Heidi Hewett's Blog

Multiline Attributes in AutoCAD 2008… Yeah!

One of my favorite little enhancements in AutoCAD 2008 is the ability to create block attributes with multiple lines of text. The Attribute Definition and Edit Attribute dialog boxes include a new Multiple Lines control. When you select Multiple Lines, the Default text box is disabled and you’re provided with access the Multiline Attribute editor.

The Multiline Attribute editor is a simplified version of the MTEXT editor enabling you to enter text, adjust the width for text wrapping, insert fields, underline, and overline. You can use the right-click menu to access additional MTEXT editing options such as Import Text, Background color, and Autocaps. When you define a muiltiline attribute, an additional control in the Attribute Definition dialog box as well as in the Enhanced Attribute Editor, enables you to specify a Boundary Width.

Spell Checking in AutoCAD 2008

Spell checking has been enhanced in AutoCAD 2008 to further automate the spell checking process. When you launch the spell checker, the Check Spelling dialog box is immediately displayed without first requiring you to select objects. The Check Spelling dialog box has a new drop-down list from which you can choose where AutoCAD should check for spelling errors. The default is to check the entire drawing enabling you to simply choose Start to begin checking the entire drawing for spelling errors. Alternatively, you can choose to check only the current space/layout or specific objects that you select.

When AutoCAD detects a spelling error, it automatically highlights and zooms to the word in the drawing.

A new Check Spelling Settings dialog box provides more control over the spell checker behavior. You can specify whether to check dimension text, block attributes, and external references. Furthermore, a list of exclusion options enables you to specify sets of words that should be ignored such as words with numbers or punctuation.

Annotation Scaling 101

With the release of AutoCAD 2008 comes powerful new functionality for scaling your annotations. While learning this new functionality myself and then training others how to use it, I discovered that the toughest thing about annotation scaling might be that it is TOO EASY! For years and years (even decades!) we have learned and applied all kinds of crazy processes in order to make our annotations plot correctly at varying scales.  In this series on Annotation Scaling in AutoCAD 2008, I’ll lead you through the new, simpler process for creating accurately scaled annotations for your AutoCAD drawings.

Let’s begin with an overview of some of the user interface enhancements related to annotation scaling. The Dashboard includes a new Annotation Scaling panel. You can access the Dashboard by launching the DASHBOARD command or by selecting Tools>Palettes>Dashboard from the drop-down menu.

The Annotation Scaling panel is automatically displayed in the Dashboard when you use the 2D Drafting and Annotation workspace. Or you can manually turn it on by right-clicking over the Dashboard title bar and selecting Control Panels>Annotation Scaling.

Additional Annotation Scaling tools are available on the status bar. Different tools are displayed depending if the Model tab, a layout tab, or a layout viewport is selected.

Status bar when the Model tab is selected:

Status bar when a layout tab is selected:

Status bar when a layout viewport is selected:

As you begin using annotation scaling, you’ll find yourself relying heavily on the status bar tools. However, depending on your display resolution, you might discover that some of the tools are not fully displayed. For example, when my screen resolution is set to 1024x768, the two annotation tools to the right of the Annotation Scale are no longer visible.


There are several things you can do to ensure access to all of the annotation scaling tools:

• Increase your display resolution using the Windows Control Panel.
• Turn off unnecessary status bar controls using the Status Bar menu, which you can access from the menu arrow at the right end of the status bar.
  
• Turn on the Drawing Status Bar. This is a new option in the Status Bar menu.
  

When the Drawing Status Bar is turned on, the annotation scaling tools are displayed on a new status bar; one for each drawing. The benefit, besides having plenty of room for the annotation scaling tools, is that you can view and access the annotation controls on a per-drawing basis. The drawback is that it consumes more drawing real estate. If you don’t turn on the Drawing Status Bar, the annotation scaling tools on the AutoCAD Status bar apply to whichever drawing is current.

Well, that should give you a general idea of where to find the annotation scaling tools. But I’m sure you’re anxious to learn how to use these powerful tools! Stay tuned!

Experience the Possibilities!

Discover what it's like to experience your next project - all before anything is created in the real world. See how productivity can be increased, errors reduced and valuable time saved with new functions and smart applications. And get your specific industry questions answered by our experts.

Coming soon to a city near you... Autodesk is hitting the road with the Experience the Possibilities Tour!

