AutoCAD: Secrets Every User Should Know Chapter 1 – AutoCAD Productivity

Design Standards Draw Everything Actual Size –Plans, Details, Even Long Parts 2

Design Standards Draw Existing Structures “as- built,” Not “as-designed” Draw Mechanical Parts at MMC –Maximum Material Condition –2D, 3D, AutoCAD, or any other Use Logical Increments –Whole numbers, if possible –Match material sized 3

AutoCAD Best Practices Use the Help System Use Blocks Whenever Possible –Reduce file size –Update more efficiently –Maintain standards Don’t Override Dimensions –Use annotation tools 6X <> –Don't explode dimensions 4

AutoCAD Best Practices Use Logical Layer Names –AIA standards –Office standards based on fields –Layer states/filters/wildcards Set Properties BYLAYER –Don't set entity color/linetype –Turn off Properties toolbar 5

AutoCAD Best Practices Use Drawing Tools –osnaps, otrack, tt, polar –m2p, par, per, ext Plot From Layouts 1. Geometry in Model Space 2. Set up a layout 3. Add annotations in viewports 6

AutoCAD Best Practices Draw Perfectly –Somebody will assume you did –Quicker than drawing by eye Set Text Height to 0 –Auto-scaling in dimensions –Scale to Paper Space –Spacetrans –Use for different heights 7

AutoCAD Best Practices Don't Use the Name “Standard” –Text, dimension, table –Defaults are wrong –May conflict for XRefs Be Cautious with REFEDIT –Editing XRef –Prevent with XEDIT 8

AutoCAD Best Practices Caution Moving or Renaming Files –Hyperlinks –XRefs –Images –Support files –Templates 9

AutoCAD Best Practices Control Imperial and Metric –MEASUREMENT 0 for Imperial 1 for metric –ACAD.lin vs. ACADISO.lin –ADAD.pap vs. ACADISO.pat –Plot scale –Limits –Default dimstyle (both are wrong) 10

AutoCAD Best Practices Learn to Use QSELECT 11

AutoCAD Best Practices Create Tool Palettes 12

Feature Review (All Releases) Drawing Efficiency - patterns –Command-line commands Add a minus -LA or -LAYER –Array at an angle 13

Feature Review (All Releases) Drawing Efficiency - patterns –Polar array –Do as little work as possible 14

Feature Review (All Releases) Drawing Efficiency –BOUNDARY 15

Feature Review (All Releases) Drawing Efficiency –REGION and SUBTRACT 16

Feature Review (All Releases) Drawing Efficiency –Supplemental angles –Relative polar tracking 17

Feature Review (All Releases) Drawing Efficiency –FILLET and CIRCLE TTR 18

Feature Review (All Releases) Text Justification –TL, TC, TR, ML, MC, MR, BL, BC, BR? 19

Feature Review (All Releases) Quick Complex Area –BOUNDARY -->Region –SUBTRACT 20

Feature Review (All Releases) Four Save Commands –SAVE Default name and path stay the same –SAVEAS Default name and path change –QSAVE Saves only to default name and path –WBLOCK Saves part of a drawing 21

Feature Review (All Releases) Quick complex "linetype" –MEASURE or DIVIDE Block option 22

Feature Review (All Releases) RENAME with Wildcards 23

Feature Review (All Releases) Some Great Express Tools –TXT2MTXT –FLATTEN –MKSHP and MKLTYPE –DIMRESSOC –DIMEX and DIMIN –SYSVDLG 24

Feature Review (All Releases) One More Great Express Tool –OVERKILL 25

Feature Review (All Releases) Drawing Efficiency –FILLET and CIRCLE TTR 26