autocad secrets exposed!aucache.autodesk.com/au2014/sessionsfiles/6857/5129/handout_6857...autocad...

AutoCAD Secrets Exposed! Jeanne Aarhus – Aarhus Associates, LLC

AC6857 This class is filled with timesaving tips and tricks that you can use to increase your

productivity immediately, no matter what version of AutoCAD software you currently use. If you have attended previous offerings of this class, you know there is always something you didn’t know you could do, so don’t miss this year’s class. We have many tips to expose, including a few tips from the new and exciting AutoCAD 2015 software. Recent upgrades have introduced some of the most effective, production-enhancing tools. Attend this class and discover what might take you years to discover on our own. Leave this class with knowledge that will dazzle your co-workers back home—a great way to get yourself a ticket to attend next year’s Autodesk University.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this class, you will be able to:

Learn about hidden tips and tricks from other AutoCAD software users

Share tips that apply to many versions of AutoCAD software, ranging from 2012 to 2015

Learn how to use the newer tools for greater productivity

Use hidden tips that you may not find on your own.

About the Speaker

Jeanne Aarhus is known for her fun and fast-moving sessions. She is a nationally known speaker and

expert in CAD, and she presents seminars and workshops on CAD productivity for managers and users

in both corporate and academic settings. She has over 30 years of experience involving production

drafting, user support, standards coordination, programming, and training in various CAD applications.

She is an independent consultant offering training and implementation services and is certified in several

Autodesk, Inc., and Bentley products. She continues to be actively involved in international, national, and

local CAD user groups, and she received the much-coveted Top 10 Speaker Award for her

presentations at Autodesk University (AU). She has been a popular speaker at AU for several years.

[email protected]

AutoCAD Secrets Exposed!

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1 A Better Interface 2009-2015 Yes, everyone is talking about the new 2015 interface, and it has some wonderful

enhancements! I thought I would revisit some other settings that often get overlooked and can

help everyone “tweak” the display of your applications tools.

This is more problematic in AutoCAD 2015 than in previous versions.

Ribbon Text Size

You can control the text size in the Ribbon using the WINDOWS ADVANCE APPEARANCE

SETTINGS

STEP 1: <Right-Click> anywhere on the desktop to access the PERSONALIZE tool.

STEP 2: Select the WINDOW COLOR tool.

STEP 3: Select the ADVANCED APPEARANCE SETTINGS tool.

STEP 4: Select ITEM MESSAGE BOX and modify the FONT SIZE smaller or larger as needed for your AutoCAD interface.

It is possible to enlarge the text too much!


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Tool Palette and Properties Text Size

You can control the text size in the Tool Palettes and Properties dialogs using the WINDOWS

ADVANCE APPEARANCE SETTINGS

STEP 1: <Right-Click> anywhere on the desktop to access the PERSONALIZE tool.

STEP 2: Select the WINDOW COLOR tool.

STEP 3: Select the ADVANCED APPEARANCE SETTINGS tool.

STEP 4: Select ITEM MESSAGE BOX and modify the FONT SIZE smaller or larger as needed for your AutoCAD interface.


4

2 HOT! Keys 2009-2015 I still love my command key ins and I probably will always be addicted to my keyboard. With

this confession; let me show you some really cool things you can do with your keyboard

shortcuts!

Using the PGP File

Finding your PGP File

Use the following key in to locate your active PGP file.

(findfile "acad.pgp")

By default, using AutoCAD 2015, it is located at the following location:

C:\Users\USERNAME\appdata\roaming\autodesk\autocad 2015\r20.0\enu\support\acad.pgp

Editing the PGP File Use the Express Tools Command Aliases to easily edit the

active PGP file.

My favorite one here to change is the C shortcut to run the

COPY command rather than the CIRCLE command!

To activate your changes in the PGP file you need to restart AutoCAD or key in REINIT and select the PGP file option.


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3 Quick Explore 2009-2015 I have always been an advocate for “AutoCAD for the Lazy User”; after all who has time to fiddle

with commands theses days right? Here is a “secret” I love; hope you do to.

This command will allow you to open automatically open Windows Explorer to the project folder

of the currently open drawing file. No more navigating between project folders in Windows and

AutoCAD. Hurray!

Place this command on a button or pulldown menu and try it out.

(command "start" (strcat "explorer " (getvar "dwgprefix")))

STEP 1: Open the CUI dialog

STEP 2: Create a new command using the syntax listed above

STEP 3: Create a new toolbar and add the new command to the toolbar.

STEP 4: Save your CUI changes and try out the new command.

So what does all this mean?

(command "start" tells AutoCAD to shell out and start another program.

