AutoCAD

Chapters 21–30Chapter 21Chapter 22Chapter 23Chapter 24Chapter 25Chapter 26Chapter 27Chapter 28Chapter 29Chapter 30

Elliot J. Gindis , Robert C. Kaebisch , in Up and Running with AutoCAD® 2021, 2021

Note however that AutoCAD still does not do engineering modeling and analysis and cannot compete with CATIA, SolidWorks, SolidEdge, Pro/Engineer (Creo), NX, Inventor, and others, nor was it ever designed to. At its heart AutoCAD is still drafting software first and foremost and is not meant for complex modeling and simulation. Autodesk has other products, such as Inventor and Revit, which venture into the world of parametric modeling, while AutoCAD is firmly in the world of drafting and visualization. If you need to test a design for structural failure or send the geometry to a CNC mill for manufacturing, AutoCAD is not the software for this.

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Importing and exporting data

Elliot J. Gindis , Robert C. Kaebisch , in Up and Running with AutoCAD® 2020, 2020

16.6 Other CAD software

Initially, as AutoCAD gained market dominance, it did not really attempt, nor had any incentive, to "play nice" with other CAD software on the market. Being the 2D industry leader allowed AutoCAD to get away with not accepting any other files in their native format. It was the company's way or the highway, but that slowly changed. One major concession regarding importing and exporting was with MicroStation, AutoCAD's nemesis and only serious competitor. MicroStation always opened and generated AutoCAD files easily but not the other way around.

Finally, in recent releases, AutoCAD listed the .dgn file format as something you can import and export. You were then able to bring in MicroStation files, more or less intact, as well as create ones from AutoCAD drawings. In AutoCAD 2009, the settings box was expanded and that was carried over into the current AutoCAD version. You can now compare layers and other features side by side and make adjustments, so the target file is like the original.

To access this, use the cascading menu File→Import … and search for the MicroStation dgn file you are interested in importing. Another way around all of this is just to have the MicroStation user generate the AutoCAD file. You can also export .dwg files directly to .dgn as well by using the cascading menu File→Export … and selecting .dgn as the target file. You then see the Settings dialog box in Fig. 16.11. Of course, MicroStation accepts the AutoCAD file with no problem, so this may not be necessary. If you would like to learn a bit more about MicroStation in general, see Appendix B.

Figure 16.11. Export DGN settings.

Let us expand the discussion to other CAD software. What if someone is using another CAD program and needs to exchange files with an AutoCAD user? The .dxf file is the solution, as it is a format agreed on by most CAD vendors as the go-between that can be understood by all applications for easy file sharing. AutoCAD easily opens a .dxf or generates its own .dxf files for any drawing. This is discussed momentarily.

A few observations on sharing files: Among architects, the issue is not much of a problem, as AutoCAD is the main application in this profession, and competitors such as ArchiCAD easily open AutoCAD's files and send a .dxf right back if needed. In engineering, however, AutoCAD has a lesser presence. While some electrical, mechanical, and civil engineers use AutoCAD, many others, especially industrial, rail, aerospace, automotive, and naval engineers, use 3D modeling and analysis software instead, such as CATIA, NX, Pro/Engineer, or SolidWorks.

Until recently, these applications did not interact well with AutoCAD. Their respective "kernels" (the software's core architecture) are significantly different in design and intent from AutoCAD's ACIS 3D kernel. Their native and export file types (such as IGES and STEP) may also be unfamiliar to AutoCAD users. Some of the previously mentioned software can generate .dxf files, but those files are "flattened" and what you get is a 2D snapshot of what used to be a 3D model. AutoCAD was also able to import images from CATIA and SolidWorks using the OLE command (to be discussed soon), but once again, they were just flattened images.

Things improved somewhat with AutoCAD 2012. The 3D models can now be imported into AutoCAD with little loss in fidelity. Much more is said about this in the free downloadable 3D section of this book.

All this can be somewhat confusing. Because so many different CAD packages are on the market, AutoCAD designers need to be aware and up to date on what others in their industry are using and think on their feet when it comes time to exchange files, as there usually is a way to access most file types. Let us now look at the specifics of exporting, importing, and the OLE command to explore the available options.

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AutoCAD fundamentals—Part II

Elliot J. Gindis , Robert C. Kaebisch , in Up and Running with AutoCAD® 2020, 2020

Help files

AutoCAD, like pretty much every software application, has extensive Help files, and indeed that is one way (though not recommended) to attempt to learn the software. A better application of Help is to explore it once you know how to use AutoCAD and need assistance with a particular aspect of a command. Tool tips that appear with every command can be considered to be part of the Help files.

