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.

Where is the ACAD.PGP file?

Many CAD users change the aliases of common commands in the ACAD.PGP file. The location of this file has been moved around over the years and finding it has always been a problem.

The quickest way to access the PGP file is within AutoCAD.

1. Tools pull-down menu
2. Customize
3. Edit Program Parameters (acad.pgp)

This will open the file within Notepad. All you have to do is make modification to the command aliases.

For example, many people change the COPY alias from CO to just C.

Note:
1. You cannot have two alias with the same letters. For example, you cannot use C for the COPY and for    the CIRCLE commands.
2. Any changes made to the PGP file will only take affect aftere restarting AutoCAD.

The Old Zoom

Many users of AutoCAD do not like the new dynamic zoom effect in the application. When using the zoom window or zoom extents command, the drawing area zooms in or out very smoothly. It almost looks like a guided missile going in for the kill. If you do not like this new zoom look, there is a system variable that controls this "VTENABLE".

The VTENABLE system variable is set to 3 by default. Setting this to 0 will have the zoom command act as it did in past releases.

Lock the display of a Viewport Part II

There is another way to lock the display of the viewport:

1. Select the viewport.

2. Right-click, choose Display Lock --> Yes

I would like to thank Donna Stelzer for this tip.

Lock the display of a Viewport

One of my biggest pet peeves is an AutoCAD operator that does not lock the display of a viewport in Layout (paperspace). It is very annoying when another user double-clicks the middle of a viewport to make a change in model space but zooms and changes the scale.

To prevent a user from changing the scale of a viewport use the Display Lock option in the Properties of the Viewport:

1. Select the viewport.
2. Open the Properties.
3. Scroll down to find Display Lock (default is NO)
4. Change the NO to YES.

Now, if you were to double-click inside the viewport and zoom, you are still zooming the paperspace, not the model space. This prevents a user from messing-up the scale.

Double-clicking MTEXT or DTEXT not working

Since the release of AutoCAD 2002, double-clicking either MTEXT or DTEXT would automatically open the text editor. This elevated the old "DDEDIT" or "ED" command to edit text.

Sometimes, this option stops working. If this does occur, check the system variable DBLCLKEDIT. This should be set to ON.

Combine Zoom and Pan as one for Undo/Redo

UNDO/REDO are very powerful commands, until it comes to zoom and pan. Do I really want to undo/redo every little zoom or pan? NO!

In previous versions of AutoCAD, ADT, or ABS, the UNDO/REDO command applied to each instance of zoom or pan. In a typical drawing a user zooms or pans around hundreds of times, there is no easy way of undoing or redoing a string of consecutive zooms or pans.

Now in AutoCAD, ADT and ABS 2006 the ZOOM and PAN command can be combined into one UNDO/REDO. You can use the new "Combine zoom and pan commands" which is located in OPTIONS. This will combine consecutive zoom and pan operation into one, so you can UNDO/REDO in one step.

Go to TOOLS-->OPTIONS-->User Preference Tab, then select the "Combine zoom and pan commands" under the Undo/Redo section.