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Map Sketch to Face

In one sentence: Reattach an existing sketch to a different planar face, axis, or datum plane without losing the sketch's geometry or constraints.

Overview

Workbench: Sketcher · Menu: Sketch → Map Sketch to Face
Toolbar: Sketcher · Shortcut: none

Map Sketch to Face changes where a sketch is attached, not what it contains. You select the sketch, then pick a new attachment target; FreeCAD repositions the sketch to lie on the new face while preserving all geometry and constraints exactly as they were.

Intuition

Imagine you sketched a rectangle on a sticky note and placed it on the front face of a box. Map Sketch to Face lets you peel the sticky note off and re-apply it to a different face — the rectangle is unchanged, but it now lives on a new surface.

This is essential when you realise you drew a sketch on the wrong plane, or when the model topology changes (e.g. a Pad adds a new face you now want to build on) and you want to redirect the sketch without redrawing everything.

When to use it

  • You drew a sketch on the XY plane but realise it should be on a solid face that was created later in the feature tree.
  • A topology change (renamed face, added fillet) broke the attachment reference and you need to re-select the correct face.
  • You want to reuse a sketch profile on a different face without copying it.

When NOT to use it

  • You want to move a sketch to a different standard plane but keep it orthogonal — use Reorient Sketch instead, which also lets you set a perpendicular offset.
  • You want a copy of the sketch on a new face — use Carbon Copy to duplicate rather than move.

Step-by-step walkthrough

  1. Select the sketch in the Model tree (click once — do not double-click, which would enter edit mode).

  2. Activate Map Sketch to Face via Sketch → Map Sketch to Face.

  3. If the document contains multiple sketches, a dialog lists them; select the one you want to remap and click OK.

  4. Select a new attachment target:

    • Click a planar face in the 3-D viewport, or
    • Click a datum plane in the Model tree.

  5. An Attachment dialog appears (the same dialog used when you first created the sketch). Choose the attachment mode — FlatFace is the default and correct for almost all use cases.

  6. Click OK. The sketch moves to the new face. Check the model tree and viewport to confirm the geometry is visible on the new face.

Tip

If the sketch geometry disappears after remapping, the attachment mode may be wrong. Re-open Map Sketch to Face and try FlatFace or Translate origin.

Reorient Sketch

Menu: Sketch → Reorient Sketch · Shortcut: none

Reorient Sketch is a simpler alternative: it restricts you to the three standard planes (XY, XZ, YZ) but also lets you set a perpendicular offset distance and flip the sketch's local axes. Use it when the sketch belongs to a standard plane but needs to be shifted up/down the axis.

Walkthrough

  1. Select the sketch in the Model tree.
  2. Sketch → Reorient Sketch.
  3. A confirmation dialog warns that the current attachment will be replaced. Click Yes to proceed.
  4. Choose the target plane from the dropdown (XY, XZ, or YZ).
  5. Optionally set Side (front or back of the plane) and an Offset value.
  6. Click OK.

Parameters

Map Sketch to Face opens the standard Attachment dialog. The most important settings:

Parameter Type Default Description
Attachment mode Dropdown FlatFace How the sketch aligns to the selected reference. FlatFace places the sketch flush with a planar face. Other modes are for edge- or vertex-based attachment.
Reference(s) Selection — The face, edge, or datum plane to attach to. Up to four references can be selected for complex attachment modes.
Attachment Offset Placement (0,0,0) Translation and rotation applied after attachment. Use to nudge the sketch without changing the attachment reference.

Advanced usage

Attachment modes beyond FlatFace

The Attachment dialog exposes over a dozen modes. For sketches, the useful ones are:

  • FlatFace — sketch lies flush with a planar face (default).
  • Translate origin — translate the sketch origin to a vertex without rotating.
  • Normal to edge — align the sketch normal to a selected edge; useful for profiles that must follow a non-axis-aligned edge.

Most users never need to leave FlatFace.

Scripting attachment

To change a sketch's attachment plane in Python:

import FreeCAD as App

doc = App.activeDocument()
sketch = doc.getObject("Sketch")

# Reattach to the XZ plane
sketch.AttachmentSupport = (doc.XZ_Plane, [""])
sketch.MapMode = "FlatFace"
doc.recompute()

Common mistakes and pitfalls

Sketch disappears after remapping

Cause: The selected attachment target is not a flat plane, or the attachment mode is incompatible with the selection.
Fix: Re-run Map Sketch to Face. Ensure you select a planar face. Use the FlatFace attachment mode.

Part Design feature loses its profile

Cause: A Pad or Pocket that depends on the sketch may break if the sketch moves to a face that is geometrically incompatible (e.g. a face that does not intersect the Body's current solid).
Fix: After remapping, check that the dependent features still resolve. You may need to adjust the feature direction (e.g. flip the Pad direction) to match the new face orientation.

Cannot find the sketch in the selection dialog

Cause: The sketch is inside a Body and the view is filtered to show only free objects.
Fix: Expand the Body in the Model tree and select the sketch directly before invoking Map Sketch to Face.

Python API

Minimal example

import FreeCAD as App

doc = App.activeDocument()
sketch = doc.getObject("Sketch")

# Map to the XY plane
sketch.AttachmentSupport = (doc.XY_Plane, [""])
sketch.MapMode = "FlatFace"

# Or map to a face on a solid (use its label and sub-element name)
body_feature = doc.getObject("Pad")
sketch.AttachmentSupport = [(body_feature, ["Face1"])]
sketch.MapMode = "FlatFace"

doc.recompute()

Key properties

Property Type Description
AttachmentSupport App::PropertyLinkSubList The face(s) or plane the sketch is attached to.
MapMode App::PropertyEnumeration The attachment mode, e.g. "FlatFace".
MapPathParameter App::PropertyFloat Position along a path for edge-based attachment.
AttachmentOffset App::PropertyPlacement Fine-tune offset applied after attachment.

See also