AutoCAD's Help files have come a long way in recent releases. The original method to access them was generally to press F1 (same as for other software), and the installed files would come up. Early on, they became context sensitive and showed only relevant results based on what you were doing. You could also just search for what you wanted and access additional information, including examples. Autodesk even offered a printed Help files manual for those preferring paper.

These files, however, were part of AutoCAD, could not be updated by Autodesk between releases, and offered very little interactive content and access to other tools. All that began to change as Internet access became virtually guaranteed as part of working on a computer. The monumental shift with Help files in recent years was to move them completely online and link them with additional tools and functionality. Today, with AutoCAD 2020, online content is accessed if the Internet is available, and built-in files are not even offered with AutoCAD (though you can download them, as we discuss in a bit). As far as paper help manuals? I am not aware of them even being offered anymore, but you can probably print those downloads if you want to.

Help files today are part of a larger, interactive suite of online tools, applications, and resources, which we discuss shortly. To access just the regular Help files, you can still just press F1 (or the question mark at the very top right of your screen). You can do this with no commands active (resulting in Fig. 2.28) or in "context-sensitive" mode, while in the middle of a command (such as shown in Fig. 2.29 with "line").

Figure 2.28. AutoCAD 2020 Help files (general).

Figure 2.29. AutoCAD 2020 Help files (LINE Command).

Here, you can search for any other commands and find related tasks, references, and concepts. Note also how, on the left-hand side of the Help files, you can filter what you see based on your level of interest and responsibility. You can now access pretty much anything that has to do with that command, including programming tools, related tutorials, and even relevant blog entries. It is an interesting, if overwhelming, approach and signifies a major shift in Help file philosophy. You are now getting content-based, Google-like content to cover every angle, not just a cookie-cutter text file to explain the command.

As mentioned, there is far more to the Help files than just command explanations, and the extras can be found under the Help cascading menu, mostly in the Additional Resources flyout menu, as seen in Fig. 2.30.

Figure 2.30. AutoCAD 2020 Help cascading menu.

You already have called up the regular command Help files via F1, so no need to select the first item from the top, but what about the rest of these choices? Let us go over a few of them. When you click the Support Knowledge Base you get the Autodesk web page called Knowledge Network, seen here in Fig. 2.31. Note that you may see a slightly different design, as web pages can certainly be updated long after this textbook comes out in print.

Figure 2.31. Autodesk's Knowledge Network web page—Overview tab.

The web address, if you want to go there directly, bypassing AutoCAD, is https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad.

Here, you find some troubleshooting guidance as well as Service Pack downloads and a vast array of instructional data. Click over to the other tabs, moving from left to right. Getting Started is a subset of the previous page and not directly accessible from AutoCAD itself. It contains another vast array of learning data. Moving to the right, the Learn & Explore tab correlates to the Help's Online Training Resources choice, seen in Fig. 2.30. It also contains, you guessed it, more learning data.

The next tab, Downloads, if accessed via clicking it, presents an array of fixes, templates, and other goodies. If you access the tab through AutoCAD's Download Offline Help choice from Fig. 2.30, the tab is a different one; and it gives you the chance to download AutoCAD 2020's Help documentation—all 176   MB of it as of this writing. Just choose your language and download away, ideally with a fast connection. When it all downloads, you get a self-extracting ∗.exe file, which needs to be installed. If you anticipate working offline a lot and generally want local access to the files, this may be a good idea. They are not regularly updated or interactive but do the job for most users.

There is some more useful stuff under the Troubleshooting tab and a bit more under Online Developer Center (going back to the cascading menu), though it is geared toward developers not a beginner student.

As we wind down our tour, a new feature of the Help files, first introduced with AutoCAD 2015, deserves mention. Look at Fig. 2.29 again. Do you see the word Find just to the right of the line icon? If you click on this while the Ribbon is active, it finds the relevant command for you and points a bobbing red arrow at it. The arrow can be seen all the way to the top left in the screenshot in Fig. 2.32 (minus the bobbing up and down, of course). This clever assistant works with any command contained in the Ribbon and as long as you have it up. Starting with AutoCAD 2016 and continuing with AutoCAD 2020, it now also works with application menus and the Status bar.

Figure 2.32. Find command tool.

