LT Unlimited

Auto-Complete Commands and System Variables

Let’s say you want to use a command or system variable, but you can’t quite remember which one, or how to spell it. In AutoCAD LT 2012, you don’t have to press TAB to see all the options one by one (and then grumble when you realize you tabbed too fast and went past the one you were looking for). Instead, just start typing.

AutoCAD LT automatically pops up a list with all the matching commands, command aliases, and system variables for you to choose from.

You can use the mouse or arrow keys to pick one, or you can keep typing. Once you run out of two-letter command aliases, the command names start filling themselves in at the cursor and you can press Enter to accept it.

If this is making any of my keyboard fans nervous, I can guarantee that it won’t slow you down. It never takes the focus away from your input window, so you can type as fast as you like. If you press Enter fast enough, you might never even see the list at all. It’ll only show up when you stop to think.

The best part of auto-complete, though, is that it remembers your choices. Once you pick a command from the list, it’s highlighted by default the next time it’s available.

Let’s say I type in QS. I get two options: QSAVE and QSELECT.

I want QSELECT (I already use Ctrl+S for QSAVE), so I’ll press the down arrow and then press Enter. Now, the next time I type QS, QSELECT shows up instead!

It’s like I created my own personal command alias…without editing the PGP file. Pretty cool, isn’t it?

Auto-complete also works for your own custom aliases:

Unfortunately, you don’t get the command name in parentheses like you do with the built-in aliases, but it’s still nice that they’re there.

And this is AutoCAD LT we’re talking about, so of course you have options:

You can turn off the list itself, or just the icons, or just the system variables. You can also set the delay time, which is how long you have to stop typing before the list shows up. Personally, the defaults have worked great for me so far, but if you have other combinations that work best I’d love to hear about them.

Going to Kansas City, Kansas City here I come

I don’t know about you, but I can’t hear “Kansas City” without thinking of that song. So I’ve been singing it a lot lately, because I have the opportunity to speak at the upcoming ADDA Technical Education Conference April 12-15 in Kansas City. (…Kansas City, here I come…)

I’ll be presenting on AutoCAD 2012 and the Autodesk Design Suite, as well as reprising an AU class on CUI customizations.

The rest of the conference schedule is packed with sessions not only on Autodesk products but on other CAD & support programs, building codes, and industry-specific topics. It looks like quite an impressive list of presentations.

If you’ll be there, come say hello!

No-longer-Express Tools: Overkill & NCOPY

Two more features formerly part of the Express Tools add-on are now full-blown commands in both AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT 2012. They were actually re-written from the ground up, so they’re fully integrated into the program this year. You’ll find both of them on the expanded portion of the Modify panel on the Home tab.

The first is Nested Copy, or NCOPY. With it, you can copy objects out of an  external reference or block directly into the host file. It basically saves you a few steps over previous processes, where you might use REFEDIT or just open the file to get what you need.

You may also notice that NCOPY has the new Array option, just like the regular Copy command.

The other new tool is Delete Duplicate Objects, popularly known as OVERKILL. This one especially has had its performance improved, so if you’ve used it before in a previous version of AutoCAD you should notice a real difference.

Overkill is a drawing-cleanup tool. It removes redundant copies of objects that are exactly on top of each other, eliminates extra vertices in polylines, and combines overlapping co-linear objects.

You can specify a tolerance, to say how close two objects have to be before they’re considered to be overlapping. You can also choose which properties to consider when determining identical-ness. By default, two objects that are different colors would be considered to be the same (and one of them would be removed), but two otherwise-identical lines that are on two different layers would not be the same (they both would stay).

If you’ve ever gotten a drawing that made you ask, “What did they do, copy and paste this thing in the same place fifteen times? And where on earth did all these extra polyline grips come from?” you’ll be glad to see Overkill in your AutoCAD LT.

New Option in Copy Command

You may have heard by now that the Array function has seen a major upgrade in AutoCAD LT 2012. (I’ll have a post with the details soon.) But it also turns out that Array wasn’t content to stay in its own corner – it had to expand into Copy too.

