gen11412 60 autocad tips in 60 minutes

60 AutoCAD Tips in 60 Minutes

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GEN11412

60 AutoCAD Tips in 60 Minutes Lynn Allen Autodesk, Inc. Learning Objectives

Learn how to eliminate needless steps in AutoCAD

Discover time-saving AutoCAD features

Learn how to get your jobs done faster

Improve your AutoCAD skills

Description

If you want a plethora of power-user tips, be sure join Cadalyst Columnist and Autodesk Technical Evangelist Lynn Allen as she takes you through a whirlwind of productivity techniques that are certain to improve your everyday drawing life. At a tip a minute, you’ll be sure to discover some top-secret AutoCAD software features that will remove tedium and boost your ability to meet project deadlines. Not to worry if you've attended Lynn's class before—she switches up the tips every year

Lynn Allen

Lynn Allen, Cadalyst columnist and Autodesk Technical Evangelist, speaks to more than 30,000

users worldwide each year. For the past 22 years she has written a column for Cadalyst

magazine called "Circles and Lines" and is the voice behind the popular Cadalyst videos –“Tips

and Tricks with Lynn Allen”. Lynn started using Autodesk® software over 25 years ago, and

taught at the corporate and collegiate level for 13 years before joining Autodesk. A sought-

after public speaker with a unique comedic style, Lynn is always one of the highest rated

speakers and host of Autodesk University®. The author of three AutoCAD books, her latest is

entitled AutoCAD Professional Tips and Techniques.


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Smart Dimensioning in 2016

1) New DIM command

The new smart and graphically intuitive DIM command will help eliminate clicks, picks and tedium! Turn osnaps off to select objects, turn them on to select explicit extension line points. (Annotate tab – Dimensions Panel)

2) New Dimension layer control You can specify a layer to be used for your dimensions. Does not affect the current layer. (only works when using the new tool and not the legacy dimension commands).

(Annotate tab – Dimensions Panel)

3) DIMLAYER system variable Use the new DIMLAYER system variable to specify a layer for your dimensions (when using the new DIM tool). If you key in a layer that doesn’t exist – AutoCAD will add a layer using the default settings.

4) Angular dimensions Select two non-parallel objects with the new DIM tool and AutoCAD will automatically assume an angular dimension.

5) Options when overlapping dimensions When two dimensions land on top of each other – you will be presented with 4 different options:

Move away: Will leave the new dimension as is and move the existing dimension Break up: Will create a continued dimension by inserting the new dimension into the existing dimension line. Replace: Will replace existing dimension with the new one None: Will upset your drafting teacher and allow you to have two dimensions right on top of each other.

6) Undoing Dimensions using the new DIM tool If you wish to undo the last dimension created – be sure to execute Undo while still in DIM mode. If


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you exit to the command line (escape or enter) – and then execute Undo – all of the dimensions created within the last DIM mode will be erased (and you will be very sad). Of course a “redo” will make everything all better (but then you’ll have to physically erase the last dimension).

7) Width sizing control for text Double click on dimension text and you’ll find the new Width sizing control makes it easy to space out your dimension text over multiple lines.

User Interface improvements in 2016

8) New Tab changed to persistent Start tab (Can turn off for deployments) AutoCAD 2015 introduced the New tab – it’s been renamed (just to confuse you) to Start tab and remains persistent in AutoCAD (when using File tabs). Thankfully – you can now turn off Start tab when deploying AutoCAD for those of you who want to banish it from everyone’s lives (even though there are some pretty handy tools in it and I think you might want to give it a chance!)

9) Set Startmode to 0 to disable The magical system variable that disables the Start tab (must exit AutoCAD and relaunch to see the results).

10) Set Galleryview to 0 to disable Galleries For those of you who don’t care for the (cool) galleries you find with the Insert command on the Ribbon Tab as well as a variety of styles – simply turn the system variable GALLERVIEW off.

11) Set Cursorbadges to 1 to disable cursor badges (2 to turn on!) And for those of you don’t care for the handy cursor badges - you can turn those off by setting CURSORBADGES to 1 (which is the opposite of everything else we set in AutoCAD!). Turn them back on by setting to 2 (of course). Consistency is so overrated.

12) Move layout tabs above status bar If you like to have LOTS of layouts in your drawings – you might want to move the layout tabs back


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above the status bar (like it was before 2015). Simply right click on a layout tab and select “Dock above Status Bar”

13) Isolate objects/Lock UI added back Oops! Isolate objects and the Lock UI tools were left off of the status bar in 2015! Now you can put them back!

14) CLOSEALLOTHER command While this option existed in the File Tab right click menu – it wasn’t an actual command. Now you can key in CLOSEALLOTHER to close all the open drawings except for the active one (and of course you’ll get a chance to save them first!)

Revision Clouds in 2016

15) Rectangular, Polygonal and Freehand Found on the Annotate tab- Markup panel of the ribbon – the new Revision Clouds are much easier to create and edit. No more crazy stretched out arcs when editing!

