Version history

Versione 10007 – 23.0.1

PDF conversion

This new function is different from simple PDF import, as it imports the vector elements of the PDF, converting them into DigiCad 3d elements (lines, polygons, circles, arcs, text, etc.).

Imported items are placed in a DWG-DXF group, as if you imported a DWG file. They can be edited and transformed.

If the PDF also contains images, they are imported separately from the other elements.

For example, if you add a letter with the sender’s logo, each line of the letter is converted into a DigiCad 3D text and the logo into an image.

The most important parameters are:

The page to import. If the PDF document is multi-page, we can choose which page to convert.
Scale. The PDF file is converted under the assumption that the original scale of the document is the one indicated; if it is different the measurements will be larger or smaller.
Rotation. The converted drawing can be rotated

All other parameters normally do not need to be changed and default values are fine.
For a detailed description of all parameters, see the chapter Convert PDF.

Here is a PDF drawing converted to editable elements.

The drawing is divided into layers, visible on the DWG-DXF Layers dialog, which can be enabled or disabled. In practice it works like DWG-DXF imports.

improvements

Opening files. In the opening window of DigiCad 3D, with the preview images, has been inserted the button Open system file.

By clicking on this button it is possible to use the standard system window, without preview, to search, select and open files.

PDF Preview. In the preview are also visible files .pdf.

Open recents. In the Open Recent command, from the File menu, the last 6 open or saved documents are kept. To open them, simply select them.
Drilling images. In addition to the already existing method to transform into transparent parts of an image by drawing within a selected image, with the command Create Trasparency

The new procedure consists of:

Drawing polygons or circles, without the image being selected
Positioning polygons and circles within the image area
Selection of elements
Choose the Holes command from the menu, and click on the image that needs to be perforated. a window appears to choose whether to create transparencies inside the figures or outside
- Here is the result for the internal areas
And for external area

This function allows you to isolate those parts of the images that are useful and remove those that disturb or are useless.

Version 10006 – 23.0

Also for DigiCad 3D the numbering of the versions changes, which, as already done with Domus.Cad, it is based on the year of release of the version, in this case 2023. All the versions released during the year will be numbered 23.01 , 23.02 etc.

Video scale in the status bar. The current video scale has been added to the bottom status bar, separate for the two source and destination views. This is useful for very large video scales.
PDF import. Importing images also imports documents in PDF format. After selecting the image, the following dialog appears

The PDF document is imported as an image with the chosen resolution.
If the PDF is multipage, you can choose which page to import.
If the PDF document represents a scaled drawing, specifying the scale allows you to obtain a perfectly scaled image.
If the Opaque background option is activated then the background is opaque, otherwise all the white parts will be transparent,
Image import. When importing images, a dialog box has been added for choosing some parameters:

If the image is of a scaled drawing, the scale indication allows you to import the scaled image.
If the image contains resolution information, this is shown and in any case it is possible to change it. Depending on the resolution, the real dimensions of the image in the drawing change, and are shown in the box below.
Rotate-Scale command. The Rotate-scale command, from the Modify menu, recalls the transformation parameters of the selected element. The accepted elements are images, texts and DWG-DXF imports. It corresponds to making a double click on the element.
Image transformation parameters. By double-clicking on the images, or using the Modify->Rotate-Scale command, the following dialogue window appears:

The information in pixels and real show the modifications according to the set scale coefficients.
The pixel dimensions do not change, but the real resolution and dimensions do. Increasing the scaling coefficient decreases the resolution and increases the actual size.
DWG-DXF management. When a drawing in DXF, DWG and DWF formats is imported, the drawing is imported into a container with the structure of the original drawing inside. In this version of the program, functions have been introduced to better manage this structure.

DWG-DXF dialog. The DWG-DXF Layer command from the Edit menu, after selecting a DWG-DXF import, opens the window below, which shows all the layers present in the import:

The individual layers can be made visible or invisible and the modification is immediately reported in the work window.

The use of the buttons on the side is as follows:

All visible. All layers are made visible
All invisible. All layers are made invisible.
Separate on current layer. The drawing is expanded within the current layer. All the elements belonging to the DWG-DXF import are added to the current layer.
Separates on other layers. New layers are created with the names of the layers of the DWG-DXF and the elements of the layers are added within these new layers

I remind you that to edit and copy the elements of a DWG-DXF object it is not necessary to separate it, they can be treated like any other drawing element.

DWG-DXF import. The DWG-DXF import procedure has been modified so that, at the end of the import, the following operations are performed automatically.

The imported item is selected.
The imported item is zoomed in so that it appears centered on the screen

The DWG-DXF layers dialog for the imported and selected item is displayed

Tool palette at the top, Zoom Selection and Zoom Natural commands have been added.

Version 10005 – 10.0.5

Measures and distances on polygons and lines.. Selecting a polygon or a line displays a series of information: distances for each side of the polygon and on the line, perimeter, area and length for the polygons:
Measurements are displayed simultaneously on elements in the origin window and in the destination window.
The destination window displays any measures that have been transformed according to the set attachment points.
Tool Tips. Many Tool Tips have been included to help both the interface elements and the drawings. The Tool Tip appears by remaining stationary for a few seconds above the relevant element. In the case of graphic elements, the Tool Tip identifies the element in the foreground. For example, if I have an image with a polygon on it, the Tool Tip will display "Polygon".
When opening a file, the preview of DigiCad 3D documents and images has been changed with a better view of the details of the documents and the insertion of quick folders on the left.
Fixed bug: no longer tries to transform a selected element in the target window.
Error message if there are no items selected in the source window to be transformed into destination

Version 10004 – 10.0.4

Added the Transparent white command from the Transform->Images menu. The command applies to a selected image and creates a new image with white color parts made completely transparent. The new image is placed exactly above the original image and must be moved to see the result. This command is very useful to make transparent and stackable images of drawings and maps.
Import DWG-DXF of the z coordinate of the extremes of the lines. The imported lines can be modified moving the extremes as the lines drawn manually with the mouse.
Import DWG-DXF of tridimensional poly-lines with the z coordinate of the vertices
Export DWG-DXF of open polygons. In the previous version the polygons were exported always closed.
Export image export the comtent of the current page instead of the current scene. The elements of the scene outside the page frame are excluded.