Make the mouse work like Onshape, SOLIDWORKS or Fusion, and choose the theme, decimal places, sketch options, language, tools and file names.
SettingsTop bar: the ⚙ button
What other CAD programs call it
SchoolCAD
Onshape
Fusion
SOLIDWORKS
Settings
Preferences
Preferences
Options
Click ⚙ at the right of the top bar to open Settings. Changes work straight away. SchoolCAD keeps them in this browser, so on another computer you set them again. Reset all settings puts them back to how they started, and Done closes the window.
Under Mouse buttons like, choose the program you know, or the one your class will move on to: SchoolCAD (standard), Onshape, SOLIDWORKS, Autodesk Fusion, Autodesk Inventor, Tinkercad, SketchUp, Blender, Creo, Siemens NX or AutoCAD. The table under it shows what each button does now. Middle means pressing the scroll wheel down and dragging.
Option
What it does
Keyboard shortcuts like
SchoolCAD, Onshape or SOLIDWORKS: see Keyboard shortcuts. Choosing Onshape's or SOLIDWORKS' mouse buttons sets this too.
Turning
Turntable keeps the floor level, like a model on a turntable. Free lets the model tumble any way.
Turn round
The middle of the view, or The point under the pointer.
Reverse the scroll wheel
Roll the wheel forward to zoom out, like SOLIDWORKS.
Zoom in where the pointer is
Untick it to zoom into the middle of the view.
Left-drag on empty space turns the view
And Shift + left-drag moves it. Handy on a touchpad with no middle button.
Touchpad: two-finger scroll moves the view
Pinch to zoom, and Shift + two-finger scroll to turn.
Double-click the scroll wheel to zoom to fit
As in SOLIDWORKS and Fusion.
Turning speed, Zoom speed
Make turning and zooming slower or faster.
Animate view changes
Untick it to make the view jump straight to a new view, with less movement on screen.
Choosing a program also sets its own way of turning and zooming. If you change those afterwards, a link such as Use Onshape's own settings puts them back.
Automatic is extra sharp, and steps down by itself if your computer cannot keep up. Sharpest is always extra sharp. Fastest is softer, but quicker on a slow computer.
Edge lines
Thin, Normal or Bold.
Perspective
The field of view: wider looks deeper, narrower looks flatter (closer to a drawing).
Floor grid, Shadow under the model, Show the view cube
How many decimal places dimensions and sizes show. SchoolCAD keeps the exact values; this is only how they are shown.
Decimal mark
Point: 2.5 or Comma: 2,5.
Time
Like my computer, 12 hour or 24 hour.
SchoolCAD works in millimetres. Type another unit after any size and it is changed to mm: 2 in, 1/2 in, 5 cm, 0.3 m or 1 ft. An angle can have ° on the end.
As SOLIDWORKS and Fusion do. Untick it to work like Onshape, where you press N.
Turn the view while sketching
Normally, dragging in a sketch moves the view so the sketch stays flat. Press N to look straight at the sketch again.
Snap to the grid while drawing
Points land on the grid lines you can see.
Horizontal and vertical snapping while drawing lines
A nearly level line becomes horizontal (H), and a nearly upright one becomes vertical (V).
Line up with other lines and points while drawing
A new line snaps parallel (∥) or square (⊥) to other lines, and the pointer lines up with other points and runs on along other lines, with dotted guides.
Normal, Bigger (115%), Big (130%) or Biggest (150%): the menus, toolbar, feature list, dialogs and Help get bigger, and the 3D view keeps its size. Ctrl and + in the browser makes everything bigger, the 3D view too.
High contrast
Darker words, stronger lines and a thicker outline round whatever the keyboard is on.
Reduce motion
Nothing slides, spins or flashes, and the view jumps straight to a new direction. SchoolCAD also does this by itself when your computer is set to reduce motion.
Easy-read font
Atkinson Hyperlegible, a font made by the Braille Institute so letters that look alike (I, l and 1, or b and d) are easy to tell apart.
More space between letters, words and lines
Wider spacing for easier reading.
Underline links
Links are underlined, so they do not rely on colour.
These settings work on the Help pages too. See Accessibility for the keyboard pointer, screen readers and everything else SchoolCAD does for students with disability.