CAD Toolbar vs. Tool Matrix
Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2016 5:22 pm
The Traditional CAD Toolbar
On new installations, QCAD features a compact CAD Toolbar at the left to access the various CAD related tools for drawing, modifying or selecting entities or to select the current snap mode.
The CAD Toolbar offers a very compact and comprehensible way to access the various tools available. Tools are structured into categories and snap tools are only shown when relevant.
The Tool Matrix
Starting with QCAD 3.12.6, an alternative widget can be used instead of the CAD Toolbar to access tools: the Tool Matrix. The Tool Matrix lists all tools available in one single widget without the need to click through a hierarchy. The tools are shown in a (scrollable) list with collapsible categories. A filter can be applied to the Tool Matrix to list all tools related to a certain keyword (e.g. 'tangent') or to search for a specific tool. The Tool Matrix can list tools as icons or as texts.
Displaying the Tool Matrix
To show the Tool Matrix instead of the CAD Toolbar, right-click into one of the tool bars at the top and choose Toolbars > CAD Tools. This hides the CAD Toolbar. Then right-click into one of the tool bars at the top again and choose Widgets > Tool Matrix to show the Tool Matrix.
List / Icon Mode
To switch the display mode to list the tools as text, right-click into the tool matrix and choose 'List View': Searching for a Tool
To search for a specific tool or list only those tools you are momentarily interested in, type a search text into the Filter text edit at the top of the Tool Matrix. This way, you can for example list all tools related to tangents: Other Configurations
Here's another configuration with snap tools at the bottom instead of the Tool Matrix (panels can be added or removed from the Tool Matrix in Edit > Application Preferences > General > Tool Settings): And a configuration which uses the Tool Matrix for all tools, including the tools from the File, Edit and View menus:
On new installations, QCAD features a compact CAD Toolbar at the left to access the various CAD related tools for drawing, modifying or selecting entities or to select the current snap mode.
The CAD Toolbar offers a very compact and comprehensible way to access the various tools available. Tools are structured into categories and snap tools are only shown when relevant.
The Tool Matrix
Starting with QCAD 3.12.6, an alternative widget can be used instead of the CAD Toolbar to access tools: the Tool Matrix. The Tool Matrix lists all tools available in one single widget without the need to click through a hierarchy. The tools are shown in a (scrollable) list with collapsible categories. A filter can be applied to the Tool Matrix to list all tools related to a certain keyword (e.g. 'tangent') or to search for a specific tool. The Tool Matrix can list tools as icons or as texts.
Displaying the Tool Matrix
To show the Tool Matrix instead of the CAD Toolbar, right-click into one of the tool bars at the top and choose Toolbars > CAD Tools. This hides the CAD Toolbar. Then right-click into one of the tool bars at the top again and choose Widgets > Tool Matrix to show the Tool Matrix.
List / Icon Mode
To switch the display mode to list the tools as text, right-click into the tool matrix and choose 'List View': Searching for a Tool
To search for a specific tool or list only those tools you are momentarily interested in, type a search text into the Filter text edit at the top of the Tool Matrix. This way, you can for example list all tools related to tangents: Other Configurations
Here's another configuration with snap tools at the bottom instead of the Tool Matrix (panels can be added or removed from the Tool Matrix in Edit > Application Preferences > General > Tool Settings): And a configuration which uses the Tool Matrix for all tools, including the tools from the File, Edit and View menus: