Introdução
The Python console is a panel that's part of the FreeCAD user interface. It runs an instance of the Python interpreter which can be used to control FreeCAD processes, and create and modify objects and their properties.
It can be made visible/hidden through the View → Panels → Python console drop-down menu.
The Python console in FreeCAD has basic syntax highlighting, able to differentiate with various styles and colors, comments, strings, numeric values, built in functions, printed text output, and delimiters like parentheses and commas. These properties of the console can be configured in the Preferences editor.
The Python console showing messages when FreeCAD has just started.
Scripting
For absolute beginners, see: Introduction to Python, and Python scripting tutorial.
See also: FreeCAD scripting basics, and Scripted objects.
The Python console can perform basic code completion when a dot is written after an object; it will show public methods and attributes (variables) of the current object (class), for example, obj.
The console is also able to show the documentation string of a particular function when the opening parenthesis is written, for example, function(
Example Python code that produces objects in the 3D view.
The FreeCAD initialization scripts automatically load some modules, and define some aliases. Therefore, in the Python console these are available
App = FreeCAD
Gui = FreeCADGui
Therefore these are equal
App.newDocument()
FreeCAD.newDocument()
Note: these pre-loaded modules and aliases are only available from the Python console embedded inside the FreeCAD program. If you use FreeCAD as a library in an external program, you must remember to load the FreeCAD
and FreeCADGui
modules and define the necessary aliases if you wish.
Ações
Right click on the Python console shows some commands:
- Copy: stores the selected text in the clipboard for later pasting; it is disabled if nothing is selected.
- Copy command: stores the selected command in the clipboard for later pasting; it is disabled if nothing is selected.
- Copy history: copy the entire history of Python commands entered in this session.
- Save history as: save the entire history of Python commands entered in this session to a text file.
- Paste: paste previously copied text in the clipboard to the Python console.
- Select all: selects all text in the Python console.
- Clear console: erases all commands entered into the Python console. This is useful if the Python console is full of messages and previously entered commands that may be distracting when testing a new function. This is merely aesthetic, as this command doesn't delete existing variables nor clears the imported modules in the session.
- Insert file name: opens a dialog to search for a file in the system, then it inserts the full path of the file. This is useful to test functions that process an input file, without having to write the entire name in the console, which is error prone. This command does not run the file, and does not import it as a Python module, it just returns the full path of that file.
- Word wrap: wrap very long lines that exceed the horizontal dimension of the Python console.
Notes
- One has the ability to scroll the API in the Python console. Example:
- In the console type:
FreeCAD.
- A dialog box will display with optional classes/functions to choose from
- Scroll through the list to read the description of each class/function
- By choosing a function and following it with a
.
one can repeat steps 2 and 3 to traverse deeper in to the API
- Tab/Word completion is supported using the Ctrl+Space shortcut
Interface
- Preferences Editor, Interface Customization
- Main window: Standard menu, Main view area, 3D view, Combo view (Tree view, Task panel, Property editor), Selection view, Report view, Python console, Status bar, DAG view, Workbench Selector
- Auxiliary windows: Scene inspector, Dependency graph
Std Base
- File: New, Open, Open Recent, Close, Close All, Save, Save As, Save a Copy, Save All, Revert, Import, Export,Merge project, Document information, Print, Print preview, Export PDF, Exit
- Edit: Undo, Redo, Cut, Copy, Paste, Duplicate selection, Refresh, Box selection, Box element selection, Select All, Delete, Send to Python Console, Placement, Transform, Alignment, Toggle Edit mode, Properties, Edit mode, Preferences
- View:
- Miscellaneous: Create new view, Orthographic view, Perspective view, Fullscreen, Bounding box, Toggle axis cross, Clipping plane, Persistent section cut, Texture mapping, Toggle navigation/Edit mode, Material, Appearance, Random color, Color per face, Toggle transparency, Workbench, Status bar
- Standard views: Fit all, Fit selection, Align to selection, Isometric, Dimetric, Trimetric, Home, Front, Top, Right, Rear, Bottom, Left, Rotate Left, Rotate Right, Store working view, Recall working view
- Freeze display: Save views, Load views, Freeze view, Clear views
- Draw style: As is, Points, Wireframe, Hidden line, No shading, Shaded, Flat lines
- Stereo: Stereo red/cyan, Stereo quad buffer, Stereo Interleaved Rows, Stereo Interleaved Columns, Stereo Off, Issue camera position
- Zoom: Zoom In, Zoom Out, Box zoom
- Document window: Docked, Undocked, Fullscreen
- Visibility: Toggle visibility, Show selection, Hide selection, Select visible objects, Toggle all objects, Show all objects, Hide all objects, Toggle selectability
- Toolbars: File, Edit, Clipboard, Workbench, Macro, View, Individual views, Structure, Help, Lock toolbars
- Panels: Tree view, Property view, Model, Selection view, Python console, Report view, Tasks, DAG view
- Dock window overlay: Toggle overlay for all, Toggle transparent for all, Toggle overlay, Toggle transparent, Bypass mouse events in docked overlay windows, Toggle left, Toggle right, Toggle top, Toggle bottom
- Link navigation: Go to linked object, Go to the deepest linked object, Select all links
- Tree view actions: Sync view, Sync selection, Sync placement, Pre-selection, Record selection, Single document, Multi document, Collapse/Expand, Initiate dragging, Go to selection, Selection back, Selection forward
- Tools: Edit parameters, Save image, Load image, Scene inspector, Dependency graph, Export dependency graph, Document utility, Add text document, View turntable, Units converter, Customize, Addon manager, Measure
- Help: Help, FreeCAD Website, Donate, Users documentation, Python scripting documentation, Automatic Python modules documentation, FreeCAD Forum, FreeCAD FAQ, Report a bug, About FreeCAD, What's This, Start
- Additional:
- Miscellaneous: Create part, Create group, Make link, Make sub-link, Replace with link, Unlink, Import links, Import all links, Make link group, Create a variable set, Select all instances, Toggle freeze
- Expression actions: Copy selected, Copy active document, Copy all documents, Paste
- Selection filter: Vertex selection, Edge selection, Face selection, All selection filters cleared
User documentation
- Getting started
- Installation: Download, Windows, Linux, Mac, Additional components, Docker, AppImage, Ubuntu Snap
- Basics: About FreeCAD, Interface, Mouse navigation, Selection methods, Object name, Preferences, Workbenches, Document structure, Properties, Help FreeCAD, Donate
- Help: Tutorials, Video tutorials
- Workbenches: Std Base, Assembly, BIM, CAM, Draft, FEM, Inspection, Material, Mesh, OpenSCAD, Part, PartDesign, Points, Reverse Engineering, Robot, Sketcher, Spreadsheet, Surface, TechDraw, Test Framework