101-AutoCAD-Tips by Paul Munford PDF

101 AutoCAD Productivity Tips & Tricks
101 AutoCAD Productivity Tips & Tricks Preface
CadSetterOut.com
101 AutoCAD
Productivity
Tips & Tricks
Become the best CAD drafter in your office
Paul Munford
5/5/2017
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The CAD Setter Out is a blog dedicated to sharing tips and tricks for
creating technical drawings and digital 3D models using CAD.
I firmly believe that creating drawings with your CAD software should be
intuitive and fun. I don't want your CAD software to negatively affect your
creativity or productivity!
The focus is on creating shop drawings for the construction industry

(because that's what I do) using AutoCAD and Autodesk Inventor
(because that's what I use).
You are all most welcome :D
Paul Munford
@Cadsetterout
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Contents
101 AutoCAD Productivity Tips & Tricks ... Error! Bookmark not defined.
Preface .................................................................................................. 9
Create ................................................................................................. 10
01. Use polylines ..................................................................... 11
02. Use Layers ........................................................................ 13
03. Use groups ....................................................................... 14
04. Use blocks ........................................................................ 15
05. Use Xreferences ................................................................ 16
06. Create non-associative arrays ............................................. 18
07. Create new geometry with the properties of old geometry ...... 18
08. Polar Tracking ................................................................... 19
09. Select previous ................................................................... 21
10. Rotate to a reference ........................................................... 21
11. Two point square ................................................................. 23
12. Hatch object ....................................................................... 24
13. Use Text Masking ................................................................ 25
14. Copy with the Rotate command? ........................................... 26
15. Copy multiple (ARRAY) ......................................................... 27
16. Use FEILDS......................................................................... 28
17. Quick Image Insert .............................................................. 29
18. Rotate your view to suit your drawing .................................... 29
19. Save a UCS ........................................................................ 32
20. Save a View ........................................................................ 32
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Edit ..................................................................................................... 34
21. CLIP ................................................................................. 35
22. Grip editing ....................................................................... 35
23. Select Previous Grip Selection ............................................. 37
24. Find and Replace ............................................................... 39
25. Exploding Splines ............................................................... 42
26. Changing space ................................................................. 42
27. Purge and Purge again ....................................................... 43
28. Audit ................................................................................ 43
29. Recover ............................................................................ 43
30. Reset values by Layer ........................................................ 43
31. Copy objects to new Layer .................................................. 45
32. Merge Layers .................................................................... 46
33. Isolate & Un-isolate Layers ................................................. 47
34. Isolate & Un-isolate objects................................................. 48
35. Lock & Unlock Layers ......................................................... 49
36. Freeze and Thaw, On and Off .............................................. 49
37. Understanding 'Pickfirst' ..................................................... 49
38. Correct Geometry to 0 elevation .......................................... 51
39. Reconciled layers? ............................................................. 52
40. OOPS! Restore deleted geometry. ........................................ 54
Document ............................................................................................ 55
41. Mtext formatting quick tips ................................................. 56
42. Convert Text to Mtext. ......................................................... 56
43. Open or save a DWT file outside the default path ................... 56
44. How to set your linetype scale correctly ................................ 57
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45. What Lies beneath? ............................................................ 57
46. Single click PDF's ............................................................... 58
47. Plotting KISS ..................................................................... 61
48. Plotting in colour, in monochrome ........................................ 62
49. Setting up a permanent plot preview .................................... 63
50. Create Page Setups to save time when plotting ..................... 66
51. The easy way to import page setups from a template file ........ 69
52. Polyline Linetype Enabling ................................................... 71
53. Dimensioning Angles that are larger than 180° ....................... 71
54. Trim Dimensions? ................................................................ 73
55. Add text to (Multiple) dimensions .......................................... 73
56. Quick and easy tip to space dimensions.................................. 75
57. Quick Edit Attribute Values ................................................... 76
58. Quick copy Layout ............................................................... 76
59. Cycle through viewports ....................................................... 76
60. Use Sheet sets .................................................................... 77
Customize ............................................................................................ 79
61. Centering Mtext ................................................................. 80
62. Prefer the old layer manager dialog? .................................... 80
63. Print a list of your Layers .................................................... 80
64. Find your support paths ...................................................... 81
65. Create scripts to automate tasks.......................................... 82
66. Real time reporting with MODEMACRO .................................. 83
67. Zoom direction driving you crazy? ........................................ 83
68. Speedup your Zooms ......................................................... 84
69. Add your own commands to the QAT .................................... 84
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70. Create tool palettes ............................................................ 85
71. Quickly close AutoCAD........................................................ 85
72. Fix Metric Linetype and Hatch scale in Drawings created with a
non-metric template .................................................................. 85
73. Fix scaling issues when inserting x-refs or blocks, or copying

geometry between documents .................................................... 87
74. Simple block attribute editor ............................................... 89
75. Take control of the UCS Icon ................................................ 91
76. Time sensitive right click. ..................................................... 92
77. Automate tasks with Scripts and Macros ................................. 93
78. Start up switches for Profile and Template .............................. 93
79. Which variable does what? ................................................... 95
80. Save out your system variables ............................................. 96
Productivity .......................................................................................... 97
81. The SHIFT key ................................................................... 98
82. The ALT key ...................................................................... 98
83. Who has my file open? ....................................................... 98
84. Doing the Mtext Jig ............................................................ 99
85. Lock your workspace .......................................................... 99
86. Save your workspace ......................................................... 99
87. Export your profile ........................................................... 101
88. Repeat the last command ................................................. 102
89. Repeating a recently used command .................................. 102
90. TAB to complete a command ............................................. 102
91. CTRL Commands ............................................................. 102
92. Use the properties palette ................................................. 102
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93. Don't use the Layers drop down to change the current layer! 103
94. Don't use the layers drop down to change an object layer! .... 103
95. Match properties & Layer match ........................................ 103
96. Create shortcuts to folders in the ‗Open‘ dialog .................... 104
97. Make AutoCAD do the math .............................................. 105
98. Temporary OSNAP‘s ........................................................... 107
99. MULTIPLE ......................................................................... 107
About the Author................................................................................. 108

Resources .......................................................................................... 109
100. Learn more CAD tips and tricks ......................................... 109
101. Let great CAD tips come to you! ........................................ 109
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Preface
It was 2004. I was standing in front of an office building wearing a suit.
After eight years in self-employment - Straight out of College, I was going
to my first job interview.
I'd never worked in an office before, I'd never had a job where I had to
wear a suit to work, I'd never worked for a salary. But I had a lot riding
on this, my family was depending on me.
As it turned out, I needn't have worried. The number of people out there
who know about woodwork, technical drawing AND computers is relatively
small. Despite my lack of experience, I was hired on the spot.
Looking back, this was a massive turning point in my career. I love

designing and working with computers. If I am a duck, CAD is my water!
But it took me a long time to learn how to use AutoCAD productively. I

literally spent every lunch break and evening in my first few years of
employment learning everything I could to work smarter with AutoCAD.
I carefully noted my favourite tips in a notepad file on my desktop that I

joking called my 'Spell book'. For the first time, I'm opening up my
complete spell book to you.
I hope that this eBook helps you to become super productive with
AutoCAD in the shortest time possible.
This eBook is for those of you who have learned the basics of AutoCAD,
and who are now ready to take it to the next level.
Questions or comments? Please email me:
Paul@Cadsetterout.com
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Create
Tips relating to creating 2D and 3D geometry in AutoCAD.
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101 AutoCAD Productivity Tips & Tricks Create
01. Use polylines

Selecting just the geometry you want to edit in a complicated drawing can
be a PITA. Drawing with polylines (or editing your geometry into a
polylines once the shape is complete) gives you one single item to select -
much easier!
Joining lines and arcs together that represent a single object (such as a
door frame, or a pane of glass) allow you pick that object with a single
pick.
Command entry: pline
You can draw directly using Polylines, or you can draw your shapes with
regular lines and then join them together to make Polylines. Using
Polylines will save you clicks and picks for the remainder of the drawing.
Drawing a Polyline is a simple as drawing a regular line, in fact you‘re

drawing with Polylines every time you draw a rectangle!
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Command entry: join
Tip: Polylines must consist of lines and arcs that are on the same layer,
and have the same properties such as line type and line weight. If you
join a group of lines and arcs together these properties will be taken from
the first entity you picked.
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02. Use Layers

Layers in AutoCAD are often thought of as clear sheet plastic 'overlays'.
All geometry you create is hosted on a layer. Layers can be used to
control the colour, line weight and line type of your geometry. Layers can
also be used to filter geometry on and off to create the plotted drawing
that you want.
The correct use of layers depends on which industry you are working in.
Layering standards in the Civil and Architectural industries are far stricter
than in Manufacturing industry.
My advice is to go with the flow on layering, as long as you are using the
same layering standard as the rest of the people in your office, company
and (preferably) industry, you will do well.
For a really comprehensive tutorial on the layers, check out this series of
posts by Mike Thomas on the Design and Motion blog.
AutoCAD Layers deep dive series
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03. Use groups

