Objects Overview

An object is one item of a project. FlatCAM Evo has six object types: Gerber, Excellon, Geometry, CNCJob, Script and Document. This page explains the project tree, the common actions on objects, the plot options, the colors and the Properties tab.

Object types

Type	Holds	Made by	See
Gerber	Copper, mask and silkscreen layers from a Gerber file	File > Open Gerber	Gerber Object
Excellon	Drill holes and slots from a drill file	File > Open Excellon	Excellon Object
Geometry	Paths (lines and polygons) for milling or cutting	Plugins that output paths, Edit > Conversion, Join	Geometry Object
CNCJob	G-code and its plot	Drilling, Milling, Isolation Routing and other plugins that make G-code	CNCJob Object
Script	A Tcl script text	File > Open Script, or New Script	Script Object
Document	A formatted text document	New Document	Document Object

Where to find it

• Project tree: the list on the left side of the window, in the Project tab. Each object is one row.
• Properties tab: the panel that shows the controls of the selected object. It is the second tab next to Project.
• Project tab context menu: right-click an object row. See the section Context menu below.
• Edit menu and Options menu: the menus that act on the selected objects. See Object Operations.

Screenshot placeholder: images/Objects-Overview-1.png - the main window with the Project tree showing one Gerber, one Excellon, one Geometry and one CNCJob row, and the Properties tab of the selected Gerber object.

Quick start

1. Open a file with File > Open Gerber (or another open command).
2. Look at the Project tree. The new object is selected.
3. Click the Properties tab. The controls of the object are shown.
4. Click the Plot check box to hide or show the object on the canvas.
5. Right-click the row to see the context menu.

Select, rename, delete and hide

• Select: click the object row. Hold Ctrl to add or remove rows from the selection. Use Ctrl+A (Select All) to select all objects. A selected object is also selected on the canvas.
• Rename: press F2 (Rename Objects), or edit the Name field in the Properties tab and press Enter. The name must not be empty. If the new name is already used by another object, the program adds a number to it.
• Delete: press Del (Delete Object), or use Edit > Delete, or the context menu entry Delete. If Delete confirmation is on in Preferences-General, the program asks first. A delete can be undone with Ctrl+Z.
• Hide: clear the Plot check box in the Properties tab. The object stays in the project but is not drawn on the canvas.
• Hide or show many objects: right-click the selection and use Enable Plot or Disable Plot.

Plot options

Each object has a Plot check box. It shows or hides the object on the canvas. Other plot options depend on the type:

Option	Object types	Effect
Plot	All types	Shows or hides the object.
Solid	Gerber, Excellon	Draws polygons and circles as filled shapes. When cleared, only the outlines are drawn.
Multi-Color	Gerber, Excellon, Geometry	Draws each polygon or tool in a different color.
Plot Options (All, Travel, Cut)	CNCJob	Selects the moves to draw: all moves, the travel moves above the material, or the cut moves.

Preference defaults are in Preferences-Gerber, Preferences-Excellon, Preferences-Geometry and Preferences-CNCJob.

Colors

• Right-click an object row and open Set Color. The submenu has these choices: Red, Blue, Yellow, Green, Purple, Brown, Indigo, White, Black, Custom, Opacity and Default.
• Custom opens a color dialog. Opacity sets the opacity of the color. Default restores the color from the Preferences.
• The colors in this submenu change the color of the selected objects on the canvas.

Screenshot placeholder: images/Objects-Overview-2.png - the Set Color submenu open on a Gerber row in the Project tree.

The Properties tab

The Properties tab shows the controls of the selected object. The layout is the same for all types:

1. Title with the object type and a Beginner / Advanced button (the level button).
2. General Information frame: Plot Options, Name, the Plot check box and the editor button (for example Gerber Editor).
3. INFO button: shows or hides a tree of the object attributes (for example the bounds, the units and the number of shapes). The tree is filled when the button is turned on.
4. Tools Table frame: the tools, apertures or tools of the object. Not every type has it.
5. Plugins frame: buttons that start a tool with this object as the source.
6. Utilities button: shows or hides the utility frame for this object.
7. Transformations frame (not for CNCJob and Script): Scale (factor), Offset (X, Y) and the Transformations button.

The Beginner / Advanced button hides some controls. In Beginner mode, many parameters are hidden. The button changes the mode of this object only. The permanent change is made in Preferences.

Screenshot placeholder: images/Objects-Overview-3.png - the Properties tab of a Geometry object with the Transformations frame and the Plugins frame visible.

Context menu

Right-click an object row in the Project tree.

Entry	Action
Enable Plot	Shows the selected objects on the canvas.
Disable Plot	Hides the selected objects.
Set Color	Color submenu. See Colors.
View Source	Shows the source text of the object (for example the Gerber or G-code text).
Edit	Opens the editor of the object. See Object Operations.
Copy	Copies the selected objects. See Object Operations.
Delete	Deletes the selected objects.
Save	Saves the project.
Export	Exports the selected objects as DXF, SVG, PNG or PDF. See Exporting Files.
Join	Joins the selected objects. Entries: As Gerber, As Excellon, As Geometry. See Object Operations.
Properties	Opens the Properties tab of the selected object.

Advanced

• An object keeps its own options. A change in the Properties tab changes only that object. The change is saved with the project.
• Units: the objects use the units of the project. The app works in mm. A project saved in inches opens in inches. See Getting Started.
• The Plot check box of a Script or Document object is hidden. These objects are not drawn on the canvas.
• Use the Tcl commands for scripts. See Tcl Command Reference.

See also

• Gerber Object - Excellon Object - Geometry Object - CNCJob Object
• Script Object - Document Object
• Object Operations - Projects - User Interface - Keyboard Shortcuts - Glossary