AutoCAD 2015 Update by CAD Masters

CAD Masters, Inc.

Training Materials and Videos

AutoCAD Update

2015 NEW FEATURES ............................................................................................................................... 1 NEW TAB.................................................................................................................................................... 1 FINDING COMMANDS.................................................................................................................................. 1 USER INTERFACE ........................................................................................................................................ 2 Color Schemes ...................................................................................................................................... 2 Status Bar.............................................................................................................................................. 2 Model and Layout tabs.......................................................................................................................... 3 Workspaces ........................................................................................................................................... 3 Paperspace............................................................................................................................................ 3 RIBBON ENHANCEMENTS ........................................................................................................................... 4 New Ribbon Tabs .................................................................................................................................. 4 IMPROVED GRAPHICS ................................................................................................................................. 5 System Variables ................................................................................................................................... 5 CURSOR ENHANCEMENTS........................................................................................................................... 6 Lasso Selection ..................................................................................................................................... 6 Selection Effects .................................................................................................................................... 8 COMMAND PREVIEW .................................................................................................................................. 9 MODEL SPACE VIEWPORTS .......................................................................................................................10 ENHANCED OBJECTS .................................................................................................................................10 MTEXT .................................................................................................................................................10 Dimensions...........................................................................................................................................10 Polylines...............................................................................................................................................11 GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION............................................................................................................................11 REALITY CAPTURE ....................................................................................................................................11 DESIGN FEED .............................................................................................................................................12 PERFORMANCE REPORTING WITH AUTODESK 360 .....................................................................................12 OTHER ENHANCEMENTS ............................................................................................................................12 Layers ..................................................................................................................................................12 2014 NEW FEATURES ..............................................................................................................................13 COMMAND LINE ........................................................................................................................................13 DRAWING FILE TABS .................................................................................................................................14 IMPORT SKETCHUP FILES ..........................................................................................................................14 GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION............................................................................................................................14 AUTODESK 360 ..........................................................................................................................................15 Autodesk 360 Ribbon Tab ....................................................................................................................15 Design Feed .........................................................................................................................................15 FEATURED APPS ........................................................................................................................................16 EDIT ALIASES ............................................................................................................................................16 2013 NEW FEATURES ..............................................................................................................................16 COMMAND LINE ........................................................................................................................................16 DRAWING VIEW SECTION AND DETAILS....................................................................................................17 Sections ................................................................................................................................................17 Detail ...................................................................................................................................................18 Section and Detail View Styles.............................................................................................................19 Symbol Sketch ......................................................................................................................................19 AUTODESK 360 ..........................................................................................................................................20 Autodesk 360 ........................................................................................................................................21 Online Options .....................................................................................................................................21 Open on Mobile ...................................................................................................................................22 Upload Multiple ...................................................................................................................................22 Sync My Settings ..................................................................................................................................22 Choose Settings ....................................................................................................................................23 Share Document ...................................................................................................................................23

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Collaborate Now ..................................................................................................................................23 Share with Seek ....................................................................................................................................24 STRIKETHROUGH TEXT..............................................................................................................................24 PROPERTY EDIT PREVIEW..........................................................................................................................24 OFFSET PREVIEW .......................................................................................................................................25 2012 NEW FEATURES ..............................................................................................................................26 ARRAY ......................................................................................................................................................26 Rectangular..........................................................................................................................................26 Path ......................................................................................................................................................26 Polar ....................................................................................................................................................28 Levels ...................................................................................................................................................28 Editing Arrays ......................................................................................................................................29 AUTOMATIC COMMAND LINE COMPLETION ..............................................................................................29 FILLET AND CHAMFER PREVIEW ...............................................................................................................30 UCS ICON GRIPS .......................................................................................................................................30 OBJECT GRIPS ...........................................................................................................................................31 Arcs ......................................................................................................................................................31 Lines .....................................................................................................................................................31 Multi-Leaders.......................................................................................................................................31 Dimensions...........................................................................................................................................32 DRAWING VIEWS .......................................................................................................................................33 Base Views ...........................................................................................................................................33 Projected Views ...................................................................................................................................34 Editing Views .......................................................................................................................................34 Drafting Standard ................................................................................................................................34 AUTOCAD WS..........................................................................................................................................35 VIEWPORT CONTROLS ...............................................................................................................................36 AUTOCAD EXCHANGE..............................................................................................................................36 COPY ARRAY OPTION................................................................................................................................38 CONTENT EXPLORER .................................................................................................................................39 Watched Folders ..................................................................................................................................39 Filter ....................................................................................................................................................40 View Options ........................................................................................................................................40 Settings .................................................................................................................................................40 Searching .............................................................................................................................................41 Seek ......................................................................................................................................................42 INVENTOR FUSION .....................................................................................................................................43 2011 NEW FEATURES ..............................................................................................................................44 USER INTERFACE & NEW FEATURES .........................................................................................................44 Workspace selection.............................................................................................................................44 Ribbon ..................................................................................................................................................45 View Cube ............................................................................................................................................46 Compass ...........................................................................................................................................46 NAVIGATION BAR......................................................................................................................................46 2D Navigation Wheel ...........................................................................................................................46 View Object Wheels .............................................................................................................................47 Tour Building Wheels ..........................................................................................................................48 Full Navigation Wheels ........................................................................................................................48 NEW HATCHING FEATURE .........................................................................................................................50 SELECT SIMILAR ........................................................................................................................................50 QUICK CALCULATOR .................................................................................................................................51 POINT CLOUDS ..........................................................................................................................................51 MODIFY POLYLINE USING SECONDARY GRIPS ..........................................................................................52 3D INTERFACE & NEW WORKSPACE .........................................................................................................53

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DRAWING TOOLS .......................................................................................................................................53 MATERIALS BROWSER...............................................................................................................................57 VISUAL STYLES .........................................................................................................................................58 NURBS SURFACES....................................................................................................................................60 NURBS Surface Creation .....................................................................................................................60 NURBS Surface Editing .......................................................................................................................61 SURFACE CREATION TOOLS ......................................................................................................................63 Blend ....................................................................................................................................................63 Patch ....................................................................................................................................................63 Offset ....................................................................................................................................................64 Network ................................................................................................................................................64 Surface Fillet........................................................................................................................................65 SURFACE EDITING TOOLS ..........................................................................................................................65 Surface Trimming.................................................................................................................................65 PARAMETRIC DRAWING ............................................................................................................................66 Relaxing Constraints ............................................................................................................................66 Infer Constraints ..................................................................................................................................67 Geometric Constraints .........................................................................................................................67 2010 NEW FEATURES ..............................................................................................................................69 2010 FILE FORMAT ....................................................................................................................................69 INITIAL SETUP WIZARD .............................................................................................................................70 AUTOCAD APPLICATION WINDOW...........................................................................................................71 Express Tools on Ribbon .....................................................................................................................71 MENU BAR ................................................................................................................................................72 APPLICATION MENU ..................................................................................................................................72 QUICK ACCESS TOOLBAR ..........................................................................................................................73 MEASURE TOOLS .......................................................................................................................................73 PARAMETRIC DRAWING ............................................................................................................................74 Constraint selection methods ...............................................................................................................74 Geometric Constraints and Dimensional Constraints .........................................................................75 GEOMETRIC CONSTRAINTS ........................................................................................................................75 Geometric Constraints and Description ..............................................................................................76 Geometric Constraint Object Types and Selection Order ....................................................................77 Tutorial: Using Geometric Constraints – Creating a line tangent to a circle .....................................77 Tutorial: Constraint bar visibility – Hiding and showing constraint bars...........................................77 DIMENSIONAL CONSTRAINTS ....................................................................................................................78 Creating Dimensional Constraints ......................................................................................................78 Tutorial: Creating a dimensional constraint on a line.........................................................................79 Dynamic vs. Annotational Dimensional Constraints ...........................................................................79 Parameters Manager ...........................................................................................................................80 Tutorial: Create two lines which observe the Golden Ratio ................................................................80 DELETING CONSTRAINTS...........................................................................................................................81 Select and delete constraints ................................................................................................................81 Delete geometric constraints individually ...........................................................................................81 Delete dimensional constraints individually ........................................................................................81 BLOCK EDITOR CHANGES..........................................................................................................................81 Test blocks Instead of Inserting ...........................................................................................................81 Constraints on Blocks ..........................................................................................................................82 PDF Underlay......................................................................................................................................82 EXTERNAL REFERENCE IMPROVEMENTS ...................................................................................................84 External Reference Alerts ....................................................................................................................84 External Reference Fading ..................................................................................................................84 Locate using Geographical Data .........................................................................................................85 HATCH AND GRADIENT IMPROVEMENTS ...................................................................................................85 VIEWPORT ROTATION................................................................................................................................86

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MTEXT CHANGES ....................................................................................................................................86 Multileader Enhancements ..................................................................................................................87 Purge Invisible Objects ........................................................................................................................88 POLYLINE IMPROVEMENTS ........................................................................................................................88 Select polyline sub-entities ...................................................................................................................88 3D MESH OBJECTS ....................................................................................................................................89 Mesh Smoothing ...................................................................................................................................90 Update faces to match facets ...............................................................................................................90 Other Mesh Commands ........................................................................................................................91 3D PRINTING .............................................................................................................................................95 ETRANSMIT BINDING .................................................................................................................................95 AUTODESK SEEK .......................................................................................................................................95 2009 NEW FEATURES ..............................................................................................................................97 DWFX FILES .............................................................................................................................................97 RIBBON......................................................................................................................................................97 MENU BROWSER (2009 ONLY) ..................................................................................................................98 TOOLBAR / QUICK ACCESS TOOLBAR ........................................................................................................98 DRAWING TOOLS .......................................................................................................................................99 ROLL OVER TOOLTIPS ..............................................................................................................................99 QUICK PROPERTIES .................................................................................................................................100 QUICK VIEW LAYOUT .............................................................................................................................101 QUICK VIEW DRAWINGS .........................................................................................................................101 VIEWCUBE ..............................................................................................................................................102 STEERINGWHEELS ...................................................................................................................................102 MULTILINE TEXT EDITOR ........................................................................................................................103 THE LAYER PROPERTY MANAGER...........................................................................................................104 ACTION RECORDER .................................................................................................................................104 Starting Action Recorder ...................................................................................................................105 Stopping Action Recorder ..................................................................................................................105 2008 NEW FEATURES ............................................................................................................................106 MTEXT COLUMNS..................................................................................................................................106 Dynamic Columns ..............................................................................................................................106 Static Columns ...................................................................................................................................106 MULTILINE ATTRIBUTES .........................................................................................................................107 DATA EXTRACTION .................................................................................................................................107 DGN SUPPORT ........................................................................................................................................107 DGN UNDERLAY AND IMPORT ................................................................................................................107 DGN EXPORT ..........................................................................................................................................108 DIMENSION IMPROVEMENTS....................................................................................................................108 Breaks ................................................................................................................................................108 Jogs ....................................................................................................................................................108 Space Dimensions ..............................................................................................................................109 Inspection Dimensions .......................................................................................................................109 MULTILEADERS .......................................................................................................................................109 Multileader Styles ..............................................................................................................................110 Styles Toolbar ....................................................................................................................................110 Leader Format ...................................................................................................................................110 Leader Structure ................................................................................................................................110 Content ...............................................................................................................................................111 Multileader Creation .........................................................................................................................111 Add/Remove Leader ...........................................................................................................................111 Multileader Align ...............................................................................................................................112 Multileader Collect ............................................................................................................................112 ANNOTATIVE OBJECTS ............................................................................................................................113

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Annotative Object Styles ....................................................................................................................113 Text Styles ..........................................................................................................................................114 Dimension Styles ................................................................................................................................114 Multileader Styles ..............................................................................................................................114 Manipulating Annotative Objects ......................................................................................................114 Multiple scales ...................................................................................................................................114 Automatically Create Multiple Scales ................................................................................................115 Annotation Visibility ..........................................................................................................................115 Grip Editing Annotative Objects ........................................................................................................115 Match Orientation to View .................................................................................................................116 EDIT THE SCALE LIST ..............................................................................................................................116 IMPROVED TABLES ..................................................................................................................................116 Table Styles ........................................................................................................................................117 Edit a Table Object ............................................................................................................................118 Table Toolbar ....................................................................................................................................118 Table Style Upgrades .........................................................................................................................118 Cell Styles ..........................................................................................................................................119 Cell Styles - General ..........................................................................................................................119 Cell Type ............................................................................................................................................119 Merge Cells ........................................................................................................................................119 Cell Styles - Borders ..........................................................................................................................119 Autofill ...............................................................................................................................................120 Table Breaking ...................................................................................................................................120 Table Linking .....................................................................................................................................120 DATA LINK MANAGER ............................................................................................................................120 Creating a Data Link .........................................................................................................................120 Importing a Data Link .......................................................................................................................121 Downloading and Uploading Changes ..............................................................................................121 INFO CENTER ...........................................................................................................................................122 COMMUNICATION CENTER (2004) ...........................................................................................................122 HELP INTERFACE .....................................................................................................................................122 VIEWPORT OVERRIDES ............................................................................................................................123 NEW LAYER NOTIFICATION – RECONCILE LAYER ...................................................................................124 TWO IMPORTANT LAYER NOTIFICATION VARIABLES ..............................................................................124 LAYER STATES ........................................................................................................................................125 XCLIP INVERT ........................................................................................................................................125 2007 NEW FEATURES ............................................................................................................................127 EXTERNAL REFERENCES..........................................................................................................................127 3D DWF..................................................................................................................................................127 PDF PRINTING .........................................................................................................................................127 LAYER TOOLS .........................................................................................................................................127 Layer Previous ...................................................................................................................................127 Layer Walk .........................................................................................................................................128 Layer Match .......................................................................................................................................128 Change to Current Layer ...................................................................................................................128 Copy Objects to New Layer ...............................................................................................................129 Selecting layers With the Layer Tools ................................................................................................129 LAYER ISOLATE .......................................................................................................................................129 Isolate Layer to Current Viewport .....................................................................................................130 Layer Unisolate ..................................................................................................................................130 Layer Off ............................................................................................................................................130 Turn all Layers On .............................................................................................................................130 Layer Freeze ......................................................................................................................................131 Thaw All Layers .................................................................................................................................131 Layer Lock .........................................................................................................................................131

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Layer Lock Fading .............................................................................................................................131 Layer Unlock......................................................................................................................................131 Layer Merge .......................................................................................................................................131 Layer Delete .......................................................................................................................................132 3D VISUALIZATION IMPROVEMENTS .......................................................................................................132 Visual Styles .......................................................................................................................................132 3D Acceleration .................................................................................................................................134 3D Drafting Methods .........................................................................................................................134 3D ORBIT ................................................................................................................................................135 3D COMMANDS .......................................................................................................................................137 3D Polylines .......................................................................................................................................137 3D Faces ............................................................................................................................................137 Surfaces..............................................................................................................................................138 Solids..................................................................................................................................................138 Planar Surface ...................................................................................................................................138 Convert to Surface .............................................................................................................................139 Convert to Solid .................................................................................................................................139 Loft .....................................................................................................................................................139 Polysolid ............................................................................................................................................140 Helix ...................................................................................................................................................141 Sweep .................................................................................................................................................141 Thicken ...............................................................................................................................................142 Slice....................................................................................................................................................142 Flatshot ..............................................................................................................................................143 LIGHTING ................................................................................................................................................143 Creating a Light .................................................................................................................................143 Lights Property Palette ......................................................................................................................144 THE SUN AND REAL WORLD LIGHTING ...................................................................................................144 Sun Properties....................................................................................................................................144 Geographic Location .........................................................................................................................145 Shadows .............................................................................................................................................145 Photometric Lights .............................................................................................................................145 Converting old lights..........................................................................................................................146 Lighting Units ....................................................................................................................................146 Sun and Sky Background ...................................................................................................................147 MATERIALS .............................................................................................................................................147 The Materials Library Tool Palette ...................................................................................................147 Applying Predefined Materials to an Object......................................................................................148 Materials Palette ................................................................................................................................148 User Defined Materials ......................................................................................................................149 Material’s Lighting ............................................................................................................................149 Mapping .............................................................................................................................................151 Transferring Materials between Drawings. .......................................................................................151 Adjust Bitmap .....................................................................................................................................151 Attach by Layer ..................................................................................................................................152 Procedural Maps ...............................................................................................................................152 RENDERING .............................................................................................................................................153 Render Presets ...................................................................................................................................153 ADVANCED RENDER SETTINGS ...............................................................................................................155 Render Context ..................................................................................................................................155 Materials ............................................................................................................................................155 Sampling ............................................................................................................................................155 Shadows .............................................................................................................................................155 Ray Tracing........................................................................................................................................156 Global Illumination ............................................................................................................................156 Diagnostic-Visual ..............................................................................................................................156

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Processing ..........................................................................................................................................156 Applying Fog to a Render ..................................................................................................................156 ANIMATIONS ...........................................................................................................................................157 Animation Walkthrough .....................................................................................................................157 Motion Path Animation ......................................................................................................................158 VIEW COMMAND IMPROVEMENTS ...........................................................................................................158 2006 NEW FEATURES ............................................................................................................................160 NEW COMMAND FEATURES .....................................................................................................................160 Join segments .....................................................................................................................................160 Fillet and Chamfer .............................................................................................................................160 Offset ..................................................................................................................................................161 Rotate and Scale ................................................................................................................................161 Trim and Extend.................................................................................................................................161 Undo Zoom and Pan ..........................................................................................................................162 Rectangle ...........................................................................................................................................162 Selection enhancements .....................................................................................................................162 ARC LENGTH AND JOGGED DIMENSIONS ..................................................................................................163 IMPROVEMENTS IN DIMENSION APPEARANCE ..........................................................................................163 QUICK CALCULATOR ...............................................................................................................................163 INTERFACE LOCKING ...............................................................................................................................164 NEW HATCH FEATURES ...........................................................................................................................164 TAB AUTOCOMPLETE .............................................................................................................................165 DYNAMIC INPUT ......................................................................................................................................165 CUSTOMIZE USER INTERFACE .................................................................................................................166 Workspaces ........................................................................................................................................166 Customizing Toolbars ........................................................................................................................167 Creating Custom Commands in Toolbars ..........................................................................................169 Custom Menu Configurations ............................................................................................................171 CONVERTING MENUS TO TOOLBARS ........................................................................................................172 PALETTE TRANSPARENCY .......................................................................................................................172 IMPROVED BLOCKS .................................................................................................................................172 Block Editor .......................................................................................................................................172 Dynamic blocks ..................................................................................................................................173 Parameters .........................................................................................................................................173 Actions ...............................................................................................................................................174 Create a new block.............................................................................................................................174 Setting Parameters .............................................................................................................................175

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2015 New Features

New Tab When no drawings are open, the New Tab appears and gives you access to Recent Documents, Getting Started (opening files, etc.), Notifications and access to Autodesk 360. At the bottom of the screen, you can also switch between the Learn section and the Create section. The Learn section gives you access to tutorial videos and other information about the program and command concepts.

Finding Commands In the Help window, you can click on the command icon and it will show you where the icon is in the ribbon.

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User Interface

Color Schemes The default color scheme is dark for the entire interface, including the ribbon. You can change the ribbon, command line and status bar from the dark color scheme to the light color scheme under Options > Display Tab > Window Elements and choose the drop down for Dark or Light. Status Bar The status bar is now located at the bottom right of the interface and only contains icons rather than the optional word display. You can customize which icons are displaying by clicking on the icon. There is also a new icon, Isometric Drafting which turns on Top, Right and Left. Top aligns snaps and the grid along 30 and 150 degree axes; Right aligns along 30 and 90 degree axes; Left aligns along 90 and 150 degree axes

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Model and Layout tabs The model and layout tabs still exist on the bottom left of the interface, but the tabs can be turned off in the ribbon on the View tab > Interface panel.

Workspaces The workspace icon is no longer listed in the quick access toolbar, but can be added by customize the quick access toolbar. It is, however, still located in the status bar with the mechanical wheel symbol at the bottom right of the interface. The option of the AutoCAD Classic workspace has been removed. However, you can still create a workspace that resembles the classic mode using toolbars and the Menubar. Paperspace When in paperspace, the paper background is now a different color than the paper itself. This can also be changed in OPTIONS window> Display tab > Colors icon.

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Ribbon Enhancements New Ribbon Tabs The tabs have been minimized to look more similar to AutoCAD version 2013. The existing tabs contain Home, Insert, Annotate, Parametric, View, Manage, Output, Autodesk 360, and Express Tools. The new tabs are Add-ins and Performance. Add-ins

Performance

View Tab The View tab now contains icons to toggle on and off the UCS icon, the View Cube, the Navigation Bar and the Layout tabs.

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Improved Graphics There are three new system variables introduced regarding the graphics of the program: LINEFADING, LINESMOOTHING and COMPLEXLTPREVIEW. System Variables LINEFADING is a system variable that automatically fades dense geometry lines as you zoom out. It requires hardware acceleration to be enabled. The default for the variable is ON. LINESMOOTHING is a system variable that corrects angled lines and makes them appear smooth. The options are On (1) or Off (0). Currently, it only affects 2D objects, such as lines, polylines, arcs and circles, as well as grid lines in a 2D wireframe visual style. However, it does not affect how the objects are plotted.

(with LINESMOOTHING set to ON)

(with LINESMOOTHING set to OFF)

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COMPLEXLTPREVIEW is a system variable command that allows you to preview the complex linetype before the next point is accepted. The options are On (1) or Off (0). It also shows a preview of the color and lineweight for lines and polylines are you are creating them.

Cursor Enhancements Specific commands will now place an icon at the cursor during the command to indicate the command you are currently in. This applies to commands such as MOVE, COPY, ROTATE and SCALE. It will also indicate if you are in a clockwise or counterclockwise mode. You can clearly see the ghost line as a yellow dashed line.

Lasso Selection When you select objects, you can either use the traditional crossing or window rectangles by selecting one corner and the opposite corner, or you can use the new Lasso Selection. Lasso Selection is applied by clicking once and dragging your mouse on the screen either (925) 939-1378

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from left to right (blue shape) or right to left (green shape) to create a unique shape to select objects. There is also a window selection icon on the cursor to let you know you are in the selection command. You can choose to turn this off in OPTIONS window> Selection tab > uncheck ―allow press and drag for Lasso.‖

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Selection Effects When you hover your cursor over an object, the line geometry appears thicker and lighter (darker if you have a light color scheme turned on). If hardware acceleration is turned on, selecting the object changes its colors and it continues to have a thicker lineweight to show that it is a part of the selection set. The system variables that control these graphic effects are PREVIEWEFFECT and PREVIEWFACEEFFECT (for 3D faces).

(Before selection)

(While hovering over object, before selection)

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Command Preview Similar to the fillet, offset and chamfer commands, you can preview the results of commands before you actually accept them. This can be applied for TRIM, EXTEND, LENGTHEN, BREAK and MATCHPROPERTIES.

EXTEND command before selection

EXTEND command, hovering over object to extend before selection This option can be turned on or off on the OPTIONS window > Selection tab > bottom right corner ―Command Preview.‖

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Model Space Viewports Viewports in model space can be resized manually.

Enhanced Objects MTEXT By default, MTEXT objects contain a background mask and block out what is behind the text object(s) without having to resize the text column.

Bullets and numbering are automatically applied instead of the OFF default setting. Autocorrect now works with capslock and automatically corrects your text. For example, if you type gENERAL, the autocorrect will change it to General and turn capslock off. Subscripts (L2) and Superscripts (L2) capabilities have been added. The mtext editor now has an icon for MATCH PROPERTIES. A new command TEXTALIGN allows you to align text and attributed text objects. This works similarly to Mleader alignment commands. Dimensions It is no longer possible to object snap to an end point of a dimension object. This avoids accidentally object snapping to a dimension object endpoint instead of the actual object you are trying to dimension. This option can be turned off in the OPTIONS window > Drafting tab > bottom left corner ―Ignore dimension extension lines.‖ A new system variable, DIMCONTINUEMODE, allows you to change the layer and style control that a baseline or continued dimension is using. The default is set to 1. (925) 939-1378

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Polylines Polyline arc segments can now be filleted without using the Polyline option within the fillet command. Similar to AutoCAD version 2014, you can use the keyboard CTRL to flip the direction of an arc while creating it in the polyline command.

