Tracing an image as a template

Goal#

Turn a paper drawing, a photo or a screenshot into a real CAD outline.

Steps#

1. Create a layer of its own, “VORLAGE” for example, and make it the active layer.
2. Ribbon, group “File” → button Image (3), choose the image file.
3. Measure a distance in the image whose true length is known, using Measure.
4. Double-click the image: in the dialog “Image properties” enter the measured and the effective value under “Calibration”, then “Scale”.
5. Tick “Locked” and close the dialog with “OK”.
6. Switch to the drawing layer and trace the outline over the image; the 50 % transparency lets you see both.
7. Finally hide the layer “VORLAGE”.

Result#

A drawing to scale whose template can be shown again at any time — it does not appear in the print.