How-to's

In a recent article, I explained AutoCAD® 2004 software’s new tool palettes in detail. Now, Autodesk has come out with an extension that greatly expands the capabilities of the tool palettes and makes them easier to use as well.

I believe one of the main advantages of upgrading to AutoCAD 2004 is that the best of the AutoCAD Express Tools have been included on the install CD free of charge. (Be sure to install them!) Let’s look at a few of my favorite Express Tools.

You’ve been hearing about DWF™ (Design Web Format™) for years—but now it’s time to really listen! The DWF format is accelerating, and there’s no slowing the train now. You need it. You can use it. So just sit back, read this article, and start to think about the many ways the DWF format is going to save you time and money and make your design process more efficient.

Did you know that AutoCAD® 2004 has a new tool for batch plotting? That’s good news for people who like to create multiple plots overnight for regular plotting or archiving purposes.

In this series of articles on new features of AutoCAD® 2004, I’ve been covering those features that most readers will use. This month I’ll explain a potpourri of small drafting and editing features that offer something for everyone.

Don’t we all want to get our designs finished faster? Any enhancements that shave time off the drawing process are definite money savers!

Tool palettes provide a new way to add content to your drawings. In a nutshell, tool palettes give you the ability to insert drawings, hatches, and blocks by dragging an image from a tool palette into your drawing.

One of the most significant features of AutoCAD® 2004 is the redesigned Mtext Editor for creating multiline (paragraph length) text. Several changes and additions in the Editor make multiline text (Mtext) much easier to manipulate.

AutoCAD® 2004 makes it easier then ever to free up valuable drawing space and to personalize your environment for maximum productivity.

The improvements that affect everyday drawing life are always favorites. Many of your requests have been incorporated into AutoCAD® 2004, so many they can’t all fit into these pages.

This article is the fourth in an introductory course on designing in 3D using AutoCAD® software. In this article, I cover many of the AutoCAD techniques for displaying and viewing your 3D drawings.

This article is the third in an introductory course on designing in 3D using AutoCAD® software. Last month you learned about simple 3D objects. This month we move on to 3D coordinates.

This article is the second in an introductory course on designing in 3D using AutoCAD® software. Last month you learned about basic 3D concepts. This month we move on to simple 3D objects.

This article is the first of at least six that will make up a course called Intro to 3D. In this first lesson, I discuss concepts and definitions that will apply throughout the course.

Now with the Reference Manager Extension (available only to Subscription members with AutoCAD-based products), you can automatically manage all file relationships and dependencies generated by AutoCAD software and industry-specific products built on AutoCAD (see Figure 1).

Do you need to change a bunch of text from one text style to another? Would you like to match up the linetype scale factor or linetype of one group of objects to another? Then the MATCHPROP command (affectionately known as the Property Painter) is for you.

The new AutoCAD 2002 associative dimensions are more reliable than before and most of the time they should work just fine on their own. However, if you run into any problems, these new commands and updated system variable are great for fine-tuning your dimensions.

Everyone is familiar with hyperlinks on websites. Hyperlinks make connections between documents on the Internet. But you can also insert hyperlinks between objects in your AutoCAD® drawings and files or websites that may be located anywhere on the Internet, a network (intranet and extranet), or your own hard drive.

It's a rare occasion when you don't need to place text in a drawing. Consequently, any improvements to the world of text are welcome improvements indeed! AutoCAD® 2002 has a couple of great new text-editing functions that can make your drawing life just a little bit better than before.

Learn how to share your drawings with the Publish to Web wizard.

In AutoCAD 2002, you'll find two new commands, SCALETEXT and JUSTIFYTEXT, that make working with text easier and less frustrating.

Do you sometimes deliver PowerPoint presentations to clients or colleagues? Have you ever wanted to put an AutoCAD® drawing in the presentation? There are many situations where you might want to formally present your work rather than just bring a printout and have the audience gather around.

This article is the first of a two-part series on using block attributes, including the new attribute features in AutoCAD® 2002. This month I will focus on managing block attributes—creating and editing them.

Make sure you're taking full advantage of all the improvements to the LAYER command.

Learn how the new system variables in AutoCAD 2002 offer many more options for displaying hidden objects in the 3D environment.

If you've been wondering how to display and plot presentation-quality graphics of your 3D AutoCAD® 2000i drawings, this short tutorial is for you.

One of the menu options is Enter, which you can use to end the LINE command—but who wants to take that extra step?

This article is the second of a two-part series on using block attributes, including the new Attribute Extraction Wizard in AutoCAD® 2002. This month I focus on the new, easy way to extract attributes.

My readers consistently share some great tips with me, so this month I'm going to throw a few of them your way.

AutoCAD® 2000i contains many new and enhanced features that streamline everyday editing chores, increasing efficiency and relieving some of the tedium involved in carrying out highly repetitive drawing tasks.

If you have AutoCAD® 2000 or higher, you have access to one of my all time favorite commands: QDIM, for Quick Dimensioning. If you're still churning out your dimensions one at a time you simply must try this great timesaver.

We all have certain idiosyncratic methods of working, why not set AutoCAD to optimize these methods?

Learn how to create an improved BREAK command toolbar.

It's not uncommon for us to need to update our block definitions from time to time. Enter the REFEDIT command to save the day.

What happens when you use 2D commands on 3D objects? Ellen Finkelstein says you may be surprised. Simple commands such as COPY and MOVE are intuitive enough, but have you ever used EXPLODE on a curved body?

The Options dialog box is certainly a handful. Nine different tabs filled with countless settings can intimidate even the experienced AutoCAD® user. It's not so complicated when you break it down into bite-sized pieces—but where do you begin?

Ellen Finkelstein shows you how to use the REFEDIT command to edit blocks and xrefs without leaving the host drawing in this timesaving AutoCAD® tutorial.