Finally, we have the Autodesk Exchange (Fig. 2.33). It is not part of the Help files per se, but this is a good time to introduce it. You can access it at any time via a small shopping cart toward the upper right of the screen, to the right of the Autodesk 360 Sign In. The Exchange is also geared toward developers and "power users," with various tools and apps to customize, extend, or otherwise enhance AutoCAD. Although, as a beginning user, you probably will not need all this additional content, make a note of it for future reference. The Exchange's web address, for independent access to it, is https://apps.autodesk.com/ACD/en/Home/Index.

Figure 2.33. Autodesk Exchange App Store in Google Chrome browser.

As you can see, a tremendous amount of useful information is found in all these references. You will need to occasionally explore these files for answers, so get comfortable with them at the outset.

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Text, mtext, editing, and style

Elliot J. Gindis , Robert C. Kaebisch , in Up and Running with AutoCAD® 2020, 2020

4.4 Style

The idea behind the style command is very straightforward. Pick a font, give it a name and a size, and use it throughout your drawing. Drawings typically use only one font throughout the main design and perhaps another, fancier one in the title block area for logos and other designations, so it makes sense to set one style and stick to it. You already may have changed the font while learning the mtext command, but it was only for that instance. You need to make sure that font is set globally, meaning for the entire drawing.

With AutoCAD 2020 and the previous 10 releases, the default font is Arial (the default size is 0.2), so you may want to stay with this popular font and not change it. If you need to, however, here is the procedure to create a Helvetica Light text style using the HelvLight font with a fixed height of 6 and a width factor of .75 (Note: If your computer does not have this font installed, choose one of your liking):

Step 1. Begin the style command via any of the preceding methods. Whichever method you use, the Text Style dialog box of Fig. 4.12 appears. Looking at this dialog box, let us say Arial is not what we want here; we would like to set a Helvetica font that is 6″ high, and slightly more narrow instead. Note, if HelvLight is not available on your computer, choose any Font you would like to try and name your Style appropriately.

Figure 4.12. Text Style dialog box.

Step 2. Press the New… leave the name as style1 for now

Step 3. Pick HelvLight from the Font Name: drop-down menu (or any font your choose to try).

Step 4. Highlight the 0.0000 in the Height field and type in 6 (no need for the inch symbol).

Step 5. Highlight the 1.0000 in the Width Factor field and type 0.7500.

Step 6. Right-click on style1 and select Rename from the pop-up menu to rename the Style to HelvLight 6 w.75 (or name according to your font, height, and width choice).

Step 7. Press Apply and Close.

All text that you type from now on will be HelvLight, 6″ font. To create another font just repeat these steps. To size your font up and down, you can also create new font styles, but in this case, it may be more practical to just use the scale command. (Note: If you leave the font height set to 0, the font can be used at any height when prompted using the text or mtext commands.) The additional options in the style dialog box are not used that often but review them just in case. A list follows. All effects can be previewed in real time in the Preview box in the lower right.

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Upside down: Flips the text upside down.

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Backwards: Flips the text backwards.

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Vertical: Stacks the text vertically.

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Width Factor: Widens the text if (>1), narrows text if (<1).

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Oblique Angle: Leans the text to the right if positive (+) and to the left if negative (−).

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Annotative: An advanced topic for Chapter 10.

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Text, mtext, editing, and style

Elliot J. Gindis , Robert C. Kaebisch , in Up and Running with AutoCAD® 2022, 2022

4.1 Introduction to text and mtext

Adding text to your AutoCAD drawing is the next logical step once you learn how to create and edit basic designs. After all, the purpose of most drawings is to describe how to build something or show what a design looks like. Text goes a long way in assisting in this and, along with dimensions, is usually the next item to be added to a new design.

Text in AutoCAD comes in two versions: regular text (single-line text) and mtext (multiline text). The two share some overlaps and similarities, and we look at how to create and edit both types. We then look at how to choose and set fonts and conclude the chapter by adding text to the previously designed floor plan.

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AutoCAD fundamentals—Part II

Elliot J. Gindis , Robert C. Kaebisch , in Up and Running with AutoCAD® 2022, 2022

2.6 Inquiry commands

Our next topic in AutoCAD fundamentals is the Inquiry commands set. These commands are there to give you information about the objects in front of you on the screen as well as other vital data, like angles, distances, and areas. As such, it is important for you to learn them early on; the information these commands provide is especially valuable to a beginner student and will continue to be essential as you get more experienced. First seen in AutoCAD 2020 is Quick Measure. The other inquiry commands were also upgraded just a few releases ago, and they currently comprise the following:

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Quick gives you the dimensions, distances, and angles within a 2D drawing of objects near the cursor.

