Appendix B: Glossary of Pingendum Terms

A quick reference for the terms that come up throughout this guide, in alphabetical order. Where a definition leans on another term, that term has its own entry.

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Auto H/V — A sketch-toolbar toggle, on by default, that automatically applies a Horizontal or Vertical constraint to any line you draw close to horizontal or vertical. It's why a freshly drawn rectangle starts at 4 DOF instead of 8.

Closed profile — A sketch whose curves connect end to end with no gaps, enclosing an area. Compare an open contour, whose ends don't meet.

Constraint — A rule that fixes a sketch's geometry — either a relationship between entities (a geometric constraint) or a specific measurement (a dimensional constraint). Adding constraints removes degrees of freedom.

Construction geometry — Sketch geometry used only as a reference for building or aligning other geometry, and not itself part of the finished drawing. Toggle it with the Construction button (G).

Degrees of freedom (DOF) — A count of how many independent ways a sketch's geometry could still move or resize without breaking any constraint. Shown in the status bar, it drops toward 0 as you add constraints.

Dimensional constraint — A constraint that pins a specific number — a length, distance, radius, diameter, or angle — entered through the inline number prompt. Compare geometric constraint.

Fully constrained — The state of a sketch at 0 DOF, where nothing can move without breaking a constraint. Pingendum shows a "Fully constrained" label when a sketch reaches it.

Geometric constraint — A constraint that defines a relationship between entities — parallel, perpendicular, coincident, tangent, and the like — without any number. Compare dimensional constraint.

Parametric — A design approach in which geometry is defined by its constraints and dimensions rather than by fixed coordinates, so editing a dimension moves everything that depends on it. Pingendum is a parametric sketcher.

Profile — The shape drawn in a sketch that a downstream operation acts on — a trim, an offset, an export, or a plotted sheet.

Drawing file (.pingdrw) — Pingendum 2D's own save format, and the only one it writes. Drawings can also be exchanged as DXF and plotted to a PDF sheet or a printer. The Open dialog also accepts .pingendum, the full 3D product's format, so files saved before the two split apart keep opening.

Properties and Layers — The dock on the right, opened from View ▸ Panels (Ctrl+1). Its Properties tab shows the selected object's layer, colour, geometry and constraint values, or the drawing's defaults when nothing is selected. Its Layers tab lists the drawing's layers.

Sketch — The collection of 2D geometry, constraints and dimensions that makes up a drawing.

Smart Dimension — The default dimensioning tool (D) that reads your selection and applies whichever dimension fits: length for a line, distance for two points, angle for two lines, diameter for a circle, or radius for an arc.

Solver — The engine that evaluates a sketch's constraints, positions its geometry accordingly, and reports how many degrees of freedom remain.

Under-constrained / over-constrained — Under-constrained means a sketch still has degrees of freedom left (DOF greater than 0); over-constrained means it has redundant or conflicting constraints. A fully constrained sketch is neither.

Viewport — The large central area where drawings are created, viewed, and edited. Most of your interaction with Pingendum happens here.