Two polyline arcs

Applying a fillet to the two polyline arcs

Geographic Location On the Insert tab, you can set the geographic location from a Map or File. You have to be signed into Autodesk 360; otherwise you can only enter the latitude and longitude for the location. You can also capture and plot map data.

Reality Capture Reality Capture was introduced in AutoCAD version 2014 as an additional program included with all AutoCAD products. It is now accessible inside the program similar to Autodesk 360. On the Insert tab, there is now a Point Cloud panel with the options to access Autodesk ReCap and attach a point cloud file. (925) 939-1378

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However, the option of inserting PCG and ISD file formats has been removed. If you open an older drawing which contained these types of point cloud files, they will still display and are modifiable. The program now only accepts ReCap point cloud files (RCP and RCS) and includes the geographic location for the file. When using the point cloud file in AutoCAD, a contextual ribbon is activated for the Point Cloud and there is the capability to use Point Cloud Object Snaps.

Design Feed The Design Feed can now be useful locally rather than just through Autodesk 360 online. You can attach notes to local drawing files or drawing files on the network. In Etransmit, there is an option to remove Design Feed from the transmittal setup.

Performance Reporting with Autodesk 360 Performance Recorder allows you to record a set of tasks that are slowing down or impacting your drawing and then you can fill out the Diagnostics Questionnaire. This is sent to Autodesk and allows it to better understand and diagnose performance problems. You can also access existing performance reports using the Performance Reports icon. In order to use these functions, you have to be signed into Autodesk 360.

Other Enhancements DGN (Microstation) data can now be purged. When customizing commands, you can attach PNG (Portable Network Graphics) image files as the icon images. The Application Manager is a shortcut icon on the Windows taskbar that announces updates and service packs. Layers In the layer property manager, the layers are now sorted based on real numbers rather than numerically. For example, before they were sorted 1, 10, 101, 2, 3 and now they are sorted 1, 2, 3, 10, 101.

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2014 New Features Command Line The 2014 command line is based off of the 2013 features with a few added touches. Building off of the AutoComplete function, now you can click on the help button or the web button to search for that specific command.

Clicking on the wrench icon on the left side of the command line gives you a few more options than the 2013 icon, such as AutoCorrect, Search System Variables, Search Content and Mid-string Search.

By clicking on the Input Search Options… icon, a window will pop-up where you can edit the options for Input Settings. You can adjust the settings for AutoComplete, AutoCorrect and Search System Variables and Content.

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Drawing File Tabs Now when you have multiple drawings open, you can easily view them with the file tabs. By hovering over a specific drawing file tab, you can view the Model and Layouts for that drawing. You can still access the model and layouts through the Quick View Drawings and Quick View Layouts on the bottom right of the screen.

On the View tab, User Interface panel you can toggle the File Tabs on or off, depending on your preference.

Import SketchUp Files On the Plug-ins tab, there is now a default application that allows you to import SketchUp files (.skp). Alternatively, the command is IMPORTSKP.

Geographic Location Now you can set the geographic location either from a Map or from a file on the ribbon. On the Insert tab, Location panel, the Set Location gives you both options. Previously

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you could type in the command GEOGRAPHICLOCATION, which is still valid in the 2014 version.

Autodesk 360 Autodesk 360 Ribbon Tab The Online tab has now been replaced by the Autodesk 360 tab. It includes options to Sync your Settings, share documents and access the Design Feed.

Design Feed The Design Feed allows you to sign into your Autodesk 360 account as well as post comments, suggestions or questions on specific areas of your drawing, similar to Adobe PDF notes. You can also incorporate images in your post and tag people to include them in the discussion.

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Featured Apps Now with the new Featured Apps ribbon tab, you can download applications from the Autodesk website by clicking on the Connect to Exchange icon. Autodesk has created a store where you can purchase applications for your program as add-ons.

Edit Aliases Not only are you able to edit command aliases, but now you can add your own misspellings to the AutoCorrect List and synonyms to the Synonyms List. For example, CIRCEL could be added to the AutoCorrect list for the CIRCLE command and SPIRAL could be added to the Synonym list for the HELIX command.

2013 New Features Command Line The new command line takes much of its appearance and function from AutoCAD for Mac. The command line can be left docked or floating. When floating the command line defaults to a single line with three lines of temporary history.

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Click the wrench icon on the left side of the command line to access settings such as AutoComplete, Lines of History, and Transparency.

The command history can also be expanded by clicking the expansion button on the right side of the command line.

Another addition to the command line functionality in AutoCAD 2013 is the ability to click options directly in the command line.

Drawing View Section and Details Drawing View based sections and details can now be created to help visualize and document 3D designs. To create sections or details a drawing view must already exist. Sections Ribbon: Layout Create View  Section

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The types of sections that are available under the Section tool are: full, half, offset, and aligned. Sections can also be created from existing objects. To create the section: 1. Start the command 2. Select the parent drawing view 3. Specify section line points 4. Specify the location of the section view The section is automatically labeled and dynamically connected to the section line and label. To edit the section after placement select it and choose Edit View from the contextual ribbon tab. In the section view editor the appearance can be changed, the identifier can be modified, and hatching can be toggled on and off. Click OK or Cancel to exit the editor.

Detail Ribbon: Layout Create View  Detail Both circular and rectangular detail views can be created using this tool.

To edit the detail after placement select it and choose Edit View from the contextual ribbon tab. In the detail view editor choose the appearance, shape, edge format, identifier, and toggle hatching. Click OK or Cancel to exit the editor.

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Section and Detail View Styles Section and Detail view styles control the appearance of lines, views and labels. Ribbon: Layout Styles and Standards  Section or Detail View Style The applicable View Style Manager contains all available styles. Styles can be created, deleted, modified, and set current in the manager. When modifying or creating a new style many settings become available. The style controls most of the appearance of both Section and Detail views.

Symbol Sketch Ribbon: Layout Modify View  Symbol Sketch The Symbol Sketch tool is used to constrain either section lines or detail callouts to their parent drawing views. Use parametric constraints to constrain to the parent view so that it can't be moved or so that it moves with an object in the model.

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Autodesk 360 Ribbon: Online Tab Autodesk 360 is a cloud based file sharing, customized file syncing, and online storage tool. You can access Autodesk 360 at the upper right hand corner of your application. Use your Autodesk account to sign in to Autodesk 360 or else create a new account.

Once you sign in to your account, you will have access to additional options such as Sync my settings with the cloud, Online Options, access to Autodesk 360 documents, Sign Out, and Account Settings.

Click Online Options to customize when your design data and custom settings are synced with the cloud. You can set it to sync every time you save or every time you save within a specific document. Also you can choose cloud settings in order to sync your program appearance, profiles, workspaces, options, and support files onto any computer that you use.

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Autodesk 360 Autodesk Cloud lets you upload up to 3 GB of documents. When you upload a file to the cloud, all the dependent files (e.g. xrefs, raster images) are uploaded with it.

You can access your cloud documents by clicking on the Autodesk 360 tool or via any dialog box that enables you to select a file throughout AutoCAD.

Online Options The Online Options tool enables the Online tab in the Options dialog box. You can see your cloud storage usage, cloud document settings, and customize your settings for synchronization. (925) 939-1378

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Open on Mobile The Open on Mobile tool allows any mobile device with AutoCAD WS installed to open up your current drawing. The device must be signed in with the same Autodesk ID. Upload Multiple The Upload Multiple tool enables you to upload multiple drawings to your Autodesk Cloud Documents. Sync My Settings The Sync my Settings tool enables you to either start or stop syncing your custom settings.

If you choose to keep syncing your custom settings, you‘ll have a choice between two more options: use your local settings or use your online settings. Using local settings means that the settings you‘re using on your computer will upload to the cloud whereas using online settings will download the cloud settings to your computer.

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Choose Settings The Choose Settings tool allows you to customize what design data and settings are synced.

Share Document The Share Document tool allows you to share your drawings through the cloud. You have control of who can access your shared documents. Collaborate Now Collaborate Now launches AutoCAD WS in your default browser and initiates a collaboration session with another WS user. (925) 939-1378

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Share with Seek The Share with Seek tool allows you to share your drawing or blocks through Autodesk Seek. Strikethrough Text The mtext editor now has the ability to create strikethrough text. Simply highlight the text to strike and click the strikethrough button on the Formatting Panel of the Text Editor Ribbon Tab.

Property Edit Preview When changing object properties through the properties palette changes are now previewed in real time. For instance, when changing the color of a line as the cursor scrolls through the list of available colors, the line automatically updates to reflect the change of each color highlighted.

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Offset Preview When using the offset command a preview is now shown when selecting point on side to offset.

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2012 New Features Array Modify Toolbar: Menu Browser: Modify Array Ribbon: Home Modify  Array Command: ARRAY or AR  There are three types of arrays: Rectangular, PAth, and POlar. Each type has different options for creation and modification. Video: Associative Arrays Rectangular The default creation method for a rectangular array is to select points to define the number of objects and spacing. Alternatively, the Count option can be used to specify the number of objects and spacing numerically.

Path The path array will create objects along a specified path. Just like a rectangular array, the number of items and spacing can be specified during or after creation. (925) 939-1378

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Like their rectangular counterpart, both path and polar arrays can also have more than one row. In the following image there are three rows on a path array. Rows can also have an incremental z distance between them, sort of like a stepped offset.

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Polar The polar array will create objects around a specified base point, such as the hour marks on a clock. The number of items as well as the angle between or total angle define the array.

Levels All three types of arrays can be 3-dimensional in nature. The three dimensional aspect is controlled through levels. Levels are just like rows and columns, but in the z direction.

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Editing Arrays Once an array has been created it can be edited by selecting it and using grips or the contextual ribbon tab.

The contextual ribbon tab is a good place to edit item quantities and spacing for columns, rows, and levels. Additionally, the edit source option will allow for the array source object to be changed. The replace item option will allow some or all objects in an array to be replaced with another object. Individual objects in an array can also be deleted by holding control while selecting them and using the erase command. If any changes have been made to an array, the reset array button will return it to it's original state.

Automatic Command Line Completion When the beginning of a command is typed in the command line a list of commands will appear after a small wait. The list shows all commands that start with the typed letters and the appropriate command can be selected from the list.

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Command: AUTOCOMPLETE  Use AUTOCOMPLETE to control the settings for automatic command line completion. The append option controls whether or not command are auto-completed in the command line itself. The list option controls whether or not the pop up list, as seen above, appears. The icon option controls the display of icons in the list. The system variables option controls whether system variables appear in the append and list features. Delay sets the time delay before the append and list features take effect. Finally, the on and off options turn all AUTOCOMPLETE functions on and off. Fillet and Chamfer Preview Fillet and chamfer will show a preview before being fully defined. When prompted to select the second object, hovering over an entity will cause a preview to display.

UCS Icon Grips If the UCS icon is selected, grips will appear allowing the UCS to be moved or rotated. The round grips at the end of each axis can be used to change the orientation of the icon while the central square grip can be used to move or reset the UCS. Moving or rotating the UCS icon will change the current UCS in the same manner as the UCS command. Use the square grip or the UCS command to return the current UCS to the World Coordinate System (WCS). (925) 939-1378

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Object Grips Arcs The stretch option on arc grips will allow the selected grip to be moved while the other two grip locations (not the center) stay intact. The center and radius of the arc will automatically adjust to use the new grip location. The radius option will allow the user to graphically adjust the radius of the arc while keeping the center point constant. Finally, the lengthen option will keep the center and radius of the arc intact while adjusting the overall length of the arc. The arc will be lengthened to the point along itself that is collinear with the center and cursor.

Lines The square grips at the ends of lines can be used to stretch or lengthen the line in the same ways those options work for arcs.

Multi-Leaders The stretch option on any of the multi-leader square grips will allow the grip to be moved to a new location. If stretch is chosen on the square grip closest to the landing, the grip (925) 939-1378

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and the landing will be moved. Lengthen landing will allow the square grip to be moved, shortening or lengthening the landing. Add and remove leader will create new arrows stemming from the landing. Finally, add vertex will allow a vertex to be added to the leader. If the leader has more than one vertex, the remove vertex option will appear.

Dimensions The square grips on dimension arrows allow stretching, dimension continuation, baseline dimensions, and arrow flipping. The options accessible through the square grip located in the dimension text will change how that text is located.

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Drawing Views Drawing views are paperspace objects that include all visible solids and surfaces within model space. They are intelligent objects that can be updated with the model and make annotating 3D objects much easier. Video: Drawing Views Base Views Ribbon: Annotate Drawing Views  Base View Command: VIEWBASE  The baseview command will create base drawing view. The command will bring up the Drawing View Creation contextual ribbon tab and also display options in the command line.

The type option controls whether projected views are automatically created with the base view. If projected views are not automatically created then can be created at a later time. Using the contextual ribbon tab or command line options choose the appropriate orientation for the base view and place it on a layout. The Move and OK buttons will then appear. The view style and scale can also be set at this point. After the base view is placed and OK is pressed, the command will move on to projected views or end, depending on the type option.

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Projected Views Ribbon: Annotate Drawing Views  Projected View Command: VIEWPROJ  Projected views inherit the scale, display settings and alignment from the parent view. Any existing drawing views can be used as the parent view. In the above image, the views at the top and to the right are both projected views. Editing Views Ribbon: Annotate Drawing Views  Edit View Command: VIEWEDIT  By using the above command or by double clicking one of the drawing views the Drawing View Editor contextual ribbon tab and command line options will appear. Here the scale and view style of the selected drawing view can be altered. Drafting Standard Ribbon: Annotate Drawing Views  Drafting Standard Corner Arrow The settings for drawing views are accessible from the drafting standard dialog box. The shaded view quality is what controls the quality of views that use a shaded view style. Projection type controls the direction of projected views and thread style controls the display of threads.

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AutoCAD WS Ribbon: Online Tab AutoCAD WS is an Autodesk service for editing and collaborating on design data over the internet. Users can upload drawings from AutoCAD using their AutoCAD WS account and share them with other users or edit them online.

If the user clicks Open Online or Online Drawings or logs in to WS online, they will see the online interface. WS contains drawing management tools as well as an online drawing editor. Just like AutoCAD, the WS editor contains a ribbon and many AutoCAD tools. It's essentially a stripped down, online version of AutoCAD which can be used to edit and share drawings on almost any device with an internet connection.

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Viewport Controls The overarching term viewport controls encompasses viewport controls, view controls, and visual style controls. These drop downs are located in the top left corner of model space or floating model space viewports, and can be turned on and off on the 3D Modeling tab of options.

The viewport controls provide access to multiple viewport configurations, several viewport tools, and the display options of the current viewport in a layout. The view controls provide access to standard and custom views, and 3D projections. The visual style controls provide access to standard and custom visual styles. AutoCAD Exchange AutoCAD exchange is a single information hub that contains learning resources, add on applications, and help resources. AutoCAD exchange should appear the first time the program is launched and can also be accessed through the small icon in the top right corner of the program.

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The Home section of Autodesk Exchange contains a sampling of learning tools and important links. It's through this section that informational videos on new features and methods are found. The Help section contains all the command references and help files needed to understand the program. It's also what will open if F1 is pressed from AutoCAD. Exchange is web based and the content can be updated by Autodesk. In the future Exchange may contain an Application store.

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Copy Array Option When in the Copy command after selecting the objects to be copied and the base point, the Array option can be entered. The user will then be prompted for the number of items to array. After entering the number of items to array the user can pick the point where the second array object will go or use the fit option and choose the end of the array.

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Content Explorer Ribbon: Plug-ins Content  Explore Command: CONTENTEXPLORER  Content explorer can be used to navigate and search design content in local folders, network folders, and the Autodesk Seek library. The user can decide which folders are indexed so that they can quickly be searched. Individual DWG files can be browsed for content including blocks, layers, linetypes, and styles. Folders can also be searched for objects including text, attributes, and files.

Watched Folders Watched folders are indexed and displayed in content explorer. To have any folders appear in content explorer, either from a local or network location, they must be added as watched folders. To add folders as watched folders, click the Add Watched Folder... button at the bottom of the content explorer palette or in settings. Folders can also be added by dragging and dropping them from Windows explorer into the content explorer palette. When a folder is added as a watched folder the content service begins to index files and objects within those files. The content service will continue to monitor these files and folders and update the index to reflect and changes made. When a search is performed from the content explorer the index file is referenced and results are returned (925) 939-1378

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immediately. It is, however, important to note that indexing is an intensive and time consuming process. Start with small files to get an idea of the time involved. Filter To search for specific object types or by creation/modification date use a filter. Select the which objects to return in search results on the Type tab. Choose a creation or modification date on the Date tab.

View Options Clicking on the Toggle icon size button will cycle through different icon sizes. Clicking on the arrow next to the button will bring up the view options as seen below. The Group By menu gives different options for organizing results.

Settings The configure settings dialog can be used to view the progress of indexing. It's also where network content is added and allows the user to add and remove watched folders.

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Searching Searching is relative to the folder that is currently displaying in Content Explorer. Only the folders displayed will be searched. If a simple string is entered in the search bar, results will be returned for file properties such as file name, author, keyword, etc. and objects such as mtext, tables, attributes, etc. Wild cards can also be used. The * symbol represents any number of characters in a string while the ? symbol represents a single character within a string.

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Advanced searches are also possible where specific properties can be searched. To complete an advanced search enter the property value pair in this format: property:value. For example, author:cmi would search for all drawings where CMI was the author. Block attributes can be searched in the format attribute:value. More than one pair can also be searched at one time. A search string of author:cmi mfg:cas will return all block references where the mfg attribute begins with cas and the drawing was authored by cmi. The Boolean operators AND, OR, NOT, and " " can all be used within a search string. The quotes can be used to enclose an entire string. Without quotes all the words in a string will be searched without regard for order. For more information on the syntax of these Boolean operators see the AutoCAD help file on Content Explorer. To save searches for quick future reference, complete the search then click the saved search icon, which appears as a disk. Saved searches will appear for future use and can be replaced, renamed, or deleted from the drop down next to the icon. Seek Autodesk Seek is an online repository of models. Autodesk, manufacturers, and individuals create 2D and 3D models to be accessed on Seek. Models exist in a number of formats including .dwg, .rfa, and .pdf., though the Seek interface within AutoCAD will only display .dwg files. To see the other files available for a given product click View products at Autodesk Seek at the bottom of the explorer or navigate to http://seek.autodesk.com in a web browser.

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In content explorer set the location to Seek and the organizational structure of Autodesk Seek will appear. This file structure can be browsed or the search bar can be used to locate products that meet certain criteria. Once an appropriate product has been located, look at the available files to see which suits the situation best. Drawing files can be dragged from Content Explorer to the active drawing to insert them as blocks. Alternatively, a .dwg in Content Explorer will return more options if right-clicked. When content is added to a drawing or downloaded, it is saved in a local folder for future use. The folder is automatically set as a watched folder and can be accessed from the Home location. Inventor Fusion Ribbon: Plug-ins Inventor Fusion  Edit in Fusion Command: EDITINFUSION  Inventor Fusion is a stand-alone 3D mechanical design program that can be installed with AutoCAD. When installed with AutoCAD, a plug-in is also included in AutoCAD that allows 3D solids and surfaces to be transferred between the two programs.

If Inventor Fusion is used to edit models created in AutoCAD, the models will have to be brought back into AutoCAD for any documentation to be created. (925) 939-1378

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2011 New Features User Interface & New Features In model space there is a new graph paper-style grid. The navigation controls are docked on the top-right corner of the drawing area. A pull-down menu for workspace selection is now included on the quick-Access toolbar. The new ribbon pull down menu allows you to select the level of detail of the ribbon panels.

Workspace selection The workspace selection is now on the quick access toolbar by default. You can save, change, and customize your workspace with this pull-down menu. You can also remove this pull-down by right clicking anywhere on the quick access toolbar and uncheck the workspace option.

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Ribbon There is now a toggle and drop-down menu to the right of the ribbon menu, where you can select the ribbon display of your choice. The toggle button allows you to toggle between the full ribbon display, default ribbon display, and the minimize ribbon display. The drop-down menu allows you to directly select the ribbon display. These are the display options available: Minimize to Tabs: ribbon only shows tab titles.

Minimize to Panel Titles: ribbon only shows tab and panel titles.

Minimize to Panel Buttons: ribbon shows only tab titles and panel buttons.

Default Ribbon

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View Cube ViewCube tool is a navigation tool displayed when you are working in 2D or 3D. ViewCube can let you switch between standard and isometric views. By clicking on any of the edges, corners or faces of the cube you can switch to that specific view. Edge

Corner

Face

There is also a compass displayed below the ViewCube tool, which indicates north, east, south and west. You can click one of the cardinal direction letters to bring you to that view or click and drag one of the cardinal direction letters/compass ring to interactively rotate the model. Compass

Navigation Bar Steering Wheels are tracking menus that have wedges, each representing a single navigation tool. 2D Navigation Wheel With the 2D navigation wheel you can access basic navigation tools in 2D view. This wheel is particularly important if you do not have a mouse with a scroll wheel. The 2D navigation wheel has three basic tools: Pan, Zoom, and Rewind. Pan = reposition the current view by panning. Zoom = increase/decrease magnification of drawing Rewind = restores your recent view orientations by clicking and dragging left or right.

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View Object Wheels The View Object wheels are used in 3D navigation. You can select a pivot point then zoom or orbit around that pivot point. This is particularly useful for viewing individual or groups of objects in a model. The big View Object wheel is optimized for beginner-level 3D users and the mini View Object wheel is optimized for advanced 3D users.

The big View Object Wheel consists of: Center = sets a pivot point for navigation. Zoom = increase/decrease magnification of drawing. Rewind = restores your recent view orientations by clicking and dragging left or right. Orbit = rotates the current view around a fixed pivot at the view‘s center.

The mini View Object wheel consists of: Zoom (Top wedge) = increase/decrease magnification of drawing. Rewind (Right wedge) = restores your recent view orientations by clicking and dragging left or right. Pan (Bottom wedge) = reposition the current view by panning. Orbit (Left wedge) = rotates the current view around a fixed pivot at the view‘s center.

Note: When using the View Object wheels, you can also click and hold the scroll wheel to pan and scroll to zoom in and out.

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Tour Building Wheels The Tour Building wheels are used in 3D navigation. This is particularly useful when navigating within the interior of a model. The big Tour Building wheel is optimized for beginner-level 3D users and the mini tour Building wheel is optimized for advanced 3D users. The big Tour building wheel consists of: Forward = adjusts the distance between the current point of view and the defined pivot point of the model. Clicking once moves forward half the distance as far as the object you clicked. Look = swivels the current view. Rewind = restores your recent view orientations by clicking and dragging left or right. Up/Down= adjusts the current view of a model along the Z axis of the model. The mini tour building wheel consists of: Walk (Top wedge) = simulate walking through a model. Rewind (Right wedge) = restores your recent view orientations by clicking and dragging left or right. Up/Down (Bottom wedge) = adjusts the current view of a model along the Z axis of the model. Look (Left wedge) = swivels the current view.

Note: When using the mini Tour Building wheel, you can also click and hold the scroll wheel to pan and scroll to zoom in and out.

Full Navigation Wheels The Full Navigation Wheel is a combination of the Tour Building wheels and View Object wheels. Both the big and mini Full Navigation wheels are optimized for advanced 3D users. The big Full Navigation wheel consists of: Zoom = increase/decrease magnification of drawing. (925) 939-1378

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Rewind = restores your recent view orientations by clicking and dragging left or right. Pan = reposition the current view by panning. Orbit = rotates the current view around a fixed pivot at the view‘s center. Center = sets a pivot point for navigation. Walk = simulate walking through a model. Up/Down = adjusts the current view of a model along the Z axis of the model. Look = swivels the current view.

The Mini Full Navigation wheel consists of: Zoom (Top wedge) = increase/decrease magnification of drawing. Walk (Upper right wedge) = simulate walking through a model. Rewind (Right wedge) = restores your recent view orientations by clicking and dragging left or right. Up/Down (Lower right wedge) = adjusts the current view of a model along the Z axis of the model. Pan (Bottom wedge) = reposition the current view by panning. Look (Lower left wedge) = swivels the current view. Orbit (Left wedge) = rotates the current view around a fixed pivot at the view‘s center. Center (upper left wedge) = sets a pivot point for navigation.

Note: When using the Full Navigation wheels, you can also click and hold the scroll wheel to pan and scroll to zoom in and out.

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New Hatching Feature Running the boundary hatch command will open a new tab on the ribbon called ―Hatch Creation‖. To edit the hatch simply select it and then change a hatch property on the ―Hatch Creation‖ panel. As soon as you make the change on the panel the hatch will change automatically.

