Workspaces

Understanding paper space and model space

When you start a drawing session, your initial working area is called Model Space. Model Space is an area in which you create two-dimensional and three-dimensional entities based on either the World Coordinate System (WCS) or a user coordinate system (UCS). You view and work in model space while using the Model tab.

In general model space consists of a single view that fills the screen. If needed, you can create additional views, called viewports, which can show different views of your drawing or 3D model. All viewports are displayed in a tiled manner. You can work in only one of these viewports at a time but all viewports are updated simultaneously. Click in a viewport to make it the current viewport. You can print the current viewport only. The Viewports command lets you manage your viewports in model space.

Bricscad provides an additional work area, called Paper Space. Paper space represents a paper layout of your drawing. In this work area, you can create and arrange different views of your drawing similar to the way you arrange drawings on a sheet of paper. In paper space you can also add keynotes, annotations, borders, title blocks, and other print-related entities, which you don't want to see in model space.

Each drawing has at least one Layout in which you can have one or more Layout Viewports. Such layout viewports are to be considered as a view window on your drawing in model space. Layout viewports can be placed anywere in a paperspace layout. Each viewport has its own scale and layer visibility. All viewports in the same layout can be printed simultaneously.

The Mview command lets you manage your viewports in paper space.

Although not necessary to print your drawing, paper space offers a lot of advantages:

• Create multiple layouts to print the same drawing with different print settings, such as pen widths, printer configuration files, lineweight settings, drawing scale, and more.

• Add print-related entities that are not essential to the model itself, such as keynotes, annotations, title blocks, etc.

• For a single layout, create multiple layout viewports to print multiple views of your drawing at different scales.

Switching between workspaces

• To switch between Model Space and Paper Space Layouts use the Model and Layout tabs at the bottom of the drawing window.

• When working in a layout, use the MSPACE and PSPACE commands to toggle between paper space and model space.

Using the model and layout tabs

1. (option) To open model space, click the Model tab (1) at the bottom of the drawing window.

2. (option) To open a paper space layout, click the corresponding Layout tab (2) at the bottom of the drawing window.

Toggle between model space and paper space in a layout

Commands:  MSPACE and PSPACE

1. (option) When in model space (Model Space, with floating viewports) do one of the following to switch to paper space:

2. Type either pspace or ps, then press Enter

3. Double click outside a viewport.

2. (option) When in paper space do one of the following to switch to model space (Model Space, with floating viewports):

3. Type either mspace or ms, then press Enter.

4. Double click inside a viewport.