(strcat "explorer " tells the operating system to start Windows Explorer

(getvar "dwgprefix"))) tells explorer to browse to the current drawings prefix, which happens to

be the folder it is located in.


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4 Using the CUI Shortcut Keys 2009-2015 I always wanted to have a way to issue the ZOOM WINDOW command from the mouse.

Here’s How:

STEP 5: Use the CUI command to open the CUSTOMIZE USER INTERFACE dialog.

STEP 6: Navigate and expand the KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS section of the CUI. Locate the ZOOM WINDOW command and <Drag-n-Drop> it into the KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS section.

STEP 7: Select the new ZOOM WINDOW shortcut and modify the PROPERTIES ACCESS KEYS setting to CTRL+SHIFT+Z

STEP 8: Pick OK to save and close the CUI dialog.

Of course, my favorite one is to redefine the F1 key to not open help! Need to know how? Look at my handout from last year’s session!


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5 Mouse Controls 2006-2015 There are several system variables that “tweak” the way your mouse works in the AutoCAD

view. Try modifying any of these to get better control over your mouse.

MBUTTONPAN

Control how the pan (press wheel) command works in a view.

Initial Value: 1

0 Supports the action defined in the customization (CUI) file

1 Supports panning when you hold and drag the button or wheel

ZOOMFACTOR

Controls how fast the wheel zooms in and out. The default value is 60.

Initial Value: 60

3-100 The larger the number the faster to zoom on the wheel.

ZOOMFACTOR

Control how the wheel zooms when rolled forward and backward.

Initial Value: 60

0 Moves wheel forward zooms in; moving wheel backward zooms out.

1 Move wheel forward zooms out; moving wheel backward zooms in.


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6 How Handy is Your Mouse? 2009-2015

One of the first secrets I want to share is how to improve your mouse configuration, and since it

is one of my favorites I am going to assume it will soon be one of yours too!

First, let me set the stage for what you need to make quick assignments to your mouse keys.

1. Logitech mouse – I have an MX Performance mouse (can’t help but try out the newest gadgets). It has additional mouse buttons for me to assign to common commands in AutoCAD.

2. Logitech Setpoint – mouse software to assign mouse buttons to assignments.

3. UberOptions – add-on free software to make the setpoint mouse

assignments more open to assignments. It also allows you to modify the mouse button assignments on a per-application basis. So AutoCAD can have one set of assignments and Outlook another. Pretty sweet!

NOTE: Most Logitech devices that run Setpoint software will work with this handy

app.

Here are a couple of my favorite assignments:

In AutoCAD

I always wanted to have a way to issue the ZOOM WINDOW command from the mouse. Here’s

How!

STEP 1: Open AutoCAD and execute the CUI command to open the CUSTOMIZE USER INTERFACE dialog.

STEP 2: Navigate and expand the KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS section of the CUI. Locate the ZOOM WINDOW command and <Drag-n-Drop> it into the KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS section.

STEP 3: Select the new ZOOM WINDOW shortcut and modify the PROPERTIES ACCESS KEYS setting to CTRL+SHIFT+Z

STEP 4: Pick OK to save and close the CUI dialog.


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In Logitech Setpoint

Open the Logitech Setpoint software and modify the mouse button you wish to assign as the

ZOOM WINDOW command.

STEP 5: Select the AUTOCAD APPLICATION program to assign the button.

STEP 6: Select the mouse button to assign the keystroke to. I selected “6” which is the thumb button on my mouse.

STEP 7: Select KEYS: KEYSTROKE ASSIGNMENT

STEP 8: Select the KEYSTROKE field and press <CTRL>+<SHIFT>+<Z> to match the keystroke assigned to the ZOOM WINDOW command in AutoCAD.

Assign this mouse to key to AutoCAD only if you use these buttons in Internet Explorer!


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7 Command Line 2010-2015 Want to customize your command line even more? Try out these neat tricks!

Lines of History

Use the <Right-Click> on the command line to access the LINES

OF PROMPT HISTORY setting.

This runs the command CLIPROMPTLINES to define how many

history lines you want to see on the command line.

I have been using AutoCAD long enough that I like “1”.

CLIPROMPTLINES

Sets how many temporary prompt lines are displayed when an undocked command window is

set to display just the prompt line.

Initial Value: 3

0-50 Specify the maximum number of lines to display in the temporary prompt

history.

Related Variables:

CMDINPUTHISTORYMAX

Sets the maximum number of previous input values that are stored for a prompt in a command.

Initial Value: 20

1-255 Valid values

INPUTHISTORYMODE

Controls the content and location of the user input history.

