LT Unlimited

DWT files incompatible with earlier versions

If you use a DWT template file to start your drawings, you may have noticed that they only come in one "version". In other words, now that the file format has changed, you can't use LT 2010 to create a template file that's compatible with earlier versions.

If everyone in your office is on the same version, you won't have any problems, but in a mixed environment some people may need older file formats.

In that case, simply save your template as a DWG file in your desired file format (2007, 2004, etc.), find it in Windows Explorer, and change the extension to DWT. You must have "Hide extensions for known file types" unchecked in the Folder Options for this to work.

(If you don't use templates yet, I highly advise looking into them...they're an easy way to start a new drawing containing standard layers, annotation styles, etc. without risking overwriting the original template file.)

Measuring Areas in AutoCAD LT 2010

Last month I told you about the improvements to measuring distances with LT 2010. Today I'll cover another part of the command -- measuring Areas and Volumes.

The command procedure hasn't changed a bit -- you still pick points or objects to define the area, and you can still subtract areas from other areas (as long as you remembered to start by "adding" an area). The difference in LT 2010 is that it's easier now to see what you're doing.

For example, let's say I want to get the area of this floor plan:

Thanks to the new highlighting, I can see the area I've picked:
 

And if I want to subtract the area of the kitchen and laundry, I can see that too:

The Volume option works just like Area, except that at the end you're prompted to specify a height. AutoCAD LT then does the math for you, multiplying the area by the height to show you a volume.

LT Webcast next week -- sign up today!

The AutoCAD LT webcast series kicks off next week with our first event, "What's New in AutoCAD LT 2010".

I'll be covering all the good stuff included in LT this year, from block attribute tools to external reference commands, and of course ALIGN.

Here's the link to register:  Register Now!

See you there!

Are you already using AutoCAD LT 2010?

If you or your firm have already upgraded (or recently purchased) AutoCAD LT 2010, I want to hear from you! I'm looking for people using the new version who are willing to share their thoughts & opinions with us here at Autodesk.

 

If you're interested, drop me an e-mail: [email protected]

 

Thanks!

Online Help & Learning Resources

Something new we're trying this year is putting the Help files online for easier access & updating.

You can find the AutoCAD Help here: http://www.autodesk.com/autocad-help

It has a table of contents, index, and a search feature, just like the regular Help file. So now, even if you don't have AutoCAD, you can see what its help file has to say about various features.

If you want more LT-specific resources, check out the Learning Path: http://www.autodesk.com/autocadlt-learningpath

Here, you'll find quick links to tutorials, the Knowledge Base, the discussion groups, and more. Just two more of the ways to get the most out of AutoCAD LT...

Select Individual Multileader Segment

In AutoCAD LT 2010, you can now select individual segments of multileaders to give them different properties, such as color or arrowhead.

To do this, hold down CTRL while left-clicking on the multileader segments.

When you do this, the segment is highlighted with dark red grips, and the Properties palette shows the available settings for a "Multileader Leader".

In this example, I've changed one of the four leader segments to be blue with a blank-dot arrowhead (instead of black with closed filled arrows like the others).

A more real-world example is this one, where rebar running in two directions can be called out with different arrowheads from the same text object. Both segments are associated with the geometry they point to as well as the text, so that when any of them move the leaders stretch and rotate to maintain the association.

Copy with Base Point in LT 2010

Today's tip is inspired by a question I saw twice yesterday, once in the Autodesk discussion groups and once by e-mail.

It's about the "Copy with Base Point" function and its location in AutoCAD LT 2010. This very handy function isn't on the ribbon any more, although it is still in the Edit menu if you're using the menu bar.

Instead, you can use the keyboard combination Ctrl+Shift+C, or type COPYBASE at the command line.

"Copy with Base Point" is also available in the right-click shortcut menu, whether you have objects selected or not.

If you don't have right-click menus turned on, you might want to think about it -- with every release, they get more and more helpful. Check out my earlier post on time-sensitive right-click menus, if you want to combine the functionality of the menu with the convenience of right-click-as-enter.

