PRODUCT FOCUS
AutoCAD 2014 OTHER TOOLS This article by no means covers all the tools available for drawing cleanup, but these are some very useful ones that, when used individually or in conjunction with others, can make your drawing cleanup process go much faster. As there are a multitude of options and tools available in AutoCAD for cleaning up your drawings, I encourage you to look into some of these other powerful commands and AutoCAD options. SETBYLAYER: Sets selected objects to color BYLAYER (as they should be). You can also use this to change the linetype, lineweight, material, and transparency to BYLAYER. Like SELECTSIMILAR, SETBYLAYER has a mode value (SETBYLAYERMODE) that can be set (i.e., for color only the value is 113). I typically do NOT change linetype to BYLAYER as it is a common scenario to have a linetype set to by entity but on the same layer with other line types.
FILTER:
Edit Quick Properties Content Rollover Tips are great (see AUGIWorld October 2012 for editing tips), but if you need to change a property of the selected object(s), simply customize the Quick Properties content. This is another tidbit I shared in my Autodesk University lab last month on how to add Background Mask to the Quick Properties content of Mtext.
How to Add a Background Mask Toggle to Quick Properties 1. Click on any Mtext, then click Quick Properties on the Status bar.
QUICK SELECT (QSELECT):
2. Click the Customize button in the top right corner to open the CUI, displaying three vertical panels. [In the middle section, Mtext is already highlighted.]
Use to select different types of objects that share the same properties such as color, linetype, plot style, lineweight, transparency, etc., and build a selection set on the fly.
4. Click OK to save your changes and close the CUI.
To create saved selection sets.
Use to remove duplicate items in a drawing that share the same space (i.e., doors, walls, lights, etc.) right on top of one another. This often happens when binding similar XREFs or copying items and inadvertently selecting the same origin and destination point and not realizing it. Clean, efficient drawings make for happy users!
Walt Sparling has worked in the building design industry for 25+ years, starting as a hand drafter. He moved on to CADD in the mid 1980s and then into CADD and networking training and consulting. Walt has served as project manager and designer in the mechanical and architectural realms and currently works with an electrical engineering firm in Tampa, Florida. In his “spare” time, Walt maintains a couple of blogs and a personal website: FunctionSense.com and waltsparling.com www.augi.com
3. In the Properties section on the right, check the box for Background Mask. 5. Click an Mtext object, then click the Background mask option in Quick Properties.
OVERKILL:
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And Here’s How to…
6. Click the ellipses button to open the Background Mask dialog box. 7. Check the box for Use Background Mask as well as the box for Use Drawing Background Color, as shown in the figure. 8. Click OK to close the Background Mask dialog box, then close Quick Properties.
When you move the text on top of another object, you see the mask effect. Michael E. Beall (B. Arch.) is an Autodesk Authorized Author and the owner of CAD Trainer Guy, LLC. He has been presenting onsite CAD training around the planet for more than 30 years. Contact him at michael.beall@cadtrainerguy.com or give him a call at 502.500.2267. January 2014