Watermark in the 2D drawing template

To protect their 2D drawings before they are sent out to production, they sometimes want to watermark them. In this post, we'll walk you through step-by-step how to do this with a text box that is managed in its own layer.

We start by creating a new 2D drawing from an existing template, by clicking on the Create New Drawing from Template button.

You can also access the function via the context menu:

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In this case we choose an A3 drawing template, but of course you can choose any template you like. Then press OK.

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Under the Home tab we now choose to create a new Text, it is also possible to use the shortcut [T].

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Then click-and-drag a text box somewhere in the middle of the drawing sheet and write a text, in this case we write Ej for production. Then left-click on the drawing sheet outside the text box to deselect...

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...and then right-click on the text box and select Properties.

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Select the entire text in the Text box, here you can then choose the font and font size. We choose 72 points in size (which corresponds to about 18 mm).

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However, the text box seems to be "too small" for the text and if you got the same result; enlarge the box by holding down the left mouse button on one of the handles and drag to enlarge the box, e.g. to the right, so that all the text fits within the text box.

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In the next step, we want to rotate the text box, so that it lies at an angle across the drawing page. From v2022, you can directly right-click on the text box to rotate it around the centre.

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In versions earlier than v2022, you have to select the text box instead and then go to the Sketch tab and select Rotate Curves.

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Hold down the right mouse button on the right side of the text box and drag upwards, then release the right mouse button and select Move Here.

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In our case, we choose an inclination of 30 degrees, then press OK.

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Now the text looks good and we are happy there!

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In the next step, we want to put the text on a locked layer so that it doesn't get in the way when we add views and dimension sets, etc.

Now go to the Home tab and then Styles and Layers (or use the shortcut [L]).

At the bottom right of the window, all available layers and their settings are displayed.

Click the Add button to create a new layer. Under Name we enter the name of our layer, which in this case will be Ej for production. We also want the layer to be locked by default, so tick Locked.

Then change the colour by clicking on Change color, choose a colour that suits, we chose red in this case. Then press Ok.

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Then be sure to check the Use Color box at the Not for production layer . Then press OK.

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By default, texts in the 2D drawing template end up in the unlocked Text layer. We now want to move our watermark to the new layer. Select the text box and use the Layers drop-down menu on the left of the Properties window. There we select the new Not for Production layer. Then test if you can click on the text box (you shouldn't be able to, as it is now handled by the locked layer).

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We will now save these changes with a new 2D drawing template.

We do this by going to the Home tab and clicking on the Save As button .

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We can't save the file anywhere, it has to be managed in the right folder etc.

Start by changing the File Format at the bottom left. There we select Template Files, which means we automatically end up in the folder corresponding to the default path for the 2D drawing templates, which is based on your Windows login and therefore different on all computers:
C:\Users\*YOUR USER*\AppData\Roaming\IronCAD\IRONCAD\*VERSION*\en-us\Template\Drawing.

If you use IRONCAD 2020 PU1 and older versions, you have your drawing templates on this path:
C:\Program Files\IronCAD\2020\AppData\en-us\Template\Drawing.

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As File Name we give a name to our 2D drawing template then press Save.

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Then, when we need to create a new 2D drawing, click again on the Create New Drawing from Template button (or go via Menu, File and New...), and then select our new 2D drawing template followed by OK.

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Now we can add views and measurements etc using our new 2D drawing template.

In the next step we show how the watermark (layer) can be deactivated when the drawing is ready for production. You might also want to create a similar new text box indicating Ready for production!

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When the 2D drawing is ready to be sent to production, go to the Home tab and then Styles and Layers (or use the keyboard shortcut [L]).

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New layers always appear last in the list under Available Layers. Therefore, scroll to the bottom of the list and uncheck On for the layer that handles the Not for production text box (and maybe activate another layer called Ready for production instead). Then press OK.

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Now our watermark no longer appears and can therefore be sent on for production.

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Starting with v2022 PU1, which will be released next week, there will be Layers named ready-to-produce and Ready-to-produce in our Swedish customization.