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Customizing the Keyboard
AutoCAD functions can be assigned to keys on the keyboard using the Customize window or by manually modifying a menu file. Many shortcut keys are already assigned to AutoCAD functions. This tip sheet outlines how you can quickly create keyboard shortcuts.
Frequently Asked Auto CAD Questions (FAQs)
How do I change the Single Drawing Compatibility Mode in AutoCAD 2008+?
How do I create a PDF from an AutoCAD drawing?
How do I use the command line instead of dialog boxes?
How do I make the file dialog boxes display?
How do I make the attribute dialog box display when I insert a block?
How do I make the middle button display the Object Snap menu?
How do I find and use the files created by AutoSave?
How do I make my dialog boxes reappear?
How do I load bonus tools in AutoCAD 2000?
How do I make dimensions associative?
How do I relocate a toolbar on my screen that is turned on but not visible?
How do I make AutoCAD search a different folder for menus, blocks, etc.?
How do I make a toolbar button that allows me to select objects?
How can I select more than one object with commands like Move and Erase?
How do I change the AutoCAD background color?
How do I change the read-only setting on a file?
How do I remove the proxy notice window?
How do I turn off the Active Assistant in AutoCAD 2002?
The text is the Mtext dialog is very light. How do I make the Mtext dialog darker?
How do I edit a Table object in AutoCAD 2004
More to come..
How do I change the Single Drawing Compatibility Mode in AutoCAD 2008+?
The Single Document Interface (SDI) system variable can be used to manage SINGLE DRAWING COMPATIBILITY MODE. Type SDI and press ENTER. 1 = On (single), 0 = Off (multiple).
How do I create a PDF from an AutoCAD drawing?
A Portable Document Format (PDF) file is highly portable across computer platforms, making it a popular format for viewing and printing drawings without AutoCAD. PDF documents are created with Adobe Acrobat or other programs and can be viewed with Adobe Acrobat Reader and other PDF reader programs.
Prior to AutoCAD 2007, AutoCAD did not include a PDF driver or converter. However, many free and low cost solutions exist. I have personally had good success with a free product named CutePDF. This product installs and is used just like an ordinary printer. One draw back I've found is that you cannot create multi-page PDF's using AutoCAD's Publish command.
However, if you are using AutoCAD 2007+, you can use the DWG to PDF.PC3 configuration that is included. No new to purchase or download anything. You can use the DWG to PDF.PC3 configuration to create multi-page PDF's too!
How do I use the command line instead of dialog boxes?
Beginning with AutoCAD 2000, several commands changed to utilize a dialog box for input. Prior to AutoCAD 2000 one command produced a dialog box, another prompts on the command line. For instance, typing DDINSERT displayed the Insert dialog box, while typing INSERT prompted for input on the command line.
This change can wreck havoc on customized menus in later versions of AutoCAD. To use the command line version, include a hyphen (-) in front of a command: -INSERT.
The following is a list of commands that support dialog box and command line input. Placing a hyphen before the command name will cause prompts to be displayed in the command window.
array, attdef, attedit, attext, bhatch, block, boundary, color, dimstyle, group, hatchedit, hyperlink, image, imageadjust, insert, layer, linetype, lweight, mtext, pan, plot, plotstamp, psetupin, purge, refedit, rename, style, toolbar, units, vbarun, view, wblock, xbind and xref
How do I make the file dialog box display?
The system variable FILEDIA controls the display of file dialog boxes used in command like WBLOCK and SAVEAS. Setting FILEDIA to 0 disables the display of file dialog boxes, forcing input from the command line.
If your file dialog boxes have disappeared, make sure FILEDIA is set to 1.
How do I make the attribute dialog box display when I insert a block?
The system variable ATTDIA controls the display of the attribute dialog box when inserting a block with attributes. Setting ATTDIA to 0 disables the display of the attribute dialog box, forcing input from the command line.
If your attribute dialog box has disappeared, make sure ATTDIA is set to 1.
Another setting that may be having an effect on the attribute dialog box is ATTREQ. Setting ATTREQ to 0 disables the prompting for attributes when a block is inserted.
How do I make the middle button display the Object Snap menu?
The MBUTTONPAN system variable controls the behavior of the middle button. Set MBUTTONPAN to 0 causes the middle mouse button to perform the actions defined by the menu, typically to display the Object Snap cursor menu.
How do I find and use the files created by AutoSave?
By default the files created by AutoSave are stored in a temporary file folder. You can determine the folder name by selecting the Options command from the Tools menu. Next, select the Files tab. Click the '+' sign next to Automatic Save File Location. The complete path will be shown.
Once you've located the folder that contains the AutoSave files you'll need to decipher the file names. Below is the format used by the AutoSave function in naming the files.
drawing name_AutoCAD session number_MDE Window number_random number.sv$
drawing name is the original drawing name.
AutoCAD session number is the sequentially numbered session of the program running concurrently on the system (if there is more than one session running).
MDE Window number is the sequentially numbered open drawing in the program (if there is more than one drawing open).
random number is a random number generated by the program.
.sv$ is the file extension AutoCAD assigns to all AutoSave files.
Let's say you are looking for the AutoSave file for a drawing FloorPlan.dwg. You have determined that the AutoSave Folder is C:\Temp Your AutoSave file wil be something like C:\Temp\FloorPlan_1_2_4361.sv$.
To open the AutoSave file you'll need to rename the file so that it has dwg extension.Once you've located the file, just highlight it, right-click and select Rename from the list. At the very least, change the sv$ to dwg. At this point you can move the file to a different folder or open it.
Note: The BAK file can also be useful in recovering drawings. The BAK file will have the same name as the drawing file, but with a bak extension. Use the procedure described above to rename the BAK file to a DWG file before opening it.
