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AutoCAD 2015 and AutoCAD LT 2015 Bible

The most comprehensive AutoCAD book around!

Rename named objects–blocks, dimension styles, layers, and more

It really helps to have a naming system for named objects, including:

Blocks Dimension styles Text styles Multileader styles Table styles Layers Linetypes UCSs (User Coordinate Systems) Viewports (viewport configurations) Views

But due to various reasons, you may decide to change their names. Maybe you made a mistake or you’re working on a drawing created […]

Reduce file size and eliminate unwanted drawing settings with the WBLOCK command

Several people have asked about inexplicably large files.

Kerry Overall wrote me,

I’ve seen unusually large CAD .dwg files. I had the same problem when a colleague stumbled onto a solution that greatly helped me. Open the drawing….wblock, click on “Entire Drawing” and save it. I had a simple file that was 73mb and by […]

Slim down your drawings with the PURGE command

Are your drawings bloated for no obvious reason? When you insert a block, is there a long list of blocks that aren’t in the drawing? Ditto for layers?

Oversized drawings load more slowly, take up more storage space, and take longer to save.

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Then you need the PURGE […]

Find drawings by specifying drawing properties

If you have LOTS of drawings and want an easier way to find them, you can give them properties that you can search for using Windows Explorer. You can even create custom properties. You’re supposed to be able to search for these properties in the Design Center and Content Explorer, but neither one […]

AutoCAD 2016 – 30 releases young and still going strong – Part 3

This is a guest post from Lee Ambrosius, who was my co-author for the AutoCAD 2015 and AutoCAD 2015 LT Bible. As you can tell from the photo, he’s a runner — even in some pretty cold Wisconsin weather! Lee is both an Autodesk Authorized Developer and Authorized Author. He’s also the author of the upcoming AutoCAD Platform […]

Old AutoCAD drawings? It’s time to update them!

Do you have REALLY old AutoCAD drawings? Many people keep drawings for years and years. But some older settings may make editing difficult. Here are some ideas for updating your old drawings.

Blocks without previews or descriptions

In older versions of AutoCAD, blocks didn’t have previews, like the kind you now see in the DesignCenter […]

Batch check multiple AutoCAD drawings against a standards file

In a previous post, “Use a Standards file to bring an AutoCAD drawing into line,” I explained how to check a drawing for certain standards, such as layers. This process is important for maintaining drawing standards where you work.

But suppose you want to check standards for many drawings at once? You can, using the […]

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 […]

Get a list of all the objects in your drawing with DBLIST

Have you ever done a ZOOM Extents and found objects way out there like stars in outer space? Or tried to delete a layer but found you couldn’t because there was an object on it — but you couldn’t find it?

When troubleshooting objects, you might find it useful to have a list of […]

Keep track of what you’ve done with COPYHIST

Thanks to Tommy Holden for this tip.

AutoCAD allows you to copy the command line history window to the clipboard by using the COPYHIST command. The command line history is the window just above the command line. This way you can keep track of previous commands already executed in case you want to:

Repeat what […]