Datasheet

Disable Antivirus Checking of Help File

If the AutoCAD Help window takes forever to open, there is a good chance your antivirus

software is checking it to make sure it’s clean (trust us, it is). This can become annoying if it

happens every time you open Help.

AutoCAD Help is a separate but linked task on the taskbar (it disappears when Auto-

CAD closes). Many antivirus programs think this is highly suspicious, so they get triggered.

You’ll have to figure out how to reassure your particular antivirus program that everything

is OK. This information is usually buried somewhere in the program options. Try excluding

the AutoCAD Help file, specifically

C:\Program Files\AutoCAD 2007\Help\acad170.chm. You

can even exclude

.ch m files in general, but this is the less secure option.

Use Cursor Help in Dialog Boxes

This underused feature is quite helpful. Most dialog boxes in AutoCAD have a question-

mark button on their title bars, next to the close box X. Click the ? button, and the cursor

will display a question-mark icon next to the pointer.

Now, click any part of the dialog box you’re interested in querying. A tooltip appears that

displays information about the control you selected. This is a great way to learn which sys-

tem variables the Graphical User Interface (GUI) elements control. It’s also much faster than

going through standard Help.

For example, open the Options dialog (right-clicking the command line is a quick way to

get to Options). Select the 3D Modeling tab, and click the question-mark button. Then, click

the Visual Style While Creating 3D Objects drop-down list. The tooltip describes this drop-

down’s function in more verbose prose, and it also reveals the name of the associated system

var iable —

DRAGVS, in this example.

Finding Help

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