lines 421 

profile extrusion 

specifying angle 426 

profile sampling 424 

rotate profile to form a shaft 431 

sectioned hole creation 433 

sectioned shaft creation 432 

Tools 420 

2D Parametrics 261 

3D Batch 262 

A 

accelerator key 

add 257 

change function 256 

change key 256 

remove 256, 257 

Activate 2D Features 374 

Activate Scale View functions 283 

Activating a Grid 151 

Active 

working set 62 

Active tool 342 

add accelerator key 257 

Add preview to sheet 252 

add rows and columns to tables 618 

Add Style to Favourites 316 

Adding 

dimension segments 565 

INDEX 


prims 

named 646 

standard 645 

printers 206 

sheets to WSD files 60 

Adding drillings to a table 634 

Adding layer sets 170 

Adding layers to layer set 

170 

adjust contents of the toolbar 265 

Adjust the Toolbar 34 

adjusting the toolbar 126 

Admin Mode 203 

-advanced 23 

advanced mode 23 

advanced options for printing 78 

Advanced Plotting options dialog 78 

Aligning geometry along line 450 

alignment of symbols 

dynamic 466 

Angle 147 

Angles 

dimensioning 

creating 540 


for profile extrusion 426 

measure 277 

Angular Dimension Properties dialog 542 

Angular units 84 

Annotating sheets 49 

ANSII dimensioning standard 521 

-api 23 

api mode 23 

Apply Drawing code change to all loaded sheets 184 

Arc Dimension Properties dialog 546 

Arc factor 

calculating 200 

curve factor 198 

default 198 

maximum and minimum angle 199 

Arc line function 388 

Arcs 

appearance for plotting 

chord length 68 

appearance for printing 





appearance on sheet 


creating point on 333 

defining shape using point weight 387 

dimensioning 544 

radius with an off-sheet center 545 

area 

selecting elements by 106, 268 

Area fills 655 

deleting 671 

properties 

changing 666, 669 

selecting 671 

Area selection by boundary groups 119 

Areas 

defining 

for crosshatching 657 

for stippling 657 

printing 74 

selecting 

point groups 120, 448 

Arrange coordinate dimensions text 569 

Array 444 

Arrowhead point function 390 

Arrowhead point functions 

direction of line 390 

Arrows 

dimensions 538 

for dimensions 535 

Arrows and Gaps 193 

Arrows at a Text Box 599 

aspect 588 

attribute 

select elements by 118 

Attributes 

layers 159 

User Attributes Dialog 220 

attributes 

layer 

customize 164 

query user 357 

Auto Probe Radii 196 

Auto probe specifier 324 

accuracy of 324 

using windows 324 

Auto Sheet Save 53 

AUTO Snap 714 

Popup Menu 716 

Automatic dimensioning 530 

Autorotate when printing 72 

Autoscaling 

area to print 72 


volume of revolution 

shaft 428 

Axis of Rotation menu item 428 

Axonometric Dimension Dialog 555 

B 

Bacis1 259 

Backdrop printing 72 

Background 

setting color 209, 736 

ball2tab.cfg 624 

balloon text 

create dialog 602 

create dialog, example symbol 606 

Balloon Text Dashboard 605 

Balloon Text Properties 605 

balloon texts 602 

create parts list 624 

creating table from 606 

creation 603 

creation for design objects 604 

error messages 604 

item number 602 

Base angle 214 

Base Angle menu option 371 

BLO prim 645 

Boolean Operations 678 

Border grid 143 

Borders 

creating for sheet 85 

in windows 136 

Bore hole 

creating 

sectioned 433 

Bore hole tables 632 

Boundary brackets 

printing 78 

Boundary group manipulation tools 120, 449 

Boundary Groups 119, 447 

manipulation 120 

popup while transforming 449 

transform 449 

boundary groups 

create group lines 448 

point groups 448 

Boundary line, Select Elements by Area Dialog 122 

Boundary lines 

for groups 119, 447 

Boxes 

construction line tools 485 

BSI dimensioning standard 521 

Build filter from sheet selection 115 

Build filter using sheet selection 115 

button 

View or change the layer properties 165 

Buttons 

dashboard 301, 307 

Move Datum 468 


Unscale 467 

Untransform 469 

buttons 

common tab 181 

generic 301 

Move Datum by Probing 468 

buttons in dialogs 32 

C 

Calculating chord angle 200 

Calculator 243 

calling up SMART Drafting 714 




calling up SMART Edit 697 

Cartesian 147 

Cen line function 388 

Center probe specifier 331 

Centerlines 

2D modeling 421 

closed geometry 372 

create when 2D modeling 422 

overlap 372 

override when 2D modeling 421 

Chain dimensions 527 

Chamfer lines 411 

change accelerator key 256 

Change Arcs, tools 407 

Change curve of the selected tangent arc 408 

Change layer 174 

change properties of lines 384 

change properties of lines with dashboard 384 

Change Segment Length 400 

change sheet sizes 84 

Changing 

appearance of points 218, 389 

coordinates of points 388 

default 

probe specifier 321 

dimension standards 194, 524 

element property attributes 312 

element style 312 

hit radius 196, 322 

layer set name 170 

point functions 218, 389, 390 


using dashboard 304 

sheet 


stippling properties 669 

Styles 312 

changing prim properties 651 

Changing Properties of a Text Style 591 

Changing Text Style 590 

Choosing 

probe specifiers 41 

Set of tooltrays 37 

tools 40 

from toolsets 39 

Tooltray 39 

Chord angle 

calculating 200 

Chords 

angles 

maximum and minimum 199 

using to draw curves 68, 72, 198 

Cir line function 388 

Circle construction lines 488 

Circle Dimension Properties dialog 546 

Circles 

appearance for plotting 


appearance for printing 


appearance on sheet 


construction line tools 485 

creating point at center of 331 

creating point on 333 


diameter 544 

radius 544 

Class Buttons 113 

Cleanup 640 

Clear 125, 139 

Clear Flagged 105 

Clear lines 454 

click mouse button 27 

Clip zoomed window 188 

Clipboard 242 

Clo line function 388 

Cloning element properties using dashboard 305 

Close and New Line 398 

Close Line 398 

Close Trail File 246 

Close window 50 


popup menu 368 

Closed geometry 



tools 367 

closed geometry 

creating 367 

Closed Geometry Properties 368 

Closed Geometry Properties dialog 370 

Closing Sheets of a WSD File 62 

columns 

add to tables 618 

Comma Separated Variable file 614 

command 

start 23 

Common 

select by area 121 

common button 118 

Common tab 

buttons 181 

Compare selected reference tool 686, 691 

Compare Trail Files 248 

Comparing Reference 691 

compile fits data files 208 

complex line editing tools 400 

Con line function 388 

Configuration 204 

Configuration file 

printer 208 

confining construction lines 500 