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Area gives you the area of an object or any enclosed space

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Distance gives you the distance between any two points

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List gives you essential information on any object or entity

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ID gives you the coordinates of a point

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Radius gives you the radius of a circle or arc

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Angle gives you the angle between two lines

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Volume gives you the volume of a 3D object

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Mass properties lists various mass properties of a 3D solid

We cover the first five inquiry commands in detail (quick, area, distance, list, and ID) and include a brief mention of radius and angle. Volume and mass properties are not discussed here, as those are for 3D work. As before, most commands can be accessed through the usual ways of typing and the Ribbon.

Figure 2.11. Ribbon Home tab, Utilities panel.

Quick

With the new Quick option, measuring has become much faster and more intuitive. With this option, you can quickly review the dimensions, distances, and angles within and between 2D drawing objects just by moving your cursor near objects. Ninety-degree angles will also be shown with squares in the corners where appropriate. It is best to zoom in to complex areas to avoid quick dimension clutter and to improve computer performance. Note that the only way to get to this new command is through the Ribbon. It is not available through a keyboard entry (Figs. 2.12 and 2.13) .

Figure 2.12. Quick Measure ribbon access.

Figure 2.13. Quick Measure inside geometry and outside geometry measurements.

Area

Area is a very important and useful Inquiry command. It is used often by architects to verify the area of a room or an entire floor plan. Area calculations are performed in two ways: either on an object or, more commonly, point by point (such as the area of a room). Draw a rectangle of any size. We go over both methods, although with a rectangle you would really use only the object method, saving the point-by-point approach for a more complex floor plan.

Point by point

This is used when measuring an area defined by individual lines (not an object).

Step 1. Make sure your units are set to Architectural and you have a rectangle on your screen.

Step 2. Begin the area command via any of the preceding methods.

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AutoCAD says: Specify first corner point or [Object/Add area/Subtract area] <Object>:

Step 3. Activate your OSNAPs (F3) and click your way around the corners of the rectangle until the green shading covers the entire area to be measured (four clicks total).

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AutoCAD says:

Specify next point or [Arc/Length/Undo]:

Specify next point or [Arc/Length/Undo]:

Specify next point or [Arc/Length/Undo/Total] <Total>:

Specify next point or [Arc/Length/Undo/Total] <Total>:

Step 4. When done, press Enter. You get a total for area and perimeter. Mine said:

Area   =   67.9680, Perimeter   =   34.2044

Yours of course will likely say something different.

Object

This is used when you have an actual object like a rectangle or circle (not a visually "closed" shape, defined by individual lines) to measure.

Step 1. Begin the area command via any of the preceding methods.

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AutoCAD says: Specify first corner point or [Object/Add area/Subtract area/eXit] <Object>:

Step 2. Press the letter o for Object.

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AutoCAD says: Select objects:

Step 3. Select the square. You should of course get the same area and perimeter measurements.

Distance

The distance command gets you the distance between any two points. Although we practice on the corners of a rectangle, the command works on any two points, as selected by a mouse click, even an empty space.

Step 1. Make sure your units are set to Architectural, a rectangle is on your screen, and your OSNAPs are activated.

Step 2. Begin the distance command via any of the preceding methods. (Be sure to read the note after Step 4.)

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AutoCAD says: Specify first point:

Step 3. Select the lower left corner of the rectangle.

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AutoCAD says: Specify second point or [Multiple points]:

Step 4. Select the upper right corner across the rectangle. AutoCAD then gives you some information. Mine said:

Distance   =   10.9152, Angle in XY Plane   =   23, Angle from XY Plane   =   0

Delta X   =   10.0440, Delta Y   =   4.2731, Delta Z   =   0.0000

Yours will likely say something different since you are measuring a different shape.

Note: There is an important difference in the visual output if you use the keyboard or the Ribbon with DYNMODE on or off. With DYNMODE on, using the Ribbon you get a graphical representation of the distance and associated geometry, as seen in Fig. 2.14. With DYNMODE on using the keyboard, you only get the one distance you chose. With DYNMODE off using the Ribbon or keyboard all distance reporting will be in the command line history. (press F2 to bring up the command line history if needed.) See Fig 2.14.

Figure 2.14. Distance command DYNMODE on, Keyboard vs. Ribbon results.

List

The list command gives you information about not just the geometric properties of the object but also its CAD properties, such as what layer it is on, the subject of the next chapter. It is an extremely useful command that clues you in on what you are looking at (whether a beginner or an expert, you will sometimes ask yourself this question).

Step 1. Make sure you have something on your screen to investigate. Draw a line, rectangle, or circle.

