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READ.ME1
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PC-Draft-CAD version 3.06
Full featured Computer Aided Drafting
Copyright 1991
Natural Software
19 South Fifth Street
St. Charles, IL 60174
(708) 377-7320
Compuserve ID: 70047,744
PC-Draft-CAD release 3.06 is distributed as
three self-extracting LHARC files. The list
below shows the file names in each EXE file.
If you find missing files please contact us at the above address/phone.
To install PC-Draft-CAD:
- if you received this shareware version on diskette, there should be
three EXE files: PCDCAD1.EXE PCDCAD2 and PCDCAD3.EXE:
To install on your hard disk (C:)
1 - Place this disk in drive A:
2 - Enter: [C:] to make it your current drive.
3 - Enter: [A:INSTALL].
To install on a two floppy system, you must have
THREE formatted (empty) disks
1 - Place this disk in drive A:
2 - Place a blank disk in drive B:
3 - Enter: [B:] to make B: your current drive.
4 - Enter: [A:PCDCAD1].
5 - After all files have been extracted from PCDCAD1,
6 - Place a new blank disk in drive B:
7 - repeast steps 4, 5 and 6 for PCDCAD2 and PCDCAD3.
- if you received this from a BBS you obviously have already extracted
the files (or you wouldn't be reading this!). To select the correct
display driver and to set up your sub-directories, run: BBSINST.BAT.
Contents of the three self-extracting EXE files:
--------PCDCAD1-----------------------
! 732 4-13-90 19:37 - LHARC banner
read.me1 - you're reading it
bbsinst.bat 4434 4-13-90 20:18 - run this if you got this from a BBS
order.frm 2154 4-14-90 19:25 - fill this in to register
products.lst 6718 4-14-90 19:33 - info on more Natural Software
draft3.exe 152771 6-01-91 15:41 - the main PC-Draft-CAD program
draft3.cfg 367 3-01-91 11:30 - configuration file
draft3.hlp 35030 2-18-91 10:49 - help file
cgadrv.com 2984 3-05-90 12:50 - driver for CGA (delete if not used)
vgadrv.com 3011 3-10-90 11:56 - driver for VGA/EGA (del if not used)
svgadrv.com 2930 3-06-90 9:30 - driver for Super VGA (del if not used)
hgcdrv.exe 48091 5-02-90 17:48 - driver for Hercules (del if not used)
vgastart.bat 30 3-04-90 11:44 - starts PC-Draft-CAD on VGA/EGA
cgastart.bat 30 3-04-90 11:44 - starts PC-Draft-CAD on CGA
hgcstart.bat 11 4-12-90 11:23 - starts PC-Draft-CAD on Hercules
vidtest.com 123 4-12-90 10:46 - tests vidio - used by install.bat
--------PCDCAD2-----------------------
! 604 4-13-90 19:45 - LHARC banner
read.me2 388 4-13-90 21:02 - info on distribution files
dot--drv.exe 50387 5-21-91 13:01 - driver for dot-matrix printers
hpgl-drv.exe 47731 5-21-91 13:01 - driver for HPGL plotters
hplj-drv.exe 45715 5-21-91 13:01 - driver for LaserJet/DeskJet printers
wpg--drv.exe 42916 3-25-91 16:52 - "print" drawing in WordPerfect format
epson060.cfg 416 3-19-89 22:10 - configuration files for Epson
epson072.cfg 350 5-18-89 21:10 compatible printers: each for a
epson090.cfg 379 3-19-89 8:31 different horiz. resolution.
epson120.cfg 395 5-18-89 21:10 (copy one of these to: PRINTER.CFG)
epson240.cfg 390 5-18-89 21:14 for use by DOT--DRV.EXE
ibmdm060.cfg 434 3-19-89 22:36 - configuration files for IBM dot matrix
ibmdm120.cfg 421 5-18-89 21:14 compatible printers.
ibmdm240.cfg 416 5-18-89 21:14
dot24180.cfg 437 10-29-90 11:12 - configuration files 24 pin dot matrix
dot24240.cfg 435 10-29-90 10:38 (Epson LQ-2500 command set)
hpgl-a.cfg 208 3-13-91 1:49 - config files for HPGL plotters
hpgl-b.cfg 212 3-13-91 1:49 the letter indicates the paper size
hpgl-d.cfg 207 3-13-91 1:49
hpsf-a.cfg 249 3-13-91 1:49 - same for small format (A & B size)
hpsf-b.cfg 248 3-13-91 1:49 plotters.