Connect lines 453 

Console 

show/hide 260 

Construction Circles 

Creating tangential 488, 489 

Construction Line 

Creating tangential at two circles 490 


hiding 499 

Construction Line Extent 189 

Construction lines 

absolute offset values 496 

circle 488 




confining 500 

creating 486 

datum point 486 

deleting 

all 498 

selected 498 

oblique 487 

offsetting 

multiple 496 

single 493 

overview 484 

positive and negative offsets 493 

tools 485 

using previous datum point 492 


dynamic 508 

angle 510 

offset 511 

point recognition 509 


usage 515 

use keyboard buttons 512 

project through a profile 504 

project through a section 505 

projected 504 

Construction Points 725 

contents of the toolbar 265 

context sensitive help 297 

Convert reference 690 

Convert reference tool 686 

Convert the selected circular arc to a tangent point arc 409 

Coordinate dimensions 527 

Coordinates 

of points 

changing 388 

of text element 587 

coordinates 

dialog for entering values 339, 364 

Copies 

number to plot 68 

number to print 71 

Copy 96 

Copy to Clipboard 242 

Copy to clipboard 188 

Copying current WSD file 60 

create 

gaps under Text in crosshatching 674 

Create a (tangent-point) fillet of specified radius, tool 403 

Create a fillet of specified radius, tool 403 

Create a Table 617 

Create Arcs, tools 405 

Create chamfer, tool 404 

Create Circles, tools 405 

Create diagram connector text 475 

Create diagram datum prim 476 

Create diagram symbol 475 

Create Item Number Balloon Dialog 602 

Create Item Number Balloon Dialog, Example Symbol 606 

Create Line Tools, overview 360 

Create named group 348, 349, 353 

Create named group with existing elements 348, 353 

Create Notes, tools 558 

Create segments tangential to surfaces, tool 406 

Creates a datum named group for an offset datum 

dimension, tool 553 

Creates a free feature control frame, tool 560 

Creates a free feature control, toolset 559 

Creates construction circle tangential to a line in three steps 

Tool 489 

Creates construction circle tangential to a line in two steps 

Tool 489 

Creates construction circle tangential to two lines 

Tool 489 

Creates construction lines tangential at two circles,Tool 491 

Creates construction lines through tangent points of two 

circles,Tool 490 

Creates isometric dimensioning, tool 555, 556 

Creates polygons, tool 373 

Creates prims of specified type and properties, tool 646 

Creates transportation lines, tool 501 

Creating 

Balloon Texts 603 


Balloon Texts for desing objects 604 

bore holes 

sectioned 433 

centerlines when 2D modeling 422 


construction lines 486 

crosshatching 

when 2D modelling 423 

custom sheets 48 

dimensions 

angular 540 

dynamic construction lines 513 

elements 


faces 427 

first point of line 363 

grids 144 

group boundary lines 447 

linear dimensions 527 

lines 

overview 363 

use of current point 361 

multi-line text 598 

new groups 352 

New Reference 687 

orthogonal views 420 

perpendicular line segments 330 

points at grid points 326 

Porthole Elements 684 

solid shafts 431 

sectioned 432 

standard sheet 47 

style 309 

swept profiles 424 

table data 

CSV files 614 

Table from Balloon Texts 606 

Text 584 

Text Element with a Style 590 

text, popup menu 583 

WSD File 59 

Creating Construction Circles tangential 488 

Creating Construction Line tangential 490 




Creating edges perpendicular to viewing direction 427 

Crossed dynamic construction line 514 

Crosshatches dashboard 664 

Crosshatching 


areas 

defining 657 

around areas 673 

create when 2D modelling 423 

default settings 663 

defining area to fill 657 

Deleting 671 

filling areas 655 

multiple times 672 


overview 656 


changing 666 

seed line 663 

seedpoint 658 

selecting 106, 268, 671 

tools 659 

crosshatching 

create gaps under text 674 


CSV files 

overview 614 

CTRL key 

pan 129 

pan and zoom 269 

zoom 129 

Ctrl-Key 29 

Current 

point 361 

selecting a point 288, 416 

view 

plotting 68 

printing 71 

current grid 149 

Current node 346 

Cursor position 343 

Curve Factor 198 

Curves 

changing appearance for plotout 68 

changing appearance for printout 72 

changing appearance on sheet 198 

custom selection tool 117 

custom sheets 

creating 48 

Custom tools 

deleting 735 

modifying 733 

Customizing 

layer attributes 164 

layer sets 170 

layers 168 

tools 731 

user environment 729 

Cut 96 

Cut from Tree 290 

Cutting 

elements using tree viewer 354 

D 

Dashboard 35 

balloon text 605 

changing properties 304 

cloning element properties 305 

components 301 

creating elements 305 

crosshatches 664 


displaying properties 303 

overview 300 

prims 646, 649 


Properties button 302 

Text Properties 585 

dashboard 

2D Features 374 

Dashboards 

dimension 300 

group 300 

line 300 

prim 300 

text 300 

Datum 


layer 173 


Datum Offset Dimension 553 

Datum point 


offsetting construction lines from 496 

prims 645 

stippling symbol 

moving 668 

symbols 

moving 468 

text elements 588 

using previous construction line datum point 492 

datum point (definition) 337 

Deactivate Scale View functions 283 

Deactivating a Grid 151 

Default 

crosshatching settings 663 

dimensioning standards 192, 522 

layer allocation 161 

prims 646 

probe specifier 

changing 321 

sheet scale 83 

sheet units 191 

spacing 

stippling 668 

Default font 181 

Default style 310 

Defaults 

arc factor 198 

Defaults dialog 

Layer Manager List Switsches 189 

Refsys tab 201 

defaults.dat 453 

Define vertices with left mouse button 188 

Defines a new multi-sheet working set 59 




Defining group boundary lines 119 

Deflection angles 503 

Degree angular unit 84 

Delete 92 

Delete all construction lines tool 498 

delete diagram symbol 481 

Delete Point 398 

Delete reference 686, 690 

delete rows and columns from tables 618 

delete scale views 282 

delete selection from tables 615 

Deleting 

area fills 671 


selected 498 

crosshatching and stippling 671 

custom tools 735 


grids 155 


parts of dimensions 566 

prims 648 

Printers 205 

tools 

from drop area 735 

from user tooltray 735 

whole dimensions 566 

window views 132, 270 

WSD Files 60 

deleting a layer name 168 

Deleting an URL 597 

Deleting group lines 448 

Deselect All 92, 109, 291 

Deselect All Option 114 

Deselect Once 109, 291 

diagram connector text 475 

