CADEMIA: Mini Tutorial

State: 2015-03-24

Motivation: This Mini Tutorial aims to help you get started with CADEMIA by way of a simple
example. The tutorial should be executed on your own computer (Windows, Linux or Mac), using
either CADEMIA-Professional, CADEMIA-Expert, CADEMIA-Learning or CADEMIA-Test, the
latter being available free of charge.
User interface: The screenshot below shows the user interface, here under application of
CADEMIA-Learning. more...

The important parts of the graphical user interface are:

Menu bar: File, Edit, ...
Toolbar: Undo/ redo, Again, ...
Graphical window with the Window menu, the construction grid and a symbol for the
coordinate system
Status bar with the cursor coordinates (11.5107 1.5297), the current user unit [m], a
message field as well as the open Main group containing 4 components: a line and three
dimensions. A progress bar is shown to the right as needed.
Note: A group is comparable to a block in DXF.
Note for Windows and Linux users: In this tutorial the user interface on Mac OS X is shown.
Although CADEMIA adopts a different Look & Feel on other platforms, the fundamental layout is
always the same.

Add line: The command is started in the menu bar using >Add >Line, after which the input bar
appears:

The input bar displays the user note 'Construct line', a button for entering special characters and
a text field and below that a menu bar.
Note: If the input bar is closed, it is docked in the toolbar. Its behaviour can be configured using
the menu bar's >Window >Input bar.

The check mark in front of Start point indicates that this is currently set. Enter the start point
position of the line by clicking the mouse in the graphical window or by typing the x-coordinate
in the input field, confirming it by the enter key, followed by the y-coordinate. more...
Note: When clicking with the mouse you can refer to the grid points, or you can select existing
contents of your drawing. The latter is called picking. more...
Note: In the input field you could have entered both coordinates of the start point, or all four
coordinates of the line, separated by spaces.

Note: By pressing the >Cancel item on the input bar, the current command is cancelled. Using
>Interrupt, a new command can be executed, for example to change the window zoom, after
which execution continues at the interruption point. These two options are, in principle, always
available when the input bar is visible and active.
The current command can also be interrupted by simply executing another command, provided
that the input bar is visible and active.
Note: With >Pick you can refer to an existing line. With >Circle tangent you construction a line
tangentially to two circles. more...
Note: By default [m] is set as the natural unit. In the menu bar you can use >Misc >Set natural unit
to select an appropriate unit, for example [mm]. more...

The input bar prompts for the construction of the end point. Enter the coordinates in the text
field or click a point in the graphical window.
Note: You can, alternatively, define the coordinates of the line using relative coordinates. This
mode is activated in the menu bar using >Window >Preferences> Relative. The small blue circle in
the graphical window indicates the origin of the relative coordinate system. more...

After the end point has been constructed, the input bar disappears. The constructed line is added
as a so-called component of the main group. Note the entry at the bottom right of the status bar:
The added line is the first component of the main group. more...

Note: Commands in CADEMIA can be UNDOne and REDOne. By keeping the button Undo in the
toolbar pressed, more commands can be Undone, similar for Redo.

Change the viewport: Pan the window with the mouse or turn the mouse wheel to scale the
viewport size up or down. Let the existing components fill the window by selecting >Window
>Fit window.
Note: Commands to manipulate the windows are also found in the menu of the graphical window.
There you can open additional graphical windows, define the construction grid and configure the
rendering.
Note: When the right mouse button is pressed and held in the graphical window, the context
menu appears. This menu varies according to the context and can, for example, be used to change
the viewport.
Note: The coordinate axes are shown de-activated in the left-bottom corner when they fall outside
the window.

Select line: By clicking on the line, it is selected and shown as such.

Note: To unselect, click in the graphical window's open area. To select/ unselect more than one
component, the Shift key must be pressed during selection. More commands for select/ unselect
are found in the menu bar under >Edit. more...

Change attributes: For the selected line, use 'Line width' in the tool bar to set the width to 0.35
mm and 'Draw paint' to draw the line in Blue.

Note: Assign the selected component to a Layer to set a number of pre-defined attributes in a
single operation. more...
Note: The attributes of selected components are shown in the tool bar.

Feature dialog: Double-click components to see, and change, their properties using the socalled Feature dialog. In the General tab the general properties are shown and in the Geometry
tab the geometrical properties. Change the Length or the Angle by overwriting the values. more...