Tour stops include:

April 10, 2007            Dallas, TX
April 12, 2007            Washington, DC
April 24, 2007            Orlando, FL
April 26, 2007            New York, NY
May 8, 2007               Montreal, QC
May 9, 2007               Toronto, ON
May 11, 2007             Boston, MA
May 15, 2007             San Jose, CA
May 16, 2007             Anaheim, CA
May 17, 2007             Seattle, WA
June 5, 2007              Chicago, IL
June 7, 2007             Vancouver, BC
June 13, 2007          Winnipeg, MB
June 14, 2007            Edmonton, AB
June 15, 2007            Calgary, AB
June 19, 2007           Halifax, NS
June 21, 2007            Ottawa, ON
September 18, 2007   Atlanta, GA
September 19, 2007  Denver, CO
September 20, 2007  Phoenix, AZ

For more information and to register for this FREE event, visit http://experience.autodesk.com/

Hope to see you there!

Learning in Atlanta!

Join CAD gurus Matt Murphy, David Cohn and Robert Green at the Atlanta CAD Camp on March 29th! In addition to the training courses offered by these national presenters, my coworker Abhi Singh will deliver a special “lunch and learn” presentation showing you the highlights of AutoCAD 2008! Visit www.cadcamp.com/atlanta for more information and to register. If you are in the Atlanta area, you don’t want to miss this valuable learning event. (I’d join you but I’m enjoying Spring Break this week with my family!)

Viewing 3D Block Definitions in AutoCAD 2008

In AutoCAD 2007, you can use many 3D tools within the block editor to edit your 3D blocks. However, you cannot use the 3D Orbit tool to easily view your 3D blocks while editing. Fortunately the block editor has been updated in AutoCAD 2008 so that you can use 3DORBIT. What is the quickest way to access 3DORBIT? Simply hold down the SHIFT key while you press and move the middle mouse wheel!

AutoCAD 2008 Graphics Hardware

AutoCAD 2008 includes support for Microsoft® Direct3D® hardware acceleration providing more flexibility for video cards. You can specify Direct3D or OpenGL® hardware acceleration in the Manual Performance Tuning dialog box which is accessible using the 3DCONFIG command. Regardless of which option you select for hardware acceleration, new texture compression enhancements will require less video memory and improve performance when display images and textures.

You can learn more about the graphics hardware that can take advantage of the new real-time 3D shading, shadows, and smooth-line display features in AutoCAD 2008 based products at http://www.autodesk.com/autocad-graphicscard.

Good Question: AutoCAD 2008 system requirements

Today's good question comes from John. He asked what the system requirements are for AutoCAD 2008.

Here is the complete list of the AutoCAD 2008 system requirements from www.autodesk.com/autocad Features and Specifications. You can find the system requirements for other applications by selecting the Features and Specifications link for specific products www.autodesk.com/products.

System Requirements

The system requirements for 32-bit AutoCAD:

• Intel® Pentium® 4 processor, 2.2 GHz Recommended
• Microsoft® Windows Vista™, Windows® XP Home and Professional (SP2), Windows® 2000 (SP4)
• 512 MB RAM
• 750 MB free disk space for installation
• 1024x768 VGA with True Color
• Microsoft® Internet Explorer® 6.0 (SP1 or higher)

Available on CD (Worldwide) and DVD (select countries and languages)

Additional System Requirements for 64-bit AutoCAD

• Windows XP Professional x64 Edition and Windows Vista 64-bit
• AMD64 or Intel EM64T processor
• 1GB RAM, 2GB for Windows Vista 64-bit
• 750 MB free disk space for installation

AutoCAD 64-bit cannot be installed on a 32-bit Windows Operating System.

The System requirements for Windows Vista or 3D modeling (32 and 64-bit AutoCAD)

• Intel® 3.0 GHz or greater
• 2 GB RAM or greater
• 2 GB free hard disk available not including installation
• 1280 x 1024 32-bit color video display adapter (True Color) 128 MB or greater, OpenGL®, or Direct3D® capable workstation class graphics card. 
• For Windows Vista, a Direct3D capable workstation class graphics card with 128 MB or greater is required.

AutoCAD 2008... Come and get it!

AutoCAD 2008 is now available! To learn more about the powerful new functionality that will help increase your day-to-day productivity or to download a free trial, visit www.autodesk.com/autocad

You can also:

• Download the AutoCAD 2008 Preview Guide
• View the AutoCAD 2008 Demo Videos and
• Visit an Authorized Reseller near you

Good Question: Text background mask

Today’s good question comes from Dave. He asked how you can mask objects behind text.

You can apply a background mask to Mtext objects using the Properties window. You’ll see the Background Mask property under the Text panel. Click on the button to access the Background Mask dialog box where you can specify the border offset (the space around the text) as well as the fill color. You can also access the background mask from the right-click menu within the Mtext Editor.

In addition to applying a background mask to Mtext objects, you can mask the background of dimension text. For dimensions, this property is called Fill Color and can be found under the Text panel in the Properties window or the Text tab in the Dimension Style dialog box.