Initial Value: 15

0 No history of recent input is displayed.

1 History of recent input is displayed at the command line or in a dynamic

prompt tooltip. Access with the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys at the

Command prompt, or at an input prompt.

2 History of recent input for the current command is displayed in the shortcut

menu under Recent Input.

4 History of recent input for all commands in the current session is displayed in

the shortcut menu under Recent Input.

8 Markers for recent input of point locations are displayed. Use the arrow keys

at the Command prompt for specifying a point location.


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8 Customize Your Quick Start 2006-2015 Users are always asking me how to improve the availability of properties for those objects that

need to be edited on a regular basis. I ask if they are using QUICK PROPERTIES and many

don’t even know what I am talking about.

Here are a couple of quick examples demonstrating how you can use QUICK PROPERTIES to

simplify your daily drafting life.

Tolerance Dimensions

You need to edit the tolerance value in an existing

dimension. You <Double-Click> on the dimension

text and the entire text value highlights not allowing

you to just edit the tolerance value.

Add the TOLERANCE LIMITS and TOLERANCE

PRECISION to QUICK PROPERTIES.

9 Reset AutoCAD to Default Settings 2009-2015 Many times I have modified my AutoCAD configuration or Options settings and not noticed a

problem until several days later. By then, I have forgotten what I really changed. Now you can

easily reset your AutoCAD to its default or OTB settings using the ICON available in the

AutoCAD installation folder.


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10 More Tool Palette Secrets 2009-2015 If you have created custom tool palettes for your organization then you have run across a few things you wish you

could do, but there isn’t a direct way to do it via a tool palette right? For example, you can use the system variables

DIMSCALE and PLOT SCALE as an Auxiliary Scale, but you can’t use any other variable. Well…you can if you try

this!

Let’s set the Auxiliary Scale using LTSCALE instead!

STEP 1: <Right-Click> on a tool palette tool to access the PROPERTIES command.

STEP 2: Change the value of the Auxiliary Scale to DIMSCALE so that it is easier to find

STEP 3: Pick OK to save this change.

Using Windows Explorer we will navigate to the location of our

custom tool palettes. Edit the .ATC file using NOTEPAD or the

Text Editor of your choice.

STEP 4: <Right-Click> on the tool palette tool to access the PROPERTIES command

STEP 5: The Auxiliary Scale is now defined by the LTSCALE.


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11 Secret COPY Options 2009-2015

Hopefully, everyone knows that they can use the <CTRL+C> shortcut keys to copy objects to

the clipboard, and <CTRL+V> to paste them back into a drawing. These are wonderful

shortcuts, but they have a “fatal” flaw; they don’t allow you to define a basepoint to control the

paste portion of these actions. Right? Wrong!

You can use <CTRL+SHIFT+C> to copy objects to the clipboard and define a basepoint!

12 A Better MTEXT 2009-2015 Do you utilize all the advantages of using MTEXT? Make sure that you know all there is to

know about the 2015 MTEXT capabilities.

MTEXT Editor

<Double-Click> on the RIGHT MARGIN of the MTEXT Editor ruler to automatically set the

paragraph width.

<Left-Click> on the TAB of the MTEXT Editor ruler to modify the TAB STYLE. The

following TAB STYLES are

available.

Left

Right

Center

Decimal –

recognizes period,

comma, or space

and alignment

character


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Navigating in MTEXT Editor

Jump WORD to WORD – use the <Ctrl> key and or arrows to move from word to word.

Jump PARAGRAPH to PARAGRAPH – use the <Ctrl> key and or arrows to move from

paragraph to paragraph.

Deleting

Remove Words to Right of Cursor – use the <Ctrl> key and the DELETE key to remove all

words to the right of the cursor.

Remove Words to Left of Cursor – use the <Ctrl> key and the BACKSPACE key to remove

each word.

Highlighting

Highlight a Single Word – <Double-Click> on the word to highlight.


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13 MTEXT Alignments 2015 Use the new TEXTALIGN command available in 2015 to align text in the drawing.

Current Vertical

Use this command option to maintain current vertical spacing (line spacing).

Current Horizontal

Use this command option to maintain current horizontal spacing (horizontal alignment)

Original Graphics

Results

Results

Original Graphics


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Set Spacing

Use this command option to set a specific line spacing.

Distributed

Results

Results


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The following system variable can be defined to specify your preferred default action.

TEXTALIGNMODE

Stores the alignment option for aligned text.

Initial Value: 9

0 Top Left

Left-justified at the top of the text (horizontally oriented text only).

1 Top Center

Centered at the top of the text (horizontally oriented text only).

