AutoCAD LT ® Kate Morrical’s Tips and Tricks for Using AutoCAD LT 2010
The User Interface The user interface is possibly one of the most important features in AutoCAD LT® 2010. It’s where you do all your work, access all your commands, and even make changes to settings. Several improvements to user interface features mean it’s easier than ever to find your favorite commands while leaving plenty of room on the screen for your drawing. User Interface The Application Menu The big red “A” in the upper left-hand corner of the AutoCAD LT window is home to the Application menu.
to display icons or preview images, and sort the lists by name, type, size, or access date. The Ribbon The ribbon, which was introduced in AutoCAD LT 2009, has been improved in a few key areas for AutoCAD LT 2010. It still consists of commands organized into tabs and panels, where each tab contains multiple panels, and each panel contains multiple tools. Now, though, the ribbon has been updated to make it even more flexible and adaptive—and of course, customizable.
Use the CUI editor to convert dashboard panels from AutoCAD LT 2008 into ribbon panels that can be used in AutoCAD LT 2010. Pressing ALT brings up visual indicators of key combinations you can use to activate ribbon tabs or individual commands. The Quick Access Toolbar The Quick Access toolbar has also seen its share of updates. The Undo and Redo tools now include history support, so you can see exactly what actions will be affected.
Use the CUI editor to create a unique Quick Access toolbar for every workspace. Quick View Tools The preview images for Quick View Layouts and Quick View Drawings have been enhanced to include a preview image of Model space in addition to the layout previews. User Interface In addition to the improved right-click menu, a flyout menu has been added at the end of the toolbar. This menu contains a list of command commands that you can quickly add to the toolbar.
Block References Blocks have been an important tool in AutoCAD LT for many versions, and they just keep getting better. New commands in AutoCAD LT 2010 make working with dynamic blocks and block attributes easier and more intuitive. Test Block The Test Block environment can be identified by its title bar and by its contextual ribbon panel, which contains a “Close Test Block Window” tool.
Block Attribute Tools AutoCAD LT 2010 has taken a giant leap forward in working with attributes in block references by including two features previously available only in AutoCAD. The Synchronize Attributes command, or ATTSYNC, enables you to update a block definition after you add or remove attributes. This is a great command because it lets you put new attributes (or take out ones you don’t need) in without affecting any data that already existed in the block.
External References AutoCAD LT 2010 provides a consolidated interface and increased flexibility for working with externally referenced files in a variety of formats, including DWG, DWF, DGN, PDF, and image files. The Reference Panel Clip The ability to clip an external reference is now fully functional in AutoCAD LT. Use this tool to show only the portion of the file that you need.
Use the arrow-shaped grip on a clipped external reference to invert the clipping boundary. In-Place Reference Editing, or REFEDIT, is now included in AutoCAD LT 2010. This feature enables you to edit an externally referenced drawing directly, without opening it in its own window. Open Reference is another AutoCAD LT 2010 command that was previously available only in AutoCAD. This tool enables you to select a referenced file and instantly open it in the appropriate program for that reference type.
Geographic Data If both the host drawing and the external reference drawing have a geographic location defined, a new option on the External References dialog box enables you to locate the attached xref relative to the host drawing using Geographic Data. A similar option for blocks is available in the Insert dialog box. When you open a drawing that has unresolved references, a new tool helps identify the missing files.
Annotation Annotations are an important part of any drawing, helping to communicate your ideas when lines, arcs, and circles aren’t quite enough. A variety of improvements to annotation tools in AutoCAD LT 2010 make adding text, dimension, leaders, and hatches to your drawings a snap. Find and Replace You can also zoom to an object in the results list by double-clicking on that item.
When inside the Multiline Text Editor, misspelled words are automatically identified with a red dashed underline. You can also select individual segments of a multileader by holding down the Ctrl key and left-clicking on the segment. Once selected, you can use the Properties or Quick Properties palette to modify the properties of that segment. Multileaders Annotation Multileader objects in AutoCAD LT 2010 have been improved with the addition of grips at each corner of the leader text.
