Datasheet

CHSPACE
This command is indispensable, and it has finally evolved from an Express Tool into a
native command in AutoCAD 2007. It lets you change objects between Paper Space and
Model Space while retaining their relative scales. This makes it possible to place text or
dimensions wherever it’s convenient while working and then move them to their perma-
nent home later. If you ever decide you placed something in the wrong space, you need
this command.
LAYWALK This tool allows you to walk though the objects on various layers to give you a
visual clue as to what you’ve placed where. It’s valuable when you’re dealing with someone
else’s disaster drawing. The objects on each layer are isolated temporarily while you cycle
through the layers. Like CHSPACE, LAYWALK is now a native command in AutoCAD 2007.
TXT2MTXT TXT2MTXT is used to combine individual lines of text into a single MTEXT
object. It doesn’t format the final result as individual lines, so you almost always need to do
some editing; but if you want to group text from older drawings into a single object, it’s nice.
FLATTEN I’ve recommended this command to a lot of people in companies that do civil
design. They call me because they’re having trouble with a drawing from someone else.
Object snapping to endpoints produces odd results because, it turns out, the elements
aren’t all at the same elevation. FLATTEN quickly and thoroughly places every object at
an elevation of zero.
MKSHP and MKLTYPE These commands give you the ability to create complex linetypes:
those containing text or shapes. This process requires that a shape be created first
(MKSHP) and then the linetype (MKLTYPE).
LAYMERGE I often advise new users and companies to use as many layers as they may
need so they’ll have control over the related elements of a drawing. Sometimes this results
in too many layers, which is always easier to fix than too few. When you do have too many
layers, this command lets you put them together into one. This is another of the Express
Tools that have become actual commands.
DIMEX and DIMIN These are related commands that allow you to export dimension styles
and then import them into a different drawing. You can do this through AutoCAD
DesignCenter or by inserting a drawing that contains the dimension style, but these
Express Tools make it a little easier.
DIMREASSOC This is a nice tool. It permits you to individually or globally update dimen-
sions that have been overridden by the operator. In other words, the value in the dimension
and the actual size of the object don’t match. My favorite application of this command is
to find any dimensions that were overridden. I have overridden a dimension purposely on
rare occasions when I had an imminent deadline and had to plot something out immedi-
ately. With DIMREASSOC, I can find those places and go back and fix the geometry.
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