Note: Changes entered in the Feature dialog are applied to the selected components when the
enter key is pressed, or the focus in the dialog is changed. If the Feature dialog is closed using
Cancel, any changes are un-done and the components return to their original state.
Note: Sometimes the definition of the length using the keyboard is difficult. You can also construct
the length by clicking the Length button to the left of the text field. more...
Note: Components selected or deselected while the Feature dialog is active are ignored.

Dimensioning: The line to be dimensioned must be selected. The control points become visible
as a result. To dimension the end points of the line, mark these control points by clicking inside
the small red square. Horizontal dimensioning is created using >Add >Dimensioning >Horizontal
chain. The input bar appears and prompts for the position of the dimensioning line. more...

Simply click with the mouse in the graphical window to indicate the position. The horizontal
dimensioning is created immediately since the dimensioning points are already marked:

Create, in the same way, the vertical dimensioning using the toolbar >Add >Dimensioning
>Vertical chain. Parallel dimensioning is created using >Add >Dimensioning >Parallel chain.
more...

Note: If you are prompted for the dimensioning points, they were not marked beforehand. You
may continue and correct dimensioning will be created. However, this has the disadvantage that
the association between the dimensioning and the line is not known. more...
Note: The Dimensioning layer has appropriate attributes for the graphical representation of
dimensioning components.
Note: If more than two control points are marked, a dimensioning chain is created in a single
operation horizontal, vertical or angular. With parallel dimensioning exactly two marked control
points are required, otherwise parallelism cannot be guaranteed. more...
Note: Power-Users find the use of mouse gestures and shortcuts advantageous for many
commands, especially during dimensioning. more...

Configure dimensioning: The representation of dimensioning can be modified using a number

of parameters. Select the horizontal dimensioning and start the Feature dialog by doubleclicking it. Open the tab Dimensioning text and change the current Dimension unit 'm' to 'm and
cm'. more...

After you have also changed the dimension units of the other dimensions to 'm and cm', the
screen will appear as follows:

Note: To set standard parameters for new dimensioning that may follow, select one dimensioning
component and then execute the command >Misc>Set dimensioning master. more...

Modify: Select all the components and translate them two meters to the left, using the menu bar
>Modify >Translate. In the input bar you enter the coordinates of the translation vector as shown
below, then confirm the length of the vector. more...

Note: Instead of entering the translation vector's coordinates you can also construct it, for
example using two points. Vector construction always ends by displaying the vector length.
Before confirming using the enter key, you can still change the length shown, or use the built in
basic calculator (+, -, *, /). No spaces should be used, unless you put the arithmetic expression in
quotes. more...

You can translate one or many components, or single control points. The differences are shown
below:
Action: Translate line

Result: The dimensioning of the line

translates with it, since the dimensioning is
associated with the line.

Action: Translate all components

Result: The components retain their relative

positions to each other.

Action: Translate the start point of the line.

Result: The associated dimensioning changes

as expected. Parallel dimensioning remains
parallel and the dimensioning texts adjust as
expected.

Note: If you wish to translate a copy instead of the original component, you can use the command
>Add >Copy translate. more...
Note: If you wish to extend the line, select it and mark the end point at the end where the
extension is required. Then use the command >Modify> Extend or >Trim. more...

Drag & Drop: Modification can also be done using Drag & Drop. Select one or more components,
place the cursor on a control point and drag the point with the left mouse button pressed. Drop
it at the required position. As soon as Drag & Drop starts, the following input bar appears:

The menu entries are grouped according to functionality. Inside the groups you can change the
check mark during Drag & Drop, in order to set the required behaviour. more...

Selection group 1: Select the drag method complete components, control points, offset
perpendicular to the axis or extend in the direction of the axis.

Selection group 2: Select whether you wish to modify the original or a clone thereof.

Selection group 3: Do you wish to constrain the movement during dragging? Then select
>Orthogonal.

Note: If you press the right mouse button, this menu appears as context menu.
Note: Drag & Drop behaviour can be configured using >Window >Preferences in the menu bar, or
>Prefs in the tool bar.
Note: If you start Drag & Drop outside of a control point of a selected component, then the
graphical window is dragged instead of the components.
Note: The position of dimensioning can be modified quickly using Drag & Drop.

Thank you for your interest in CADEMIA. Hopefully this tutorial helped you to get started using
CADEMIA. Our complete Online-Help and an Online Tutorial can be found at cademia.de. more...