diagram datum prim 476 

Diagram symbol 

loading 

named 480 

temporary 478 

named 474 

saving 

named 477 

temporary 477 

selecting and deleting 481 

temporary 474 

Dialog 

Crosshatch properties 665 

Fit Table Properties 628 

HLR Type 676 

JoinLine Properties 453 

Measuring Properties 275 

Merge User Styles 317 

MovebyGrid 451 

Number 225 

Save named Symbol 477 

Surface Finish Symbol 578 

User Attributes 220 

dialog 32 

buttons 32 

Dialogs 

Advanced Plotting Options 78 

Angular Dimension Properties 542 

Circle and Arc Dimension Properties 546 

Closed Geometry Properties 370 

Defaults 

Dimension 522 

Enter Coords 339, 364 

File Manager 55 

Grid Properties 145 

Help button 296 

Icon Selection 733 

Layer Datum 173 

Line Point Properties 387 


Style and Format tab 531 

Text and Arrows tab 535 

Load Symbol Temporary Properties 462 

Measure 274 

Plot 67 

Plotter information 207 

Plotter Properties 207 

Point Functions 219, 391 

Prim Properties 650 

Prims 646 

Print 70 

Print Configuration 205 

Profile Extrusion View Direction 425 

Radial Dimension Properties 548 

Remove Custom Buttons 735 

Sectioned Shaft Properties 421 

Select Elements by Area 121 

Sheet header Editor 86 

Sheet Working Sets 58 

Special Sheets 48 

Style Selection 733 

Symbol Manager 470 

Symbols 459 

Table Creation 615, 617 

Temporary Stipple Properties 667 

Text Properties 586, 595, 596 

View Frames 136 

Windows 131, 270 

Working Set Properties 63 

dialogs 

save as 52 

save or discard 89 

Difference 678 

Dimension dashboard 300 

Dimension offset from a datum tool 553 

Dimension Session Defaults 522 


dimensioning 

angular 


arrange coordinate dimensions text 569 

dashboard 526 

explode 570 

gaps 570 

linear 


standard 193 

Dimensions 

adding segments 565 




angular 

creating 540 


text format 543 

arcs 544 

arrows 538 

arrows and text 535 

chain 527 

circle 

diameter 544 

circles and arcs 544 

coordinate 527 

datum 527 

deleting part 566 

deleting whole 566 

direction 536 

dual 533 

editing 562 

gaps 538 

Imperial units 537 

in scale views 283 

layer 536 

limit and fit 534 

linear 527 

linear properties 531 

Prefix and suffix 533 

radius of a circle 544 

radius with an off sheet center 545 

selecting 106, 268 

spacing 537 

standards 521 

creating personal 524 

modifying 194, 524 

setting 192, 522 

text format 538 

text position 536 

tolerance format 533 

tolerance style 532 

tolerances 534 

tools 520 

type 537 

DIN dimensioning standard 521 

Direction 

of dimensions 536 

of line 362 

arrowhead point functions 390 

Display 139 

text always legible 190 

text as rectangles 190 

text as text 190 

text at all orientations 190 

text with shear 190 

display grid 149 

display only the selected elements 139 

display reference 690 

Display rubber band 188 

display scale views 282 

Displaying 

current grid 152 


properties 


switch between sheets 26 

tree viewer 346 

Distance 214 

Distance between text characters, gap 588 

Divide segment into specified number of divisions or at 

selected point 402 

Divide segment into two 402 

Dock the Tree Viewer 347 

DOT prim 645 

double click mouse button 27 

Double segment length 400 

Drag selection 107 

Dragging 

using the cursor 27 

Draw Selection 139 

Draw Selection only 113 

Drawing area 

maximum 84 

popup menus 30 

Drawing code 

plotting 68 

printing 71 

Drawing interval 

grids 152 

drilling tables 

appearance 639 

Drop area 

deleting tools 735 

using to copy tools 732 

DTM prim 645 

Dual dimensions 533 

Duplicates and mirrors the selected elements 441 

Duplicates and moves the selected elements 438 

Duplicates and rotates the selected elements 440 

DXF file 

load 55 

DXF Files 

save 53 

DXF symbols 

loading 472 

Dyn. scaling, load symbol popup 460 

Dyn. scaling, paste popup 97 

Dynamic 


angle 510 

crossed 514 

offset 511 

perpendicular 514 

point recognition 509 


tangential 513 

use keyboard buttons 512 

lines 

displaying during edit 188 

scaling 

of symbols 467 

turning off and on 283 

dynamic 

alignment of symbols 466 


usage 515 


delete 517 

Dynamic pan and zoom 269 




dynamic pan and zoom 129 

dynamic scaling, load symbol popup 460 

dynamic scaling, paste popup 97 

Dynamically align geometry 450 

E 

EAR prim 645 

Edge projection 427 

Edges 

creating 

perpendicular to 

viewing direction 427 

Edit Description 208 

Edit Line popup menu 398 

Edit Menu 92 

edit text field of a drawing 86 

Editing 592 


lines 

displaying dynamic line to cursor 188 

overview 397 

style 309 

tables 621 

Editing drilling data 637 

element classes 20 

Element property attributes 

changing 312 

Elements 

cloning properties 


creating 

point at datum of 337 


cutting 

using tree viewer 354 

layer allocation 

default 161 

move 437 

pasting 

using tree viewer 354 

selecting 

by clicking 107 

by dragging 107 

using mouse 107 

style 

changing 312 

transforming using point boundary groups 120, 449 

using to align a grid 154 

elements 

reparent 350 

Elements with user attribute 

selecting 118 

Enable 

error bell 188 

transportation lines 188 

Enable at startup 182 

Enable Transportation lines option 502 

Enclosed 


Ending Groups 349 

Ending line creation 363 

Enter Coords Dialog 339, 364 

Entering text 

text entry field 592 

Error bell 

enable 188 

Error messages 

displaying 26 

error messages while creating balloon texts 604 

ESC-Key 29 

Example 

Drilling Table 1 634 



Fit Tables 630 

Scale View 286 

Test Dimension 535 

examples for boolean operations 679 

Exit Tool (popup line edit) 399 

Explode dimensions 570 

export as DXF 53 

export sheets 65 

Extend by factor 400 

Extend Line 401 

Extend line to probed segment 401 

Extend to Segment 216 

Extent of construction lines 189 

Extent,grid 148 

Extruding profiles 

specifying angle 426 

F 

Faces 

creating 427 

Feature Control Frame Datum 559 

File 

Write Protection 56 

File entry separator 622 

file export 65 

file import 64 

File Manager 

File preview 56 

File Manager dialog 55 

File Menu 46 

file name of sheet 82 

Files 

WSD 58 

Fillet lines, tool 411 

Filling areas with patterns or crosshatching 655 

filling areas with symbols 661 

Filter Selection, button in Power Selection Dialog 114 

Find Text 100 

Find text 93 

Finishing line creation 363 

Fit 

specifying in dimensions 534 