2 Top Right

Right-justified at the top of the text (horizontally oriented text only).

3 Middle Left

Left-justified at the middle of the text (horizontally oriented text only).

4 Middle Center

Centered both horizontally and vertically at the middle of the text (horizontally

oriented text only)

5 Middle Right

Right-justified at the middle of the text (horizontally oriented text only).

6 Bottom Left

Left-justified at the baseline (horizontally oriented text only)

7 Bottom Center

Centered on the baseline (horizontally oriented text only).

8 Bottom Right

Right-justified at the baseline (horizontally oriented text only).

9 Left

Left-justified at the baseline.

10 Center

Aligned from the horizontal center of the baseline.

11 Right

Right-justified at the baseline.


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14 Controlling the New MTEXT 2006-2015 One of the best reasons for using MTEXT is the ability to manually adjust the text width of the

paragraph by dragging a grip and resizing or stretching the paragraph width. This has changed

slightly in 2006 if the text is CENTER justified. Stretching CENTER justified MTEXT in 2006

also moves the center origin of the entire MTEXT object.

To re-size MTEXT in 2006, AutoCAD expects the user to use the Ruler in the In-Place Text

Editor, not by grips. Sorry, but I agree, this is too many steps!

To revert the MTEXT grip editing functionality back to the “old way” you need to change the

system variable CENTERMT.

CENTERMT

Controls how grips stretch MTEXT that has a centered justification.

Initial Value: 0

0 When stretching the MTEXT with grips, the center grips also moves in the

same direction.

1 When stretching the MTEXT with grips, the center grip stays in place while the

text is re-sized.


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15 Smarter BOXED TEXT 2009-2015 You want to have box shape around your text that is smart enough to grow when edited? I have

seen many suggestions that tell you to use a table with 1 column and 1 row; but try this out

instead. I think this works much easier!

A Leader with NO LEADER?

Use the LEADER STYLES to create a leader with no leader line. Yes, it is possible.

STEP 1: Using the Leader Style dialog, create a new style called Standard-BOXED

STEP 2: Using the LEADER FORMAT tab and set the TYPE to NONE.

STEP 3: Using the LEADER STRUCTURE tab: Turn OFF all CONSTRAINTS Turn OFF all LANDING SETTINGS

STEP 4: Using the CONTENT tab turn ON the FRAME TEXT setting.

STEP 5: Pick OK to save the new leader style.

Place a new leader using the style Standard-BOXED. Edit

the text and see how easy it is to keep the box automatically

growing around the text note.


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16 More Readable Text 2010-2015 Use the TORIENT command to make un-readable text, more readable.

17 Justify Text 2010-2015 Use the TJUST command to set the justification of any selected DTEXT or MTEXT without

moving the text object. This command only moves the basepoint.

Have you ever changed your text justification only to get this result? Use this command instead

and get the CORRECT results.


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18 I SPY Invisible Attributes 2002-2015 Want to see those “invisible” attributes defined in your drawing? Bring the “into the light” using

the ATTDISP command. This command makes all attributes visible, regardless of the flag

defined on the attribute object.

Turn ON the display using the ATTDISP command option.

This is a great way to disable the display of attributes that are not up-to-date. Turn off all attributes and edit them later when you have more time.

Use the following system variable to also control the visibility of attributes in your drawing.

ATTMODE

Controls display of attributes.

0 Off: Makes all attributes invisible

1 Normal: Retains current visibility of each attribute; visible attributes are

displayed; invisible attributes are not

2 On: Makes all attributes visible

19 Quickly Edit Attributes 2009-2015 Use the ATTIPEDIT command to edit a single attribute in a block quickly without using the

dialog. It allows you to edit the attribute using the simple editor.

Use the CTRL key to access this command automatically when selecting an attribute in a block.


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20 Delete a Segment from a Polyline 2009-2015 A new enhancement in AutoCAD 2013 was the ability to select sub-objects, primarily for

working in 3D. However, I discovered some good uses of this new technology in the 2D world!

Polyline

You have a polyline and you need to delete a line in the middle of it. I used to use the DELETE

VERTEX command option if I wanted to keep it as a polyline; or I would EXPLODE the polyline

and then DELETE the separated line.

Check this option out! You can EXPLODE and DELETE in a single step!

STEP 1: Use the <Ctrl> key to

select the line to remove.

STEP 2: Use the <Delete> key to

remove the selected line.

o

LEGACYCTRLPICK

Specifies the Ctrl key behavior for selection cycling and sub-object selection.

Initial value: 2

0 <Ctrl+Left Click> is used to select sub-objects (faces, edges, and vertices) on 3D solids, surfaces, and meshes.

