Confirmation about external sketches.

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fcaduser
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Joined: Wed Feb 19, 2014 6:53 pm
Location: Near Paris, France

Confirmation about external sketches.

Post by fcaduser »

Hi FC people.

I would like a confirmation, please. As far as I know, it's not possible to externalize a sketch from a given file. I use a set of general sketches to "drive" a lot of parts and (a2+) assemblies, actually these sketches are blueprints. It's extremely useful. The problem is that each time I open a file I have to copy-paste this blueprint sketch, because I have no assurance the local copy is up-to-date. An "import sketch" function would be extremely handy.
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sgrogan
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Re: Confirmation about external sketches.

Post by sgrogan »

fcaduser wrote: Wed Dec 26, 2018 1:09 pm I would like a confirmation, please. As far as I know, it's not possible to externalize a sketch from a given file. I use a set of general sketches to "drive" a lot of parts and (a2+) assemblies, actually these sketches are blueprints. It's extremely useful. The problem is that each time I open a file I have to copy-paste this blueprint sketch, because I have no assurance the local copy is up-to-date. An "import sketch" function would be extremely handy.
There is File>Merge project https://www.freecadweb.org/wiki/Std_File_Menu
Maybe with a macro, tied to a custom toolbar this could satisfy your requirement?
"fight the good fight"
fcaduser
Posts: 446
Joined: Wed Feb 19, 2014 6:53 pm
Location: Near Paris, France

Re: Confirmation about external sketches.

Post by fcaduser »

The import function in itself doesn't keep externalized the targeted sketch, which is a mandatory requirement for my need. But indeed a macro may do the job (and a good start point for tackle the domain of macros.)
triplus
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Re: Confirmation about external sketches.

Post by triplus »

When testing Assembly 3, you can try out the Link feature it provides, to see how that goes. It was made to tackle this area. As for FreeCAD 0.17/0.18. You can achieve some cross-document linking support by using expressions:

https://www.freecadweb.org/wiki/Express ... nt_linking
fcaduser
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Joined: Wed Feb 19, 2014 6:53 pm
Location: Near Paris, France

Re: Confirmation about external sketches.

Post by fcaduser »

OK... so after checking this, a macro is probably the tool the more suited to my needs.
I tried asm3 several months ago, but now I will be patient and wait for the definitive integration of a WB assembly, I want now to stick to the "official" code. I can do some very useful work with a2+ despite some serious limitations.
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DeepSOIC
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Re: Confirmation about external sketches.

Post by DeepSOIC »

I am slowly looking into implementing something like that. With the new stream-save-restore thing made by ickby a little while ago, it should be totally possible, but there is a showstopper right now.
https://forum.freecadweb.org/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=33021
triplus
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Re: Confirmation about external sketches.

Post by triplus »

Here is how you could currently use the Link feature to achieve that:

https://forum.freecadweb.org/viewtopic. ... 60#p276543

P.S. In the future the procedure involved should become more straightforward.
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