Fit a smooth curve through the current line 401 

Fit table properties 628 

Fit Tables, creating 628 

Fits 208 

fits.xml 631 

fittab_import_fit2xml 631 

fixed 668 

Fixed, Refsys option 201 




Flag Selected 105 

Flip 399 

Font for text elements 587 

Format of plotter 68 

Format of printer 71 

Free Feature Control Frame 560 

Free probe specifier 325 

Free style 310 

freezing the active scale 283 

Full grid 143 

Full Sheet 124 

full view 269 

Functions 

lines 388 

of points 


G 

gap 588 

Gap point function 389 

Gaps 


gaps in dimension leader lines 570 

Gaps Under Text in Crosshatching 674 

Generic buttons 301 

Geometry 

closed 367 

measure 2D properties 278 

of line 361 

geometry 

zoom into 130, 269, 272 

Getting Information on the Tools in a Tool Tray 298 

Getting Information on Using the Active Tool 298 

Gradians 84 

Grid 

extent 148 

representation 147 

grid 

Full, Border, Small 143 

Points or Lines 143 

Grid lines 142 

Grid probe specifier 326 

Grid Properties dialog 145 

Grids 

active and deactivate 151 

aligning with elements 154 

changing line spacing 147 

choosing 149 

creating 144 

creating points on 326 

delete 155 

displaying 152 

hiding lines 152 

maximum number of 144 

origin 146 

align with element 154 

setting by probing 154 

overview 142 

partial 152 

points 142 

properties 

setting 144 

reset origin 154 

showing lines 152 

showing lines at intervals 152 

Grids Menu 142 

group 

create 348, 349, 353 

select at sheet level 106, 268 

Group boundaries 

creating 447 

defining 119 

freehand 119 

Group dashboard 300 

Group lines 

deleting 448 

tools for drawing 119 

using to transform elements 120, 449 

Group types 

point group 120, 448 

Groups 344 

changing names 352 

creating 352 

creating boundary lines 447 

drawing boundary lines 119 

nesting 352 

Properties 352 


groups 

definition 344 

ending 349 

members 345 

nested 349 

owners 345 

H 

Half a symmetrical dimension tool 552 

Halve segment length 400 

Height of text 

legible 183 

Help 

by buttons in dialogs 296 

by message line 298 

context sensitive 297 

Help menu 295 

Hidden line style 421 

Hidden lines 



show when 2D modeling 422 

hidden lines 

masking 675 

Hide Console 260 

hide construction lines 499 

hide reference 690 

Hiding grid lines 152 

Hierarchy Navigation 289 

Hit radius 321 


querying 196, 322 

hit radius 

set up 196 

Hitable 167 

HLR Type 676 




hold down a mouse button 27 

Hole end view tool 429 

Holes 

creating 

sectioned 433 

Horizontal dimensioning 528 

Horizontal View menu option 427 

I 

Icon Selector dialog 733 

image 

save sheet as 54 

Imperial units 


import DXF file 55 

import sheets 64 

import STHENO sheet 55 

Incremental angle 214 

incremental offsets 496 

Instancing 249 

Intersection 678 

Intersection probe specifier 327 

Interval 148 

Introduction 17 

Inv line function 388 

Invisible 166 

ISO dimensioning standard 521 

isometric default angles 556 

Item Number 602 

J 

JIS dimensioning standard 521 

Join Lines 403 

Join tangent point arcs, too 453 

JoinLine Properties,Dialog 453 

Justification 585 

justification 

table 615 

set to top left 617 

justify text in tables 619 

K 

keyboard 29 

L 

Last probe specifier 335 

launching URL 597 

Layer 

customize 168, 170 

layer 

properties, button 165 

Layer attributes 

customize 164 

Layer Change 174 

Layer datum dialog 173 

layer identification by numbers 159 

Layer list 113 

Layer Manager 160 

List Buttons 166 

Settings for list 189 

Layer Naming Convention 81, 356 

Layer Properties 162 

Layer Set Management 165 

Layer Sets 162, 165 

Layer sets 

adding 170 

adding layers 170 

changing name 170 

deleting 171 

remove layers 171 

Layers 157 

adding to layer sets 170 

allocation 

default 161 

attributes 159 

delete name 168 


numbering 

datum 173 

numbers 159 

overview 158 

plotting 68 

printing 71 

remove from layer sets 171 

rename 169 

sets 158 

stippling 668 

Layers Menu 160 

leader line 558 

legible 668 

Legible Height menu option 183 

Legible, Refsys option 201 

Level 122 

Level Navigation 289 

libraries of symbols 456 

Licenses 261 

Limit 

specifying in dimensions 534 

Lin line function 388 

Line creation 

ending 363 

Line dashboard 300 

Line direction 362 

order of points in line 361 

reversing 417 

Line functions 

flipping an arc 399 

Line Navigation tool 416 

Line Navigation toolbar 288 

Line Point Properties (popup menu) 399 

Line Point Properties dialog 387 

line styles 381 

line types 382 

Linear Dimension Properties dialog 

Style and Format tab 531 

Text and Arrows tab 535 

Linear dimensions 527 

Linear units 83 

Lines 

construction 484 




creating 

construction 486 

perpendicular segment 330 

creating points 

at intersection 327 

at middle of segment 332 

crosshatching boundaries 657 

current point 361 

direction 

effect on arrowhead point functions 390 

editing 

overview 397 

editing tools 396 

finishing 363 

first point 363 

flipping the arc function 399 

function 388 

geometry 361 

measure 278 

measuring 274 

measuring segments 275 

navigating 288, 416 

properties 

of points 387 


for editing 397 

starting another line 363 

temporary 

defining areas to fill 657 

deleting 657 

lines 

change properties 384 

change properties with dashboard 384 

clear 454 

connect 453 

construction 

projected 504 

hidden 

masking 675 

style variants 381 

types 382 

Load a new reference tool 686 

Load a new reference, tool 687 

load DXF file 55 

Load image backdrop, Switches Control Panel 188 

Load named diagram symbol 480 

Load Named Symbol 470 

Load reference tool 686 

Load reference, tool 690 

Load Symbol Temporary Properties, dialog 462 

Load tables 620 

Load temporary diagram symbol, tools 478 

Load temporary symbol 460 


Loading 

a WSD File 60 

DXF symbols 472 

sheet in a WSD File 61 

symbols 

named 471 

temporary 459 

Locked properties 313 

Log file 

print jobs 206 

login command 23 

lowercase 586 

M 

Magnify 444 

Magnifying symbols 464 

main features 19 

Main window 

features of 26 

Manage the properties associated with working sets 63 

manipulate boundary groups 120 

Mapkey 258 

Margins around sheets 

printing 79 

Masking a Selection 676 

Masking Hidden Lines 675 

Maximum 

sheet size 84 

Maximum chord angle 199 

Measure dialog 274 

Measure toolbar 273 

