IQcad User Manual

IQcad is a 2D/3D CAD application for engineering and civil survey work. It provides standard drafting tools together with specialised civil objects for survey points, TIN surfaces, horizontal alignments, tunnel section line deviation analysis, and coordinate transformations, plus large-scale point cloud handling, drone survey, and a scripting/plugin SDK.

Contents

• 1. Introduction
  • 1.1. Welcome to IQcad
    • 1.1.1. What IQcad Does
    • 1.1.2. Supported Platforms
    • 1.1.3. How This Manual Is Organized
• 2. Licensing
  • 2.1. Licensing
    • 2.1.1. License Manager
    • 2.1.2. Updates
    • 2.1.3. Modules
    • 2.1.4. IQcad Basic
    • 2.1.5. IQcad Pro
    • 2.1.6. IQcad Civil
    • 2.1.7. IQcad Point Cloud
    • 2.1.8. IQcad Drone
• 3. CAD Environment
  • 3.1. Interface Overview
    • 3.1.1. Main Areas
    • 3.1.2. Layout Persistence
    • 3.1.3. Ribbon Tabs
  • 3.2. Drawings
    • 3.2.1. New Drawing
    • 3.2.2. Open a Drawing
    • 3.2.3. Saving
    • 3.2.4. Drawing Properties
    • 3.2.5. Multiple Drawings
  • 3.3. Navigation
    • 3.3.1. Zoom
    • 3.3.2. Pan
    • 3.3.3. Grid
    • 3.3.4. Rulers
    • 3.3.5. 3D View Commands
    • 3.3.6. UCS Gizmo
    • 3.3.7. Map Background
    • 3.3.8. Retained Geometry (experimental)
  • 3.4. Drawing Tools
    • 3.4.1. Object Snapping (Osnap)
    • 3.4.2. Lines and Curves
    • 3.4.3. Shapes and Fills
    • 3.4.4. Annotation
    • 3.4.5. Insert
    • 3.4.6. Dimensions
    • 3.4.7. Civil Drawing Tools
  • 3.5. Modifying Objects
    • 3.5.1. Modify Commands
    • 3.5.2. Mesh and Surface Conversion
    • 3.5.3. Clipboard
    • 3.5.4. OSNAP in Edit Commands
    • 3.5.5. Grips
    • 3.5.6. Undo and Redo
  • 3.6. Selection
    • 3.6.1. Selection Methods
    • 3.6.2. Selection Feedback
    • 3.6.3. Selection Filter
    • 3.6.4. Cursor Modes
    • 3.6.5. Right-Click Behaviour
  • 3.7. Layers, Linetypes and Text Styles
    • 3.7.1. Layer Manager
    • 3.7.2. Ribbon Layer Dropdown
    • 3.7.3. Linetype Manager
    • 3.7.4. Drawing Variables
    • 3.7.5. Text Styles
    • 3.7.6. Colour and Linetype Inheritance
  • 3.8. Object Inspector
    • 3.8.1. Architecture
    • 3.8.2. Selection Filter
    • 3.8.3. Multi-Selection
    • 3.8.4. Common Properties (All Objects)
    • 3.8.5. Canvas / Drawing Defaults
    • 3.8.6. Line Properties
    • 3.8.7. Polyline and Multiline Properties
    • 3.8.8. Hatch Properties
    • 3.8.9. 3D Polyline Properties
    • 3.8.10. Text Properties
    • 3.8.11. Multileader Properties
    • 3.8.12. Arc / Circle Properties
    • 3.8.13. Dimension Properties
    • 3.8.14. AEC Survey Point Properties
    • 3.8.15. Surface Properties
    • 3.8.16. Alignment Properties
    • 3.8.17. Table Properties
    • 3.8.18. Viewport Properties
    • 3.8.19. Tunnel Section Line Properties
    • 3.8.20. Set Properties
  • 3.9. Blocks and Attributes
    • 3.9.1. Creating a Block
    • 3.9.2. Inserting a Block
    • 3.9.3. Editing a Block Definition
    • 3.9.4. Block Manager
    • 3.9.5. Exploding a Block
    • 3.9.6. Attributes
    • 3.9.7. Blocks, Layers and Colours
    • 3.9.8. Blocks in the File Formats
  • 3.10. Command Line
    • 3.10.1. Command Suggestions
    • 3.10.2. Command Reference
    • 3.10.3. Entering Coordinates
    • 3.10.4. Running Scripts
  • 3.11. Format Settings
    • 3.11.1. Layers
    • 3.11.2. Linetypes
    • 3.11.3. Drawing Variables
    • 3.11.4. Point Style (Ctrl+Shift+D)
    • 3.11.5. Text Style (Ctrl+Shift+T)
    • 3.11.6. Surface Styles
    • 3.11.7. Table Styles
    • 3.11.8. Multiline Styles (Ctrl+Shift+M)
    • 3.11.9. Dimension Styles
    • 3.11.10. Plot Style Tables (CTB)
    • 3.11.11. Tunnel Section Line Styles
    • 3.11.12. Parcel Styles
    • 3.11.13. Alignment Styles
