So what is meant by
'properly closed'? Let's take a simple example. You draw a rectangle
using four lines. However two of the lines don't quite meet. On the
screen it looks fine unless you zoom in very close. When you load the
drawing into SheetCam it will recognize that two ends don't meet and it
will assume that the shape is open so you can't cut it out. All open
lines will be shown on the screen in purple. If your lines are very
close (as defined under 'Options/Systems
parameters') SheetCam will automatically move the ends so
that they touch. It is not good
practise to rely on this feature, always
try to draw properly closed shapes.
Turn off the show
segment ends button 
and
turn on the show path ends button 
.
The start and end points of each line will be shown. A closed shape has
no start and no end so there will be no markers if the shape is fully
closed. If you see the end markers on a 'supposedly' closed shape it
means the lines are not joined
at that location.You can now go back to your drawing and fix the
problem.
Note: 'Snaps' are your best weapon
against problems like this. Use 'grid' snaps and 'end' snaps whenever
possible. They are the best way to create accurate drawings. If you are
not familiar with using snaps then look in the documentation for your
CAD/drawing program. Virtually all CAD/drawing programs have some form
of snap capability.
Back to
'Creating your drawing'