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------------------------------------------------------- TurboCAD Pro v4.1 Learning Edition READ ME INTRODUCTION (01 Oct 2001) ------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for installing TurboCAD Professional v4.1 Learning Edition. This version of TurboCAD is a fully functional 2D design and drafting product. We are confident that you will be so pleased with TurboCAD's ease-of-use and power that you will want to take advantage of special offers for upgraded versions of the software. We require registration information so that we can contact you with these special offers relating to TurboCAD upgrades. ------------------------------------------------------- DOCUMENTATION ------------------------------------------------------- This version of TurboCAD is shipped with electronic documentation in the form of a PDF file. You will need to have the Adobe Acrobat(t) Reader in order to view the documentation. You can download the reader free of charge from www.adobe.com. The PDF file can be located in the Documentation folder on the CD Rom or on the TurboCAD web site at www.turbocad.com. The Complete Guide to Learning and Using TurboCAD is a highly recommended book! It will help both expert and novice alike come to grips with not only the functionality of TurboCAD, but also the concepts of CAD in general. ------------------------------------------------------- QUICK TOUR ------------------------------------------------------- The TurboCAD Quick Tour is a very informative tour of the most important features of TurboCAD. Quick Tour uses DemoShield as a menu, and Lotus ScreenCam to display demonstrations of the features in TurboCAD. The ScreenCam files are rather large, and by default the Tour runs from the CD-ROM. Make sure to place the CD in the drive before running the Tour. When you run the Quick Tour, without the TurboCAD CD in the drive, you will be prompted for a location. The folder on the CD-ROM is \QuickTour\. If you have problems launching the Quick Tour, use Windows Explorer to navigate to the folder and double click the Player.exe program. The Quick Tour will then ask for the type Operating system (95 or NT). The Tour should then run normally. ------------------------------------------------------- SUPPORT OPTIONS ------------------------------------------------------- Please be sure to visit www.turbocad.com to access the support page which outlines the available support alternatives. Free email support and charge telephone support is can be access from the site. ------------------------------------------------------- TURBOCAD FORUMS AND GALLERY ------------------------------------------------------- Be sure to visit the TurboCAD Forums and Gallery on www.turbocad.com. You will find a very active TurboCAD User Community that regularly share ideas, discussions, views, solutions, and tips and tricks, questions and answers, and even drawings. ------------------------------------------------------- UPGRADE OPTIONS ------------------------------------------------------- Although this version of TurboCAD Professional v4 is a fully functional it several years old. At the time of writing the current version of TurboCAD is version 7. Many improvements have been made to the product including compatibility with the latest software operating systems and other CAD software. Version 7 also includes fully integrated 3D. To upgrade call your local IMSI office or visit www.turbocad.com. ------------------------------------------------------- FEATURES NOT INCLUDED IN THIS VERSION (as opposed to the original retail version) ------------------------------------------------------- TurboCAD 3D (a standalone 16 bit application) is not included. Further the TurboTrace raster-to-vector conversion program (licensed from a third party) is not included. Please ignore any references to these items in the documentation. ------------------------------------------------------- NEW FEATURES NOT INCLUDED IN THE DOCUMENTATION ------------------------------------------------------- 1. Circle/Arc Tangent To Three Points These tools allow the user to draw an arc or circle that is tangential to two or three points. There are three operational modes for its use. Mode 1 - A Circle/Arc can be drawn tangential to any object simply by clicking on the object, moving the circle to the desired point along the object, and pressing ENTER. A fixed radius can also be specified after the object is chosen. Mode 2 - A Circle/Arc can be drawn tangential to any two objects simply by clicking on each of the two objects. As with the single object selection a fixed radius can be specified after the selection of either object. Mode 3- A Circle/Arc can be drawn tangential to any three objects simply by clicking on each of the three objects. In this mode a fixed radius cannot be used. The local menu supplies a Through Point option. This option allows the user to specify whether the Circle/Arc will simply pass through a selected point, or will be tangential to that point. If the option is ON the Circle/Arc will simply pass through the point and will not be tangential. REMEMBER: A Circle/Arc cannot be drawn through just any three points. Selection of the third point will not be allowed if the third point selected does not define a circle. 