Snapping in drawings

In drawings, you can snap in positions in the same way as in the model. You can also snap to orthogonal angles while placing drawing objects or sketching. Zoom level affects free snapping in the way that the closer you zoom, the more exact you can snap. You can also place a drawing sketch object at a specified distance in the indicated direction.

Note that you cannot snap to blank lines.

For more information about snapping in general, see Snap to positions.

Drawing snap switches and snap settings

Drawing snap switches:

Use the Drawing snap settings dialog box (File > Settings > Snap settings) to view and modify the snap settings in the drawing. These settings are user specific.

Snap to orthogonal points in a drawing

Use the Ortho tool to snap to the closest orthogonal point in a drawing. You can specify the orthogonal angle in Drawing snap settings (File > Settings > Snap settings). Using ortho snapping is useful if you need to place associative notes in a consistent manner, or sketch a polygon using a certain angle, for example. You can use predefined ortho angles and specify custom angles.

Open a drawing.
To activate orthogonal snapping, on the File menu, click Settings and select the Ortho check box.

By default, the keyboard shortcut is O.
On the File menu, click Settings > Snap settings.

Note that you have the same snap settings available in the model, but these settings have no effect on drawings.
Set the snapping angles using one or both of the following ways:
- Angle interval: Select the check box next to Angle interval and then select a predefined angle: 10, 15, 30, 45, 90.
- Custom angles: Select the check box next to Custom angles and define the custom angles you want to snap to, for example, 12.5 or 17.5.
You can save different snap settings by entering a unique name in the Save as box and clicking Save as.

The settings are saved in the \attributes folder under the model folder.
Click to save and apply the new settings.

In the example below, you first add a text with a leader line using a 60 degree angle to the part:

Then you will add a new text using the same angle:

Free snapping

Free snapping in drawings is based on the zooming level in drawings: The closer you zoom, the more exact you can sketch. For example, you can more easily create rectangles that are of exact length when you zoom closer. The snapping step changes from 1 to 1000 ( 1/16" - 5') depending on the zoom level. You can follow the dimensions while you sketch.

Place a sketch object at a specified distance

You can snap to a specified distance in the indicated direction and place a sketch object in that position. You can specify the distance coordinate in the Enter a Numeric Location dialog box. In the following, you will ad a line.

On the Drawing tab, click Line to activate the line tool.
Hold down Ctrl and pick an origin.
Point to the direction where you want to place the start point of the line.

Here, the bolt group needs to be moved 30 mm to the right and the line will indicate the new position for the group.
Start entering the distance, for example 30.

The Enter a Numeric Location dialog box is displayed.
When you have entered the distance, click OK. Tekla Structures indicates the start point of the line.
Pick an end point for the line.
To check that the distance is correct, create a dimension.