Chapter 5 - Drawing Tools and Drafting Settings by Paul Richard and Jim Fitzgerald Richard / Fitzgerald :INTRODUCTION TO AutoCAD 2012 Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved
Use the Grid display and Snap mode drawing aids to locate points quickly and precisely Draw orthogonally using the Ortho mode drawing aid Draw at angles using the Polar Tracking drawing aid Use basic Object Snaps to locate points precisely relative to existing objects Defer Object Snaps to locate complex points Use advanced Object Snaps to locate points using acquired points and alignment paths Locate points relative to multiple objects by using the Object Snap Tracking feature to display multiple intersecting alignment path tracking vectors Control Dynamic Input settings Use Construction Lines to increase productivity and precision when creating multiple view drawings
Drafting Settings Typing DSETTINGS Drawing aid buttons (Settings) NOTE Any of the drawing tool buttons discussed in this chapter can be removed from the status bar via the Status Bar menu. To display the Status Bar menu, click on the down arrow at the far right of the status bar.
Setting the Grid Spacing Gid Grid X spacing Grid Y spacing Grid too dense to display
Setting the Snap Spacing specific X and Y increments Snap and Grid tab Setting the Snap Type and Style Rectangular snap Isometric snap TIP When Snap Mode is on, your cursor will not snap to grid points when selecting objects only when specifying points. Snap Mode is temporarily turned off during the selection process so that it is easier to select objects.
ORTHO mode turned off ORTHO mode turned on Creating a Drawing Using Ortho Mode
AutoTracking Polar Tracking alignment path Increment angle Absolute option Relative to last segment
The polar tracking settings are controlled on the Polar Tracking tab of the Drafting Settings dialog box.
AutoSnap provides the following features Marker Tooltip Magnet Aperture box
Endpoint Midpoint Intersection Apparent Intersection Center Quadrant Tangent Deferred Tangent Perpendicular Deferred Perpendicular Insert Nearest None
Acquired point From Mid Between 2 Points Extension Parallel
Object Snap Tracking relies on the AutoTracking feature to display alignment paths at orthogonal or polar angle settings using points you select in your drawing using Object Snaps Object Snap Tracking Settings
The Dynamic Input interface consists of three different components: Pointer Input Dimension Input Dynamic Prompts
Pointer Input Dimension Input Dynamic Prompts NOTE If you enter an invalid value in any dimension input field, the value highlights automatically so you can enter a new value.
When Dynamic Prompts is on, command prompts and options are displayed in a tooltip near the cursor. You can type a response in the dynamic prompt input field instead of on the command line. Using dynamic prompts Dynamic Prompts also allows you to select command options near the cursor using the arrow keys on your keyboard. If a command has options, a down arrow is displayed in the dynamic prompt tooltip. Pressing the down arrow key displays the command options in a shortcut menu near the cursor. Selecting dynamic prompt options
The dynamic input settings are managed on the Dynamic Input tab of the Drafting Settings dialog box You can turn Pointer Input on and off via the Enable Pointer Input check box. The Settings... button displays the Pointer Input Settings dialog box
Common uses of construction ti lines are: Creating multiple views Temporary locating geometric features Creating Architectural elevations Bisecting an angle
Offsetting an object with a construction line
Drawing angular construction lines
Creating the final drawing using construction lines
Using two pick points Horizontally Vertically Offset from an existing line Specified angle Bisected angle NOTE The Zoom Extents tool is unaffected by Xline objects. Any Xlines that exist in a drawing are ignored when zooming to the drawing extents.
Start point Through point NOTE Similar to Xlines, the Zoom Extents tool is unaffected by ray objects. Any rays that exist in a drawing are ignored when zooming to the drawing extents. Drawing a ray
Chapter 6 Managing Object Properties by Paul Richard and Jim Fitzgerald Richard / Fitzgerald :INTRODUCTION TO AutoCAD 2012 Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. All Rights Reserved
Managing Object Properties Create layers Set layer properties Load linetypes Modify the properties of drawing objects Use DesignCenter and Content Explorer to import layers from other drawings Create layer filters and groups Manage layer states Control object visibility
Layer: A layer is a collection of color, linetype, and lineweight properties that can be used to organize the objects in your drawing. Color Linetype Lineweight
The LAYER Command Layer Properties Manager
Layer Names New Layers Current Layer On/Off Freeze/Thaw Lock/Unlock Color TIP You can collapse the Layer Filter list by clicking on the double arrows on the top and bottom on the right side of the Filters pane.
Controlling the Column Display. Clicking on a column heading at the top of the layer list in the Layer Properties Manager will toggle the display order of the layers in ascending or descending order using the information in the column header you click on. Layer List Right-Click Shortcut Menu. Rightclicking anywhere in the layer list in the Layer Properties Manager displays the shortcut menu.
Colors 1-9 (standard colors) True Colors (Red, Green, Blue) HSL (Hue, Saturation, Luminance)
Layer Names. The layer name is the primary means of identifying a layer. Layer names can have up to 255 characters and can include letters and numbers as well as other special characters, including spaces. Layer names should convey the contents of that layer. Layer names can be based on part numbers, project names, design discipline (civil, architectural, etc.), or any other agreed-upon standard. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has published the CAD Layer Guidelines for the building industry that has been adopted by the National CAD Standards organization (http://nationalcadstandard.org). org) This layering standard describes a method of organizing layers based on NOTE AutoCAD layer names can contain all but the following characters: <>/\ :;?* :;?*,= =
Color. The color property is the default display color for objects on a layer. The AutoCAD Color Index (ACI) The Index Color tab shows the The AutoCAD Color Index (ACI). The Index Color tab shows the AutoCAD Color Index (ACI), which is the primary way colors are assigned in AutoCAD. The ACI consists of 255 colors (numbered 1 255). Colors 1 9 are called the standard colors.