Re-order Attributes in Blocks

Among the new-to-LT block attribute tools in LT 2010 is the Block Attribute Manager. You can find it on the Attributes panel of the Insert tab as "Manage", or at the command line as BATTMAN. (And if you just started singing the theme song, you're not alone.)

The Block Attribute Manager helps control the order of your attributes so that you can enter data in a logical way. For example, this block has its attributes out of order -- I'd like to enter Line 1 first, then Line 2, and so on, but right now they're mixed up.

(Yes, this attribute editor is different from the one available in LT 2009 and earlier. No, I haven't posted about it yet...but I will soon.)

To fix this, I'll run BATTMAN.

 

The "Move Up" and "Move Down" buttons rearrange the attributes until they're in the order you want.

"Edit" launches the Edit Attribute dialog, where you can make changes to the attribute's overall properties, including its default value and prompt.

"Remove" deletes the attribute from the block definition.

"Sync" applies your changes to all block instances currently in the drawing.

You can use the pull-down at the top to switch between block definitions to make changes to the order of their attributes.

Along the bottom, "OK", "Cancel", and "Help" are pretty straightforward.

"Apply" saves your changes without closing the dialog so you can continue to manage attributes for that block or others.

"Settings" brings up a small dialog that has mostly to do with which properties are displayed in the main dialog window (like Tag and Prompt above). It helps you to distinguish between attributes, in case you have some with similar properties.

Two options you'll want to pay closer attention to are the ones circled in red. "Emphasize duplicate tags" shows you when you have two or more attributes in a block with the same tag. This is generally considered bad practice, because it can cause some unexpected behaviors.

"Apply changes to existing references" does exactly that -- if you uncheck the box, existing blocks aren't modified unless you use the Sync button in the main dialog.

Once I've finished my rearranging and closed the Block Attribute Manager, I can go back to my block and see the correct attribute order.

Celebrating 2 Years of Blogging!

That's right, today marks the second anniversary of my first foray into the blogosphere. Well, actually tomorrow does -- April 11th -- but I didn't feel like posting on a Saturday. :-) This is the 274th post. (My colleague Scott Sheppard, over at It is Alive in the Lab, had 738 posts in the same amount of time...guess I have some catching up to do!)

I don't have visitor statistics for the entire two years, thanks to migrating platforms one year in, but the number have been steadily trending upward. In March alone there were over 4900 unique visitors -- my best month yet!

In honor of the birthday, I thought I'd expand on my very first tip. If you'd like to help me keep from repeating myself (I do try not to double-post too often), please send me your own favorite AutoCAD LT tips! Tips for any version are welcome, and I'll be happy to post them and give you all the credit.

On to the "Happy Birthday" tip...

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By now, you probably know that rolling a mouse scroll wheel enables you to zoom in and out of a drawing. But did you know you can control how far it zooms in or out?

The system variable ZOOMFACTOR controls the magnitude of the magnification change for zooming with the mouse wheel. The default is 60, but you can set it to be anywhere from 3 to 100. Higher numbers means bigger changes.

Easier Color Selection in LT 2010

Color selection in AutoCAD LT 2010 is another feature that's been tweaked to make it just that much easier to use. (Not that it was really difficult before.)

The biggest trick is that you can get to the Color Selection dialog straight from the layer pull-down in the ribbon. Just click on one of the color swatches.

It's also easier now to see which layers have viewport overrides applied. They turn blue in the pull-down, and their color swatch gets a permanent white border. Check out layer P1SWT in the image above.

Once you're in the Color Selection dialog, you'll see it's been updated to make the color you're about to choose easier to identify. The cursor now stays visible as you move over the different swatches, and the highlighted swatch now has both black and white borders to make it stand out from the crowd.

I know a lot of you thought the cursor should never have been taken away, but hey..it's back now.

Just two more ways that AutoCAD LT 2010 helps to make your day-to-day work easier.