FreeCAD: Learn How To Build a Spreadsheet Driven Model in 15 minutes. Quick and Easy for Beginners

[@paulwood5870]

I like how MangoJelly intentionally makes mistakes, to make the right way more obvious. I watched this video quite a while ago. It is amazing how much more I learn watching it a second time after I have had time to fathom the capabilities of FreeCAD. Sincerely, A Dedicated Mango Jelly fan.

[@MangoJellySolutions]

Thank you so much for the kind words, really appreciate that 😊👍

[@The-KP]

Very good. This video got me farther along in straightforward fashion, no faffing about. Gives enough information to see what to click and do. Now I'm set to create the part I need to print. Thanks, MJS!

[@MangoJellySolutions]

Great to hear, glad to help 😁👍

[@DrawDesignGraphics-jl8ij]

Hey MangoJelly, Enjoy this video every time I rewatch it, which I have to do if I have stayed away from FreeCAD for long enough. Glad this video is still here!😃

[@MangoJellySolutions]

Great to hear it's of use :) Yes, I have a number of videos for tools that I use which I have to keep on going back to. I will update this one at some point for freeCAD v1 (this one is getting a bit old and there are a few more things to add, but I will never delete videos from my channel so don't worry :) ) Sorry for late response, trying to catch up on comments.

[@ck-li6yr]

Nice job. Just FYI for anyone using spreadsheets with many values it can be tedious managing aliases. There are macros that will help you automatically apply them. I use "Alias Manager" which can be found in the Macro tab in the Add On tool.

[@MangoJellySolutions]

Thank you. Never seen that macro before. Great tip 👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@user-bj4lp3fr1o]

Can you be more specific on how to get this Add On. I am new to FC. I clicked Macro>Macros and nothing is listed there. (0.20.2)

[@michaelg4931]

@@user-bj4lp3fr1o You have to install it by using Addon Manager located in 'Tools > Addon Manager' then select 'Macros' in the drop down menu located in the upper middle left of the popup pane.

[@SenorGonzo]

For anyone watching this tutorial in 2024, the Marco "Alias Manager" has been replaced with the Macro "EasyAlias".

[@djpenton779]

Brilliant. I'm relatively inexperienced with FC. Spreadsheet-driven design will be a huge time saver. Thanks.

[@GJ_Arcade]

Wow men that open a new world of possibilities... Very appreciated.

[@MangoJellySolutions]

It's a pleasure to share, Great to hear that you will find it useful 😁

[@GreyDeathVaccine]

Exactly what I needed 🙂 Thanks.

[@MangoJellySolutions]

Glad it helped!

[@wantafastz28]

Each video/exercise, helps build confidence more and more. Thanks!

[@MangoJellySolutions]

Great to hear and thank you for the kind comments.

[@ThorClemensDC]

Great video! Being a total beginner, just making the box is a breakthrough for me. The spreadsheet should be exactly what I need. Thanks MangoJellySolutions!

[@MangoJellySolutions]

Really cool to hear thank you. I think some smaller self contained project videos would probably be popular in the same manner maybe.

[@eljodioerrante]

Magnificent explanation. Thank you so much.

[@tedwakefield1085]

Just what I needed! Thanks!

[@MangoJellySolutions]

I would love to do some more of these quick up and running ones. Glad you enjoyed 👍👍

[@warped_spacetime]

I just noticed a way of changing the numbers in a spreadsheet from the Tree View, without having to open the spreadsheet itself. Forgive me if you already know this (I'm sure you do) or have covered it already. Click on Spreadsheet in the tree view to open its properties, then set "show cells" to "Only aliases". All cells with aliases are then listed in the properties for easy editing.

[@MangoJellySolutions]

Superb tip!! Thanks for sharing. I am all for people adding comments to the videos. I learn as well as others 😁😁😁😁😁😁😁

[@thepragmatic6383]

In FreeCAD 0.19, here are the choices I get when I left click on Spreadsheet Property + Display Options = Spreadsheet = True/False = True / False I can't find "show cells" and/or "Only aliases".

[@warped_spacetime]

@@thepragmatic6383 Your right - sorry - I'm using Realthunder's Linkstage3 branch and didn't think to check 0.19.