The Color Books tab allows you to select colors based on various color matching standards, such as Pantone, DIC, or RAL
Linetypes. Linetype refers to the pattern (continuous, dashed, dotted,etc.) of a line. Linetypes are generally a series of lines, spaces, dots, and symbols (circles, squares, text, etc.) at preset intervals. Linetypes are used to designate a particular type of object (fence line, railroad tracks, hot water line, etc.) or a feature of an object (the hidden edge of an object, centerline of a circle or arc, etc.). To assign a linetype to a layer, choose the Linetype setting for the layer you want to change. The Select Linetype dialog box will appear
The Select Linetype dialog box Standard d Linetypes Load or Reload Linetypes
ANSI standards (American National Standards Institute) The Lineweight dialog box NOTE Before the lineweight setting was introduced in AutoCAD,,pen tables were used to map AutoCAD colors to plotted lineweights. For example, all red objects are plotted with a.35 mm pen, yellow objects with a.15 mm pen, etc. AutoCAD still supports pen tables and gives you a number of options for creating and managing them.
Transparency can be assigned by layer or individually for an object, just like the color, linetype, and lineweight properties. Using the layer method to control transparency is typically preferred because it gives you the most control over your drawing information. Transparency is controlled by specifying a value from 0 to 90, where 0 is opaque and 90 is almost completely translucent. NOTE You can turn off transparency when plotting. The Plot and Page Setup dialogs both thinclude a check box for transparency. Be forewarned, though, that when the Transparency option is enabled, AutoCAD rasterizes the entire drawing for plotting so that plot times will increase exponentially.
To delete a layer from your drawing, select the layer(s) from the layer list and choose the Delete Layer button (or choose <Alt>+D). A layer can be deleted only if it is not used in the drawing or if it is not the current layer. If the layer is not used and is not the current layer, AutoCAD will delete the layer. You can use Undo in the Quick Access toolbar to bring back a deleted layer. If the layer is used in the drawing, or if it is the current layer, AutoCAD will display an error message.
Plot / Noplot settings New VP Freeze Overrides: VP Color Control the layer color per viewport VP Linetype Control the layer linetype per viewport VP Lineweight Control the layer lineweight per viewport VP Plot Status Control if layer plots or not
Make Object s Layer Current button Layer Previous button The Match button
The LTSCALE command allows you to set a global scaling factor for all linetypes
By default, when an object is created in a drawing, it takes on the color, linetype, lineweight, and transparency settings of the current layer. When this happens, its properties are defined as Bylayer. This means that the color, linetype, lineweight, and transparency of an object are defined by the layer on which the object resides. It is possible to override these soft-coded ddproperties and ddfi define the color, linetype, lineweight, and transparency directly. These are called hard-coded properties because the properties are assigned directly to the object, regardless of which layer it resides on. TIP The SETBYLAYER command allows you to quickly update the color, linetype, lineweight, and transparency of objects to the ByLayer property.
The current settings for the color, linetype, lineweight, and transparency properties are shown in the Properties panel.
The Select Color dialog box The Color Control drop-down list
ByLayer ByBlock Linetype Manager
Lineweight Control drop-down Lineweight i Settings dialog box Adjust Display Scale
Just like the other object property overrides discussed thus far, it is best to use the ByLayer option to control transparency for maximum control of your drawing. Although you can assign transparency directly to objects, it is not advised. d In fact, the default setting is ByLayer on the Transparency options menu located on the Properties panel of the Home tab of the ribbon.
You can turn on the Quick Properties feature on the status bar so that a mini Properties palette is displayed whenever you select an object. bj t TIP Double-clicking on most objects will automatically display the Properties palette.
When the Quick Properties feature is on, a mini Properties palette is displayed d at your current cursor location every time you select an object. Quick Properties Palette Line Selected The initial properties displayed The initial properties displayed are dependent on the type of object you select.
The MATCHPROP Command The PAINTER
The ADCENTER Command The Design Center palette
Layer Properties manager & the Layer Status Manager All Used Layers filters The Filter Tree Invert filter Property Filters Group Filters Search Filter
The popular Express Layer Tools commands and utilities have been integrated into AutoCAD so that you can now access them via the Layers panel and the Layer tools cascade menu found on the Format pull- down menu. There are a number of useful miscellaneous layer tools available on the expanded Layers panel, the Layer Tools cascade menu found on the Format menu or via the Layers II toolbar.
The Layer tools and their uses are listed in the above tables.
It is possible to control object visibility independent of layer visibility via the Object Visibility tools located in the status tray on the far right of the status bar. NOTE You can also use the ISOLATEOBJECTS and HIDEOBJECTS commands to control object visibility. The light bulb icon in the status tray on the status bar appears dimmed when either the Isolate Objects or Hide Objects tool is in use. TIP The OBJECTISOLATIONMODE system variable controls whether isolated/hidden objects persist between drawing sessions. Setting OBJECTISOLATIONMODE to 0 will not save the isolated/hidden status of objects between drawing sessions. Setting OBJECTISOLATIONMODE to 1 will save any active isolated/hidden status so that it persists between drawing sessions. The default setting is 0.