A Few of My Favorite Things in AutoCAD 2016

Circles and Lines Tutorial: Learn about the hidden gems in the newest AutoCAD release.

Another release is here, and as usual I find some of the more obscure features in AutoCAD to be the most valuable. While everyone is hyping the new point cloud features or the ability to attach a coordination model, I'm here to cover some of the lesser-known — but just as useful — features in AutoCAD 2016.

Text Improvements

You'll be happy to know that many Autodesk User Group International (AUGI) wish list items were granted in AutoCAD 2016; for example, now you can easily put a border around text. You'll find this option in Properties (see below), not in the Mtext editor.

Use this new Properties setting to place a frame around your text.

Match Properties was added into the Mtext dialog box in AutoCAD 2015, making it easy to match fonts, size, etc., but it didn't work on multiple text entities. In AutoCAD 2016 you can now apply the properties of selected text multiple times (and it works on mleaders, tables, and dimensions).

You wanted text wrapping in dimensions, and AutoCAD 2016 granted this AUGI wish as well! Now when you select dimension text, a width adjustment control appears above your selection, making it easy to wrap text.

You can now wrap dimension text easily.

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