--------PCDCAD3-----------------------
! 668 4-13-90 19:51 - LHARC banner
read.me3 390 4-13-90 21:03 - info on distribution files
draft3.doc 152074 4-13-90 12:45 - Manual. enter: COPY DRAFT3.DOC PRN
dline.dwg 891 3-19-90 21:46 - Sample drawing: Double line command
fndation.dwg 9633 3-17-90 10:16 - Sample drawing: Patterns
house.dwg 6426 3-17-90 10:15 - Sample drawing: Layers
pattern1.lib 4976 10-28-89 23:51 - Object Library: Patterns
archplan.lib 1361 1-09-89 16:17 - Object Library: Architectural
duplex.fon 4314 3-02-90 11:36 - Font: double line
sans.fon 5394 3-17-90 11:20 - Font: sans serif
script.fon 6420 3-19-90 9:10 - Font: fancy script
simplex.fon 2662 2-25-90 9:14 - Font: single line
triplex.fon 8384 2-25-90 9:55 - Font: triple line
arcs.mac 199 3-04-90 13:01 - Sample macro file
------- Files not included (for registered users only) -------
DXF2PCD.EXE - Converts Autocad DXF files to Draft3 drawings
WPGCONV.EXE - Converts WordPerfect Graphic files into Draft3 Drawings
GEM--DRV.EXE - to dump as GEM Draw file
PRTDATA.EXE - Prints Drawing database reports on printer.
WINDOWS.LIB - Library of window elevations
DOORS.LIB - Library of door elevations
PATTERNS.DWG - Source for Pattern1.lib for user modification
TUTOR?.MAC - macros for 7 Lessons in the tutorial manual
Latest Updates:
Set Extents
You can now more easily change the "Drawing Extents". The drawing extents are
coordinates used by the Zoom All command to set the new viewport -- they are
normally set to the farthest point you have drawn on the overall drawing area.
Press [Alt+D] to change the extents. You then draw a box to indicate the
minimum and maximum coordinates.
Area Calculation
Press [Alt+X] to turn on area calculation. A blank box appears below the
control panel. Move the cursor to one corner of the area, press [Enter], move
to the opposite corner, press [Enter]. The area is shown in the box below
the control panel. Repeat this process. Each sub-total is added to the total.
Press [Esc] to end area calculation.
Orthographic drawing
When you want to draw lines that are exactly horizontal or exactly vertical
you can now press the [Shift] key while moving the mouse. When either [Shift]
key is pressed the mouse cursor snaps back to the closest right angle to the
starting point. You can also simply use the arrow cursor keys on the keyboard
to move straight vertically or horizontally.
Note that the [Shift] key should not be pressed when using the arrow keys
because this cause the keys on the numeric keypad to represent numbers instead
of cursor movements. Using the [Shift] key for orthographic movement is for
use with the mouse only.
US Decimal Units
New with version 3.05, when decimal units is selected (on the Options/Units
menu), the offset indicator on the control panel is shown in decimal INCHES
not decimal FEET as before. This makes it easier for electrical engineering
drawings such as circuir boards that are drawn full size.
Also dimensions are now expressed in decimal inches
(if the units is US-Decimal).
24 pin dot matrix printers:
The dot matrix printer driver (DOT--DRV.EXE) has been updated. It now supports
24 pin modes for most 24 pin printers. To use 24 pin mode you must copy one of
the two supplied configuration files to: PRINTER.CFG. The two new .CFG files
are: DOT24180.CFG (which uses 180 dots per inch resolution) and DOT24240
(240 dots / inch resolution). These files use the Epson LQ-2500 bit image mode
selection commands -- the "Esc * 40 shown in the 140 dpi file below:
---------------------------------------------------
8 - page width -- For 24 pin mode 40: 360 dpi
10.5 - page height
360 - horiz dots per inch
180 - vert dots per inch
24 - # of raster passes
24 - # of scan lines per printer pass (print head wires)
2880 - # of bytes = 0b40 hex; bytes = 11, 64 dec...
27 51 24 255 - line feed string (ESC "3" 24) = 24/180 inch
13 10 27 42 40 64 11 255 - graphics line setup string (cr lf Esc * 40 64 11)
----------------------------------------------------
Many other brands of printers use the same command set.