Groups can be used to collect geometry together that has different
properties or is on different layers.
Once a set of drawing elements are grouped together you can select them
with one pick and manipulate them as if they were one object.
Groups are slightly more flexible than Polylines, but slightly less useful
than Blocks.
Groups are easy to create: Start the GROUP command, enter the name
for a new group, select ‗NEW‘, and select the objects that belong to the
new group.
Here's a more comprehensive tutorial on the use of Groups:
How to Use AutoCAD Groups to organise your geometry
Tip: CTRL+H, toggles group select on and off.
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04. Use blocks

I was lucky enough to start my career on the drawing board. I loved
drawing by hand. But I have to admit, AutoCAD allows me to create
drawings much faster.
The reason is simple COPY & PASTE!
AutoCAD's blocks allow us to create reusable content. Blocks have two

parts - a definition and an instance. By editing the definition of a block,
we can edit every instance within the CAD file.
This is incredibly powerful. If you do nothing else today, start curating

your Block library. It is the single most valuable activity that you can do
to speed up creating your CAD drawings.
On top of standard AutoCAD blocks, you can also create dynamic and
parametric blocks, which allow you to create blocks which can re-
configure themselves to suit your situation.
Creating Blocks is beyond the scope of a tips & tricks book, so I'm going
to recommend this book by Edwin Prakoso of CAD-Notes.com
AutoCAD Block best practices
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05. Use Xreferences

You may have figured out that the downside of blocks is that the instance
and reference is only linked within the same drawing.
If you want to have one single source of information, blocks won't cut for
you. This is where X-ref's come in.
X-ref's can be thought of as a block whose definition is held in an external

file. X-ref's are used extensively in Civil and Architectural drafting,
similarly to old fashioned registered overlay drawings, base plans can be
laid out - then additional plans such as furniture plans or lighting layouts
are compiled over the top.
X-Refs have the added advantage that work can be split up amongst
various specialists, all of who are working from the same base plan.
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It's worth noting that X-Refs aren't limited to other CAD files. Items such
as PDF's, Image files and Point clouds can all be X-Ref'd into a drawing.
To attach a file as a Xref, use the ATTACH command, pick the type of file
you wish to attach, browse to the file you want to attach
Here's a more in-depth tutorial that I recommend you check out.
Working With External References
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06. Create non-associative arrays

I Love AutoCAD's Ribbon based associative array tools, but if you want to
create an array using the old dialogue box, or you need to create a non
associative array - use the ARRAYCLASSIC command.
07. Create new geometry with the properties of old geometry

This is my favourite way to add a new item of geometry that has the
properties of another item is the 'Add Selected' command.
This is great because you don't even have to move the mouse from the
drawing canvas! I find it particularly handy when dimensioning...
‗Add selected‘ was added in AutoCAD 2011 (it was introduced in AutoCAD
2010 as a Subscription bonus tool). Add Selected Adds another object,
the same as the one you currently have selected.
If you have a line selected, Add Selected will add a line. If you have an
Annotation selected Add Selected will add an Annotation, and so on. The
new object will have the same Layer and Style properties as the old one,
no matter what Layer or Style settings you currently have set.
Add Selected is really handy if you want to create a dimension annotation

with the same properties as a previous dimension, and you don‘t have to
go anywhere near the Layers control or the styles controls to do it!
To use Add Selected, select an object, right click and chose ‗Add
Selected‘.
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08. Polar Tracking

The great thing about drafting on a computer is that we don‘t need to
think about accuracy of our line work whilst drawing… or do we?
In fact – it‘s very easy to create geometry in AutoCAD that is not perfectly
aligned.
Geometry tracking helps us to create geometry at orthographic angles

(i.e.at 90° increments). You may have used ‗ortho mode‘ which can also
help with this.
The advantage of Polar tracking is that it can be set

to snap to multiple angles. I commonly use 45°, but
you could add 30°, 15° or any angle you commonly
use.
To toggle polar tracking on, click the Polar Tracking

icon in the status tray.
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To add angles to polar tracking, click the arrow next to the icon to pick
from a pre-configured list.
Click ‗Tracking Settings‘ to open the Drafting settings > Polar tracking
dialog. From here you can add your own custom tracking angles.
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09. Select previous

Most commands in AutoCAD require a selection set. We know that the
command need something to operate on!
However, it can sometimes be difficult to get the selection set you need
while in the middle of a command.
Did you know that SELECT is actually a sub command which can be run
on its own?
To run the SELECT command, type ‗select‘ at the command line. You will
be prompted to select the geometry you‘d like to work with. Select some
geometry and ENTER.
Now what?
The next time you run a command in AutoCAD which requires a selection
set you will have a couple of new options.
When you are prompted for a selection, try typing ‗p‘ for ‗previous‘
selection set.
Another option is to type ‗L‘. This will select the ‗last‘ item added to the
drawing.
10. Rotate to a reference

Have you found yourself wanting to rotate an object to exactly match an
entity you‘ve already drawn?
The option is there, if you know where to look ;)
Start the rotate command (‗ro‘ at the command line) and select the item
you want to rotate. Now pick a rotation point. Finally, use the ‗Reference‘
option to select two point on your object for the reference angle.
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Now check out the command line. You should see an option called ‗Points‘
(P). Click this option, and you will be prompted to pick two points on the
object that you‘d like to match rotations with. See? Easy!
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11. Two point square

It‘s often the case that we need to think outside the box to get the best
out of AutoCAD‘s standard commands.
Have you ever wanted to draw a square - rather than a rectangle - and
thought that it took you too many clicks?
This tip is about using a different command for a new purpose, in this
case - the ‗POLYGON‘ command.
The POLYGON Command allows us to create regular shapes with any

number of sides - including squares!
The trouble is that the POLYGON command draws shapes that are
inscribed or circumscribed around a circle - not helpful here :/
The tip is to use the ‗Edge‘ option in the POLYGON command to draw a
four sided shape with a fixed edge length. It only takes two clicks!
TIP: The POLYGON command is also great for drawing tirangles.
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12. Hatch object

The default option for AutoCAD‘s hatch command ‗bhatch‘ is ‗Point‘.
AutoCAD is expecting you to pick and internal point to hatch.
I have two problems with this. The first, is that your drawing may be very
complicated and it may take a while for AutoCAD to work out what needs
to be hatched.
The second is that AutoCAD may not be able to correctly associate the
hatch to the items creating the hatching boundary. When you edit or
move these items, the Hatch may not update correctly - and you will need
to hatch them again :(
For these reasons, I recommend that you create hatching boundaries

from polylines, and then use the ‗object‘ selection method to pick your
closed boundary to hatch.
Selecting an object gives AutoCAD a lot less processing wok to do, and
the hatch associativity to the object you picked will be far more reliable.
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13. Use Text Masking

Have you been using the option to ‗Mask‘ your text?
Masking adds an invisible boundary behind your text that covers up the
items behind it, this can save you a lot of time and effort trying to hatch
around text, or trimming objects up to fit around your text.
here are some text masking tips:
You will find text masking in the properties palette for Mtext and Leader
notes. ‗Text‘ is not supported.
Use the commands ‗texttofront‘ and ‗hatchtoback‘ to make sure that

AutoCAD is drawing your objects on screen in the correct order.
Dimensions don‘t have text masking, but they do have a property of ‗Fill
Colour‘ which can be set to ‗Background‘, for the same effect.
To fit your Mtext boundary to your text perfectly, double click on the
sizing arrows to shrink the box to the smallest possible size to fit the text.
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14. Copy with the Rotate command?

I use this command frequently when I need another instance of an item
that has rotational symmetry but I don‘t need a pattern.
The tip is to start the ‗ROTATE‘ command, but chose the ‗copy‘ option
before picking the rotation Angle.
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15. Copy multiple (ARRAY)

Did you know that the COPY command can be used to copy multiple items
at the same time?
You can do this using the ‗Array‘ option (Despite the name, this is
different to the dynamic pattern created with the ARRAY command, the
copied objects will be individual instances, not an Arrayed pattern).
1. Begin by typing ‗copy‘ at the command line.

2. Select the item(s) to copy, then ENTER.
3. Select a base point to COPY from.
4. Choose ‗Array‘ (A).
5. Enter number of copies.
6. (Optional) Choose ‘Fit‘ (F)
7. Pick a second point, then ENTER.
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16. Use FEILDS

Fields can be added to just about any text based object in AutoCAD, and
they are incredibly powerful. The more you use them, the more uses
you‘ll find for them.
A ‗Field‘ is a piece of text which reads its value from somewhere else.
fields are most commonly used to Automate filling out of your title block.
When creating TEXT, MTEXT an Attribute or Mleader text, right click and
choose ‗Insert Field...‘ and explore your options.
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17. Quick Image Insert

Use the ‗PASTESPEC‘ Command to copy and paste an image into your
AutoCAD drawing.
This technique has the advantage that the Image will be embedded into
your DWG file (rather than attached as an Xref). If you email this file to
someone, it is self contained and will not lose its references.
This disadvantage is that your DWG file will be larger (by the size of the
image), and embedded images can‘t be rotated or clipped like Referenced
images can.
18. Rotate your view to suit your drawing

It‘s not unusual to be working on a drawing where a large portion of your
line work is rotated to an angle. To save a crick in your neck, you can
rotate your view to suit the line work.
This is a two step process, first we need to create a UCS on our new
angled plan, then we can set AutoCAD‘s view to suit the UCS.
To orient your UCS:
Type ‗ucs‘ at the command line. Pick the ‗Object‘ option (OB). Select an
object (Line) that you‘d like to align your view with.
Now that we have the UCS aligned, any geometry we create will be
aligned also. But it would be better if we aligned the UCS with our screen.
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To orient your view:
Next type ‗plan‘ at the command line, and choose ‗Current‘ (C) to align
your view with the current UCS.
To return to normal:
To return to normal, type ‗ucs‘ at the command line and pick ‗World‘ (W),
then type ‗plan‘ at the command line and pick ‗World‘ (W) again.
Tip: You can combine this tip with a saved UCS and Saved view to easily
toggle back and forth between Views.
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19. Save a UCS

To save a custom UCS, type ‗ucs‘ at the command line, choose ‗NAmed‘
(NA) Choose ‗Save‘ (S), type your UCS name and hit Enter.
20. Save a View

You can make it easy to find locations within your DWG file by saving
views. Note that we are saving the current location, Zoom and orientation
of our view. We can even save which layers are currently visible.
1. To save a view, type ‗view‘ at the command line.