1 <Ctrl+Left-Click> is used to cycle through overlapping objects. Disallows using <Ctrl+Left-Click> to select sub-objects on 3D solids, surfaces, and meshes.

2 <Ctrl+Left-Click> is used to select sub-objects (faces, edges, and vertices) on 3D solids, surfaces, and meshes when SUBOBJSELECTIONMODE is set to 0.If SUBOBJSELECTIONMODE is set to 1, 2, 3,4, or 5, it is not necessary to hold down the Ctrl key to select sub-objects. If you hold down the Ctrl key when SUBOBJSELECTIONMODE is set to 1, 2, 3, 4, or 5, the sub-object filter is turned off until the Ctrl key is released.


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21 PEDITACCEPT R14-2015 Use the system variable PEDITACCEPT to simplify your polyline editing. After all, have you

ever answered NO to the PEDIT question stating that the object you selected is not a polyline –

would you like to convert it to one? Me neither…what a silly question! To NEVER see this

question again, change this system variable.

PEDITACCEPT

Suppresses the prompt “Do you want it to turn into one?” When the prompt is suppressed, the

selected object is automatically converted to a polyline.

Initial Value: 0

0 (default) The prompt is displayed

1 The prompt is suppressed

22 SPACESWITCH 2009-2015 Have you ever accidentally activated modelspace when trying to edit a text object in

paperspace? Me too! Modify the system variable SPACESWITCH to disable the ability to

<Double-Click> through a viewport to activate modelspace.

SPACESWITCH

Controls whether model space can be accessed by double-clicking in a layout viewport.

Initial value: 1

0 Prevent access to model space

1 Allow access to model space

Customize a button to toggle this between ON and OFF to easily change this when the project has progressed to the point when you won’t be changing the ZOOM and PAN appearance of the viewports in paperspace.


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23 Multiple Viewport FREEZE? 2009-2015 Have you ever needed to FREEZE or THAW layers in multiple viewports? Are you still doing

this one viewport at a time?

Use the command VPLAYER to modify layer settings in multiple viewports in a single step.

VPLAYER

VPLAYER provides the following options for modifying viewports.

Use the command LAYVPI to freeze layers in all but the current viewport.

LAYVPI

LAYVPI freezes selected layers in all layout viewports except the current viewport.

24 Cycle Viewports 2004-2015 Ever been stuck in a viewport that erroneously was created inside another viewport? How do

you activate a “nested” viewport?

Use the CTRL+R to toggle between viewports in paperspace.

Note: You can also <Double-Click> on the viewport object in paperspace to activate that viewport in modelspace using the new MAXIMIZE VIEWPORT command.


25

25 Overlapping Viewports? 2009-2015 Have you ever needed to create viewports that overlapped, and had difficulty controlling what

displayed between them in the overlapped area?

The Problem

The viewports display like this. Not

quite what we wanted.

The Solution

This is more like what we wanted.

STEP 1: Create a RECTANGLE and CIRCLE object in the layout as shown above.

STEP 2: Convert both objects to regions using the REGION command.

STEP 3: Use the SUBTRACT command to subtract the CIRCLE from the RECTANGLE object.

STEP 4: Create another CIRCLE on top of the previous circle.

STEP 5: Use the CREATE VIEWPORT OBJECT command to convert the region object containing the rectangle and circle to a VIEWPORT.

STEP 6:

convert the remaining circle object to a viewport.

Pretty cool isn’t it!


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26 Dimension TEXTMASK? 2009-2015 You can also use a textmask on dimensions as well. It is found on the dimension style dialog,

on the TEXT tab, fill color.


27

27 Know Everything About UNDO? 2009-2015 One of the most used commands in AutoCAD is the UNDO command. But many users don’t

know any of the options besides UNDO and REDO.

Number of operations to undo

Key in a number of operations to UNDO. Using the QAT (Quick

Access Toolbar) you can see a list of what operations to undo, very

handy!

Auto

Groups the commands into a single action, making them reversible by a

single U command.

UNDO Auto is not available if the Control option has

turned off.

Control

The control command options allow you to control when UNDO is operational.

Default settings are:

Auto: Yes

Control: All

Combine: Yes

Layer: Yes

All Turns ON the full UNDO command operation.

None

Turns OFF the U and UNDO commands and clears the UNDO buffer disabling all earlier editing

operations.

One Limits UNDO to a single operation.

Combine

Controls whether multiple and consecutive ZOOM and PAN commands are combined as a

single operation for UNDO and REDO operations.

Pan and zoom commands that are started from the menu are not combined, and

always remain separate actions.