If your 24 pin printer uses another command set, you may be able to modify the
.CFG file to work with it.
The parameter in the .CFG file for # of raster passes is no longer used. The
printer driver calculates this. However the field is left in for backward
compatibility.
Zenith EGA display incompatibility:
For PC-Draft-CAD to work properly with the Zenith EGA display adapter
(model Z-449), dip-switch number five (5) must be set to "OFF". this is
called "Auto-Emulation Mode" in their manual. If switch 5 is "ON", the display
drivers (VGADRV.COM and CGADRV.COM) will hang the system when run.
Dip-switch 5 on the Zenity EGA board is the second switch from the top.
Moving the switch to the left is "OFF".
Hercules display type:
If you have a Hercules display, the install process will detect it and
create the proper start.bat file for your use. The Hercules driver is
different than the other display drivers in that it executes DRAFT3.EXE
directly and is not a TSR (Terminate and Stay Resident) program. So, running:
HGCDRV directly works just as good as running START.
Menu Choices:
If you have a mouse, moving the cursor to the top menu bar changes the mouse
cursor to a pointing hand for menu selections. If you do not have a mouse,
the cursor disappears when you move into the menu bar, but you can still make
menu choices in this way.
However, it does not make sense to choose drawing commands in this manner,
because the begining cursor position which selects the starting point of
a drawing element such as a line will be in the wrong place (at the top of
the screen). For drawing commands use the mouse left button or the F2
function key instead (after positioning the cursor at the proper starting
location).
New [Q]uick move command:
You can now precisely position the cursor in relationship to your base point
by using the [Q]uick move command. When you press the [Q] key a dialog window
opens allowing you to enter the distance in feet and inches for both the Y
offset and the X offset from your base point. After entering a value, first
for the X offset, press ESC to continue and enter a value for the Y offset,
then press ESC to exit the window. At that point (if the new location is
within the current view) the cursor will be moved to the specified offset.
For example to draw a line that is precisely 10 feet, 6 inches and 3/16 inch
long:
1. move the cursor to where you want the line to start.
2. press [Alt+B] to set your base point to zero at the current cursor
location.
3. press [L] to start the line command.
4. press [Q] to open the [Q]uick move window.
5. enter "10" for feet, press [Enter], enter "6" for inches, press
[Enter], enter "3" for the 16th. field.
6. press [ESC] to exit the X offset window. and [ESC] again to exit
the Y offset window (so the line is horizontal -- Y offset = 0).
7. press [Enter] to end the line command.
In the case where the specified end point falls outside the current view,
the current drawing command will be completed (you dont have to press [Enter]).
This command allows you to draw elements with precise endpoints even though
those points would fall between screen pixels. Otherwise you would have to
Zoom in closer to position the cursor to the exact dimension.
[N]ew Layer/Object
Press [Alt+N] to start a new layer and name the first new object on that layer.
You used to have to do this by opening the database window.
s[E]t Scale
This new option on the Options menu lets you set the drawing scale. You used to
have to open the databse window to set the drawing scale. And, since the database
window would not open unless you have at least one element, this was inconvenent.
Now you can set the scale before drawing anything.
New [Z]ip to base command:
This new command moves the cursor to the base position:
[Alt+Z] (for: "[Z]ip to base") moves the cursor to the base position. The
base position is set by [Alt+B].
New Group command:
A new command: [G]roup, has been added to the Objects menu. This new function
lets you create a new object from existing elements displayed on the screen.
To use the [G]roup command, follow these steps:
1 - position the cursor to the upper left corner of the area containing
elements you want to add to the new object.
2 - press [F3][G] to select the [G]roup command from the objects menu.
3 - move the cursor to surround the elements with a rubber band box.
4 - press [Enter] once the box surrounds the elements you want.
5 - enter the name for the new object in the pop up window.
6 - the new object will be redrawn in place -- use the Object Move command
to display it in a new location.
This is very useful when creating new object libraries from existing drawings.
A hint: make a new layer in the existing drawing and add the new object that
will go into the new object library on the new layer. Then when you are ready,
(and have made backup copies of the original and new drawing), delete all the
other layers, leaving only the new, object library layer. Then save the objects
to your new object library file with the command: [F4][O][S].
