Express Tools will Increase Your Productivity

By Lynn Allen

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.

Layers
Have you ever tried without success to purge (delete) a layer? If so, you’ll love the Layer Delete (LAYDEL) Express Tool.This powerful command will delete a layer regardless of its contents! And if you’ve ever wanted to combine two layers, you’ll love the Layer Merge (LAYMERGE) command.

Blocks
ATTOUT and ATTIN (for Attribute Out and Attribute In) enable you to send attribute information out to a file,make any number of changes to the data, and then bring the modified attribute information back into the drawing. BURST allows you to explode a block with attributes and retain the attribute values rather than the original tag information.

Layout Tools
If you’ve ever wished you could move an object from paper space to model space (or vice versa), you’ll love the Change Space (CHSPACE) command. Accidental panning and zooming from within a viewport can cause a mismatch to objects in paper space—the AlignSpace command can save the day here.

Dimension
When we receive a drawing from someone else,we like to believe the dimensions are accurate—right? The Reset Dim Text Value (DIMREASSOC) command not only highlights the dimensions that have been overridden but also changes them to their actual value.This is a CAD manager’s dream come true!

Modify and Draw
MOCORO (Move Copy Rotate) combines three functions into one powerful command. BREAKLINE creates a polyline and inserts the breakline symbol. SUPERHATCH, perhaps the most powerful of all the Express Tools, allows you to use images and blocks as a crosshatch pattern. Imagine the possibilities!

Tools
If you’ve ever wanted to make your own custom linetypes with specific symbols you’ll find Make Shape (MKSHP) and Make Linetype (MKLTYPE) to be invaluable tools. For those of you who draw in 3D, the Realtime UCS (RTUCS) command allows you to dynamically rotate the user coordinate system on the screen.

Text
If you’re working with legacy drawings with individual text strings you’d like to convert to a paragraph, the Convert Text to Mtext (TXT2MTXT) command converts multiple text objects to MTEXT. RTEXT (Remote Text) is the equivalent of an external reference for text. If you change the external text file, the text inside the drawing file also updates.

These are just a few of the fantastic Express Tools that come with AutoCAD 2004. There are certain to be some real timesavers in there for everyone!