Design your own template for the TechDraw workbench

This video shows you how to create a new template for use in FreeCAD's TechDraw workbench.
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Contents
🔹 00:00 Introduction
🔹 00:52 Creating the sample part
🔹 01:43 Introduction to InkScape
🔹 02:13 Setting the template page size
🔹 02:37 Creating a basic template
🔹 04:44 Testing the template without editable text
🔹 04:59 Making the text editable (almost)
🔹 06:36 Testing the updated template in FreeCAD
🔹 07:04 Adding the last ingredient for editable text
🔹 07:20 More testing in FreeCAD
🔹 07:32 What happens if the text is rotated?
🔹 08:45 Using line styles, etc
Workbenches used:
🔹 General
🔹 TechDraw
FreeCAD namespace - The TechDraw workbench uses an XML namespace to draw the editable text fields on the screen. You need to create an attribute on the "svg" tag called xmlns:freecad and set it value to: "www.freecadweb.org/wiki/index...."
👉 InkScape website: inkscape.org/
FreeCAD links
👉 FreeCAD website: www.freecadweb.org
👉 Downloads: freecadweb.org/downloads.php
Copyright
Copyright Glasson Design Studio 2022. All rights reserved.
Where to find us
👉 Website: www.glassondesignstudio.com.au
👉 Facebook: / glassondesignstudio
👉 Instagram: / glassondesignstudio
Credits
Writer, Editor, Producer: Geoff Glasson

[@wiseoldfool]

Thanks Geoff, this will be very useful. Now I'm going to have to buy you lunch as well as a coffee.

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your kind words Barry. I'm glad that you found it useful. Now, what will I have for lunch??? ... lol. Cheer mate

[@WChamp-vo8rt]

A very helpful video, especially because there aren't a lot of videos explaining this aspect of customizing the TechDraw Workbench. Thanks!

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your kind words. I'm glad that you found it useful

[@Kingeroy]

You read my mind... Thank you, again, for this video.

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

I'm glad that you found it useful

[@gregwoolley]

Thank you. Very helpful.

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks. I glad that you found it useful

[@pasqualealba]

Well done!

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your kind words

[@laureano213]

The best...

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your kind words

[@andrewtan7684]

Thank you for the video. I have followed the steps as you instructed but I have no green box appeared in freecad techdraw?

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

It's been a while since I've looked at it but it sound like you're missing this bit (from the video description)
The TechDraw workbench uses an XML namespace to draw the editable text fields on the screen. You need to create an attribute on the SVG tag called xmlns:freecad and set it value to: "www.freecadweb.org/wiki/index.php?title=Svg_Namespace"

[@manuelastros3927]

very useful

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Glad to hear that you found it useful

[@stevesith6974]

Last note delete the xml:space - preserve. This is added by Inkscape. This should put characters back on highlighted squares. Save this to desktop, then admin move it into C:\Program Files\FreeCAD\data\Mod\TechDraw\Templates.

[@jwatkins672012]

Inkscape keeps putting in transforms and then when loaded into FreeCAD all the text is in the wrong place. I've tried deleting them, using converters from pdf to svg, etc. etc. etc. Nothing fixes this issue.

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your feedback. I haven't revisited this since I published the video because I haven't changed my template. I don't have a solution to your problem unfortunately. I know I talked about it in either this video or the one about modifying a template, but perhaps changes in Inkscape and/or FreeCAD prevent it from working.

[@JA-ur8ob]

Thanks a lot mate. It's working just fine. I'm only having a problem with alignment. The green boxes are shifting the text to the right of the page. That is also happening in this video. Have you found a way to work around this? It'd be nice to deactivate that somehow.

[@JA-ur8ob]

I've figured out why. Just in case anyone else is having this issue. Delete the xmlattribute in inkscape for all text elements with the value of "preserve". Otherwise you can change the value to "default".
The rest of this video works fine. However, double check the xmlns:freecad url is correct as well.

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your feedback. I hadn't noticed that there was a problem to be honest.

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for figuring it out and letting us know.

[@JA-ur8ob]

@@GlassonDesignStudio Pleasure my friend. Thanks for the video!

[@zktec1]

​@@JA-ur8ob This did not work for me. I have 3 texts transformed 90 degrees, and their green boxes of still off sheet after having deleted the "preserve" attribute for each of them. Anyone else have any tricks to fix this?

[@stevepawinski1786]

I'm trying to add the xmlns:freecad attribute. I've entered the url as described in the description but nothing happened. I've noticed it needs a little more information. Does anyone know what I need to add to the end of this url.

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

Thanks for your feedback Steve. It should just work. I'll do some more digging and try to get you an answer.

[@stevepawinski1786]

@@GlassonDesignStudio thanks, that's much appreciated 👍

[@GlassonDesignStudio]

@Steve Pawinski I've been trying to replicate this but so far have not had any success. The xmlns:freecad attribute should only require the URL and nothing else. Do you recall what other information it was looking for?

[@jetherwood7680]

I had problems getting the URL to work. I opened the .svg file with a text editor and added it in the code.