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By Ellen Finkelstein In previous tips, I explained how to use Tool Palettes and the DesignCenter to insert blocks. In this post, I explain how to use the Content Explorer to access and insert blocks.
How the Content Explorer works
The Content Explorer was introduced with AutoCAD 2012. In many ways, it’s similar to the DesignCenter, but under the hood, it’s different. Instead of being only a navigational tool, the Content Explorer indexes “watched folders” and then lets you search for content. You choose which folders to watch. The first indexing can take a long time, but after that, searches are fairly fast. You can search throughout a network, but other computers need to have the Autodesk Content Service installed.
To install the Autodesk Content Service on a computer, use your AutoCAD installation disk or file and start the installation process. Instead of choosing Install, choose the Install Tools and & Utilities options there, you’ll find the Autodesk Content Service and can install it.
To open the Content Explorer, choose Plug-Ins tab> Content Panel> Explore, which is the CONTENTEXPLORER command.
Before you can successfully use the Content Explorer, you need to add watched folders so they can be indexed. Click Add Watched Folder, shown at the arrow above. You’ll be prompted to select a folder. When the indexing is complete, you can search for content, such as drawings, blocks, xrefs, layers, , various types of styles, and even text.
Tip: You can add multiple folders at once by selecting them on the right side of Windows Explorer and dragging them into the Content Explorer.
Click the Funnel icon (Configure Filtering) at the bottom to specify which types of files you want to find.
Insert a block from the Content Explorer
If you know the location of the block you want, you can navigate to it by double-clicking a watched folder and double-clicking a drawing. You’ll see a list of block definitions, as well as other types of content.
Instead, you can enter a search term in the Search box at the top. After all, the advantage of the Content Explorer is its search capability.
Either way, when you find the block you want, just drag it into your drawing. Click where you want it to appear.
Are you using the Content Explorer? How is it better — or worse than — the DesignCenter? Leave a comment!
By Ellen Finkelstein In a previous tip, “Keep blocks accessible so you can insert them in any drawing–Part I: Tool Palettes,” I explained how to create a Tool Palette tab that contains the blocks you need, and then use that tab to insert the blocks into your drawing.
Another way to easily find and insert blocks is to use the DesignCenter. It’s especially useful for inserting blocks that you don’t use very often, because it lets you navigate through your computer and even network to find the blocks. (Like the Tool Palettes window, you can use the DesignCenter to insert more than just blocks; you can insert layers,various types of styles, xrefs, images, and of course, drawings.)
To open the DesignCenter, choose View tab> Palettes panel> DesignCenter, or press Ctrl + 2.
Insert a block from the DesignCenter
To insert a block, follow these steps:
- Use the left-hand pane to navigate to the drawing containing the block. (If you don’t see the left-hand pane, click the Tree View Toggle button at the top of the DesignCenter window.) Click the plus sign next to a folder to expand it and see its drawings.
- Expand the drawing by clicking its plus sign or double-clicking it.
- Click the Blocks item. You’ll now see all the blocks in the right-hand pane of the DesignCenter, as shown in the image below.
- Drag the block into the drawing area and release the mouse button. AutoCAD automatically scales the block based on the drawing’s units and those of the block and uses the default scale and rotation.
Choose scale and rotation
For more options, right-click the block in the DesignCenter and choose Insert Block. The Insert dialog box opens, letting you specify not only the insertion point, but the scale and rotation.
Do you use the DesignCenter to insert blocks? What tips can you share? Leave a comment!
By Ellen Finkelstein Blocks are an essential component of most drawings because they save time, increase accuracy, and reduce drawing size. Blocks are most useful when you use them many times, especially across drawings. Therefore, you need a way to access saved blocks that aren’t in your current drawing. In this tip, I’ll discuss the first of 4 ways to get your blocks into your drawing.
Use tool palettes to hold your blocks
 The Tool Palettes window has many tabs and some of them can be used for your custom blocks. To open the Tool Palettes window, choose View tab> Palettes panel> Tool Palettes, or use the TOOLPALETTES command.
Create a new Tool Palettes tab
AutoCAD comes with some standard blocks. For example, the Architectural tab has these blocks. But you probably want your own. Here are the steps to create a new tab:
- Right-click any tab and choose New Palette. (Each tab is called a palette.)
- You’ll see a selected default palette name; just type the name you want to use.
Now you have a blank tab (palette).
Import blocks using the DesignCenter
The easiest way to create a tool palette tab is by using the DesignCenter (which I cover next as a way to insert blocks directly into your drawing). To open the DesignCenter, Choose View tab> Palettes panel> DesignCenter or press Ctrl+2.