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Layer

Controls whether the layer dialog operations are combined as a single undo operation.

Begin, End

Begin Starts the grouping of a sequence of operations to be stored as a set. After the BEGIN option is

defined, all subsequent operations are added to a set until the END option is defined.

Entering UNDO BEGIN while a group is already active ends the current set and

begins a new one. UNDO and U treat these grouped actions as a single action.

End Using END, stops the collection of operations into a set.

Mark

The MARK command option places a “bookmark” in the UNDO operations. You can place as

many MARKS as needed.

Back The BACK command option will perform an UNDO back to the “bookmark”. BACK moves back

one “bookmark” at a time, removing the “bookmark”.

If you undo one operation at a time, you are informed when you reach the mark.


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28 ROTATE…like a Map? 2009-2015 Did you know you can use your “mapping” skills to rotate objects in AutoCAD? Using the

ROTATE command, key in "N" for 90d, "W" for 180d, "S" for 270d & "E" for 0d.

"N" - North

"W" - West

"S" - South

"E" – East

29 Hiding Beneath the Table 2009-2015 You want to place a table in your drawing but you want to hide everything beneath it. Easy!

Use the table background color to obscure all objects beneath it. If you choose a color that

plots white you won’t even know the fill is on when you plot.

If you have been using AutoCAD for a while you know that COLOR 7 (WHITE) displays white on

a black background and BLACK on a white background. To control this use the RGB color

(255,255,255) for a white background, and RGB color (0,0,0) for a black background.

I generally have a color in the color table that automatically plots white, regardless of the display color; and another that plots black regardless of the display color. I can use these as well if I want to see the table background display.


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30 Quick Layers R14-2015 Using the LAYER MANAGER dialog, select the NEW LAYER button and type in the new layer

name. Before you hit the ENTER key, just use the “,” comma character between layer names

and it automatically creates a new layer with the next name.

For example, key in the following to create 3 new layers:

Red,White,Blue

31 Had Enough Layers Reconciled? 2009-2015 Many users complain about the notification of new layers that have been added to active or

reference files.

Change the following settings if you want to stop this notification!

LAYEREVAL

The setting is stored in an integer using one of the following values:

0 (default) Off

1 Detects when new xref layers have been added in the drawing

2 Detects when new layers have been added in the drawing and xrefs

LAYEREVALCTL

This system variable also affects whether the new layer notification is displayed or not.

0 Disables the evaluation and notification of new layers

1 (default) Enables the evaluation of new layers on the LAYEREVAL settings.


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32 Print Layer List R14-2015 There are two primary options for printing a layer list from within AutoCAD.

The first option has been available for a while now. You must access the LAYER command

from the command line not the Layer Manager dialog.

STEP 1: Key in –LAYER to run the command without a dialog.

STEP 2: Key in ? to query all layers in the file.

STEP 3: Key in * to list out all layers in the command line.

STEP 4: Highlight the layer list from within the command line window and copy them to the clipboard using CTRL+C.


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The second option was a “secret” I found out from a participant at AU last year.

Try this out…pretty neat, eh?

STEP 1: Open the Layer Manager dialog

STEP 2: <Right-Click> and select all layers in the dialog

STEP 3: Issue a CTRL+C to copy the layer list to the windows clipboard. It doesn’t

appear to do anything…but it does copy the information.

STEP 4: Open a text file, or better yet open an Excel spreadsheet and paste the information.

What you didn’t know that was possible? Don’t feel bad…neither did I…after all…it was a secret until someone told me a few of years ago!


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33 Automatic Coordinate Labels 2009-2015 Many users ask me how to label a drawing coordinate automatically in AutoCAD. Have you

figured it out yet?

You can use an ordinate dimension but there is a better way if

you make a “smarter” dynamic block to label points in your

drawing.

Use a simple dynamic block using FIELDS that display the

INSERTION POINT of the block.

34 Hidden Items in ARRAY 2010-2015 Many of us enjoy the intelligence available in the new array command. But do you know

everything about the ASSOCIATED ARRAY?

Delete Items

Did you know you can delete individual items in an associated array?

Hide Items

Did you know you can hide individual items in an associated array?

Replace Items

Did you know you can replace individual items in an associated array?

Use the <CTRL> key to modify a single item in the associated array. The new associative array object acts like a block, and so the Clip command and the

new NCopy command work on it. Very useful! The RESET ARRAY tool returns the items to their default size and position. Use the ORIENTATION BASEPOINT option to maintain item orientation along the

path.

To delete or to hide?

