Chapter 1

1
AutoCAD Secrets Every User Should Know

• Chapter 1 AutoCAD Productivity

2
Design Standards

• Draw Everything Actual Size
• Plans, Details, Even Long
• Parts

2
3
Design Standards

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

3
4
AutoCAD Best Practices

• Use the Help System
• Use Blocks Whenever Possible
• Reduce file size
• Update more efficiently
• Maintain standards
• Dont Override Dimensions
• Use annotation tools 6X ltgt
• Don't explode dimensions

4
5
AutoCAD Best Practices

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

5
6
AutoCAD Best Practices

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

6
7
AutoCAD Best Practices

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

7
8
AutoCAD Best Practices

• Don't Use the Name Standard
• Text, dimension, table
• Defaults are wrong
• May conflict for XRefs
• Be Cautious with REFEDIT
• Editing XRef
• Prevent with XEDIT

8
9
AutoCAD Best Practices

• Caution Moving or Renaming Files
• Hyperlinks
• XRefs
• Images
• Support files
• Templates

9
10
AutoCAD Best Practices

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

10
11
AutoCAD Best Practices

• Learn to Use QSELECT

11
12
AutoCAD Best Practices

• Create Tool Palettes

12
13
Feature Review (All Releases)

• Drawing Efficiency - patterns
• Command-line commands
• Add a minus -LA or -LAYER
• Array at an angle

13
14
Feature Review (All Releases)

• Drawing Efficiency - patterns
• Polar array
• Do as little work as possible

14
15
Feature Review (All Releases)

• Drawing Efficiency
• BOUNDARY

15
16
Feature Review (All Releases)

• Drawing Efficiency
• REGION and SUBTRACT

16
17
Feature Review (All Releases)

• Drawing Efficiency
• Supplemental angles
• Relative polar tracking

17
18
Feature Review (All Releases)

• Drawing Efficiency
• FILLET and CIRCLE TTR

18
19
Feature Review (All Releases)

• Text Justification
• TL, TC, TR, ML, MC, MR, BL, BC, BR?

19
20
Feature Review (All Releases)

• Quick Complex Area
• BOUNDARY --gtRegion
• SUBTRACT

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21
Feature Review (All Releases)

• Four Save Commands
• SAVE
• Default name and path stay the same
• SAVEAS
• Default name and path change
• QSAVE
• Saves only to default name and path
• WBLOCK
• Saves part of a drawing

21
22
Feature Review (All Releases)

• Quick complex "linetype"
• MEASURE or DIVIDE
• Block option

22
23
Feature Review (All Releases)

• RENAME with Wildcards

23
24
Feature Review (All Releases)

• Some Great Express Tools
• TXT2MTXT
• FLATTEN
• MKSHP and MKLTYPE
• DIMRESSOC
• DIMEX and DIMIN
• SYSVDLG

24
25
Feature Review (All Releases)

• One More Great Express Tool
• OVERKILL

25
26
Feature Review (All Releases)

• Drawing Efficiency
• FILLET and CIRCLE TTR

26