SPAUG-Tip of the Month 2000

December's Tip of the Month

How to use Excel to organize data in attributed blocks in AutoCAD 2000.

If you need a quick way to store, sort and organize the information in your attributed blocks, you can do so easily using a Microsoft Excel file that's included in the Acad2000 folder. To use this file, first open the drawing that contains the attributed blocks and then minimize it.

Next, open Excel and then open the extAttr.xls file located in the following directory:
C:\Program files\Acad2000\Sample\Activex\ExtAttr

You may need to click the Enable Macros button to open the file. Now from the Excel menu bar choose Tools | Macro | Macros. Select Extract from the Macro Name list box and click Run. All attribute data is extracted into an Excel worksheet. This data can now be sorted and organized with the Subtotals option from the Data menu.

This tip was from Element K Journals and contributed by Adam A. Supplee, RLA.

November's Tip of the Month

How do I disable the feature of selecting options, when I right-click during a command?

Go to your Options dialog. User Preferences Tab. In the upper left section called "Windows Standard Behavior", hit the "Right-Click Customization..." button. In the last section called "Command Mode", select the radio button for ENTER.

See image below.

requested by Yota Masaru, Beijing, People's Republic of China
answered by Jeff Tippit

October's Tip of the Month

Is there a way to Toggle the Menu Bar On & Off via LISP?

Yes, to enable the screen menu with AutoLISP use the following code:

(setenv "ScreenMenu" "1")

similarly to disable the screen menu when finished:

(setenv "ScreenMenu" "0")

Note that the environment variable is case sensitive and the 0 and 1 values are quoted.

requested by Alfred Narbaiz
answered by Ward Romberger

September's Tip of the Month

Layer Manager Tip.

Have you ever saved a layer state with LMAN, then created some new layers? Then when you tried to RESTORE your previous layer state, the new layers showed up when you didn't want them to? I think everyone has.

I have found a simple way to fix this. If you set your current layer to 0, then freeze every layer before issuing the RESTORE in LMAN, your layer states will be correct. After doing this, you can resave your layer state so that the new layers will be included in your old layer state.

Below, is a macro that automates the above process (not including LMAN commands).

^C^C-layer;t;0;s;0;freeze;*;

by Jeff Tippit

August's Tip of the Month

Purge Macro for R14 and A2K.

To create an icon to perform multiple purges, enter the following command string:

^C^Cpurge;a;*;n;purge;a;*;n;purge;^M;a;*;n;^M;

This string will perform three complete purges. As many times as you repeat the string is how many time it will purge.

Right-click, then Save Picture As... on the image for an icon you can use for this macro.

by Ray Finkel
Industrial Storage Systems, Inc.
Boise, ID

June's Tip of the Month

Forget the Old Filter command!

Note: This Tip only works in AutoCAD 2000.

The old Filter command, I believe, is almost no longer needed in A2K. With the new PROPERTIES command (aka DDCHPROP), you can filter on the fly by selecting the entities you want to work with first, then clicking the entities pop-down list and filtering by entity type.

requested by Roberto Treviño
answered by Jeff Tippit

May's Tip of the Month

How do I set my snap angles to 30 and 45 degrees, in addition to the orthogonal?

Note: This Tip only works in AutoCAD 2000.

Right-click on the POLAR button on the status bar. This will pull up the "Drafting Settings" dialog box. In the Polar Tracking tab make sure Polar Tracking is checked.

Since there are more 30 degree angles than 45, you can change the Increment angle to 30. Then check the Additional angles box and add the following 4 angles with the New button to supply the 45 degree increments: 45, 135, 225, and 315.

requested by I. A. Bloeser
answered by Jeff Tippit

April's Tip of the Month

Why does my CAPS Lock keep coming on?

You might have accidentally turned on the AutoCAPS feature in the MTEXT dialog.

AutoCAPS Feature - Converts all newly typed and imported text to uppercase. AutoCAPS does not affect existing text. To turn AutoCAPS on or off, double-click the AutoCAPS control, located at the bottom of the Multiline Text Editor.

by Jeff Tippit

March's Tip of the Month

What is that Asterisk for?

AutoCAD 2000 Users:

Have you ever wondered what that asterisk is at the end of you drawing name in the title bar is for?
Is this the first time you have seen it? Do you not have the full path shown in your title bar?

FULLPATH (ACETFPTH.ARX) is an Express Tool (found in Volume 7) that allows you to have the full path of your drawing shown in the title bar. It also has 3 characters that shows different functions at a glance.

1. an * (asterisk) at the end, denotes a modified (unsaved) drawing

2. a % (percent sign) before the filename, denotes a partially open drawing

3. an ! (exclamation mark) before the filename, denotes a drawing in Read-Only mode

by Jeff Tippit

February's Tip of the Month

Not just for Intellimouse.

The panning mode, also know as Joystick, similar to Office tools scrolling, is not just for the Intellimouse as noted in the AutoCAD User's Guide. It works with ANY pointing device that has a Middle Button assigned. AutoCAD 2000 only.

To use: Press CTRL, hold down the middle button, and drag the mouse.
Note: On a Summa 4 button puck the middle button is usually the Blue one.

by Jeff Tippit

January's Tip of the Month
Need a description for objects?
You can attach a description as an hyperlink to an object without typing in an URL for the hyperlink, this way, you get a tooltip to comment each of your objects. Only works in R2000. by Patrick Emin