If you have not already heard by now, Autodesk has released “Bonus Pack 2” for AutoCAD 2009. This update includes two PDF enhancements. The first gives you the ability to attach PDF files as underlays. The second includes enhancements to…
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One of the most misunderstood commands in AutoCAD is the SAVE command. Note that SAVE, QSAVE, and SAVEAS all do different things. SAVEAS saves the current drawing to a new file name. Example: If you are working in “A.DWG” and…
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The Cadforum has published some tips regarding ‘hidden commands’ in DWG Trueview 2009. Using this, I created this list of all of the available commands. Some of the interesting ones that add a bit of capability to Trueview are… You…
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If you have written routines with Autolisp, then you have probably used the (ssget) function to select entities on the screen, either automatically or by prompting the user. (ssget) is a powerful function that can do more than you probably…
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In the previous post about Startup Lisp Functions, the special (S::STARTUP) function was mentioned. Startup lisp code is loaded before the drawing is initialized, but you cannot call the (COMMAND) function until after the drawing is initialized. The solution is…
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If you have lisp routines that you want to make available in each drawing session, forget the “Startup Suite” and load them using the “acaddoc.lsp” file. “acaddoc.lsp” is not included with AutoCAD, you create it yourself. But it is nothing more than…
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Here is a simple example of how to read a TXT file into lisp and then do something with the contents. In this example, the TXT file contains coordinates, and the code will draw either points or lines. One thing…
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Starting with AutoCAD 2008, you now have direct access to the Layer States Manager, without opening the LAYER dialog first. In AutoCAD 2008, click the button on the far right of the LAYERS toolbar. In AutoCAD 2009, click the ribbon…
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If you try to open a dialog in AutoCAD but nothing happens, there is a chance that the dialog is open but it’s just “off your screen”. If you cannot proceed until you press ESCAPE, then this is almost certainly…
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“What is the difference between AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT?” Autodesk provides a comparison matrix that highlights some of the differences. (That particular document compares the 2008 versions). But there really doesn’t seem to be a comprehensive comparison of what the…
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