Select the properties of the hatching on the Hatch Creation tab and as you move the cursor over a closed area you are able to see a preview of the hatching. Some of the properties that can be adjusted are: background color of hatch pattern, transparency setting, shape adjustment of the associative or non-associative hatch, etc. When you are satisfied with the properties of the hatch, click over the closed area again to hatch.

Select Similar Shortcut menu: select an object, right-click in the drawing area, and click Select Similar. Command: SELECTSIMILAR  Select similar tool enables you to select objects with same properties or type in a new selection set. When in the command go into the settings option, by entering SE, and the Select Similar Settings window will appear. Here, you are able to specify which properties to filter.

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Quick Calculator Standard Toolbar: Menu bar: Tools Palettes QuickCalc Ribbon: View Palettes QuickCalc Command: QUICKCALC  The quick calculator can use measurements from your drawing to perform a calculation. On the top of the quick calculator toolbar you can see buttons to perform command functions. Quick calculator has the basic mathematical functions on the number pad, scientific functions, unit conversion and variables.

Clear = clears the input box. Clear history = clears the history area. Paste value to command line = takes the value on your input box onto the command line. Get coordinates = Calculates the coordinates of a point. Distance between Two Points = Calculates distance between two points. (Always unitless) Angle of line Defined by two points = calculates the angle of a line defined by two points. Two lines defined by four points = calculates the intersection of four points.

Point Clouds Ribbon: Insert Tab  Point Cloud Panel  Attach Button Command: POINTCLOUDATTACH  POINTCLOUDATTACH inserts an indexed point cloud (.PCG or .ISD) file into the current drawing. First the file is selected then the insertion point is selected. If geographic information exists in both the drawing and point cloud file the insertion point can be based on that data. Ribbon: Insert Tab  Point Cloud Panel  Index Button Command: POINTCLOUDINDEX The POINTCLOUDINDEX command can be used to create an indexed point cloud file from scanner data such as LiDAR or other smaller scanners.

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Ribbon: Insert Tab  Point Cloud Panel Drop Down  Point Cloud Density Slider Command: POINTCLOUDDENSITY POINTCLOUDDENSITY controls the percentage of points shown on screen. The slider controls the percentage of 1,500,000 displayable points shown on screen regardless of the number of point clouds attached. The visible points will equally represent all point clouds if more than one is attached to your drawing. Modify Polyline Using Secondary Grips Video: Polyline Grips Modify polylines, splines, and non-associative polyline hatch objects using multifunctional grips. These grips provide an easier editing alternative to the PEDIT and SPLINEDIT commands. Modify the position, size, and orientation of objects. Use Grip modes to move, rotate, scale, or mirror objects. Reshape objects. Use the multi-functional grip-editing options to edit vertices, fit points, control points, segment types, and tangent directions. To cycle through the editing options, select the grip and tap the Ctrl key.

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3D Interface & New Workspace In 2011 the workspace switching drop down moved from its default location on the bottom right to a new position in the upper left, next to the application menu drop down. Also, a new workspace called 3D Basics has been added. The 3D Basics workspace, as expected, includes a simplified set of 3D modeling tools in its ribbon. The ribbon panels appear sparse at first, but many commands available in the regular 3D Modeling workspace are available in the panel drop downs in the 3D Basics workspace.

Drawing Tools Video: Status Bar AutoCAD 2011 included new drawing tools that are very useful while drafting.

Drawing Tools in Icon View (Default)

Drawing Tools with tags To change the Drawing Tools from one view to the other, place mouse over any drawing tool, right-click and uncheck/check Use Icons.

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INFER

SNAP GRID ORTHO

POLAR

OSNAP

3DOSNAP

Infer: Automatically applies constraints between the object you are creating or editing and the object or points associated with object snaps. Snap: Snaps the cursor to specified coordinate values. See Drafting Settings. Grid: Shows visible dots spaced at specified X & Y intervals. See Drafting Settings. Ortho: Restricts drafting and editing of objects to the horizontal and vertical (orthogonal) directions. Also see Drafting Settings. Polar: Restricts drafting and editing of objects to specific directions defined in a polar coordinate system. See Polar Snaps. Object Snap: Drafts and edits objects relative to existing objects on the screen. Improves accuracy in drafting. See Object Snaps. 3DSNAP: Sets the object snap modes for 3D objects.

OTRACK

Object Snap Tracking: Drafts and edits objects relative to specific distances from existing objects. See Object Snaps.

DUCS

Dynamic UCS: Adjusts the placement of the UCS (User Coordinate System) onto 3 dimensional faces. Dynamic Input: Toggles command interface and dimensions near cursor on/off.

DYN LWT

Lineweight: Toggles Lineweight display on/off.

TPY

TPY: Controls whether background pixels in an image are transparent or opaque.

QP

Quick Properties: Displays properties of a selected object inside a small box.

SC

Selection Cycling: When selecting an object that overlaps other objects, a window will appear with a list of all the overlapping objects.

INFER = Inferred Geometric Constraints AutoCAD can now automatically set geometric constraints as you create and modify geometry. The Infer button on the status bar lets you toggle inferred constraints on and off.

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3DOSNAP = 3D Object snap The 3DOSNAP allows you to snap onto objects in 3-dimensional space. The 3D OSNAP button located in the status bar can be used to toggle 6 new 3Dimensional object snaps. With this tool on you can snap on vertex, midpoint on edge, center of face, knots, perpendicular, and nearest to face. When 3DOSNAP is on these commands can help you snap onto objects in 3D: ZVER = snaps to a vertex or a control vertex. ZMID = snaps to the midpoint on a face edge. ZCEN = snaps to the center of a face. ZKN = snaps to a spline knot. ZPER = snaps to a perpendicular face (planar faces only) . ZNEA = snaps to an object nearest to face. ZNON = turns off all 3D object snap In the Drafting Settings dialog box, 3D Object Snap tab, you can select your desired object snap mode. You can also right-click on the 3DOSNAP on the status bar and select properties on the menu.

TPY = show/hide transparency To use this transparency feature you must first set your desire layer(s) to have a certain amount of transparency. You can do this by going to the layers manager, select a layer and going to the transparent column and change the amount of (925) 939-1378

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transparency. By default, all layers are set to zero percent transparency. Once you have set your desire levels of transparency for the desired layers, you can turn on and off the transparency by clicking the TPY button on the status bar.

*The tree on the figure to the right is set at 60 percent transparency and TPY is on. SC = selection cycle When selecting an object that is overlapping other objects a window will appear with a list of all over lapping objects. This feature helps ensure the correct object selection.

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Materials Browser Ribbon: Render Tab Materials Panel  Materials Browser Button Command: MATERIALS The management and selection of materials now takes place in the materials browser. The Create Material button on the top left allows the creation of new materials using templates. The search box allows you to search the selected library. The sort drop downs change the order in which materials are displayed. The user can create and open libraries using the Mange drop down. To add materials to a library simply drag and drop them into the library name in the tree view. By right clicking on one of the materials in the document (in the top pain), the material can be copied, renamed, or edited. The document materials drop down can be used purge unused materials.

User Defined Materials Ribbon: Render Tab  Materials Panel  Materials Editor Corner Arrow Command: MATEDITOROPEN To create a new material, an existing material can be modified or a new material can be created from scratch. If creating a material from scratch, select a template from the Create Material drop down. Using a template will generate various fields that are the most important for creating a material of that type, such as wood, metal, or glass. Choosing a template also sets some of the variables to a suggested value. The generic template can be used if none of the other material templates are a good starting point, it allows for complete control with minimal guidance.

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Visual Styles Ribbon: View Tab  Visual Styles Panel  Visual Style Drop Down Command: VSCURRENT or VS  There are five new visual styles which are well suited to visualizing 3D objects. 

Shaded – Produces a smooth shaded model.

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

shaded with Edges – Produces a smooth shaded model with visible edges.



shades of Gray – Produces a gray color effect by using the monocolor face color mode.



SKetchy – Produces a hand-sketched effect by using overhang and jitter.

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

X-ray – Changes the opacity of faces to make the whole scene partially transparent.

NURBS Surfaces This year‘s 3D Modeling workspace saw major revisions to its ribbon. Solid, Surface, and Express Tools tabs have been added to support a growing 3D functionality. The largest of the 3D improvements comes with the addition of NURBS surfaces, requiring an entirely new ribbon tab. In the past, AutoCAD surfaces have been procedural surfaces, which are associative—meaning the user adjusts the basis for the surface to adjust the surface. For instance, if the surface was created by lofting between two splines, the splines are what control the surface. Users now have the option to work with either procedural or NURBS surfaces. The benefit of NURBS is that they are defined and edited by control vertices. Control vertices can be added or removed and allow for greater control over surfaces than objects associated with procedural surfaces do.

NURBS Surface Creation NURBS surfaces can be created in two ways, by creating a new NURBS surface, or converting an existing 3D object into a NURBS surface. When creating new NURBS surfaces any of the tools can be used including: network, planar, loft, sweep, extrude, revolve, blend, patch, and offset. Ribbon: Surface Tab  Create Panel  NURBS Creation Toggle Command: SURFACEMODELINGMODE This system variable or toggle controls whether new surface creations result in procedural or NURBS surfaces. Set the system variable to 1 to create NURBS surfaces or 0 to create procedural surfaces. (925) 939-1378

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Ribbon: Surface Tab  Control Vertices Panel  Convert to NURBS Button Command: CONVTONURBS With this command procedural surfaces, meshes, and solids are converted into NURBS surfaces. It is important to realize this is a one-way-street; it is impossible to convert NURBS surfaces back into procedural surfaces, meshes, or solids.

NURBS Surface Editing Editing is done through the control vertices of a NURBS surface. The network of CV‘s appears as blue circles connected by orange dashed lines.

Ribbon: Surface Tab  Control Vertices Panel  Show CV Button Command: CVSHOW  Showing the CV‘s allows the user to edit the NURBS surface geometry. Ribbon: Surface Tab  Control Vertices Panel  Hide CV Button Command: CVHIDE Hiding the CV‘s allows the user to focus on the model without clutter. Ribbon: Surface Tab  Control Vertices Panel  CV Edit Bar Button Command: 3DEDITBAR  (925) 939-1378

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The 3D Edit Bar is used to reshape NURBS surfaces and to change tangency in the U and V directions at specific points. It has three grips; the expander (triangle grip), the magnitude handle (circular grip), and the move gizmo (square grip)

Ribbon: Surface Tab  Control Vertices Panel  Add/Remove Buttons Command: CVADDand CVREMOVE CV Add and Remove allow the user to create or destroy new control vertices on the NURBS surface. When adding new CV‘s, the placement is designated by solid orange dots. When removing CV‘s, the highlighted CV‘s will be removed. When adding or removing CV‘s, the direction can be changed within the command by typing D.

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Surface Creation Tools Blend Ribbon: Surface Tab  Create Panel  Blend Button Command: SURFBLEND Blending creates a continuous surface between two existing surfaces. The user may specify both continuity and bulge within the command. Continuity is how well surfaces blend into each other. Bulge refers to the roundness of the blend surface where it meets the existing surfaces. Be sure to toggle surface associativity if a relationship between surfaces needs to be created.

Patch Ribbon: Surface Tab  Create Panel  Patch Button Command: SURFPATCH  SURFPATCH creates a new cap surface over an existing surface edge or curves. As in the blend command, both continuity and bulge can be specified. Additionally, with the constrain geometry option, guide curves or points can be used to shape the patch surface.

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Offset Ribbon: Surface Tab  Create Panel  Offset Button Command: SURFOFFSET Offset creates a parallel surface a specified distance from the reference surface. The command contains the following options:  Specify Offset Distance – Distance between offset surface and original.  Flip Direction – Reverses the offset direction.  Both Sides – Offsets in both directions, creating 2 new surfaces.  Solid – Creates a solid from the offset. Similar to THICKEN.  Connect – Connects offset surfaces if originals are connected.  Expression – Formula equation for offset distance.

Network Ribbon: Surface Tab  Create Panel  Network Button Command: SURFNETWORK  SURFNETWORK is similar to the loft command, except the network utilizes cross sections in two directions. Two different sets of orthogonal cross sections must be created first. Next, the cross sections are selected while in the SURFNETWORK command to create a network surface.



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Surface Fillet Ribbon: Surface Tab  Edit Panel  Fillet Button Command: SURFFILLET  The surface fillet creates a new smooth transition between existing surfaces. In the command the fillet radius may be set. The command can also be set to automatically trim surfaces when filleting through the Trim surfaces command.

Surface Editing Tools Surface Trimming Ribbon: Surface Tab  Edit Panel  Trim Button Command: SURFTRIM The SURFTRIM command is used to trim 3D surfaces. Available cutting edges include other surfaces and curves. The extend option controls whether the cutting surface is also trimmed. Projection direction controls how objects are projected onto the surface as cutting edges. Projecting Geometry Ribbon: Surface Tab  Project Geometry Panel  Auto Trim Button Command: SURFACEAUTOTRIM Surface auto trim sets whether or not surfaces are automatically trimmed when projecting geometries. If set to off, projected geometries can still be used to trim surfaces later with the SURFTRIM command. Ribbon: Surface Tab  Project Geometry Panel  Project to buttons Command: PROJECTGEOMETRY 

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Geometries can now be projected onto 3D surfaces. Using the PROJECTGEOMETRY command, circles, lines, arcs, rectangles, and points can now appear on your surfaces. Using the UCS as the projection direction creates a projected object along the current UCS‘s Z-axis. If the Project to View option is chosen, the object is projected straight toward the view you are in.

Project to UCS

Project to View

Parametric Drawing Relaxing Constraints To modify constrained objects, constraints can be temporarily relaxed. While in a modifying command, after selecting the object, press Ctrl to relax the constraint for the duration of the modification. Constraints can also be removed this way if the geometry is changed.

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Infer Constraints / By toggling the INFER button on the status bar, constraints can be automatically added as you draw. The settings are accessed through a right click on the button.

Geometric Constraints There are new individual commands for all of the GEOMCONSTRAINT options. Ribbon: Parametric tab  Geometric panel Command: GEOMCONSTRAINT  or individual commands displayed in table below

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Individual Command

GEOMCONSTRAINT Description Option

GCCOINCIDENT

Coincident

Two objects join together sharing one common point.

GCPERPENDICULAR Perpendicular

Two lines form right angles.

GCPARALLEL

Parallel

Two lines stay parallel.

GCTANGENT

Tangent

Objects meet and touch at one point, without crossing.

GCHORIZONTAL

Horizontal

Lines remain horizontal relative to the current UCS.

GCVERTICAL

Vertical

Lines remain vertical relative to the current UCS.

GCCOLLINEAR

Collinear

Two lines lie along a common line.

GCCONCENTRIC

Concentric

Objects share a common center point.

GCSMOOTH

Smooth

Splines connect to lines or arcs and maintain curvature continuity.

GCSYMMETRIC

Symmetric

Objects maintain relative spacing from a line.

GCEQUAL

Equal

Two lines share the same length. Circles or arcs share the same radius.

GCFIX

Fix

Affix an object to the coordinate plane.

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2010 New Features 2010 File Format Despite the name, AutoCAD 2010 is also known as release 18 (R18.0). This marks a major version change since the last one when AutoCAD 2007 (R17.0) debuted. With this release, there‘s a new DWG file format which drawings are saved as. The 2010 DWG will not work with previous releases. AutoCAD 2009 (R17.2) and below will not have direct access to these files. Drawings created in 2010 will have to be saved to a previous file format to remain compatible with older releases. From the command line, type SAVEAS and select the drop-down next to Files of type. Select the file format which is appropriate then click Save.

AutoCAD 2009‘s stop message upon opening a drawing created in 2010 Did you know? Behind the scenes, DWG files are internally tagged with a version number starting with the letters ‗AC‘. This allows the program to identify the file format. The list below shows the version number and release number: AC1024 – R18 | AutoCAD 2010 AC1021 – R17 | AutoCAD 2007/2008/2009 AC1018 – R16 | AutoCAD 2004/2005/2006 AC1015 – R15 | AutoCAD 2000/2000i/2002 AC1014 – R14 | AutoCAD R14/R14.01

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Initial Setup Wizard

The initial setup wizard launches after a successful installation of AutoCAD. It will ask the user to pick an industry, turn on additional task-based tools, and have the user pick a default template for use in creating new drawings. Its main purpose is to get the user up and running with relevant tools. Here‘s a summary of what settings the wizard changes:  Page 1. The industry selector turns on specific palette groups for the Tool Palettes.  Page 2. These check boxes will turn on additional tools, panels inside the ribbon and turn on appropriate palettes.  Page 3. This template will switch the default DWT used to create new drawings. This can be accessed through the OPtions command on the Files tab, expand Template Settings, in the Default Template File Name for QNEW.  The initial setup wizard will create a new workspace called Initial Setup Workspace and create a new profile called Initial Setup Profile. This wizard is optional and most users may opt to skip this step. It‘s accessible at any time by going in OPtions, on the User Preferences tab, click Initial Setup.

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AutoCAD Application Window Note the six areas of the Application Window: Application Menu, Quick Access Toolbar, Ribbon, Drawing Area, Command Line, and Status Bar.

The drawing area is the primary location where AutoCAD objects are viewed, drafted, and edited. When the cursor moves over the drawing area, it changes to a set of crosshairs. Use the crosshairs to identify specific points as you draft and edit objects. The edges of the drawing area contain other viewing functions. The scroll bars on the right and lower sides can be used to pan around the drawing. The UCS Icon on the lower left corner identifies the current coordinate system and the current space of the AutoCAD drawing. By default, this icon shows the X-Y axes with a box, representing the World Coordinate System. Draft in this coordinate system for all basic drafting tasks.

Express Tools on Ribbon The Express Tools are now integrated into the ribbon along with the rest of the tools.

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Menu Bar Command: MENUBAR 0 – Hides the menu bar (Default) 1 – Displays the menu bar

The menu bar is very a useful tool in AutoCAD. It allows easy access to tools via pull-down menus and access to several items not found anywhere else in the user interface. The menu bar, however, is not enabled by default. To turn the menu bar on, type MENUBAR into the command line and set the value to 1. The quick access toolbar also provides another way of displaying the menu bar. Click the drop-down arrow

, and click Show Menu Bar.

Application Menu The application menu holds filingrelated tools for the active drawing. Its role is similar to the File category on the menu bar. New, Open, Save, and Print are on the left side of the application menu. The Options and Exit AutoCAD buttons are at the bottom right hand corner of the application menu. When the application menu is launched, it starts on a list of recent documents. By default it is set to show 9 recently-used files. The list updates with every open so a pin icon is available to allow items to stay in the list. The Open Documents button next to the Recent Documents button switches the list to show currently open drawings. The application menu window is searchable. Type a tool name and a list appears with available choices. To assist in locating a tool, a path also appears next to the result. Selecting an item will start the tool for use.

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Quick Access Toolbar

The Quick Access Toolbar is used to hold frequently used tools for one click access. This toolbar stays open on the AutoCAD title bar, however, it can also be set to show below the ribbon. The Quick Access Toolbars can be edited inside the Customize User Interface (CUI) to include different tools. In the CUI, it‘s also possible to define multiple toolbars and assign one of those to the current workspace. To show the Quick Access Toolbar below the ribbon, click the drop-down arrow Show Below the Ribbon.

, and select

Measure Tools Command: MEASUREGEOM Ribbon: Home tab  Utilities panel  Measure Menu: Tools  Inquiry The measure tools are unified under one command. When started, the command will prompt for a measurement type. Depending on the type, options will allow the user to pick points or select an object to measure.

Measurement Types Distance

Select two points to find the distance between the points. Select the multiple option to keep a running total while you select more points. It‘s also possible to draw arc segments and add them to the total.

Radius

Select an arc or circle to find the radius and diameter.

Angle

Select lines, to find the angle between items. Select circles and arcs, to find angle measurements based off of the center points. Use the specify vertex option to select three points to find the angle.

Area

Clicking vertices or select objects to find the area. The add area and subtract area options allow separate regions to form and can be used to keep a running total.

Volume

Select an area and enter the height, this will find the resulting volume. This tool does not work on 3 dimensional objects.

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Parametric Drawing Parametric tools within AutoCAD allow the user to take drawn objects and apply special constraints. Constrained objects can then automatically adjust as they move around. Parametric tools can possibly save you time in situations where object changes can cause other objects to separate and cause time consuming edits. Constraints will only work on a limited set of 2D AutoCAD objects, objects contained inside blocks can also be used for constraining. The following is a list of objects:      

Lines Polylines Circles Arcs Ellipses Splines

Constraint selection methods Constraints are easier to understand when you split them into two categories based on how they select. You can select by object or select by point. 1. Object selection – The constraint will ask you to select a whole object. 2. Point selection – The constraint will ask you to select at a point on the object.

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With constraints which use point selection, a red marker will appear at key locations as you move over an object before selecting. If the object has multiple possibilities, the marker closest to your cursor will appear. Selecting the object will use the marker point‘s location for attachment.

Geometric Constraints and Dimensional Constraints There are two primary types of constraints: 1. Geometric Constraints – controls shape or form 2. Dimensional Constraints – locks measurement on item

The Parametric tab on the ribbon showing Geometric and Dimensional constraints

Geometric Constraints This tool creates relationship based constraints. A geometric constraint can either be formed on objects or between the object and the coordinate plane. When a constraint occurs between two objects, modifying or moving one object will automatically alter another object to keep the geometric rule. One example of a geometric constraint is the perpendicular option. It can take two lines and establish a 90 degree relationship to one another. As you move a blue grip on one of the lines, it will carry the other line along with it. Creating Geometric Constraints Command: GEOMCONSTRAINT Ribbon: Parametric tab  Geometric panel Menu: Parametric  Geometric Constraints Pick a geometric constraint among the 12 available options. You can also apply multiple constraints on an object by adding more. Continue until you achieve a desired shape. For each constraint, a small non-plotting constraint icon will appear next to the object. This is called a constraint bar. On objects with more than one constraint, you will see constraint bars grouped together. For tips on geometric constraints, use the tables below for instructions on usage.

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Geometric Constraints and Description Coincident

Two objects join together sharing one common point.

Perpendicular Two lines form right angles. Parallel

Two lines stay parallel.

Tangent

Objects meet and touch at one point, without crossing.

Horizontal

Lines remain horizontal relative to the current UCS.

Vertical

Lines remain vertical relative to the current UCS.

Collinear

Two lines lie along a common line.

Concentric

Objects share a common center point.

Smooth

Splines connect to lines or arcs and maintain curvature continuity.

Symmetric

Objects maintain relative spacing from a line.

Equal

Two lines share the same length. Circles or arcs share the same radius.

Fix

Affix an object to the coordinate plane.

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Geometric Constraint Object Types and Selection Order This table indicates the type and order for objects selection. 1st, 2nd means the type is available for both first and second selections; selections within the same type are also possible. 1st or 2nd means the type can be chosen only once and the other selection must be another type. 1st and 2nd means the same type must be chosen twice. The smooth geometric constraint must always start with a spline selection.

Coincident Perpendicular Parallel Tangent Horizontal Vertical Collinear Concentric Smooth Symmetrical Equal Fix

Line/Polyline 1st, 2nd 1st, 2nd 1st, 2nd 1st or 2nd 1st 1st 1st, 2nd 2nd 1st and 2nd, 3rd 1st and 2nd 1st

Circle 1st, 2nd

Arc 1st, 2nd

Ellipse 1st, 2nd

1st, 2nd

1st, 2nd

1st, 2nd

1st, 2nd

1st, 2nd 2nd 1st and 2nd 1st, 2nd 1st

1st, 2nd

1st and 2nd 1st, 2nd 1st

Spline 1st, 2nd

1st, 2nd 1st and 2nd 1st

1st

= Object type unavailable for constraint Tutorial: Using Geometric Constraints – Creating a line tangent to a circle 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Create a circle with the Circle command. Create a line with the Line command. On the Ribbon, select the Parametric tab. On the Geometric panel, choose the Tangent button. First select the circle, then select the line. Then line should move to the circle. Test the tangent constraint by selecting the line then pick a grip at the endpoint to move.