2. In the View Manager dialog, Click the ‗New‘ Button.
3. Name your view
4. Optional - pick ‗Define window‘ to create a view of a specific area.
5. Optional - Tick ‘Save Layer snapshot with view‘ to save which layers
are visible with your view.
6. Optional - Select your custom UCS from the drop down.
To activate a saved view, type ‗view‘ at the command line, pick your view
in the View Manger > Model views browser and click ‗Apply‘.
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TIP: Navigate to the ‘Views’ tab and right click over the Ribbon. Make
sure that you have, Show Panels > Views, active.
This gives you a handy View picker which you can use to navigate your
views without having to open the views dialog.
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Edit
Tips relating to editing your 2D and 3D Geometry.
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101 AutoCAD Productivity Tips & Tricks Edit
21. CLIP
If you are using Xreferences in your AutoCAD drawing, but you are only
interested in a little bit of the reference geometry, try using the CLIP
command to crop your Xreferences - double tip, it works on Blocks too!
22. Grip editing

Grips are those little blue shapes that pop up on your geometry when you
select it.
Grips are a very simple and precise way to edit geometry, and they work
particularly well with geometry that has been collected into a polyline.
When you pick on a grip, look at the command line. You will see a short
list of options available to you including ‗Base point‘ and ‗Copy‘.
By typing ‗B‘ for base point at the command line and hitting ‗Enter‘ you
are free to pick another point to move or stretch your geometry by. By
typing ‗C‘ at the command line you will copy the geometry as you
move/stretch it.
When you‘ve picked on a grip, right click!
Right clicking on a Grip will display a shortcut menu of commands to

modify that object.
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To select multiple Grips, pick an entity to highlight it. Now hold down the
shift key and pick on a grip. The grip will highlight in red and you are now
free to pick another grip
You can even pick grips on multiple entities. When you have picked all the
grips you need to, you can now perform an operation on all of the grips at
once.
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23. Grips and Dynamic Input

If you are enjoying using Grips - try turning ‗Dynamic input‘ on! Grips and
Dynamic Input go together like melted cheese and sweet chilli sauce. To
turn Dynamic Input on click on the icon in the status bar.
TIP: F12 will also toggle the Dynamic Input command.
Select an entity and then hover over a grip. You will get immediate
feedback on the properties of the Geometry.
When you click on a grip you will see options for editing the geometry
right there in front of your eyes!
If the highlighted tooltip isn‘t the feature you want to change, just keep
hitting the ‗Tab‘ key until the feature you want to change is highlighted.
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You can use the ‗Down‘ Arrow key to pick other options and the ‗up‘ Arrow
key to repeat previous input.
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24. Find and Replace

So – The situation is like this. You spent all day copying and pasting notes
all over your drawing stating that the timber species can only be Cherry,
and nothing else…
Of course you get your drawings back from the Designer and they want to
change it to Maple…Grrr
So you‘re now faced with scouring your drawing to find all references to
‗Cherry‘ and replacing them with ‗Maple‘ – not only time consuming, but
what if you miss a note?
Wait a minute, there‘s got to be an easier way – right?
Of course there is – AutoCAD comes with a ‗Find and replace‘ text tool,
just like Word.
You can find it under:
Annotate tab > Text Panel
Or type
‗FIND‘ at the command prompt
The find and Replace Dialogue allows you to search your drawing for any
text string, and replace it with another.
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You can choose just part of the drawing or the whole file and you can
chose whether to search inside Blocks and Xrefs. Click on the expansion
arrow to see all the options.
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By checking the ‗List Results‘ box and hitting ‗Find‘ you can see all the
results listed.
Click on the ‗Zoom to highlighted result‘ button, or double click on the

highlighted text to be taken right to the result.
You can now have a look at the note in context before you hit ‗Replace‘ –
or you can just go Gung-Ho and hit ‗Replace all‘ to do the lot.
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25. Exploding Splines

Creating 'regular' geometry from Splines and Ellipses is something that
many of us have to do when creating Geometry for CNC.
To draw Ellipses with polylines, set the PELLIPSE variable value to '1'.
To turn an ellipse into a spline, offset it, then offset it back by the same
amount.
To turn a spline into a polyline use the Express tool FLATTEN.
Or use the SPLINEDIT command to convert into a polyline.
Finally, you could DXFOUT geometry into an AutoCAD R12 DXF file, and
bring it back into your drawing.
26. Changing space

Use the CHSPACE command to move geometry through floating viewports
from model space to paper space or from paper space to model space.
To try it, navigate to a layout in your AutoCAD drawing and create a

viewport. Note the scale of the viewport that you have created.
Create some geometry in layout space that falls within the boundary of
your Viewport.
Now run the CHSPACE command. You will be prompted to pick the
geometry and then pick the Viewport that the geometry will be ‗Pushed‘
through.
Notice that the CHSPACE command also scales the geometry during its
transition to model space based on the viewport scale.
I have found this command to be particularly useful to move errant

dimensions from paper to model space!
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27. Purge and Purge again

Use the PURGE command frequently (two or three times a day for
complex drawings) to remove bloat from your drawing file.
You can use the command line version of the PURGE command to remove
space reserved for vertical applications such as Mechanical desktop, or
Architectural desktop.
To do this, type -PU at the command line, choose R (for Regapps

'Registered Applications), then hit return to accept the * (Wildcard for all
names), finally N (No I don't want to verify each name to be purged).
AutoCAD will give you feedback on the number of applications that have
been deleted. You file size should be noticeably smaller.
28. Audit
Use the AUDIT command to correct issues in your CAD file that could
cause corruption. I recommend auditing daily while in the throes of
creating your drawing.
29. Recover
If you are unlucky enough to find that your drawing file has become
bloated and corrupt, you may not be able to open the file to use the
PURGE or AUDIT command on it.
In this case, you can use the RECOVER command to open the file and
Audit it in one move.
30. Reset values by Layer

Layers are a great way to allocate common properties such as line weight
or line type. You can edit the properties of an individual item directly, but
I wouldn't recommend it!
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If you are working with a drawing where a lot of properties have been
overwritten, don't worry - you can use the SETBYLAYER command to
clean up.
You can pick and choose which properties you wish to reset. To do this,
start the SETBYLAYER command, and choose ‗Settings‘ at the command
prompt to pick individual properties.
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31. Copy objects to new Layer

You can quickly and easily copy objects to an existing Layer with the
‗COPYTOLAYER‘ command.
Run CopytoLayer by typing it in at the command line.
Select an object you wish to copy.
Select an object on the destination Layer you wish to copy to.
Select a base point that you wish to copy from.
Select point you wish to copy to.
The final point can be the same point if you wish to copy the object ‗in
place‘. Type @ at the command point to repeat the last coordinates
without having to click with your Mouse.
If you don‘t have any geometry nearby on the destination Layer, you can
pick the Layer you wish to copy to from a dialogue. To get the dialogue
follow steps one and two, but instead of picking a destination Layer enter
‗N‘ at the command line for ‗Name‘.
You can create a new Layer on the fly by typing your new Layer‘s name
into the dialogue (just make sure it meets your Layer naming standard!).
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32. Merge Layers

If you want to clean up your Layers – but you don‘t want to lose any
geometry, you can merge all the objects on separate Layers into one
Layer with the ‗LAYMRG‘ command.
Note: This powerful command will delete the merged Layers from your
drawing file – use it wisely!
1. Run the LAYMRG command

2. Select objects on the Layers to be merged
3. Select an object on the target Layer
Objects on the merged Layers will be moved to the target Layer, and the
original Layers will be purged from the drawing file.
Instead of picking objects type ‗N‘ at the command line to bring up a

dialogue box. Note that, like the ‗COPYTOLAYER‘ command, you can
create a new destination Layer on the fly from the dialogue box.
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33. Isolate & Un-isolate Layers

This tool is very handy when you are working in a drawing with a lot of
Layers.
1. Run the ‗LAYISO‘ command

