Tips & Tools Weekly (Vol. 12, No. 28)
5 Aug, 2007Cadalyst August Print Content Now Live Online Easing the Growing Pains for Facility Management (Web exclusive) Quick Poll Results: CAD Standards for AEC Cadalyst Daily Update
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Resources PARTsolutions Releases Google SketchUp 3D Components Library CAD Forum Offers New Web Services |
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . This Week's Software Tips Send us your tip, code, or shortcut for your favorite CAD software. If we publish your tip, we'll send you a "Cadalyst: CAD the Way You Want It" T-shirt, and each month Cadalyst editors will randomly select one published tip and send a $100 gift card to its author. Please submit only code and other tips that are your original work (or provide the original source so we can include proper credit) and tell us which software version you use. By submitting code, you grant Cadalyst the right to print and distribute your code in print, digitally, and by other means. Cadalyst and individual authors retain all rights to the code; published code is not to be used for commercial purposes.Send in Those Tips! Layer LISP "ILC.LSP is very useful if you have everything set at Bylayer. I modified a simple Isolate Layer routine and added something -- it changes the color of a layer with a few quick keystrokes instead of having to run the Layer command, find the layer, change the color, and finally choose the OK button. You also get to see what's on the layer. It does set the layer to "0" and turns all the layers on after that.
"AO.LSP is a quick two-keystroke command which turns all the layers on -- very helpful when you need to have all the layers on quickly.
"L0.LSP was written in 2000 and stands for 'set layer to 0' -- just another quick keystroke command to set the layer to 0."
NOTES FROM CADALYST TIP PATROL: Our Patrol offers a few thoughts on each LISP routine. Note that ILC.LSP turns on all layers when it's done, not just the layers it turned off. There is no error checking, so if you enter something other than an integer between one and 255 when it asks for a new color, the routine will crash. In addition, it doesn't support TrueColor and it might fail on non-English versions of AutoCAD. AO.LSP and L0.LSP work as promised. An alternative to AO.LSP is to add a shortcut to your ACAD.PGP file to use AO to turn on all layers because this is a built-in AutoCAD command (_LAYON). Follow-up: Keep Files Clean Another reader, Michael Cipolla, shares the LISP routine that he wrote for his CAD users to use to clean up drawings:
Some readers were confused about the terminology and the order of the steps in the original Keep Files Clean tip. Here's some clarification provided by our Tip Patrol:
MicroStation Tip: Redundant Design Key-in Answer: That dialog box is now gone and the buttons it contained are now part of Design Settings, the Reference dialog box, the Cell maintenance dialog box, and others. You can create a simple VBA macro that opens a form and performs the same end result that is better than the original because you can include other options, as you desire. Axiom offers many MicroStation Tips on its MicroStationTips.com Web site. Tips & Tools Weekly software tips for AutoCAD are reviewed by Cadalyst staff and the Tip Patrol before publication. Use all tips at your own discretion, please, and watch later editions of this newsletter for updates and corrections. We're sorry, but editors and Tip Patrol members cannot provide assistance with technical problems; please refer to Cadalyst's Hot Tip Harry-Help discussion forum. Sincere thanks to our volunteer Tip Patrol members: Brian Benton, Don Boyer, Mitchell Hirschklau, R.K. McSwain, Kevin Sawyer, Ivanhoe Tejeda, and Billy Wooten. |
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Deals & Freebies Graphisoft Offers Free BIM Experience Kit |
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Opportunities & Honors Autodesk Names Jayco Inventor of the Month for July 2007 AVEVA Named "Company to Watch" in Constructech |
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Week's New CAD and Related Products Hardware: renderBOXX Render Farm Series Hardware: NextBook 17E Notebook Hardware: FDM 400mc Hardware: D900C PHANTOM-X General Software: RxAutoImage v8.2 AEC: Precast 2007 SP2 AEC: RAM Structural System v11.2 AEC: CINEMA 4D v10 Architecture Edition GIS: ScanStation 2 MCAD: Seemage v4.2.1 MCAD: Power ProEtoMax MCAD: ShipConstructor 2008 CAE: SimOffice v2 CAE: FloWizard v3 CAM: Insight v6 CAM: Mastercam X2 Mill Training: NX 5 Advanced Manufacturing Course |
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mark Your Calendar Webinar: Unleashing 3D CAD For a complete list of CAD meetings, conferences, training sessions, and more, check out our calendar of events on Cadalyst.com. |