New Printer Options:
Plotter Line Width
The plotter driver HPGL-DRV.EXE has been changed. Now line widths are plotted
to the exact width specified by generating multiple passes of the plotter pen.
In previous versions, an element's line width was interpreted as a plotter
pen selection.
HPGL plotter units are expressed as 1200 units per inch.
To compose a thick line on the plotter, the pen thickness must be accounted for.
PC-Draft-CAD determines the number of passes to make with the plotter pen
to create the specified line width by dividing this 1200 units by 6. I other
words it assumes a pen width of 2 mils. If your plotter uses a thicker pen
width, you must take this into account and adjust your line thickness so that
the half-width overlap along each edge of thick lines is within the tolerance
you need.
New Printer Options:
Plotter Line Width
The plotter driver HPGL-DRV.EXE has been changed. Now line widths are plotted
to the exact width specified by generating multiple passes of the plotter pen.
In previous versions, an element's line width was interpreted as a plotter
pen selection.
HPGL plotter units are expressed as 1200 units per inch.
To compose a thick line on the plotter, the pen thickness must be accounted for.
PC-Draft-CAD determines the number of passes to make with the plotter pen
to create the specified line width by dividing this 1200 units by 6. I other
words it assumes a pen width of 2 mils. If your plotter uses a thicker pen
width, you must take this into account and adjust your line thickness so that
the half-width overlap along each edge of thick lines is within the tolerance
you need.
HPGL CFG File:
Another major change to the HPGL-DRV.EXE driver: It now uses a configuration
file. The filename can be set from the printer Options menu, or if it is left
blank, it will look for the file: HPGL.CFG. This CFG file is an ASCII text file
with five lines. Each line has a value. The first four values specify the paper
size in plotter units. For example, the file: HPGL-AD.CFG contains:
-17208 Min. X for Architectural D size paper (24 x 36)
17208 Max. X vertical load (Landscape)
-11592 Min. Y
11592 Max. Y
0.3 Pen-tip width in millimetres - can range from 0.1 - 5.0mm
This is for Architectural D size paper and has the minimum and maximum X and Y
values appropriate for a HP DXL plotter. All text to the right of the value is
optional commentary. Note that these sizes are for "vertically" mounted paper,
ie: the short side of the paper is inserted into the plotter.
The fifth value sets the pen width.
We have supplied several HPGL CFG files for various paper sizes. The file names
indicate what paper size they specify. For example:
-- These are for HP DraftPro large format plotters:
HPGL-A.CFG is for A size (8.5 x 11 inch) paper
HPGL-AB.CFG is for Architectural B size (11 x 17 inch) paper
HPGL-A1.CFG is for metric A1 size (594 x 841 mm) paper
-- These are for HP small large format plotters (such as model 7475A & B):
HPSF-A.CFG is for A size (8.5 x 11 inch) paper
HPSF-B.CFG is for B size (11 x 17 inch) paper
(not all cfg files are included with the shareware distribution)
Note that the small format plotters have the origin (0,0 point) in the upper
left corner of the sheet, whild the large format plotters have the origin at
the center of the paper.
If you use a paper size that doesn't match one of the supplied CFG files, you
can make chages to the file with any ASCII editor or word processor. You must
refer to your plotter manual for the correct settings for the paper size.
Plotter Line Width
The plotter driver HPGL-DRV.EXE has been changed. Now line widths are plotted
to the exact width specified by generating multiple passes of the plotter pen.
In previous versions, an element's line width was interpreted as a plotter
pen selection.
To compose a thick line on the plotter, the pen thickness must be accounted for.
The pen thickness (tip width) is set by the fifth line in the config file
(see above). PC-Draft-CAD determines the number of passes to make with the
plotter pen to create the specified line width.
If your plotter uses a different pen width, you must change this value in the
CFG file.
Set Page Size:
This option lets you set the paper size you will be printing on. The paper size
affects the new Preview command described below.
New Preview command:
A new menu choice on the Print Options menu (press [F8], then [O] for Options)
lets you judge how much of your drawing will be printed at a given scale and
a given page size.
When you press [P] for Preview, a box will temporarily be drawn on the current
view to indicate the area of your drawing that will be printed. This area is
determined by the current drawing scale and current print scale. It is further
based on an 8 inch by 10 inch paper size. If your current view width or height
is too small you will not see the extents of the preview box. This indicates that
you should zoom "out" to a larger view before printing (unless you intend for the
drawing to be truncated when printed).