Deleting items is the fastest way to remove items from associative array. However, the items

reappear every time we change parameters. It kind of defeats the purpose of associative array,

doesn’t it?


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35 Know EVERYTHING about COPY? 2010-2015 How many times a day do you use the COPY command? Are you exploring all the new

features available in the COPY command? Check these out!

Smarter Copy

The COPY command has been enhanced to allow you to perform a multiple copy using the new

ARRAY option. Use the new option to create a linear array during the copy command.

Array

Use the ARRAY command option to create simple single column or single row arrays of objects.

Number of Items to Array

Specifies the number of items in the array, including the original selection set.

Second Point

Determines a distance and direction for the array relative to the base point. By default, the first copy in the array is positioned at the specified displacement. The remaining copies are positioned in a linear array beyond that point using the same incremental displacement.

Fit

Positions the final copy in the array at the specified displacement. The other copies are fit in a linear array between the original selection set and the final copy.

Fit

Redefines the array to use the specified displacement as the location of the last copy rather than the first copy, fitting the other copies between the original selection set and the final copy.


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36 NUDGE Objects 2012-2015 This new command allows you to move objects very small amounts without using the MOVE

command. To access the NUDGE command, first, select the objects and use the

<CTRL+ARROW keys> to move the object in any of the four arrow directions. This movement

is orthogonal only.

Use the SNAP distance setting to control the distance an object moves during the NUDGE command.

37 AutoCAD: Point Filters R14-2015 Everyone that has ever tried to draw in 3D has those “zinger” objects that go from one elevation

to another “accidentally”. Right? Let me show you how to use POINT FILTERS to eliminate this

problem. I bet none of you are using POINT FILTERS, and they are so useful! Let me

enlighten you.

What are Point Filters?

Point Filters allow you to specify a specific X,Y or Z value when using OSNAPS. So, with this in

mind, how easy would it be to use one of these values to maintain an elevation value when

moving objects in 3D?

I need to copy an object with an elevation of 0, to

align with another object with elevation of 10. I

want to maintain both elevations. Using the point

filter .Z I can effectively LOCK the Z value to a

specific elevation and perform the copy command.

This does not change the default value of the

ELEVATION command.

Use the POINT FILTERS during the execution of any AutoCAD command.


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38 Select Similar 2010-2015 This command allows you to use an existing object as a template for a new selection set. By

default, objects are considered similar if they are the same object type, are on the same layer,

and if the object is a block or xref type, they have the same name.

You can modify this behavior by using the Select Similar Settings options.

Key-in the SELECTSIMILAR command

Select SELECT SIMILAR from the SUBSCRIPTION Ribbon Tab

Select SELECT SIMILAR from the SUBSCRIPTION toolbar

Select SELECT SIMILAR from the <Right-Click> context menu.

SELECTSIMILARMODE

Controls which properties must match for an object of the same type to be selected with

0SELECTSIMILAR.

Initial Value: 130

0 Object type

1 Color

2 Layer

4 Linetype

8 Linetype Scale

16 Lineweight

32 Plot Style

64 Object style, including text styles, dimension styles, and table styles

128 Name, for referenced objects including blocks, xrefs, and images

Default Value of 130 includes: Layer + Name, for referenced objects including blocks, xrefs, and images. (2 + 128)


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39 Automatic Areas Using Fields 2005-2015 For this demonstration let’s use a polyline to demonstrate

a new feature in AutoCAD that can automatic my design

process.

If you need to label areas on your drawings you can use

FIELD objects along with polylines to “automatically” keep

them up to date.

Place text using the Mtext Editor and key-in AREA =

<Right-Click> to access the INSERT FIELD command

In the FIELD CATEGORY select OBJECT

Use the Pick Object button and select the closed polyline

In the PROPERTY list select AREA In the FORMAT list select ARCHITECTURAL and pick OK to close the dialog. Pick OK to place the text in your drawing.

You can modify the GRAY SHADE and the UPDATE FIELD SETTINGS in the user preferences

so that the user can control when the fields are updated.


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40 Custom Plot Stamps R14-2015 I am not going to cover the obvious Plot Stamp utility found on the Plot dialog box. You have

probably already discovered that one.

I find it a little limiting in placement options….so here is an alternative. This method will work in

any version of AutoCAD that has the Express Tools installed. That could include 2000, 2000i,

2002 and 2004 and 2005.

The command to use is REMOTE TEXT….or RTEXT from the command line

You can put this text anywhere in your file…modelspace or paperspace and get easy plot stamp

capabilities.

Add a reference file, and it automatically updates!


39

41 Smarter DIMSCALE 2002-2015 Do you struggle with multiple scales on a single layout and need to modify your dimensions?

