The Mad Cadder

Convert Multiple Block DWGs into one Tool Palette with the DesignCenter

In my opinion, Tool Palettes are the best feature to come out of AutoCAD since Xrefs. Tool Palettes are so powerful and a huge time saver when configured properly but how to do this, and fast? The are many different tasks or features of Tool Palettes but this article will only focus of the use of the inserting blocks.

In the past, most users utilized the infamous "wblock' command to create a block DWG that was located on the server. Then using the 'insert' command, the user would call the block from the server, assign the appropriate layer, linetype, scale......etc, before placing the block in the drawing.

Tool Palettes can do the same thing better and faster but how to get all those block DWGs on the sever into one Tool Palette? Instead of opening each DWG and dragging the block onto a Tool Palette, you can create a Tool Palette from multiple block DWGs in one shot. 

The following steps will guide are only applicable in AutoCAD 2009 or newer versions.

1. Open the DesignCenter. (Ctrl+2) 

2. Using the 'Folder' tab, locate the folder that contains all the block DWGs.

3. Right-click on the folder containing the DWGs. 

4. Select "Create Tool Palette of Blocks. 

5. Wait for the program to create Tool Palette. It may appear that the program has crashed or stalled but it may take some time to create the palette depending on the amount and size of DWGs in the folder.   

As I mentioned before, there are many other reasons to use a Tool Palette beside inserting a block, but this is one of the best. 

Improved BIND feature in eTransmit (AutoCAD 2010)

Out of all the new features in AutoCAD 2010, the improvement of the BIND command built within the eTransmit feature is one of the best.

The standard BIND command in the Xref Manager has always had two options which I call "BIND-->Bind" and "BIND-->Insert". I am not going to provide the full details of these options but in the end the "BIND-->Bind" option put a $0$ in front of the name of every layer coming from an Xref and the "BIND-->Insert" keeps the original layer name.

The BIND command has been in the eTransmit for many releases but it defaults to the "BIND-->Bind" option. First off, having the BIND command in eTransmit is fantastic. It allows the user to quickly BIND multiple Xrefs across multiple drawings at the same time. In other words, you can BIND all the Xrefs in drawings A-1 through A-12 in one shot. The only problem is that all the layers begin with the dreaded $0$ because there was no option to change the BIND to "BIND-->Insert". Now you can!

In the eTransmit setup for 2010, AutoCAD now gives the user an option to Bind or Insert.

How to:

1. Save your current drawing.

2. Type: etransmit

3. Choose Transmittal Setup

 

4. Choose: Modify button

5. on the top right, select "Bind external references"

 

6. Select the type of BIND you want.

Xref Fade Control

I am not sure if this is a new features for AutoCAD 2009 or 2010, but the solution is the same. When an xref is inserted in the drawing the colours appear faded. It looks like it is in a permanent "in-place edit block" mode but it is not.

I actually like this new feature because it allows for visual recognition of line work and a distinction between an xref and objects drawn.

To control the intensity of the fade or remove the fading use the following steps:

1. In AutoCAD, open the OPTIONS dialogue box.
2. Choose the DISPLAY tab.
3. Located at the bottom-right of the dialogue box, there is a section called "Fade Control".
4. Adjust the slide bar labeled "Xref display" to control the intensity of the Xref fade.

External Xref Manager - Xref Path Saver

Let me paint a picture.....You receive a folder structure from another company or IT has moved the folder location on a server that contains thousands of DWG files and their associated Xrefs. The problem is that the path is incorrect for most of these Xrefs which means that when you open the host drawing the Xref will be "Not Found".

Let me paint the picture a little clearer with an example........The company standard is to save all projects in the following folder location on the server - S:\Engineering\Plans. The new server is put into place and the IT department decides to change the folder structure. You are now expected to save all projects to - Z:\Eng\Master\Plans.

This can be fixed in two ways, that hard way or the easy way. I prefer easy.

Instead of opening each host file and repathing the folder locations manually in Autocad, you can use the Reference Manager (it's been around since AutoCAD 2004), NO PROGRAMMING KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED!

"Oh, the Reference Manager, you mean the Xref Manager or External Reference Manager"....NO!"

Step 1: Close AutoCAD - I know this can be difficult for some of you. You could also wait for AutoCAD to crash if you want.

Step 2" START menu in Windows-->Programs-->Autodesk-->AutoCAD-->Reference Manager

Step 3: For our example you need to repath thousands of folder/file locations so the "Add Drawings" button would not be appropriate. Instead, open a session of Windows Explorer (My Computer) and drag the entire folder structure into the Reference Manager. Using the example folder structure above, I would drag the "Engineering" folder from S:\Engineering\Plans into the window.

Step 4: A warning may appear asking to add all nested xrefs....say Yes.

Step 5: After the Reference Manager finishes processing the files, choose the "Xrefs" folder in the left window. This shows only the Xref files, not the host DWGs.

Step 6: In the right window, select all the Xref files (CTRL-A is a shortcut to select all).