Measuring 

2D properties of geometry 278 

angles 277 

Distance Between the Current Point and the Last 

Point 276 

Distance Between Two Points 276 

line segments 275 

lines 274, 278 

precision 275 

Measuring properties 275 

MED_CLIPBOARDCOPY 189 

MEDParts 261 

Members of groups 345 

menu 

layers 160 

Menu Bar 

Select 105 

Menu options 

Arc Factor 198 

Axis of Rotation 428 

Base Angle 371 

Horizontal View 427 

Legible Height 183 

Oblique View 427 

Point Functions 218, 390 

Reverse Offset 494 

Vertical View 427 

View Direction 425 

menu Options 178 

Menus 

popup 30 

pulldown menus 31 

Merge User Styles 316 

Message Area Display Properties 182 

Message line 342 

message line 298 

message window 342 

Messages Types to Display 182 

Mid segment probe specifier 332 

Minimum chord angle 199 




Minute angular unit 84 

Mirror 443 

Mirror Lock 442 

Mirroring symbols 465 

Mirrors the selected elements 441 

Modify filter / Use for selection 115 

Modify the weight of the selected tangent arc 407 

Modifying 

custom tools 733 

elements 

using point boundary groups 120, 449 

lines 397 

tools 733 

working set sheet loading behavior 63 

Mouse 

using to select elements 107 

Mouse buttons 

dragging 27 

Move 439 

move 437 

Move Datum back to original 469 

Move Datum button 468 

Move Datum by Probing 468 

Move Point 398 

Move segments, tool 411 

Move the selected elements 438 

Move the selected points 452 

MovebyGrid, dialog 451 

Moves geometry multiple of a grid offset, tool 451 

Moving 

around the tree viewer 353 

datum point 

symbols 468 

tools to user tool tray 732 

Multi-line text 

creating 598 

Multiple 


elements 

selecting 110 

Multiple Duplicate and Move 439 

Multiple Duplicate and Rotate 440 

multiple selection table 116 

Multiple Selections of Text 593 

Multi-segment Lines 21 

My Favourites 315 

N 

Name 

changing 


named diagram symbol 

load 480 

Named point functions 392 

Named symbols 

loading 471 

into sheet 470 

named symbols 456 

Names 

changing 

for groups 352 

Naming Convention 

Layer 81, 356 

Navigating 

along lines 288, 416 

around the tree viewer 353 

Near point radius 

probe specifiers 197, 323 

Near probe specifier 328 

Nested Group 349 

Nested groups 352 

New Line 398 

New Line menu option 363 

New Table 615 

Next 125 

next window 269 

notes 558 

NTE groups 558 

Null line function 388 

Null point function 389 

Number of segments 147 

Numbers 

layers 159 

O 

Oblique construction lines 487 

Oblique View menu option 427 

Offset from Last probe specifier 336 

Offsets 


absolute offset values 496 

multiple 496 

positive and negative 


Online Documentation 294 

Only join lines on same level in same group 453 

open a sheet 55 

preview 56 

Opening 

additional view windows 134 

operations 

boolean 678 

Optimizing for printing 72 

Options 177 

user 

defining 187, 730 

Origin 

of grid 

reset 154 

of sheet 146 

origin 

reset 143 

set 143 

Origin of grid 146 

Origin rotation 147 

Orthogonal views 

producing 420 

Orthogonalize line within set tolerance 402 

Orthogonalize whole line 402 

Output message area 26 

Over-Dimensions 701 

Overlapping centerlines 372 

Overview 

2D modelling 420 





creating a line 363 


CSV files 614 

editing lines 397 

grids 142 

of layers 158 

selection methods 104 

stippling 656 

symbols 456 

text properties 585 

overview 

tooltrays, toolsets and tools 36 

overview of create line tools 360 

Owners of groups 345 

P 

pan 

dynamic 269 

Pan Zoom 129 

PAP prim 645 

Parallel dimensioning 528 

Parametrics 261 

Partial grid 152 

Partially enclosed 122 

Parts Library 261, 457 

Parts List 624 

Paste 97 

recreate structure 97 

Paste from Tree 290 

Pasting elements using tree viewer 354 

PDS group 691 

Perform boolean operations on geometry 678 

Perform HLR operations on geometry 675 

permanent sheet scale 82 

Permanent sheet units 83 

Perpendicular 



Perpendicular dimensioning 529 

Plot dialog 67 

Plot Queue 69 

Plotter Configuration 205 

Plotter format 68 

Plotter Information dialog 207 

Plotter Properties dialog 207 

Plotting 

backdrop 69 

current view 68 

defined areas 68 

defining appearance of arcs 68 

drawing code 68 

number of copies 68 

rotating area to plot 72 

sheets 67 

specific layers 68 

title information 68 

to specific scale 68 

Visibility Settings of Design Objects 69 

Point boundary groups 

transforming elements 120, 449 

Point functions 218, 389 

arrowhead 390 

changing 390 

gap 389 

named point functions 392 

Null 389 

user-defined 393 

Point functions dialog 219, 391 

Point groups 120, 448 

Point Recognition 509 

Points 

changing 

appearance 218, 389 

coordinates 388 

creating 

at datum points 337 

at line intersections 327 

on arcs 333 

moving 

between points 288, 416 

on current grid 326 

creating 326 

properties of 387 

sequence of 362 

reversing 417 

weight 387 

points 

move selected 452 

Polar 147 

Popup Crosshatch Tool 659 

Popup Menu 

create tables 618 

for Angular Dimensions 541 

For Linear Dimensions 528 

Move 437 

of the Create boxed Text Arrows Tool 599 

While Typing into Table Cell 621 

Popup Menu 1 for Editing Dimensions 563 



Popup Menu for Transform Groups 449 

Popup Menu Load temporary symbol 459 

Popup Menu While Placing Prims 647 

Popup menus 

Edit line 398 

in drawing area 30 

Popup Stippling Tool 660 

porthole 

creating a new reference 687 

reference tools 686 

porthole element creation 684 

porthole elements 

tools 683 

Power Selection Tool 112 

Draw selection only 113 

multiple selection table 116 

save filter in custom selector button 117 

selection modes 114 

precision of measuring 275 

Prefix for dimensions 533 

preview a file 56 

Previewing symbol files 471 

Previous 125 

previous window 269 




Prim dashboard 300 

Prim libraries 

Prims dialog box 646 

Prim Properties dialog 650 

Prim types 645 

Prims 643 

adding to sheet 

named prims 646 

standard prims 645 

choosing from a prim library 646 

dashboard 646, 649 


default 646 

definition 644 

deleting 648 

how prims are displayed 653 


storage 653 

tools 645 

transforming 648 

undoing 645 

updating on sheets 653 

prims 

change properties 651 


Prims dialog 646 

Print 

advanced options 78 

Print Configuration dialog 205 

Print dialog 70 

Printer format 71 

Printer properties 207 

Printers 

