Tips & Tools Weekly (Vol. 12, No. 38)
21 Oct, 2007This Week's Software Tips Add Layers to Purged Drawings NOTES FROM CADALYST TIP PATROL: Great tip! If you only need specific features, such as a single layer or text style, consider using Design Center, AutoCAD's version of Windows Explorer. This way, you can scan the drawings for the particular feature in question, load it, and insert it instead of the entire set. Easy Insertion Scale This process is even faster if you set up a button for it on a desktop toolbar or palette. You can create as many as 20 different settings." Below is Len's sample code for the buttons:
NOTES FROM CADALYST TIP PATROL: This is a very good idea for users and workplaces that frequently deal with blocks and xrefs of differing measurement units. You could also apply this tip using shortcut keys or even "ye olde" AutoCAD command scripts. Ever mindful of good drafting practices, the Tip Patrol adds a related note: The basepoint of each xref should be 0,0 -- especially if the discipline is civil engineering. If the scale is off, then resizing will be easier to execute by using the common basepoint as the reference point. Also, rotation of the xref can use the same reference point. The same goes for blocks; expect that the basepoint isn't necessarily 0,0. As always, we invite other views on this issue. Centralized Sheet Sets "After your sheet set is created, right-click on the sheet set name and select Properties. In the dialog box under Page Setup Override File, browse to where your DWT project file is stored and add that file. Also, at that point, select Sheet Storage Location to be sure that it is where you want it." NOTES FROM CADALYST TIP PATROL: Good idea. Because sheet sets are a relatively new feature of AutoCAD (first introduced in AutoCAD 2005), this procedure should be considered for addition in your company's CAD standards. Sheet sets often contain drawings in different folders scattered all over a company's server. Therefore, a set standard should be established for proper placement of sheet set files. As in all standards, structure and organization of the server is the key to efficiency and reduced downtime searching for files. A twist on this idea, some firms create a single standard DWT with all the preferred Page Setups, located in a single, commonly accessible server location, and routinely import it as needed. Follow-Up: Keep Files Clean With this routine, you can purge and delete layer filters all at once. Anatoly and Cadalyst send special thanks to Michael for his generous assistance.
MicroStation Tip: Compress Multiple Design Files in v7 Axiom offers many MicroStation Tips on its MicroStationTips.com Web site.
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