[@HilbertSpacersson]

Very useful, thank you so much!

[@MangoJellySolutions]

Glad to hear, thank you 😊😊

[@brianprice7020]

Another useful video. I like using spreadsheets. To display spreadsheet and 3d view at the same time I use windows / tile. I have also found a useful addon " easy alias"

[@MangoJellySolutions]

Thank you glad you found it useful. Your the second poster who has said about the add on. I have never come across it, I must have a look. 👍👍

[@DavidLindes]

Ooh, thank you! I was just going to ask if there was some way to drive the alias names from the spreadsheet data, and... while this isn't quite the solution I'd like, it gets pretty close. Found it as Macro_EasyAlias on the freecad wiki. Thanks!

[@pstrzel]

I just noticed that even if you have units set to inches, when you type in the values in your spreadsheet, they'll be in mm by default so you have to include the units, e.g. "1.375 in" instead of just 1.375.

[@thepragmatic6383]

You have the gift of producing videos adapted to concrete action, very practical, and which facilitate success through your experience. In short, you offer us very (PRAGMATIC) videos. I quite like that. Are you the one who had created a Python script named, (Easy Alias), which allows you to copy the titles of column (A) to column (C) as an alias? I can no longer find the video in which you used this function (Easy Alias).

[@MangoJellySolutions]

Thank you for the feedback great to hear that people like yourself are finding value in these video. In answer to your question no I wasn't the one that created the script but I believed someone commented on one of my videos in regards to it as I didn't know it existed.

[@sjn8099]

Thnak you for the great tutorial :)

[@l.rod2827]

Very informative, thank you

[@donstelfox2936]

Thank you, you and your content are appreciated. Cheers

[@MangoJellySolutions]

Thank you 👍😁

[@bobbunni8722]

Great videos! I believe hitting tab in formula editor will auto fill top result. Formula button type spr then tab ...spreadsheet will fill in.... type w then tab will autofill spreadsheet.width type enter to save....avoids clicking with mouse to select.

[@MangoJellySolutions]

Great tip for short cut, thanks for adding😁

[@DileepKumarPaladi]

That was indeed a great explanation I have a Doudt regarding the Configuration tab in the assembly, Can I know how to add a configuration tab while adding part in the A2 plus Assembly, You have said how to add Configuration tab for the Part, Could you please explain the same for the Assembly

[@Ali-0101]

Important note for non-english folks: letters like "ä" and "ö" will lead to a failure message when setting an alias. These rules are further explained in the FreeCAD documentation.

[@MangoJellySolutions]

Thank you for adding this to help others.

[@Ali-0101]

@@MangoJellySolutions thank you, too! I struggled with this and didn't understand the error message in FreeCAD, the documentation however is very precisely written regarding the rules when setting an alias

[@JimHenderson19]

Another great video! Thanks.

[@MangoJellySolutions]

Thank you :)

[@trondwell13]

Very interesting - and well presented - Is there a way for the spreadsheet to control number of items eg nbr of boxes?

[@MangoJellySolutions]

Thank you glad you enjoyed. There is something called links which you can set the amount of copies. I have yet to make a video on that. I will add it to the list.

[@m4rvinmartian]

*17:00** You didn't mention, but I presume from how it auto-populated, the headings: thickness, width, etc is 'human readable' label, and you could put anything like: minThickness, maxThickness, etc and just call those just the same in the panel?*

[@rupangchannel888]

Thank you 🙏

[@philipreed2758]

another fantastic video. thanks to you this is how i learned to use freecad. just a quick question. if i make a spreadsheet with diamensions on for my frame, as they change the other parts will move, but what i need to know is, is there a way for geometry diamensions, as in angles that can be read from the sketch and placed into the spreadsheet. then other angles can be calculated based on the ones that will change accordingly. as in if i increase one figure and not another a top peice will change its angle. but i then need a different fixed angle to change according to the variable one. hope that makes sense. cheers phil

[@MangoJellySolutions]