2. Pick objects on the Layers you want to remain visible
3. All the other Layers will be turned off.
4. To get your previous Layer settings back, run the ‗LAYUNISO‘
command.
Note: Any changes to the Visible/Invisible properties of Layers that you

make between running the LAYISO and the LAYUNISO commands will be
completely ignored by the LAYUNISO command.
There are a couple of cool tips for this command that you may not be
aware of.
Instead of turning all the other Layers off – you can lock them instead,
just follow the options at the command prompt.
You can couple this with the ‗LAYLOCKFADECTL‘ command variable to

‗fade‘ the locked Layers, allowing you to concentrate on the area you
want to work on, whilst still referencing other Layers.
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34. Isolate & Un-isolate objects

This tool was also new in AutoCAD 2011 (or 2010 with the subscription
bonus pack). The ‗ISOLATEOBJECTS‘ command is similar to the LAYISO
command, but with one important difference.
Instead of isolating the Layer of the selected objects, it isolates

the selected objects themselves. Every other object in the drawing is
made invisible, even if they are on the same Layer as the object you
selected.
This is really a group of commands, the easiest way to use them is to

select the objects you work with and right click:
1. To isolate your objects, right click and choose ‗Isolate Objects >
Isolate Objects‘.
2. To hide your objects, right click and chose ‗Isolate Objects > Hide
Objects‘.
3. To get your objects back, right click and chose ‗Isolate Objects >
End object Isolation‘.
Note: Object isolation does not remain between drawing sessions, so if

someone else opens your drawing, all objects will be visible by default.
The current object Isolation state is highlighted by the

little light bulb icon in the task bar.
Yellow means that all objects are visible, red means that some objects are
hidden.
You can also click on the Isolate objects light bulb icon to change the
visibility state of objects.
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35. Lock & Unlock Layers

You can easily lock and unlock Layers right in the Layers pull down, but if
you don‘t know the name of the Layer that the object is on, how will you
know which Layer to lock?
The easy way is to use the ‗LAYLCK‘ command. You just need to run the
command and pick on the Layers you want to lock… simple! To unlock
Layers, use the ‗LAYULK‘ command.
Note: Set the ‘LAYLOCKFADECTL’ command variable to ‘fade’ the locked

Layers, for quick visible feedback.
36. Freeze and Thaw, On and Off

By the same token, although you can set Layers to be frozen or thawed
and on or off in the Layers pull down, it can be more intuitive just to point
and click.
The ‗LAYFRZ‘ command allows you to freeze a Layer just by clicking on an

object which is on that Layer, and the ‗LAYOFF‘ command will turn the
Layer off.
Use the ‗LAYTHW‘ command to thaw all Layers in the drawing file globally,
and use ‗LAYON‘ to turn all the Layers in your drawing on at once.
37. Understanding 'Pickfirst'

There are a number of problems associated to picking and editing objects
in AutoCAD that can be tracked down to the troublesome
‗PICKFIRST‘ system variable.
Problems:
‘When I double click on some Mtext, Nothing happens’
‘When I select an item and then use the Layers drop down, the Items
layer doesn’t change’
Solution:
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Check out the ‗PICKFIRST‘ System Variable. This Variable Controls

whether you select objects before (noun-verb selection) or after you issue
a command.
0 Turns off PICKFIRST; you select objects after you issue a command
1 Turns on PICKFIRST; you select objects before you issue a command
You can also set the PICKFIRST value in the ‗OPTIONS‘ dialogue on the
‗SELECTION‘ tab under ‗SELECTION MODES‗
An explanation of Noun-Verb selection
AutoCAD has two ways of selecting items and performing commands.

Either you can start the command and then select the item you want the
command to process, or you can pick an item - and then start the
command.
AutoCAD will assume that the item you have selected is the one you want
to process.
‗PICKFIRST‘ Controls this behaviour, and it can be affected by ‗The ghost

in the machine‘, so write that system variable down in your notebook, on
a post-it, or on the back of your hand – it’s worth remembering!
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38. Correct Geometry to 0 elevation

It happens to all of us. You open an AutoCAD file – it looks great! But
something is weird…
Geometry won‘t snap correctly. Annotations don‘t give back the correct
values, what gives!
If you rotate your geometry using the viewcube, you may find that your
2D AutoCAD files contains geometry which has been drawn in 3D space.
How do we fix that!
Thankfully, AutoCAD has a command to help us. The command is

FLATTEN.
The FLATTEN command will ‗reset‘ AutoCAD geometry to a zero elevation.

Unfortunately it doesn‘t always work. For example it won‘t correct
geometry held inside Blocks.
Another way to flatten geometry is by using the Properties palette. You‘ll

need to filter geometry by type and set the Z elevation manually.
Tip: This problem is often caused by a rogue setting. Check the following
setting to see if it is causing the problem:
Options > Drafting > Replace Z value with current elevation (tick to turn
on).
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39. Reconciled layers?

You may have noticed when creating AutoCAD .DWT (Drawing Template
Files) the option to ‗save all layers as reconciled/unreconciled‘ – what
does THAT do!
‘Unreconciled layers are layers that have been added to the drawing or to
attached xrefs since the layer list was last evaluated.’
This feature is great if you are working in a project team. When you open
an AutoCAD containing Xreferences, you will be prompted to examine the
list of any NEW layers that have been added to the Xrefe‘d documents
since you last had your AutoCAD file open. You can then choose whether
to include these new layers in your plan set or not.
To reconcile layers, open the layer properties manager by typing LA at the

command line. Select the Unreconciled Layers group from the browser
tree.
Reconcile unreconciled layers by right clicking on an unreconciled layer

and choosing ‗Reconcile Layer‘. This will add the layer to the layer
baseline and not display it as new anymore in the drawing.
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However – if you are NOT working in a project team, you will possibly find
this feature distracting!
Tip: You can turn off the unreconciled layers notification by opening the
layers dialog, clicking on the settings button and un-ticking the ‘Evaluate
New Layers Added to Drawings’ box.
Setting the LAYERNOTIFY variable to 0 will do the same - turn off

notifications in the current drawing.
Setting LAYEREVALCTL to 0 will turn of the notification in all files.
Here‘s an article on layer reconciling and layer notifications from Autodesk

AutoCAD technical evangelist Heidi Hewlett. Layer Notification in AutoCAD
2008
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40. OOPS! Restore deleted geometry.

Did you ever erase some AutoCAD Geometry and continue editing your
file, only to realise that you need that geometry back?
The dilemma is, should I use CTRL+Z (Undo) to step back until I get my
geometry back – and then can I remember all the steps I did so that I can
re-do them? Or should I just re-draw the items I deleted again!
If you‘ve been stuck in this situation, you will be pleased to hear about
the OOPS command!
To see how the OOPS command works, create some geometry in

AutoCAD, delete an item, do some editing then type OOPS at the
command line.
Magic!
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Document
Tips relating to creating drawings, for example - line type definitions, and
Annotations.
55
101 AutoCAD Productivity Tips & Tricks Document
41. Mtext formatting quick tips

 Ctrl+Shift+U: changes selected Mtext text to uppercase
 Ctrl+Shift+L: changes selected text to lowercase.
 Ctrl+U to underline selected text.
 Ctrl+O to overline selected text.
 Ctrl+Spacebar: removes font formatting -- bold, underline, etc.
42. Convert Text to Mtext.

The ‗TXT2MTXT‘ Can be used to convert multiple lines of old fashioned
‗Dtext‘ into one block of shiny modern ‗Mtext‘.
This command used to be an express tool, which means that it used LISP
and wasn‘t available in AutoCAD LT.
With the 2018 release of AutoCAD, ‗TXT2MTXT‘ has graduated to a

standard command, meaning ‗Full‘ AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT users alike
can enjoy the power of this command ;)
43. Open or save a DWT file outside the default path

Have you ever browsed to the folder you want to open a drawing from –
changed the file type to DWT and then been really annoyed when
AutoCAD‘s ‗Open‘ dialog flips you straight to the default Template folder?
I know I have, and the trick was staring me in the face for years before I
noticed it - just hit the 'Back' button in the dialog!
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44. How to set your linetype scale correctly

There are now four AutoCAD variables that govern your line type scale. It
can seem a little confusing, here are my suggested values:
LTSCALE = 1.0
CELTSCALE = 1.0
PSLTSCALE = 1
MSLTSCALE = 1
To change a variable’s value, simply type it in at the command line and

enter a new value when prompted. These values are saved in the
drawing, so it’s worth getting them right in your template file.
For a full explanation of WHY I suggest these values, read:
AutoCAD Line Type Scales, The Secret Truth.
45. What Lies beneath?