There are 2 ways to use the DesignCenter to add blocks to a tool palette:
- Drag the block to the palette tab: Display the tab you want to use. Then, use the left-hand pane of the DesignCenter to navigate to a drawing with blocks. (If you don’t see the left-hand pane, click the Tree View Toggle button at the top of the DesignCenter.) Double-click the drawing, then click Blocks to see the blocks in the right-hand pane. Finally, just drag a block to the palette tab. And yes! You can select more than one block at a time. Press Ctrl as you click to add another block, or click the first block, press and hold Shift, and click the last block.
- Convert a folder to a palette tab: You can automatically create a palette tab that contains all the drawings in a folder or all the blocks in a drawing. This is great if you have a block library already set up, but you can use it to simply create a tab from a bunch of drawings or one drawing. The disadvantage is that you can’t add these blocks to an existing palette; this method creates a new one. Just navigate to the folder or drawing in the left pane of the DesignCenter, right-click it, and choose Create Tool Palette. The tab takes on the name of the drawing or folder.
Add a block from the current drawing
But you may simply want to add a block in your current drawing to an existing tool palette tab. If the block isn’t in your drawing (you have defined it but not inserted it), insert the block. Then follow these steps:
- Display your Tool Palettes tab.
- Select the block.
- Click and drag the block to the Tool Palettes tab.
Insert blocks from the Tool Palettes window
Once you have your blocks on a Tool Palettes tab, you can use it to insert blocks. Just display the tab that contains the block and drag the block into your drawing.
Other parts of this series will cover inserting blocks from the DesignCenter, ContentExplorer, and a block library.
Do you use the Tool Palettes? Why? If not, what method do you use to easily and quickly insert blocks? Leave a comment!
By Ellen Finkelstein Starting with AutoCAD 2012, you can use the VIEWBASE command to quickly create 2D views of your 3D model. These views are called view objects. The command prompts you to create views based on the default 3D views, such as Top, Front, SE Isometric, etc. You can choose a shading style, as well. It’s quick and easy.
Here are the steps:
- After creating your 3D model, click a layout tab. You must be in paper space on a layout. I recommend using the 3D Modeling workspace.
- If a viewport appears, click it and press the DEL key on your keyboard to delete it.
- Start the VIEWBASE command. The DRawing View Creation tab displays on the ribbon, where you can choose and change settings.
- At the prompt to specify the location of the base view, click on the layout to place the view object.
- To place the next view, on the Drawing View Creation tab, go to Orientation panel> View drop-down list and choose a view. You can also change the scale on the tab’s Appearance panel, using the Scale drop-down list. Finally, you can change the shading style on the View Style drop-down list. You can choose from Wireframe, Wireframe with Hidden Edges, Shaded, and Shaded with Hidden Edges.
- Press Enter to get a prompt to specify the location of the second view and click where you want it to appear.
- Continue to specify settings and place additional views, as you see in the model above.
- Press Enter to end the command when you’re done.
To edit a view object, select it and choose Edit View on the Drawing View Creation tab; this is the VIEWEDIT command.
Use the VIEWPROJ command to add additional views. When you see the prompt to select the parent view, select the base view and then pick the location of the new views.
As you edit your model, you can update the view objects. You’ll see a notification that your model has changed and you can click the link there to update the view objects. This is the VIEWUPDATE command.
The VIEWSTD command sets defaults for future view objects, but doesn’t apply to existing ones.
Here’s a brief video showing the placement of two views.
Alternate, older methods are SOLVIEW/SOLDRAW and SOLPROF. Or do you use a different method? How do you create 2D views of your 3D models? Leave a comment!
By Ellen Finkelstein Here is a guest blog post from Paul Munford.
Did you know that you can set AutoCAD up to show you exactly how your plot will look, even before you Preview it? (You can click the Preview button in the Plot dialog box to preview your plot.)
It’s easy – when you know how. This technique applies when you use a color-dependent (CTB file) or named (STB file) plot style. Plot styles help you create and save plotting variations and are a great productivity tool. If you aren’t using plot styles, I highly recommend that you check them out. Here are two tutorials to get you started:
Paper Space – It’s a virtual sheet of paper
By default, AutoCAD’s paper space is set up to look like a sheet of paper. The paper has a white background, a black drop shadow and a dotted line around it to indicate the plot area. When you create a viewport in paper space your model space geometry is revealed – in colour… This is not so hot when you are used to seeing your lines, arcs and circles against the dark background of model space.
To show how the colours of your geometry will plot when translated by your CTB or STB file, we need to use the Page Setup Manager.
The Page Setup Manager
The Page Setup Manager allows us to save our standard plot settings, so that we don’t have to input the same information every time we plot a drawing (I hope that you have Page Setups created for all your standard plot settings in your template file! If not check out Ellen’s tutorial, Create a page setup for plotting.)
There is one setting in the Page Setup Manager that is often over looked, and can’t be found anywhere else.
