Formatting drafting colors

Drafting colors are:

• The colors of the background of the graphical area, the colors of an object when you drag, select, highlight, activate it, as well as the colors of the coordinate axes.

• The colors of the styles applied to objects.

Custom color sets

You can set your own color sets of how you want objects and actions to appear on the screen. For example, the default system colors may not appear in any workable manner on a dark background; the same applies to light colored styles on light backgrounds.

The program stores the drafting color sets you define in the DraftColorPresets.ini file in your installation's Settings folder.

Do not use backgrounds

IMPORTANT: To see the effect of an applied custom color set, make sure the Use Backgrounds functionality is turned off. To turn it off, on the Format menu, point to Materials Catalog, and then uncheck Use Backgrounds. This way the program will not take into account the background settings for the materials, and will use the color set in Colors.

Drafting colors are onscreen only

Color sets apply to what you see on the screen: when exported, drawings will appear in the globally set colors and in accordance to printing and exporting rules.

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Defining and applying a color set

Applying an existing color set

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To define and apply a color set

1. On the Format menu, click Colors.

The Drafting Colors dialog box appears.

2. In the System Colors section, in the Color column rows, click the row of an action (in the Name column), and then, in the dropdown list, select a color for how you want the program to display the action on the screen.

1. • Background The background of the graphical area in 1up, layout and print drawings. Applies to both sides the drawing (front and rear). The default color is white. IMPORTANT: To view the background in a color that you set here, on the Format menu, point to Materials Catalog, and then ensure that Use Backgrounds is not checked.
   • Drag The color of the sample image of objects being dragged across the graphical area.
   • Selection The color of selected objects
   • Highlight The color of objects acquire when you point to them
   • Activated The first object you select while aligning a layout 1up and print parts.
   • Highlight selection The color in which a selected object appears when you point to it.
   • Semi selection Applies when the Repeat Changes functionality is turned on (layout and CAM drawings). When you select a part in the drawing, all nonselected identical parts appear in the color set here.
   • Front side axes The color of the coordinate system axes when viewed from the front side. TIP: You can set different colors for the axes when viewed from the front and rear sides. This will then serve as a hint as to which side you are working on.
   • Rear side axes The color of the coordinate axes when viewed from the rear side. TIP: You can set different colors for the axes when viewed from the front and rear sides. This will then serve as a hint as to which side you are working on.
   • Unstructured layer object During unstructured layout recovery, the original position of a layout part.
   • Dimmed selection object The color an object subjected to the transformations translation, scaling, rotation or mirroring when the Copy functionality is not turned on. During the transformation, the original object has the color set here and remains visible while its new position is being sought.

3. In the Color overrides section, add rules for the colors. Here you set how the preset will override the globally set colors for styles in onscreen visualization. NOTE: When printed or exported, the drawing's styles (colors) will appear as set globally and in accordance with print rules (filters).

IMPORTANT: In the Color overrides section, you substitute colors, not styles. While adding a color-overriding rule, in the dropdown list you see the colors currently set to styles on your system and, in brackets, the names of these styles. By setting a color-overriding rule, all the styles to which this color is currently assigned will appear in the color you set in the rule.

TIP: To delete a rule, select it, and then press DELETE.

4. After you have set color-overriding rules, in the dialog, click the Plus button, and in the dialog box that appears type a name for the preset. Then click OK.
5. Click OK to close the Drafting Colors dialog box.
6. To apply the color set, on the Format menu, point to Materials Catalog, and then make sure that Use Backgrounds is not checked.

To apply an existing preset

1. On the Format menu, point to Materials Catalog, and then make sure Use Backgrounds is not checked.
2. On the Format menu, click Colors.

The Drafting Colors dialog box appears.

3. In Presets, click the list, and then select the name of the preset you want to use.
4. To apply the preset, click OK.