- Open the CUI
- In the Top-left pane:
- Expand the Double Click Actions tree
- Expand the Dimension tree
- in the Bottom- Left pane (command list:)
- find the Text, Edit... entry and drag it to replace the Properties option that's under the Dimension tree in the top-left pane
Trim or extend vertical
or horizontal lines in AutoCAD
We usually use a Trim or
Extend command when we need to line up lines against a specific
boundary. Did you know that when the lines you need to Trim and/or
Extend are vertical or horizontal, the Change command is the easiest
way to perform this task? All you need to do is to select those
lines, turn the Ortho On, and then at the prompt "Specify change
point or [Properties]:" select the point on the boundary against
which you want to line up your lines.
Setting the default inner
and outer diameters of a donut
To set the default inner
diameter of a donut: Enter DONUTID on the command line. Enter the new
diameter value. Press ENTER. To set the default outer diameter of a
donut: Enter DONUTOD on the command line. Enter the new diameter
value. Press ENTER.
Changing the status of an
xref from attached to overlay without detaching and reattaching it
The attached or overlay
status of an xref can be quickly changed without detaching and
reattaching it. The following steps describe the process. 1. Select
an object from the xref you want to overlay. This highlights the
entire xref and any nested xrefs. 2. Right-click anywhere in the
screen area to display a pop-up menu. 3. From the pop-up menu, select
Xref Manager to display the Xref Manager dialog. 4. Highlight the
xref name under the Reference Name of which you want to change the
status. 5. Under the 'Type' heading, double-click the word Attach.
Notice it changes to Overlay. (The status changes each time you
double-click the Type heading.) 6. Choose OK to complete the process.
Fast Copies and Moves
Select an object or objects.
Then, instead of using the left mouse button, right-click the object and
drag. When you release the
mouse button, a shortcut menu appears and you can
choose Move Here, Copy Here,
Paste as Block or Cancel.
XPLODE NOT EXPLODE
Breaks a compound object
into its component objects.
Xplode allows you to control
the color, layer, lineweight and linetype of the components of an
exploded objects. It works similarly to EXPLODE but with more OOMPH.
A compound object comprises
more than one AutoCAD object. For example, a block is a compound
object. You can explode multiple compound objects at the same time
and change the color, layer, lineweight, and linetype of each object
individually or change the entire selection set globally. You can
specify a color, layer, lineweight, and linetype, or these properties
can be inherited from the object being exploded.
This tip comes courtesy of Christopher Collins - THANKS!
Power Up Your OSNAPS
Osnap is an additive command
controlled by the command "osmode". You canquickly set the autosnap
settings by typing 'osnap' and selecting the ones you want / normally use.
Type "osmode" and it will prompt you for a numberwith a default listed. The
default is the number that sets autosnap to the
For example, I type
"osmode", enter and, "239", and enter. This sets my
autosnap to endpoint,
midpoint, center, node, intersection, insertion and
perpendicular. These are the
settings that I use most frequently. When I
open a drawing that someone
else has worked on, I immediately set osmode to
239.
Also, a tip most people
don't realize: Use tab to scroll through the
autosnap settings that you
have selected until you get the one you want with
the entity you want. Use F3
to turn osnap on and off.
Save Before Undo
Another way to save entities
which would otherwise be erased by the Undo command is to copy
(<CTRL>-C) the entities to the clipboard, then use the Undo command to go
back to the drawing state that you want, then paste (<CTRL>-V)
the entities back into your drawing.
You might want to use this
method when you need to copy some geometry out of a block, for example,
but do not wish to have an unexploded block in the drawing.
Hidden Option In Array
Array has a hidden option.
This is the much requested Angle Between Items. Start the 'array'
command. At the enter type of array prompt, select 'P' for polar.
Specify the center point for the array. At the enter the number of
items in the array prompt, DON'T ENTER A NUMBER! Instead, hit
<ENTER>. You will then get the prompt:
Specify the angle to fill :
Type in the angle value. And then the prompt Angle between items:
Enter the angle value between items. The command continues with the
Rotate arrayed items <Y/N> prompt and then creates the array.
Ellipses in MDT
Set the PELLIPSE variable in
Mechanical Desktop to 0 to draw a true mathematical ellipse that
requires only three constraints. When PELLIPSE is set to 1, you draw
a polyline version that may need more than 20 constraints to be
fully constrained.
Disappearing Hatch
If you open an R12 or
earlier drawing in R14 or later, and can not see the hatching, check
the FILLMODE setting. If FILLMODE is set to OFF, the hatching will
not show.
This is to speed up REGEN
times. To check, type FILL.
Making Your Mark
The AutoCAD Undo command
removes the results of a command one command at a time. If you're
about to embark on a series of changes you're not sure you want to
keep, use the Mark option in the Undo command. This places a mark in
the Undo file. If you subsequently select Undo's Back option, AutoCAD
undoes all commands issed since the Mark option was last selected.
You can use Mark as many times as you like within a drawing session.
Ellipse In Isometric View
To Draw an ellipse in
isometric view, just start the ellipse command and then enter I for isometric.
Speedier Shading
Selecting Shade from
AutoCAD's pull-down menu pops up another menu with four options: 256
color, 256 color edge highlight, 16 color hidden line,
and 16 color filled. The
SHADEDGE systems variable controls the default method. Set it to the
method you prefer, then just enter Shade at the command prompt.
Quickly finding similar
objects within your drawing
Rather than using filters
and going through the hassle of setting up a filter, you can use the
SSX utility to help you quickly locate objects of a similar type. For
instance, if you copied an object a number of times into your drawing
and you'd now like to select all hose objects to manipulate
them, you can use the SSX utility to help you select them all. You
can use the SSX utility anytime you see the Select Objects: prompt.
First, start by selecting a
command to use, for example MOVE. Once the command is invoked, you'll
see a prompt asking you to Select Objects. Instead of selecting an
object on the screen, type (ssx) in response and press
[Enter]. You'll then see this prompt
Select object/ <None>:
Select one of the objects
you copied in your drawing. You'll now see information about that
object in the command line similar to this
Filter: ((0 .
"CIRCLE") (8 . "0") (210 0.0 0.0 1.0))
>>Block name/Color/Entity/Flag/LAyer/LType/Pick/Style/Thickness/Vector:
Press [Enter] in reply to
the last prompt and you'll notice that all of the similar objects to
the object you selected in your drawing are now part of the selection
set. You are then presented with the Select Objects: prompt again, in
case you want to continue to add to the selection set. Press
[Enter] in response to this prompt. Now your command will continue
where it left off. If you're using the MOVE command, as we did in
this example, you'll see a prompt asking for the Base point or
displacement. As you can see, this is a handy tool for creating selection sets.
Speed up the 'erase' command
Click on the 'erase' icon twice with the right hand mouse button.
This will display Button Properties.
The Macro command line should read - ^C^C_erase
Change this line to read - *^C^C_erase single
Now when you erase objects, just click on them and they will
disappear immediately. No need to confirm each selection
with the right mouse button.