Glad to see these videos are helping. In answer to your question yes there is. If you name the constraint in the sketcher to something say by adding a length constraint and double clicking on it and giving it a name this will make it easier to reference in the spreadsheet. Then you can enter into a cell (where Sketch is the name of your sketch) =Sketch.Constraints.con1 You will get the value back of the constraint, then you can simply do your maths against that i.e. =Sketch.Constraints.con1 * 4

[@philipreed2758]

@@MangoJellySolutions Thankyou for the quick reply. so appreciate it. i can get the angle to show in the spreadsheet, i can then do maths with it. but if i try to reference any other diamensions from the spreadsheet, its not letting me. i.e. the spreadsheet now knows an angle. and hase 2 other lengths aswell. all with alias. when i click a line in part design, goto type the length i click the little circle so i can lenk it to the spreadsheet. now i usually type spr and it fills in the rest, but it's not doing it. if i delete the angles and so on in the spreadsheet it works again. it says something about it cycling.. help!!!

[@Appregator]

I find it expedient to first create the spreadsheet before creating the drawing with the aliases as far as is possible as it is much faster for the computer to process. Once the drawing is created and then if you create spreadsheet, my computer becomes very slow, even if it is not even referencing the created drawing in version 0.21.1. But it is a very useful feature anyway, when one has multiple sizes of the same model or if there is an offset in 3D printing, in say a threaded spiral helix, to get say a nut and a bolt to fit one another.

[@GusFantanas]

What is the difference between 'Spreadsheet' and '' in the selections popup menu, e.g. @9:44?

[@MangoJellySolutions]

This should be able to help you kzbin.info/www/bejne/noithJhphreSb5I

[@GusFantanas]

@@MangoJellySolutions, thank you so much for your prompt response! You rock!

[@Appregator]

Good question. I sometimes do a CTRL-F in the tree to find say all the sketches by searching say "sketch" in the box that appears and they all pop up but are interspersed with the as well. Always ignored what appeared to be a nuisance. 😄

[@terrylembke8100]

Hi Darren , Another great video you've made . Thank you for your knowledge and time . My question to you is this . if this will do formulas can I do equation driven curves and spell out gear designs ? Have a great day my friend stay safe . Best Regards Terry Lembke

[@MangoJellySolutions]

Thanks Terry, you should be able to use SIN, Cos and PI etc from the spreadsheet to drive the geometry. I suggest giving it a go with some basic geometry in the sketcher and slowly work up to more complex experiments

[@forresterickson6225]

At 7:20 started typing "Spreadshee..." and TWO spread sheets came up. One was "Spreadsheet" and the other was "" What is the story? Why do we choose one over the other?

[@MangoJellySolutions]

I started writing a long comment to explain the reason why then I saw more or less the same comment elsewhere, so I decided to create a quick video as it's easier to explain :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/noithJhphreSb5I

[@kenburnette1121]

Very helpfyll.

[@alexandr-spb]

is it possible to calculate the number of whole blocks, taking into account the cutting of all non-integer ones? in this particular example, all cuts are 0.5 blocks each. and sometimes 0.2 or 0.7 .. how to automatically calculate, given that from 0.2, 0.3 and 0.7 they give a whole block of 0.7 + 0.3, and 0.2 * 5 gives a whole.. how to optimize and reduce clipping? it would also be useful and visual when calculating the molding or when calculating the number of finishing sheets ..

[@thepragmatic6383]

I had thought about going to (Realthunder's Linkstage3 branch), but I was wondering if this version is stable and robust. In your opinion, is it possible to install both versions on the same computer under Windows 10, version 21H1?

[@MangoJellySolutions]

I run both versions on ubuntu but I am not sure about windows. Sorry don't think I can help there, ask I can say is give it a try.

[@ff-mu6cc]

COOL!

[@crossthreadaeroindustries8554]

Bug? Running 0.20.1 in "US customary" units. As I dimension in Sketch, it interprets spreadsheet entries as metric and tries to convert to inches. Example: I set Height to 2.5 in the spreadsheet, thinking it would be interpreted as 2.5 ". It converts it to US customary assuming the spreadsheet numbers are in metric, and thusly inserts as 98.4252 thou. Any fix to this issue? Update: I added "in" after the spreadsheet value and this kinda cured the problem. What doesn't work are expressions like 3/8in - the system gets confuddled with that as far as I can tell.