SPAUG-Tip of the Month 1997

December's Tip of the Month

Two new quick keys.

Add these lines to your ACAD.Lsp file

EF - Extend Fence

TF - Trim Fence

The double quotation marks issues a return after
the extend or trim command which selects everything
on screen as a cutting or extending edge.

(defun c:ef ()
(command "extend" "" "f")
(princ)
)

(defun c:tf ()
(command "trim" "" "f")
(princ)
)

November's Tip of the Month
Do's and Don'ts of dimensioning.
	You would like the dimension to read - 7'-0" I.D. Don't type in - 7'-0" I.D. (top dimension) Instead type in - <> I.D. (bottom dimension) This will enable the dimensions to retain the correct value while stretching.

October's Tip of the Month

How do I quickly load or unload partial menus without using the tedious dialog interface?

You can either use simple menu macros or lisp.
First you need to temporarily turn off dialog boxes using the FILEDIA command.
Load the menu with the MENULOAD command, then reset FILEDIA.

Examples:
[->FACADE]
[Load]^c^cfiledia 0 menuload d:/programs/facade/facwinpt filedia 1
[Unload]^c^cfiledia 0 menuunload d:/programs/facade/facwinpt filedia 1

[Internet Toolbar]^c^c(command "menuunload" "inet") (command "menuload" "inet") _toolbar;INET.TB_INTERNET_UTILITIES;_show

September's Tip of the Month
Making AutoCAD load a little faster.
	For Windows NT 4.0 or 95 users. "Right click" on your shortcut icon for ACAD and hit properties. Go to the shortcut tab and add /nologo after acad.exe as highlighted in the image. This will prevent the large logo that appears every time you load AutoCAD. This will save 3-5 seconds off your load time (depending on the speed of your computer).

August's Tip of the Month
A Macro to quickly draw a splined leader (R13 & 14).
	With this simple macro you can turn 12 keystrokes into 4 picks with your cursor. Leader without text: [Spline Leader]^c^cleader \\f s \\;;n; Leader with text: [Spline Leader w/ text]^c^cleader \\f s \\;

July's Tip of the Month

Trimming & Extending Dimensions.

Don't forget that this is now possible in R13 or higher.

The AutoCAD manual doesn't even address trimming the length(value) of the dimension, only trimming the extension line is mentioned.

1. Trim mode: sometimes the node has to be @ least ~1/8" > the trim line.(don't ask me why)
2. Extend mode: doesn't have to be, sometimes it moves the node a small amount by itself (depending on how zoomed in you are)

Select Cutting Edges (highlighted) then select dimension to trim or extend.

If the dimension will not trim or extend, make sure you have a cutting edge that passes or meets the node point of the dimension.

"Remember that there are always more ways than 1 to do anything in AutoCAD. It is better to know more ways to do 1 thing, than to only know 1 way to do anything." Tippit 97

June's Tip of the Month

A better looking Insulation.

My Minsert version vs. Acad's linetype version :

[3-1/2" Vert. Insul]^c^cMINSERT INSUL \3.5 1.3125 0 \1 1.3125
[5-1/2" Vert. Insul]^c^cMINSERT INSUL \5.5 2.0625 0 \1 2.0625
[12" Horiz Insul]^c^cMINSERT INSUL \12 4.5 90 \1 4.5

Advantages:
1. Better looking (doesn't have that straight segment at the end of the line).
2. Has a Set size-Full Scale! (don't have to change objects ltscale for different scales & sizes)
3. Can use DDMODIFY to change length (number of rows).

Disadvantages:
1. Longer regen times.
2. Guess work on length.
3. Can't explode or trim/extend.

Note: You must have Insul.Dwg in ACAD's search path.

May's Tip of the Month

How do I redefine the Function keys in R13 to my favorite osnap commands, i.e.; endpoint, midpoint etc.?

Here's how to do it:

The way you would do this is quite simple. All you have to do is edit the ACAD.MNS file.
If you edit the ACAD.MNU you will loose any changes you have made to your toolbars.
If you haven't made changes to any of them, then I would edit the ACAD.MNU file.
Go to the section that says ***ACCELERATORS. Here you can add your own accelerator keys.

ex.
***ACCELERATORS
["F3"]endp
["F4"]int
[SHIFT "F3"]mid
[SHIFT "F4"]cen
etc.

Note: If you are an old converted hard-core DOS user, and you changed the Keystrokes to
AutoCAD Classic in Preferences Dialog under the System tab in order to get your Ctrl-C
to work again, then you have just disabled the Accelerators section and the above will not work.
If you think you can get used to using the ESC key, then change it back to Menu File.

Tip taken from (CADENCE Magazine. February, 1997 pg.94) by George Head

April's Tip of the Month

How do I show the same xref more than 1 way, that is with different colors and linetypes on the same page?

Here's how to do it:

Command: XREF
?/Bind/Detach/Path/Reload/Overlay <Attach>: enter
Select file to attach: BASE

Command: XREF
?/Bind/Detach/Path/Reload/Overlay <Attach>: enter
Select file to attach: FLOOR=BASE

BASE is the actual name of the drawing you are attaching and FLOOR is the name you want the layers to be labeled.

Layer Names will look similar to this -
BASE|HIDDEN
BASE|WALLS
FLOOR|HIDDEN
FLOOR|WALLS

Don't forget to set VISRETAIN 1 (on) to save your color and linetype changes!

Tip taken from (Design Automation Systems,Inc. Summer, 1996 pg12) by Dave Fall

March's Tip of the Month
Layer change with Pedit and Join.Lsp.
	Did you know you can change entities layers by using the PEDIT and Join.Lsp (lisp routine that comes with ACAD - found in Sample Directory) commands? All you have to do is select the first entity that has the layer you want the others to change to.

February's Tip of the Month
Zooming in Paper Space Pop-Down.
	ZoomPS.Mnu This is the pop-down you need! I originally created it on 09/21/94 I have recently added DECI-ARCH in response to Alfred Narbaiz @ Abacus Engineering's request. It includes Architectural, Decimal Architectural, Engineering, and Decimal Engineering. Just copy-paste into your ACAD.MNU under the VIEW Pop-down at the bottom. Enjoy!

January's Tip of the Month
Adding a Path Statement.
	Create a Custom Directory to put all your new lisp routines into. Then add the path (ex. c:\acustom) in the Preferences dialog under the Environment tab in the Support box as shown. Now you will be able load any New Lisp routine without having to type in a complete path. The order of the Support path determines which directories will be looked in first. If you wanted to have a custom Acad.Lsp or Acad.Mnu file etc., just put them in the custom directory, where they will be located first by AutoCAD. This makes for easy Upgrades in the future!