User interface

The extension adds a some panels to the "N"-sidebar under the category "Sketcher". From here you can set the active sketch, access its properties, add constraints and interact with elements via the browsers.

Sketch Selector

Whenever no sketch is active the sidebar will list all available sketches, scoped to the part you have selected. From there you can set one as active or toggle its visibility: since a sketch is pure source and stays hidden, the eye toggles the body it is realised on, which is what stands for it on screen. The UI will change when a sketch is active, showing a big blue button which lets you exit the sketch as well as some properties of that sketch and the workplane it sits on.

Tools Panel

Holds what acts on the sketch as a whole rather than on one element: Merge Points, Project Geometry and the buttons that add constraints. Outside a sketch it offers Make Part and Add Assembly instead.

The constraint buttons come in two layouts, switched with the icon on the right of the "Constraints" header: a compact icon grid (the default) or a list with the constraint names. Either way dimensional constraints are kept separate from geometric ones, and only the constraints that apply to the current sketch mode are offered.

Entity Browser

Lists all currently active entities, with an icon per type. Allows selection by clicking on the name.

Constraint Browser

Lists all currently active constraints, split into dimensional and geometric. A dimensional constraint shows its value as an editable field, a failing constraint is marked on the right, and each row leads to the constraint's context menu. "Show All" and "Hide All" at the top toggle the constraint gizmos of the sketch at once.

Gizmos

Gizmos are used to display constraints. There are specific gizmo types for the three dimensional constraints, angle, distance and diameter.

To interact with the settings of a constraint click its gizmo to open a menu.

The rest of the constraints use a generic gizmo that is displayed next to the entities they depend on. Clicking such a gizmo either shows the constraint's settings or directly deletes the constraint if it has no settings to show.

Icons that sit on the same element, or that would overlap on screen, are drawn as one icon with a count; hover it to expand the group and reach the individual constraints. Turn that off with "Group Constraint Icons" in the preferences.

The context menu can be used to access properties and actions of an element, either by hovering an entity and pressing the right mouse button, by clicking a constraint gizmo that supports it or through the corresponding button in one of the element browsers.

INFO: Only the hovered entity is used, the context menu ignores the selection.

Preferences

Access the preferences by expanding the enabled extension under Edit > Preferences > Add-ons > CAD Sketcher.

Interface

Everything about how the extension draws and behaves in the viewport: fading objects that aren't being sketched on, aligning the view to the active entity, the size of entities, workplanes, constraint icons, text and arrows, and whether constraint icons that sit on the same element are grouped into one.

Geometry

Curve Resolution — the largest angle per edge used when arcs and circles are meshed. It is the default for new sketches; each one keeps its own value on its Convert modifier, see integration.
Boolean Solver — the solver new booleans use, Exact or the faster Manifold. It can be changed per boolean afterwards.

Units

The precision used to display values: decimals for metric, fractions for imperial, and decimals for angles.

Advanced

Whether the "What's New" dialog is shown after the extension updates.
By enabling "Show Debug Settings" some experimental features are enabled, use with caution.
Choose the logging settings.

Theme

Colors that are used in the extension are defined under the theme section. The extension also supports theme presets, including a light preset for light viewports. You can get the presets path by entering the following line into blenders python console:

py bpy.utils.user_resource("SCRIPTS")