Start a manual in Illustrate

Illustrate is the workspace for the documents people need around a design: exploded views with balloons and a parts list, line-art illustrations for manuals, step-by-step instructions, animations and a 3D file a customer can open without CAD. Choose Illustrate in the Workspace switcher at the start of the toolbar.

A manual is a file of its own (<name>.partcraft-manual.json). It keeps a copy of every part's shape, the product tree and the parts' properties, and a link back to where they came from, so you can work on the manual while the design goes on. When the design changes, Update from the design brings the changes in.

Start one

Click New in the Manual group, then:

• From the open part: the part open in Design.
• From the open assembly: shown instead when an assembly is open; its parts, their places, part numbers, materials and exploded views come along.
• From an assembly file…: a saved .partcraft-asm.json; PartCraft builds its parts first.
• From another file…: glTF (.glb, .gltf), OBJ, STL or 3MF. The file's tree and names are kept, and copies of one part (the same shape placed twice) become one part with a quantity. STL and OBJ files do not say their unit, so you are asked. STL files are read Z up; glTF and 3MF say their own.

While a manual is open, Illustrate shows the manual's own copy of the parts; the part or assembly open in Design is hidden until you go back to Design.

Save and open

Save in the Manual group (or ⌘SCtrl+S) saves the manual; Open opens one. Every change in Illustrate is one step of the manual's own history: Undo and Redo act on the manual while Illustrate is open.

Not built yet

• STEP files do not open in From another file… yet. Open the STEP in Design instead (it comes in as a solid body: see Open a STEP file) and start the manual From the open part, or save it as glTF, 3MF, OBJ or STL.
• ModelCraft and BimCraft cannot yet hand a model straight to Illustrate: save it as glTF (.glb) and use From another file….

Next: Views and looks.