You can find this new option after you select your objects and pick your base point like always. But before specifying the second point, enter A instead.

Then you can enter the number of items in the array, and see a live preview of what the results will be. You can finish the array by either clicking to set the spacing between objects, or by using the Fit option to specify the total length of the array.

It’s a little hard to tell in the image above, but the line on the right is the original, and the 7 to the left are the arrayed copies.

The result of this kind of array is a bunch of separate objects. They’re not associative like the other new kinds of array. But it can still be quicker than using the regular multiple copy or offset commands.

Considering an upgrade? Check your hardware

Now that AutoCAD LT 2012 is about to hit the shelves, I hope at least some of you out there are considering an upgrade from your current version. Sometimes (but not always), that means upgrading your hardware too. And as computer-literate as I am, sometimes the intricacies of hardware components leave even me stumped.

Take graphics cards. Which one to pick? What capacity should it have? And what difference does it make, anyway? These days, quite a lot.

AutoCAD LT 2012 supports hardware acceleration, which means that it’s better at taking full advantage of your graphics card. (If you had problems with a jumpy cursor before, that’s fixed now.)

To help you decide which card to put in your computer, Autodesk has revised the Certified Hardware page to make it easier to find the tested & recommended cards. No, AutoCAD LT isn’t on the product list (yet), but a card that’s good for AutoCAD is good for AutoCAD too. I think the design is pretty straightforward, but if you want more details you can read Randy Young’s guest post on Without a Net.

Stay tuned for more posts on all the other new features in AutoCAD LT 2012!

Announcing AutoCAD LT 2012!

In case you haven’t heard, yesterday’s webcast was all about the newest products in the Autodesk Family. Although a lot of the focus was on Suites, like the Autodesk Design Suite (AutoCAD + Sketchbook Designer + Showcase + Mudbox), AutoCAD LT is by no means left behind.

AutoCAD LT 2012 will begin shipping on Thursday, March 24, but you can try it for free starting now. Our online trial is up and running as well, so you don’t even have to wait for the program to download.

I’ll be rolling out posts on the new features over the next days and weeks, but if you can’t wait, you can check out the features page, or the blog LT Is Still AutoCAD which already has a really comprehensive rundown. Demo videos will also be available on Autodesk’s YouTube channel later today. Just follow the link and search for AutoCAD LT 2012.

I think there’s a lot of really great stuff included this year (Sheet Set Manager, anyone?) – I hope that after you have a chance to try it out you’ll agree!

Reminder: Webcast Today

Just a quick reminder about our our Special Media Webcast with Autodesk Senior VP Amar Hanspal, taking place today at 2:00 Pacific. If you have any spare time at all I think you’ll be interested in what he has to say.

Register here: http://autode.sk/glzUsA

New video for AutoCAD Inventor LT Suite

This post is for my mechanically-inclined readers. Did you know that there’s a suite of products out there that combines the productivity and efficiency of AutoCAD LT with the mechanical design power of Inventor?

The AutoCAD Inventor LT Suite delivers AutoCAD LT and Autodesk Inventor LT software together at a remarkable value, providing a cost-effective way to introduce 3D mechanical design into your 2D workflows. Increase your productivity, participate in Digital Prototyping workflows, and compete more effectively by adding the power of 3D to your 2D workflow.

We have a new video showing how the two products work together: See it here: http://autode.sk/hI1Nf4

Webcast next week

Mark your calendars – Autodesk will be presenting a Special Media Webcast on Monday, March 21 at 2:00 Pacific (5:00 Eastern).

Register today: http://autode.sk/glzUsA

Happy Pi Day!

It’s 3.14 today, which means it’s time to celebrate all things PI!

Or, if you’re Vi Hart (everybody’s favorite recreational mathemusician), it’s time to celebrate everything that’s wrong with pi. Mainly the fact that most of us like to define circles by their radius, not their diameter, so a constant defined as circumference/diameter isn’t nearly as intuitive as one defined as circumference/radius.

Watch her make her case here, then check out some of the rest of her amazing videos. I particularly like the snakes one from last week.

Then tell your co-workers all about it over lunch…maybe someone will even bring some pie…