Tutorial: Constraint bar visibility – Hiding and showing constraint bars 1. On the constraint created from the prior tutorial, hover over the constraint icon. If none of these show, type CONSTRAINTBAR into the command line and press enter. Type S for Showall and press enter to turn on visibility on all constraint bars. 2. Click the small X on the right side of the constraint bar to close it. 3. To see one geometric constraint turn back on, type CONSTRAINTBAR into the command line and press enter. Select the object and press enter. (925) 939-1378

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To turn all constraint bars off, type CONSTRAINTBAR into the command line and press enter. Type H for Hideall and press enter.

Dimensional Constraints When an object‘s measurement needs to be locked to prevent further changes, a dimensional constraint is a great tool. Once an object has a fixed measurement, nothing will change it unless that constraint is deleted. For example, to keep a circle‘s radius from changing, use the radial dimensional constraint. Design tip: With geometric constraints, don‘t spend too much time getting the object‘s measurements exact. The measurements of objects may change as you apply geometric constraints. The goal is to create a shape with all the necessary associations. Dimensional constraints will be used toward the end to get items to the precise measurement.

Design progression using geometric constraints then dimensional constraints Creating Dimensional Constraints Command: DIMCONSTRAINT Ribbon: Parametric tab Dimensional panel Menu: Parametric  Dimensional Constraints Pick a dimensional constraint which best matches the way the object should be measured. There are 7 dimensional constraints to choose from. The command line will ask you to select an object or pick points for determining the measurement. Use the mouse to move the dimension text to the desired location and click to set it in place. You will see a gray, non-plotting dimension on the object you‘re measuring. (925) 939-1378

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There are six types of dimensional constraints: Aligned Horizontal Vertical Angular Radial Diameter

Dimension remains parallel to the object measured. Dimension will always stay horizontal. Dimension will always stay vertical. Angle created between two lines is maintained. On arcs, constraint occurs on the angle from the center to the opening. Radial dimension on circle or arc. Diameter dimension on circle or arc.

Tutorial: Creating a dimensional constraint on a line 1. 2. 3. 4.

Create a line using the Line command. On the Ribbon, select the Parametric tab. On the Dimensional panel, choose Aligned. On the line, move the cursor toward one endpoint then select. Now go to the other endpoint and select that. 5. A gray dimension will appear allowing you to adjust the position of the dimension line. Select into the desired position. 6. For the dimension text, verify the value. You may change the value now or press enter on the keyboard to accept. 7. Select the line then pick a grip at the endpoint to test.

Dynamic vs. Annotational Dimensional Constraints Dimensional constraints can be used two different ways: Dynamic Constraints These are non-plotting dimensions which appear gray and can be turned on and off. This is the standard behavior to indicate dimensional constraints. When zooming in or out, dimension text and features automatically adjust size for readability on the screen. Annotational Constraints These dimensions do plot. Dimensional constraints can also be used as normal dimensions in this mode. Dimension style settings and properties apply to these dimensions like any other AutoCAD dimension. Dimensional Constraints can easily change between the two types using the properties palette. First select the dimensional constraint, then open the properties window, go to Constraint, Constraint Form, and select either Dynamic or Annotational. (925) 939-1378

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Parameters Manager Command: PARAMETERS Ribbon: Parametric  Manage  Parameters Manager Menu: Parametric  Parameters Manager The Parameters Manager palette lists all dimensional constraints in the current drawing. Name column You‘ll find each dimension identified with a name. By default, the naming scheme starts with d1. The dimension name can be changed as long as it does not begin with a number, contain spaces, or exceed 256 characters. Expression Hold numbers and operations used for computing values of that dimension. Valid entries:  Numbers – for fixed values  Math symbols – for mathematical operations  Expressions (right-click contextual menu) – for any additional scientific calculations  Dimensional Constraint names – for using other dimension measurements in the calculation  User Variable names – calculate variables separately and call in the value by variable name Value The value column is a read-only column which shows what the final calculated total is. Tutorial: Create two lines which observe the Golden Ratio 1. Create two parallel lines with the Line command. 2. On both lines, create one Aligned dimensional constraint. Accept the values resulting values for d1 and d2. We‘re going to change these numbers later. 3. Bring up the parameters manager by clicking going to the Ribbon, Parametric tab, Manage Panel, then Parameters Manager. 4. Inside the Parameters Manager palette, look for d1 and d2. We‘re going to make d2 1.618 times the value of d1. 5. Click the button entitled ‘Creates a new user parameter’ to create a new entry. (925) 939-1378

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6. On user1, we‘re going to calculate and store the value of 1.618. Change the name from ‗user1‘ to ‗phi’. 7. Type ‗(1+sqrt(5))/2‘ including all brackets. To insert ‗sqrt()‘ without typing, right-click within the expression cell and go to Expressions, then select sqrt(expr). Verify the value of 1.6180 for phi. 8. On d2 under the expression, type ‗phi*d1‘. 9. Now go back to modelspace and select the dimension d1. Select the blue triangle to resize the dimension. The line associated with dimension d2 will automatically resize.

Deleting Constraints Select and delete constraints Command: DELCONSTRAINT Ribbon: Parametric tab  Manage panel  Delete Constraints DELCONSTRAINT will remove all geometric and dimensional constraints on objects selected with this tool. Delete geometric constraints individually 1. Hover over the constraint bar. If none appear, type CONSTRAINTBAR into the command line and press enter, then type Showall then press enter. 2. Right-click on the constraint bar then choose Delete. Delete dimensional constraints individually 1. Select the dimensional constraint. 2. Press Delete on the keyboard.

Block Editor Changes *This command is only available within the block editor* Command: BTESTBLOCK Ribbon: Open/Save panel, Test Block Test blocks Instead of Inserting The Block Editor has a Test Block tool (BTESTBLOCK) to test drive a block before finalizing it. This feature is especially useful in creation of dynamic blocks where it may require iterative design. Users can create a block then click test and the block to open it inside a test area where grips, insertion behavior, and properties can be checked. This space is exited back out to the Block Editor when the user closes the test block window. (925) 939-1378

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Constraints on Blocks Blocks have the ability to hold geometric and dimensional constraints as well. Constraints combined with dynamic blocks can generate complex objects with controls to manipulate.

PDF Underlay The Adobe‘s Portable Document Format (PDF) is well implemented in AutoCAD. PDF files can be attached to a drawing similar to an external reference. Object snaps will work on vector data within the PDF. Command: PDFATTACH Ribbon: Insert tab  Reference panel  Attach Toolbar: Insert toolbar  Insert a PDF Underlay Menu: Insert  PDF Underlay… External References palette  Attach PDF… Inserting a PDF Run the PDFATTACH command and then select a PDF and click Open. In the Attach PDF Underlay dialog, if the PDF contains more than one page which needs to be imported, Ctrl-select the pages. The attached PDF works much like an image and is not embedded directly into the drawing. Select the appropriate Path Type, Insertion point, Scale, and Rotation, then click OK. With multiple pages, on Insertion point, choose Specify on-screen to choose a location of each imported page. PDF Underlay Contextual Tab Once a PDF is attached, selecting a PDF underlay will swap the contents of the ribbon with a special tab called PDF Underlay. This is called a contextual tab. Notice the contextual tab appears after the last item on the ribbon. It‘s also identified by a green highlight. Note the Ribbon must be on for this option to work.

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Command: PDFADJUST Ribbon: PDF Underlay  Adjust Panel The Adjust panel controls the colors of the PDF. Slider bars for contrast and fade allow mouse dragging to increase or decrease intensity on a scale from 0 to 100. Entering a number inside the box is also accepted.

Command: PDFCLIP Ribbon: PDF Underlay  Clipping panel  Create Clipping Boundary The Clipping panel is used to masks out unnecessary portions on a PDF without having to edit the original PDF. Create Clipping Boundary will cut away outside edges. Inverting the clipping frame flips this behavior to cut away a hole instead. Remove Clipping will reset the PDF back to its unclipped state. Modifications to the mask region can be done by selecting the frame and grip editing. Properties Palette: Misc  Show underlay  Yes/No Ribbon: PDF Underlay  Options panel  Show Underlay Inside the options panel, the Show Underlay button shows and hides the PDF.

Command: PDFOSNAP Ribbon: PDF Underlay  Options panel  Enable Snap Enable Snap allows OSNAP to hook onto geometric features within the PDF. It does not work on bitmap images or text.

Command: XRef Ribbon: PDF Underlay  Options panel  External References External References shows and hides the External References Palette. Here you can attach/detach and unload/reload PDFs.

Command: PDFLAYERS Ribbon: PDF Underlay  PDF Layers Simple PDF layer tools exist in PDF readers. The Edit Layers button on the PDF Layers panel brings up the Underlay Layers window. Inside this window, light bulb icons next to each layer name turn on or off layers. (925) 939-1378

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Generating a PDF using the DWG to PDF.pc3 plotter can include useful layer information. The latest PDF readers have the ability to turn layers on and off so those without AutoCAD can take advantage of well organized layers too. During PDF creation, the PDF plotter driver automatically simplifies the layer list by eliminating any unused or unseen layers. Objects not shown in the final PDF will not bring in a layer. The following picture is a view of the DWG To PDF.pc3 properties. The include layer information checkbox gives the plotter driver this ability.

External Reference Improvements External Reference Alerts When a drawing is launched with one or more unresolved reference files, a warning message will appear. This notification is designed to flag the user when external references are missing and take action or inaction accordingly. In the message box, you can use the first option to re-path the location of the missing xref and the second option allows you to ignore those missing items. To completely disable this and disable all other missing xref notifications such as the one in the notification tray, use the command XREFNOTIFY and set this value from 1 to 0.

External Reference Fading Command: XDWGFADECTL (Default = 70) Ribbon: Insert tab expand Reference panel Xref Fading slider Whenever you insert a dwg, as an external reference (Xref), the child drawing will appear slightly faded. The fade is only visual and will not affect the output of a plot. To tune it back to maximum intensity, set this value to 0. 0 – Not faded, full intensity > 0 – Positive values above zero controls the fading up to 90 percent with higher values giving off the lightest intensity. < 0 – Negative values do not affect fading (xrefs have full intensity), toggle fading on and off while storing the fade value by adding or removing the negative symbol.

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Locate using Geographical Data If the parent and child drawings both have geographic data defined in the drawing, the Attach External Reference dialog window has an option for placement using that data. Locate Geographical Data will automatically define the insertion point, scale, and rotate the drawing accordingly. This option will dim when any of the drawings do not have geographical data.

Example of the Locate using Geographic Data option

Hatch and Gradient Improvements Invalid Boundary Warning Objects with a gap in the boundary usually cannot fill with a hatch or gradient. Boundaries need to meet end to end or intersect so that the fill will not leak out. The gap tolerance allows the hatching tool to overlook the break but it‘s helpful to know where it‘s occurring. When a broken boundary is chosen by picking an internal point (using Add: Pick points), gaps will visually show with a pair of circles. The circles will stay after the hatch or gradient operation to allow an opportunity to edit the problem. The circles go away after a REGEN or REDRAW. Boundary lines are not necessary to modify the fill area. Hatches and gradients have grips of their own to modify shape. These control points appear on a selected fill which is not associated to a boundary. On a hatch or gradient comprised of line and arc segments, selecting grips at certain spots will change accordingly. After selecting a grip, pressing the control key on the keyboard cycles through different options. Square box in center Default: Move hatch with stretch tool Square box on corners Default: Move Vertex, stretch neighboring segments (925) 939-1378

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Ctrl: Remove Vertex, and replace neighboring segments with line Rectangle along lines Default: Add Vertex and create new line Ctrl: Convert to line to arc, and stretch midpoint Rectangle along arcs Default: Stretch Midpoint of Arc Ctrl: Add vertex and create new arc Ctrl: Convert arc to line between endpoints of neighbors

Hatch object with border removed. New vertex created along line.

Viewport Rotation Viewports are rotatable with the rotate command. The outer border along with the model within will match the new rotation angle. Rotating viewports will, however, transform the boundary line into a 2D polyline even when it‘s a rectangle. This will change the behavior of grip edits. VPROTATEASSOC – Turns on or off the rotation of the model within the viewport. 0 – The view inside is not rotated with viewport rotations 1 – The view inside is rotated along with the viewport

MTEXT Changes On selection, multiline text boxes display two types of grips. The square grip shows the insertion point and how the box is justified. Triangular grips allow stretching. Command: MTEXTCOLUMN 0 – No column. 1 – Dynamic columns with auto height. 2 – Dynamic columns with manual height. (Default) By default, the MTEXT entry mode in 2010 is set to dynamic columns with manual height. Text inside the MTEXT editor will flow over to the next column when there is (925) 939-1378

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no longer vertical space to place text. Adjusting the mtext box height can move text in and out of the different columns. In previous releases, however, the default entry mode for MTEXT was set to no column. The text would continue to flow downward regardless of how high the mtext box was. Type MTEXTCOLUMN and set it to 0 for this to happen. Dynamic columns with manual height No column

Multileader Enhancements Multileaders allow vertical attachment to MTEXT. Leaders not only attach to left and right sides of the MTEXT, but it can also attach to top and bottom positions.

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Purge Invisible Objects The purge command includes the ability to delete geometry with zero-length and text objects with nothing in them. These objects typically hold no significance and they‘re usually not seen they‘re just taking up space.

Polyline Improvements Polyline Reversals Command: PEDIT Reverse The polyline edit command (PEdit) includes an option to reverse. PEDIT reverse will go through the polyline segment and flip the direction leaving vertices alone. Reverse polyline direction is especially useful when the linetype generates text upside-down. Normally polylines drawn in the negative x direction would cause this problem.

Before and after polyline edit reverse.

Select polyline sub-entities Sub-entities of polylines can be selected using the Ctrl key. This allows portions of polylines to move while the unselected objects stretch.

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3D Mesh Objects Command: MESH What is it? Mesh objects are 3D shapes which can be smoothed, creased, split, and refined. This is done through a grid-based modeling object. Mesh objects are different from solid 3D modeling objects.

Solid Sphere

Mesh Sphere

The way a mesh object behaves is analogous to modeling clay. A sculptor‘s hand will first form the general shape. The palms and the thumb will form the larger features. Then fingertips and small utensils will add details. Primitives The shape of the object is first determined with a shape called a primitive. There are 7 different primitives to choose from. Each primitive has distinct characteristics so choose one wisely. In general, try to choose a shape which would closely resemble the object. For example, a bottle could be made from a cylinder or a cone primitive. To see the solid mesh objects better, change the visual style from 2D wireframe to conceptual. This can be done through the command line by typing VSCURRENT  Conceptual. Faces vs. Facets Mesh objects have faces and facets. A face is a subdivision on the mesh. It‘s the basic unit on the mesh which is selectable. Facets are smaller shapes which appear on faces as the object smoothes.

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Before and after smoothing

1 face, 1 facet

1 face, 4 facets

Selecting Faces Faces are seen over the surface of mesh objects. To select a face, hold down the Ctrl key while picking with the mouse. A red grip allows the face to be moved. If multiple faces are selected, surrounding faces will stretch to maintain shape. Faces can be pushed in or out or even be extruded with the EXTRUDE command. To grab edges, move over spots where faces meet at a line. Command: MESHSMOOTHMORE Contextual Ribbon: Smooth panel  Smooth More Command: MESHSMOOTHLESS Contextual Ribbon: Smooth panel  Smooth Less Mesh Smoothing To smooth the display of the mesh so that it has a rounded appearance, use MESHSMOOTHMORE. To decrease the smoothing, use MESHSMOOTHLESS. On a given mesh, the program allows up to 4 levels of smoothness. For each level increase, the number of facets increases by a factor of 4.

Once Level 4 is reached, smooth mesh stops. Update faces to match facets Command: MESHREFINE Smaller faces may be desired when adding little details. After mesh smoothing, to have the facets become new faces, use MESHREFINE. It recreates the mesh and (925) 939-1378

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increases the number of faces. After a MESHREFINE however, there is no way of going back to the previous mesh without an undo. It‘s now new mesh. The smoothness level also resets so it is possible to smooth down further. Be careful. As the number of facets increases by a factor of 4, so will the faces. This can tremendously impact performance. On a simple box primitive with 54 faces MESHREFINE @ Level 1 (54*4 = 216 faces) MESHREFINE @ Level 2 (54*16 = 864 faces) MESHREFINE @ Level 3 (54*32 = 3,456 faces) MESHREFINE @ Level 4 (54*64 = 13,824 faces)

Other Mesh Commands Command: MESHCREASE & MESHUNCREASE Creasing sharpens edges on a mesh. First pick faces while holding down the Ctrl key, then apply the mesh crease. The crease shows as the mesh is smoothed. For example, on a primitive shape such as a cube, the faces selected will not be affected by smoothing.

Cube with top faces on edge creased

Command: MESHSPLIT MESHSPLIT will divide a face into two with a line. This may be desired when it‘s necessary to create a new edge. Dividing faces increases the number of faces so it will allow more control over details.

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Command: MESHSMOOTH Convert objects to mesh MESHSMOOTH can take 3D solids, 3D surfaces, 3D faces, polygon meshes, polyface meshes, regions, or closed polylines and convert to mesh.

Command: MESHOPTIONS When converting solid objects to mesh using MESHSMOOTH, the mesh tessellation options adjust how it‘s created.

Command: MESHPRIMITIVEOPTIONS Change number of faces on new primitives Mesh primitive options contain settings for the default tessellation divisions on newly created mesh primitive objects. It does not change existing objects. Default tessellation divisions are the lines which divide the mesh. Depending on the type of primitive, there will be options to set the number of divisions along the length, width, height, axis, base, slope, radius, and sweep path.

Command: MESHTYPE Objects which were created with REVSURF, TABSURF, RULESURF, and EDGESURF created an older type of object called an older type of polygon or polyface mesh. Turning MESHTYPE on will allow these commands to take advantage of the newer mesh object.

Command: CONVTOSOLID Meshes cannot be modified with commands built for solid editing such as union, subtract, and intersect. To make it work, the CONVTOSOLID command will change mesh into solid. This, however, is a one way street. It‘s a lossy data conversion tool so expect the solid to be simplified from the original mesh.

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Command: CONVTOSURFACE Convert to surface will take a mesh and generate a surface object. If the mesh is a watertight solid, it will create surfaces on the outer sides and then void the inner part of the object.

Command: SMOOTHMESHCONVERT Smooth Mesh Convert will CONVTOSURFACE will operate. There are four different modes:  Smooth, optimized  Smooth, not optimized  Faceted, optimized  Faceted, not optimized

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1. Selecting a mesh (9*6 = 54 faces)

2. Editing faces with Ctrl+Click

3. Editing Faces with Ctrl+Click

4. MESHSMOOTHMORE increases smoothness

5. Selecting a mesh after MESHSMOOTHMORE

6. Increasing the number of faces with MESHREFINE (36*6 = 214 faces)

7. Editing smaller faces after MESHREFINE

8. Mesh converted to smooth, optimized solid

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3D Printing 3D printing Sending a model off to a 3D print service is easy with AutoCAD generated stereo lithography (.STL) files. The .STL format is the rapid prototyping industry‘s transmission format of choice. There are two different ways of creating these files. Command: STLOUT This will prompt the user to select a solid or watertight mesh. Then it will prompt whether to create a binary STL file, enter y binary or enter n for ASCII. Next specify a location where the STL file should be saved. NOTE: STLOUT will use the current FACETRES value for triangulation. Set it to 10 to achieve accurate representation. Command: 3DPRINT Application Menu: Publish  Send to 3D Print Service The 3DPRINT service opens up a separate window where the object can be viewed and modified. Clicking OK will then prompt for a location where the object should be saved. This method will use a FACETRES of 10 so it‘s not necessary to change this before the STL output.

eTransmit Binding On the eTransmit tool, on transmittal setups, there‘s now an option to choose which method to use for binding external references. When you check ‗Bind external references,‘ more options appear allowing you to choose the bind type. Bind and Insert now appear as sub options.

Autodesk Seek Autodesk Seek is a web based resource where thousands of blocks are available for download. Here you‘ll find AEC (architecture, engineering, construction) related blocks from various manufacturers and files created by users in the community. Some content on the Seek site will change the way your cursor looks on the screen. This happens as you move your cursor on and off thumbnails. When you see the i-drop tool, this indicates that the item you‘re passing over can be dragged into AutoCAD by holding down your left mouse button. Drag and drop content off of the site directly into AutoCAD‘s program window without having to download and create intermediate files in between. (925) 939-1378

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AutoCAD drawings and blocks can also be shared and put out on the Seek site. In the command line, type SHAREWITHSEEK and press enter. The following box will appear:

Select a block you would like to share with the Seek community.

After you press OK, an upload progress box will appear. After the upload is complete, a web browser will appear allowing you to finalize the title and description for post.

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2009 New Features DWFx Files A new format called DWFx is now available. This file type does not need the recipient to have a viewer if they are using Windows Vista. It they are using XP the viewer is available as an upgrade from Microsoft. AutoCAD includes a PC3 files for both DWF and DWFx.

Ribbon Video: User Interface Menu Browser: Tools Palettes Ribbon The ribbon is used to access common AutoCAD commands. With your left mouse button, simply select a button on the Ribbon to run the command associated with it.

Ribbons have tabs and within each tab, are several panels. Choose a tab to make it active and then choose a command inside a panel. Each tab has commands suited for certain tasks so you‘ll find this layout efficient and space-saving. If you need assistance identifying the commands represented by each icon, move your mouse over a button without clicking. Within a second, a tooltip will appear showing the name of the command and short description. Staying over a button longer will reveal extended descriptions. On some buttons, extended descriptions show graphics from the help file. Some buttons in a ribbon represent flyouts. These buttons have an arrow on the right. Flyouts contain many icons within the space of a button, and they represent a pictorial menu of functions. To see all buttons available in a flyout, click and your left mouse button on the arrow of a flyout icon. To select a function within a flyout, left mouse click again on the desired icon. Some panels have extra commands hidden away. Panels with arrows on the bottomright corner expand to reveal more contents. The small oval button after the last tab switches between show full ribbon, minimize to panel tiles, and minimize to tabs. The ribbon can be undocked to become a floating panel on the screen or it can be anchored to other positions on the left, right, or bottom. Right click the tab bar to undock. (925) 939-1378

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Menu Browser (2009 Only) A straightforward way to enter AutoCAD commands is through the Menu Browser. Use your left mouse button and click the red A button located in the upper-left corner. This displays the Menu Browser. Most AutoCAD commands are available through menus and organized into function categories. Functions that create objects are located in the Draw menu. Functions that modify objects are located in the Modify menu. Dimensioning commands are available in the Dimension menu. If you need assistance on any AutoCAD concept or function, go to the Help menu. Functions and sub-functions may appear in some menus. Functions with small arrows next to the name expand to list additional options. The Draw  Arc function is one example of a function expandable to reveal 11 other sub-functions. Simply click the name to show the sub-function items. As you stop your mouse over a menu function, a tooltip appears to display the name and a short description of that function.

Toolbar / Quick Access Toolbar Menu Browser: Tools Toolbars AutoCAD Standard

Standard Toolbar

Quick Access Toolbar Toolbars are built for fast access to commands. Use them for one-click access to tools. Some toolbars have the ability to show useful information about the drawing. AutoCAD comes with 38 different toolbars and a Quick Access Toolbar. The Quick Access Toolbar always remains on and it provides access to essential tools such as new and open. (925) 939-1378

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To access toolbars, right click with your mouse anywhere on the quick access toolbar and choose Toolbars AutoCAD for a list of toolbars. Toolbars currently visible are indicated with a check next to the name. To turn off a toolbar, select the checked toolbar name once again. Toolbars are moved around when you drag around the dark handle on the left side. You can leave on floating on the screen or you can dock the toolbars to the sides. To close a toolbar, simply undock it and click the close button on the right side. It‘s not advised to activate all toolbars. Toolbars require space and having too many open could take away from the AutoCAD drawing area. Open the toolbars that contain the commands that you commonly use. Custom toolbars may also be generated and used. The Express Tools (which are included on the AutoCAD installation media and installed by default) add three additional toolbars: Blocks, Standard, and Text. These optional items add functionality to AutoCAD.

Drawing Tools To save space, AutoCAD has the option of changing the drawing tools to icon view. To change between the two different modes, right click any of the buttons and check or uncheck ―Use Icons‖.

