This step-by-step procedure will teach you how to easily create a "detail" section for an existing drawing.

During the procedure you will learn about the Section Cutoff and Load Symbol commands as well as several other commands. The procedure has been broken down into three steps. Step 1 is the selection of the detail to create. Step 2 is making the detail ready for placement in the drawing. Step 3 is the placement of the detail in the original drawing.

Step 1:
A. Load the drawing you want to make the detail from.
To open a drawing file, go to the FILE menu and select OPEN. Browse through your directories to the location of the file you want to use. Once in the correct directory you can click on the file you want and then click on the OPEN button.

B. Choose the area to detail.
Once the drawing is loaded, decide which part of the drawing you want to detail. This is important because of later steps.

C. Activate the Section Cutoff command.
The SECTION CUTOFF command can be found in the EDIT menu under the SECTION submenu. Once the command is active, it will ask you to set two points that define the area to be cut. These two points will draw a rubber-band type box over the area to show you where your cut will take place.

D. Set the points for the section to detail.
Place your cursor on one of what will be opposite corners of the area. Click the left mouse button and move your cursor across the area to form the box that will cut the detail area. Set the second point. The area is cut.
Make sure that you DO NOT save the drawing after doing this or you'll save the drawing with that section missing from it.

E. Select the area that was cut.
Now that you have the area cut out, use the mouse to drag a selection box back over it. This will highlight the cut out for you to manipulate it. Make sure that when you drag the selection box over the area that you include all of the area that was cut but nothing else so you do not end up with unwanted entities selected.

F. Copy the selected area.
With the cut out area selected use the COPY command to send a copy of the detail area to the Clipboard. The Copy command can be found in the EDIT menu.

G. Close the main drawing.
Once the area is copied, you are almost ready for the next step, but first close the main drawing. DO NOT save the changes to the drawing when it is closing. If you do, your main drawing will have the area cut out of it that you used for the detail, and you don't want that. If that mistake is made, there will be no way to undo it, so be careful. Pay close attention when closing the file that you DO NOT SAVE.

Step 2:
A. Open a new drawing.
If you are done with all of Step 1, you are ready to start Step 2. You will first need to open a new drawing. You can open a new drawing by going to the FILE menu and selecting NEW, or you can press CTRL+N. A new drawing screen will open. It is important before you do anything else that you check the options for precision, cursor, etc. to make sure they are correct. If they do not match what you had for your main drawing, you will need to set them as such now.

B. Paste the detail area into the new drawing.
Now that you are ready, place the copy of the detailed section of the main drawing. Do this by using the PASTE command. The Paste command is found in the EDIT menu, or you can press CTRL+V. Now you should see a rubber-band box following your cursor in the drawing area. Set a point in the new drawing and hit ENTER on your keyboard. The section of the main drawing that was cut for the detail will be placed on the screen.

C. Make the desired changes.
Using the DesignCAD tools, you can now edit the drawing to add the details you wanted. You can even save this new drawing as a separate file with a new name if you want. This would allow it to be used as a symbol later.

D. Working with separate scales.
When you have completed your detail, you can add dimensions to it. If there are dimensions to be added to the detail they need to be done now. When you are placing the dimension use the STATIC or DRAW AS TEXT option. This will ensure that the values of the dimension measurement will not change when it is added to the original drawing, regardless of what scale is used.

E. Preparing to place the detail in the main drawing.
To get the detail ready for placement back in the original drawing you need to decide on what method you want to use. You can copy and paste it in like you did to get it from the original drawing, or you can load it as a symbol. Either way there is a set of important steps to take first.

If you are going to use the copy and paste method:
Select the detail. Activate the SET HANDLES command from the EDIT menu under SELECTION. Set two points on the detail at key positions that could be used to place or resize the drawing. Many users find it best to use the lower-left and lower-right corners. Once the two points are set, hit ENTER. You are ready for Step 3.

If you are going to use the load symbol method:
Activate the SET DRAWING HANDLES command from the POINT menu. Set two points on the detail at key positions that could be used to place or resize the drawing. Many users find it best to use the lower-left and lower-right corners. Once the two points are set hit ENTER to end the Set Handles command. Save the drawing with a new name. Pay close attention to the directory it is saved in so that you can retrieve it later. You are ready for Step 3.

Step 3:
A. Adding the detail to the original drawing.

If you are using the copy and paste method:
Open the original drawing using the OPEN command. Switch to the detail drawing by selecting the drawing name from the WINDOW menu. The detail should still be selected with its two handles. Choose the COPY command or press CTRL+C. Switch back to the original drawing and activate the PASTE COMMAND or press CTRL+V. If you want to resize the detail when you are placing it, make sure that you have the Use Original Scale option turned off. Set two points that define the area where you want the detail. If you do want the detail to be its original size, leave the Use Original Scale option on and set just one point.

If you are using the symbol load method:
Close the detail drawing and open the original drawing. Use the LOAD SYMBOL command in the FILE menu to select the detail drawing. If you want to be able to edit the detail later, make sure that you have the EXPLODE SYMBOL option checked in the dialog box. If you want to resize the detail when you are placing it, make sure that you have the Use Original Scale option turned off. Set two points that define the locations for the detail's drawing handles. If you want the detail to be its original size, leave the Use Original Scale option on, set one point, and press ENTER.

B. Saving the completed drawing.
Use the SAVE AS command to save a copy of the completed drawing. Be sure to give the drawing a new name so your original file won't be replaced.

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