16) Use object for Circular/Ellipse If you want a circular or elliptical revision cloud – draw the desired shape first and use the Object option in the REVCLOUD command.

17) Easy grip editing Grips are so much more intuitive and easier to control with the new revision clouds. You’ll find grips similar to those that exist in their corresponding object shape


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18) Modify option to combine Revision Clouds. If you’ve ever wanted to combine more than one revision cloud together then you’ll love the new Modify option in the REVCLOUD command. Select an existing revision cloud to draw from, draw the second revision cloud and then delete the unneeded section.

19) REVCLOUDGRIPS (legacy behavior)

If you want to go back to the pre-AutoCAD 2016 revision clouds (perhaps you need to draw a tree and want to make it ununiformed) then set REVCLOUDGRIPS to OFF. This will give you the legacy grips behavior. You can turn it back on at any point.

Drawing and Editing

20) Add Text Frames (in Properties) AutoCAD 2016 added a handy option to Properties that allows you to put a border around your text.


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21) MTEXT Match Properties now Sticky The Match Properties option in MTEXT is now a toggle. When selected – it stays on until toggled off.

22) Geometric Center OSNAP Snap to the geometric center of a closed polyline or spline with the new Geometric Center (GCE) object snap. That should cut down on your construction lines…

23) XREFOVERRIDE Ever try to override layer settings (such as color) in an XREF where the objects are not set to bylayer? XREFOVERRIDE to the rescue! Set XREFOVERRIDE to 1 and the objects will behave as though they were set to bylayer!

24) System variable Monitor Have you ever used an AutoLISP routine or application in AutoCAD and then found out that some of your system variables had been changed? Set your favorite system variables in the SYSVARMONITOR and AutoCAD will alert you when any of them are changed (and make it easy for you to set them back!)

Layer Tips

25) Layer Translator (LAYTRANS) Use LAYTRANS to translate the layers in one drawing to the layers in another. If this is an operation you’ll be doing over and over – you should save the file to a DWS file for easy recall in the future. Manage tab CAD Standards panel


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26) LAYWALK (View layers individually) Use LAYWALK to easily view the objects on individual (or multiple) layers.

Home tab > Layers Panel

27) Merge multiple layers together Merge one or more layers together with LAYMRG. You can do this in the Layers property Manager or within the standalone command.

28) LAYDEL (Delete even the most stubborn layers!) Use the command when you can’t get AutoCAD to purge a layer using the standard methods! This


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command is FABULOUS and will delete a layer regardless of what is on it. Just remember – where there is power – there is danger! Note: LAYDEL will not delete layer 0 or defpoints.

29) SETBYLAYER This command will change the properties of an object to bylayer – even if the objects are within a nested block! SETBYLAYER comes in handy when dealing with coworkers who have bad drawing etiquette.

30) COPYTOLAYER Have you ever wanted to copy objects from one place to another AND to a different layer? Use COPYTOLAYER to kill two birds with one stone (poor bird).

31) Speedy import of layers from one drawing to another (INSERT) You can use the INSERT command to insert drawing layers from one drawing to another. Simply escape before the end of the command so you don’t actually insert the objects along with the drawing! (Super sneaky tip!) Note: this will also import a variety of styles from the inserted drawing.

32) Set the default Hatch Layer Be sure to set a default layer for your hatching to save time. No more switching your current layer when hatching!

Design Center (Control+2)

33) Copying layers from one drawing to another Use Design Center to copy layers from one drawing to another. Navigate to the drawing, select the desired layers and drag them into your drawing.


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34) Copying blocks from one drawing to another Same concept – navigate to the drawing file with the desired block(s) and drag and drop into your current drawing.

35) Copying content (styles, layouts, etc) Check out the content you can drag in from one drawing file to another using Design Center!

36) Extensive search capability Design Center is a great sleuth and it can search through any/all of the directories on your computer for a variety of different types of content. So much easier than searching yourself!

Note: Can take quite a bit of time depending on how many directories you ask AutoCAD to search.

37) Reverse xref search Have you ever wanted to see how many different drawings have xrefed in a specifc drawing? Use Design Center to do a reverse XREF search (note: case sensitive)

Improve your AutoCAD Knowledge

38) Tip of the Day The Start tab (Learn Page) has a great tip of the day (that changes every day). You can step back through any that you have missed and keep your AutoCAD knowledge in Tip Top Shape!


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39) Autodesk Knowledge Network https://knowledge.autodesk.com/ Get your questions answered!

40) Autodesk Help Webinars

Sign up for upcoming webinars: http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/autocad-2013-2014-2015-2016/autocad-and-autocad-lt-webinars/td-p/5222619

Past webinars can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXEyem_18syOEpO-jBqnZTvGLIE7K1rxV

41) Find Commands with the friendly Help arrows Use the “Find” tool in Help to locate tools in the ribbon, Application menu and Status Bar (you’ll never be lost again!)

