Attributed blocks can be friend or foe, especially if you’re not sure how to tame them. Let’s face it; from time to time they can be a little temperamental. Take for example exploding one of those pesky attributed blocks. Run the EXPLODE command on an attributed block and you’re not going to be given nice … Read more
As designs get more and more complex, and the need to separate things into multiple drawings becomes more important, so does the need to copy things between those drawings. As a result many of you are probably as addicted to the “Ctrl” + “C” shortcut as I am. Although “Ctrl” + “C” is a wonderful … Read more
These codes stem back to the “Old School” days of AutoCAD in DOS, but are each still useful today. All of these codes still work with DTEXT using the standard AutoCAD fonts. Likewise, all but the %%u and %%o codes work with the newer MTEXT. %%d = degree %%c = circle diameter %%p = plus/minus … Read more
Autodesk added some smoke and mirrors with their 2006 release of AutoCAD. Previously you could set IMAGEFRAME either to “0” (invisible border or frame), or to “1” (visible border of frame). In 2006 we are now presented with a third choice of “2”. If IMAGEFRAME is set to “2” then you will see the frame … Read more
This problem can be resolved by increasing the MAXSORT variable. In AutoCAD versions 2002 and earlier this is set to 200 by default, and 1000 for AutoCAD releases since 2004. Though newer and more powerful systems are not effected as badly by it, setting MAXSORT too high can eat into overall system performance.
If you had to rank your CAD skills on a scale of 1-5 where would you rank yourself? Packed away in AutoCAD is a little-known system variable that will allow users to change the way AutoCAD interacts with you based on your EXPERTise. For example when you invoke the REGEN command, are you REALLY sure … Read more
AutoCAD users of all types can appreciate the value of closed polylines. Of course in creating them most users use a procedure involving the PEDIT command. But did you know there was an easier way? Hidden away in AutoCAD is the BOUNDARY command. Think of the BOUNDARY command as a HATCH command that draws polylines … Read more
If you have been using AutoCAD 2006 for anytime you’ve most likely ran into a situation where you were not allowed to attach a XREF with a relative path. There is a simple workaround for this that seems to work rather well. It seems that the SAVE command resets whatever relative XREF’s need to function. … Read more