Press any key to remove the preview box and return to the print menu.
CAVE Drawings
PC-Draft-CAD now supports the exchange of vector based drawings via online
services such as CompuServe.
CAVE: CAD ASCII Vector Exchange is a file exchange format designed to
permit exchange of vector based (CAD) drawings via messages posted on
CompuServe Information Service (CIS), or other bulletin board services.
CAVE messages will contain a compact description of a CAD drawing that the
user will be able to view and modify.
The CAVE drawing format is designed to achieve the following goals:
- maintain the CAD drawing logical structure of layers, objects, and
elements to facilitate repeated import/export/editing with no loss of
structure.
- the ASCII format must be as compact as possible because of
constraints of CIS message size.
- by maintaining logical objects, a CAVE message may refer to library
objects -- objects that do not appear in the CAVE message, thereby
reducing necessary size of the CAVE message.
Therefore, the CAVE drawing format closely follows the internal structure
of PC-Draft-CAD drawing files.
Using PC-Draft-CAD with CAVE messages
To create a CAVE drawing follow these steps:
1- Load or create the drawing you wish to convert to CAVE format,
2- Press [F4] for the file menu,
3- Select [C]AVE file type,
4- Select the [S]ave operation,
5- Enter the filename (with optional drive and path information). PC-
Draft-CAD uses .CAV as the default CAVE drawing file extension.
6- Press [Enter] to save the drawing in CAVE format.
If the current drawing is large or complex enough to take more than 30
lines in the CAVE message, a pop up warning will give you a chance to abort
the process. Press [Y] to continue if you don't mind creating "continued"
CAVE messages.
To load a CAVE drawing for viewing and/or editing:
1- If you have an existing drawing loaded, clear it by pressing [F9],
2- Press [F4] for the file menu,
3- Select [C]AVE file type,
4- Select the [L]oad operation,
5- Enter the filename (with optional drive and path information). PC-
Draft-CAD uses .CAV as the default CAVE drawing file extension.
6- Press [Enter] to load the CAVE drawing. You may have to [Z]oom and/or
[P]an the view window to display the full drawing.
Using PC-Draft-CAD with your Comm program
The process of viewing, modifying, and creating CAVE messages can take
several different forms. It depends on the way you normally interact with
your online service. The CAVE message format was intended for CompuServe
Information Service (CIS) users. However, there is no reason why it would
not also work on any BBS or other online service.
Most users of services such as CIS which charge by the minute, use an
automated program such as TAPCIS to automatically log on to the various
forums they are interested in, download messages, and quickly log off. They
read and reply to their messages offline, thereby saving connect charges.
If this is the way you do it (download messages, read and respond offline)
then the additional steps to view CAVE messages simply involve editing the
message file to isolate the CAVE portions and importing them into PC-Draft-
CAD.
If you download or capture a single separate CAVE message, no editing is
necessary. The message header and any other extraneous characters not part
of the actual CAVE format will be ignored. The need for editing arises only
if you download a series of messages, containing more than one CAVE format
message. In that case you must edit the file containing the messages to
create a file with just the particular CAVE message you want to view.
If, however, you typically read and respond to messages online, you can
capture the particular CAVE message you want and save it to a separate file
for viewing with PC-Draft-CAD. In this case you may want to run PCD-CAD
directly from within your communication program to view and modify the CAVE
drawing without logging off. This is possible with most communication
programs.
With communication programs such as TAPCIS which do not have a provision
for calling another program directly, you must shell to DOS. The TAPCIS
command to do this is [Ctrl-F2].
Some programs, such as ProComm Plus provide functions to call other
programs directly. In ProComm Plus you can assign a program to a "hotkey".
This makes it very convenient to call PC-Draft-CAD by pressing a single
key.
Expanded Memory Managers:
PC-Draft-CAD's own virtual memory management code automatically uses your
expanded or extended memory. It may not be compatible with other memory
management software. For example, Quarterdeck's QEMM. If you have a problem
running PC-Draft-CAD, try disabling your other memory managers and TSR
(Terminate Stay Resident) programs. Alternatively you may disable
PC-Draft-CAD's memory manager by adding the following environment variable
via DOS's SET command:
SET PCDVM = /NOEMM/NOEXT
PC-Draft-CAD will still be able to create and edit large drawings by paging
to a hard disk swap file.