Drawing Tools in Icon View (Default)

Drawing Tools with tags

Roll Over ToolTips

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Roll over tool tips are displayed simply by placing your cursor over an object. The information shown in the tip can be customized in the CUI. They can be turned off from the display tab in the options dialog by un-checking ―Show roll over ToolTips‖

Quick Properties Quick Properties are displayed when you select an object and is a miniaturized version of the Properties Dialog box. When Quick Properties is activated, a small box appears with information about a selected object. It disappears once an item is no longer selected. It allows easy readings and quick modifications if necessary. To change the behavior of Quick Properties, right click on the framing bar while the box is on. Choosing customize will activate the CUI allowing you to select additional items for display in the quick properties window. Location mode changes where the box appears when an item is selected. The cursor mode will place it next to the crosshair and the float mode will make it appear in one location you specify.

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Quick View Layout Status Bar: Command Line: QVLAYOUT or QVL On the status bar, the Quick View Layout button will show thumbnail previews of the layouts in the drawing. Moving over each tile with the mouse will reveal the plot and publish icons for direct access to those. The row of buttons icons bottom allows you to pin the quick view to show it as you do other work, create a new layout, or bring up the publish dialog box.

Quick View Drawings Status Bar: Command: QVDRAWING or QVD The Quick View Drawings button on the status bar allows easy previews and switches between open drawings. As it shows thumbnails of open drawings, clicking on the tile takes you into to that drawing. More options appear above the thumbnail allowing access to model and layout. You can also save or close the drawing with this method.

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ViewCube Menu Browser: View Display ViewCube Command Line: NAVVCUBE   The ViewCube is a three dimensional cube with different facets. It shows you the orientation of your drawing by using by using the terms top, left, right, front, back, and bottom. Simply clicking on a face allows you to turn the cube together with the drawing. The view cube only displays when your using the three dimensional system (set the visual style to anything other than 2D Wireframe if not visible). Right-clicking on the view cube allows you to also change between parallel or perspective views. To show an isometric view, simply click on any corner of the box.

SteeringWheels The SteeringWheel provides an onscreen cursor-based approach to move around in a 3D model. When activated, the wheel follows the cursor and you can press a wedge on the wheel to access a tool. With the steering wheel, you can do the following:

Magnifies or reduces the size of the drawing. Clicking on the wedge will place a pivot point where it will zoom in and out. Simulates walking movement. In essence, it pans and rotates the view Walk along the X and Y-axes at any view angle. Places a filmstrip on the screen with which you can move backward in Rewind time to go to a previous view. Up/Down Moves up and down along the Z-axis at any view angle. Moves the location of drawing relative to the screen. Pan Simulates eyesight by using movements similar to head turning. Look Moves the view around relative to a spherical pivot point. Orbit Selects an object to place a new pivot point, then it centers the pivot Center point in view. Zoom

To adjust the SteeringWheels setting, activate the SteeringWheel, then right-click anywhere on the SteeringWheel and choose SteeringWheel Settings… If the standard SteeringWheel is too large, the Mini Full Navigation Wheel offers the same functionality of the Full Navigation Wheel but uses smaller wedges without labels. (925) 939-1378

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Multiline Text Editor The Mtext editor functions are now on the ribbons as shown in the following illustration:

As you create text in the drawing only the text window will be displayed and editing functions are accessed on the ribbon.

If you want to see the old formatting toolbar as in previous releases you can use the system variable MTEXTTOOLBAR as follows: 0

The Text Formatting toolbar is never displayed.

1

The Text Formatting toolbar is displayed upon selection of an MTEXT object.

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2

The Text Formatting toolbar does not display when the ribbon is on.

The Layer Property Manager The Layer Property Manager has two main sections the TREE VIEW on the left and the LIST VIEW on the right showing layer properties. In the tree view section you can control which layers are displayed in the list view by creating filters. The Layer Manager is now a modeless dialog. It can remain open as you work and changes are immediately applied to the drawing.

Action Recorder The Action Recorder is a new tool to help you automate repetitive tasks. You can record a series of commands and activate them later either from the action recorder area or from the command line.

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Starting Action Recorder Menu Browser: Tools  Action Recorder  Record Ribbon: Tools  Action Recorder  Record Command: ACTRECORD  or ARR  Stopping Action Recorder Menu Browser: Tools  Action Recorder  Stop Ribbon: Tools  Action Recorder  Stop Command: ACTSTOP  or ARS  When running, action recorder will track the commands you run. After you stop, you can save it as a file and play it back. You can also take the recorded macro and have it prompt for values. While you‘re recording, a small red dot will indicate the status of the recorder. When you stop the recorder, an action macro dialog box will appear with options on where to save the macro.

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2008 New Features MTEXT Columns You can now create columns in an MTEXT object. This is similar to creating columns in a word processor. Use a context sensitive right click while in the mtext editor to specify whether or not a there should be columns.

Dynamic Columns Dynamic columns will automatically create columns based upon grips in the lower left hand corner of the text editor. These are only shown when columns are turned on. With dynamic columns, when the text gets too long, AutoCAD will automatically add another column. Static Columns Static columns will not add additional columns automatically. When static columns are chosen, the number of columns will be fixed.

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Multiline Attributes Block attributes can be controlled in a stripped down mtext editor. This means that when editing the attribute that you can use a different editor (ATTIPEDIT). This also means that there can be multiple lines in a single attribute. When creating the attribute definition check the multiple lines check box for this functionality.

Data Extraction The attribute extraction wizard has been replaced with the data extraction wizard. Unlike the attribute extraction wizard, the data extraction wizard is able to extract data from any objects in the drawing. This allows the user to query any property of objects in the drawing. The user can generate a table of lengths and areas using this tool and then sum them up. This is much faster than manually setting up fields to query various pieces of drawing. All the user needs to do in this case is select the objects. The first big change in running a data extraction compared to an attribute extraction is that the data extraction forces the user to save a DXE file. This file behaves as a template for data extraction. If creating a table in the drawing, this file is necessary to have because the table will not update properly if the file is deleted. Updating the table is done exactly like updating any other table‘s data links, use the table‘s context sensitive menu click, and there is an option for Update Table Data Links. If all the objects that the table is referencing are deleted, then the table will not update.

DGN Support Microstation V8 DGN files can be used in conjunction with AutoCAD. AutoCAD can save as DGN files. There is an option for importing DGN files. DGN files can also be underlayed, much like DWG or DWF files.

DGN Underlay and Import Insert Toolbar: Pull-Down Menu: Insert DGN Underlay Command: DGNATTACH or DGNIMPORT  This command can be used to both insert a DGN as linework or as an underlay. This options is chosen in the dialogue box that appears after choosing the DGN file. There is also an option to ignore any nested Xrefs that are associated with that DGN file. (925) 939-1378

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DGN Export Pull-Down Menu: File Export Command: DGNATTACH or DGNIMPORT   Dimension Improvements Breaks Dimension Toolbar: Pull-Down Menu: Dimension Dimension Break Command: DIMBREAK Whenever dimension lines end up crossing over any other object, a break can be added that breaks the lines so that there is a gap at the intersection. This works even if the object is a block or external reference. It is also possible to manually select the region to break the dimension line across. The multiple option can be used to select many dimension objects at once. After choosing the objects, it is also possible to use the dimension break command to remove all the breaks in the various dimensions. The size of the dimension break is controlled in the dimension style under the Symbols and Arrows tab.

Jogs Dimension Toolbar: Pull-Down Menu: Dimension Jogged Linear Command: DIMJOGLINE Jogged dimensions were added for radius dimensions that had the center point out of the viewable area. A jog can be added to any linear dimension to represent a break in the dimension being referenced. Before selecting a dimension the [Remove] option can be used to get rid of a previously created jog.

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Break

Jog

Space Dimensions Dimension Toolbar: Pull-Down Menu: Dimension Dimension Space Command: DIMSPACE The new dimension space command can be used to evenly space dimensions after they are created. This creates an alternative to using baseline dimensions. The dimension space has multiple options. Auto can be used adjust the dimensions to a value that AutoCAD finds good, or a distance can be specified to evenly space the dimensions.

Inspection Dimensions Dimension Toolbar: Pull-Down Menu: Dimension Inspection Command: DIMINSPECT This command adds an inspection dimension onto existing dimension objects. This can be used to show the tolerances needed for a manufactured part. In this way it can be used much like tolerances. A label can be applied in front of the dimension itself. In this case it‘s an ‗A‘. There is also a choice to have round, angular, or no shape to the inspection dimension. The example shows rounded.

Multileaders Multileaders are an alternative to using quick leaders. Multileaders have many functions that make working with leaders easier than using quick leaders. The reason that they are called multileaders is that they can have multiple leaders off of a single object. This is not a requirement and multileaders are a good alternative to quickleaders. (925) 939-1378

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Multileader Styles Styles or Multileader Toolbar: Pull-Down Menu: Format Multileader Style Command: MLEADERSTYLE or MLS Multileader styles give a centralized location to change any settings for the multileaders. Similar to dimension styles, changing properties for the multileader will automatically update the multileaders using that style in the drawing. The initial dialog box for the multileader styles follows the same pattern as both the table, and dimension style boxes.

Styles Toolbar

The styles toolbar shows the current text style, dimension style, table style, and current multileader style. Multileaders are new dimensioning tool replacing the quick leader tool. If you click on a dimension entity or a text (or mtext) entity, the toolbar will show the dimension style or text style of that entity. This is very similar to clicking on an object and having its layer show in the layers toolbar. You can also change the style of the text or dimension object by choosing a new style from the drop-down. When no objects are selected, you can change the current text style or dimension style simply by choosing a new style from the drop-down. Click on the Text Style Manager tool button to access the text style dialog box and click on the Dimension Style Manager tool button to access the dimension style dialog box. Click on the table Style Manager Tool button to open the appropriate dialog box.

Leader Format The leader format tab contains all the visual settings for the leader. This is where the setting for whether or not the leader will be straight or splined is. The arrowhead and size can also be changed here. If using the dimension break command, the size of the gap that is created can be set with the leader break size.

Leader Structure The leader structure tab contains the number of leader points that can be set. The annotative property for multileaders can be set in this tab. Setting the first segment and second segment angles will cause the leader to behave much like a combination (925) 939-1378

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of polar and ortho snaps when the leader is being created. This does not affect already existing leaders.

Content One of the greatest advantages to using multileaders over the traditional quick leaders is that it is very easy to attach a block to the leader. There are already a set of predefined blocks with attributes in them. For the blocks in the multileader to appear, they should not be annotative objects. Blocks should also be created around a unit size. They can be smaller or larger, but this will directly control the size of the block attached to the leader. Another advantage of the multileader over a quickleader is that the text for a multileader is actually a part of the leader object itself. It is not a separate mtext entity as it is for a quickleader. This means that text cannot become disassociated from the leader. This makes it much easier to manage annotation in the drawing.

Multileader Creation Multileader Toolbar: Context Sensitive Right Click: Add Leader Command Line: MLEADEREDIT or MLEAdd leader  Once multileader styles are set up, then multileaders can be created. Like other style based objects, it is best to set the desired style current, then create the object. Unlike the quickleader, where the arrowhead location is always specified first, multileaders give three choices of where to start the multileader: leader arrowHead first leader Landing first Content first These options are available upon first entering the MLEADER command. Whatever option is entered will be the default option when next entering the command. Options are also available in the MLEADER command, however these should all have been set up in the style. These options are only one time overrides.

Add/Remove Leader Multileader Toolbar: Context Sensitive Right Click: Add Leader (925) 939-1378

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Command Line: MLEADEREDIT or MLEAdd leader Multileader Toolbar: Context Sensitive Right Click: Remove Leader Command Line: MLEADEREDIT or MLERemove leader This command can be used to add or remove another leader to an already existing multileader. It is possible to have a multileader that has zero leaders attached. Be careful, it is easy to create a leader with zero leaders attached when using the remove leader command or when using the Leader Collect command.

Multileader Align Multileader Toolbar: Command Line: MLEADERALIGN or MLA The MULTILEADERALIGN command has two primary uses: 1) Aligning the content of the leaders along a single line at a fixed interval. When aligning the leader content, Several choices can be selected under Options in the MULTILEADERALIGN command: a. An evenly spaced distance between the content (Distribute) b. A set distance between the content (specify Spacing) c. The current distance between the content (Use current spacing) 2) Making the leader lines parallel The (make leader segments Parallel) option will place the leader lines parallel to each other. This will not line up the content vertically.

Multileader Collect Multileader Toolbar: Command Line: MLEADERCOLLECT or MLC  The MLEADERCOLLECT command only works on multileaders that have a block attached as the content. Selecting multiple leaders will remove the leader from all but one and group the content such that they are next to each other. The leaders can be arranged such that they are Vertical, Horizontal, or Wrap which will mix the two depending on whether or not the leaders become too wide.

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Annotative Objects Video: Annotative Objects Annotative functionality gives a single object the ability to adapt to multiple scales. Objects such as text and dimensions, can be scaled to consistent heights in multiple viewports. This works regardless of the viewport scale. Annotative objects require a large change in workflow, so everyone in a group should be familiar with them if they are going to be used. The following is a list of objects that can be made annotative and where to set the annotative property. Text Mtext Dimensions Hatches Tolerances Multileaders Leaders Blocks Attributes

Text Style Text Style Dimension Style bHatch or Hatch Edit Commands Dimension Style Multi Leader Styles Dimension Style Block Definition (ANNOTATIVEDWG variable) Attribute Definition

For all objects except blocks and attributes, the annotative property can also be set in the properties window. AutoCAD shows whether or not an object is annotative by displaying a icon when the pickbox hovers over an annotative object.

Annotative Object Styles For text, dimension, and multileader styles an annotative style should be created. In the default acad.dwt file, these styles already exist. (925) 939-1378

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Text Styles When creating a text style, checking on the annotative box will make any text created with this style annotative. This also changes the text height to read as Paper Text Height in the text style dialogue box. The dialogue box has changed, but the function remains virtually identical to previous versions.

Dimension Styles The annotative property for dimension styles can be set when creating a new dimension style or under the Fit tab. When creating a dimension style, it does not matter if the text style used in the dimension style is annotative. The dimension style‘s annotative property takes precedence for both dimensions and leaders created with the dimension style.

Multileader Styles Multileaders can be made annotative under the leader structure tab in the multileader style dialogue box. Just like the text for the dimension style, it does not matter whether or not the text style is annotative for the multileaders.

Manipulating Annotative Objects The first thing to decide when creating an annotative object is what scale the object will be viewed at. The current annotation scale (CANNOSCALE) is shown in the status bar in the lower right hand corner. This is shown as Annotation Scale: followed by the current annotation scale. The current annotation scale represents the scale at which the annotative objects should plot at. When creating an annotative object, it will appear at this scale.

Multiple scales Properties Window: Annotative scale  Pull-Down Menu: Modify  Annotative Object Scale  Add/Delete Scales… Command: OBJECTSCALE (925) 939-1378

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The OBJECTSCALE command will prompt for objects and then bring up a dialogue box that contains the object scales for the selected objects. These are the scales that the object will show at. The annotation visibility will control whether the annotation will show up at all and what size the annotation will appear to be.

Automatically Create Multiple Scales The ANNOAUTOSCALE variable determines whether or not changing the current Annotation Scale will affect the annotative objects already in the drawing. This variable can be controlled by the button in the status bar. If this is turned on, then whenever the current annotation scale is changed, all the annotative objects in the drawing will have that annotative scale added to them. If this is turned on in the viewport, and if the viewport is scaled with the current annotative scale in the status bar, then all the text will remain at the same size, no matter what the viewport scale is set to. This happens because object scales are being added to the annotative object.

Annotation Visibility Previously, different size text would be placed on a separate layer to control text visibility. The layers could then individually be frozen in viewports. Visibility can be controlled by a system variable called ANNOALLVISIBLE. This can be controlled by the / toggle on the right hand side of the status bar. This setting, as well as the toggle to automatically create multiple scales can be set independently for each viewport.

Grip Editing Annotative Objects When selecting an annotative object that has multiple scales, faded representations of the other present scales will appear. Depending on the type of object, different grips will move the entire set of objects, or will move just the representation for the current scale. When performing this on blocks that contain attributes, it may be necessary to ATTSYNC them after grip editing.

Reset Annotative objects Command: ANNORESET  (925) 939-1378

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This command will reset all the positions of the text back to their original position. Be careful, because this will not change the justification of the different scales inside of the annotative text objects.

Match Orientation to View Text and blocks have a setting to automatically match their orientation to the view. This property can be set in the same places as the annotative property is set for both text and blocks. Annotative hatches also will rotate to match the view. This is done automatically.

Edit the Scale List Pull-Down Menu: Format  Scale List Command Line: SCALELISTEDIT When plotting in paper space, the drafter has the option to change the scale of each individual view port as necessary. One quick way of doing this is to use the properties window associated with a view port and pick from a list of predefined scales. The scale list function allows a drafter to customize this list. The different scales are predefined in ascending order, but if the drafter chooses he/she could reorder it through scale list. New scales can be created using this dialogue box. The scale list also controls what annotation scales are available to the drafter. Unlike the previous versions of AutoCAD, this list is now stored in each drawing file.

Improved Tables Draw Toolbar: Pull-Down Menu: Draw  Table Command: TABLE 

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Choose the required parameters to insert the table object, and then you may edit the cells of the table.

Table Styles The user can create table styles in order to replicate the process of inserting tables. Table style definitions are stored inside the drawing. You may copy table styles to other drawing using the AutoCAD Design Center (see Design Center section).

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Edit a Table Object Once you place the table in the drawing you may edit the table to any desired look. You may use the properties to modify cell dimensions and text properties. You may use the context sensitive right-click menu to modify the table as well.

Table Toolbar Whenever a cell is selected inside of a table, the following toolbar is shown.

Table Style Upgrades Table styles now allow greater flexibility than they did previously. A new feature in table styles is they can contain a table to use as a base for any new table created. This will eliminate the guess work of choosing a good column width for a table. (925) 939-1378

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With a table selected, right click-> Table Style->Save as New Table Style OR In the Modify Table Style dialogue box with the

icon.

Cell Styles Cell styles are contained inside of each table style. Having the ability to create cell styles gives the option to change small details within the cells that were previously unavailable. This button can be used to create a new cell style This button can be used to create, rename, or delete cell styles

Cell Styles - General In the General tab of the cell styles are two new options to control the cells.

Cell Type One of these new options is cell type. The cell type can be used to choose whether a cell is a label cell or a data cell. This only influences whether or not to keep the text when the table is used as a base for a table style. If the cell is a label, then it will keep the cell contents, while if it‘s a data cell, then those will be cleared.

Merge Cells The other new option is to merge cells on row/column creation. Merging the cells will create one cell for an entire row or column. This is primarily useful for titles, though it can having to constantly merge rows or columns after cell creation.

Cell Styles - Borders New additions in the cell styles are that more border types have been added than previously available before. Single borders can be created in any direction instead of just down. There is also an option to create double lines instead of singles lines.

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Autofill It is now possible to autofill lists like excel. Whenever a cell is selected, there will be a diamond shaped grip in the lower left hand corner. This grip can be used to autofill. The method that AutoCAD will use to autofill is dependent upon the data type. The data type can be changed in the properties window for the cell or by using the table toolbar. Be sure to check the data format before trying to autofill.

Table Breaking Just like columns have been added for mtext, table breaks have been added for tables. This allows one single table to be broken up into multiple pieces. A table break will automatically separate a table out into multiple rows. Table breaking is easily done with the triangular grip at the bottom of any table. Dragging this up will separate the table into multiple columns. Dragging the triangle back down again will return the table back into one piece. If the user wants to change the spacing of the columns, there is a table property called Manual Positions. If this is changed in the properties window, then each grip for the separate tables will move each piece of the table individually.

Table Linking You can now link table objects to Microsoft Excel (XLS) files much like an external reference. These data links are significantly different than OLE objects since the tables that they create can be manipulated just like other AutoCAD table objects. This link is bidirectional so a change in the excel file will update the drawing and a change in the drawing can update the excel file.

Data Link Manager Pull-Down Menu: Tools  Data Link Data Link Manager Command: DATALINK or DL The data link manager is the location to create and modify data links for the current drawing. Currently the data link manager only has the capability to import Excel Links. These are listed in the center of the window.

Creating a Data Link Click on the ―Create a new Excel Data Link‖ button to start. This will first prompt for the name of the link. This has no relevance to how the table appears in the drawing. Giving the data link the same name as the Excel file will help manage the data links. (925) 939-1378

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Data links can be created to view the entire table or cell ranges. If a named range exists in the Excel table, this can be selected instead of creating a range inside of this dialogue box. There is an arrow in the lower left hand corner of the dialogue box that gives a few more options. The most important is the check box that says ―Allow writing to source file.‖ This check box determines if changes made to the AutoCAD table can be uploaded to the linked Excel file. There is also an option to choose whether or not the format of the AutoCAD table can be changed inside of AutoCAD. Formatting from Excel does not come across perfectly, so it would probably be best to allow the format to be changed within AutoCAD. Within the data link manager, double click on any data link to bring up the same dialogue box that was used when creating the data link. All the same properties can be modified.

Importing a Data Link Data links can be imported in multiple fashions. The simplest is after creating the data link, to insert a table with the normal TABLE command. Under insert options, there is now an option to bring in a table from a data link. The other method to bring in a data link is to use the menu pulldown Edit->Paste Special->Paste link->AutoCAD entities. The fact that there is a data link within a table is indicated by the green corners that surround a range of cells. When hovering over a table that was created with a data link there is a link icon, , that appears next to the cursor. When using the paste special version uploading changes back to the Excel file is not allowed unless the data links properties are changed in the data link manager.

Downloading and Uploading Changes To download changes to a table, select the table, and use the right click context sensitive menu Update Table Data Links. If cells are selected instead of the entire table, use the context sensitive menu again, except go to Data Links -> Download Changes from Source File. This will update the table to whatever changes were made in the excel spreadsheet. First before changing the table, the lock will have to be turned off. To turn off the lock, use the context sensitive menu again and choose Locking->Unlock. The cells will then be editable. After the changes have been made, select the table to upload the changes use a right click to get to the option to upload changes to the original file. This will only work if ―Allow changes to source file‖ is checked on in the data link properties in the data link manager. (925) 939-1378

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Info Center The info center in the upper right hand corner can be used to quickly search for help. You can type in any search query into the box to search through AutoCAD‘s help files. Next to that is the communication center. The communication center checks through the subscription center, RSS feeds (the defaults are Autodesk Blogs, the knowledge base, and discussion groups), and for patches. In the bottom left hand corner is a button to go to the settings where it is possible to choose which RSS feeds that the subscription center is pointing towards. In the communication center it is possible to toggle on a star icon / on any of the entries that will add it as a favorite. The last icon that shows a star will quickly access whichever of those are started.

Communication Center (2004) The purpose of the communication center is to provide general AutoCAD product information, support information including service pack releases, subscription information and extension announcements, and articles and tips for using AutoCAD. Clicking the small satellite icon down at the upper right hand corner of the screen will access the communication center. The communication center communicates with AutoDesk via the Internet. Notice the maintenance updates and extensions available at the top. Also notice the articles and tips section. To refresh the content (go to AutoDesk for any more information), click on the Refresh Content button. Click on Settings to dictate how intrusive you want the communication center to be.

Help Interface AutoCAD has a new HTML-based help system that provides assistance with AutoCAD commands, drafting techniques, new features of AutoCAD, and specific support issues. Use the Help menu, or the help buttons in each dialog box of AutoCAD to access the help system. The HTML help system also has powerful (925) 939-1378

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search features to give you the exact assistance that you need on a particular command. Use the contents tab to display a table of contents. The Index tab alphabetically lists help items. Use the Search tab to search for keywords in the help file. The Favorites tab lists frequently accessed help topics.

Viewport Overrides You now have the ability to create viewport overrides that can be set for all of the layer properties. This means that each viewport can have individual layer settings no matter how the objects look in model space. Viewport overrides should be used with caution since this could lead to violating your drawing standards. Your organization should discuss whether or not everyone in a group will use overrides to control how drawings will plot. To change the viewport overrides, the easiest way is from the Layer Properties Manager while in floating model space where the layers are being changed. When in the layer properties manager, there are 4 new columns: VP Color VP Linetype VP Lineweight (925) 939-1378

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VP Plot Style These are the properties that the viewport overrides can be set for. Clicking on the setting in any of these columns will give the chance to set the viewport overrides. Fortunately AutoCAD gives some feedback about whether or not these viewport layer overrides are being used. In the Settings button in the lower left hand corner of the Layer Properties Manager, there is an option for ―Viewport override background color.‖ This color will highlight any layer that has a viewport override associated while in floating model space of the viewport that the overrides are set for. This highlighted color also appears in the layer toolbar as well. This can quickly help troubleshoot whether or not these viewport overrides are being used. There is also a filter and an icon, of the layers.

