Drawing « AutoCAD Tips Blog

Make dimensions look orderly by aligning them

As you add dimensions, they can get messy looking if you don’t align them.

The DIMSPACE command has a little-known technique that automatically aligns the dimensions for you. Follow these prompts:

Select base dimension: Select the dimension that you want to align the other dimensions to.

Select dimensions to space: Select the dimensions that you want to align. [...]

Spacebar Shortcuts

In a previous tip, I discussed shortcuts that use the Shift key. Here I discuss a few shortcuts that use the Spacebar.

As an equivalent to the Return/Enter key

With one exception, you can use the Spacebar instead of the Enter key. It’s often more convenient, because it’s bigger and because if your right hand is on [...]

AutoCAD Tutorial: Create a dynamic block of a door

Dynamic blocks are an amazing feature, but they can be complicated. This tutorial will teach you many techniques that you can use in your own blocks. The door will do the following:

Stretch to 3 sizes
Flip left/right
Flip in/out

This tutorial is updated for AutoCAD 2010 and 2011. Follow these steps:

In a new [...]

Find the midpoint between two points, the center of a triangle, and other unusual points

Use AutoCAD’s calculator (originally the CAL command and then the QUICKCALC command) to find calculated points, such as the midpoint between two existing points or the center of a triangle. You usually use this command transparently, while drawing a line.

Use the object snap

There’s a shortcut to start a line (or specify any [...]

Use tool palettes to save and place user-defined hatch patterns

If you create user-defined hatches, which means that you specify the angle and spacing, you may want to save them for future use. You can easily do this using a tool palette.

First, create the user-defined hatch. In the Hatch and Gradient dialog box (or on the Hatch Creation tab in AutoCAD 2011), choose [...]

Quickly find out how many insertions of a block are in your drawing

Do you sometimes want to know how many times you inserted the widget block in your drawing? Here’s a quick way:

Display the Properties palette (Ctrl+1).
Click the Quick Select button at the upper-right corner of the Properties palette.
In the Quick Select dialog box, from the Object Type drop-down list, choose Block Reference. If you choose one [...]

Marking revisions with a revision cloud

A revision cloud is an often-used means to indicate that certain areas of a drawing contain revisions. The cloud draws attention to the revision. It’s similar to using Track Changes in Microsoft Word, or highlighting text. The revision cloud circles the revised objects.

A revision cloud

To add a revision cloud, choose Home tab> Draw [...]

Working with Blocks: The BASE command, the Basepoint option, and the Basepoint parameter

Blocks and basepoints go hand-in-hand. Knowing how to work with basepoints can make your life much easier. It’s so frustrating to insert a block and have it disappear into outer space because the basepoint is in the wrong location!

The Basepoint option of the INSERT command

When you insert a block, a Basepoint option appears with the [...]

Tips for working with layers

Everyone works with layers. Most of the time, you set up your layers in a template and that’s that. But when you need to make changes, a few tips can help make the process easier. Here are some of mine:

When you create a new layer, often you want its properties to be similar to that [...]

AutoCAD Tutorial: Use parametric constraints to constrain models

AutoCAD 2010 introduced a great new feature, parametric constraints. You can constraint objects in two ways:

Geometrically: You can constrain objects to meet at a point, be horizontal, be vertical, be perpendicular, be concentric, and more
Dimensionally: You can constrain the dimensions of objects. For example, a you can constraint a line to be 4 units long, [...]

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