To start the Page Setup Manager, use any one of the following:
- Ribbon: Output tab > Plot Panel > Page Setup Manager
- Menu: Application menu (The Big ‘A’) > Print > Page Setup
- Command Line: PAGESETUP
- Or, right-click a layout tab and chose Page Setup Manager.
Click on the Modify button to modify your current page Setup.
Editing your Page Setu p
Creating (or editing) a Page Setup is just like creating a plot. The Page Setup dialogue is just like the plot dialogue box, with one important exception — just under the Plot Style table drop-down list is a check box marked Display Plot Styles. Check this box to preview how the selected plot style will look.
That’s it – one simple click and you will be able to see exactly how your CTB or STB file will translate your geometry into plotted lines.
A little finesse
The final step is to turn on lineweight display from the system tray, and there you have it — A permanent plot preview that will show you how your plot will turn out, even while you continue to work on your layout.
Tip: If your viewports start to show in colour again, make the viewport active and perform a regen to re-apply the plot styles. Use the REGENALL command to regen all your viewports at once.
Changing the paper space background colour
Unfortunately, in AutoCAD 2012 it is no longer possible to change the background colour of paper space independently of the paper colour. You can read more about this issue on Shann Hurley’s Blog: Between the lines – AutoCAD layout background color to another color.
Paul Munford is the writer of The CAD Setter Out Blog, with tips, tricks and tutorials for drafters using AutoCAD and Autodesk Inventor to create drawings for Architectural fabrication. In his spare time Paul enjoys drawing and woodworking. He thinks that modelling his joinery designs in 3D is the most fun anyone can have, by themselves…
By Ellen Finkelstein When you draw only simple objects, such as lines, rectangles and circles, it doesn’t make much difference which object is in front (on top) or in back (behind), because all objects are wireframes. You can see every object, unless one object is exactly on top of another–which isn’t considered a good practice.
But when you attach images, fill (hatch) objects with a solid fill, or create text, which object is in front and which is behind can be very important, because these objects can hide other objects.
If you wish to build your own hatch patterns. Check out “Creating custom hatch patterns” for the details.
For example, you may want an image to show on top of a solid fill.
There is a DRAWORDER command, but the easiest way to put the image on top is as follows:
- Select the image. (Click on its edge.)
- Right-click the i-mage.
- Choose Draw Order> Bring to Front.
Here you see the result.
There are two other commands that change the display order of objects:
- HATCHTOBACK sets all hatches in the drawing behind all other objects. You can’t specify the draw order of individual hatches. This command also applies to solid fills. Using this command can make it easier to select the objects that are hatched.
- TEXTTOFRONT brings text, leaders, and dimensions in front of all other objects in the drawing. Note that text and dimensions within blocks and xrefs cannot separately be brought to the front. You can specify which type of text to bring to the front, but not individual text objects. So bringing dimensions to the front brings all dimensions to the front.
Some of our readers have commented that even after setting the draw order, things aren’t displaying in the right order. They suggested 2 workarounds once you get the draw order sorted out:
- Re-select all the items and cut and paste them back into the same position.
- Save the file, close AutoCad, and re-open.
The 2 solutions above should force AutoCad cache to clear & refresh thus showing items as per the setting.
Do you use these commands? In which situations do you find them helpful? Leave a comment!
Do you want more productivity tips to help you Draw and Edit faster and easier? Check out “Top Productivity Tips Every AutoCAD User Should Know”
By Ellen Finkelstein The MEASUREGEOM command is fairly new (since AutoCAD 2010). It measures distance, radius, angle, area, and volume and replaces some older commands like AREA and DIST (although those commands still exist).
Choose Home tab> Utilities panel and then click the Measuregeom drop-down list. Then choose the option that you want to start the MEASUREGEOM command.
Here is what you can measure:
Distance: You get a prompt for two points. When you specify them, you get a result like this, showing you not only the distance, but also the angle in the XY plane, angle from the XY plane (for 3D), and delta (change) of X, Y, and Z.
Radius: You’re prompted to select an arc or circle. MEASUREGEOM shows you the radius and diameter.
Angle: You’re prompted to select an arc, circle, or line, or press Enter to specify the vertex of the angle. If you select an arc, you see its included angle. If you select a circle, specify the first point of the desired angle, then the second angle endpoint. If you select a line, then select a second line.
Area: Specify the first corner point and then subsequent adjacent points, going around the area and press Enter for the total. If you have a closed object, you can use the Object suboption. You can use the Add Area suboption to keep a running total or the Subtract Area suboptions to remove areas. The Arc suboption finds the area of an arc, by assuming that the endpoints are joined by a line. The Area option also provides the perimeter for closed areas, the length for open areas, and the circumference for circles.
Volume: Specify the first corner point and then subsequent adjacent points, going around the area on the XY plane, and press Enter to get the total. Then enter a height. You can use the Object suboption; you can select a 2D object and specify a height. Like with the Area option, you can add and subtract volumes.