, for showing whether or not viewport overrides are used for any

Notice that changing the override back to the original setting does not clear the override. Overrides can only be cleared by using a right click context sensitive click inside of the layer list in the Layer Properties Manager.

New Layer Notification – Reconcile Layer In previous versions of AutoCAD, when a layer was created in an externally referenced child drawing, that layer would be automatically created and the layer properties would be automatically assigned based upon the layer settings in the child drawing. This meant that when creating a layer, sometimes it‘d be necessary to freeze the layer so that when any parent drawings were opened, the layer would be frozen in the parent drawing as well. It was easy to miss this though, especially if multiple people were working in a set of drawings simultaneously. Now, you can be notified if a new layer was created in a child drawing. This gives a chance to review whether or not the layer should be thawed or frozen in the parent drawing. Two Important Layer Notification Variables LAYEREVAL – Determines whether and when the unreconciled layer filter detects newly created layers. LAYERNOTIFY – Determines when a warning should appear that there are unreconciled layers in the drawing.. Both of these variables are stored in the drawing.

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To completely turn off the new layer notification in the drawings, set these both to 0. One other warning about upgrading AutoCAD from a previous version, is that the layer notification feature will not work properly until the parent drawing is saved at least once in latest version of AutoCAD.

Layer States The Layer Manager saves the current visibility status of the drawing. A sequence of layers that were frozen or turned off could be saved so that easy access to a particular view would be available for plotting. The layer manager now exists in the AutoCAD Layer dialog box. To use this feature, run the LAYER command, and click on the Layer States Manager button, or use the quick key Alt+S. Typing LMAN at the command line will also run the command. The layer states manager from the layer properties and the express tools layer manager have been combined. Use the New button to save the current visibility status of the drawing. You can choose what kinds of layer visibility states or properties to save by check the boxes in this dialog box. It‘s best to check all boxes to save the entire layer visibility and layer property status.

Use the Restore button to reinstate a saved layer visibility setting. Highlight a saved layer state, and click on the Restore button to do this. You can also import and export saved layer states to and from other drawings in this dialog box.

XCLIP Invert It is now possible to invert an external reference clip. This creates an effect much like a mask or wipeout. This option is only available in the normal XCLIP command. (925) 939-1378

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When creating a new boundary, there is now an option to [Invert clip]. Make sure to check the command line to see whether objects inside will show or be hidden by the clip. When plotting with the built in AutoCAD PDF plotter, this does not have any problems. Example 1. Pull-down Menu: Modify  Clip  Xref Reference Toolbar External Reference Clip Command: XCLIP or XC 2. Hit enter to confirm the default of boundary 3. Invertto invert the boundary The command line will say ―Objects outside boundary will be hidden.‖ 4. Choose whether you want to select a polyline, draw a polygon, or draw a rectangle. 5. There should be a hole in the external reference or block.

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2007 New Features External References The Xref Manager is now a modeless dialog and is now used to attach all external drawing or image types to a drawing. You can use the Manage Xrefs icon located down at the bottom right hand corner of the screen to launch the Xref Manager. This icon is also used for some other new features discussed shortly.

3D DWF AutoCAD‘s DWF PC3 file now has the capability to create 3D DWFs. Previously in AutoCAD, 3DDWFs were created with the 3DDWFPUBLISH command. Now, 3D DWFs can be created with the 3DDWF, PUBLISH, or EXPORT command. The 3D capabilities for viewing a 3D DWF are quite robust and allow the user to zoom, pan, orbit, turn the shading on or off, cut sections, and move/rotate surfaces. To control the precision of the 3D DWF, use the 3DDWFPREC variable. This variable can be set from 0 to 6. The higher the value, the more precise the geometry of the 3D DWF will be, however this will greatly increase the DWF‘s file size.

PDF Printing AutoCAD now ships with the capability to plot PDF as well DWF files. The default PC3 file is DWG To PDF.pc3. Users can modify this file or use the Add-a-Plotter wizard to create additional PDF plotter configurations.

Layer Tools All the layer tools that were previously only in Express/Bonus Tools and were unsupported have now been ported over to be a standard part of AutoCAD. Layer Previous Layers Toolbar: Format Menu: Layer Tools Layer Previous Command: LAYERP  The previous layer visibility settings (on/off, freeze/thaw, color, etc.) may be displayed by running the Layer Previous function. It works similarly to the Zoom Previous function for views.

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Layer Walk Layers II Toolbar: Pull-Down Menu: Format Layer Tools  Layer Walk… Command: LAYWALK   The LAYWALK command opens the LayerWalk dialog box. The layer dialog box allows the user to filter through the layers in the drawing, purge layers from the drawing, save layer states, and create layer filters. To filter through layers in the drawing enter a layer name in the pull down box at the top, preferably using wildcards(e.g. *door*) and hit enter. This will check the filter box on and the drawing area will dynamically show what‘s only on these layers. To maintain this state upon exiting, right click and choose ―Hold Selection‖ and make sure to uncheck restore on exit. The right click context sensitive menu has a few other options as well, such as create layer filter and save layer state. This is a shortcut from having to actually enter into the layer manager dialogue box. Purge allows the user to purge any unreferenced layers in the drawing. To quickly select all the unreferenced layers right click and choose ―Select Unreferenced,‖ if there are any unreferenced layers in the drawing, then the purge button will highlight and be clickable.

Layer Match Layers II Toolbar: Pull-Down Menu: Format Layer Tools  Layer Match Command: LAYMCH Layer Match moves an object from one layer to another layer. First LAYMCH asks for the object to move and then an object on a layer to move it to. When choosing the destination layer, the user has the option of choosing by Name as well.

Change to Current Layer Layers II Toolbar: Pull-Down Menu: Format Layer Tools  Change to Current Layer Command: LAYCUR   Change to Current Layer changes the selected object to the current layer.

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Copy Objects to New Layer Layers II Toolbar: Pull-Down Menu: Format Layer Tools  Copy Objects to New Layer Command: COPYTOLAYER  Copy to Objects to New Layer is a combination of the Layer Match and copy commands. First COPYTOLAYER behaves as LAYMCH, but then asks for a base point and a second point of displacement exactly like the COPY command.  Selecting layers With the Layer Tools These options are available for the following commands: LAYISO, LAYVPI, LAYOFF, AND LAYFRZ. Whenever selecting layers with the layer tools there is the prompt Select an object on the layer to be frozen or [Settings/Undo] When this command is present the user can select a layer one a time, and can also remove a layer from the selection with the Undo option (LAYISO has no Undo option). The user also has the ability to use the Settings option to control if this command will affect the viewports in paperspace (I.E. Off/Freeze/Vpfreeze).  In the Settings option, the user also has the option Block selection (LAYISO has no Block selection option). There are three options (Block, Entity, and None) here that affect the commands when picking on a block or an xref. Block Block – Affects the layer containing the block Xref – Affects the layer in the Xref Entity Block – Affects the layer in the block Xref – Affects the layer in the Xref None Block – Affects the layer containing the block Xref – Affects the layer containing the Xref

Layer Isolate Layers II Toolbar: Pull-Down Menu: Format Layer Tools  Layer Isolate Command: LAYISO  Layer Isolate turns off all layers except for the selected layers.

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The layer isolate command now locks the other layers instead of turning them off. To access the old behavior of the command, there is an option under the settings of the LAYISO command to turn the layers off instead of locking them.

Isolate Layer to Current Viewport Pull-Down Menu: Format Layer Tools  Isolate Layer to Current Viewport Command: LAYVPI  solate Layer to Current Viewport has two strict conditions, the first is that the user is on a layout tab, and the second is that there are at least two viewports on that tab. LAYVPI will ask the user to select layers, though the user can only select one at a time. This will freeze that layer on all other viewports in the current layout tab except for the one that the user is picking in.  Layer Unisolate Layers II Toolbar: Pull-Down Menu: Format Layer Tools  Layer Unisolate Command: LAYUNISO  Layer Unisolate only works if the LAYISO command was previously used. If this is the case then LAYUNISO sets the layers to how they were right before the LAYISO command was run.

Layer Off Layers II Toolbar: Pull-Down Menu: Format Layer Tools  Layer Off Command: LAYOFF  The Layer Off command turns all the selected layers off.  Turn all Layers On Pull-Down Menu: Format Layer Tools  Turn all Layers On Command: LAYON  Turn all Layers On turns all the layers in the drawing on.

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Layer Freeze Layers II Toolbar: Pull-Down Menu: Format Layer Tools  Layer Freeze Command: LAYFRZ  Layer Freeze freezes the selected layers.  Thaw All Layers Pull-Down Menu: Format Layer Tools  Thaw All Layers Command: LAYTHW   Thaw All Layers unthaws all the layers in the drawing.

Layer Lock Layers II Toolbar: Pull-Down Menu: Format Layer Tools  Layer Lock Command: LAYLCK  Layer Lock locks the selected layers. Only one layer can be locked at a time.

Layer Lock Fading Locking layers now fades the layer so the information is still visible in the drawing. The amount of fading is controlled by the LAYLOCKFADECTL. If this variable is set to 0, then the fading feature will not be apparent.

Layer Unlock Layers II Toolbar: Pull-Down Menu: Format Layer Tools  Layer Off Command: LAYULK  Layer Unlock unlocks the selected layers. Only one layer can be unlocked at a time.  Layer Merge Pull-Down Menu: Format Layer Tools  Layer Off (925) 939-1378

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Command: LAYMRG  Layer Merge moves all entities from one layer to another layer and deletes the previous layer. First LAYMRG asks for the layer to delete and move, next LAYMRG asks for the layer to move all the entities to, and lastly asks for confirmation if the user really wants to do this. The user can select layers by name with this command. This command CAN be undone.  Layer Delete Pull-Down Menu: Format Layer Tools  Delete Command: LAYDEL  Layer Delete deletes everything on the selected layers and deletes the layer as well. The user can also select layers by name with this command. Like LAYMRG, LAYDEL asks for confirmation if the user really wants to do this. This command CAN be undone.

3D Visualization Improvements Visual Styles Dashboard: Visual Style Panel Pull-Down Menu: ToolsPalettes Visual Styles Command: VISUALSTYLES Various visual styles can be applied to the drawing affecting the overall appearance. These visual styles can also be set when saving animations or viewing the drawing through a camera. AutoCAD ships with five preset default visual styles: 2D Wireframe, 3D Hidden, 3D Wireframe, Conceptual, and Realistic. However there‘s quite a bit of functionality and freedom beyond what‘s just in these settings. The best place to edit the visual styles is in the visual styles manager, though almost all the settings can be reached from the dashboard as well. The downside is that in the dashboard, values cannot be set for opacity, highlight intensity, cease angle, and halo gap %. The linetype for obscured and intersection edges cannot be set in the dashboard either. The following image shows the equivalent settings.

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The edge modifiers are some of the best features that are not turned on by any of the preset defaults. These give the computer the ability to make drawings look as if they are sketched and still in the conceptual phase. This is useful for presenting to a nontechnical audience to show a drawing still in the development stages. The two main components of these are edge overhang and edge jitter.

Overhang

Jitter

Both

After the visual style is setup, the visual style can be applied to any viewport. Whenever the user sets a visual style, AutoCAD is actually only applying that visual style to a single viewport. Visual styles can be set in the visual style manager, the visual style tool palette, the visual style toolbar, the visual style menu, or the dashboard. (925) 939-1378

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3D Acceleration When working with 3D and visualization a computer‘s graphic card‘s setting may need to be set to use graphic acceleration to improve performance. When AutoCAD is first loaded, it checks to see if a video card is certified. If the graphics card is not certified, the Performance Tuner automatically disables hardware acceleration. However, depending on the graphics card, it might be advantageous to use the generic OpenGL drivers and to turn on 3D Acceleration. www.autodesk.com\autocad-graphicscard has a list of video cards, including which cards are fully certified. To turn on hardware 3D acceleration: 1. 2. 3. 4.

Options Dialogue Box System Tab 3D Performance->Performance Settings Manual Tune

Adaptive Degradation Depending on the computer‘s hardware, AutoCAD has a feature called Adaptive Degradation that will turn off certain graphical features when the computer is getting overworked. To edit adaptive degradation 1. Options Dialogue Box 2. System Tab 3. 3D Performance->Performance Settings When the frame rate drops below the setting, ―Degrade when FPS is below:‖ the computer will go down the list as follows turning off each feature until the frame rate is above the minimum FPS setting. To see the effects of adaptive degradation, change the degradation FPS to between thirty and sixty depending on your hardware. Having the number set fairly high will keep the frame rate smoother when working in complicated 3D drawings when a complex visual style is loaded.

3D Drafting Methods All discussions on AutoCAD drafting commands up to this point were done in a twodimensional context. X and Y coordinates were entered for points, 2D distances were reported for dimensions, and elevations of objects were ignored. However, all AutoCAD drawings are drafted in three-dimensional space. If no Z values are entered for coordinates, then objects will be drafted at the current elevation of the drawing. This can be set with the ELEV system variable. By default, ELEV is set to zero. This facilitates an easy two-dimensional drafting process. (925) 939-1378

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Many of the existing AutoCAD drafting and editing commands may be used for three-dimensional drafting. If drafting from plan view, the changes may be hard to see. However, by using the orthographic views (See Named Views) or the 3D Orbit routine (described later in this section), the AutoCAD drawing can be viewed in three-dimensions.

3D Orbit The 3D Orbit command is an excellent and easy to use tool for generating 3dimensional views of the AutoCAD drawing model. Access the 3D Orbit command by: 3D Orbit Toolbar: Pull-Down Menu: View  3D Orbit Command Line: 3DORBIT The user may select objects before running this command by grip-highlighting objects. Only the highlighted objects will be displayed during the command. If no objects are currently highlighted, the entire drawing is displayed during the 3D Orbit command. Selecting only some drawing objects may improve performance. When the command is initiated, the green spherical object is displayed as shown below:

With the mouse or pointing device, click and drag the cursor to change the view. The view will rotate depending upon where the cursor is dragged. To restrict the rotation of the view to one direction, move the cursor onto one of the four circles located on the quadrants of the sphere, then click and drag. To rotate while remaining in plan view, click and drag outside the large sphere.

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Perform a right-click during the 3DORBIT command in order to access an extensive shortcut menu. To exit from the command, choose EXIT from this menu, or press the ENTER, SPACE, or ESCAPE keys on the keyboard. Note that it is possible to switch between Pan, Zoom, and Orbit from within this command by utilizing the right-click menu.

The More menu within the right-click menu, shown above, includes several additional useful utilities. The Adjust Distance command is very similar to Zoom, and the Swivel Camera command rotates the camera around itself instead of around the objects. The Continuous Orbit command is an extremely useful function. Use this command to start orbiting, then watch as the drawing continuously rotates along the chosen plane. The speed at which the user selects the orbit determines the speed of the continuous rotation. Simply pick with the cursor to stop the continuous orbit. Orbit Maintains Z and Orbit uses AutoTarget assists in setting up the z dimension that 3d orbit uses for viewing. The Clipping Planes options allow the user to hide a portion of the drawing. Select Adjust Clipping Planes to change the location of the clipping boundaries. Clipping planes are defined relative to the current view. If the boundaries are turned on, they remain on when the command is finished. The only ways to modify the clipping planes or to toggle them on/off are through the 3DORBIT and DVIEW commands. The Projection menu allows the user to toggle between parallel and perspective modes. Perspective mode simulates the converging horizon and is more realistic. Perspective views are most often used in presentations. However, we most often draw in parallel mode where the length of an object is not relative to how far away it is. Parallel views are most often used for accurate drafting. Perspective views may be generated using the DVIEW commands, however, the new 3DORBIT command makes generating perspectives even easier. Rotate to the best view, and then choose Perspective from the Projection menu. Choose EXIT to view the result. The Shading Modes menu toggles between different 3D viewing capabilities. If 3D solids or surfaces exist in the drawing, then changing the shading mode will shade (925) 939-1378

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those objects. The options include: wireframe (normal viewing), hidden (hidden lines, no shading), flat shaded and Gouraud shading (two different types of shading options), and shading with edges on (highlights objects‘ edges during shading). If render options are turned on in the OPTIONS dialog box, rendered surfaces will appear when one of the shading modes is turned on. Solids and surfaces will remain shaded when the 3DORBIT command is finished. To turnoff shading, run the SHADEMODE command, and the select 2D Wireframe option. The Visual Aids menu toggles on and off the 3DORBIT compass, grid, and UCS icon symbols. Reset View returns the user to the original view that was current when the orbit command was accessed. Preset Views rotate the drawing screen to one of the common view directions. The Saved Views option is present if views have been saved using the VIEW command.

3D Commands There are a couple of AutoCAD commands that work in two dimensions, but not in three dimensions. New commands listed below help to create three-dimensional objects.

3D Polylines Pull-Down Menu: Draw  3D Polyline Command Line: 3DPOLY Polylines created with the PLINE command are two-dimensional. Even though the polyline may be inserted to an elevation above or below 0, it is still considered 2D because the polyline‘s vertices lie at the same elevation. The 3DPOLY command works similar to the PLINE command, yet has the ability to create 3D Polylines whose vertices may exist at different elevations. 3D Polylines have some drafting and editing limitations. 3D Polylines may not be joined or filleted with other objects. In addition, 3D Polylines may not have a width assigned to them, or be made out of arc segments.

3D Faces Pull-Down Menu: Draw  Surfaces  3D Face Command Line: 3DFACE A 3D Face is a plane object with three or four points. It is one of the common objects used in three-dimensional modeling. Multiple 3D Faces connected together may be (925) 939-1378

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created to form complex shapes and surfaces. The Invisible option allows for invisible face creation for hidden edges. Surfaces Pull-Down Menu: Draw  Modeling  Meshes… Surfaces are three-dimensional objects created from multiple polylines. The polylines generated are grouped into one mesh. The entire surface is one object. It may be exploded into 3d faces. The basic surface shapes that may be constructed include boxes, wedges, pyramids, cones, spheres, domes, dishes, and tori. Other complex surfaces may be generated from existing AutoCAD objects with the revolved, ruled, tabulated, or edge surface commands.

Solids Modelling Toolbar: / / / / / / / / / Dashboard: 3D Make Panel  / / / / / / / / / Pull-Down Menu: DrawModelling / / / / / / Pull-Down Menu: Modify3D Operations / / Command Line: BOXWEDGECONESPHERECYLINDER TORUSPYRAMIDUNIONSUBTRACTADD Solids are similar to surfaces except that solids are defined as 3D Solid objects. They have mass properties that can be queried with the MASSPROP command. Basic solids may be created as boxes, spheres, cylinders, cones, wedges, pyramids, and tori. Complex solids may be created using the union, subtract, and intersection commands.

Planar Surface Dashboard: 3D Make Panel Modeling Toolbar: Pull-Down Menu: DrawModeling Planar Surface Command: PLANESURF The PLANESURF command allows the user to create a surface with two different methods. The default is to specify two points on screen, creating a rectangular surface. The other alternative is to enter the Object option, which can create a surface from any enclosed area including lines, circles, arcs, ellipses, elliptical arcs, 2D polylines, planar 3D polylines, and planar splines.

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Convert to Surface Dashboard: 3D Make Panel (Sergeant Arrows) Pull-Down Menu: Modify3D Operations Convert to Surface Command: CONVTOSURFACE The CONVTOSURFACE command is much like the PLANESURFACE command, however the user does not have the option of drawing a rectangular plane surface as they do in the PLANESURFACE command. However, the CONVTOSURFACE command is more powerful than the PLANESURFACE command. The user is able to convert many predefined shapes into a surface. These are the types of entitles that the command are able to convert: 2D solids, regions, open zero-width polylines with thickness, lines with thickness, arcs with thickness, and planar 3D faces.

Convert to Solid Dashboard: 3D Make Panel (Sergeant Arrows) Pull-Down Menu: Modify3D Operations Convert to Solid Command: CONVTOSOLID  The CONVTOSOLID command allows the user to change a polyline or circle to a 3D solid. If the polyline is closed, has thickness, and has a width of zero, then the solid that is created will fill in all the empty space inside of the boundary. A circle works the same way, therefore creating a cylinder. If the polyline is open or closed and has a width that is not zero, then the solid that‘s created is going to become a closed solid with that shape of that width.

Loft Dashboard: 3D Make Panel Modeling Toolbar: Pull-Down Menu: DrawModeling Loft Command: LOFT  The LOFT command is used to create a solid or a surface from cross sections. These cross sections can be either open or closed. If they are open then a surface will be generated, and if they are closed then a solid will be generated. The following objects can be used as cross sections: lines, arcs, elliptical arcs, 2D polylines, 2D splines, circles, ellipses, and points(only for the first and last cross section). Loft first asks for the cross sections to be selected in order. After these are selected, Loft has three options for the direction in which it creates the loft: Guides – Adds extra lines to define the geometry of the loft (925) 939-1378

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Path – Uses a path to create the curve. Useful if selecting cross sections with a Window so that many cross sections do not have to be selected in order.

Cross Sections only – When using the cross sections only option, a dialogue box appears with various settings to apply at the cross section. The ruled setting makes it so that the sections between each cross section are straight, creating sharp edges. The smooth fit option softens the edges so that they are not sharp. The normal setting keeps the surface or solid parallel to the cross section. Lastly, the draft angles control the angle exiting the first and last cross section of the loft.

Ruled

Smooth Fit

Normal to

Draft angles

Polysolid Modeling Toolbar: Pull-Down Menu: Draw  Modeling  Polysolid (925) 939-1378

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Command line: POLYSOLID The polysolid command is similar to the polyline command except that it creates a three dimensional solid out of a polyline path. The cross section is rectangular and there are options in the command that determine the size and justification of the cross section. There is also an object option that turns a pre-drawn arc, circle, or line into a polysolid.

Helix Modeling Toolbar: Pull-Down Menu: Draw  Modeling  Helix Dashboard: 3D Make Panel  Command line: HELIX This command draws a 2D or 3D spiral. This command can be coupled with the sweep command to create some spiraling 3D solids. There are options to select the turn direction, the number of turns, and the top and bottom radii.

Sweep Dashboard: 3D Make Panel Modeling Toolbar: Pull-Down Menu: DrawModeling Sweep Command: SWEEP  Sweep is used to create solids and surfaces by dragging a single object along a path. If the object to be sweeped is open then a surface will be generated, and if closed, then a solid will be generated. After entering the sweep command, it asks for the object to sweep, this will be the cross section to become the 3D solid. After that there are four options: Alignment – Defaults to yes Yes – Rotates shape to sweep to be perpendicular No - Does not rotate the shape, but uses the current orientation relative to that sweep path. Note that if this is parallel to the sweep path the command will fail. Base point – This point will be the point that follows along the sweep path. By default, this is at the center of the object to sweep. Scale – This controls the scale at the end of the sweep. If a uniform larger scale is desired, it‘s best to scale the object to sweep first. Twist – This controls whether or not the object to sweep moves as it‘s moving

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along the sweep path. This is recorded in angles, however, the maximum that something can be twisted is 359 degrees. There is also an option for bank so that when the path curves, the object that‘s sweeped will curve along with it, though this only applies to 3D curves.

Banked

Not Banked

Thicken Dashboard: 3D Make Panel (Sergeant Arrows) Pull-Down Menu: Modify3D Operations Thicken Command: THICKEN  The thicken command changes a planar surface into a 3D Solid by adding thickness to it. The surface is not only limited to 2D, but can be a 3D surface as well. Therefore, any surface that the user creates can be converted to a 3D solid no matter what the shape is. The thicken command is fairly simple in that it only asks for a surface and then a new thickness for it to be.

Slice Dashboard: 3D Make Panel Pull-Down Menu: Modify3D Operations Slice Command: SLICEor SL The SLICE command is similar to creating a section plane except that the slice is permanent and actually breaks an object into two separate pieces. The user has the option of deleting the cut away piece as well after the slicing method has been chosen. The SLICE command has many options after selecting the object to slice: planar Object – Aligns the cutting plane with a pre existing 2D object (925) 939-1378

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Surface – Aligns the cutting plane with an existing surface Zaxis – Uses two points and a right angle to define the cutting plane View – Uses one point and the current viewport‘s viewing plane to define the cutting plane XY – Uses one point that is aligns the cutting plane parallel to the XY plane of the current UCS. YZ – Uses one point that is aligns the cutting plane parallel to the YZ plane of the current UCS. ZX – Uses one point that is aligns the cutting plane parallel to the ZX plane of the current UCS. 3points – Creates a cutting plane defined by three points

Flatshot Dashboard: 3D Make Panel Command: FLATSHOTor FSHOT  FLATSHOT is similar to the Express Tools FLATTEN command, though FLATSHOT works slightly differently. FLATSHOT uses the current viewport‘s view and then creates a 2D flattened block of all the 3D objects in the drawing. Other options are that the user can insert the block to replace another, or write a block to an external DWG file.