Don't forget to click on the little arrow in
the plot dialogue to reveal options such as
plot style options and paper orientation!
Here's more on more options!
AutoCAD Plotting, What is hidden beneath

the Plot Dialogue arrow?
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46. Single click PDF's

(With a bit of typing!)
You may be familiar with 'plotting' Adobe acrobat PDF files using the
AutoCAD DWGtoPDF virtual plotter (or your favourite third part plug-in).
But there is a simpler way.
Exporting PDF files from an AutoCAD drawing is a simple two-step

process:
1. Click the export button
2. Type in a file name (optional!) and hit the ‗Save‘ button.
It‘s as easy as that!
The Export to PDF command can easily be found on the ‗Export to

DWF/PDF‘ panel of the ‗Output‘ tab.
If you are not using the Ribbon, you can export from the command line
by typing ‘EXPORTPDF’.
This will open the ‗Save as PDF‘ dialogue, where you chose where to save
your PDF, and what you want to call it. Click ‗Save‘ and you are done!
To make sure your PDF plot looks how you are expecting it to, make sure
that your Layout is set up to plot from your regular plotter first. If you set
this up in your template file – you should only have to do it once.
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Fine tuning - If the two step process is too simple for you, there are a few
more options you can use to tailor this process to your needs.
The Export dropdown allows you to choose whether to Export the current
Layout or all layouts in the file.
The Page setup dropdown allows you to use the current plot settings, or
override them.
If you chose ‗Override‘ the PDF Page setup Override dialogue pops up,
which contains a simplified subset of the usual Plotting options
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The layout and magnifying glass Icon brings up the Plot Preview
window – so you can check out how your PDF will look, before you plot it.
The printer with Lighting strike and check box pops up the PDF
Export options dialogue.
This dialogue allows you to control whether your Layer information is

included in the PDF and how the lines merge on plotting. You can also
override the precision of the Vector‘s in the PDF file here.
The two options I use most frequently are the default file path Location
and the Type.
The Default File path Location saves you having to tour around your folder
structure each time you Export a PDF.
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The Type drop down gives you the choice of Single-sheet or Multi-sheet
PDF‘s. The Single-sheet option will create one PDF per layout. The Multi-
sheet option will create one PDF which contains all your layouts.
If you don‘t remember to set these

options before you hit ‗Export‘ –
don‘t worry. The same set of tools
is available to you inside the ‗Save
as PDF Dialogue.
The ‗Current Settings‘ panel gives

you some feedback on where you
are in the process. You can click the
options button to bring up the
‗Export to PDF‘ dialogue.
You also have the option to adjust

whether you want to export the
current layout, or all layouts in the
file, and you can override the plot
settings from here as well.
Finally, there are a couple of

options that are not available elsewhere – you can choose whether to add
a plot stamp to your PDF file, and you can choose whether you want to
see your resulting PDF in Adobe reader when the job is done.
47. Plotting KISS

Plot styles, CTB‘s and STB‘s can be very powerful – but in the end they
can become simply one more dang thing to manage…
The simplest set up I have found for effective plotting is to set all of the
line weights to ‗By Layer‘ and plot directly using the standard AutoCAD
‗Monochrome.CTB‘. This is installed on every users machine by default, so
it needs very little managing.
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48. Plotting in colour, in monochrome

If you do need to plot in colour, the simplest way is to set the Layer
colour to a ‗True Color‘ – this is not mapped in the pen table, so AutoCAD
will plot it in colour.
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49. Setting up a permanent plot preview

Did you know that you can set AutoCAD up to show you exactly how your
plot will look, even before you Preview it?
By default, AutoCAD‘s paper space is set up to look like a sheet of paper.
The paper has a white background, a black drop shadow and a dotted line
around it to indicate the plot area.
When you create a viewport in paper space your model space geometry is
revealed – in colour… This is not so hot when you are used to seeing your
lines, arcs and circles against the dark background of model space.
To show how the colours of your geometry will plot when translated by
your CTB or STB file, we need to use the Page Setup Manager.
The Page Setup Manager allows us to save our standard plot settings, so
that we don‘t have to input the same information every time we plot a
drawing (I hope that you have Page Setups created for all your standard
plot settings in your template file!
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There is one setting in the Page Setup Manager that is often over looked,
and can‘t be found anywhere else.
To start the Page Setup Manager, use any one of the following:
 Ribbon: Output tab > Plot Panel > Page Setup Manager
 Menu: Application menu (The Big ‗A‘) > Print > Page Setup
 Command Line: PAGESETUP
 Or, right-click a layout tab and chose Page Setup Manager.
Click on the Modify button to modify your current page Setup.
Creating (or editing) a Page Setup is just like creating a plot. The Page
Setup dialogue is just like the plot dialogue box, with one important
exception — just under the Plot Style table drop-down list is a check box
64
marked Display Plot Styles. Check this box to preview how the selected
plot style will look.
That‘s it – one simple click and you will be able to see exactly how your
CTB or STB file will translate your geometry into plotted lines.
The final step is to turn on line weight display from the system tray, and
there you have it — A permanent plot preview that will show you how
your plot will turn out, even while you continue to work on your layout.
If your viewports start to show in colour again, make the viewport active
and perform a regen to re-apply the plot styles. Use the REGENALL
command to regen all your viewports at once.
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50. Create Page Setups to save time when plotting

Plotting drawings is more complicated than you might think! The good
news is that, once you have defined your plotting process - a lot of it can
be automated.
To save time when plotting, use Page Set Ups to save the plot settings for
your standard plots i your template file. From now on, you will only have
to pick from a list of your standard plot sizes, and AutoCAD will do the
rest for you.
To create a page set up, type PAGESETUP at the command line and hit
Return. You will see the page set up dialogue.
To create a new page setup, select the NEW button. You will be asked to
name your page setup.
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The next dialogue will look pretty similar to the usual plot dialogue that
you are used to seeing.
67
Set your plot up the same way you usually would. When you are done,
don't forget to use the 'Set Current' button in the page set up manager to
allocate your new page set up to your current layout tab.
Now create another page set up for your next standard page size and
carry on until you are all done.
From now on you will only have to choose the page set up that you want
from the drop down in the plot dialogue.
Page set ups are particularly useful when using the PUBLISH command!
Here's a link to a full tutorial:
An Introduction to AutoCAD Page Setups.
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51. The easy way to import page setups from a template file
Once you have your page setups configured, you will want to use them in
every drawing!
To import page setups from a template file into your current DWG, fire up
the plot dialogue in your usual way, and from the ‗Page Setup‘ drop down
– pick ‗Import…‘.
The ‗Select Page Setup from file‘ dialog will open. Browse to the template
file you want to import Page setups from, select the DWG, DWT or DXF
file and click on ‗Open‘.
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The ‗Import Page Setups‘ Dialogue will open. You will see a list of all the
available Page Setups you can Import. Use the windows CTRL+Click and
SHIFT+Click options to select which Page setups you want to Import and
then click on the ‗OK‘ Button – easy!
Read 'The easy way to Import AutoCAD Page Setups' for a complete
tutorial.
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52. Polyline Linetype Enabling

Linetype enabling controls the pattern display of line type such as
HIDDEN.
You can set the Linetype for individual polylines by selecting the polyline
and changing Linetype setting in the properties palette.
 Linetype Enabled will display a continuous pattern;

 Linetype Disabled will start the pattern afresh at each junction.
The default Linetype Generation setting is controlled by the PLINEGEN

Variable. Set PLINEGEN to ‗1‘ to create polylines with a continuous
pattern by default.
53. Dimensioning Angles that are larger than 180°

By default, AutoCAD will always dimension the obtuse angle (Less than
180°) between two lines. But what if we want to dimension the reflex
angle (Greater than 180°) ?
Well, the answer is only one click of the spacebar away!
First use the ‗DIMANGLUAR‘ tool. Next, notice that the command line is
asking us to:
‘Select arc, circle, line, or <specify vertex>:’
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So - the default option is to select a line, but - if we press Return, or our

Spacebar one more time, we will get the ‗Vertex‘ option.
Now, AutoCAD switches the DIMANGULAR command to point selection,

and we can select the centre point of our angle, followed by a point on
each item we want to measure.
Finally - we can place our Reflex dimension.
TIP: You can do this with AutoCAD’s new ‘DIMension’ command, but
starting the DIM command, then picking ‘Angular’ then ‘Vertex’ option.
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54. Trim Dimensions?

Dimensions can be a problem when they become un-associated with the
entity that they are dimensioning.
This can happen when we trim a line that we‘ve already added a
dimension to.
Did you know that you can also trim dimensions? The great thing about
this is that the dimension will automatically re-associate itself with the
entity it was originally attached to - saving errors creeping in down the
line.
55. Add text to (Multiple) dimensions

Did you know that you can add additional text to your dimensions?
By double clicking on the Dimension text, you will bring up the AutoCAD
text editor, allowing you to add a prefix, suffix or additional symbols to
your Dimension text (Just be careful not to delete the dimension value
accidentally!).
To add note to multiple Dimension text at the same time, you can use the
properties palette.
Start by typing ‗properties‘ at the command line to open the properties

palette. Now select multiple text notes, and take a look at the available
properties in the properties palette.
73
The property we are looking for is called ‗Text Override‘. By typing a value
in here we can add additional text to all our dimension text at the same
time.
Tip: The dimension Value is represented by the following symbol ‘<>’.

