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AutoCAD 2015 and AutoCAD LT 2015 Bible

The most comprehensive AutoCAD book around!

Autodesk 360 is a new cloud-based workflow for AutoCAD drawings

Autodesk 360 is a cloud-based online service is used primarily for storing and reviewing drawing files on the go. There is also AutoCAD WS, which is a web app that lets you edit DWG files online, including on mobile devices. In this post, I’ll focus on Autodesk 360.

You can add apps for specific capabilities […]

Meet AutoCAD 2014

This is a guest post by AutoCAD guru Lee Ambrosius. Lee Ambrosius is a Principal Learning Content Developer at Autodesk, Inc. He worked on the user documentation for over six releases, but now primarily works on the developer documentation. Lee has authored a number of AutoCAD related books under the For Dummies brand and has […]

Use a Standards file to bring an AutoCAD drawing into line

All AutoCAD professionals have to deal with standards. But when a drawing is worked on by multiple people and revised over months or even years, standards can deteriorate quickly. AutoCAD’s CAD Standards tools let you check drawings against your standards. You can check the following in a drawing:

Layers Text styles Dimension styles Linetypes Create […]

How to automatically display the plotting scale on your AutoCAD drawing

A reader asked me, “Can we have AutoCAD print the plotting scale on the drawing?”

Yes, you can! I’m going to assume that you have 1 viewport on a layout tab with a title block that will display the scale of that viewport.

Here are the steps:

Set the scale for the viewport. I explain […]

Fix old, messy AutoCAD drawings

Ralph, a subscriber to my AutoCAD Tips Newsletter, sent me a drawing that he called “an embarrassment.” He wouldn’t explain the details of why he thought it was so bad, but wanted some advice about how to fix drawings that have been revised over many years.

Old system variables

Some of the issues could […]

Maintain standards by returning objects to ByLayer settings

You’ve certainly heard the principle that you should use layers to give objects properties. When you create a layer, you give that layer a

Color Linetype Lineweight Transparancy Plotstyle

Also, for 3D drawings, you can apply a material to a layer with the MATERIALATTACH layer.

But it is all too easy to make an exception […]

Get a head start with a customized template

You should always start a new drawing either from an existing drawing (Application Button, Save As) or from a template.

What is a template?

A template is just like a drawing, but when you start a drawing from a template, the template creates a clone of itself, remaining unchanged. Many people have multiple templates that […]

Fix problems with the way AutoCAD looks (the user interface)

Recently, a reader of my book, AutoCAD 2013 Bible, was reading something I wrote about the ribbon. He undocked it. (You can do that by right-clicking at the very end, in the blank gray space and choosing Undock.) Then, he clicked the X on the ribbon, which closed it. (Of course, I never recommended doing […]

How to get rid of the Welcome window and grid when you start AutoCAD

Is this what you see when you start AutoCAD? If so, you’re not alone because it’s the default setup.

But you hate it, don’t you?

Here’s how to get rid of the Welcome window and the grid.

[…]

How to undo almost anything in AutoCAD

We all make mistakes, so we all need to undo tasks in AutoCAD. Here’s a list of ways to undo actions. Please leave a comment to add to this list.

The UNDO command

Everyone knows about the UNDO and U commands. Let’s start with the U command. It undoes your last command (if possible–you can’t […]