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CADD PRIMER
Chapter 4: View-Displays
Contents
About this Chapter
Key Terms in this Chapter
The View-Display Functions
  • Displaying a Full View
  • Moving the View Sideways
  • Zooming the View to an Exact Size
  • Zooming Roughly by Indicating a Window
  • Saving and Displaying Views
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About this Chapter This chapter describes CADD’s view-display functions. These functions allow you to display different views of a CADD drawing. They make it possible to work on various portions of a drawing. You can move the image on the screen to display a desired view and enlarge or reduce the images as required.   Key Terms in this Chapter
 
Term
Description
Pan To move the view in a specific direction. 
Zoom in To get a closer view.
Zoom out To get a view from a greater distance.
Zoom factor To enlarge or reduce the view by a specific degree.
Viewport A portion of the drawing window that contains an independent view of the drawing.
Window An imaginary rectangle formed by the indicated points.

The View-Display Functions

CADD’s view-display functions enable you to display various views of the drawing. You need to constantly change views in order to work on different portions of the drawing. For example, to draw a line from one corner of a large drawing to another, you may need to change the view two to three times. First, you need to magnify the corner where the line is to be started, then shrink the display to see the entire drawing and locate the other corner of the diagram, and then magnify that corner to indicate the end point of the line.

Working with the view-display functions is similar to using a telescopic camera. You can zoom out to view larger objects, and zoom in to get a closer view of objects. However, CADD’s functions are much more precise and flexible. You can magnify the drawings to an exact degree, store specific views in computer memory, and then display them back when required.

Fig. 4.1 shows an engineering drawing of a mechanical part. In the following examples, we will use this drawing to illustrate the different view-display functions.

The following are the main techniques to display views:

    • Displaying a full view
    • Moving the view sideways
    • Zooming the view to an exact size
    • Zooming roughly by indicating a window
    • Saving and displaying views


    Displaying a Full View

     
    CADD allows you to display the entire drawing on-screen regardless the size of the drawing. If the drawing is too large, CADD automatically reduces it to fit the drawing area. If the drawing is too small, CADD automatically enlarges it to fill the drawing area.

    Example: If you draw a 1"x1" square and display a full view of the drawing, it magnifies the image to fill the entire screen. Now let's say you draw a 10' diameter circle around the square and then display a full view. It will automatically reduce the entire image to fit that circle on the screen. The square will be reduced significantly and might look like only a dot.
     

    Moving the View Sideways  
    You can move the image in any direction with the push of a button. This capability of CADD is often referred to as "pan". To move the image, all you need to do is indicate two points between which the drawing should move. The drawing is moved from the first indicated point to the second indicated point.

    In some CADD systems the same result is achieved by pressing the arrow keys on the keyboard. The drawing is moved in the direction of the arrow key pressed. You can preset a percentage of how much the drawing should move with each press of an arrow key.
     

    Zooming the View to an Exact Size  
    CADD allows you to reduce or enlarge the image view by a specified degree. You can enter a specific percentage or a zoom factor to reduce or enlarge an image. To enlarge the image 1 1/2 times, you need to enter the percentage value as 150% or the zoom factor as 1.5; to reduce the image by half, you need to enter the percentage value as 50% or zoom factor as 0.5.
      Zooming Roughly by Indicating a Window  
    You often need to enlarge drawing images in order to work with a greater detail. You can specify an area to be enlarged by designating an enlargement window on the screen. A window is an imaginary rectangle formed by two diagonal points. The section of diagram contained within the window is enlarged to fit the entire drawing area.

    Important Tip:

    When you are finished working with one portion of the drawing and want to display another view, you can display a full view of the drawing and then zoom in with another window.
     

    Saving and Displaying Views  
    CADD allows you to store selected views and later display them back when required. When you are working with complex drawings, you need to display a number of views quickly. This function provides a convenient way to display selected views.

    When you determine that you need to work on certain portions of a drawing frequently, you can store those views by giving them different names. To display any of the views, just reference the name of the view and it is instantly displayed.

    Important Tips:

    Most CADD programs automatically store all the views displayed in the drawing area. You can instantly return to a previous view by entering a command or clicking on a tool button.

    Most CADD programs allow you to display multiple views side by side. The drawing area can be divided into different sections called viewports. You can display a different view in each viewport. This is particularly helpful when working with 3D drawings. For example, you can display a plan view in one viewport, elevation in another and a 3D view in another.

    Note: CADD PRIMER is illustrated with more than 100 diagrams. The above diagram is an example from CADD PRIMER illustrating the view-display functions.

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