How do I make my dialog boxes reappear?
A system variable named CMDDIA (command dialog) controls the display of many dialog boxes. Setting CMDDIA to 0 disables the display of these dialog boxes, forcing input from the command line. Set CMDDIA to 1 to have the dialog boxes display normally.
How do I make dimensions associative?
The system variable DIMASSOC controls the associativity of dimensions. Dimension associativity defines the relationship between geometric objects and the dimensions that give their distance and angles. DIMASSOC has three possible values:
2 - Fully Associative dimensions. Locations, orientations, and measurement values change when the geometric objects associated with them are modified, regardless of method (AutoCAD 2002 only).
1 - Nonassociative dimensions. Selected and modified with the geometry they measure. Use STRETCH to change geometry and dimensions.
0 - Exploded dimensions. Contains a collection of separate objects rather than a single dimension object.
How do I relocate a toolbar on my screen that is turned on but not visible?
If you find that one of your toolbars is missing, the first thing you want to do is make sure that the toolbar is turned on. Right clicking on a standard AutoCAD toolbar and verifying that there is a check mark beside the missing toolbar accomplishes this.
If the toolbar is turned on and still not visible on the screen, then you have an "out-of-bounds" toolbar. Sometimes in AutoCAD, during a drafting session, one can accidentally place a toolbar off of the viewable area of the monitor. This toolbar is still on and active, but untouchable to be manually relocated on the screen.
To reposition the toolbar so that it can be seen, enter -TOOLBAR at the command line. When prompted for the toolbar name, enter the name of the toolbar that you want to relocate. Next, you will be prompted for an option. The options are listed in [brackets]. Enter F for Float and press enter. Now, the command line will ask for a New Position (screen coordinates). Enter 500,500 (approximate center of the screen) and press enter. When the command line asks for the number of rows for the toolbar, accept the default value <default>. The missing toolbar should then appear near the center of your screen and can now be relocated and resized as needed.
How do I make AutoCAD search a different folder for menus, blocks, etc.?
The AutoCAD Support File Search path specifies the folders in which AutoCAD searches for support files. In addition to the files required to run AutoCAD, you can include files for fonts, menus, drawings to insert, linetypes, and hatch patterns in the support file search path. The path is set on the Files tab of the Options… window.
How do I make a toolbar button that allows me to select objects?
Commands like move, erase, chprop, etc. allow you to select objects until you press ENTER to continue to the next step of the command. Because you can select any number of objects, using any number of picks, it can be confusing to create toolbar buttons and menu picks that use commands like this. However, there is an easy way to deal with this apparent roadblock, the SELECT command. When the SELECT command is used in a toolbar button or menu pick, AutoCAD waits until the user presses ENTER to continue with the rest of the menu macro.
Let's say you want create a button to select a group of objects and change them to the HIDDEN layer, when linetype and color set ByLayer. Here's is the code
[Change to Hidden]^c^cselect;\chprop;previous;;la;hidden;lt;bylayer;co;bylayer;;
^c^c - clear any active commands
Select - select command
; - ENTER (spaces can also be used in most instances)
\ - pause for user input
Chprop - Change Properties command
Previous - select the previously selected group of objects (those selected for the Select command)
;; - one to complete Previous, the other to stop selecting objects.
La - layer
Lt - linetype
Co - color
ByLayer - Change the entity settings to display the property of the layer the object.
;; - one to complete ByLayer, the other complete the Chprop command.
How can I select more than one object with commands like Move and Erase?
If you find yourself unable to make more than one selection in commands like Move and Erase, it's probably because a setting has been changed that requires you to hold down the shift key to Add to the selection. To change this back to shift to Remove from the selection, select the Tools menu, then Options… and left-click on the Selection tab. Remove the check mark from the Use Shift to add to the select box. This setting can also be changed with the PICKADD system variable.
How do I change the AutoCAD background color?
The background color can be changed by selecting Options in the Tools menu (or type OPTIONS). Left-click on the Display tab. Next, left-click on the Color... button. Now, left-click on the model or layout tab image. Use the Color drop down list to select the desired color. You can change the color of a few other Window elements also: The Model and Layout tab pointers, the Autotrack vector color, the Command line background, the Command line text and the Plot Preview background.
How do I change the read-only setting on a file?
You can change the read-only setting on a file by selecting the file in AutoCAD's Select File window, right-clicking and selecting Properties from the menu. The Read-only setting is located at the bottom of the window. Note: AutoCAD will display an error when saving if the BAK file is Read-only.
How do I remove the proxy notice window?
Custom objects created using the AutoCAD Runtime Extension programming language (ObjectARX) require the ObjectARX program to display the objects. If the program is not available, a Proxy window is displayed. Set the PROXYNOTICE setting to 0 to suppress the window's display.
How do I turn off the Active Assistant in AutoCAD 2002?
To turn off the Active Asstistant permanently, right-click in the Active Assistance box and choose Settings... Remove the check mark next to Show on start. Set the Activation to On demand. Close Active Assistant.
The text is the Mtext dialog is very light. How do I make the Mtext dialog darker?
This is caused by a Windows® XP display setting for font display.
1. Right-click on the Windows XP desktop and click Properties on the shortcut menu.
2. In the Properties dialog box, click the Appearance tab.
3. Click Effects.
4. Clear the Use the Following Method to Smooth the Edges of Screen Fonts option.
5. Click Apply and Close
How do I edit a Table object in AutoCAD 2004?
Unfortunately, the Table object, which was added in AutoCAD 2005, cannot be modified in release AutoCAD 2004 and earlier. Tables can be exploded, resulting in line and text objects.
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