Lighting Lighting is a key factor in any render. Lighting directly controls how all the materials in a scene react, especially when rendering. Lighting can also be a key factor in any presentations since AutoCAD has the ability to simulate real world lighting of the sun at any location, any time of the day. Creating a Light Dashboard: Light Control Panel / / Pull-Down Menu: ViewRender Light Create a Point/Spot/Distant Light Lights Toolbar: / / Command: LIGHT POINTLIGHT SPOTLIGHT, DISTANTLIGHT There are three types of lights in AutoCAD: point, spot, and distant lights. Point lights emit light uniformly in all directions. A spotlight focuses light much like a flash light would. On the other hand, a distant light emits parallel beams of light from one point targeted towards another. Note that there is no object in the drawing for a distant light, so the distant light cannot be selected with the pickbox.

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Creating a light first asks for the position of the light. If the light is a spot or distant light, then the command line asks for the target of the light as well. After these are set there are many options that are available. These options can be set here, or can be changed from the property palette after the light is created. To see the effects of any lights in the drawing‘s viewport, the system variable DEFAULTLIGHTING needs to be set to 0. This can also be controlled in the dashboard in the Light Control Panel with the Viewport Light Mode button.

Lights Property Palette When a light is selected and the property window is open, the user is able to customize many properties of the lights in the drawing. The user can specify whether the light is on or off. The user can also individually turn off individual light glyphs when plotting as well. If shadows for the light are turned off then even though an object would normally interfere with the light and cast a shadow, this property will ignore that. There is also an option to switch a light from a point light to a spot light there as well. Note that switching to a distant light is not an option.

Light List Dashboard: Light Control Panel Pull-Down Menu: ViewRender Light Light List Lights Toolbar: Render Toolbar: Command: LIGHTLIST Since distant lights have no glyph and therefore cannot be pick selected, the light list can be used to access the properties windows for them. It also contains the other lights in the drawing giving the user a quick way of sifting through the various lights in the drawing. Even more useful is that by SHIFT or CTRL selecting in the lights list and right clicking and selecting properties, the user is able to go to the properties window for those selected lights. Note that the QSELECT command can be used to select lights, including distant lights too.

The Sun and Real World Lighting Sun Properties Dashboard: Light Control Panel Pull-Down Menu: ViewRender Light Sun Properties Lights Toolbar: Command: SUNPROPERTIES (925) 939-1378

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Geographic Location Dashboard: Light Control Panel Pull-Down Menu: ViewRender Light Geographic Location… Lights Toolbar: Sun Properties Palette: Command: GEOGRAPHICLOCATION Set up a distant light that mimics the behavior of the real world sun with a date, time and a location on the earth. There are two key places to set up the sun and real world lighting, the Sun Properties Palette and the Geographic Location dialogue box. The Sun Properties Palette is useful for turning the sun on and off as well as setting the time and date. The time and date can also be dynamically changed using the dashboard‘s slider bars on the Light Control Panel. In the Sun Properties Palette, similar to the properties palette for a light, the color of the sun, the intensity, as well as whether or not the sun casts shadows can be turned on or off as well. The Geographic Location dialogue box controls the geographic properties of the sun in relation to model space. By default, the positive X axis is defined as being East, however this can be changed from this dialogue box. The other important setting is to change the location of where the sun calculations are being taken from. This can be done either by latitude and longitude or by city name. If using latitude and longitude at an exact location make sure to uncheck the box that says ―Nearest Big City.‖

Shadows The display of shadows is controlled by the visual style, however if there are no lights in the drawing, then shadows will not be apparent. There are two modes for shadows, ground shadows, and full shadows. Ground shadows display shadows on the grid at an elevation of zero, while full shadows display shadows on any 3D objects. If the computer‘s video card does not support full shadows they can still be seen in the render.

Photometric Lights AutoCAD now has the ability to calculate lighting intensity to mimic real world lighting. This means that there are now more ways to control the intensity of the lights than there were in previous versions of AutoCAD.

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Converting old lights Command: CONVERTOLDLIGHTS If this new behavior is needed for older drawings, then this command can be used to convert the older light glyphs.

Lighting Units System Variable: LIGHTINGUNITS All the new features for lights can be accessed from the properties palette. Depending on the LIGHTINGUNITS system variable, the behavior of the lights will change. If this variable is set to 1 or 2, then the lights will automatically attenuate at an inverse squared rate. The following dialogue box can also be used to control the intensity.

To access this, use the button on the far right under the Lamp intensity field. The lighting intensity can now be specified in three different ways. The following dialogue box shows the different methods to control the intensity.

If an inverse linear rate is desired or if each light‘s attenuation should be controlled individually, then the LIGHTINGUNITS variable can be set to 0. After this variable is changed, then attenuation can be changed from no to yes. Then a method of attenuation can be selected, inerse squared or inverse linear. (925) 939-1378

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Sun and Sky Background Pull-Down Menu: View Render LightSun Properties Command: SUNPROPERTIES  There is now an option to put a sun and sky background when viewing or rendering the drawing. For the sun or sky background to be an option, the LIGHTINGUNITS variable must be set to 0. Using the SUNPROPERTIES command will bring up a palette that contains all the settings for customizing the sun. Under the Sky Properties heading are all the settings to change the appearance of the sky itself.

Materials AutoCAD‘s Mental Ray rendering engine uses materials to affect the visual output of a rendered scene. Materials are essential to create a realistic looking rendered scene. Materials are visual characteristics that are placed on the surface of an object when it is rendered. The visual characteristics are not limited to only flat pictures, but offer bump mapping, reflective mapping, and transparency mapping as well. Therefore, the rendering engine can faithfully reproduce the effects of glass, wood, and metals, among many others. AutoCAD ships with a fairly large materials library (optional install), however to get the most out of a rendered scene it is often important to create or modify existing materials.

The Materials Library Tool Palette There are two steps to accessing the materials library tool palette. The first is when installing the software, the check box for installing the materials library must be checked. The next step is after bringing up the tool palette ―TP‖, ALL PALETTES must be displayed. This can be done by right clicking on the title bar and choosing all palettes. Then to access the material library, tabs, left click on the overlapped tabs at the bottom to bring up a menu of all the different materials palettes.

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Applying Predefined Materials to an Object There are three main ways to apply a predefined material to an object, using the tool palette, the material palette, or by layer. When using the tool palette or the material palette, dragging and dropping the material on to the object will apply the material to that object. If the material is applied by dragging and dropping from the tool palette to an empty part of the drawing or the material palette, then the material will only be added to the drawing. To apply a material to only a single face of an object, hold down the CTRL key while dragging and dropping.

Materials Palette Dashboard: Materials Panel Pull-Down Menu: ViewRender Materials… Render Toolbar: Materials… Command: MATERIALS All major materials editing is performed from the materials palette. From the materials palette the user can create new materials, edit materials, apply materials to objects, and purge materials from the drawing. If a material is being used in the drawing, then it will not be possible to purge it. However, if you remove the material from all objects in the drawing, the material still cannot be purged from the materials palette until the ―Refresh/Indicate Materials In Use‖ button is pushed. Note that the material can still be removed with the PURGE command. (925) 939-1378

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User Defined Materials To create a new material, an existing material can be modified or a new material can be created from scratch. If creating a material from scratch, the first thing to select is a template. Using a template will generate various fields that are the most important for creating a material of that type, such as wood, metal, or glass. Choosing a template also sets some of the variables to a suggested value as well. Selecting advanced for a template opens up all the fields allowing the user to specify all details of the material. Note that if you change a setting in the advanced template that is not present on another template that you switch to, that value will still be set, even though it cannot be seen on the material palette. Material’s Lighting There are three definable colors that affect how a material is viewed: ambient, diffuse and specular. Diffuse is the main color of the object. The ambient color is the color that‘s determined when ambient (indirect) lighting, illuminates the object. The (925) 939-1378

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specular color only applies to a shiny object. The specular lighting spot is called the highlight and determines the color.

The behavior of light that interacts with the material and object can also be set. The properties available are shininess, refraction index, translucency, and selfillumination. Shininess controls how large the highlight is going to be. If the shininess is set high, then the highlight is going to be small and sharp, if the shininess is set low, then the highlight is going to be soft and diffuse. The refraction index is only apparent if the opacity is set to a low number. A refraction index of one will not distort the light going through the object, while increasing the refraction index will. This is mostly apparent when looking at an object shaped like a sphere, which for a high refraction index will cause the sphere to distort the light just like a crystal ball. Translucency affects how light is transmitted through the object. This means does not affect how the object itself looks, it affects those objects that are between it and the light. Self-illumination on a material will make the object appear as if it‘s giving off light. This functions independently of other lights in the drawing. Any lights in the drawing do not affect this setting. This also does not affect any other objects in the drawing other than the one that has the material applied.

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Mapping Mapping is the procedure of applying an external image file to a material to directly affect the characteristics of a material. The simplest kind of map is a texture map. A texture map overlays the image onto the surface of the object. This can be used for adding small details to an object, such as a wood‘s grain or an appliances face. However, this texture is completely 2D. To simulate 3D in a texture a bump map is used. A bump map simulates small rises and falls. In a bump map, black is fully receded and white is fully protruding. To change the height of the bump map, use the slider bar. Note that the slider bar can go to negative values as well, which will cause black to protrude and white to recede. If a color image is used, then the gray scale values will be applied instead. An opacity map can be used to selectively apply whether or not one can see through an object. This map needs to have the opacity set to 100 if it is to completely control the opacity. If the opacity is set to 0 then the object will be completely translucent regardless of the opacity map. When the image is created, black represents a fully transparent region, while white represents an opaque area. This means a black spot will change to a hole, while white will be completely filled in. If there are grays then the color will automatically interpolate between the two. The last kind of map that can be used is a reflection map. A reflection map is similar to the opacity map since slider bar needs to a value other than 0 to see the effect. However the functionality of the reflection map is more akin to that of a texture map. A reflection map is sometimes called an environment map. It simulates the texture as if it is being reflected onto the surface of the object.

Transferring Materials between Drawings. One of the easiest ways to transfer materials between drawings is to create a custom tool palette for the materials and then to export the materials to that tool palette from the tool palette manager. This can be accomplished through either the right click context sensitive menu, or by dragging and dropping from the materials palette to the custom tool palette.

Adjust Bitmap After setting the image file to use for the maps, the icon can be used to bring up the Adjust Bitmap dialogue box. The Adjust Bitmap Dialog box‘s greatest strength is that it can be used to set up a real world scale to the image. This way the user is able to keep that scale in mind when drawing and placing the map. Alternatively, if the map is being used as the face of an object, a non repeating pattern that‘s fit to the object can be used. (925) 939-1378

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Note that this dialogue box applies to the background of a camera view as well.

Attach by Layer Dashboard: Materials Control PanelAttach By Layer… Command: MATERIALATTACH  Using the MATERIALATTACH command will open up the Material Attachment Options Dialogue Box. All materials that are in the drawing are on the left hand side, while the drawing‘s layers are on the right hand side. Materials can be added by simply dragging and dropping from the left hand side to the right. If the material is not being displayed after using the MATERIALATTACH command, make sure that ―by layer‖ is selected for the material in the properties window for the material.

Procedural Maps AutoCAD has a few procedural maps built in that help to make materials more realistic. These are an alternate to using an image (Texture Map) as a diffuse map. They work much the same as diffuse maps, but react better to lights. The procedural maps that come along with AutoCAD are as follows.

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Rendering Render Toolbar: Pull-Down Menu: ViewRender Render Dashboard: Render Control Panel AutoCAD‘s rendering capabilities have been greatly improved and changed due to the inclusion of the Mental Ray Rendering Engine. It‘s important to set up the render before actually using the render command because rendering complicated scenes can take a lot of time and resources

Render Presets Advanced Render Settings Palette Render Toolbar: Pull-Down Menu: ViewRender Advanced Render Settings Dashboard: Render Control Panel Command: RPREF Render Presets Manager Dashboard:

Advanced Render Settings Palette: Manage Render Presets Command: RENDERPRESETS AutoCAD ships with five preset render settings: draft, low, medium high, and presentation. These can be accessed and modified through either the advanced render settings palette or the render presets manager. If the results of the render are not as expected, then the settings can manually be changed in the render settings palette. Make sure that lighting is setup before starting a render.

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Cancel Render This button will cancel the render. It‘s available in the render window as well. Render This button starts the render and automatically brings up the render. Render Cropped Region. This command allows the user to pick two points on the screen to define a rectangle that is going to be shown as a low quality render. If the user changes the view, then this render preview will go away. Render Presets Use any preset rendering options or go to the render presets manager. Render Progress This bar shows the render progress. The top bar shows the progress of the current render phase while the bottom bar shows the progress of the render overall. This bar is available in the render window as well. Render Environment Allows the user to apply fog to the render environment. Show Render Window The render window shows the previous renders that were preformed during this session as well as save them. It also shows the render progress and the settings used on the render. Next to the progress bar, there is a button to cancel the current render that is exactly like the one on the dashboard. Advanced Render Settings Brings up the Advanced Render Settings Palette. Sampling Limit The lower this number the less straight the lines are going to be in the render, though the render speed will greatly decrease. This is a quick method to perform antialiasing. Sampling limit settings can be further defined in the Advanced Render Settings Palette.

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Advanced Render Settings Render Context This allows the user to control where the render is going to be displayed, the current viewport or the render window. If the render is sent to a viewport instead of the render window, then it‘s not possible to save the render. In this section the user can choose the resolution of the render as well. The higher the resolution, the more detail that will be in the image, though the image‘s file size will increase.

Materials The materials section allows the user to turn on whether or not materials are going to be calculated during the render. The user can also specify whether or not to apply materials to both sides of the surfaces. If there are various faces that are flipped, this can save the user time from manually flipping faces, though it might slightly increase the render time. The last thing the user can do is that they can choose whether to turn the antialiasing filter on or off for the surfaces. This does increase memory usage, however is negligible compared to the power to process the texture in the first place.

Sampling Sampling controls the antialiasing for the geometry of the drawing. The minimum and maximum sample numbers control the number of samples taken around each pixel in the render. The lower the number of samples, the lower the quality of the render is going to be. The number of minimum samples can never exceed the number of maximum samples. The filter width and height control the size of the filtered area. If the filter width and height are increased, the drawing is going to have a softer look, however rendering time will be increased. There are five different filter types from fastest to slowest: box, guass, triangle, Lancoz, and Mitchell. A box filter is the fastest using an equal weight for all samples while the other filters use varying curves, increasing the sample process time. The color and alpha contrast specify the threshold for the filter. These can range from zero to one. For the contrast colors, zero is fully unsaturated while one is fully saturated. The contrast alpha controls transparency where zero is fully transparent and one is completely opaque. The lower this number, the higher render time is going to be.

Shadows The light bulbs on the following four categories allow the user to turn these settings on or off during the render. When the setting is turned off, the fields turn gray and are (925) 939-1378

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unable to be edited. The mode determines how the shadow is going to be calculated. Simple generates the shadows in a random order, while sort calculates the shadows moving in the direction from the object to the light. By segments calculates the shadows in separate segments between the object and the light.

Ray Tracing Ray tracing affects the direct reflection and refraction of light off of the surfaces in the drawing. The max depth limits the number of times that the light rays can both reflect and refract.

Global Illumination One of the nice features of the new Mental Ray rendering engine is global illumination. This enhances the realism of a scene by allowing diffusely reflected light to be calculated and shown. Final gather increases the accuracy of the reflection of light which is especially useful in dark corners to add realism and to reduce light artifacts. The light properties‘ setting controls the intensity of the light. Note that final gathering is extremely resource intensive and should only be preformed on the final presentation render.

Diagnostic-Visual These settings allow the user to diagnose problems in the render, such as abnormalities with light or to see why a render is taking so long to render. Using the photon option, a grid can be applied with various settings to see the density or irradiance of light throughout the render. The sample option allows the user to visually see how many samples are being taken around various points in the render. The BSP option allows the user to check the order of ray tracing in the render. This option is usually useful if there are places that the system is having difficulties calculating the ray traces.

Processing When rendering, the Mental Ray engine processes sections by tiles. This allows the user to specify the size of those tiles as well as the pattern that the system is going to use in calculating the information for each tile.

Applying Fog to a Render Dashboard: Render Control Panel Pull-Down Menu: ViewRender Render Environment (925) 939-1378

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Modeling Toolbar: Command: RENDERENVIRONMENT Fog can be used to give a uniform color to the render. A gradient can also be added, which gives the render an effect of fog. The Render Environment dialog box controls whether or not fog is on, as well as the settings for the fog. The near and far distances are both referenced as percentages from the far clipping plane. If there is no camera or if the far clipping plane is turned off, then this will be set to a default point behind the geometry at the back of all the objects in the render. The near distance is useful for creating a clearly definable wall where the fog begins. The far distance will act as a rear clipping plane for the fog, referenced from the rear clipping plane of the camera. To avoid confusion between the two, it‘s best to leave this set to 100. The fog percentage acts as the opacity for the fog. When set to 100, the fog is completely opaque and nothing can be seen, though this is a perfectly suitable setting for the far fog percentage. If the screen is not completely covered with objects, it‘s a good idea to turn the fog background on. This will apply the far fog percentage to the background as well. This creates a more uniform looking effect instead of having the fog abruptly end when it reaches the end of objects.

Animations Animation Walkthrough Dashboard: 3D Navigate Panel / Flyout Pull-Down Menu: View: Walk and FlyWalk/Fly Walk and Fly Toolbar: / Command: 3DWALKor 3DFLY AutoCAD has the ability of walking through the drawing using the mouse and keyboard much like a video game. There are two modes, walk and fly. Walk constrains motion to two dimensions, while fly allows the camera to move in the direction that the mouse is pointing. Though, even while in the walk command, the user can use the mouse wheel‘s transparent pan to move in the vertical direction. The walkthrough can also be saved and exported to a video file. The file formats available are AVI, MPG, and WMV. Once the 3DWALK command is initiated, the position locator will appear. This acts as a map to the 3D Walkthrough. The options on the bottom control the appearance of the position locator. The dashboard can be used to change the step size and the number of steps per second, changing the speed that the user walks through the drawing. The greater either of these numbers is, the faster the user is going to walk. It‘s best to find a balance between the computers speed, the step size, and the number of steps per second to get smooth motion. These options can be accessed by right clicking in model space and going to walk and Fly Settings as well. To end this mode either hit enter or the esc key. (925) 939-1378

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Motion Path Animation Pull-Down Menu: ViewMotion Path Animations… Command: ANIPATH AutoCAD allows the user to create a video of a fly through on a motion path in a drawing. The first thing to do when creating the flythrough is to create a polyline or a 3dpolyline that is going to be the motion path. The user can choose a target for the animation. They can choose have the camera point parallel to the path of motion, specify a point to have the center camera focus in on during the animation, or select a separate path. The file formats available are AVI, MPG, and WMV.

View Command Improvements A new view manager replaces the view dialog box. All the functionality of the old view dialogue box is still here, though the locations and look have somewhat changed. On the left is an explorer view that contains the current view, the views in model space, the views in paper space, and the preset views. This explorer on the left replaces the tabs on the view dialogue box. Listed in the Model Views heading are both the camera views and the saved views. In the middle column is a section to change the details of the view or camera. On the right are the same buttons that were previously available, except for the details, which are automatically shown in the middle column.

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The layer visibility settings are now stored within the view, therefore, when you restore a view the layers that were frozen when the view was saved are frozen again. The ―Model Views‖ section lists the user-defined saved views. Choose Set Current to restore a view. Choose Details to list more information about a saved view. Choose NEW to save a new view. After selecting ―New‖ the user must give the view a name, determine which view is to be saved (the current display on-screen, or by a window), and finally: whether or not to save a UCS with the view. Only saved UCS names can be associated with a view. See the section on UCS Improvements for more information on saving UCS names. If a UCS is not saved with the view, when the view is restored, the current UCS in that viewport will be retained, and only the view will change. The ―Preset Views‖ section lists the predefined orthographic (Top, front, etc.) and isometric (northwest, southeast, etc.) views. Highlight a view name and choose Set Current to make it the current view. The view will be defined Relative To the UCS name listed in the drop-down menu at the bottom of the dialog box. These predefined views may be restored relative to the World UCS or any user-saved UCS name. Set the Restore Orthographic UCS in the properties under general set Restore Ortho UCS to yes and set relative to World to always keep the UCS set to world when using the Preset Views.

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2006 New Features New Command Features Join segments Modify Toolbar: Join Pull-Down Menu: Modifyjoin Command Line: JOIN or J  Using this command is a little bit tricky, because it can only be used to join particular objects together. A table is listed below to help clarify the exact type of objects that can be joined using this command. Object Conditions The line objects must be collinear (lying on the same infinite line), but can Line have gaps between them. The objects can be lines, polylines, or arcs. The objects cannot have gaps Polyline between them, and must lie on the same plane parallel to the UCS XY plane The arc objects must lie on the same imaginary circle, but can have gaps Arc between them. The Close option converts the source arc into a circle. The elliptical arcs must lie on the same ellipse, but can have gaps between Elliptical them. The Close option closes the source elliptical arc into a complete Arc ellipse The spline objects must lie in the same plane, and must be contiguous Spline (lying end-to-end)

Fillet and Chamfer There have been two major improvements to these commands. The first enhancement is ability undo a fillet or chamfer while in the multiple select option. The second upgrade is the ability to make a hard corner (radius=0) on the fly by holding the shift key when selecting objects. Example: Right after entering the command, the [Multiple] option is available. Now, selecting objects will not exit the command. Specify a radius and it‘s possible to keep selecting. If a hard corner is needed, there is no reason to change the radius to 0, simply hold down the shift key while selecting to use a temporary 0 radius override.

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Offset Similar to the fillet and chamfer commands, offset now has some ―behind the scenes‖ variables that control some of the command behavior. There is an option within the command to erase the source object. If this option is set to ―yes‖ then after the offset is complete, the source object will get erased. This works like a MOVE/OFFSET. Another option is the ability to offset the object to the current layer. In previous versions of AutoCAD, an offsetting object would be automatically placed on the layer of the source object. Now you cad decide if the object will be placed on the current layer or the source layer.

Rotate and Scale The rotate and scale commands now have the ability to create a copy leaving the original object unchanged. Using options at the command line you can also specify a new base point for these operations.

Trim and Extend In previous versions of AutoCAD, specific selection tools could be used to specify which objects a user wanted to select, but those options were not explicitly expressed in the command line. Now there are clear options given at the command line during command ooperation. It is also possible to select the cutting or boundary edge first before starting the command. The TRIM and EXTEND commands can be activated simultaneously. To activate this feature, run either the TRIM or the EXTEND command as usual. Select your cutting objects or extension boundaries. When selecting the objects to trim or extend, look for the following prompt at the command line: Select object to trim [Project/Edge/Undo]: (925) 939-1378

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This means the TRIM and EXTEND command are now essentially one. While running either command holding down the SHIFT key, inverts the action, thus instead of trimming you can extend and vise versa. Therefore it is no longer necessary to run the trim and extend commands sequentially when performing these editing tasks. In earlier releases of the express tools, the Trim or Extend to Block Entities command would have to be activated to trim to those objects. Now, the regular TRIM and EXTEND commands support the selection of objects in blocks and external references. No additional toggles or commands are necessary to activate this feature. It is now possible to create crossing windows to select objects while in the Trim/Extend commands. Undo Zoom and Pan One of the most anticipated improvements is the ability to undo all consecutive zooms and pans with one command. There has been great difficulty in previous versions of AutoCAD with the intellizoom and intellipan features. If someone was zooming into an area and wanted to undo the perspective they were in, they would have to undo several times to return to their original position. Now there is an option allowing the undo command to consecutively undo zooms and pans that were strung together. This option can be set in the options dialog box under the User Preferences tab. Rectangle The rectangle command could draw a box based on either: 1. two corner points 2. a point, length dimension, width dimension, and a direction Now the rectangle command can build a rectangle based on a total area and one dimension. There is also a rotation option so it can be drawn without additional commands.