When you have finished your edit the chevron brackets will be replaced by
the Dimension value.
TEXT OVERRIDE FORMATTING

<> DIMENSION VALUE
\P END OF PARAGRAPH
\X ADD TEXT BELOW THE DIMENSION LINE
\L TURN UNDERLINING ON AND OFF
%%d ADDS A DEGREE SYMBOL
%%p ADDS A PLUS MINUS TOLERANCE SYMBOL
%%c ADDS A DIAMETER SYMBOL
%%% ADDS A PERCENTAGE SYMBOL
For more codes, click here:

https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad-lt/learn-
explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2017/ENU/AutoCAD-LT/files/GUID-
7D8BB40F-5C4E-4AE5-BD75-9ED7112E5967-htm.html
Here:
https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/learn-
explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2016/ENU/AutoCAD-Core/files/GUID-
518E1A9D-398C-4A8A-AC32-2D85590CDBE1-htm.html
And here:
https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/learn-
explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2016/ENU/AutoCAD-Core/files/GUID-
968CBC1D-BA99-4519-ABDD-88419EB2BF92-htm.html
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56. Quick and easy tip to space dimensions

If you are on the 15th edit of your current drawing and your dimensions
are starting to look at little sloppy, you can use the ‗DIMSPACE‘ command
to tidy them up.
The DIMSPACE command allows you to select a ‗Base‘ dimension, and

then some dimensions to space.
the DIMSPACE command will neatly space your dimensions, making your
drawing instantly look a whole lot neater.
Note: The ‘Auto’ option will space the dimensions at twice the height of
the text used in the dimension style.
Tip: You can use DIMSPACE to Automatically align chained dimensions.

Select the first dimension, then enter ‘0’ as an offset value.
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57. Quick Edit Attribute Values

Did you know that you can edit Attribute values without using editing the
block?
The quick method is to hold down your CTRL key before clicking on the
attribute. Now double click on the Attribute, and you will be able to edit
its value in place.
Who knew!
58. Quick copy Layout

A quick way to copy a Layout is to hold down the CTRL key whilst
dragging on a layout tab.
When you let a go, a copy will be added.
59. Cycle through viewports

Did you ever get stuck inside a viewport? This can happen - particularly
when we have overlapping viewports.
If you get stuck inside the wrong viewport, try pressing CTRL+R on your
keyboard to cycle through to the next viewport.
Still in the wrong one? Just keep pressing CTRL+R until you get to where
you need to go.
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60. Use Sheet sets

If you haven‘t yet come across AutoCAD sheet sets I urge you to find out
more about them. They are the single most powerful tool in AutoCAD for
planning and organising your drawings across a project.
The Sheet set manager is a browser which opens inside AutoCAD which
points to all the drawing files in your current project.
Not only does the Sheet Set Manager give you a quick way to browse the
drawings in your project (without having to know where the files are
located) but you can also benefit from the sheet set manager in the
following ways:
 Update multiple title blocks at once

 Rename files (without breaking references)
 Create a dynamic Sheet List Table which lists all of the drawings in
your current project, including their current status.
 Automate the tiles of drawing views.
 Automatically link callouts across drawings.
For me - the biggest single benefit of using the Sheet set manager is in
planning a Project.
The tip is to create the drawings your are planning to create at the start
of the project.
You can now monitor progress on your project by counting the number of
completed drawings. For example:
‘We thought we needed 50 drawings at the start of the project. We have

submitted 30, meaning that we have 20 left to draw before the deadline.
Of the 30 submitted, 10 have been approved, 10 have been commented
on and re-submitted for approval, and we are waiting for comments on
the remaining 10’.
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Don‘t forget that you can get all of this information from the
Automatically created Sheet List Table, making it quick to pull this sort of
progress report together.
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Customize
Tips relating to customizing your AutoCAD install, including CAD
management.
79
101 AutoCAD Productivity Tips & Tricks Customize
61. Centering Mtext

CENTERMT, Toggles grip editing of Mtext width. Mtext will stretch in width
from the side or from centre.
62. Prefer the old layer manager dialog?

If you set the undocumented system variable LAYERDLGMODE to 0, the
Layer command will invoke the old interface Layer manager dialog instead
of the new palette based floating dialog.
63. Print a list of your Layers

You can create a printable layer list from the new layer palette by
selecting everything (CTRL+A), copying (CTRL+C) and then opening a
new spreadsheet and pasting (CTRL+V).
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64. Find your support paths

To find out which Windows folders are included in your AutoCAD support
paths, type OPTIONS at the command line.
You should find yourself in the FILES tab of the options dialogue. Expand
the 'Support File Search Path' node to see which folders are included.
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65. Create scripts to automate tasks

An AutoCAD script file has a .SCR file extension. A script file is a text file
containing a series of commands exactly as you would type them at the
command line.
You can run a script file by dragging and dropping it from your desktop
into AutoCAD, or by calling your scrip t file from a macro.
For this reason, script files work well with AutoCAD LT.
For an introduction to creating script files for AutoCAD read:
Learn how to write command scripts for AutoCAD and automate your
plotting
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66. Real time reporting with MODEMACRO

The MODEMACRO command edits the text shown in the tool bar next to
the cursor location, the 'Status Bar'.
To try this out, type MODEMACRO at the command line, then type "Hello
Mum" when prompted.
You should see something that looks like this:
You can use DIESAL code to edit this Value to provide real time reporting
of values such as the last command used, or the current profile.
Copy and paste the following into MODEMACRO:
LOGIN: $(Getvar,LOGINNAME) | PROFILE: $(Getvar,CPROFILE) |

WORKSPACE: $(Getvar,WSCURRENT) | COMMAND:
$(if,$(eq,$(Getvar,cmdnames),""),Waiting...,$(GETVAR, cmdnames))
The command prompt should look something like the one below.
The value of MODEMACRO is not saved when you close AutoCAD.
To find out how to define the value of MODEMACRO on start up using a

script file, or lisp read:
How to use the AutoCAD status line to provide real time reporting
67. Zoom direction driving you crazy?

By default scrolling the zoom wheel away from you in AutoCAD will zoom
in to an area. Scrolling the zoom wheel toward you will zoom out.
If you want to switch this around use the ZOOMWHEEL command:
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0 = Roll wheel forward to zoom in; roll wheel backwards to zoom out.
1 = Roll wheel forward to zoom out; roll wheel backwards to zoom in.
68. Speedup your Zooms

The amount that the scroll wheel will zoom depends on the setting of the
ZOOMFACTOR variable.
By default it will be around 60. Decrease it to get a smoother scroll (less

zoom) or increase it to zoom in and out faster.
69. Add your own commands to the QAT

The AutoCAD 'QAT' is the 'Quick Access Toolbar' - the area just to the
right of the big Red 'A'.
You can add any command you like to the QAT to keep it handy all the
time, no matter which ribbon tab you are currently using.
I like to add the distance command, and the layers pull down.
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70. Create tool palettes

Tool palettes are the easiest way to customize AutoCAD. Tool palettes are
also the easiest way to create tools which support your CAD standard.
To create a new tool, drag and drop an item of geometry from your
AutoCAD drawing on to a tool palette.
A line will create a line tool, a hatch will create a hatch tool, and a
dimension will create a dimension tool and so on.
AutoCAD will use the properties of the original geometry, such as the
layer, to build the tool. Now whenever you use the toll, the geometry will
be created on the right layer and using the right properties.
The absolute master of Tool Palettes is Matt Murphy. You can watch is
Autodesk University class here:
AC3441: The Productivity Power of AutoCAD® Tool Palettes—Revealed!
71. Quickly close AutoCAD

Double click on the big red 'A'... BUT SAVE YOUR
WORK FIRST!
Don't say I didn't warn you...
72. Fix Metric Linetype and Hatch scale in Drawings created with a
non-metric template
I hope that you‘ve notice that some of the AutoCAD templates files have
the suffice ‗ISO‘?
Great! These are the Metric template files. If you use the ACADiso.DWT
you should be using Metric Linetypes and Hatches by default.
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If however, you didn‘t use a Metric AutoCAD template file, you could see
some weird scaling issues with your line types and hatches.
You can fix this using the MEASUREMENT variable. Type MEASUREMENT
at the AutoCAD command line, and when prompted, set it to ‗1‘.
 MEASUREMENT = 0; Use ACAD.lin and ACAD.pat

 MEASUREMENT = 1; Use ACADiso.Lin andACADiso.pat
You can now reload your Linetypes using the LINETYPE command, and set
your hatches to the correct scale. Use the REGEN command to see your
results.
TIP: Use the properties palettes or Quick Select to change the hatch
scale of multiple hatches at the same time.
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73. Fix scaling issues when inserting x-refs or blocks, or copying

geometry between documents
When AutoCAD was released, the idea that it didn‘t have units of
measurement was revolutionary. Your drawing could be in millimetres,
cubits, Yards or Parsecs, it is completely up to you – Awesome!
Unfortunately we learned that this causes issues when sharing AutoCAD

geometry that has been created with a different unit of measurement in
mind :/
To fix this, Autodesk created a new variable to help AutoCAD know what
units of measure are being used.
AutoCAD will compare the units of measure in the current drawing with
the geometry that is being inserted and will work out the scaling for you.
The scaling of inserted content is controlled by the AutoCAD variable

DWGUNITS. This setting tells AutoCAD what units you are using in your
current drawing.
Type –DWGUNITS (including the hyphen) at the command line:
 1 = Inches
 2 = Feet
 3 = Millimetres
 4 = Centimetres
 5 = Decimetres
 6 = Meters
Tip: Don’t forget that you may need to change the value of DWGUNITS in
the drawing you are inserting, not the drawing you have open!
You will also receive the following option at the command line:
Scale Objects from other drawings upon insert? [Yes/No]:
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Selecting ‗No‘ will stop AutoCAD trying to second guess the scaling of
inserted content.
88
74. Simple block attribute editor

