ARC260 Lecture topics:
1. Using the 3 button mouse - left, right, middle & wheel
2. Windows terminology
desktop
icons
start button (either select the button, or <alt>s when desktop is visible)
start menu
taskbar
control panel
classic view
category view
My Computer (shows all drives, folders and files on your computer)
My Documents (a place on your computer's C: drive where your files are automatically saved, unless you give a different folder for saving in - this gets erased every time your computer is turned off and at midnight every day)
files and folders
tools
folder options
view
turn on "Show hidden files and folders"
turn off "Hide extensions for known file types"
select "Apply to all folders" button
Search on Start Menu - search for files and folders
copy (^c) - or, highlight a folder, file, word, phrase, picture, AutoCAD entities, then right click, and select "Copy" from the cursor menu
cut (^x) - or, right click and select "Cut" from the cursor menu
move - or paste (^v) - or, right click and select "Paste" from the cursor menu
copy screen to clipboard: ^<PrtSc>
right click to bring up "cursor" (or, "onscreen") menu
pulldown menus
toolbars
accellerator keys (or "shortcut keys") - examples:
save: ^s
open: ^o
print: ^p
underlined words in pulldown menus, depress <alt> key and one letter in menu words will be underlined - examples:
view: <alt>v
draw: <alt>d
edit: <alt>e
flyout menus - move cursor to right of menu item to make it appear
tool tip - hold cursor above a menu item or icon for a second or two - a name will appear which may help you understand what the the menu item or icon is.
check box
button
radio button
drop down menu
slide bar
symbols used in Windows-based computers
^ (say, "control")
<F1>
<RET> (Enter or "Return" key)
* [say, "star" ] - wildcard
*.* [say, "star dot star"] - very wildcard - all files or folders, for example
<Esc> "Escape" - in AutoCAD, this key cancels command in play - sometimes you need to hit it twice
3. Where to save files
desktop
My Documents (on C: drive of computer you are currently working on)
C:\
M:\
M:\[yourname] - create a folder for yourself on the network drive - this will make your files be accessible from any computer on campus
A: Your own 3 1/2" floppy disk - limited to 1.4 Mb in size
Your own portable hard drive plugged into a USB port
Your own flash disk plugged into a USB port
Strongly recommended: Save your files to your folder on the network every 10 minutes and when you leave the drawing session, save once to your removable media
Backup files
___.dwg
___.bak (created every time you save the drawing and saved to same folder as the .dwg file)
___.sv$ (created automatically by AutoCAD at intervals set by variable "savetime" and saved to C:\Documents and Settings\AT150\Local Settings\Temp\)
- to use this file, rename it to have a .dwg filename extension and double click to open it
- note these files get erased every time the computer you are working on is turned off or at midnight every day
4. Unique characteristics of the network system at Triton College - note this will be slightly different in every office in which you work
"GoBack" software at Triton
Network Tree
5. AutoCAD Help files
<F1>
Contextual help - begin a command then hit <F1>
Pulldown menu "Help" (this is also "contextual," i.e., begin a command then select "Help" from the pulldown menu)
6. Methods of issuing commands in AutoCAD
a. Type in name of command at "Command" Prompt
b. Type in alias of name at "Command" Prompt
c. Select icon on "Toolbar"
d. Select name of command on pulldown menu
8. The "pgp" file (sometimes called "pigpen" file)
found at "C:\Documents and Settings\ARC150\Application Data\Autodesk\AutoCAD2005\R16.1\enu\Support"
This file is where all the aliases are kept for commands - you can edit it like a word processing file - double click on the file name and it will open the file in Notepad - change it the way you want it and save it. Note you can have more than one alias for a command, like CI or C for "Circle" but the first one in the list will be the only one that works.
To get it to work the way you saved it while working in AutoCAD, type REINIT<RET> at the Command: prompt. This will reinitialize the pgp file "on the fly" - otherwise, the next time you open AutoCAD, it will work the way you saved it.
9. Menus
The main menu is acad.mnu, which is located at "C:\Documents and Settings\ARC150\Application Data\Autodesk\AutoCAD2005\R16.1\enu\Support" - it is a text file so you can open it by double clicking on it - try it to see what you see
The pull-down menus, which are the most important part of the menu file, are located under the headings ***POP0 to ***POP11, and the grips menus are ***POP500 to ***POP16.
The toolbar menus (which control the commands that each icon in the toolbars will activate) are beginning ***TOOLBARS portion of the menu - there are many toolbars already created within the menu file - you can add more using the Toolbar customization process described below, or by editing the menu file.
When you save the menu file, it wil automatically recompile and be ready for use.
To load a menu, type menuload <RET> at the command prompt
10. Toolbars (this is the most used method of issuing commands)
How to create a new toolbar
Move cursor to any toolbar "handle" (these are the two vertical lines in a "docked" toolbar, or the blue bar at the top of a "floating" toolbar)
Right click and select "Customize..."
The "Customize" dialogue box will open
Select the "New..." button
Give the toolbar a name that you think would be appropriate and decide which menu you wnat to save it in.
Click on the "Commands" tab at the top of the "Customize" dialogue box
Drag any and all standard commands you want to put into your new toolbar into the blank toolbar that is on the screen.
