November 30 December 3, 2004 .

Las Vegas, Nevada

AutoCAD® Secrets Exposed!

Jeanne Aarhus ProSoft NET, Professional Software Solutions, Inc.

GD21-2 This session is filled with time-saving tips and tricks that can be used
to increase your productivity immediately.
Some of AutoCAD's most time-saving features are either buried in the documentati
on or have been lost in the
upgrade shuffle. Attend this session if you are too busy working to spend time d
igging through all the new and old
documentation and online information. Do you take advantage of the new tools ava
ilable or are you still doing
things just like you did years ago? Some of the best and most productivity-enhan
cing tools have been introduced
in recent upgrades. To take advantage of them, attend this session and discover
what might take you years to
discover on our own.
Who Should Attend :
All AutoCAD Users
Topics Covered:
* Discover hidden tips you might not discover on your own
* Discover ways to use some old tools you may have forgotten
* Learn hidden tips and tricks from other AutoCAD users
* Learn how to use the newer tools for greater productivity
* Learn from an instructor with 20-plus years of training experience

About the Speaker:

Jeanne is known for keeping her training sessions fast-moving and fun. She is a
nationally known speaker and
expert in CAD and presents seminars and workshops on CAD productivity for manage
rs and users in both
corporate and college settings. She has been involved with production drawing, u
ser support, standards
coordination, programming, and training in CAD applications for more than 20 yea
rs. She continues to be actively
involved in international, national, and local CAD user groups.
jaarhus@prosoftnet.com
AutoCAD® Secrets Exposed!
The topics I selected for this presentation were collected from friends, co-work
ers, other
user groups; and of course the newsgroups.
If you have an idea or a great tip to pass along .I invite you to share your ideas
with
other users. This only works when we ALL share ideas and concepts. Keep the
information flowing .and thanks to all those who helped with this collection of id
eas.

About this document:

Topic available in AutoCAD 2002
Topic available in AutoCAD 2004
Topic available in AutoCAD 2005

I will assume that most of you are in 2000+ versions .at least I hope so!

Secret to Expose!

Thanks to everyone who contributed ideas to this session. And remember me if you
have a clever way to use AutoCAD, send me YOUR ideas. We all learn through shari
ng!
1 Trim and Extend Dimensions

I learned of this one a long

time ago, but I keep
passing it on. It is such ahandy feature and it seemthat most users don t even
know they can do

Use either the TRIM or

EXTEND command to
modify dimensions as well
as lines, arcs, etc.

2 Trim Your Hatches

The new hatch capabilities allow you to TRIM your hatches just like you would ot
her
objects.

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3 Take the Edge out of Trim and Extend

Using the system variable EDGEMODE can simplify your trim and extend functionali
ty.
Did you know that you can TRIM and EXTEND to non-existent edges?
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

4 Remember Folders

There is an AutoCAD command called REMEMBERFOLDERS that controls the default

path for the Look In or Save In option of all standard file selection dialog box
es.
0 the folders will open to the same place every time.
1 (default) the current folder shown will remain as the default until the anothe
r
folder is accessed.
Each option has good and bad points, but at least try them both. I ll bet more tha
n one
of you will think this is one of the best secrets!

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5 Zoom to Object

This new ZOOM TO OBJECT command zooms to one or more selected objects in the
center of the drawing area. You can select objects before or after you start the
ZOOM
command.

6 The TEXTTOFRONT Command

A new command TEXTTOFRONT brings all your text and dimension text to the top of
the draworder stack.

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7 Xref Default OVERLAY ..FINALLY!!!!!

If you prefer to use the Overlay attachment options when attaching external refe
rences.
You can now set this as the default attachment option. Set the system variable
XREFTYPE.
0 for Attach
1 for Overlay

8 A Gradient Background for your Display

Do you want to make your drawing background more interesting?

You can assign an image of your choice or a color gradient to window background
of the
drawing editor:
.. Access the OPTIONS dialog and
select the System tab
.. Select the PROPERTIES button for
the 3D Graphics Display and turn on
RENDER OPTIONS and ENABLE
BACKGROUND
.. Use the BACKGROUND command to
set the required parameters of the
image or gradient.
.. Use the SHADEMODE command to
use FLAT, GOURAUD or any
combination to use the background
of your choice.

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9 Tool Palettes for Everyone!

Do you need to share you custom Tool

Palettes with others in your organization?
Uses the CUSTOMIZE command to export
palettes to an .XTP file, and import the
.XTP file on the other computer.

10 Protect Your Customizations

As a CAD manager, have you ever wanted to turn off the ability of your users to
customize toolbars and palettes? The system
variable TBCUSTOMIZE turns off the Customize
command when set to 0.

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11 Snap to 2005 Hatches

You might have noticed a subtle change in the OSNAP capabilities in regards to H
atch
Objects in 2005. The system variable OSNAPHATCH allows you to snap to hatch
objects like before.

12 WIPEOUT in the real world

Another great secret is the light fixture block I used which I created using a WIP
EOUT
object as a background. This prevents having to trim the ceiling grid hatch where
necessary.

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13 Is Your Hatch too Dense?