This tip is great for speeding up the entry of data into AutoCAD blocks
with attributes – such as your title block.
By default AutoCAD uses the EATTEDIT command when you double click
on a Block with attributes. EATTEDIT opens the Enhanced Attribute Editor,
which looks like this:
The Enhanced Attribute Editor is pretty powerful, but it is overkill of this

purpose.
Instead, we want to use the ATTEDIT command, which looks like this:
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Much simpler – right!
To use the ATTEDIT command by default, we will need to edit the

AutoCAD CUI (Customisable User Interface).
To edit the CUI, begin by typing CUI at the command line. The dialog
shown in the following image will open.
Navigate to the ‗Double Click Actions> Attribute Blocks‘ node, and in the
properties panel change EATTEDIT to ATTTEDIT and ^cc_eattedit to
^cc_attedit
Now save and close the CUI and test out your revised command by
double clicking on a block.
TIP: Don’t forget to back up your CUI!
90
75. Take control of the UCS Icon

I like to see the UCS icon - it helps me to orientate myself while I‘m
drawing, but I don‘t always want to see it at 0,0,0 (The Origin).
The edit the UCS settings type ‗UCSICON‘ at the command line. Select
‗Noorigin‘ to dock the UCS in the corner of your screen.
91
76. Time sensitive right click.

many AutoCAD commands can be completed by pressing RETURN or
SPACE on your keyboard. However, it sometimes feels more natural to
complete the command with a Right click on your mouse.
The trouble is, if you set the mouse to RMB=ENTER, you loose out on the
many context sensitive right mouse button menus that AutoCAD offers
you :/
The tip here is to type ‗options‘ at the command line, visit the ‗User
Preferences‘ tab and click on ‗Right-click Customization...‘
Turing on time sensitive right click gives you the best of both worlds. A
right click will be interpreted as ENTER while a right click and hold will
bring up the short cut menu.
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77. Automate tasks with Scripts and Macros

A script is a simple list of instructions for AutoCAD to follow. It‘s like a
programme, but the user doesn‘t interact with the Script - it just runs.
A script file is a text file, with the file extension changed form .TXT to
.SCR. A script file contains a list of commands, exactly as you would type
them at the command line.
A Macro is very similar to a script, but in this case the macro is all written
on one line. Macro‘s are generally triggered by a command button. The
easiest way to create a macro is to include it on a tool palette.
You could even use a macro to load a script!
Any time you find yourself doing the same two or three steps, ask if it
would be worth your while creating a script or macro to automate this
task in future?
Here are a couple of tutorials to start you off:
Script creation:
http://www.cad-notes.com/learn-how-to-write-command-scripts-for-
autocad-and-automate-your-plotting/
Macro Creation:
http://www.cad-notes.com/how-to-automate-autocad-with-command-
macros/
78. Start up switches for Profile and Template

Control switches can be used to start AutoCAD with a particular profile
and template active.
To use a control switch, first - you need to close AutoCAD. Next right click
on the desktop icon that you start AutoCAD with, and select ‗properties‘.
93
In the AutoCAD desktop icon properties dialog box, look for Short cut >
Target. Add the switch that you‘d like to use after the path to your
AutoCAD .exe file - for example:
"d: AutoCAD 2013/acad.exe” /t "d:AutoCAD 2013/templatearch1" /v

"plan1" /b "startup"
Translates as:
1. Start AutoCAD 2013 - you find the .exe on the ‗D‘ drive
2. When AutoCAD has started, immediately load ‗templatearch1‘.
3. Go straight to a custom view called ‗plan1‘
4. Run a script called ‗startup‘.
Here are some additional startup switches for you to try:
START UP SWITCHES
/b ―Script name‖ Run this script on start up.
/nologo Stops the AutoCAD splash screen showing on start up.
/nossm Stops the sheet set manager opening on startup
/p ―profile‖ Start with the named profile active
/set ―path > Sheet set .dst‖ Load with the named sheet set file active
Load with a new file active, created from the named
/t ―template file‖
template
/v ―View name‖ Display the named view
/w ―workspace‖ Load with the named workspace active
You can find additional information here:

http://help.autodesk.com/view/ACD/2016/ENU/?guid=GUID-8E54B6EC-
5B52-4F62-B7FC-0D4E1EDF093A
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79. Which variable does what?

A quick way to find out more about AutoCAD‘s system variables is to use
the ‗sysvdlg‘ command:
Express Tools > Tools > System Variables (Not available in AutoCAD LT)
The command pops up a dialog that you can use to browse and search
AutoCAD‘s system variables.
You can find out the current setting of a variable, some handy information
on what the variable does, and even set editable system variables from
inside the dialog.
Finally, you can use this tool to save out your current system variable
settings and restore them later.
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80. Save out your system variables

A quick way to save out your system variables is to use the ‗SETVAR‘
command.
Type ‗setvar‘ at the command line, press ENTER, then type ‗?‘ and ENTER
again. Press ENTER once more and AutoCAD will pop open the Text
window and show you a complete list of all system variables, and their
values (You will need to keep pressing ENTER to see the next ‗page‘).
When you‘ve paged through all the settings, keep the text window open.
You can scroll back to the beginning of the list, and copy and paste the
whole list out to a text file for future reference.
Feeling ambitious, you could even use this information to create an

AutoCAD script to restore your system settings from this list.
96
Productivity
Tips to get the most out of AutoCAD by working smarter – not harder!
97
101 AutoCAD Productivity Tips & Tricks Productivity
81. The SHIFT key

Holding down the SHIFT key while creating fillets will join two lines
together into a polyine with a 'zero radius' filet, without over writing your
previous fillet radius setting.
This is a great way of joining reluctant geometry together for a CNC tool
path - it works with Chamfers too.
When using TRIM or EXTEND, pressing SHIFT will toggle between one
command and the other - if you type TRIM and press SHIFT while
selecting geometry, AutoCAD will extend instead of trim.
82. The ALT key

Alt+F File menu
Alt+E Edit menu
Alt+V View menu
Alt+I Insert menu
Alt+O Format menu
Alt+T Tools menu
Alt+D Draw menu
Alt+N Dimension menu
Alt+M Modify menu
Alt+W Window menu
Alt+X Express menu
Alt+H Help menu
Alt+R Recent Documents
Alt+C Open Documents
Alt+A Recent Actions
Alt+S Open Menu Browser with focus on Search
Hold down the ALT key and type '0160' to insert a blank space in a text
field. This is really helpful when working with the sheet set manager.
83. Who has my file open?

WHOHAS, returns the Login of the user who has an AutoCAD file open
from the network.
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84. Doing the Mtext Jig

MTJIGSTRING, changes text string seen at start of MTEXT command.
85. Lock your workspace

To prevent elements of the AutoCAD UI moving around unintentionally,
lock it down using the padlock Icon in the tool bar.
For a complete tutorial on the UI lock command read:
How to lock AutoCAD‘s user interface
86. Save your workspace

Whether you prefer AutoCAD's classic Toolbar UI or the more modern
Ribbon UI, I'm sure that you like to tweak the elements you have on
screen until you get all the tools you need to hand.
If your UI set up accidently gets messed up, it's time consuming to have
to get it all set back up how you like it.
99
Did you know that you can save your workspace by clicking on the little
gear Icon in the tool bar, and choosing 'Save current As...'
100
87. Export your profile

To open the options dialogue, type OPTIONS at the command line. Every
setting that you see with a little DWG icon by it is saved in your drawing.
Every other setting is saved in your user profile.
You can save a copy of your user profile, so that you can re-load it later.
This is useful if AutoCAD crashes, you migrate to a newer version, or you
want to replicate your favourite settings in a new computer.
To export your profile type OPTIONS at the command line. Navigate to

the profiles tab and choose the EXPORT button. To import a user profile,
choose the IMPORT button.
101
88. Repeat the last command

Hitting the space bar in AutoCAD is the same as typing RETURN.
If you hit the space bar after completing a command, the command will
be repeated.
89. Repeating a recently used command

You can quickly get back to a recently used command by using the UP
and DOWN arrows on your keyboard.
90. TAB to complete a command

Not sure how to spell the command or system variable you are looking
for? Start typing the command that you want at the command line for a
list of suggestions.
Navigate to the command that you want using the up and down arrows
and hit the TAB key to auto complete the command.
91. CTRL Commands

CTRL+2 opens the design centre
92. Use the properties palette

The properties palette is a great way to find out information about the
item you have selected in AutoCAD.
It's also a great way to manipulate an item without having to memorize

lots of editing commands.
Top open the properties palette, type PROPERTIES at the command line. I
find it so useful, I keep it open and docked the whole time that I am
working in AutoCAD
Here's a tutorial on the many and varied uses of the properties palette:
How to increase your productivity with the AutoCAD properties palette.
102
93. Don't use the Layers drop down to change the current layer!
You can change layers by selecting existing geometry that is on the layer
you want, and asking AutoCAD to set this layer as current.
You can do this using the LAYMCUR command. My tip here is to create
your own command Alias for the LAYMCUR command. I use 'N' as my
command alias.
To change layers I type N at the command line, thwack the spacebar with
my thumb and pick an item that is already on the layer I want.
This is a lot quicker than moving my mouse all the way up the layers drop
down and back!
94. Don't use the layers drop down to change an object layer!
The reciprocal of Laymcur is LAYCUR. This command moves an object
from the Layer it is on, to the current Layer.
1. First make sure that the correct Layer is current.
2. Run the LAYCUR command.
3. Select the objects that you want to change.
The objects will be moved from the Layer that they are on to the Layer
that you have current.
95. Match properties & Layer match