Type x and press Enter to end the command.
By Ellen Finkelstein  Did you know that many commands have a variation that lets you execute them solely on the command line? This technique is great for creating script files and AutoLISP routines. For example, you can write a script file to plot your drawings.
The secret is to put a hyphen (-) before the command name. Here’s a list of some common commands that have command-line versions:
- -ARRAY
- -ATTACH
- -BEDIT
- -BHATCH
- -BLOCK
- -DIMSTYLE
- -EXPORT
- -GROUP
- -HATCHEDIT
- -IMAGE
- -INSERT
- -LAYER
- -LINETYPE
- -MTEXT
- -OSNAP
- -PURGE
- -STYLE
- -TEXT
- -UNITS
- -VIEW
- -VISUALSTYLES
- -VPORTS
- -WBLOCK
- -XREF
For example, here’s what you see when you type -layer on the command line:
Lots of options!
In some cases, the command-line form is a different command or you can use a system variable. For example, instead of using the PROPERTIES command, which opens the properties palette, you can use the CHPROP command. Or you could focus on a specific property with the -COLOR, -LAYER, CELTSCALE, or other command or system variable.
You can see how creating a script file for some of these commands would be useful for automating repetitive tasks. For example, you can create and change layers using the -LAYER command.
How do you use the command-line form of commands in your work? Leave a comment!
By Ellen Finkelstein  Almost everyone needs to plot or print drawings. Here are some tips for working with layouts and plotting. Please leave a comment with your own tips so we can have a great plotting resource all in one place!
(Thanks to Jozef2011 for the image, found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ColorPlotter.jpg.)
Working with layouts
- To see what is on a layout tab without displaying it, hover your cursor over the tab to see a preview.
- To quickly rename a layout tab, just double-click , type the new name and press Enter.
- Re-order a layout tab by dragging it left or right.
- To move through layouts using the keyboard, press Ctrl + Page Down (to move right) or Ctrl + Page Up (to move left).
- To quickly create a configuration of floating viewports on a layout, use the VPORTS command. In the Viewports dialog box that opens, choose a configuration and click OK.
- To go into model space within a viewport on a layout, double-click inside the viewport. You can then draw and edit. To return to paper space, double-click outside the viewport.
- To cycle from viewport to viewport while in model space, press Ctrl + R.
- To set the scale for a viewport, select its border and open the Properties palette. From the Standard Scale drop-down, choose one of the standard scales (or use the Custom Scale text box to specify a custom scale).
- Once you have set the scale, you should lock the viewport. A quick way is to click the Lock/Unlock button on the status bar, next to the VP Scale pop-up list. (You can also use the Properties palette.)
Plotting a drawing
- Create page setups for the various plotting scenarios, then plot using the page setups. To create a page setup, right-click a layout tab and choose Page Setup Manager, then click New. The Page Setup Manager is just like the Plot dialog box; it’s a way of assigning a name to a group of settings. To use them, at the top of the Plot dialog box, choose your named page setup from the Name drop-down list in the Page Setup section.
- Press Ctrl+P as a shortcut to open the Plot dialog box
- Click the right arrow at the lower-left corner of the Plot dialog box to display advanced settings. For example, plotting transparency is NOT the default. In the Plot Options section, you can check the Plot Transparency check box.
- Use the What to Plot drop-down in the Plot dialog box to choose to plot a layout, the current display, extents or a window. If you choose Window, you’ll be prompted to select a window.
- Be sure to click the Preview button in the Plot dialog box before you plot, to make sure the results will be what you want!
- To filter the list of paper sizes, so you don’t choose a size that you don’t want or can’t plot, in the Plot dialog box, click the Properties button next to your plotter’s name. On the Device & Document Settings tab, in the User Defined Paper Sizes and Calibration item, choose Filter Paper Sizes. Lower down in the dialog box, you can then uncheck any size that you don’t want to appear as a paper size in the Plot dialog box.
- When you set up a plot in the Plot dialog box, you can save your settings to the Model tab or any layout tab. In the Plot dialog box’s Plot Options section (click the right arrow to see it, if necessary), check the Save Changes to Layout check box. Then, the next time you plot from the same tab (Model or layout), the default settings will be the same and you can just plot.
Do you have any more tips for layouts or plotting? Please leave a comment so others can benefit!
By Ellen Finkelstein You can easily move block attributes so that they fit better in your AutoCAD drawing by grip-editing them.
Just follow these steps:
- Select the block containing the attributes you want to move. You’ll see grips on each attribute.
- Click the grip of the attribute you want to move to make it hot (red).
- At the Specify stretch point: prompt, simply pick the new desired location.
The attribute is still associated with the block and you can edit it as you would any other attribute.
Thanks to Tommy Holden for this tip!
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