Draftworks: draw the event, check the rig, hand it over.

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1Welcome

1. This is Draftworks, the drawing program built for events.
2. Draw the venue, the stage, the truss and every light, check the rigging, print the paperwork, and hand the whole rig to Raedia Lighting.
3. In this guide we go through it chapter by chapter.

Install, licence and editions →

2Install, licence and editions

1. Install Draftworks and start it.
2. Open Help, Licence, and paste the key from your email.
3. Activation needs the internet once; after that it works offline for up to two weeks between checks.
4. The status bar shows your edition and your email address.
5. Core gives you drawing and modelling.
6. Events adds stages, truss, lights and paperwork.
7. Architecture adds walls, doors and building tools, and Studio includes all three.

← WelcomeThe window: menus, palettes, viewport and panels →

3The window: menus, palettes, viewport and panels

1. Across the top are the menus: File, Edit, View, Layers, Import, Export, Reports and Help.
2. The tool palettes sit beside the viewport, grouped in tabs such as Events and Architecture.
3. The panels on the right show the properties of what you've selected, the outliner of everything in the drawing, and your layers.
4. Make the window any size you like; the panels shrink and scroll so nothing is ever cut off.

← Install, licence and editionsTyping values and the command palette →

4Typing values and the command palette

1. Draftworks is quick from the keyboard.
2. Start typing and the value box at the bottom takes it.
3. Type an exact point with a hash, for example #0,0,0, and lengths, angles and radii as plain numbers.
4. Press Ctrl+K for the command palette, type part of any command, and press Enter.

← The window: menus, palettes, viewport and panelsDrawing: line, rectangle, circle, arc and polyline →

5Drawing: line, rectangle, circle, arc and polyline

1. Draw a line: click the start or type it, then the end.
2. A rectangle takes two corners.
3. A circle takes a centre and a radius, clicked or typed.
4. An arc takes three clicks, and a polyline keeps going until you press Enter.
5. Snapping shows you what you've caught, on the line, at the end, at the centre, so everything joins up.

← Typing values and the command paletteText and dimensions →

6Text and dimensions

1. Add text for labels and notes, and dimensions to show the sizes that matter.
2. Both show on the plan and on your sheets.

← Drawing: line, rectangle, circle, arc and polylineSelect, move, copy, rotate and scale →

7Select, move, copy, rotate and scale

1. Click an object to select it, and the Properties panel shows its type, layer, class and size.
2. Move takes a base point and a destination, clicked or typed.
3. Copy does the same and leaves the original.
4. Rotate takes a centre and an angle, and Scale takes a base point and a factor.
5. Delete removes it.

← Text and dimensionsUndo, redo and recovery →

8Undo, redo and recovery

1. Ctrl+Z undoes and Ctrl+Y redoes, as far back as you need.
2. And if the computer ever stops without warning, Draftworks offers your work back the next time it starts.

← Select, move, copy, rotate and scaleLayers and classes →

9Layers and classes

1. Layers split the drawing by level or area, and classes split it by kind of thing: lights, truss, staging, audio.
2. Show, hide and lock them to work on just what you need.

← Undo, redo and recoveryViews: orbit, pan, zoom, top and plan →

10Views: orbit, pan, zoom, top and plan

1. Scroll to zoom.
2. Use orbit and pan to move round the model.
3. Top gives you the plan straight down, and Zoom extents fits the whole drawing to the window.
4. Shaded mode shows the model solid, ready to check sight lines.

← Layers and classesStage decks and truss →

11Stage decks and truss

1. On the Events tab, click to place stage decks, one per click, to build the stage.
2. Draw truss in lengths, and it snaps to lines so every piece meets the next.

← Views: orbit, pan, zoom, top and planPlacing lights from the library →

12Placing lights from the library

1. Open the fixture library and search by manufacturer or name.
2. Pick the fixture and place it, and it hangs on the truss where you click.
3. Every light carries its universe, address and power with it.

← Stage decks and trussWalls and doors →

13Walls and doors

1. On the Architecture tab, draw walls with two clicks, then drop a door into a wall and it cuts its own opening.
2. Draw the room you're working in, so the stage sits where it really goes.

← Placing lights from the libraryRigging check: weight and hang points →

14Rigging check: weight and hang points

1. Reports, Rigging check, adds up the weight of everything you've hung, by object and by department, and lists the hang points with the total load.
2. It's a planning aid that helps you and your rigger talk about the same numbers.
3. Your rigger always signs off the real rig.
4. Until a report is signed, Draftworks marks it as a draft.

← Walls and doorsPaperwork: channel hookup and signal list →

15Paperwork: channel hookup and signal list

1. Generate Paperwork turns the drawing into the lists the crew needs: channel hookup with every light's universe, address and wattage, and the signal list for cables and data.
2. Choose what to include and Draftworks builds them from the drawing, so they always match.

← Rigging check: weight and hang pointsSheets, viewports and PDF →

16Sheets, viewports and PDF

1. Sheet tools lay out your drawings for print.
2. Add a sheet, choose the paper size, drop in a plan view and a 3D view, and preview it.
3. Export the sheets as a PDF to send to the venue and the crew.

← Paperwork: channel hookup and signal listPictures and Photograph →

17Pictures and Photograph

1. Save picture writes the view as an image at the size you choose.
2. Photograph renders a lifelike still, with light beams, haze and real materials, so the client sees the show before it's built.

← Sheets, viewports and PDFImport and export: MVR, DXF and PDF →

18Import and export: MVR, DXF and PDF

1. Bring in MVR files with their truss and stage decks, and DXF drawings from the venue.
2. Export MVR to hand the rig to Raedia Lighting, DXF for other drawing tools, and PDF for print.

← Pictures and PhotographSave, open and preferences →

19Save, open and preferences

1. Save keeps everything in one Draftworks project file.
2. Preferences set how Draftworks behaves, and Document preferences set the units and drawing settings for this project.
3. Graphics preferences set quality against speed for your computer.

← Import and export: MVR, DXF and PDFDraftworks in the Raedia Suite →

20Draftworks in the Raedia Suite

1. Draftworks is the start of the Raedia Suite.
2. Draw the rig here, export it, and Raedia Lighting opens it already patched and placed.
3. Raedia then drives the video, and can move the lighting with it.
4. Each program is sold separately, or at a reduced price in the Raedia Suite.

← Save, open and preferencesWrap up →