    • 3.11.14. Alignment Label Styles
    • 3.11.15. Civil Label Styles
    • 3.11.16. Unified Style Managers
  • 3.12. Exporting and Importing
    • 3.12.1. Native File Formats
    • 3.12.2. Exporting
    • 3.12.3. Importing
  • 3.13. Layouts, Viewports and Printing
    • 3.13.1. Creating and Managing Layouts
    • 3.13.2. Page Setup
    • 3.13.3. Creating Viewports
    • 3.13.4. Scale, Lock and Freeze
    • 3.13.5. Viewport Commands
    • 3.13.6. Draw Order
    • 3.13.7. Printing
    • 3.13.8. Plotting to PDF
  • 3.14. DWG Compatibility
    • 3.14.1. Supported Versions
    • 3.14.2. What Round-Trips
    • 3.14.3. Opening and Re-saving Untouched
    • 3.14.4. Backends and the Fallback Chain
    • 3.14.5. Exporting Survey Objects
    • 3.14.6. Known Limitations
  • 3.15. Application Settings
    • 3.15.1. General
    • 3.15.2. Display
    • 3.15.3. Grid
    • 3.15.4. Ruler
    • 3.15.5. UCS Gizmo
    • 3.15.6. ViewCube
    • 3.15.7. Advanced
    • 3.15.8. DWG
    • 3.15.9. Where Settings Are Stored
• 4. Super Tools
  • 4.1. Overview
    • 4.1.1. Access
    • 4.1.2. Ribbon and menu groups
    • 4.1.3. Current commands
  • 4.2. Cleanup
    • 4.2.1. FLATTEN
  • 4.3. Polylines
    • 4.3.1. PLSIMPLIFY
    • 4.3.2. PLGETZ
    • 4.3.3. BESTFITLINE
• 5. Civil Module
  • 5.1. Civil Toolspace and Settings
    • 5.1.1. Civil Toolspace
    • 5.1.2. Civil Settings
    • 5.1.3. Elevation Band Legend
  • 5.2. AEC Survey Points
    • 5.2.1. Properties
    • 5.2.2. Point Style Library
    • 5.2.3. Importing Survey Points from CSV
    • 5.2.4. Point Groups
    • 5.2.5. Point Manager
  • 5.3. TIN Surfaces
    • 5.3.1. Triangulation Algorithm
    • 5.3.2. Creating a Surface
    • 5.3.3. Adding Data to a Surface
    • 5.3.4. Surface Display & Styles
    • 5.3.5. Boundaries
    • 5.3.6. Surface Statistics
    • 5.3.7. Elevation Query
    • 5.3.8. Elevation Tracker
    • 5.3.9. Performance & Rendering
    • 5.3.10. IQML Streaming Save
    • 5.3.11. Decimating (Simplifying) a Surface
    • 5.3.12. Deleting a Surface
    • 5.3.13. Importing Large Surfaces (LandXML Fast Path)
    • 5.3.14. Exporting Surfaces
    • 5.3.15. Cross-Sections from a DEM
    • 5.3.16. Comparing Surfaces (Surface Differencing)
    • 5.3.17. Earthwork Volume Report
    • 5.3.18. Balancing Volumes
    • 5.3.19. Surface Editing Commands
    • 5.3.20. Hiding and Restoring Triangles
    • 5.3.21. Breaklines
    • 5.3.22. Spot Elevations
    • 5.3.23. Contour Label Placement
  • 5.4. Alignments and Profiles
    • 5.4.1. Horizontal Alignments
    • 5.4.2. Profile Views
    • 5.4.3. Alignment Editor
  • 5.5. Sections and Parcels
    • 5.5.1. Cross-Sections
    • 5.5.2. Association Highlighting
    • 5.5.3. Prospector Style Columns
    • 5.5.4. Parcels
  • 5.6. Tunnel Analysis and Coordinate Transformations
    • 5.6.1. Tunnel Section Line — Measured Profile
    • 5.6.2. Coordinate Transformations
  • 5.7. Assemblies and Corridors
    • 5.7.1. Overview
    • 5.7.2. Assembly elements
    • 5.7.3. Pavement structure — courses and materials
    • 5.7.4. Section styles
    • 5.7.5. Conditional rows, ditches and benching
    • 5.7.6. Standard sample library
    • 5.7.7. Editor display
    • 5.7.8. Building a corridor
  • 5.8. Grading, Culverts and the 3D Object Viewer
    • 5.8.1. Grading
    • 5.8.2. Culverts
    • 5.8.3. 3D Object Viewer
  • 5.9. Sites
    • 5.9.1. Sites in the Prospector
    • 5.9.2. Creating a Site
    • 5.9.3. Assigning an Alignment to a Site
    • 5.9.4. Sites in the File Formats
• 6. Point Cloud Module
  • 6.1. Point Clouds
    • 6.1.1. Importing a Point Cloud
    • 6.1.2. Attaching a Cache
    • 6.1.3. Exporting a Point Cloud
    • 6.1.4. Elevation Clipping
    • 6.1.5. Point Cloud Display
    • 6.1.6. Prospector Integration