Dimensions The Dimension Style Manager has been tweaked to provide you with new controls over the display of your dimension text. The Primary and Alternate Units tabs of the Dimension Style dialog box include new a sub-unit control in the suppression of leading zeros. Instead of displaying a dimension value less than 1 as a decimal, you can specify a sub-units factor and suffix. For example, if the default unit is 1 meter, you could specify a sub-unit factor of 100 and sub-unit suffix of cm.
Drafting In AutoCAD LT 2010, your wishes are our new commands. Many features in this release were inspired directly by user suggestions and feedback. With these new and improved tools, AutoCAD LT helps make drafting easier and more productive. Hatch AutoCAD LT 2010 also includes the ability to edit the boundary of a non-associative hatch. Simply select the hatch object and use intuitive grips to dynamically change its shape by moving or adding edges and vertices.
Measure Geometry The Distance and Area commands, along with other inquiry tools, have been combined into the Measure tool on the Utilities panel of the Home tab. cumulative distances, you can select the Multiple option after you pick the first point. The Arc option within the Multiple Distance tool enable you to measure the length of arc segments. The Radius option displays the radius of an arc or circle, while the Angle option measures the included angle of an arc, circle, two lines, or three points.
Convert Spline Objects Like the Distance tool, the Area and Volume tools contain options for including arc segments in the boundary as well as straight lines. Another new feature makes it easy to convert spline objects into polylines. Inside the Edit Spline command, the “Convert to Polyline” option asks for a precision value between 0 and 99. The higher the value, the more accurate the fit will be.
When aligning objects, you can pick one, two, or three pairs of points as references. Using one pair simply moves the selected objects. Using two pairs of points will move and rotate the objects, with the option to scale the objects based on the relative distances between the source and destination pairs. Choosing three pairs of points will move and rotate the selected objects in 3D space.
Color Selection In AutoCAD LT 2010, you can access the Select Color dialog box directly from the Layer drop-down list simply by clicking on the layer color swatch. The new color you select applies to the appropriate viewport color override or global color. Behavior within the Select Color dialog box has also been improved. As you move the cursor over the color swatches, the arrow cursor and a black border are displayed in addition to the traditional white border.
Collaboration In addition to the Plot command, you can also use the Export and Publish functions to create PDFs from AutoCAD LT drawings. Collaboration With AutoCAD LT, collaboration is a seamless operation. Share critical design data securely, efficiently, and accurately with AutoCAD LT. Experience the benefits of native DWG support, one of the world’s most widely used design data formats, enabling you to keep everyone in the loop at all times.
eTransmit Autodesk Seek Autodesk Seek (http://seek.autodesk. com) is an efficient online utility that allows users to quickly search product information and designs from the web and download the designs into AutoCAD LT.
Drawing Management AutoCAD LT 2010 contains several tools aimed at increasing your productivity when it comes to working with the whole drawing file, including a new file format, an updated Purge command, and more. New File Format In previous versions of AutoCAD LT, no single item (such as an mtext object) in an AutoCAD LT drawing could be larger than 256 MB. In AutoCAD LT 2010, the object size limit has been increased to at least 4 GB (depending on your system configuration).
Purge Tools Improved File Navigation File Navigation dialogs, such as Open and Save, now support auto-complete when typing file names. Drawing Management Have you ever had a drawing full of zerolength lines and empty text objects? Nobody creates these on purpose, but these empty objects still increase the file size and can wreak havoc when you’re trying to select other objects. Fortunately, the Purge dialog box has been updated to include an option for ridding your drawings of these objects.
AutoCAD LT 2010 includes a separate Transfer License program that enables you to move standalone licenses between computers. For example, you might have two office computers (one laptop, one desktop) with AutoCAD LT installed on both. You can use the Transfer License utility to temporarily or permanently move the license from one computer to the other. An Autodesk log-in and an internet connection are required to transfer licenses.
As the Technical Marketing Manager for AutoCAD LT, Kate Morrical works closely with the AutoCAD LT Product Development & Marketing teams and with LT users through discussion groups, her blog LT Unlimited, and at events such as Autodesk University and AUGI CAD Camps. She has over 10 years of experience with Autodesk products, starting with Release 14, and has been blogging about AutoCAD LT since April 2007.
