Gil's CAD Clues

Okay, This is not a real command.  This handy little lisp command will deploy three commands at once, _setbylayer, _Purge, and _audit.  Great way to fix all the crap in a drawing. Enjoy! (defun C:fixthiscrap () (command "setbylayer" "all" "" "y" "y") (princ) (command "-purge" "a" "" "n") (princ) (command "audit" "y") (princ)

No, it’s not the same as Layer Isolation, it’s object isolation. You can isolate one or more objects even if they are located on a different layer.  1. Select the objects to isolate.   2. At the bottom right corner of the software, you will see a little light icon. Selecting the icon will give the ability to hide or isolate the objects selected.    3. The little light icon will now turn red telling you that you have objects in your drawing that are not displayed.    4. To show all the objects, simply select the light icon.

Ever wish you could just change that darn block to an xref? Just deploy the command, select the block, and then map the xref. This tool works well with title blocks.  Comman: _blocktoxref

Fields can add dynamic text to your drawing and make updating faster and more productive. A number of fields can be added to your text. Anything from area to sheet set information. Today we are going to add an area field to mtext.  1. Run command mtext.  2. In text, right click and select “Insert Field”    3. Select the field name “Object”.  4. Under “Object type” select the box to the right. This takes you back to the drawing allowing you to select the object needed. Select “Object”  5. Under property select “area”  6. Change the format and precision as needed  7. Select “OK”    8. Now the area is added to the mtext    Once you create the field text, it will update with the object. Just refresh when the object is updated.

If you hold down shift and your middle mouse button, you are able to rotate the object in 3D view.

Action recorder is one of my favorite little tools for doing mindless drafting. All it does is record your moves and commands in AutoCAD and then you can play it back. As your recording, you can pause for user input.  The command can be found in the Ribbon > Manage > Action Recorder. 

With the AutoCAD ribbon, it's sometimes hard to find tools you use all the time.  Adding a new tool to your Quick Access Toolbar is just a right click away.  1. In the ribbon, find the tool you wish to add to the Quick Access Tool Bar.  2. Right click on the needed tool and select “Add to Quick Access Toolbar.    3. The new tool is now added to the Quick Access Toolbar.   

If you ever need to close AutoCAD quickly just use the Express Tool QQUIT . This will save and close all of your drawings and then close down AutoCAD. For an even quicker close add QQUIT to a function key!

A value was added to WipeOutFrame in the new AutoCAD 2014.  If you give the value of 2 the wipeout frame will display, but not print. Wipeout Frame Values: 0 - No display 1- Display 2- Display, but not plot Command:_wipeoutframe

I quick way to find out more information about a command is to do a internet search for it.  Now there is a fast way to do a search from AutoCAD.  Just start typing the command, you will see a little planet next to the suggested commands, once you select the planet your web browser will open with the proper search.

If you are a fan of the original array dialog box then array classic is for you. Just type in ARRAYCLASSIC into the command line and you will get the dialog box instead of using the dynamic command line.

From the beginning of time AutoCAD only draws arcs and angles counterclockwise, but in The newest version of Autodesk products allows you to change that by simply holding control key in the middle of  the command will change it to clockwise.

I am loving the new drawing file tab in AutoCAD, but sometime you need some more space. You can toggle drawing tabs on and off by using a combination of two commands. FILETAB command will open drawing tabs and FILETABCLOSE  will quickly close drawing tabs.  Command: FILETAB Command: FILETABCLOSE

If you are running thru your drawings and exploding dynamic blocks (which I do not endorse) try using the BURST command instead. This will allow you to "explode" a dynamic block while keeping the attributes of the block.

I find there are a lot of people that love single line text in AutoCAD, I am not one of them. That helps me love this command more and more everyday. TXT2MTXT is a command that converts all your Dtext lines into one Mtext box. Command:_txt2mtxt

 The command Classiclayer will pull up the old layer manager.  Just like the good old days! Command:_Classiclayer

Audit is a amazing command that helps clean up errors in your drawing. When I have a number of problems with a drawing this command is typical the fist thing I try. Command:_Audit

This little tool help you restore to your previous later status.  Very helpful when you have a large number of layers in you drawing. Command:_LAYERP

No this is not a command that keeps your layers on ice, but one that freezes (turn off) the selected layer in the current view. Command:_LAYFRZ

One of my favorite new features in AutoCAD 2014 is the ability to merge layers while inside the layer properties manager. I think this has been something that has been long overdue. To merge layers, first select the layers you would like to merge inside the layer properties manager and then right-click. Then you will be prompted to select which layer is your target layer. Once you hit "OK" you will be asked to verify your selection and then your done!

If you find yourself spending hours just scrolling in and out of your drawings try adjusting the ZOOMFACTOR! Simply type ZOOMFACTOR into the command line and select a number between 3 and 100. I have mine set at 50.

I have to deal with a lot of surveys at work and occasionally I have a surveyor override the properties of an object to something other than BYLAYER. After I throw my mouse against the wall and contemplate using a new surveyor, I remember that I can use the SETBYLAYER tool to clean up my drawing. Just type in SETBYLAYER in the command line and you can change the Color, Linetype and Lineweight of an object you can even change Byblock to Bylayer!

Autodesk announced today that it will start offering a "Pay as you Go" option to most of there design suites. Find out more info Here Would you rent software? and Why?

Purge is a quick and simple way to remove a number of unused linetypes, layers, hatches, and other things. This is a great tool to keep your drawing clean and a clean drawing is a happy drawing. Command:_purge

Block count is a quick way to list and count the blocks in a drawing. Enjoy! Command:_bcount

A quick and simple way to view one or more 3D objects in a drawing is to use Object Viewer.  Once you have the objects you wish to view right click and select "Object Viewer".  Now you are able to view all your 3D objects using 3D orbit. Command:_Objectviewer

NCopy is nice little tool that allows you to copy an object from a xref or a Microstation underlays.  Okay now for that bad news about this command, you can only copy one object at a time. :^( Command:_ncopy

If you ever get tired of the pop-up balloon notifications that show up in the lower right hand corner of AutoCAD, just use the variable TRAYNOTIFY and set it to 0. This is saved in the registry so you will not have to do it in every drawing.

Change space is a quick tool that I use all day everyday, because I end up drawing stuff in paper space that needs to be in model space.  This command allows you to push objects from model space to paper space and back. Command:_changespace

Yes I am talking about three commands in one! The move, copy & rotate commend allows you to do all three commands to the same object. Try it out! Command: _mocoro