Gear window and Settings dialog

The gear at the right of the bar opens the gear window with the settings functions and the layout; its entry Setup (and the command Save/load settings) opens the Settings dialog. Both are described here. Context: Setup and settings.

Gear window#

The window hangs below the gear; a second click on the gear or × closes it. Its content is rebuilt in the current language every time it opens.

Functions#

Five rows that apply in both layouts. A click first closes the window and then calls the function:

Layout#

Ribbon or Classic. Ribbon: wide buttons with labels and group names. Classic: the narrow icon bar. The switch applies at once, the window moves along and afterwards shows only the rows that work in the new layout. Further ways: Switch ribbon / classic toolbar.

Icons#

S / M / L / XL — size of the icons on the ribbon buttons (20 / 24 / 30 / 36 px for large, 13 / 15 / 18 / 22 px for small buttons), independent of the text size. Factory M.

Text#

S / M / L / XL — size of the button labels and group names (9 / 10 / 11 / 12.5 px), independent of the icon size. Factory M.

Font#

List Default (program font, factory), Segoe UI, Arial, Verdana, Tahoma, Calibri, Consolas. Affects only button labels and group names of the ribbon; the rest of the program keeps its font.

Spacing#

Tight / Normal / Wide — minimum button width (40 / 52 / 64 px), padding, gap between the buttons and margin of the groups. The button width grows with long labels. Factory Normal.

Remember variant#

ON: a split button shows the tool last chosen from its family as its icon — as the classic toolbar always does. OFF (factory): it always shows the first tool of the family. If you always need a specific variant, add it to the favourites.

In the classic toolbar#

In classic mode the window contains the five functions and the row Layout; below it reads The remaining settings apply to the ribbon only. The rows Icons to Remember variant are missing because they would have no effect there.

Settings dialog#

The dialog appears centred with the drawing dimmed. Its fields are grouped in seven boxes. Apply saves all values permanently and leaves the window open; the fields are rebuilt from the saved state, so a limited or rounded value is visible at once (Settings applied). Close or a click beside the dialog closes without applying. The list Sprache / Language and the slider Icon size (constraints) take effect immediately instead.

General#

Sprache / Language#

Deutsch or English. Takes effect immediately on all labels, tooltips and messages and is saved at once (status bar Sprache: Deutsch or Language: English). How-to: Change the language.

Input while drawing#

polar (L/∠) (factory) or cartesian (ΔX/ΔY) — the form of the floating input field for subsequent points. The same toggle: Space while drawing or click on 📐 L/∠ in the status bar (Coordinate input).

Global precision#

Coarse (0.01) · Standard (0.0001, factory) · Fine (0.000001) · Very fine (1e-8). Defines from which deviation the program treats values as equal (for instance when comparing coordinates).

Drawing & snap#

Snap to automatic for geometry tools#

Checkbox (factory on): calling a tool that creates new geometry (line, rectangle, circle, arc, polyline, point, slot …) switches the snap mode to automatic — even if another snap was chosen before (message Snap mode → automatic (geometry tool)). Annotation and hatching are not affected. Without the checkbox the chosen snap stays.

Create dimensions while drawing#

Checkbox (factory on): lines, circles and arcs receive a dimension automatically while drawing (live dimensioning), see Dimensioning.

Show a tooltip following the cursor while drawing#

Checkbox (factory on): while drawing, a small display with length and angle accompanies the pointer.

Show the hint box for the coordinate toggle#

Checkbox (factory on): the first time you draw, a box explains the switch L/∠ ↔ ΔX/ΔY. Without the checkbox it does not appear; toggling with Space hides it as well.

Tangent tolerance (trim/break)#

Number 0–1 (factory 0.05): additional tolerance for tangential contact points when trimming and breaking. Needed because fillet tangents do not lie exactly on the element.

Gizmo rotation: snap angle (magnetic), sector#

Snap angle off / 5° / 10° / 15° (factory) / 30° / 45° / 90°: when rotating at the angle ring of the gizmo, the angle snaps magnetically near a multiple; in between it stays free. Sector ± (0.1–45°, factory 3°) is half the width of the magnetic zone — that far before the multiple the angle snaps in, that far after it releases. With at most half the snap angle it snaps everywhere (fixed snapping).