Step 7: On the top choose Find and Replace. In the x box input the existin file path - S:\Engineering\Plans\. In the x box below, put in the new folder path - Z:\Eng\Master Plans\. Make sure to include the \ (back-slash). Why Find and Replace instead of Edit Selected Paths? Find and Replace will change the parent folder names. Edit selected is used when you add individuak drawings from the Add Drawings button and you want to specifiy one new folder location.

Step 8: MOST IMPORTANT STEP!!!!! - Choose Apply Changes on the top.

In the end, the Reference Manager is a simple and very powerful Xref path re-mapper.

Please be careful when changing folder structure paths. If you are uncertain about changing the paths, contact your IT Admin for help.

Nintendo Wii Remote as a 3D Navigator - Oh come on!

Recently, I came across this web video showing you how to connect a Nintendo Wii remote to your computer and use it with Autodesk Design Review, AutoCAD or Inventor as a 3D navigational device. This is not a bad idea considering a new Wii remote is roughly $40 and a good 3D nav is much more. This is a great solution but the only catch is that your computer needs to have Bluetooth technology.

If you are interersted, the following linkThe following demonstrates how to connect a Wiimote to your computer via bluetooth and use as an input device to control and navigate 3D CAD in Autodesk Design Review.

Wii Remote for 3D CAD

Talk about having too much time on your hands.

Creating a 3D Section in Revit

Here are the easy steps that will allow you to create this view:

1. Have a model created from which you can create a section and 3D view perspective.
2. Using the default 3D view that is in the project browser create a duplicate of this view.  Select the view then use the secondary mouse button to “Duplicate”
3. Select the new Copy of the view created and using the secondary mouse button rename the view.(ex: 3D Axonometric View)
4. Go to a plan view to create a new Section for a particular part of the model. (ie: Building  Section, Wall section)
5. Rename the section (ie: Axonometric Section) in the same manner that the 3D view was renamed.
6. Make the 3D Axonometric view in the project browser active by double clicking the name in the project browser.
7. Go to the View pull down menu and select “Orient” → ”To Other View” tool.
8. Select the name of the section that was just created from the “Orient to Other View” dialogue box.
9. The new active view will look just like the section view that was created before; the biggest difference will be when you select the “Dynamically Modify View tool” and select the Shift Key and hold down the scroll wheel on your mouse.
10. This will activate the rotate command and now you will see the section created from an axonometric view perspective.

Many thanks goes out to Luis Navarette for writing the contents of this entry.

Using the project browser, a user can duplicate views and use a combination of section views and 3D perspectives to create the axonometric view for any part of the model.  This helpful trick will not only create a more detailed view of a particular section of the model  but will impress any new user or person that still may not be convinced of the power of the BIM in Revit.

Excellent MEP Blog

Credit goes out to William "Billy" Wright for starting a much needed AutoCAD and Revit MEP (Mechanical Electrical Plumbing) blog. I encourage people that are not familiar with AutoCAD and Revit MEP to take a look.

In my opinion, BIM (Building Information Modelling) is the future of design and drafting for the MEP industry and Revit MEP is a great application to do so.

Blog: duct duct pipe

Top 2 FREE apps from Autodesk that every CAD Manager must have.

As a Technical Manager for SolidCAD (www.solidcad.ca) I deal with CAD Managers from many different firms. It has come to my attention that most CAD managers are so engulfed in maintenance and troubleshooting of the CAD systems, they do not take the time to investigate what applications are out there that can help them coup.

There are 2 FREE applications from Autodesk that a CAD manager will find very handy and resourceful.

DWG TrueView

For those employs that want to view and plot only and not make any changes, Autodesk offers a free DWG viewer called DWG TrueView. The DWG TrueView also includes a converter to save mulitple DWG file to older formats/versions.

Autodesk Design Review

To reduce paper markups, this innovative tool from Autodesk allows a user to import a DWG or DWF(x), redline the drawing and then produce a DWF(x) file that can imported into any Autodesk software like AutoCAD and Revut. The Autodesk Design Review is the old Volo View or DWF Viewer.

Rotate a single view in Revit

In Revit, the structure is designed in the direction of either project north or true north. Many requests have been made to rotate a single view 90 degrees for placement on a sheet. This can be a very dangerous if you do not know what you are doing because rotating a view will change the entire direction of the project, which is WRONG.

To rotate a single view:

1. Duplicate the view.

2. Turn on the crop region.

3. Choose MODIFY and select the crop region.

4. Use the ROTATE command to turn the crop region, which will turn the view.

Change multiple wall orientations in Revit

In Revit Building or Revit Structure, a user can flip the wall orientation to adjust what is exterior or interior. To do this, a user must select the existing wall and choose the blue double arrows to change the orientation. There are times when the entire set of walls is drawn "backwards". To flip all of the walls in one command, the user must:

1. Select or highlight all the walls that need to be flipped.
2. Press the SPACE bar on the keyboard.

By pressing the SPACE bar, all the walls will flip simultaneously.