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Over 130 AutoCAD tips and tutorials! |
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AutoCAD Tips & Tutorials
Ending the line command
Prior to AutoCAD 2000 you could end the LINE command by right-clicking with your mouse. That was because the right mouse button was programmed to be equivalent to pressing Enter. However, in AutoCAD 2000, right-clicking opens up a shortcut menu. One of the options on that menu is Enter which you can click to end the LINE command, but who wants to take that extra step? You use the LINE command so often, at least it should be easy. Here are three very different approaches to solving this annoyance:
- De-activate the shortcut menus. Choose Tools>Options and choose the User Preferences tab. Then click Right-click Customization. You can then make several choices from the dialog box. Dean Urevig suggests the following settings: Default Mode-Repeat Last Command. Edit Mode-Shortcut Menu. Command Mode-Enter. However, this approach gets rid of all your shortcut menus except when you are editing a selected object. I still like to use the shortcut menus for choosing command options. So you may want to try one of the other approaches. Glen Beech suggests checking the Turn On Time-Sensitive Right-Click check box. This makes a quick right-click equivalent to pressing Enter, and a longer right-click displays the shortcut menu. Then keep the other defaults.
- Create a one line toolbar button. Many of the lines you draw are drawn one line at a time. You can create a toolbar button that automatically ends the LINE command after you draw one line. The menu item will read: ^C^C_line;\\; For more information on customizing a toolbar, see p. 948 and the following pages of AutoCAD 2000 Bible. I love this option; if you create this button, I predict that you'll use it a lot.
- Is your mouse several inches away from your keyboard? Or even at a different height? If you can place it next to the keyboard, you can just reach over with your thumb and press Enter on the numeric pad to end the LINE command. Vicki S. Mangum and Kyle Pettibone both suggested using your left hand to hit the spacebar. Your left hand is free and the spacebar is big! Marvin Henrie uses the Escape key. Thanks for these tips!
Ray Kemp at Raydon Corporation, Daytona Beach, FL wrote in that Microsoft makes an infrared, 4-button, mouse called "Intellimouse!" He bought two from buy.com for about $60, one for home and one for work. He writes, "While similar to the Logitech 4-button mouse, on which the wheel can be used as a wheel or button, this takes the mouse one step further without the expense of the Wacom. Two buttons on the left side (this is not for south-paws) are above the ergonomic thumb position. I use one for ORTHO and one for OSNAP. I still have the standard left and right top buttons and my zoom/scroll wheel in the center. My Logitechs are in my desk drawers now. The Intellimouse! can be used anywhere, has no ball & synchros to get dirty, and I can use it on my leg if I want to."
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| Books by Ellen |
This is the 9th edition of this book! Completely updated to conform to the new interface and, of course, it covers all the new features, such as the ribbon, Quick View, ShowMotion, the View Cube, the SteeringWheel, and more. |
AutoCAD 2008 and AutoCAD LT 2008 Bible |
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 AutoCAD 2006 and AutoCAD LT 2006 Bible Understand and use the 2006 features, including dynamic blocks and the new method of customizing menus and toolbars. CD-ROM has AutoCAD trial, software, and drawings for all exercises. |
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