AutoCAD

Do you ever use the transparent 'CAL command? It is probably one of those commands that you know, but use so infrequently that you forget about it. So why bother? How can it help? Here are some examples. Oh yeah, I'm not talking about the QuickCalc that runs in a palette - this post is strictly referring to the command line 'CAL command.

Example 1: Use it as a plain old calculator. At the command line, type ._CAL and enter an expression like 32/7 which will return 4.57142857. Okay, that was pretty easy and you didn't have to leave AutoCAD. Read more »

Annotative objects have been part of AutoCAD now since the 2008 release, but if you use them infrequently you may have some questions on how certain things work.

One question that I see frequently is related to the ability for annotative objects to have different locations based on the scale. In the example shown here, I have an annotative Mleader, shown in magenta in each viewport. One viewport is scaled 1"=10' and the other is 1"=50' (the actual scales are not important, but just note that they vary quite a bit in this example).

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If you work on a particular project frequently, you can save a step by creating a desktop (or start menu) shortcut for launching AutoCAD, and have it automatically open the desired Sheet Set.

Here is how to do it.

• Copy the shortcut that you normally use
• Open the properties of this new shortcut.
• On the Shortcut tab, find where you can edit the "Target"
• Add the following to the end of the target: /set "path\name_of_sheet_set.dst" (of course, use the actual path and name of your desired sheet set.)
• Optionally, switch to the General tab and change the name of the shortcut to better fit its purpose.

Note that the field in which the target string is located is almost always too short to see the entire string. You could copy the existing string into notepad and then do your editing there so you can see the entire thing - then paste it back into the Target field when you are done.

This tip should work for any Windows based, AutoCAD based application, such as Civil 3D, shown in the image above.

For more information, including other startup shortcut switches, see Customize Startup topic in the AutoCAD documentation.

If you are editing TEXT (not MTEXT), and the system variable TEXTED is set to 0 or 2, then you will be using the In-Place text editor. Although you can type in %%U to add underlining, there is no obvious way to remove it. I would guess most people would not even try the %%U since initially it shows up in the string while you are typing it in.

Anyway, you can use CTRL+U to toggle underlining (on selected text) in the In-Place Text Editor. Here is a partial? list of other In-Place Text Editor keyboard shortcuts.

• CTRL+F - Insert a Field
• CTRL+A - Select all text
• CTRL+V - Undo changes
• CTRL+O - Toggle Overscore on selected text
• CTRL+U - Toggle Underline on selected text
• CTRL+SHIFT+U - convert selected text to UPPER case
• CTRL+SHIFT+L - convert selected text to lower case
• CTRL+ENTER - finish editing
• CTRL+R - Find & Replace

(Those last four, courtesy @JustOpie on Twitter!)

If you prefer the older TEXT edit dialog, set TEXTED to 1.

Do you have any other Text Editor tips? Read more »

Here is a great informational video about Autodesk University 2011.

 
 
 
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I have a couple of posts on the various MDI drawing tabs add-ons for AutoCAD, the first was in 2007 (updated in 2010), and another from this year regarding the compatibility of the Autodesk version with AutoCAD 2012.

I have been using the version from www.caelink.com with no problems for a while now. Read more »

Simple Linetype Definition

The AutoCAD linetype syntax is pretty simple. Referring back to Part 1, recall the linetype definition that I copied, edited, and named MY-DASHED.



Looking at the definition, the first item is an asterisk, followed by the name of the linetype, then a short description, and finally an ASCII representation of the linetype. This last part is totally up to you, just get it as close as you can. Look at some of the other linetypes as a reference. Read more »

So where do AutoCAD linetypes come from? When you start up AutoCAD and start drawing some geometry and decide to change the linetype to something other than Continuous, where did they come from? How did they get there? How can you change them or add more?

To start with, there are two types of linetypes, simple and complex; both are stored in the DWG file. Simple linetypes are composed of line segments and spaces (or gaps) only. Examples include the HIDDEN, DASHDOT, and PHANTOM linetypes, as shown below. Simple linetypes are fully contained in the DWG file. If you send a DWG file to someone else, you do not have to send any external files along also in order for the simple linetypes to display correctly.
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Get a Sneak Peek at Upcoming AutoCAD Features!

The AutoCAD User Experience Team is hosting its annual AutoCAD Sneak Peek events in late September. These are free half-day events held in a few different locations, and they’re a great way to get hands-on experience with in-progress features and give your suggestions and feedback directly to the team designing those features. This year the team is running two events that focus on different functionality. To sign up, click one of the survey links below.

Web & Mobile Sneak Peek

This sneak peek highlights features for people who work on AutoCAD from multiple computers or different locations -- such as using different workstations, or switching between the office, home, or working out in the field.  CAD Managers and day-to-day AutoCAD users of all levels are welcome to attend.

Locations & Dates: San Francisco (Sept 22), San Jose, CA (Sept 28), and Denver (Oct 4-5)

Sign Up for the Web & Mobile Sneak Peek Here

Model Documentation Sneak Peek

This sneak peek is geared toward people in the Mechanical/Manufacturing industry who use AutoCAD, AutoCAD Mechanical, or/and  Inventor , and who create and annotate model views (such as section, detail, and projected  views) of 3D models (mechanical parts, components).

Locations & Dates: San Francisco (Sept 23), Portland/Lake Oswego (Sept 29-30), and Fullerton, CA (Sept 29-30)

Sign Up for the Model Documentation Sneak Peek Here

If you have questions or want to learn more about the events before signing up, contact Shari Nemerovski,
shari.nemerovski@autodesk.com.
 Read more »

Although there are some great tools out there for dumping your layer list to Excel, such as the one from Dotsoft, if you are not particular about the look of the output, there is a fast way to do this using only AutoCAD and Excel.

1. Open your layer manager
2. Click on any layer, then press CTRL+A. This will select all of the layers.
3. Press CTRL+C to copy this to the clipboard.
4. Open Excel, click in cell A1, and press CTRL+V.

This works with both the old style model layer manager and the new palette based layer manager on AutoCAD for Windows (use LAYERDLGMODE to control). I do not know if this will work on AutoCAD for Mac. Read more »