Miscellaneous Tips

Setting the MaxHatch in AutoCAD
 
 If you get an error message that your hatch scale is too small, you can reset the maxhatch setting by typing (setenv "MaxHatch" n) where n is a number to control the density of the pattern...the higher the number, the greater the density...lowest number is 100, highest number is 10000000.  Note that MaxHatch is case sensitive.

Troubleshooting Problem Drawings

The most obvious problem is that you can't open a drawing. Here are some techniques to try:

Rename the drawing's BAK (backup) file by changing its filename extension to .dwg
and see if you can open that. Find any temporary files (auto.sv$ by default) and rename them with a DWG extension and try to open them.

Try to open a new drawing and insert the drawing (use the INSERT command). If it works, EXPLODE the drawing after you insert it.

Finally, try the RECOVER command. Open a new drawing and choose File Drawing-> Utilities-> Recover. Choose the drawing from the dialog box and click OK. Actually,there's no harm in using RECOVER first and then trying the other techniques.

If you can open a drawing but get an error message, use the AUDIT command, which you can find right next to the RECOVER command on the File menu. AutoCAD tries to correct any errors. If you can't correct some settings, and it's driving you crazy trying to find them, select everything in the drawing and chooseEdit->Copy to copy everything to the Clipboard.

Open a new drawing with a template you know and trust and choose Edit > Paste. You can also open a new drawing with the Start from Scratch option to open a drawing with as few settings as possible. Another technique is to use WBLOCK to save all the objects in the drawing as a new drawing file. This is similar to the previous technique.

Convert Blocks with Design Center

If you've collected large libraries of blocks over the years, and not all of them are saved in R13/R14/R2000 format, you can avoid converting them by using the Design Center in AutoCAD 2000 or AutoCAD LT 2000.

For example, suppose you have a STRUCTURAL library of blocks. Create a new drawing, STRUCTURAL.DWG. Insert all your related blocks in that drawing, and create your most common Text and Dimension styles. Do the same for any other libraries. When you are ready to use blocks in AutoCAD 2000, initiate Design Center, go to the directory where you stored those library drawings (it's a good idea to keep them in a special directory).Now you can view those blocks and dimstyles. Grab the one you need and drop (or insert-it's up to you) in your working drawing.

This tip comes courtesy of Leonid Nemirovsky, proprietor of the BTN (Better Than Nothing) AutoLISP page, a good source for tips and AutoLISP routines.

FLATLAND

FLATLAND is an undocumented variable that controls the z-coordinate variable in AutoCAD drawings. Default is 0, which allows z values.

A setting of 1 permits only x- and y-values. You can't change the FLATLAND variable in AutoCAD 2000. If you end up with a drawing that has FLATLAND set to one, try opening it in an earlier version of AutoCAD and changing the variable to 0. You can also try the Recover command.

The Urge to Purge

If you need to purge a bunch of unreferenced objects, the quickest way may be to use AutoCAD's Export command, which lets you create a new drawing file and specify the * (asterisk) wildcard character as the block name to export. The * option exports the entire drawing file and purges all unreferenced, named objects from the new drawing.

Put an Excel spreadsheet into ACAD

  1. Bring up the excel spreadsheet.
  2. Block select the part of the spreadsheet you want to transfer to ACAD, then under Edit select copy & copy it.
  3. Bring up ACAD & select "Paste Special". Now you have several choices. The one I like is "AutoCAD Entities". This one puts it into ACAD as text including the grid lines. Select OK.
  4. It now puts this entity into block mode with insertion point, X, Y & rotation.
  5. To edit you will have to explode this.

Toggling the Display from Detail to TreeView in the Xref and Image Managers

Inside the Xref and Image Managers you can toggle the display between List and Tree View. By pressing the F3 function key you can switch to the List view of your files. The second viewing option, the Tree View, can be switched to by pressing the F4 function key.

Sub Tip: The Tree View can show you more about the relationship between Xrefs than the standard List view can. The Tree View shows you what Xrefs are nested in what files, the parents to child relationship.

Use ATTSYNC to Update Attributes

After you redefine a block definition, use ATTSYNC to update any changes to the attributes of existing block references.

Create Multiple Palettes Easily

You can drag tool palettes from Window Explorer into the Drawing window and have multiple palettes - they 'tab' themselves, so you only see one outline.

Need to open and edit an attached xref?

Try the new Xopen command. It works much better then Refedit. You can also find this command in the shortcut menu that appears when you highlight an xref.

Do you find yourself wading through directories searching for drawings?

Be sure to include your most frequently used folders in the Open dialog box. Right-click on the far left of the dialog box to add and remove directories.

Defining Linetypes

It is easier than ever to create custom linetypes in 2004. That's because 2004 includes Express Tools and Express Tools includes the Make Linetype and Make Shape tools.

I'm trying to make the following new linetype:

-----//-----//-----//-----//-----//

I need to have the dashes pass through the solid line, whereas right now I can only program them to go in order, i.e. line dash dash line dash dash line, etc.

Add this to your acad.lin:

*Tracks,-----/-/-----/-/-----A,.635,[TRACK1,ltypeshp,r=150,s= .06],.15,[TRACK1,ltypeshp,r=150,s=.06],.635

The shape "TRACK1" is standard can be found in the "ltypeshp.SHP" shape file which comes with any version of AutoCAD from r14 on. It is preloaded on the standard templetes and is probably already loaded in your drawings.

I usually define any custom linetypes in a new file called custom-linetypes.lin and store it as far away from AutoCAD as possible to ensure upgrades don't blow it away. Using Notepad as your linetype editor is the best method.

Positioning your Toolbar

Your toolbar has shifted position, how do you get your toolbar back where it was before without alot of hassle? If you double click on the toolbar title bar it should return to the location specified in your menu file.

Where Are My Files?

In order to win Windows Certification, Autodesk had to move the default location for many of the support files we rely on. Additionally, the file locations changed in order to support Power Users and Roaming Profiles.

In addition to the files you are probably familiar with, there are several hidden files.

Roaming profiles allow you to log on to any computer within the network and retain your user settings (menus and toolbars). If you have many users working off a network, you may find the following helpful. Copy the Datalink, Plot Styles, Template, and Plotters folders from the C:\Documents and Settings... location to a shared location on the network. Additionally, copy any common libraries, lisp routines, and support files onto the shared location.

  1. Begin AutoCAD 2004.
  2. Select the Options command.
  3. Click on the Files tab
  4. Expand the Support file Search path item
  5. Add the shared network location
  6. Scroll down to the Printer Support file Path location
  7. Update the printer configuration path to the network path
  8. Update the printer description file search path to the network path
  9. Update the Plot Style table search path to the network search path
  10. Scroll down to the template file location
  11. Remove the default path shown
  12. Add the network path location
  13. Click OK.

  • Stopping the Clock

    • We often create drawings from existing drawings then save them off into a new file. I would like to be able to use the "edit time" in properties to tell me how long I truly spent on a drawing, but the 'save as' feature does not reset that clock. Is there a way to reset the edit time on a drawing for a more accurate calculation?

    COMMAND "._TIME" "RESET" "") or from the command line: time [enter] reset [enter]

    You also have the Express Tools command "EDITTIME." This lets you set a timeout value that stops the clock if you are idle for that length of time.

     

    New ImageFrame Options in 2006

    OK, we all have done it...place an image in a drawing, turned the imageframe on so we can move it, scale it, etc. and then forgotten to turn the frame off before we plot. How annoying is that?

    2006 introduces a new Imageframe option...