Step 2. Begin the list command via any of the preceding methods.

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AutoCAD says: Select objects:

Step 3. Select your object (it becomes highlighted) and press Enter. The command line history pops up above the command line. Look it over and close it with F2 (or just click in the command line) when done. What mine shows is a list about an arbitrary rectangle which is shown in Fig. 2.15.

Figure 2.15. List command AutoCAD text window.

ID

This command is the simplest of all. It tells you the coordinates of a point in space, such as the intersection of two lines. This is useful for inserting blocks (see Chapter 7) and just plain old figuring out the general location of an object, something that may be needed for Xrefs (Chapter 17).

Step 1. Make sure you have something on your screen to ID. Create a line or a rectangle.

Step 2. Begin the ID command via any of the preceding methods.

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AutoCAD says: Specify point:

Step 3. Using OSNAPs, select a point, such as the corner of a rectangle or end of a line. AutoCAD gives you the X, Y, and Z coordinates. Here is what I got; you of course will likely get different values:

X   =   11.1504 Y   =   6.7753 Z   =   0.0000

Radius and Angle

You should now have a good feel for the Inquiry toolset, so go ahead and practice the remaining two commands on your own. Radius and angle cannot be typed in; you must use the Ribbon.

To practice radius, draw an arbitrary circle, then activate the command and select it. A radius is displayed, and you can just press Esc to get out. The result is shown in Fig. 2.16 (left). To get an angle reading, create two "alligator teeth" lines, activate the command, and select both lines. The angle is displayed, and again, you can press Esc to exit. The result is shown in Fig. 2.16 (right). Note that these commands are "dynamic" in nature, so DYN activates when you use them.

Figure 2.16. Radius (left) and Angle (right) measurements.

This concludes the section on Inquiry commands. We are now in the home stretch and will explore some commands and concepts that do not quite fit in neatly anywhere else but will prove to be very useful as you start a realistic project in the next chapter and, of course, everyday AutoCAD use.

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Basic printing and output

Elliot J. Gindis , Robert C. Kaebisch , in Up and Running with AutoCAD® 2022, 2022

Extents

This option prints everything visible in the AutoCAD file. However, this means everything visible to AutoCAD (and not necessarily to you right now on screen), so if you have a floor plan with some stray lines that you did not notice located some distance away, AutoCAD shrinks the important floor plan to make room for those unimportant stray lines. This is the same as typing in Zoom, then Extents (from Chapter 1). So, it is a very good idea to zoom to extents prior to printing. Remember this acronym: What you see is what you get (WYSIWYG). If you can see it on the screen after zooming to the extents, it will print unless prior arrangements are made (freezing a layer erasing the "stray" objects, etc.). For a carefully drawn layout, Extents is the one good choice when you want to plot the entire drawing.

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Introduction

Elliot J. Gindis , Robert C. Kaebisch , in Up and Running with AutoCAD® 2022, 2022

So how do architects use AutoCAD, and what can you expect? A typical medium-sized project, such as a residential home, features a set of plans that may include

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T1 Title Sheet

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SP-1 Site Plan: The property surrounding the structure.

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A1.1 Demo Plan: What needs to be demolished to make room for the new design, if applicable.

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A1.2 Foundation Plan: The foundation, basement, and/or finished basement plan with mechanical systems.

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A1.3–A1.4 Floor Plan(s): The actual design, which may have multiple floors.

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A1.5 Roof: Shows construction of roof beams, rafters, braces, joists, and other elements.

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A2.1–A2.2 Exterior Elevations: Shows exterior views, heights, and materials

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A3.1–A3.2 Building sections, wall sections, and details: "cuts" through the house to show details of construction.

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A4.1 Interior Elevations and Details: Shows cabinets and appliances and other interior elevation elements.

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A4.2 Bathroom Elevations: Shows bath, shower, sink, and other features.

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A5.1 Schedules: Lists of doors, windows, appliances and other items, including sizing, quantity, etc.

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E1.1 Electrical Plan: The outlets, switches, and panels for each floor level (may include switching, ceiling, and wall lighting).

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E1.2 Electrical Lighting Plan (RCP-reflected ceiling plan): Switching, wiring schematic, and ceiling/wall lighting.

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GN-1 General Notes: Describes the overall job and any special instructions to the contractor (could be on other sheets).

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P1.1 Plumbing Riser Diagram: Describes the flow of pipes and plumbing features.

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S1.1 Framing Plan: Describes the construction of the house frame.

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S2.1 Structural Details: Additional details of design; may run multiple pages.

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