The match properties command allows you to copy the properties of one
object to another object. The properties that you can copy vary,
depending on what kind of object you pick.
For example Layer properties are common to all objects, but Annotation
styles will only be applied to other Annotations.
You can select which properties you want to copy by choosing the
‗Settings‘ option.
103
Start the ‗MATCHPROP‘ command.
Select the object that has the properties you want to copy.
Type ‗s‘ at the command line to bring up the Settings Dialogue (optional)
Select the objects that you want to copy properties too.
If you only want to copy the Layer properties from one object to another,
you can use ‗LAYMCH‘.
Laymch works in the opposite order to Matchprop. First you select the
objects that you want to change, then you select an object on the Layer
that you wish the objects to move to.
96. Create shortcuts to folders in the ‘Open’ dialog

You can create short cuts to the folders you use most frequently in the
‗Open‘ dialogue by dragging and dropping them onto the navigation bar.
104
97. Make AutoCAD do the math

Did you know that you can type LISP* commands directly into the
AutoCAD command prompt? (*List Processing Programming Language).
This is an excellent way to perform simple math functions while in the

middle of an AutoCAD command.
For example, you want to draw a line that is exactly half of 58.35mm (I
can‘t do that sum in my head!).
Instead of reaching for a calculator type the following at the command

prompt:
(/ 58.35 2.0)
AutoCAD will return 29.175 – Awesome!
Here‘s an explanation of what‘s going on.
First, the brackets. Every function in a LISP programme is enclosed within

brackets.
When we type LISP at the command line, the brackets let AutoCAD know
that a line of LISP code is coming and it can get ready to process it. The
105
key is to make sure that you have a closing bracket for every opening
bracket (and vice versa!).
In LISP, the operator (That is the mathematical sign) always comes first.
Try out the following and see what results you get:
+ Add
- Subtract
* Multiply
/ Divide
So, in our example ‗(/ 58.35 2.0)‘ we are saying to AutoCAD:
‘Watch out – here comes some LISP code! (Open Bracket). Please divide
fifty eight point three five by two for me? Oh – and, could you return that
as a real number (include all its decimal fractions)? Thanks! Here’s the
end of the LISP code now! (Close Bracket).’
Tip: A ‘real’ number is the exact number you type including decimals. An
Integer is a round number. So:
(/ 57 2.0) Returns 28.5 [Real]

(/ 57 2) Returns 28 [Integer]
Can you work out what will be returned by the following statements?
(/ 65 2.0)
(+ 30 30 30)
(* 3.14 5)
(- 291 500)
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98. Temporary OSNAP’s

I don‘t like to have too many OSNAPs turned on
while drafting, some of them are only applicable
on a case by case basis. So - how do we turn on
the OSNAP that we need, without having to leave
the command we are in?
The answer is to hold down SHIFT and right click.
This will bring up the OSNAPs list at your cursor,

and you can pick the one you need.
I particularly like ‗Mid Between 2 Points‘.
99. MULTIPLE
If you need to use the same command over and
over, you can just keep hitting the SPACEBAR
with your thumb right?
You can save your thumb (and your SPACEBAR) a

bit of wear and tear by using the ‗MULTIPLE‘ command.
The MULTIPLE command will repeat the same command over and over
until you‘ve had enough.
To use the command, type ‗multiple‘ at the command line, the multiple
command will ask you which command you would like to repeat. Enter the
command that you‘d like to repeat, and notice that - when you finish the
command, AutoCAD will automatically start the command again.
Press ‗ESCAPE‘ to finish the MULTIPLE command.
107
About the Author

Paul Munford is the author at Cadsetterout.com
After studying Theatre Production Design at

College, Paul worked as a freelance Scenery Design
and Builder for eight years.
Working as an Art director on Pop Videos, Adverts, Television shows, and

Feature films, Paul gained a wide range of experience in scenery design
including Presentation work, Graphic design and Drafting (by hand).
In a parallel career, Paul worked on the shop floor in Exhibition and

Events, working his way up (literally) from guy-that-unloads-the-van,
through Carpenter to Charge hand to Workshop Manager to Project
Manager.
All of this came to a head in 2004 when (with Mortgage, Marriage and
the family life beckoning) Paul gave up the la vida loca and decided that
it was time to grow up and get a proper job.
Paul decided to focus on the one skill that brought all his diverse
experience together (technical drawing) and went to night school to
learn this 'CAD' thing he'd heard so much about.
Little appreciating how few people there are in the job market with the
desirable combination of experience in making, technical drawing and
computing, Paul walked into his first salaried CAD Drafting position a few
months later - and stepped into a whole new life...
You can read more about Paul's experiences at Cadsetterout.com
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101 AutoCAD Productivity Tips & Tricks Resources
Resources
100. Learn more CAD tips and tricks

Don‘t forget that AutoCAD comes with a whole bunch of tips and tutorials
built right in. To find them, click on the ‗LEARN‘ link on the AutoCAD
home page.
101. Let great CAD tips come to you!

Here is a list of some of my favourite AutoCAD Resources on the Web.
My tip here is to use a feed reader such as Outlook or Feedly to collect the
RSS feeds from each of these blogs.
New content will appear in your feed reader as it is published on the blog,
saving you the trouble of having to visit them to find out what's new.
For a complete listing of every Blog that I follow, check out the
Cadsetterout Links Page.
109
http://www.cad-notes.com/
http://www.ellenfinkelstein.com/
http://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad
http://cadpanacea.com/
https://thecadgeek.com/
http://blogs.autodesk.com/autocad/
https://bestcadtips.com/
http://cadablog.blogspot.com/
https://www.mycadsite.com/
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101 AutoCAD Productivity Tips & Tricks

101 AutoCAD Productivity Tips & Tricks Preface

The focus is on creating shop drawings for the construction industry

You are all most welcome :D

02. Use Layers ........................................................................ 13

03. Use groups ....................................................................... 14

04. Use blocks ........................................................................ 15

05. Use Xreferences ................................................................ 16

06. Create non-associative arrays ............................................. 18

08. Polar Tracking ................................................................... 19

09. Select previous ................................................................... 21

10. Rotate to a reference ........................................................... 21

11. Two point square ................................................................. 23

12. Hatch object ....................................................................... 24

13. Use Text Masking ................................................................ 25

14. Copy with the Rotate command? ........................................... 26

15. Copy multiple (ARRAY) ......................................................... 27

16. Use FEILDS......................................................................... 28

17. Quick Image Insert .............................................................. 29

18. Rotate your view to suit your drawing .................................... 29

19. Save a UCS ........................................................................ 32

20. Save a View ........................................................................ 32

22. Grip editing ....................................................................... 35

23. Select Previous Grip Selection ............................................. 37

24. Find and Replace ............................................................... 39

25. Exploding Splines ............................................................... 42

26. Changing space ................................................................. 42

27. Purge and Purge again ....................................................... 43

28. Audit ................................................................................ 43

29. Recover ............................................................................ 43

30. Reset values by Layer ........................................................ 43

31. Copy objects to new Layer .................................................. 45

32. Merge Layers .................................................................... 46

33. Isolate & Un-isolate Layers ................................................. 47

34. Isolate & Un-isolate objects................................................. 48

35. Lock & Unlock Layers ......................................................... 49

36. Freeze and Thaw, On and Off .............................................. 49

37. Understanding 'Pickfirst' ..................................................... 49

38. Correct Geometry to 0 elevation .......................................... 51

39. Reconciled layers? ............................................................. 52

40. OOPS! Restore deleted geometry. ........................................ 54

42. Convert Text to Mtext. ......................................................... 56

44. How to set your linetype scale correctly ................................ 57

45. What Lies beneath? ............................................................ 57

46. Single click PDF's ............................................................... 58

47. Plotting KISS ..................................................................... 61

48. Plotting in colour, in monochrome ........................................ 62

49. Setting up a permanent plot preview .................................... 63

50. Create Page Setups to save time when plotting ..................... 66

52. Polyline Linetype Enabling ................................................... 71

53. Dimensioning Angles that are larger than 180° ....................... 71

54. Trim Dimensions? ................................................................ 73

55. Add text to (Multiple) dimensions .......................................... 73

56. Quick and easy tip to space dimensions.................................. 75

57. Quick Edit Attribute Values ................................................... 76

58. Quick copy Layout ............................................................... 76

59. Cycle through viewports ....................................................... 76

60. Use Sheet sets .................................................................... 77

62. Prefer the old layer manager dialog? .................................... 80

63. Print a list of your Layers .................................................... 80

64. Find your support paths ...................................................... 81

65. Create scripts to automate tasks.......................................... 82

66. Real time reporting with MODEMACRO .................................. 83