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Getting started with CadCraft

What the CadCraft drafting app does, where it runs, and your first drawing from a blank screen to a saved file.

Written for CadCraft 0.3. The same help is inside the app: press F1.

CadCraft is a 2D drafting app. You draw and edit lines, arcs, polylines, text, dimensions and blocks, set up sheets with title blocks and viewports, and plot them to PDF. It opens DWG and DXF drawings and saves them as DWG or DXF.

It runs in your web browser. There is nothing to install: the site gives you the address, and the whole app loads into the page. Your drawings open from your own computer and are saved back to it. Nothing is uploaded.

If you have drafted before, read Coming from other drafting software after this page. Most habits carry over, and the few that do not are listed there.

What you need

  • A recent Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari on a Mac, Windows or Linux computer. See Browsers and platforms.
  • A mouse with a wheel is the most comfortable. A trackpad works; see Mouse, trackpad and touch.
  • A keyboard. CadCraft is driven by typed commands, like most drafting programs.

The idea in one paragraph

You type a command (or click its button), and the command line at the bottom asks you questions one at a time: "Specify first point", "Specify next point". You answer each question by clicking in the drawing or by typing a value, then pressing ReturnEnter. Pressing EscEsc cancels. That is the whole interaction model; everything else is detail.

Your first drawing

You will draw a 4000 by 3000 rectangle out of lines, put a circle in the middle, and save the file.

  1. Open CadCraft. The command line at the bottom shows Command: and the drawing area shows a short "Start drawing" card.
  2. Type L and press ReturnEnter. You do not need to click the command line first: typing anywhere goes there.
  3. The prompt changes to Specify first point:. Type 0,0 and press ReturnEnter.
  4. Type @4000,0 and press ReturnEnter. A line appears, running right. The @ means "from the last point".
  5. Type @0,3000 and press ReturnEnter.
  6. Type @-4000,0 and press ReturnEnter.
  7. Type C and press ReturnEnter. C is the Close option: the last line goes back to the first point and the command ends.
  8. Click Extents in the View group of the toolbar. The rectangle fills the screen.

You should now see four lines forming a rectangle, and the history above the command line lists what you typed.

  1. Type C and press ReturnEnter to start the circle command.
  2. Type 2000,1500 and press ReturnEnter for the center.
  3. Type 500 and press ReturnEnter for the radius.

A circle appears in the middle of the rectangle.

  1. Press ⌘SCtrl+S, or click Save in the File group.

The browser downloads Drawing1.dwg to your usual downloads folder, and the history says it saved a copy as DWG. That file opens in CadCraft again, and in most other CAD programs. (If you chose DXF in Save as before, in this browser, a new drawing saves as Drawing1.dxf instead.)

Open an existing drawing

  1. Press ⌘OCtrl+O, or click Open.
  2. Choose a .dwg or .dxf file in the file picker.

You can also drag a DWG or DXF file from Finder / File Explorer / your file manager and drop it on the drawing area. The file is read in the page; it never leaves your computer.

See Files: what opens, what saves for what is kept and what is converted.

Saving: what to expect

Saving in a browser works differently from a desktop program:

  • Save always downloads a new copy. It does not overwrite the file you opened. If a file with the same name is already in your downloads folder, the browser usually adds a number, such as Drawing1 (1).dwg.
  • Save uses the drawing's format: DWG if you opened a DWG, DXF if you opened a DXF. To choose, press ⇧⌘SCtrl+Shift+S or click Save as, then pick DWG (AutoCAD 2000) or DXF R12. See Saving.
  • The file you opened is never changed.
  • A saved DWG does not keep sheets yet. If your drawing has sheets, save as DXF to keep them.
  • If you try to close the tab or open another file with unsaved changes, CadCraft asks first: Save a copy first, Discard changes or Cancel. Closing the tab shows the browser's own "Leave site?" question instead.

Cloud saving is not available yet. Where your files go and why they stay private is explained in Your files and privacy.

Where to go next

Press F1F1 or click Help in the bar at the top to open this help beside the drawing at any time. It works with no connection.