About the Netfabb Interface

The Netfabb user interface consists of the menu, the toolbar, the project tree, the context view, the quick access menu, and the display. Additional elements are controls for clip planes, and context menus.

• Main Menu
• Toolbar
• Project Tree
• Display
• Context View
• Clip Planes View
• Quick Access
• Context Menus
• Joblist View
• Snapin
• Warnings
• My Machines

Main window elements in Netfabb's Left default layout. Counter-clockwise from top left: Main menu, toolbar, project tree, clip plane controls, context view, quick access, and display.

The default layout can be changed and the main window frames, views, be rearranged, even released from the main window and placed as separate windows on the desktop, allowing to make best use of multi-monitor set-ups.

Main Menu

The main menu contains a number of commands for editing, preparing, analyzing, modifying, and arranging, and viewing your parts, among others.

• File: Contains commands for managing projects and the individual files contained in the project.
• Edit: Contains commands for interacting with the model. This includes selection, undo, redo, rename, and remove among others.
• Prepare: Contains commands for slicing, repairing, and supporting models. Most commands for getting your model ready for manufacturing, even with a specific machine, are found here.
• Analyze: Contains commands for assessing the model such as measuring, comparing meshes, and detecting collisions to name a few.
• Modify: Contains commands for adjusting the geometries.
• Arrange: Contains commands for orienting and organizing parts on the build platform.
• View: Contains commands that adjust how models are displayed and viewed.
• System: Contains commands for adjusting the settings of the application, organizing the layout, and accessing the other Netfabb utilities.
• Help: Provides access to the Netfabb help, the Netfabb website, general license, system, and warning message information.

Toolbar

The toolbar underneath the main menu offers many features with one mouse click.

Note: The availability of functions in the toolbar depends on the active module. The repair module, for example, has a different toolbar than the default view.

Project Tree

The project tree lists all parts, slices, and structures contained in the model, as well as loaded modules.

Display

The display allows you to view your model on the build platform. By default, a generic platform is displayed. The display also shows any information, warning, or error messages at the top; these messages will be dismissed after a while. To view them, open Help > Show Warnings.

Context View

The context view contains specific commands and functions based on the model state and the module you are working in. For many modules, the context view provides access to the main functions of the module.

Clip Planes

The clip planes allow to make sections of parts invisible for inspection. They are also used to set up cutting with a plane.

Use the clip planes to have a look at the inside of a part

Quick Access

The quick access located at the bottom edge of the context view provides easily accessible commands based on the currently loaded module.

Context Menus

Context menus are accessed by right-clicking, either in the project tree or in the display. Other elements have context menus as well, such as views' frame headers.

Joblist

The job list is a detachable view where autonomous actions are listed. For instance, if you have multiple parts selected, and you apply a support script to all of them, the supports generation for each of the parts will be listed here.

By default, the joblist is not activated and not placed in the Netfabb window layout, and it will appear when needed. Using System > Show Views > Joblist, you can open it manually.

Snapin

In some modules, an additional view is provided temporarily. This is the snapin view, and it is used by the support module to allow manual editing supports in a 2D view, and by Texture & Color when aligning a texture. When activated via System > Show Views > Snapin, this view is always visible, and the modules that make use of it fill this view as necessary; otherwise the view remains as a new tab or overlay in the context view.

The snapin view as it appears when editing support

Warnings

In case there are any information, error, or warning messages to display, a dockable Warnings view contains all messages since the most recent launch of Netfabb. Unlike the joblist, for instance, it is not opened automatically whenever a new message is available. Access the Warnings view through Help > Show Warnings.

My Machines

Any machine workspaces that you have defined in My Machines appear here. Double-click the workspace's icon to load it into the project tree.

View for picking directly from My Machines