2. Copy Offset The Copy Offset tool creates an entirely new entity based on the selected entity(s). The new entity is created with two parameters, distance from the selected entity, and direction from the selected entity. The distance can be specified by selecting two points with mouse clicks, or can be entered directly into the edit bar. The direction of the offset entity is defined by clicking on either side of the selected object. For closed objects select either the inside or outside of the object. Copy Offset is accessible through the edit menu: Edit|Copy Entities|Offset NOTE: Copy Offset does not create an exact copy of the selected object. It creates a new entity that is modeled on the selected object 3. Dimension Prefix / Suffix This is a new option added to the Advanced Text Property Page" for Dimensions. It allows prefixes and/or suffixes to be added to dimension text. A maximum length of 15 characters is allowed for the combined prefix and suffix attributes. 4. Dimension Tolerance Limits This is another new option added to the "Advanced Text Property Page" for Dimensions. It allows display of the tolerance attribute as a set of limits rather then a plus/minus value. This means the user can show the actual range of tolerance. 5. Dimension Leader Text-Box This is a new option for the Leader dimension tool that appears in the Advanced Text Property Page for Leader dimensions only. It allows the user to create an attached text-box to any leader. The option allows for Three different styles of text-box. These styles include Circle, Quadrate (square), or Basic. The text- box options can be set to a user-defined size, or set to a "fit-to-text" mode. As before the text for the Leader is assigned in the Attribute Box on the General Property Page, or on the Edit Bar during the creation of the leader. 6. Edit Bar Selection Size Fields Two new fields now appear in the edit bar when an object(s) has been selected. They are the Size X field and the Size Y field. These two fields allow re-sizing of the selected object simply by entering a value. Now a user can resize a selection set to a specific value. 7. New File Filters A new set of import filters has been included with the update. These include the following: AutoCAD Native Format (*.DWG) for AutoCAD [R14]* Drawing eXchange Format (*.DXF) for AutoCAD [R14]* Intergraph Standard File Format (*.DGN)** 3D Studio (*.3DS)** TurboCAD for FastCAD File (*.FCW) * Note: These features are available for the Standard and Professional versions only. ** Note: These features are available for the Professional version only. 8. Block Attributes TurboCAD v4.1 now includes AutoCAD style Block Attributes. A block attribute is informational text associated with a block that you can enter whenever you insert a block reference, or when the block is first created. TurboCAD reads and displays block attributes from AutoCAD drawings (DWG) and DXF files. To create a block attribute definition in TurboCAD, use the Insert pull-down menu and select Block Attribute Definition. There is also a button in the standard toolbar; click and hold the text tool (capital 'A') to see the fly-out menu containing the Block Attribute tool (a picture of a tag). Right-click on the tool and select the Block Attribute Definition tab to set the mode and default information. Define a start point for the block attribute text as you would with normal text. Choose a point on or near the graphics to be included in a block. Right-click to change the alignment, height or angle of the text. Enter a "Tag" name for the block attribute. This name is used to uniquely identify the attribute within the block. Use no spaces in the name if you will be sending the drawing to AutoCAD. We will use the tag "COST" in this example. Don't hit Enter yet. You can enter the prompt and default value in the edit bar, or edit these properties later. For now, use the tab key to enter the prompt "What does it cost?" in the edit bar Prompt field and value of $0.00 in the Default field. Press Enter to finish the definition. You can double-click it and choose the Block Attribute Definition tab to change the Tag, Prompt, default Value and Mode. Blocks can contain more than one block attribute definition, so you might create other tags that ask for the Part Number, Owner, etc. When you are satisfied with the definitions, simply include them in the selection of objects that will make up the new block. When you insert the block, a dialogue will appear that gives the prompt "What does it cost?" and offer $0.00 as the default value. The behavior of the dialogue is dependent on the following optional Modes: Invisible: The text of the block attribute is not displayed in the drawing. You can see the information in the Selection Info palette or edit it by displaying the block's properties. WARNING, When you explode a block containing invisible block attributes the information is lost. Constant: The attribute value is fixed and unchangeable. It is shown to you during block insertion. Exploding the block will turn the block attribute into text that can then be edited. Verify: In AutoCAD, the attribute value is shown for your verification during block insertion if the AutoCAD variable ATTDIA is set to 1. This flag has no effect in TurboCAD. Preset: In AutoCAD, you are not prompted for a value if the AutoCAD variable ATTDIA is set to 0. In TurboCAD, it is set to the default during block insertion and behaves like Constant mode. ------------------------------------------------------- INTERFACE