Author Archives: AutoCAD Tips

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About AutoCAD Tips

This blog serves as a knowledge base for myself (and anyone else) so that I can reference tips & tricks that I have learned and also refer others to it as well. I hope that this blog helps you learn at least one tip to make your drafting/design experience better.

Use Align Space to Easily Align A Viewport View

Posted on June 14, 2013 by AutoCAD Tips

Rotating a view within a viewport can be quite involved when using the DVIEW command as was shown in this post: https://autocadtips.wordpress.com/2013/06/03/dview-with-a-twist-rotating-a-viewport-view/ But as a guest named Nick pointed out, the ALIGNSPACE command from the Express Tools is a quick way … Continue reading →

Posted in Manage, Modifying, Paper Space, TIPS, Viewports | 14 Comments

Express Tool: EXPLAN – Improved PLAN command

Posted on June 11, 2013 by AutoCAD Tips

The PLAN command is commonly used in 3D to get your view back to “home” and squared up so that you are looking down onto your drawing. It is also helpful when working in 2D drawings and the view has … Continue reading →

Posted in 3D Intro, Express Tools, TIPS | 2 Comments

AutoLISP: Great Dialog Box to Turn On Layers from Various States

Posted on June 8, 2013 by AutoCAD Tips

If you’re like me, you have a handful of routines, scripts or macros that let you basically “turn on” layers Thaw those frozen layers; Unlock those locked layers; Turn on those Off layers… The routine featured today combines all of … Continue reading →

Posted in AutoLISP, AutoLISP XREFs, AutoLISP: Manage, AutoLISP: Modify, Layers | 1 Comment

AutoLISP: Purge Missing SHX files

Posted on June 3, 2013 by AutoCAD Tips

If you have drawings that are constantly missing SHX (shape) files, the routine posted below is now your friend. The routine was posted in the LISP forum at CADTutor at the following link. Please refer questions there. http://www.cadtutor.net/forum/showthread.php?37306-remove-unknown-SHX-files&highlight=delete+shape+files Here’s how: … Continue reading →

Posted in AutoLISP, AutoLISP: Manage, Linetypes, Manage | 3 Comments

DVIEW with a Twist: Rotating a Viewport View

Posted on June 3, 2013 by AutoCAD Tips

Not everything that we draft or model in AutoCAD is at 90 degree increments. For this reason when we want to make our model aligned with the sheet of paper. Shown below is a house that has 2 major axis. … Continue reading →

Posted in BASICS, Dimensions, Layout, Modifying, Paper Space, TIPS | 12 Comments

AutoLISP: Purge Page Setups

Posted on May 20, 2013 by AutoCAD Tips

The code posted below will purge all Page Setups except for the current page setup (if one is applied). If you have ever received a drawing with many page setups this routine will help reduce the amount of setups that … Continue reading →

Posted in AutoLISP, AutoLISP: Manage, AutoLISP: Modify, Manage, Printing - Plotting, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

AutoLISP: Advanced Polyline Offset

Posted on May 15, 2013 by AutoCAD Tips

Not knowing what to call this routine, I think that it is more of a combination of an advanced Offset command that automates the placement of the vertices at the (M2P) Mid-Between-2-Points. If you need an offset that is between … Continue reading →

Posted in AutoLISP, AutoLISP: Creating, AutoLISP: Modify, AutoLISP: Polylines | 4 Comments

AutoCAD 2014 Self Intersecting Polylines

Posted on April 14, 2013 by AutoCAD Tips

With AutoCAD 2014 you now have the ability to use the FILLET or CHAMFER commands on a polyline that is “self-intersecting.” When the “radius” of a FILLET is set to <0> or when there is no angle set to a … Continue reading →

Posted in Modifying, New in 2014 | 5 Comments

AutoCAD 2014 Merge Layers from the Layer Properties Manager

Posted on March 27, 2013 by AutoCAD Tips

This new feature is cool in many ways but one reason why is that I remember reading somewhere like the Augi wish list (http://www.augi.com/wishlist) or even on twitter that Jimmy B from http://www.jtbworld.com/ simply wished that he could easily select the layers from the … Continue reading →

Posted in BASICS, Layers, New in 2014 | 12 Comments

AutoCAD 2014 Arc Improvement

Posted on March 26, 2013 by AutoCAD Tips

With AutoCAD 2014, the ARC command has a simple-but-needed improvement. By default in AutoCAD, arcs are created counter clockwise. With 2014 you can control the creation of arcs to be clockwise or counter clockwise by simply holding the CTRL button. … Continue reading →

Posted in BASICS, New in 2014, TIPS | 4 Comments