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Tips and TechniquesThis page introduces several tips and techniques about AutoCAD. Table of Contents
Plot Styles and True Colors[AutoCAD 2004 and 2005] If you want to plot a drawing that contains true colors or colors from color books you must use Named plot styles. Color dependent plot styles can affect index colors only. If you have mistakenly used color dependent plot styles you can assign named plot styles to the drawing. For more information click here.
Associative or Non-Associative[AutoCAD 2000 to 2005] The hatch patterns are associative by default. It means that they follow their boundary. However you can change this situation either with the help of Boundary Hatch dialog box or altering the HPASSOC system variable to 0.
The Copy Command in AutoCAD 2005[AutoCAD 2005] The Copy command in AutoCAD 2005 builds multiple copies of selected object(s) by default.
Copy Text Window History[AutoCAD] The COPYHIST command copies the contents of the Text Window to Windows clipboard. Later on you may paste the information into a text file within Notepad or any other proper text editor.
Middle Wheel Zoom Factor[AutoCAD 2000+] When you roll the middle wheel of the mouse the zoom scale of the drawing will change. The amount of zoom can be controlled with ZOOMFACTOR system variable. The initial value of the system variable is 60 and it can accept whole numbers between 3 to 100. The more this number the greater zoom scale factor when you roll the mouse wheel. Please also read the relevant topic: Middle Button.
Status Bar Buttons[AutoCAD 2004] In AutoCAD 2004 you can control the visibility of status buttons. On the status bar click the right-most down arrow. A menu appears [Figure]. Select or deselect the options to change the visibility of the status buttons.
Avoid Full Path in Title Bar[AutoCAD 2004] By default AutoCAD 2004 shows the full path of the current drawing file in title bar. To remove this feature:
Online DesignCenter[AutoCAD 2004] The new AutoCAD DesignCenter contains a tab through which you can download blocks from Internet [Figure].
(Click the image to enlarge)
Disabling the Security Utility[AutoCAD 2004] In AutoCAD 2004 you have the chance to add passwords to your drawing files. If an unauthorized person have access to this feature can cause great losses. You can easily remove this feature. If you have already installed AutoCAD 2004:
(click image to enlarge)
If you haven't installed AutoCAD 2004 yet: At the time of installation select the Custom option and disable Drawing Encryption.
Sample Text for Multiline Texts[AutoCAD 2004] In AutoCAD 2004 you can define a sample text to appear on screen when you invoke the MTEXT command. The sample text can be any string up to 10 letters. It shows you how your text will look like if you do not make any changes to text style settings. The default sample is "abc". You can use MTJIGSTRING system variable to change the default. Following is an example [Figure]: Command: mtjigstring
A New Useful Toolbar[AutoCAD 2004] AutoCAD 2004 presents a new toolbar called Styles. The toolbar is enabled by default. You can select the current text style and dimension style from the associated lists or change and define the styles by clicking on the associated buttons [Figure].
Clip-depth in XCLIP Command[AutoCAD 2002] You can use the XCLIP command to set clipping boundaries for Xrefs and blocks. If the block or Xref is a 3D model you can also define a front or back clipping plane for it. To define such planes use the Clipdepth option of the command.
XPLODE vs. EXPLODE[AutoCAD 2002] Compound objects are those that comprise more than one AutoCAD objects. Following is a list of compound objects in AutoCAD:
You can use EXPLODE command to break a compound object into its components. XPLODE is also used for the same purpose. With this command you can define a new layer, linetype, lineweight, or color for the components of the compound object after exploding.
Working with Screen Parameters[AutoCAD 2002] Enter VIEWSIZE at command line to know about display height in drawing units. Entering VIEWCTR specifies the coordinates of middle point of current display. To use these values in AutoCAD commands use the AutoLISP expressions (getvar "viewsize") and (getvar "viewctr"). CIRCLE, CENTER-AREA[AutoCAD 2002] To draw a circle with center-area method first invoke circle command and draw it with center-radius or center-diameter method. The radius or diameter value is not important at this stage. Later invoke PROPERTIES command, select the circle and change the value of area to the desired one. There is a program in downloads page that you can use to automate this process. The command name used for this purpose is called CCA.
Middle Button[AutoCAD 2000+] Since AutoCAD 2000 if you are using a wheeled mouse you can invoke Pan by dragging the middle wheel. You may alter the AutoCAD behavior by changing the value of MBUTTONPAN system variable. If MBUTTONPAN is equal to 1 the wheel will invoke Pan and if it is equal to 0 pressing the middle wheel will show the Object Snap shortcut menu.
Use Geometric Calculator in Your AutoLISP Programs[AutoCAD 2000+] To use the geometrical calculator within your AutoLISP programs add the following statement to the code: (arxload "geomcal.arx") Later you can use CAL as a normal AutoLISP function. The arguments should be quoted. For example if you want to find a point that is located in the middle of two other points you may use the following statement: (cal "(pt1+pt2)/2")
Avoid Text Mirroring[AutoCAD 2000+] When you mirror objects with MIRROR command the texts may become backwards or rather mirrored. To disable this feature alter MIRRTEXT system variable to 0. MIRRTEXT is saved in current drawing file. It accepts two values: 0: Retains text direction 1: Mirrors the text
Converting Plot Styles[AutoCAD 2000+] Every AutoCAD drawing can use one type of plot style table. When you create a new drawing the plot style table is also defined. The type of plot style depends on the template file that you use or the settings of Options dialog box. Converting the current drawing from named to color-dependent plot style:
Converting the current drawing from color-dependent to named plot style:
Rotating a 2D View[AutoCAD 2000+] You can use Zoom and Pan to scale and move the view. However, these commands are incapable in rotating the view. There are two commands available for 2D view rotation: 3DORBIT and DVIEW. 3DORBIT: To rotate a two dimensional view, invoke the command. Place mouse pointer outside the arc-ball. Drag the mouse in the outer area of the arc-ball. DVIEW: Invoke the command. Select objects. Select Twist option. Enter the angle of rotation. This method can rotate the view with a precise angle. |
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