AutoCAD Tips & Tutorials

AutoCAD 2009 new features

It's that time of year again when I summarize the new features of the latest release and give you my opinion, as well. AutoCAD 2009 focuses on a new interface, but it includes other new features as well.

The ribbon

Am I writing about AutoCAD or Microsoft Office 2007? Forgive me for getting confused. AutoCAD 2009 has switched over to an Office 2007-like tabbed ribbon along the top for its default 2D Drafting & Annotation and 3D Modeling workspaces. You can customize the ribbon to your heart's content using the CUI command, and even make it vertical. Moreover, you can add old-style toolbars if you want. (I wish Office was so flexible.) Finally, if you really hate it, use the AutoCAD Classic workspace and make it go away -- you'll have the familiar menus and toolbars back again.

Here you see the default configuration of the ribbon, including the title bar above it.

Here you see the ribbon docked on the right side. Now it looks more like the old Dashboard of the previous 2 releases. Notice the small icons at the top -- those are the tabs. To do this, right-click an empty area of the ribbon and click Undock. Then you can drag it around and treat it like a palette, auto-hiding it and anchoring it to the left or right.

Conclusion: The ribbon has some great things going for it. I liked the Dashboard (which is now completely gone), especially for 3D work, because it put a lot of related commands together in one place, along with controls for adjusting settings. The ribbon does something similar. The Home tab is supposed to contain 80% of the commands you need for everyday work, but I still don't like the tab concept. By their very nature, tabs hide tools that I need to use. I've seen this in Office (I absolutely can't write my books in Word 2007 because of the poor controls for styles--but I'm digressing.)

The Quick Access toolbar

The only toolbar in the 2D Drafting & Annotation and 3D Modeling workspaces is the Quick Access toolbar. This is also a copy of the Office 2007 setup. You can customize the commands on this toolbar; right-click it and choose Customize Quick Access Toolbar.

Tip: Right-click the Quick Access toolbar and choose Toolbars>AutoCAD to see the entire list of toolbars and display those that you can't do without.

Conclusion: The Quick Access toolbar is necessary because its tools are no longer visible on the ribbon. These are basic tools like starting a new drawing, opening a drawing, plotting, undoing, and redoing. The Undo and Redo buttons no longer show their history, which is a loss.

The Menu Browser

Beneath the A is a complete menu. It's just organized vertically instead of horizontally and so it takes up less space. The menu itself hasn't changed much, so you can generally find the commands you need in their familiar location.

However, the menu browser has added a few tricks:

• A search box where you can search for commands
• You can see open documents (which you can also do with the new Quick View Drawings feature, see below)
• You can see your recent actions and easily repeat them
• You can sort recent documents by name, date, or type, and see thumbnails
• At the bottom is a button to open the Options dialog box (this is also very Office-like)

Conclusion: I like the menu browser. It's one more click to open it, but it fits the entire menu into the space of an "A." The search feature is also helpful.

Quick View

You can quickly switch between open drawings and even their layouts, using the thumbnails as a guide. The Quick View Drawings button is on the status bar; just click it to display the thumbnails. Then click the thumbnail to display the drawing or layout.

Conclusion: An easy way to switch between drawings, and even directly switch to the layout of your choice.

Quick Properties and Rollover Properties

When you select an object, the Quick Properties window pops up, showing a few of the most important properties. Hover the cursor over the window and it expands slightly to show a few more properties. You can use the window as a quick Properties palette, to view or change properties. You can turn it off and customize which properties appear in it. You can even customize which objects display the QP window when selected, using the CUI command.

When you hover the cursor over an object without selecting it, the Rollover Properties window appears, which is a baby version of the Quick Properties window. This one is just for information; you can't change the properties.

Conclusion: Some people will find the Quick Properties window annoying, but I've grown to like it. The same goes for the Rollover Properties window. It might get in your way, but it can be helpful, too.

ShowMotion

ShowMotion is a new take on the old VSLIDE and script combination. You can create shots, which are views of your drawing. You can then play them back, to create a presentation that displays the various views of your drawing.

Shots can be still, cinematic, or motion path. A cinematic shot offers some preset motion choices such as panning and zooming in or out. A recorded walk lets you walk through a model by dragging.

Conclusion: This is a nice idea, but the transitions between shots are not smooth, as you can see by looking at the video. You can fade into a shot or cut to it, but it doesn't seem to matter. I also find the walking hard to control. Maybe I'm just not cut out to be a movie director.

