DRYCAD Suite | User Documentation | v1.0.0
Table of Contents
1. Overview
Projecting an element into a sketch and then marking it as a construction reference is normally two separate commands, run one after the other, every time you need a reference line. DRY0042 collapses that sequence into one: select the element, launch the tool, and CATIA’s projection and “convert to construction” commands run back to back automatically. There is no panel to configure and nothing to confirm afterward, the tool has no user interface, and does its work between the moment it’s launched and the moment it closes.
What it does:
- Prompts you to select one or more elements to project directly in the CATIA workspace
- Runs CATIA’s native 3D-element projection command against your selection
- Confirms the projection automatically by triggering the projection dialog’s OK action
- Immediately converts the resulting geometry to a construction element, so it never behaves as contributing sketch geometry
- Closes automatically once the sequence completes, with no further input needed
Supported CAD platforms: CATIA V5
Workspace requirement: An active Sketch must be open and being edited in CATIA. This is the only supported workspace for DRY0042.
2. Getting Started
Prerequisites
- CATIA V5 must be running
- You must be logged into the DRYCAD Suite
- A Sketch must be active and open for editing in CATIA
Launching the Tool
DRY0042 is launched from the DRYCAD Suite CommandBar inside CATIA V5. Unlike most Suite tools, it has no panel of its own, launching it starts the projection-and-reference sequence immediately.
The tool checks the following conditions at startup, and will show an error and close if any fail:
- A valid user session is found, if not: “User not found. Please login and try again.”
- CATIA V5 is running and accessible, if not: “CATIA is not open. Please open CATIA and try again.”
- The active workspace is a Sketch, if not, an “Invalid Workspace” error is shown and the tool does not proceed
A background watchdog checks every 2 seconds whether CATIA is still running and whether the active workspace is still a Sketch. Because DRY0042 has no interface to hold the operation in place, this check mainly protects against CATIA closing mid-sequence rather than against the user switching context, the actual projection-and-conversion sequence normally completes within a second or two of launch.
DRY0042 has no top-bar menu, no settings, and no configuration file, there is nothing to open, adjust, or reset between runs.
3. How It Works
DRY0042 runs a fixed sequence with no configurable steps:
- Selection. You’re prompted in CATIA to select the elements to project, with the message “SELECT ELEMENTS TO PROJECT…”. Selection stays open until you validate it or cancel, any object type is accepted at this stage. If nothing is selected, the tool stops here without making any change.
- Projection. The tool triggers CATIA’s native sketch projection command and opens the resulting projection dialog.
- Automatic confirmation. DRY0042 brings the CATIA window to the foreground and clicks the projection dialog’s OK button on your behalf, using the label CATIA shows for your session’s language. You don’t need to interact with this dialog yourself.
- Construction conversion. As soon as the projection is confirmed, DRY0042 immediately marks the new geometry as a construction element, the same result you’d get by running “Convert to Construction Element” by hand right after projecting.
Because step 3 depends on locating and clicking a real CATIA dialog button, the sequence can only reach step 4 if that click succeeds. If CATIA doesn’t present the expected dialog, or the click doesn’t register, the sequence stops before the construction conversion happens, see Troubleshooting.
4. Troubleshooting
”User not found. Please login and try again.”
The tool could not identify the logged-in user at startup. Log out of the DRYCAD Suite, log back in, and relaunch.
”CATIA is not open. Please open CATIA and try again.”
The tool launched but could not find a running CATIA V5 process. Make sure CATIA is fully loaded before clicking the CommandBar button.
”Invalid Workspace”
The active workspace is not a Sketch. DRY0042 only operates while editing a sketch. Enter Sketch edit mode in CATIA, then relaunch.
”An Error occurred managing the Projection Panel…”
This appears when the tool successfully opened CATIA’s projection dialog but could not confirm it, most often because the dialog didn’t appear where expected, was closed or moved before the automatic click, or CATIA’s window lost focus at the wrong moment. When this happens, the construction-reference conversion is skipped, since it only runs after the projection is confirmed.
- Make sure no other window is stealing focus from CATIA while the tool runs
- Avoid clicking or typing during the brief moment between launch and completion
- Relaunch the tool and try the selection again
Nothing seems to happen after launch
Check the following:
- Confirm you actually validated a selection, if you cancel or select nothing at the “SELECT ELEMENTS TO PROJECT…” prompt, the tool exits quietly with no further action
- Confirm the element you selected is one CATIA’s projection command can accept in the current sketch context
- Confirm you’re still in Sketch edit mode, the background watchdog closes the tool automatically if CATIA exits Sketch mode or closes entirely while it’s running
The element projected but wasn’t converted to a construction reference
This means the sequence stopped after projection but before conversion, see “An Error occurred managing the Projection Panel…” above. The conversion step only runs once the projection dialog has been confirmed; if that confirmation fails, the projected geometry is left as regular geometry rather than a reference.
5. Version History
| Version | Date | Changes |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0.0 | 2026-06 | Initial release |
DRY0042, Sketch Projection Reference | DRYCAD Solutions | v1.0.0