About View/Annotation Planes

The view/annotation planes are specified around the geometry for automatically generating the corresponding views, sections and cuts of the 2D drawing.

The view/annotation planes are by default displayed in the 3D with a dashed frame that is resized to always frame all the annotations that are linked to it.

When the view/annotation plane is active (the preferred view to receive newly created annotations), its origin and axis system is also displayed and the dashed frame is also resized to frame the axis system origin.

Note also that the position and orientation coordinates of a given annotation that are displayed in the Position And Orientation toolbar and in the Position region of the Text tab page of the annotation properties are expressed in the view axis system.

You can control the 3D display of the dashed frame of a view by modifying its Display View Frame property in View properties.

You can also control the display of the active axis system by using the option View/Annotation Plane Display. See View/Annotation Plane.

Related Topics
Text Properties
View Properties
Creating a Front View
Creating a Section View/Annotation Plane
Creating a Section Cut View/Annotation Plane
Creating an Axonometric View
Creating an Aligned Section View/Section Cut
Creating an Offset Section View/Section Cut

Creation Rules

The view/annotation planes are created using the following rules.

  • The view/annotation plane axes take into account:
    • The selected plane normal.
    • The view direction of the viewer.
    • Axes of the document.
  • When using a reference plane, the view/annotation plane is always parallel to the reference plane but its X and Y axes are not necessarily parallel to the reference plane edge directions. If you like to keep these directions, you must associate an axis system to the reference plane before use it for the view/annotation plane creation.
  • When creating a new view/annotation plane by selecting a planar surface, the origin that is chosen is the 3D shape/product origin. If you want to choose the origin (and the axis orientation) of the view, you have to select an existing axis system while creating.

View/annotation planes

Three kinds of view/annotation planes are proposed.

Projection View/Annotation Plane

A projection view/annotation plane allows you to manage 3D annotations.

These annotations are:


  • Located in planes both parallel to this view/annotation plane and in the background and foreground spaces bounded by this view/annotation plane (or in any plane of the direction of planes defined by this view/annotation plane),
  • Related to the geometry finding an intersection with this view/annotation plane,
  • Lying on/belonging to this view/annotation plane.

This view/annotation plane allows you to specify a particular view/annotation plane for generating embedded 2D front/projection views, in the Generative Drafting workbench, during the 2D extraction of the 3D shape and of the 3D annotations.

Annotations can be translated along the z axis of its local coordinate system.

Negative and positive z values can be used to define the translation, since the projection view/annotation plane will be used for the extraction of front views in the Generative Drafting workbench.

Section View/Annotation Plane

A section view/annotation plane allows you to manage 3D annotations.

These annotations are:


  • Located in planes both parallel to this view/annotation plane and in the background space bounded by this view/annotation plane,
  • Related to the geometry finding an intersection with this view/annotation plane,
  • Lying on/belonging to this view/annotation plane.

This view allows you to specify a particular annotation for generating embedded 2D section views, in the Generative Drafting workbench, during the 2D extraction of the 3D shape and of the 3D annotations.

Annotations can be translated along the z axis of its local coordinate system.

Only negative z values can be used to define the translation, since the section view/annotation plane will be used for the extraction of section views in the Generative Drafting workbench.

Section Cut View/Annotation Plane

A section cut view/annotation plane allows you to manage 3D annotations.


  • Only related to the geometry finding an intersection with this view/annotation plane,
  • Related to the geometry finding an intersection with this view/annotation plane.

This view allows you to specify a particular annotation for generating embedded 2D section views, in the Generative Drafting workbench, during the 2D extraction of the 3D shape and of the 3D annotations.

Annotations cannot be translated along the z axis of its local coordinate system (z=0), since the section cut view/annotation plane will be used for the extraction of section cuts in the Generative Drafting workbench.

Axonometric View

An axonometric view allows you to manage 3D annotations.

These annotations are managed as same as for a Projection View/Annotation Plane, the only difference is in the view definition at creation: the screen view.

Extraction views

Extraction views are particular kinds of views. They specifically aimed at preparing the following types of views for 2D extraction, and they are made up of several annotation planes (of the same type). You can create annotations in each view/annotation plane making up the extraction view. You will then be able to extract this extraction view to 2D in the Generative Drafting workbench, as well as all annotations defined in each component section view. Extraction views, no matter their type, use a cutting profile as cutting plane.

Aligned section view/section cuts

An aligned section view/aligned section cut is created from a cutting profile defined from non parallel planes. In order to include in a section certain angled elements, the cutting plane may be bent so as to pass through those features. The plane and feature are then imagined to be revolved into the original plane.

Aligned section views are made up of several section view/annotation planes, as described in About View/Annotation Planes above.

Aligned section cuts are made up of several section cut view/annotation planes, as described in About View/Annotation Planes above.

Offset section view/section cuts

Offset section view/offset section cuts let you show several features that do not lie in a straight line by offsetting or bending the cutting plane, which is often desirable when sectioning through irregular objects.

Offset section views are made up of several section view/annotation planes, as described in About View/Annotation Planes above.

Offset section cuts are made up of several section cut view/annotation planes, as described in About View/Annotation Planes above.