If you want to create your own command, with a sequence of actions, select the "User Defined Button" and drag it to the new toolbar. This will put a blank icon on your toolbar that is nearly invisible - click on the blank icon on the toolbar and click on one of the icons on the right side of the dialogue box - you can pick a standard one and edit it by changing its appearance or color - once you have changed it in the button editor dialogue box, save it by clicking on "Saveas" - now add your "macro" associated with the button - the ^C^C at the beginning of the Macro is already put in the space for you - you can delete it if you want, but it will cancel any other command that may be running at the time this icon is invoked, which is normally desirable.
Click on the "Apply" button to make the image go into your new icon, along with your macro.
You can also edit any existing icon appearance or macro by using the "Customize..." method
11. Draw Commands
Line (l)
Arc (a)
Circle (c)
Point (po)
Point Mode (pdmode)
polyline (pl)
polyline edit (pe)
TEXT (text)
DText (dt)
mText (t or mt)
12. Editing Commands
erase (e)
move (m)
copy (cp)
trim (tr)
extend (ex)
offset (o)
explode (x)
13. Settings commands
layer (la, or -la)
style (style) [text style]
dimstyle (dimsty)
14. Viewing Commands
Pan
-Pan
Zoom
All
Center
Dynamic
Extents
Previous
Scale
Window
15. Sub-commands
Line: Undo and Close
Arc: Center, End, Angle, Direction, Radius, Chord length
Circle: 3P, 2P, Ttr, Diameter
Erase: Remove, Add, Undo - shift key to remove an object
Move: direct distance, base point & @ distance, displacement, select point & second point
Copy: Multiple, direct distance, base point & @ distance, displacement, select point & second point
Polyline: Arc, Halfwidth, Length, Undo, Width, Close
Polyline Edit: Multiple, Open, Join, Width, Edit Vertex, Fit, Spline, Decurve, Ltgen, Undo
16. Properties of all entities
Layer
Color
Linetype
Linetype Scale
Lineweight
Elevation
Thickness
Plot style
color dependent
named
17. Orbit Command (toolbar)
Use
Projection
Shading Modes
Preset Views
Wireframe (2 kinds)
-- Orbit
-- View
18. UCS Icon
View - UCSICON
UCS Follow
Properties of icon
2D viewing
Appearance
2D
3D
3D in Orbit (shaded)
19. Views, Viewports, Viewpoints
20. User Coordinate Systems
21. Layers
Current
Create
Layer: ?, Make, Set, New, ON, OFF (of), Color, Ltype, Lweight, Plot, Freeze, Thaw, LOck, Unlock, stAte, *)
22. Selecting entities to edit
enter editing command first then select objects,
or
"pick first" method - select objects first, then enter editing command
Window
Crossing window
Last
Previous
ALL
Group
Remove
Add
Fence
Wpolygon
Cpolygon
Undo
also, you may hold shift key down to remove objects from selection set
23. Open Drawings and switching between
<Ctrl> <Tab>
24. The Break Command (as opposed to Trim)
Dim
ALIgned (ali)
HORizontal (hor)
VERtical (ver)
RADius (rad)
DIAmeter (dia)
LEAder (lea)
STYle (sty)
dimlin
dimali
dimrad
dimstyle (dimsty)
26. Creating a "Template Drawing"
What's a "template"
How to use a template: select "File" "New" and select a template file to begin a new drawing with.
How to save a drawing as a Template: from pulldown menu, select "File" Saveas" select "AutoCAD Drawing Template" from the "Files of Type" dropdown list, select folder you want to save it in from "Save in" dropdown.
Things that can be setup in the Template:
Layers
Layouts - including plotting setup
Borders and title
OSNAP settings
Polar settings
Grid state
Snap state
Text styles
Dimension styles
Correct AutoCAD Variable settings
29. Rendering to a file and printing the rendering: working with Paint Shop Pro raster editing software for post-processing activities.
30. Palettes: Tool Palettes, Properties Palette (select "Window" pulldown menu)
31. Open Drawing Menu at bottom of screen
Drawing Setup
Drawing Properties
Plot Preview
Plot style tables are kept in the folder: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Autodesk\Autodesk Architectural Desktop 2004\R16.0\enu\Plot Styles
Color-dependent plot style tables: *.ctb - these use color of objects to control plotted color, lineweight, linetyle, and screening of object - they are limited to 255 colors
Named plot style tables: *.stb - these use names of objects to control plotted color, lineweight, linetyle, and screening of object - these objects can use true colors because they are not limited to 255 colors for plotted objects
Sheet Sets
Publish to Architectural Studio
Link to Autodesk Viz Render
Publish to Web
eTransmit
32. Begin Final Project - how to make walls and windows
33. Blocks and Xrefs
Xref quirks in rendering:
-- When rendering a host drawing with attached xrefs, if you do not want to see objects on a layer in an attached xref, you must freeze the xref layer in the host drawing or in the xref (turning it off will not work).
-- Lights in an attached xref will not show when rendering the host drawing.
34. Plotting
Click here to download Color Dependent Plot Style Table monochrome.ctb
Click here to download Named Plot Style Table monochrome.stb
Click here to download A-sized Color plot style drawing template
Click here top download A-sized Named plot style drawing template