  • 6.2. Point Cloud Management
  • 6.3. Point Cloud Sections and Sheets
    • 6.3.1. Point Cloud Sections
    • 6.3.2. Point Cloud Sections Along Alignment
    • 6.3.3. Point Cloud Section Sheet Styles
• 7. Drone Module
  • 7.1. Drone Survey
    • 7.1.1. DEM and orthophoto
    • 7.1.2. Moving around
    • 7.1.3. Points, breaklines and boundaries
    • 7.1.4. Grid and low-pass
    • 7.1.5. Surface and contours
    • 7.1.6. Send to the drawing
    • 7.1.7. Sessions
    • 7.1.8. Keys
• 8. Command Reference
  • 8.1. Command Reference
    • 8.1.1. CAD Commands
    • 8.1.2. Civil Commands
    • 8.1.3. Point Cloud Commands
    • 8.1.4. Drone Commands
    • 8.1.5. Scripting & Automation
  • 8.2. Keyboard Shortcuts
    • 8.2.1. File
    • 8.2.2. Edit
    • 8.2.3. View
    • 8.2.4. Format
    • 8.2.5. Drawing Tools
    • 8.2.6. Modify Tools
    • 8.2.7. General
  • 8.3. Program Defaults Reference
    • 8.3.1. Application Settings
    • 8.3.2. Drawing Variables
    • 8.3.3. Layer Defaults
    • 8.3.4. Text Styles
    • 8.3.5. Dimension Styles
    • 8.3.6. Surface Styles
    • 8.3.7. Alignment Styles
    • 8.3.8. Parcel Styles
    • 8.3.9. Tunnel Section Line Styles
    • 8.3.10. Civil Object Layer Defaults
    • 8.3.11. Civil Label Styles
    • 8.3.12. Civil Settings
• 9. SDK
  • 9.1. Scripting
    • 9.1.1. Overview
    • 9.1.2. Running scripts
    • 9.1.3. File format
    • 9.1.4. Examples by category
    • 9.1.5. Patterns
    • 9.1.6. Limitations
    • 9.1.7. Python scripting
    • 9.1.8. Future scripting languages
  • 9.2. Python Scripting Reference
    • 9.2.1. Intro
    • 9.2.2. Running Python
    • 9.2.3. The object model
    • 9.2.4. Class reference
    • 9.2.5. Decorators and events
    • 9.2.6. Dialogs
    • 9.2.7. Examples
    • 9.2.8. Dialogs and message boxes
    • 9.2.9. Live forms
    • 9.2.10. Ribbon & menu
    • 9.2.11. Limitations and tips
  • 9.3. Pascal Scripting
    • 9.3.1. Intro
    • 9.3.2. Running Pascal
    • 9.3.3. The object model
    • 9.3.4. Class and global reference
    • 9.3.5. Commands and events
    • 9.3.6. Dialogs
    • 9.3.7. Available RTL
    • 9.3.8. Examples
    • 9.3.9. Dialogs and message boxes
    • 9.3.10. Live forms
    • 9.3.11. Ribbon & menu
    • 9.3.12. Limitations and tips
  • 9.4. Plugins (Native SDK)
    • 9.4.1. Plugins versus scripting
    • 9.4.2. Architecture and design
    • 9.4.3. The plugin lifecycle
    • 9.4.4. Trust and the Plugin Manager
    • 9.4.5. Installing a plugin
    • 9.4.6. The manifest (plugin.json)
    • 9.4.7. Tutorial 1 — your first plugin (Free Pascal)
    • 9.4.8. Tutorial 2 — drawing geometry
    • 9.4.9. Parameter dialogs and message boxes
    • 9.4.10. Live tool windows
    • 9.4.11. Ribbon & menu contributions
    • 9.4.12. Writing a plugin in C or C++
    • 9.4.13. The bundled samples
    • 9.4.14. API reference
    • 9.4.15. Debugging plugins
    • 9.4.16. Building for other platforms
    • 9.4.17. Versioning and compatibility — summary
  • 9.5. The Blade Runner Script Editor
    • 9.5.1. Buffers and Files
    • 9.5.2. Running a Script
    • 9.5.3. The Sidebar
    • 9.5.4. Find, Replace and Navigation
    • 9.5.5. The Command Palette
    • 9.5.6. Appearance
• 10. Tutorials
  • 10.1. Tutorials
    • 10.1.1. Tutorial 1: Working with Survey Points
    • 10.1.2. Tutorial 2: Working with TIN Surfaces
    • 10.1.3. Tutorial 3: Working with Alignments
    • 10.1.4. Tutorial 4: Working with Parcels
• 11. Features and Changelog
  • 11.1. Features and Changelog
    • 11.1.1. Changelog
    • 11.1.2. Drawing & Editing
    • 11.1.3. Civil / AEC
    • 11.1.4. Styles
    • 11.1.5. Layout & Printing
    • 11.1.6. File I/O
    • 11.1.7. User Interface

Indices

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