adding 206 

configuration file 208 

deleting 205 

log files 206 

Printing 

area options 74 

automatically rotating plot area to fit page 72 

autoscaling plot area to fit page 72 

backdrop 72 

boundary brackets 78 

current view 71 

defined areas 71 

defining appearance of arcs 72 

defining scrubbing area 79 

defining text format 79 

Directory 73 

drawing code 71 

Layer selection 76 

Layer settings 75 

Layers to print 76 

nothing is printing 72 

number of copies 71 

optimization 72 

optional user text 79 

defining 80 

select layers 76 

sheared text 79 

sheet margins 79 

sheets 70 

specific layers 71 

text 

defining proportional spacing 79 

title information 71 

to file 80 

to specific scale 72 

printing 

edit description file 208 

Printing documentation from Portable Document Format 

(PDF) files 16 

Probe specifiers 319 

auto 324 

center 331 

choosing 41 

datum 337 

free 325 

grid 326 

hit radius 321 

intersection 327 

last 335 

mid segment 332 

near 328 

offset from last 336 

perpendicular 330 

probe radii 196, 322 

segment 329 

selecting 321 

setting the default 321 

tangent 333 

ProDetail 

unlock imported elements 93 

Profile extrusion tool 426 

Profile Extrusion View Direction dialog 425 

Profiles 

restoring when 2D modeling 434 

sweeping 424 

Project the construction lines from a section line 506 

projected construction lines 504 

Projecting Construction Lines Through a Profile 504 

Projecting Construction Lines Through a Section 505 

Projection construction lines from profiles 504 

Projects a construction line from a rotated section line 506 

Properties 

2D Features 375 

angular dimensions 542 

attributes 

changing 312 

balloon text 605 

changing 312 


stippling 666, 669 



dashboard 302 

displaying 


grids 144 

groups 352 

linear dimensions 531 

lines 

changing 384 

changing with the dashboard 384 

modifying 





printer 207 

scale views 281 

sheets 

querying and changing 356 


style 309 

symbols 462 

text 585 

text height 588 

text rotation 588 

unlocked 313 

unused 313 

views 135 

properties 

cloning 305 

layer, button 165 

Properties button 

dashboard 302 

Properties for Masking hidden lines 675 

Properties of points 387 

properties of tables 622 

Proportional spacing for printing text 79 

Protected Modify 167 

Protractor 214 

Pulldown menus 31 

Q 

Query 

Angle, Distance 216 

line segment length 275 

Query and edit user attributes 357 

Query or change the properties of the current sheet 356 

Query User Attribute,tool 220 

Querying 

2D properties of geometry 278 

angles 277 

hit radius 196, 322 

lines 278 

sheet properties 356 

Quick Selection Tools for Dimensions 562 

quit 89 

R 

Radial Dimension 193 

Radial Dimension Properties dialog 548 

Radial increment 147 

Radians 84 

Raster 

plotting 69 

Raster Backdrop 261 

RCS 632 

RDS group 693 

Reads all balloon texts to a table, tool 624 

Record Trail File 246 

Recreate structure 97 

Redo 95, 399 

redraw 269 

reference 

create new 687 

hide 690 

load 690 

Reference clump 691 

reference coordinate system 632 

Reference dimensions 701 

Reference Group dialog 687 

reference tools 686 

Referenced text 201 

Refresh Graphics 269 

Refresh window view 271 

Refsys options 201 

Refsys tab, Defaults dialog 201 

Relative offsets 


Reload WSD File 61 

remove accelerator key 256, 257 

Remove chamfer, tool 404 

Remove Custom Buttons dialog 735 

Remove fillet, tool 403 

Remove Style from Favourites 316 

Remove the curve fitted through the current line 401 

Removing layers from layer set 171 

Removing sheets from WSD files 60 

renaming a layer 169 

Reparent 350 

Replace Text 101 

Replace text 93 

Replace text properties 589 

Replay Trail File 247 

Representation,Grid 147 

Reset 163 

Reset Origin 143 

reset sheet scale 83 

Resetting grid origin 154 

Restore window view 132, 271 

Restoring profiles from 2D modeling 434 

Restoring window views 131, 270 

Reusing datum point 


Reverse Offset menu option 494 

Reverse Points in line 399 

Reversing line direction 417 

rigid 668 

Rigid, Refsys option 201 

Rotate 440 

Rotate grid 147 

Rotate profile to form a shaft 431 

Rotate Profiles to Form Sectioned Holes 433 

Rotate Profiles to Form Sectioned Shafts 432 

Rotate profiles to form shafts tool 431 

Rotate Segment, tools 404 

Rotates the selected elements 440 

Rotating 

area to plot 72 

symbols 464 

text elements 588 

rows 

add to tables 618 

rubber band display 188 

S 

Save all modified sheets (tool) 267 

Save As Dialog 52 

save as DXF file 53 




Save As Image 54 

Save Filter Dialog 117 

Save filter in custom selector button 117 

Save or Discard Dialog 89 

Save sheet 51 

save tables 619 

Saves the current multi-sheet set 59 

Saving 

changes to the work environment 737 

symbols 

temporary 458 

window views 131, 270 

Scale symbols 467 

Scale text height 190 

Scale View 280 

Scale views 280 

delete 282 


display 282 

example 286 

properties 

changing 281 

working with 283 

Scales 

defining for plotted area 68 

defining for printed area 72 

dynamic 

symbols 467 

turning off and on 283 

freezing 283 

of symbols on sheets 467 

sheet 

default 83 

permanent 82 

temporary 83 

using different 280 

scaling 

dynamic, load symbol popup 460 

dynamic, paste popup 97 

Schematic symbols 467 

Scrubbing area 

defining for plotter 79 

Search Radii 196 

Search text 93 

Second angular unit 84 

Sectioned Shaft Properties dialog 421 

Seed line 663 

Seedpoint 


stippling 658 

Segment probe specifier 329 

segments 

move 411 

Select All Option 114 

Select by Area 

Common 121 

Enclosed 122 

Toggle 121 

select diagram symbol 481 

Select elements by Area dialog 121 

Select Elements by Attribute 118 

Select elements by type, class and layer 291 

Select Flagged 105 

Select Once 109, 291 

select text in tables 618 

Select window 260 

Selected elements 

toggle 110 


zoom into 130, 269, 272 

Selecting 

by clicking 107 

by dragging 107 

crosshatching 106, 268, 671 

dimensions 106, 268 

elements by area 106, 268 

groups 106, 268 

lines 106, 268 

for editing 397 

multiple elements 110 

overview of methods 104 

prims 106, 268 

probe specifiers 321 

sheet elements 106, 268 

sheet level group 106, 268 

stippling 106, 268, 671 

text 106, 268 

tools 268 

tools to select elements 106 

using 

mouse 107 

selecting 

custom tool 117 