Selection enhancements Aesthetic enhancements for the traditional window and crossing window selection can be modified in the ―Visual Effects Settings‖ dialog box. This dialog box is found under the selection tab of the options dialog box.

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In the dialog you can modify how a selected object is represented and what fill color will be associated with each selection window type. Arc length and jogged dimensions The arc length dimension is self explanatory; it gives the length of the arc. The jogged dimension command is not so intuitive. Jogged dimensioning is used to specify a radius of a circle when the center of the circle is not in the viewport.

jogged

dimension arc length dimension 

Improvements in dimension appearance In the dimensions style dialog box, there are two new options under the lines tab: 1. The option to change the dimension line type and the extension line type 2. The option to set a fixed extension line length Another new feature for all dimension commands is the ability to flip arrows. A drafter can flip an arrow by selecting a dimension, right clicking on it, and selecting the flip arrow option.

Quick Calculator The Quick Calculator is a built in all-in-one calculation tool. The QC has basic functions such as add, subtract, multiply and divide, but it also has much more. There (925) 939-1378

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is a scientific setting that gives the user access to trigonometric, logarithmic, and exponential functions. One nice feature of the QC is the unit conversions section. In this section, the user can enter in a value associated with one type of unit and the calculator will automatically translate that value into another unit of choice. The last new feature to the quick calculator is the variables section, and it gives the user the ability to add variables into the computation process.

Interface locking Customizing an environment in AutoCAD is a way to not only gain familiarity with the program, but it is also a way to improve work performance. Any user can modify the placement of Toolbars, tool palettes, and property windows throughout the AutoCAD environment. A new feature is the ability to lock the placement of different toolbars and windows. To lock windows or toolbars left click on the lock icon in the bottom right corner of the status bar and select an option. Another way of locking a toolbar or window is to right click on a toolbar and select the lock location option near the bottom. Holding the CTRL key will move toolbars even when they are locked.

New Hatch Features AutoCAD now has the ability to ―create separate hatches‖ in one activation of the command. The check box is located in the options area of the hatch dialog. When checked you can select multiple boundaries to hatch, each boundary will receive its own independent hatch. Hatch origin is another new feature located in the hatch dialog box. Here you have the option of using the current origin or picking a new origin on screen. There are also some pre-defined orientations for such as bottom left and center. Once you select the preferred orientation then you can also save that origin as a default value.

Hatch boundaries can be recreated and re-associated to that boundary. Double click on the hatch to enter the Hatch Edit command. Then click on the button pictured below:

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Choose [Polyline] then [Yes] to create the boundary and re-associate it to the hatch.

TAB Autocomplete While you‘re inputting commands into AutoCAD, you can now press tab at any time to have the program automatically complete any incomplete words. This prevents you from hunting down a forgotten command; all you need to do is type in a few letters then press tab repeatedly until you arrive at the right command.

Dynamic Input Dynamic Input is an interface that displays the contents of the command line at the cursor. When active, the cursor will display information that dynamically updates with user input.

The dynamic input interface does not replace the command line, and some operations will still require the use of the command line. To turn the dynamic input interface on/off, use the DYN toggle button that is located on the status bar. Pressing the F12 key also toggles the DYN on/off. There are several settings for dynamic input that can be accessed through the drafting settings dialog box. To access the dialog box, right click on the DYN toggle button and select the settings option.

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The drafting settings dialog box has three sub categories to control what data is presented with dynamic input and how that data is displayed. The pointer input settings box contains the options to change the format and coordinate type of the next point that is picked using the cursor. It also has an option to change the frequency that the coordinate data is shown at the cursor. The dimension input settings box has options to change the number of fields that are displayed at one time and to change the type of dimension that get displayed. The tooltip appearance dialog box contains the options to adjust the text size and background color of the dynamic input display. The final setting to adjust is the dynamic prompt check box. When this is checked on, the command line prompts and options will be accessible at the cursor. If it is checked off, all command prompts and options will only display in the command line. Customize User Interface The CUI (Custom User Interface) is the new one-stop-shop for all your customizing needs. Within the CUI dialog box, any user can edit and create toolbars, menus, keyboard shortcuts, mouse button functions, and workspaces. The CUI window can also be used to import existing partial cui files and to create new partial cui files. Workspaces A workspace is a new way to customize the visual settings of the AutoCAD environment. Some visually customizable parameters in AutoCAD include: toolbars, menus, and windows. There are two different ways to customize a workspace. The first way is to create an environment that is sought after (e.g. turn off toolbars, dock the tool palette on the left hand side and get rid of the express menu), and then navigate to the window> workspaces > save current as to save the current settings. Another way to adapt the workspaces is to open up the CUI (make sure that you are (925) 939-1378

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in the customize tab) and right click on workspaces in the tree view and select new > workspace. Once the new workspace is created, left click on the name of the new workspace in the tree view. The box to the right of the tree view should now have the heading workspace contents. To customize the new workspace, click the button named customize workspace, and you should notice the words of the workspace contents box turn blue. Focusing back to the tree view, expand the toolbars and menus and check whichever toolbars and windows you want to see in your workspace. To adjust the orientation and appearance of windows in your workspace, expand the dockable windows heading under the workspace contents box and left click on the window you want to edit the properties of. When you click on the window, the properties box (the box below the workspace contents box) displays the information about that window. Once all of the toolbars, menus, and windows are set up click the done button located above the workspace contents box. You can now expand the categories within the workspace contents box and check to make sure you are looking at what you want. A few notes about workspaces:   

If you turn off toolbars by right clicking and selecting individual toolbars to turn off, the toolbar state is not saved in the current workspace until you save the workspace. Workspaces are not to be confused with profiles; profiles are created and adjusted by changing the settings in the options dialog box. Workspaces are solely controlling the visual appearance of the ACAD environment. Even if you load a partial cui file or make changes to the main cui file, those changes will not show in your environment until you update your workspace to show the changes.

Customizing Toolbars AutoCAD commands are organized into 30 toolbars. Many predefined toolbars need to be displayed to show a few common toolbar commands. However, with customized toolbars, many commonly used commands can be transferred into one or more toolbars. In addition, custom commands may be placed on custom toolbars, allowing easy access to custom applications. Customize User Interface Box Tools Menu  Customize  Interface

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Inside the CUI dialog box is tree view of all the objects to customize. If you click on the plus next to toolbars icon, you will see a list of all the possible toolbars available to edit. If you click on the icon next to the toolbar name that you want to modify a preview and property window will appear to the right.

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The preview gives you a visual representation of the toolbar. The property window can be used to modify the name of a toolbar, location, its visibility, as well as the number of rows it has. Clicking on the plus next to a toolbar name will expand the toolbar and you will see all of the names of the toolbar commands. If you wanted to rearrange the order of a toolbar then simply click and drag the name of the command you want to move and place it where you want it. Be careful when moving the commands, because it is possible to move a command into another toolbar. If you want to add a command to a toolbar, you can simply click on a command and drag it to the toolbar of choice. A list of commands can be found in the window beneath the tree view. To delete a command from a toolbar, right click on the name of the command and select the delete option. To create a new toolbar, simply right click in the tree view window and select toolbar from the new flyout, and a new toolbar will appear at the bottom of the list. Once a toolbar is created, it can be turned on and off just like any other AutoCAD toolbar. If you right-click on a toolbar, the custom toolbar will appear in the toolbar list along with the 30 regular AutoCAD toolbars. Remember: just because you add a toolbar to a cui file does not mean that it is viewable in your current workspace

Creating Custom Commands in Toolbars AutoCAD also supports the creation of custom commands and custom toolbar macros. Instead of using a Zoom toolbar button and option entries at the command line, a new button can be programmed that can run the Zoom command with a specific option, such as zoom to a particular scale, location, and so on. Custom macros of existing commands will improve drafting productivity. To create a custom button, click on the new buttong above the command window. A new command will appear in the command window and will automatically be highlighted. Since the button is highlighted, the button image and the properties window display the current information about that button. To change the name of the button click in the name field located in the properties window and type in a new name.

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The name will appear in the tool tip when the mouse moves over the button. The description will appear over the AutoCAD status bar when the mouse moves over the button. Use the Edit button to draw a button image, similar to blank buttons for existing commands. After the button icon is drawn, save it in a location of your choosing. To assign that button to the macro, click in one of the images fields and use the browse button to find the button icon location. Now that an icon is created for a newly named command, it is time to learn how to program the command to do something. A toolbar programming convention is required to create proper macros. Standard AutoCAD commands will be entered along with characters that represent other command line actions. Refer to the following table for guidance on how to create custom macros:

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Macro characters

Description

^C

Escape Key. Two escape keys are usually inserted at the beginning of all macros.



AutoCAD command to be typed at command line.

;

Enter key

\

Pause for user input, such as a pick of the mouse. 

Example: To define a tool to ―Zoom‖ ―Extents‖ and then to ―Zoom‖ ―.9x‖ type in the Macro box: ^C^Czoom;e;zoom;.9x To define a tool to ―Move‖ and ―Rotate‖ one object, type in the Macro box: ^C^Cmove;\;\\rotate;p;;\\

Click in the field next to macro and type in the appropriate macro. Once the macro is assigned, click on the Apply button to save your changes. Now this command may be added to a toolbar or menu by clicking and dragging. Custom Menu Configurations Customizing the menus is a lot like customizing toolbars. To access the different menus click on the plus icon next to menu in the tree view. Expanding the different menus will give you a list of the content of each menu. Clicking and dragging commands to a new location can rearrange the menu order. The same warning applies here as with the toolbars, take care where you place your commands because it is possible to put a command in another menu. A new menu or sub menu can be created by right clicking in the tree view and selecting new menu or sub menu. The process of adding a new command to a menu is the same as for the toolbars, simply grab a command from the command window and drag it to the menu you want it to reside in. A command can be removed from a menu by right clicking on the command in the tree view and selecting delete. Remember: just because you add a menu to a cui file does not mean that it is viewable in your current workspace.

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It is now possible to interact with the toolbar preview in the upper right hand of the CUI. It is also possible to copy and paste within the customization section in the upper left hand corner of the CUI.

Converting menus to toolbars In the CUI it is possible to convert menus in the CUI to a tool bar. All that‘s needed is to drag and drop the menu from the toolbars subsection to the menu subsection. This can be done in the customization window in the upper left hand corner of the CUI. Palette Transparency You can make palettes transparent so you can see drawing entities or other dialog boxes underneath. Right-click on the vertical bar of any of these dialog boxes (they must be undocked first), and choose Transparency…

Toggle off ―Turn off window transparency‖ to turn it off. Set the level of transparency with the slider bar. The dialog box cannot be transparent if it‘s docked.

Improved Blocks Video: Dynamic Blocks Block Editor Standard Toolbar: Pull-Down Menu: ToolsBlock Editor Command Line: BEDIT or BE  Once the command has been initiated a dialog box will pop up and prompt you to select a block to edit or enter in the name of a new dynamic block you wish to create. Once a selection has been made, the program will switch from model space to block editing space. In this space, the background will be yellow and a new toolbar and a new tool palette will appear. In this block editor window, the user may execute any (925) 939-1378

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AutoCAD drawing or editing command to create or modify a block. Any parameter or action can be accessed from the tool palette or the toolbar.

Dynamic blocks Dynamic blocks allow a user to change the geometry of a block from the drawing without redefining another block and reinserting. It also provides a means to reducing a block library size, because one block can have multiple characteristics.

Parameters Parameters are geometric attributes that can be assigned to a block. These attributes can be anything from the length of a line segment to an angle between to lines in the block. The purpose for defining parameters is to allow an action to manipulate specific geometries of your dynamic block. Below is a list explaining the different types of parameters. Parameter Description Supported Actions Type Defines an X and Y location in the drawing. In Point the Block Editor, looks similar to an ordinate Move, Stretch dimension. Shows the distance between two anchor points. Constrains grip movement along a preset angle. Move, Scale, Linear In the Block Editor, looks similar to an aligned Stretch, Array dimension. Shows the distance between two anchor points and displays an angle value. You can use both Move, Scale, Polar grips and the Properties palette to change both Stretch, Polar the distance value and the angle. In the Block Stretch, Array, Editor, looks similar to an aligned dimension Shows the X and Y distances from the base point of the parameter. In the Block Editor, Move, Scale, XY displays as a pair of dimensions (horizontal and Stretch, Array vertical). Defines an angle. In the Block Editor, displays Rotation Rotate as a circle. Flips objects. In the Block Editor, displays as a reflection line. Objects can be flipped about this Flip Flip reflection line. Displays a value that shows if the block reference has been flipped or not. Defines an X and Y location and an angle. An None (The action is Alignment alignment parameter always applies to the implied and entire block and needs no action associated with contained within (925) 939-1378

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Parameter Description Supported Actions Type it. An alignment parameter allows the block parameter.) reference to automatically rotate around a point to align with another object in the drawing. An alignment parameter affects the rotation property of the block reference. In the Block Editor, looks like an alignment line. Controls the visibility of objects in the block. A visibility parameter always applies to the entire None (The action is block and needs no action associated with it. In implied and Visibility a drawing, you click the grip to display a list of controlled by visibility states available for the block visibility states.) reference. In the Block Editor, displays as text with an associated grip. Defines a custom property that you can specify or set to evaluate a value from a list or table you define. It can be associated with a single lookup Lookup Lookup grip. In the block reference, you click the grip to display a list of available values. In the Block Editor, displays as text with an associated grip. Defines a base point for the dynamic block reference relative to the geometry in the block. Base Cannot be associated with any actions, but can None belong to an action‘s selection set. In the Block Editor, displays as a circle with crosshairs.

Actions Actions are commands that are specific to parameter geometry. Any action needs to be associated to a parameter in order to function properly, and certain actions require particular parameters. The list above gives a decent overview of the parameters that support certain actions. Most of the action names are very self-explanative. For example, if you want to stretch a block, the action to assign would be the stretch action. Remember that the stretch action can only be assigned to the point, linear, polar, or XY parameters. Two action names that may not be familiar are flip and lookup, but the information about their actions is stated above. To further explain the concept of making a dynamic block, an example is given on the following pages that will help walk you through the process.

Create a new block To create a new dynamic block, type BEDIT in the command line. The edit block definition dialog box will pop up and prompt for an existing block to edit or a new (925) 939-1378

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block name to create. In this example, a new block will be created named table, so enter table as the new block name and click ok.

Once the name of the block is specified, the AutoCAD environment will update and change from model space to block editing space. This new block editing space has a new toolbar and a new tool palette associated with it.

The block editing space recognizes the same drawing and editing commands that are used in model space, so use the rectangle command to draw a rectangle 5‘x3‘. This rectangle will represent the table block that is being created. At this point we could close the editor and have a block named table that is 5‘x 3‘, but I want to also create two more identical tables that are 6‘x3‘ and 7‘x3‘. The only difference between the three tables is the length. If the original table can be stretched to accommodate the new lengths, only one block definition needs to be made. To accomplish this task, parameters need to be assigned to the table to give the stretch action a place to stretch. Setting Parameters Select the linear parameter from the parameter palette. The program will prompt you for a start point. Select the left endpoint of the table and when the program will (925) 939-1378

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prompt for the end point, select the right endpoint. Then the routine will inquire about the label location and you can drag the label where ever you feel it fits best. Then you need to specify the number of grips and for this example choose 1. When you are done choosing the number of grips, the program displays your parameter label where ever you decided to put it. For this screen capture the parameter label is located below the table block. Note: the blue arrow on the right hand side of the table is the grip that we specified earlier.

Now that the table has a defined parameter, an action needs to be associated with it so that we can stretch the table. Click on the actions palette and select the stretch action. When the program asks for the parameter to associate with this action, select the distance parameter. Then it prompts for a parameter point to associate with the action. Pick the grip as the point that the stretch command will be associated with. Then it will ask for the first corner point. Draw a crossing window (starting from the right and dragging to the left) that goes through half of the table and distance parameter.

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After you specify the crossing window, select the table and the distance to stretch. Lastly you will need to place the action icon somewhere on the screen; it doesn‘t really matter where. Now the table has a parameter and an action associated with it.

At this point close the editor and save all changes to the block. Insert the block into your drawing. When the block is placed, left click on any part of the block to activate the grips. You will notice that one of the grips looks like an arrow. If you left click on that arrow and move your cursor around, you will notice that the table dynamically stretches with your cursor. Now the table block we created can be stretched to any number of lengths, but the only lengths that this example is concerned with are 6‘ and 7‘. To further restrict the stretching of this table to set values, that table definition needs to be modified. Enter back into the block editor, and bring up the properties of (925) 939-1378

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the distance parameter. To bring up the properties, left click on the parameter label, right click and select properties. Once in the properties window, expand the value set (fourth down from the top) box and select in the field for distance type. By default it is set to none, but we are going to change this to list. Now click in the dist value field and you have the option of entering in list values or clicking on a button, click on the button. A dialog box will appear and it contains a list of the acceptable distances to stretch this table to and from. Currently only a distance of 5 is in the list, so we want to add a distance of 6 and 7 to the list. Type in a 6 the top field and click the add button. You should see the value added to the list. Repeat the same procedure to add 7 to the list. When you are done making a list of possible lengths, click ok to exit the dialog box. Now close the block editor and save changes. Highlight the block again, pick the arrow grip to edit, and move your cursor back and forth.

You should see that the table is now constrained to one of three lengths (5‘, 6‘, 7‘). To make choosing a length really explicit, we are going to add a look up table to change the length of our table. Revisit the block editor and under the parameter palette click on add a look up parameter. Specify a location above and to the right of your table, and choose 1 as the number of grips.

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Now associate a lookup action to go along with the lookup parameter. When you choose a location for the action icon a property lookup table will appear. Click on the add properties button and select the linear parameter and click ok. Click on the field below distance and select 5 from the pull down menu. Now click in the field underneath lookup and type in ―Length 5‘‖. Basically we are assigning a look up table name to associate with our table length of 5‘. Repeat the preceding two steps for table lengths 6‘ and 7‘. Lastly click in the field that has read only in it, and change it to allow reverse lookup. When you have made the appropriate changes click ok to exit the dialog box and then close and save this block editing session. Now if you highlight your table, you will see a new grip located where you placed the lookup parameter. By selecting the label of the appropriate table length, the table dynamically updates to the stretched length of that table. There are more functions for dynamic blocks, but this example gives you a good basis to get started

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AUTOCAD DEFAULT COMMAND ALIASES 3A 3DMIRR OR 3DNaviga te 3DO 3DW 3F 3M

3DARRAY

DED

DIMEDIT

MIRROR3D

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3DWALK 3DORBIT 3DWALK 3DFACE 3DMOVE

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DRA

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ALIGN 3DALIGN APPLOAD ARRAY -ARRAY

DRM DS DST DT DV

ATI ATT -ATT ATE

ATTIPEDIT ATTDEF -ATTDEF ATTEDIT

DX E ED EL

-ATE ATTE B -B BC BE BH

-ATTEDIT -ATTEDIT BLOCK -BLOCK BCLOSE BEDIT HATCH

BO -BO BR BS BVS C

BOUNDARY -BOUNDARY BREAK BSAVE BVSTATE CIRCLE

ER EX EXIT EXP EXT F FI FREEPOI NT FSHOT G -G GD GEO

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DIMRADIUS DIMREASSOCIA TE DRAWINGRECO VERY DSETTINGS DIMSTYLE TEXT DVIEW DATAEXTRACTI ON ERASE DDEDIT ELLIPSE EXTERNALREFE RENCES EXTEND QUIT EXPORT EXTRUDE FILLET FILTER POINTLIGHT FLATSHOT GROUP -GROUP GRADIENT GEOGRAPHICLO CAD Masters, Inc.

CAM CH -CH CHA CHK CLI COL COLOUR CO CP CT CYL D DAL DAN DAR JOG DBA DBC DC DCE DCENTE R DCO DDA

CAMERA PROPERTIES CHANGE CHAMFER CHECKSTANDARDS COMMANDLINE COLOR COLOR COPY COPY CTABLESTYLE CYLINDER DIMSTYLE DIMALIGNED DIMANGULAR DIMARC DIMJOGGED DIMBASELINE DBCONNECT ADCENTER DIMCENTER

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CATION DDGRIPS HATCH -HATCH HATCHEDIT HIDE INSERT -INSERT IMAGEADJUST IMAGEATTACH IMAGECLIP IMAGE -IMAGE IMPORT INTERSECT INTERFERE INSERTOBJ JOIN LINE LAYER -LAYER LAYERSTATE QLEADER LENGTHEN LIST LWEIGHT

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LMAN LO LS LT

LAYERSTATE -LAYOUT LIST LINETYPE

REN -REN REV RO

-LT LTYPE -LTYPE LTS LW M MA MAT ME MI ML MLA MLC MLD MLE MLS

-LINETYPE LINETYPE -LINETYPE LTSCALE LWEIGHT MOVE MATCHPROP MATERIALS MEASURE MIRROR MLINE MLEADERALIGN MLEADERCOLLECT MLEADER MLEADEREDIT MLEADERSTYLE

MO MS MSM MT MV

PROPERTIES MSPACE MARKUP MTEXT MVIEW GEOGRAPHICLOCATI ON GEOGRAPHICLOCATI ON OFFSET OPTIONS 3DORBIT OSNAP -OSNAP PAN -PAN PASTESPEC

RP RPR RR RW S SC SCR SE SEC SET SHA SL SN SO SP SPL SPLAN E SPE SSM ST STA

RENAME -RENAME REVOLVE ROTATE RENDERPRESE TS RPREF RENDER RENDERWIN STRETCH SCALE SCRIPT DSETTINGS SECTION SETVAR SHADEMODE SLICE SNAP SOLID SPELL SPLINE SECTIONPLAN E SPLINEDIT SHEETSET STYLE STANDARDS

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BPARAMETER

TP

MTEXT -MTEXT TABLET TABLE THICKNESS TILEMODE TOOLBAR TOLERANCE TORUS TOOLPALETTE S

-PARTIALOPEN PEDIT

TR TS

TRIM TABLESTYLE

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PL PO POL PR PRCLOSE PROPS PRE PRINT PS

PLINE POINT POLYGON PROPERTIES PROPERTIESCLOSE PROPERTIES PREVIEW PLOT PSPACE

UC UN -UN UNI V -V VP -VP VS

PSOLID

POLYSOLID

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PTW PU -PU PYR QC QCUI R RA RC RE REA REC REG

PUBLISHTOWEB PURGE -PURGE PYRAMID QUICKCALC QUICKCUI REDRAW REDRAWALL RENDERCROP REGEN REGENALL RECTANG REGION

-VSM W -W WE X XA XB -XB XC XL XR -XR Z

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UCSMAN UNITS -UNITS UNION VIEW -VIEW DDVPOINT VPOINT VSCURRENT VISUALSTYLE S VISUALSTYLE S WBLOCK -WBLOCK WEDGE EXPLODE XATTACH XBIND -XBIND XCLIP XLINE XREF -XREF ZOOM

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Videos Annotative Objects: A tutorial on the creation of annotative objects such as dimensions, text, blocks, multileaders, and hatching. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJ4M38g1K7E) Associative Arrays: Associative array creation. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Twz0RwxBedA) Drawing Views: 3D documentation using drawing views. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDV1KFdz4tI) Dynamic Blocks: A tutorial on the creation of dynamic blocks, including visibility, stretching, and alignment. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9RZBHnlJD4) Polyline Grips: New polyline grips and menus. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2iqGwLevXA) Status Bar: New AutoCAD drawing tools and commands including: Infer Constraints, 3D Osnaps, Transparency, Selection Cycling, and Select Similar. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-QwH-UXjeQ) User Interface: An overview of the AutoCAD Ribbon user interface introduced in the 2009 release. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdGRhyHMTDA) Related AutoCAD for Mac Layers and Interface: A tutorial on changing the appearance of the user interface and the layers palette in AutoCAD for Mac 2011. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIchOSQYxYY) AutoCAD for Mac User Interface: An overview of the user interface in AutoCAD for Mac 2011. Including tool sets, menubar, command line, palettes, etc. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPcOY598tYc) AutoCAD for Mac UI Customization: How to customize your user interface (CUI) in AutoCAD for Mac 2011. Including tool sets and the menubar. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8OlU1g3mY0)

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