Autodesk (AutoCAD) Exchange

42) Download valuable apps (many are free)

Just click the X in the upper corner of the drawing editor for easy access to hundreds of apps that could make your AutoCAD experience better! Installed apps will appear on the “Add-ins” tab of the

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/

http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/autocad-2013-2014-2015-2016/autocad-and-autocad-lt-webinars/td-p/5222619

http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/autocad-2013-2014-2015-2016/autocad-and-autocad-lt-webinars/td-p/5222619

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXEyem_18syOEpO-jBqnZTvGLIE7K1rxV

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLXEyem_18syOEpO-jBqnZTvGLIE7K1rxV


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ribbon.

43) Exchange App Manager The handy Exchange App Manager makes it easy to uninstall or update your installed apps.

44) Hangman! Ok…I’m not sure if this is a productivity tip – but it sure is good fun! Download Hangman and play when you need a break (and need a little change of pace). Don’t worry – if your boss comes by simply hit any key on your keyboard or click anywhere outside of the game. (Nobody needs to know!)

Time Savers!

45) Shift for more than one hot Grip Use the Shift key to make more than one hot grip.

46) Line to Arc Continuation Use an extra enter in the Arc command to draw an arc tangent to the last line drawn…or…use an extra enter in the Line command to draw a line tangent to the last arc drawn…

47) Control to Reverse Arc Tired of fighting AutoCAD to draw a clockwise arc? Simply use the Control key in the Arc command to override this decades old rule of counterclockwise!


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48) Ctrl+R to cycle through Viewports Have you ever tried to access a viewport within another viewport? Don’t move a viewport to get to it – simply use Ctrl+R to cycle through all the viewports until you get to the correct one.

49) Control to select individual polyline segments (and explode the polyline) While we’re on the subject of the Control key – have you ever used it to select an individual polyline segment for editing? (also explodes the polyline). Two more birds with one stone (poor birds).

50) Blend Such a cool command for blending two curved segments together.

51) Reduce the number of AutoCAD objects with the JOIN command. Good AutoCAD etiquette dictates that we have as few objects as possible for a nice tidy drawing. When someone goes “explode” happy – use the JOIN command to unite as many objects as possible!

Text Tips

52) Convert Single Line text to MTEXT Use the handy Express Tool to convert individual text strings into paragraph text.

53) Multiple DTEXT insertion points If you want to place individual text strings in multiple locations…no need to exit the DTEXT command! Just move your cursor (while in the DTEXT command) to the various locations and click!

54) Start DTEXT underneath another exist DTEXT Did you accidentally exit the DTEXT command when doing multiple lines? No problem! Simply reenter the DTEXT command and hit an extra enter. Not the last text string? Reenter the DTEXT command, snap to the insertion point of the desired text string, enter the correct height and rotation angle, and then enter a space…followed by an enter to go down to the following line. P.S. or just use MTEXT!

55) Control double click to edit attribute text in place (ATTIPEDIT) Sure you can Double-click to go into the attribute editor…but why not edit in place with a Control double click? What you see is what you get!

56) Fields with Area How about some smart text that is tied to an object. You change the object – the text automatically updates! Welcome to the world of Fields. Execute the FIELD command…Pick “Object” in the first


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column and select the desired object with the crosshairs icon in the second column. Then select “Area” and indicate the format/precision. After hitting an ok you’ll be asked to pick an insertion point. Now when- ever you change the object – the Field will automatically update!

57) MTJIGSTRING No Tips class would be complete without mentioning this awesome system variable that controls the sample text string in AutoCAD. Ten letters/numbers max…set it to “.” for no sample text (way to torture your coworkers)

58) AutoFill AutoCAD Tables Use the blue diamond to autofill cells in a table with the same or sequential numbering. Just hit the sample cell (s) first and drag the diamond through the desired number of cells.

59) Hard Enter (linefeed) with Alt+Enter Use Alt+Enter to get a hard enter within a cell of a Table object.

60) Autodesk Seek Use Autodesk Seek to bring existing content (blocks) into your drawing file. Autodesk Seek is filled with lots of valuable content (why should you recreate the wheel?)


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Ways to Torture your Coworkers

And now to the most popular part of the class…the dreaded “ways to torture your coworker” section! (You didn’t hear them from me!)

61) Ctrl+9 – Turn off command line (It’s a toggle so you can easily turn it back on…but wait awhile).

62) Zoomfactor controls speed of mouse wheel (3 -100) Set it to a low number to help your coworker burn more calories!

63) Zoomwheel to reverse Zoom Originally set to help Inventor users match zoom directions – set to 1 to reverse zoom!

64) Set Pickbox to 0 or 50 No pickbox or a great big one!

65) UNDEFINE Have some fun and undefined your coworkers commonly used commands!

66) ALERT (alert “Formatting the hard drive…please wait”)

Be sure to visit my blog for more tips www.autodesk.com/lynnallen

And visit Cadalyst for my short video tips! www.cadalyst.com

Thank you for joining me!!! Don’t hesitate to email me if you need help understanding one of my tips. [email protected]

http://www.autodesk.com/lynnallen

http://www.cadalyst.com/

mailto:[email protected]

gen11412 60 autocad tips in 60 minutes

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