AutoCAD sets a default limit of hatch segments to 10000. So if your hatch has mo
re
segments than that AutoCAD will not create the hatch. You can change this so tha
t you
can get a more dense hatch when needed.
Key-in the following at the command line to modify this setting. Note that this
key-in is
case-sensitive and you must include the parentheses.
(setenv "MaxHatch" "100000")

14 Redefine F1 Key

Have you ever hit the F1 function key accidentally? Or maybe I should ask on
purpose?
You can change the F1 function key to something more useful than help. After all .
I
hope you don t need to access the F1 key every day?
The definition of this key resides in the ACAD.MNS file located in the following
default
location. Be sure to substitute your windows loginname.
C:\Documents and Settings\loginname\Application Data\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2005\R16.0
\enu\Support
.. Locate the ACAD.MNS file and edit it with your favorite text editor.
.. Search the file for *** ACCELERATORS to locate the portion of this file to edit
.
.. At the end of the keyboard accelerators section key-in the following to modif
y F1
to perform a REGEN ALL command
["F1"]_regenall;

To re-define the HELP command on a different keystroke try using this

[Control+ F1 ] _help

If you want this change to be more permanent, make these changes in the ACAD.MNU
file. However, this will force you to re-load ACAD.MNU to get the menus to re-co
mpile.
15 Using Taskbars in AutoCAD

The new TASKBAR command allows you to see each drawing separately like other
windows applications.

16 Easier PEDIT-ing

You can shorten your PEDIT command by using the new system variable
PEDITACCEPT. This new system variable eliminates the prompt asking you Do you
want to turn it into one? <Y> that occurs when you select a non polyline object.
After
all if you didn t want to turn it into one, why would you have chosen the PEDIT
command?
0 Retains the "Do you want to turn it into one? <Y>" prompt.
1 The prompt is not displayed and the object will be converted into polyline.

17 More Screen Space Temporarily

Press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+0 and AutoCAD temporarily switches off all tool
bars,
panels and windows - so will get all screen area for your drawing only. The next
Ctrl-0
will get you back again to the previously displayed toolbars and menus.

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18 Zoom to View Max

The new command ZOOM V zooms to the maximum screen area in virtual space that
is available without regeneration. You might have seen your virtual space during a
zoom in or zoom out command in the past. The icons when you hit the edge of your
virtual space look something like this.

19 Automatic Areas Using Fields

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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20 Buried in the Express Offset

There is a couple of very handy options buried in the Express Tool EXTENDED OFFS
ET.
This command allows you to offset objects to the CURRENT LAYER instead of the sa
me
layer as the original object.
OFFSET to CURRENT Layers
.. Key-in EXOFFSET or select EXTENDED OFFSET
from Express .. Modify .. Extended Offset
.. Key-in offset distance
.. Key-in O for OPTIONS
.. Key-in L for LAYER
.. Key-in C for CURRENT and hit ENTER one more
time
.. Select the object to offset and the direction.

You can put this on a button and make it a lot easier to use!
^C^C_exoffset;\o;l;c;;\m;

OFFSET MULTIPLE times

.. Key-in EXOFFSET or select EXTENDED OFFSET
from Express .. Modify .. Extended Offset
.. Key-in offset distance
.. Select the object to offset and the direction.
.. Key-in M for MULTIPLE and hit ENTER one
more time
.. Select the object to offset and the direction.

You can put this on a button and make it a lot easier to use!
^C^C_exoffset;\o;l;s;;\m;
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21 Double Your Dimension Information

You can get a second line of text on your dimensions by using the "\X" format co
de in
the SUFFIX field of your dimension style.
This example shows how to use commonly
used dimension requirements easily using
this shortcut

Look how easy they are to use!

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22 Custom Plot Stamps

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!

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23 Stroll down the PATH of CUSTOM Tool Palettes

*_TOOLPALETTEPATH is an undocumented system variable used to set the tool

palette path.
Use a semicolon as the delimiter between multiple paths.

24 HIDE and SPEED UP your Palettes

If you want to change the speed of your Auto-Hide, make the following change bel
ow.
Everyone in the 2005 versions don t have to worry about this one anymore, since
Autodesk changed the default to the fastest speed available.
But for you < 2005 version users edit the file FIXEDPROFILE.AWS with notepad. It i
s
located in:
C:\Documents and Settings\loginname\Application Data\Autodesk\application name\
R16.0\enu\Support\Profiles
Look for <PALETTEROLLUPDELAY> and <PALETTEROLLOUTDELAY> at the top of the file.
The default settings are in milliseconds. Set them both to 1 for the fasted spee
d.

25 OK already for MTEXT

Are you tired of picking the OK button in the MTEXT editor? I only lasted about
2 days
before I went off exploring how I could get around this. I found a nice shortcut
that you
might like too!
Select the MTEXT command and type a simple string of text.
Rather than picking the OK button use <CTRL> + <ENTER>
.or .
Just <Left-Click> anywhere in the drawing.
26 Sort Out your Layers

Have you ever had your layers not sort alphabetically? If so, it is because the
maximum
sort list in AutoCAD is set to 200. Most likely you had exceeded this number of
layers.
Change the system variable MAXSORT to allow for more than 200 layers.
MAXSORT = 500 (hopefully you don t need more than that!)
This is saved in the registry settings so it will be modified for all files.

27 Smarter DIMSCALE

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 corre
ct
dimscale automatically? Yep this one is great!

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28 2005 Easter Egg

And last but not least everyone always want to know where the Autodesk 2005 East
er
egg is hidden. So here it is.
.. Start the new Layer Manager
.. Use <SHIFT> + <CTRL> and pick on the Inverse Filter option (in the lower left
corner)

You can control the playback using the mouse <Right-Click>

Thank you for your time

Hope you enjoyed the session!

*
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