elements with user attributes 118 

Selection 103 

by boundary groups 119 

filter 114 

masking hidden lines 676 

menu bar 105 

Power selection tool 112 

selection 

multiple criteria 116 

Selection Criteria Options 112 

Selection rectangle 107 

Selection sets 

adding elements to 118 

elements common to several selections 118 

removing elements from 118 

toggle selected elements 110 

Selection tools 106, 268 

Set of tooltrays 36, 124 

choosing 37 

Set Origin 143 

Set table justification 615 

Set table justification to top left 617 

Sets of layers 158 

Setting background color 209, 736 

setting standard dimensions 522 

Settings for Layer Manager List 189 

Shaft end view tool 429 

Shaft volume of revolution 

axis of rotation 428 

Shafts, solid 

creating 431 

sectioned 432 

shear 444 




Shear grid 147 

Shear of text 588 

Shearing symbols 465 

Shearing text 

defining format when printing 79 

Sheet 

plotting 68 

printing 71 

view full sheet 269 

sheet 

auto save 53 

export 65 

import 64 

save as image 54 

saving 51 

Sheet elements 


Sheet Header Editor dialog 86 

Sheet History Stack 185 

Sheet history stack 88 

Sheet level group 


Sheet origin and grid origin 146 


querying and changing 356 


angular units 84 

linear units 83 

maximum drawing area 84 

sheet filename 82 

sheet units 83 

temporary sheet scale 83 

sheet properties 

query 356 

Sheet scale 

default 82 

effect on symbols 467 

Sheet Size 

standard 47 

Sheet sizes 

changing 84 

Sheet Tabs 26 

Sheet type 49 

Sheet units 

default 191 

Sheet Working Sets dialog 58 

Sheets 

add and remove to WSD file 60 

annotating 49 

border 

create 85 

changing origin 146 

loading behavior in working sets 63 

loading into WSD files 61 

maximum size 84 

navigating structure using tree viewer 353 

plotting 67 

printing 70 

boundary brackets 78 

margins 79 

optional text in title block 80 

scale 

default 83 

permanent 82 

temporary 83 

units 83 

permanent 83 

Sheets Toolbar 267 

Shift-Key 29 

Shortcuts, SMART Drafting 718 

Short-Info 611 

Show All Layers 163 

Show Console 260 

show licenses 261 

Show position of window views 132, 271 

Show Used Layers 163 

Showing 

grid lines 152 

hidden lines when 2D modeling 422 

Size of symbols 467 

Small grid 143 


Arcs 723 

calling up 714 

Changing Line Direction 728 

Construction Points 725 

edit existing geometry 727 

Mouse Pointer 715 

Popup Menu 716 

Properties 714 

shortcuts 718 

Snap Mode Information 720 

SMART Edit 695 

Arcs and circles 708 

calling up 697 

datum 705 

edit Dimension Lines 703 

edit dimension values 700 

Non-orthogonal lines 707 

Orthogonal lines 706 

over-dimensions 701 

selection 696 

Snap Mode Information 720 

sort a column 619 

Spacing 

of grid lines 147 

stippling symbols 668 

Spacing between witness lines of dimensions 537 

Special characters 

entering into text strings 594 

Special Sheets dialog box 

sheet scale 82 

Special Sheets dialogs 48 

Special styles 310 

Split Lines 403 

standard dimensions 521 

standard sheet size 47 

start 23 

start command 23 

Status area 

Message line 298 

overview 342 

Step 

stippling 668 




STHENO sheet import 55 

Stipple Properties dialog 667 

Stippling 

changing symbol 667 

default spacing 668 

defining area to fill 657 

deleting 671 

filling areas 655 

layers 668 

overview 656 

properties 

changing 669 

seedpoint 658 

selecting 106, 268, 671 

Step 668 

symbol datum 

moving 668 

stippling 

fill with symbols 661 


Stippling tools 659 

Store Image in Sheet 188 

Storing prims 653 

Storing window views 131, 270 

Style 

changing 312 

of tables 622 


style 

change of text 590 

change properties for texts 591 

create text 590 

creating new 309 

My Favourites 315 

of lines 381 

Style Creation Dialog for tables 623 

Style list in Power selection dialog 113 

Style Selection dialog 733 

Style Tree 314 

Style Tree Popup Menu 315 

Style Variants 381 

Styles 

default 310 

definitions 313 

free 310 

special 310 

unused properties 313 

using 310 

Sub-grid increment 148 

Subscript 585 

Suffix for dimensions 533 

Superprims 646 

Superscript 585 

Surface Finish Symbol Dialog 578 

Sweep profiles 426 

Sweeping profiles 424 

switch add preview to sheet 252 

Switches 187, 730 

symbol 

load temporary 460 


Symbol Manager 470 

Symbol Manager Dialog 470 

Symbol properties 

reversing 469 

Symbols 455, 473 

changes 

undoing 469 

containing text 

modifying 463 

datum point 

moving 468 

dynamic alignment 466 

effect of sheet scale 467 

in scale views 283 

libraries 456 

loading 

named symbols 471 

magnifying 464 

mirroring 465 

named 456 

loading into sheet 470 

overview 456 

preview files 471 

rotating 464 

scale of 467 

scaling 

dynamic 467 

schematic symbols 467 

shearing 465 

size 467 

stippling 

changing 667 

spacing 668 

temporary 456 

loading 459 


saving 458 

tools 457 

transforming 463 

unscaling 467 

symbols 

fill areas with 661 

Move Datum back to original 469 

welding symbol 572 

Symbols dialog 459 

Symmetrical dimension tool 550 

Synchronise table with balloons on sheet, tool 624 

T 

Tab Layer Properties 162 

Table Creation dialog 615, 617 

Tables 613, 627 

creating data files 614 

Delete Selection 615 

Justify Text 619 


Select Text 618 

tables 

Add and Delete Rows and Columns 618 

create 617 

create parts list 624 

edit 621 

load 620 





Save 619 

sort a column 619 

style creation dialog 623 

Tangent probe specifier 333 

Tangential dynamic construction lines 513 

temporary crosshatching properties 666 

temporary diagram symbol 

load 478 

Temporary lines 

deleting 657 

using to define area to fill 657 

Temporary Scale views 283 

Temporary sheet scale 83 

Temporary Stipple Properties dialog 667 

Temporary symbols 

loading 459 


saving 458 

temporary symbols 456 

Test dimension percentage 535 

Text 592 

always legible 190 

aspect, height and width of characters 588 

Box around Multi-line Text 599 


display as rectangles 190 

display as text 190 

display at all orientations 190 

displaying with shear 190 

editing 592 

entering special characters 594 

entry field 592 

font 587 

for dimensions 535 

for printed title block 80 

format 

angular dimensions 543 

defining for printed sheet 79 

gap, distance between characters 588 

height 588 

legible height 183 

modifying symbols containing text 463 

