PythonCAD Command Interpreter

# PythonCAD Command Interpreter Reference

The table below gives the available commands in PythonCAD. An example of a command set like those in the keywords.py file is available at the bottom of the page. The commands are listed in the second column of the table. The third column in the table represents an internal command that gets run when the command in the second column is seen.

It bears repeating that the ability of PythonCAD in dealing with these commands is a new feature, and therefore you should expect to encounter some undocumented features. As the development of PythonCAD advances, the command interpreting abilities of the program should stabilize and become more powerful with fewer surprises.

Command Interpreter (05/29/2003)
Command Description | Default Name(s) | Command Executed
--- | --- | ---
Draw Angled Construction Line | acline,acl | acline
Arc(Radius/Angle) | arc | arcc
Draw Construction Circle(Two Points) | ccir2 | ccir2p
Draw Construction Circle(Point/Radius) | ccir | ccircen
Chamfer Object | chamfer | chamfer
Draw Circle(Two Points) | cir2 | cir2p
Draw Circle(Point/Radius) | cir | circen
Draw Construction Line (Two Points) | cl | cl
Close Drawing Window | close | close
Copy Object | copy | copy
Cut Object | cut | cut
Delete Object | delete, del | delete
Open Dimension Prefrences Window | dimpref | dimpref
Fillet Object | fillet | fillet
Horizontal Construction Line | hcline, hcl | hcline
Draw Leader (Multi-Point) | leader, lead | leader
Mirror Object | mirror, mir | mirror
Move Object | move, mv | move
Move Object Horizontally | moveh | moveh
Move Object Vertically | movev | movev
Open New Window | new | new
Paste Object | paste | paste
Draw Perpendicular Construction Line | pcline | pcline
Draw Point | point | point
Draw Polyline (Multi-Point) | polyline, pline | polyline
Open Prefrences Menu Window | pref | pref
Quit Application | quit | quit
Draw Rectangle (Two Points) | rectangle, rect | rect
Redraw Screen Objects | redraw | redraw
Refresh Screen Objects | refresh, r | refresh
Select all: arcs | saa | saa
Select all: angled construction lines | saacl | saacl
Select all: circles | sac | sac
Select all: construction circles | sacc | sacc
Select all: construction lines | sacl | sacl
Select all: horizontal construction lines | sahcl | sahcl
Select all: polylines | sap | sap
Select all: segments | sas | sas
Select all: vertical construction lines | savcl | savcl
Save Drawing as New Filename | saveas | saveas
Save Drawing | saves, sv | saves
Draw Segment (Two Points) | segment, seg, l | segment
Split Object | split | split
Stretch Object (Two Points) | str | str
Stretch Horizontal | strh | strh
Stretch Vertical | strv | strv
Draw Tangent Construction Line | tcline, tcl | tcline
Input Text | text | text
Transfer to Current Layer | transfer | transfer
Draw Vertical Construction Line | vcline, vcl | vcline
Zoom Default | zoomd, z | zoomd
Zoom Fit | zoomf, zf | zoomf
Zoom In | zoomi, zi | zoomi
Zoom Out | zoomo, zo | zoomo

#### Example Command Set

Defining a command set is essentially defining a Python dictionary. The key is the command, and the value is the internal command to execute when the user enters the command key. Here is a commands set called mycommands.

    mycommands = {
    	'foobar' : quit,
    	'foo' : segment,
    	'X' : quit,
    	'O' : opend
    }

As the command interpreter is a new PythonCAD addition, it will undoubtedly go through several iterations before it begins to stabilize. The command set, internal command set, and means of selecting which dictionary to use to try and interpret the commands are guaranteed to change. It is also likely that commands may appear in one release, disappear in the next, then reappear in the release after that, or that commands will change meanings.