Well here is a great way to customize the necessary dimensions on a per viewport basis.

Did you know that if you set your DIMSCALE system variable to “0” you can place dimensions in

paperspace viewports and the dimensions will calculate their correct dimscale automatically?

Yep…this one is great!

42 The Power of PEDIT 2002-2015 Everyone using the PEDIT command but many of you don’t take advantage of some of its

powerful options. For example, have you ever tried to joint several lines using the PEDIT

command only to find that it fails due to “sloppy” drafting, by your co-workers of course!

Did you know that there is a “fuzz” factor you can apply to close those gaps in the lines? YES!

This option is only available through the MULTIPLE option, so try it out!

The FUZZ Factor

STEP 1: Start the PEDIT command.

STEP 2: Key in M for the MULITPLE option.

STEP 3: Select all the objects you wish to join together and convert to polylines.

STEP 4: Key in J for the JOIN option.

STEP 5: Enter in the “fuzz distance” for the “sloppy” lines. This distance should be slightly larger than the “sloppy” error gaps or overlaps.

STEP 6: Press ENTER to complete the command.


40

43 MPEDIT Cleanup 2004-2015 Use the multiple PEDIT option or the MPEDIT command to cleanup some of that “messy”

linework.

STEP 1: Key in MPEDIT

STEP 2: Select the linework to cleanup

STEP 3: Key in J to JOIN linework after cleanup

STEP 4: Enter and appropriate “fuzz factor” to clean up gaps and overlaps as needed

44 Hatch Defaults 2004-2015 Do you always have to change the default hatch pattern because ANSI31 is not the most

common hatch for your work? Me too! I would prefer to have SOLID my default hatch.

Here is how you can modify your “default” hatch pattern for future hatching commands.

Use the system variable HPNAME and set it to the pattern of your choice

HPNAME = SOLID

Sorry, but this setting isn’t saved anywhere; so when you close AutoCAD it reverts back to

ANSI31.

So how can you save this change permanently? Try using the ACADDOC.LSP file. You can

create and place the ACADDOC.LSP in any support path directory and it will be loaded

automatically each time a drawing is accessed.

Use the file ACADDOC.LSP to save these “favorite settings” every time you run AutoCAD.

(setvar “HPNAME” “SOLID”)

Use the . character to reset the pattern back to the default hatch.


41

45 Stack Those Dimensions 2002-2015 Now that you know everything you need to stack text objects, what about dimensions?

Unfortunately, the previous options don’t work the same when you are working with dimension

text. But try this little trick, it works great!

Two lines of Dimension Text

STEP 1: Edit the dimension text using the MText editor.

STEP 2: Press the ENTER key after the “dim value” in the editor and add TYP. on the second line. You should notice that the output wasn’t quite what you were expecting.

STEP 3: Edit the dimension text again, and change it to “dim value” \XTYP. Isn’t that what you really wanted?

46 Quick Fillet 2002-2015 Want to use the FILLET command quicker than before? Did you know that you can use a

crossing to select objects simultaneously?

STEP 1: Select the FILLET command

STEP 2: When asked to select objects key in C for CROSSING

STEP 3: Use a crossing window to select the objects.


42

47 Fewer Tool Tips 2006-2015 You can change how your tool tips look in AutoCAD 2006 and 2007. Use the system variable

TOOLTIPMERGE to merge all the tool tips together into a single tool tip.

48 Trim and Extend Dimensions 2004-2015 I learned of this one a long time ago, but I keep passing it on. It is such a handy feature and it

seems that most users don’t even know they can do this.

Use either the TRIM or

EXTEND command to modify

dimensions as well as lines,

arcs, etc.

Individual Tooltips

Merged Tooltip


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49 Take the EDGE Out of Trim 2002-2015 Using the system variable EDGEMODE can simplify your trim and extend functionality. Did you

know that you can TRIM and EXTEND to non-existent edges?

50 Fun Text Messaging Forever! I got this tip while browsing Todd Shacelford’s blog and thought it was so amusing that I would

include it in this session.

If you are a CAD Manager and you help users at their computer, then you can appreciate this

idea from Todd. After helping out a user with a problem, and they leave their computer for a few

minutes; try this alert message out!

(alert “Your CAD Skills are inferior to mine \nPlease attend AU to improve immediately!”)

Thanks Todd, for reminding us how “fun” AutoCAD can

be!

EDGEMODE

Controls how the TRIM and EXTEND commands determine cutting and boundary edges

Initial Value: 0

0 Uses the selected edge without an extension

1 Extends or trims the selected object to an imaginary extension of the cutting or boundary edge

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