multi-line 598 

position on dimensions 536 

replace 93, 101 

rotating 588 

search, find 93, 100 


shear 

activating 190 

defining for printing 79 

shear value 588 

Translator 608 

UNICODE 609 

width of text string 588 

X and Y position 587 

text 

arrows at -box 599 

change style 590 

create with style 590 

creating 584 

creation, popup menu 583 

dashboard 585 

multiple selection 593 

properties 

change style 591 

properties dialog 586, 595, 596 

replace properties 589 

tools 582 

Text dashboard 300 

text field of a drawing 

editing 86 

text format for dimensions 538 

Text properties 

overview 585 

Text Properties dialog 586, 595, 596 

Title block 

printing user text 79 

Toggle 


Toggle button 118 

toggle selection 110 

Toggle visibility of output message area 342 

Tolerances 

dimensions 532, 534 

format for dimensions 533 

Tool 

Creates construction circle tangential to a line in three 

steps 489 

Creates construction circle tangential to a line in two 

steps 489 

Creates construction circle tangential to two lines 489 

Creates construction lines tangential at two circles 491 

Creates construction lines through tangent points of two 

circles 490 

Moves geometry multiple of a grid offset 451 

Query User Attribute 220 

tool 36 

Compare selected reference 686, 691 

Convert reference 686 

Delete Short-Info 612 

Load a new reference 686 

Load reference 686 

Reads all balloon texts to a table 624 

Short-Info of sheet content 611 


smash 2D Feature 374 

Synchronise table with balloons on sheet 624 

Tool sets 39 

choosing from 39 

Tool tips 37 

Toolbar 

selection tools 106 

toolbar 34 

adjust contents 265 

adjust items 126 

line navigation 288 

measure 273 

overview 264 

selection tools 268 

sheets 267 

tree navigation 289 

tree table 290 

utilities 268 

view 269 

Tools 




2D modelling 420 

boundary group manipulation 120, 449 

choosing 40 

clear lines 454 

connect lines 453 


create named prim 646 


customizing 731 

delete all construction lines 498 

deleting custom tools 735 


edge projection 427 

hole end view 429 

line edit 396 

Line Navigation 288, 416 

Load a new reference 687 

modify 733 

move selected points 452 

profile extrusion 426 

projected construction lines 504 

rotate profiles to form shafts 431 

selection 106, 268 

shaft end view 429 

standard prims 645 

stippling 659 

symbols 457 

transformation 436 

tree navigation 353 

tree viewer 354 

tools 

create polygons 373 

creating closed geometry 367 

text 582 

Tools for Creating Porthole Elements 683 

Tools for References 686 

toolset 36 

tooltray 36 

Tooltray buttons 39 

Tooltrays 

choosing 39 

tools 40 

Trail file 

compare 248 

record 246 

replay 247 

transform boundary groups 449 

transform elements 435 

transformation 

array 444 

magnify 444 

mirror 443 

move 439 

rotate 440 

shear 444 

Transformation tools 436 

Transforming 

prims 648 

symbols 463 

Transforming Selected Elements 437 

Translator 608 

Transportation lines 

Enable 188 

Transported construction lines 501 

deflection angles 503 

Tree Navigation Toolbar 289 

Tree navigation toolbar 353 

Tree Table Toolbar 290 

Tree Viewer 

dock/undock 347 

Tree viewer 

cutting elements 354 

displaying 346 

navigating around 353 

pasting elements 354 

Tree viewer toolbar 354 

TRI prim 645 

Trims/extends end segments of lines, tool 411 

tsh 55 

Types 


of sheet 49 

U 

Undo 94, 399 

Undock the Tree Viewer 347 

Undoing changes to symbols 469 

Undraw Selection 139 

Unhitable 167 

UNICODE Text 609 

Union 678 

Units 

angular 84 

default 191 

linear 83 

permanent 83 

sheets 83 

Units dimensioning 533 

Unlock ProDetail elements 93 

Unlocked properties 313 

Un-number, Re-number 225 

Unprotected 167 

Unscale button 467 

Untransforming symbols 469 

Update Standard 194 

Updating individual tables 638 

uppercase 586 

URL 

delete 597 

launch 597 

possible entries 596 

Url 

add to text 595 

Usage of Dynamic Construction Lines 515 

Use filter to control sheet selection 115 

Use row height 622 

Use Style 315 

User 

background color 209, 736 

user attributes 

query 357 

User Attributes,dialog 220 

User interface 

features of 26 

User options 187, 730 




User tools 

creating 732 

User tooltray 

deleting tools 735 

User-adjustable parameters 639 

User-defined point functions 393 

using a dialog 32 

Using styles 310 

Utilities 

Number 225 

Utilities Menu 212 

Utilities Toolbar 268 

V 

variants of styles 381 

Vertical dimensioning 528 

Vertical View menu item 427 

View 123 

view 

next 125 

previous 125 

View Direction dialog 425 

View Direction menu item 425 

View Frames dialog 136 

View menu 

adjust toolbar 34 

View or change the layer properties 165 

View Properties 135 

View the full area of the sheet 269 

View Toolbar 269 

View windows 

copy and paste between windows 137 

viewing direction 

using to create perpendicular edges 427 

Views 

current 

plotting 68 

printing 71 

orthogonal 

producing 420 

saving window views 131, 270 

scale 

using different scales 280 

showing window view positions 132, 271 

store and restore window views 131, 270 

Visible 166 

W 

Weight 

control point defining shape of arc 387 

of points 387 

welding symbols 572 

weldsym.xml 576 

What are Groups? 344 

wheel mouse 27 

Width of text string 588 

wildcards 43 

Window 124 

Window views 

confining construction lines 500 

delete 132, 270 

refresh 271 

restore 132, 271 

saving 131, 270 

show position 132, 271 

window views 

store and restore 131, 270 

Windows 260 

copy and paste between different view windows 137 

displaying borders 136 

opening new 134 

view windows 134 

Windows dialog 131, 270 

Work Environment 

save changes 737 

work environment 26 

Working set 

active 62 

Working set definition files 58 

Working Set Properties dialog 63 

Working sets 58 

modifying sheet loading behavior 63 

Write Protection Display 56 

WSD files 58 

add and remove sheets 60 

close sheets 62 

copying 60 

creating 59 

deleting 60 

loading 60 

loading sheets 61 

reload 61 

X 

X spacing 147 

X-Line Setup 509 

Y 

Y spacing 147 

Z 

Zoom 128 

into selection 130, 272 

zoom 

dynamic 129, 269 

zoom in 124, 269 

Zoom on selected geometry 130, 269, 272 

Zoom out 269 

Zoom to scale 125

G UIDE - CAD Schroer

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