CONFIGURATIONS ------------------------------------------------------- 1. Resolution Specific User Interfaces TurboCAD has the ability to recognize the screen resolution that you are using. (You can change your screen resolution in Windows 95 by right-clicking the Desktop and choosing Properties.) A different (but similar) interface will appear for each resolution. If you change your screen resolution between drawing sessions, TurboCAD will inform you that the most recently used interface does not correspond to the current screen resolution, and ask you if you want to load it. If you answer NO, a new interface will appear that is tailored specifically for the new resolution. You may also load different interfaces manually via Tools|Customize|Setup|Load From. 2. Multi-Level Interfaces TurboCAD ships with several different levels of user interfaces. You can load the different interfaces via Tools|Customize|Setup|Load From. The "Beginner" interface is a scaled down version of the "Standard" (Intermediate) interface. Users who feel that the number of buttons and tools available in the Standard interface overwhelms them should consider using this option. The "Standard" (Intermediate) interface contains all commands. It is the default interface that is used in the documentation and for the different screen resolutions. We recommend that you use this interface. The "Tabbed" (Advanced) interface is a bold attempt to redefine the normal methods that Windows uses for menus and toolbars. Advanced users, who know TurboCAD and Windows commands, might prefer it to the alternative interfaces. The new user who is still trying to get a grip on standard Windows and TurboCAD functions may find it rather overwhelming, as it is so different from conventional methods. ------------------------------------------------------- FONTS ------------------------------------------------------- TurboCAD includes two new TrueType fonts (Letter Gothic and Orator) which are both mono-spaced fonts. These fonts are thin and equally spaced, similar to the more traditional CAD fonts used in other CAD packages. You should consider using these fonts if you intend to import and export drawings from other packages. ------------------------------------------------------- DIMENSIONING ------------------------------------------------------- 1. Trailing Zeros New to TurboCAD v4 is the ability to add trailing zeros to a dimension to illustrate the accuracy by the number of decimal places. Two settings affect the functionality of this new feature: Precision (found in Options|Units and Scale) and Round Off (found in t4he dimension property sheet). These two settings should be set in the following way: If Precision is set to 1, set Round Off to 0.1 If Precision is set to 2, set Round Off to 0.01 If Precision is set to 3, set Round Off to 0.001 etc. If these two settings are not set like this, unexpected results can occur. For example, if Precision is set to 4 and Round Off is only set at 0.01, the third and fourth decimal places will always be zero regardless of the true dimension. 2. Leader Used As Arrow Line The Leader dimension can be used as a line with an arrowhead if the "Force Text Horizontal" option is unchecked in the dimension property sheet. Define the point where you would like the arrow head, move the cursor to the point where you want the line to start, press <Tab> and then delete the text string. Press <Ctrl>+<F> to finish. 3. Blocks Segment or Entity dimensioning methods will not work on blocks. You either have to explode the block before dimensioning or use the manual method for dimensioning using vertex snaps. ------------------------------------------------------- RUBBER STAMP ------------------------------------------------------- The Rubber Stamp command now works with snap modes and relocated reference points. As a result, this command offers a viable alternative to the normal Copy commands. The Rubber Stamp command is available in the local menu for selected objects. Click the right mouse button to review the local menu. ------------------------------------------------------- SDK (SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT KIT) ------------------------------------------------------- Please be sure to check the TurboCAD SDK Web site, accessed from the TurboCAD home page (www.turbocad.com), for the latest news, examples, and updates regarding the Software Development Kit. ------------------------------------------------------- LINE/PEN WIDTHS ------------------------------------------------------- The default pen width of zero will print the thinnest line possible on a given printer. On high-resolution printers this may appear too thin, particularly for dimensions. The default printing width of entities with pen width zero can be adjusted via Options|Display. Setting this default width to zero will have functionality similar to TurboCAD 3.0. ------------------------------------------------------- WMF Export with Windows 2000 ------------------------------------------------------- When working in Windows 2000, WMF export (Save as WMF) does not work. When an attempt is made to write into WMF format, the following messages is displayed in Windows 2000: "Failed to Save...Not Enough Memory" or "Failed to Save...Unknown Error". This is caused by the fact that Microsoft has slightly changed WMF format in Windows 2000.