Distance to cursor#

Slider 10–100 px (factory 30): horizontal distance of the floating input field from the crosshair.

Appearance#

Glow effect (selection): Width, Hover intensity, Selected intensity#

The glow around hovered and selected elements: Width 2–30 (factory 7), Hover intensity 0.1–1.0 (factory 0.65) for the element under the pointer, Selected intensity 0.1–1.0 (factory 0.5) for selected elements.

Point size#

0.2–50 mm (factory 2): marker size of drawn points in drawing millimetres — it scales with the zoom and is exactly that size on paper at scale 1:1. At very small zoom the marker stays minimally visible.

Icon size (constraints)#

Slider 3–20 (factory 7): size of the constraint symbols in the drawing; takes effect while dragging.

Floating menu on selection#

Checkbox (factory on): after a selection the small floating menu with the most frequent commands appears next to the selection.

Dimension layer#

Layer name#

Text, factory Mass (empty becomes Mass again). If the drawing has a layer with this name, new dimensions, feature control frames, datum features and balloons get this layer; otherwise the active layer. Existing dimensions stay unchanged. Context: Dimensioning — Z level, layer, visibility.

Visible#

The same switch as the eye of the system layer Dimensions: hides and shows all dimensions, feature control frames, datum features and balloons. The state lives in the drawing, not in the settings.

View & mouse#

Margin from origin#

20–5000 mm (factory 250): at program start and with New drawing the origin lies in the centre; this value is the visible distance from the origin to the left and right screen edge. Applies from the next start or the next new drawing.

Standard part search: at most matches#

10–5000 (factory 50): that many result tiles the standard part search shows at once; further matches are only named as a number. Small values keep the search brisk even with very large libraries (program version v3.0.39).

Scale step Alt+wheel#

0.01–10 (factory 0.1): step of Alt + mouse wheel when scaling an element list hanging on the mouse (inserting, placing standard parts). Alt + Shift + wheel always steps by 1.

Line types#

The button ▬ ▬ ▬ Line types… opens the Line types dialog with the model space reference scale and the pattern values of the three special line types — each with its own line type factor and a preview at original size. Apply adopts and saves (the window stays open); the values apply to newly created objects, existing ones keep their snapshot. Apply to selection additionally transfers the current pattern values to the selected sealing-layer objects; Close discards. Message: Line type settings applied — the pattern values apply to new objects.

In depth: Line types — the eight types, screen versus print, snapshot principle, factors.

Manage settings#

Save locally, Load locally#

💾 Save locally writes all settings to the browser storage of the computer (cad2d_settings) and closes the dialog — this happens by itself after every change, but here explicitly. 📂 Load locally applies the saved state again, leaves the dialog open and rebuilds the fields (Settings loaded; without a saved state No saved settings).

Export (JSON), Import (JSON)#

📤 Export (JSON) downloads the file cad2d_settings_YYYY-MM-DD.json (Settings exported as a file) and closes the dialog. It contains all settings including your own dimension styles, print profiles, layers, DXF profiles and interface values — but neither registration, launch counter, disclaimer confirmation nor panel width (what stays on the computer); the clipboard is deliberately left out. 📥 Import (JSON) reads such a file on the other computer, applies it, saves and rebuilds the fields (Settings imported from "…"; for an unreadable file Import error: …). How-to: Transfer settings.

Panel order#

↕ Panel order restores the factory order of the sections in the right panel (layers, properties, constraints, guides, Z levels, groups, blocks, standard parts, elements) and brings torn-off sections back; all other settings remain (Panel order reset to factory default). The dialog stays open.

Factory defaults#

🔄 Factory defaults (red) asks Reset all settings to factory defaults? and then resets all settings of the program to the delivery state: object snap, grid, dimensioning including font and arrows, hatch defaults, layer list, print defaults, glow effect, line types, window positions, favourites, layout (ribbon, sizes M/M/Default/Normal, remember variant off) and day mode; the keys cad2d_settings, cad2d_theme and cad2d_panelW are deleted. Your own dimension styles and drawings are kept. The step cannot be undone — Export (JSON) first if you want to return. Message: Settings reset to factory defaults.

Apply, Close#

Apply adopts all fields, saves permanently and leaves the window open. Close discards changes not yet applied.