View Cube

The View Cube is a new way to quickly change your view in 3D models. You can just click on the view that you want, or you can click and drag the view cube to make finer adjustments. Do you remember the tripod and compass, which was the first interactive way to change your viewpoint? No one uses that any more, because you can't see your model as you use it. The View Cube replaces the tripod and compass, but is much easier to use.

Below the View Cube itself is a drop-down list that contains named views and saved UCS's, so you can quickly restore one. You can right-click and specify settings, set a "Home" view, and switch between parallel and perspective views.

Watch the movie

Conclusion: This is one of my favorite features of AutoCAD 2009. Simple and easy to use.

SteeringWheel

Yes, that's one word. The SteeringWheel is a multi-function navigation device that follows your cursor. It's really a menu of navigation commands. It comes in various configurations, large and small, as well as variations -- full, view object, and tour building. Each wedge contains a different command:

• Zoom: A regular real-time zoom
• Rewind: Rewinds through previous views, showing thumbnails of each so you can pick the one you like
• Pan: A regular real-time pan
• Orbit: A regular constrained 3D Orbit
• Center: Lets you specify a pivot for orbiting
• Look: A regular 3D swivel
• Walk: A walk-through
• Up/Down: Slides the view along the Y axis of the screen (which is like being in an elevator).

To use a wedge, you click and drag.

Conclusion: I haven't found the SteeringWheel to be highly useful. I can access Zoom, Pan, and Orbit more easily using just the mouse and the rest of the tools I don't use very often. The mini-wheels are way too small for my eyes and I'd never remember which tool is where. I like the Rewind tool, though, and would like to see it on the status bar.

Action Recorder

Yes, you can now record actions and save them as macros. This is a long-requested feature. You can even add (afterwards) user prompts and messages. You can also edit the macros easily. You need to plan your macros carefully, to make sure that the drawing setup is the same that you'll have when you use the macro. For example, if you use a palette to give a command, will it be open when you play back the macro? Sometimes, using command-line commands works better, so that the results are reminiscent of scripts. That's because the macro recorder doesn't record what happens inside dialog boxes. But of course, you don't need to type out the exact commands and options when you record a macro, as you do with a script.

Here's a macro that changes the current layer to OBJ and creates a circle with a radius of 3.2. You'd need to make sure that you have that layer available when playing back the macro. Note that the macro records the absolute center that I specified. But because I can change that to a request for user input, I can use that macro to create a 3.2-radius circle on layer OBJ anywhere in my drawing.

Macros are saved as ACTM files (another Office-2007-like feature), so you can share them with others.

Conclusion: It will take some thinking to make macros useful, but they have lots of potential.

Layer Properties Manager palette

The Layer Properties Manager is now a palette rather than a dialog box. This means that you can leave it open, auto-hide it, and dock it. You can access it more easily and layer changes occur instantly. No clicking OK!

Conclusion: I love it! (OK, to come clean, this was a feature that I asked for, although I'm sure others did too.)

Other new AutoCAD 2009 features

There are many more new features that I would consider to be minor, but one of these may just make your day:

• Export layout to model space: Exports objects on a layout to model space of a new drawing
• Geographic location: Sets a geographic location for a drawing. You can import data from Google Earth.
• Dynamic Xclip: Lets you grip-edit an xclip boundary
• eTransmit purge: You can purge drawings before eTransmitting them
• Find and Replace: You can find and replace text in blocks and xrefs, and you can use wildcard characters (such as * and ?)
• Wblock more easily: You can select a block and type w to start the WBLOCK command
• DWFx underlays: You can use DWFx files as underlays. DWFx is like DWF, but based on Microsoft's XML Paper Specification format, which is included in Windows Vista. This lets Vista users view DWFx files without having any special software.
• DGN support: There's now support for both V7 and V8 Microstation® DGN files. You can use DGN files as underlays, and import from and export to DGN format.
• AutoCAD 2009 is certified for 32-bit and 64-bit Windows Vista

Here are a few other write-ups of AutoCAD 2009 new features:

• My friend, Melanie Perry, has a great write-up on her Mistress of the Dorkness blog.
• Lynn Allen, as usual, does a great job of explaining each new feature, one at a time. You can start here and then browse for more.
• Shaan Hurley's Between the Lines also has some great descriptions of new features. Start here and then browse for more.
• Robin Capper's RobinNZ CAD Blog, shows you some new interface items with some great animation.
• Steve Johnson's blog, blog nauseam, has a good, detailed write-up

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