Python scripting

Python API

The Python API is eventually intended to provide the full level of control afforded by the FreeCAD GUI. This wiki page is a place to put notes currently, but will hopefully evolve towards a proper API description.

Python interface to the TechDraw workbench:

Should provide at least the level of control as existing Drawing's Python interface. Would be nice to preserve compatibility with it, but I suspect that the document model is different enough that it won't be possible.

Python interface to the existing Drawing workbench:

In App/AppDrawingPy.cpp:

project("O!|O!")
  [visiblyG0,visiblyG1,hiddenG0,hiddenG1] = project(TopoShape[,App.Vector Direction, string type])
  -- Project a shape and return the visible/invisible parts of it.

projectEx("O!|O!")
  [V,V1,VN,VO,VI,H,H1,HN,HO,HI] = projectEx(TopoShape[,App.Vector Direction, string type])
  -- Project a shape and return the all parts of it.

projectToSVG("O!|O!sff")
  string = projectToSVG(TopoShape[,App.Vector Direction, string type])
  -- Project a shape and return the SVG representation as string.

projectToDXF("O!|O!sff")
  string = projectToDXF(TopoShape[,App.Vector Direction, string type])
  -- Project a shape and return the DXF representation as string.

removeSvgTags("s")
  string = removeSvgTags(string) -- Removes the opening and closing svg tags
  and other metatags from a svg code, making it embeddable

In Gui/AppDrawingGuiPy.cpp:

open("et")
  No docs
insert("et|s")
  No docs
export("Oet")
  No docs

Views are manipulated through their properties. As an example (from https://github.com/gvoigt/freecad-storage-rack/blob/master/kitchen.FCMacro ):

doc.addObject('Drawing::FeaturePage','Page')
doc.Page.Template = App.getResourceDir()+'Mod/Drawing/Templates/A3_Landscape_ISO7200.svg'

doc.addObject('Drawing::FeatureViewPart','ViewX')
doc.addObject('Drawing::FeatureViewPart','ViewY')
doc.addObject('Drawing::FeatureViewPart','ViewZ')
doc.addObject('Drawing::FeatureViewPart','ViewIso')

Views = [ doc.ViewX, doc.ViewY, doc.ViewZ, doc.ViewIso ] 
ViewsDirection = [(1.0,0.0,0.0), (0.0,1.0,.0), (0.0,0.0,1.0), (1.0,-1.0,0.5)]
ViewsX = [ 460.0, -160.0, -160.0, -25.0]
ViewsY = [ -295.0, -295.0, 240.0, 375.0]
ViewsScale     = [ 0.2, 0.2, 0.2, 0.1 ]
ViewsRotation  = [ 90.0, 90.0, 0.0, 180.0 ]
ViewsHiddenL   = [ True, True, True, True ]

for i in range(len(Views)):
    Views[i].Source    = doc.complete_rack
    Views[i].Direction = ViewsDirection[i]
    Views[i].X         = ViewsX[i]
    Views[i].Y         = ViewsY[i]
    Views[i].Scale     = ViewsScale[i]
    Views[i].Rotation  = ViewsRotation[i]
    Views[i].ShowHiddenLines = ViewsHiddenL[i] 

    doc.Page.addObject(Views[i])