My 5 Timesaver Tips for a CAD Techie

My 5 Timesaver Tips for a CAD Techie

1. When you want to suppress the display of the boundary of a layout viewport, you should turn off the layer of the non-rectangular viewport instead of freeze it.  If the layer of a non-rectangular layout viewport is frozen. the viewport is not clipped correctly. AFTER USING "LAYFRZ" COMMAND, VIEWPORT RETURN TO RECTANGULAR SHAPE.

2. How to recover deleted file:
Folder -> Right Click then Properties -> previous Tab -> Select version of the folder that contains the file before it was deleted -> view -> View the folder and select the file that will be recovered -> Drag and drop, or cut and paste, the shadow copy to the desktop or folder on the end user’s local machine.

3. Can’t Purge $AUDIT-BAD-LAYER
Sometimes after you run the AUDIT command, you will see a layer in the Layer Manager called “$AUDIT-BAD-LAYER,” and even though you PURGE the layer, it seems to keep showing up.

Here’s how to get rid of it permanently:
3.1. Run the AUDIT command.
3.2. Run the PURGE command to get rid of the layer.
3.3. Now SAVE your drawing and exit out of it.
3.4. Reopen your drawing, and when you run the PURGE command, the bad layer will be gone
Source: AUGIWorld FEB 2017 Issue

4. e-TRANSMIT
ETRANSMIT command pulls together all files that the main DWG file depends on.  What if files are too many and you keep adding the file one by one?
See image below. Open the current folder you are working on. Select the files are ready for e-transmit. Then do DRAG AND DROP magic.

5.  Guide on how to change Xref filename which is already attached/overlay to a drawing without detaching and reattaching again.

Why Use Annotations Scaling?

WHY USING ANNOTATIONS SCALING?

We often need to draw several drawings in a sheet. They often have different scales. In this situation, it can be difficult to draw the annotations. What is the text height should be in 1:10 scale? What is the hatch scale, so it is not too dense in 1:100 scale? Moreover, what is the scale in 1:5 detailed drawing?

There are workarounds AutoCAD users do over the years. The methods work, but there are some downsides. If you have the problem and are looking another way to

do this, keep reading.

What are Annotations?
Annotations are the elements that are not a part of model or geometry. We add annotations in the drawing for clarity.

• We add text to give an object description.
• We add dimensions to allow engineers to know the sizes quickly.
• We add hatches or patterns to describe materials or other properties.
• We draw tags to add legends or description

The Problem with Drawing Annotations

We draw objects in real measurements, 1:1 scale. However, the annotation size is relative. You need to make sure the annotation is readable when you plot your drawing. If you draw your annotations on model space, the problem is obvious. The text size on 1:10 scaled drawing is different when you need to plot it with 1:25 scale. The hatches can be too dense if you plot it with a smaller scale.

Another method is to draw the annotations on the layout. Because we always plot

layout with 1:1 scale, it is easier to draw annotations. We draw text with the same

size we expect to appear on the paper. If I want the text 2mm, I draw it with 2mm

height on the layout.

However, drawing annotations on the layout also has downsides. When you modify

the drawing in model space, you may need to check and rearrange the

annotations. Hatches do not work with this method.

When Will I Get the Most Benefits of Using Annotation Scaling?

If you do not use layout, then Annotation Scaling is not for you. You can fully utilize

Annotation Scaling if you use layout.

The benefits of Annotation Scaling are:

• Annotation Scaling allows you to set the annotation size easily. You only need to think the size when it is plotted.
• If you need to show it on different scales, you do not need to recreate it. It resizes automatically.
• You can show annotations on different scales, but you only need to modify it once.

Excerpt from a Free e­book: Working with AutoCAD Annotation Scaling By Edwin Prakoso 

This eBook covers Annotation Scaling, how it works and how to use it. It is a 

good feature and I see several customers have implemented it successfully. 

However, there are still not many users on how to use it. Hope you will find it useful and you can implement it in your workflow. The eBook also included exercises and drawing file to use it.

 

The eBook is free to download. visit his website at 

http://www.cad-notes.com/