AutoCAD 2008... Check it out!

It won't be long until you can get your hands on AutoCAD 2008! Be prepared to make the most of your AutoCAD investment by learning what's new before you get it!

To learn more about AutoCAD 2008:

• Visit www.autodesk.com/preview2008
• View the Demo Videos (These are the same ones I've been posting over the past few weeks)
• Download the AutoCAD 2008 Preview Guide

Xref Clipping in AutoCAD 2008

In AutoCAD 2008, the XCLIP command includes a new option to invert the clipping area. When you select New Boundary within the XCLIP command, you'll notice the new Invert Clip option. If you select Invert Clip and then specify the boundary, AutoCAD clips away the area within the boundary rather than the area outside of the boundary.

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DWF Underlays in AutoCAD 2008

In AutoCAD 2007, AutoCAD included new DWF underlay functionality, which enabled you to attach a DWF file, to your AutoCAD drawings. This provided a secure way for people to access, view, and snap to the data in your AutoCAD drawing without being able to edit it. In AutoCAD 2008, DWF underlay functionality has been updated to include layer controls. If you select a DWF underlay and right-click, you’ll see a new DWF Layers option, which displays the DWF Layers dialog box. This enables you to control the visibility of the layers within the DWF underlay; similar to controlling DWF layer visibility in the Autodesk DWF Viewer.

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Layer Locking and Fading in AutoCAD 2008

In AutoCAD 2008 you can automatically fade locked layers so that they are visible yet faded in comparison to the unlocked layers. This layer locking and fading functionality has been incorporated into the Layer Isolate tool.  For example, if you are editing the Lighting and Power plans in a drawing, you can use the layer isolate tool, which is available on the Layers panel of the Dashboard, to select objects on the Lighting and Power layers. The new settings option enables you to lock and fade the other layers rather than just turning them off. You can specify a fade value; the higher the value, the more faded the layers will become. A slider bar in the Layers panel of the Dashboard enables you to modify the fade value.

As the name implies, selecting the lock and fade option in the layer isolate tool not only fades the layers but it also locks them. You can use the Layer Unisolate tool, available on the Dashboard, to restore the display to its previous settings.

Even if you manually lock layers as opposed to using the Layer Isolate tool, you can take advantage of the fading capability.

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Layer Notification in AutoCAD 2008

In AutoCAD 2008, new layer tools provide more control over your drawings. The first time you save or plot a drawing in AutoCAD 2008, AutoCAD automatically creates a layer list with all the existing layers in that drawing. From that point forward, any newly added layers will be regarded as unreconciled. A layer notification bubble in the lower right-hand corner displays a link, which opens up the Layer Properties Manager.

In the Layer Properties Manager, any layers that don’t match the original layer list are displayed using a temporary layer filter for Unreconciled New Layers. You can review the unreconciled layers and choose whether you want to add them as valid layer names within the drawing. To add unreconciled layers to the layer list, you can simply select them, right-click and choose reconcile layer. Those layers are then included in the layer list and will no longer trigger the layer notification.

You can control the layer notification behavior using the Layer Settings dialog box, which is accessible from the Settings button in the Layer Properties Manager. In the Layer Settings dialog box, you’ll see a section for New Layer Notification Settings. When you enable the option to have AutoCAD evaluate layers added to the drawing, you can choose whether you want to only evaluate new xref layers or if you want to evaluate all layers that are added to the drawing. You can specify if you want to be notified of new layers and when you want to be notified. For example, do you want to be notified when you open or save a drawing? Or when you attach or reload xrefs? In addition, you have the option to display an unreconciled layer alert when you plot.

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Layouts and Sheets in AutoCAD 2008

In AutoCAD 2008, you can work more efficiently using layouts and sheets.

With the model and layout tabs displayed, you can very quickly create new layouts. For example, if you hold down the control key and drag and drop an existing layout, you can make a copy of it. If you drag and drop the layout without holding down the control key, you can quickly change its location. Using the ctrl or shift keys you can select multiple layouts to copy, move or delete several layouts at one time. And, new double-click support enables you to easily rename a layout.

If you are using sheet sets, you can easily import a selected layout as a sheet. Simply choose the Import Layout as Sheet option from the right-click menu, or drag and drop the layout onto the sheet list.

AutoCAD automatically displays the name and status of each layout in the drawing; enabling you to import additional layouts as well.  Hint: If you’ve added or renamed layouts, you must save the drawing before you can import the layouts as sheets.

Another enhancement to sheet set functionality is the ability for you to publish your sheet set in reverse order. You’ll find this new option in the right-click menu of the Sheet Set Manager.

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