Sei sulla pagina 1di 337

AutoCAD 2010 Intermediate

Getting Started
The installation program creates an Autodesk Learning folder on your desktop. Within that folder, the required exercise files are installed in a folder that corresponds to the product and title of this course. Start the application and resize it so that you can still see this window. Select a chapter and exercise from the list of chapters and exercises in the pane on the left. Complete each exercise using the application.

Navigating
Note the Show/Hide button and the Home button at the top of this window. Click the Hide button to hide the list of chapters and exercises and reduce the size of this window while working on an exercise. Click the Show button to display the list of chapters and exercises. Click the Home button to return to this opening page at any time.

AutoCAD 2010 Intermediate

Getting Started
The installation program creates an Autodesk Learning folder on your desktop. Within that folder, the required exercise files are installed in a folder that corresponds to the product and title of this course. Start the application and resize it so that you can still see this window. Select a chapter and exercise from the list of chapters and exercises in the pane on the left. Complete each exercise using the application.

Navigating
Note the Show/Hide button and the Home button at the top of this window. Click the Hide button to hide the list of chapters and exercises and reduce the size of this window while working on an exercise. Click the Show button to display the list of chapters and exercises. Click the Home button to return to this opening page at any time.

Exercise: Create and Edit Multilines


In this exercise, you create a new multiline style and create a multiline. You then use Trim and Extend, as well as the Multilines Edit Tools dialog box to edit the multiline.

Create New Multiline Styles


1. Open c_create_edit_multilines.dwg. 2. Click Format menu > Multiline Style.

In the Multiline Style dialog box, click New. In the Create New Multiline Style dialog box, enter Ext-Wall in the New Style Name field.

Click Continue.

3. In the New Multiline Style dialog box, enter Exterior Wall in the Description field.

Under Caps, verify that the Line Start and End checkboxes are selected.

Under Elements, click Add. Enter -5 in the Offset field. Click Add again. Enter -9 in the Offset field, and click OK.

4. In the Multiline Style dialog box:


Ensure that the Ext-Wall style is selected. Click Set Current. Click OK to close the dialog box.

5. On the status bar, right-click Osnap. Click Settings. In the Drafting Settings dialog box, ensure that the Node object snap is selected. Click OK to close the Drafting Settings dialog box. 6. Click Draw menu > Multiline and begin selecting points using the Node object snap.

Start with a point in the upper-left and continue counterclockwise. When you are on the last segment of the multiline, right-click anywhere in the drawing. Click Close.

7. Click Modify menu > Extend. Select the multiline object as shown.

Press ENTER. 8. Select the interior multiline object.

Press ENTER to specify the merged option.

9. Select the interior multiline near the point shown in the following illustration.

Press ENTER to specify the merged option. 10. Press ESC to exit the Extend command. Verify that the interior multiline has extended and merged with the exterior multiline.

Edit Multilines
1. On the dashboard, Layers control panel, expand the Filter Applied list. Thaw the Trim layer.

2. On the dashboard, 2D Draw control panel, click Trim.

Select the six lines on the Trim layer.

Press ENTER.

3. Click the multiline at points between the trim lines.

Press ESC to end the Trim command. 4. On the dashboard, Layers control panel, expand the Filter Applied list. Freeze the Points and Trim layers. 5. Notice that the multilines are capped where they are trimmed.

6. Double-click the exterior wall multiline to start the Mledit command. In the Multilines Edit Tools dialog box, select Delete Vertex.

7. Select the multiline near the point indicated.

8. Select the multiline near the point indicated.

Press ESC to exit the Mledit command. 9. Double-click the exterior wall multiline to start the Mledit command. 10. In the Multilines Edit Tools dialog box, select Add Vertex.

11. Select the multiline near the point indicated to add a new vertex.

Press ESC to exit the Mledit command. 12. Select the multiline, you will see new vertex is added as shown.

13. Drag the newly added vertex grip and place it.

14. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Create Revision Clouds


In this exercise, to highlight the changes in areas of the drawing, you create revision clouds using the Revcloud command. Additionally, you control the shape of the revision cloud using the Arc Length, Calligraphy and Object options. 1. Open c_create_revision_clouds.dwg. 2. Zoom into the view on the right side of the drawing.

3. On the 2D Draw control panel of the Dashboard, click Stretch. 4. Click two points to define the crossing window as shown and press ENTER.

5. Click near first point and Enter 5<180.

6. On the 2D Draw control panel, click Revision Cloud. 7. With the Revcloud command activated, verify that the command line has the following settings:

Minimum arc length: 5.0000 Maximum arc length: 5.0000 Style: Normal

Tip: If any options are different, right-click anywhere in the drawing and use the Arc Length option to modify the arc length. After modifying the arc length right-click anywhere in the drawing again and use Style option to adjust the style. 8. Towards the right of the drawing, click near the top of the dimension as shown.

9. Move the crosshairs around the area until you return to the point where you started. When you get close enough to the start point, the revision cloud closes itself.

10. On the 2D Draw control panel, click Rectangle. 11. With the Rectangle command activated create a rectangle around the dimension as shown.

12. On the 2D Draw control panel, click Revision Cloud. 13. With the Revcloud command activated, rightclick anywhere in the drawing and click Style. Right-click anywhere in the drawing again and click Calligraphy.

Press ENTER to use the Object option. Select the rectangle object around the dimension and press ENTER.

14. In the drawing area, after selecting the first revision cloud you created, right-click anywhere in the drawing and click Polyline Edit. 15. In the Context Menu that opens,

Enter W. Enter 1 for the new width for all segments. Press ENTER to exit the Pedit command.

16. Zoom out the drawing extents. 17. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Create a Wipeout Object


In this exercise, you create a wipeout object to mask a large area on the drawing and mark it as void due to design changes. You do the following:

Create a wipeout object. Mark the wipeout object as void.

Create a Wipeout Object


1. Open c_create_wipeout.dwg. 2. Click Draw menu > Wipeout.

Click to specify points, as highlighted in the illustration below.

3. Complete creating the wipeout object:


Right-click anywhere in the drawing to complete the selection. Click Close.

Notice that the boundary closes itself.

Mark the Wipeout Object as Void


1. On the Draw toolbar, click Multiline Text. 2. Double-click inside the wipeout object. 3. Select the formatting of the text to be entered. On the Text Formatting toolbar:

Select Arial as the font type. Enter 1.5 in the Text Height field. Click Bold.

4. On the Text Formatting toolbar:


Select Red from the color list. Select Center justification.

Enter VOID in the in-place text editor.

Click OK.

5. Select the wipeout object to activate its grips.

Click and drag the grips to new locations to see the effect of adjusting the wipeout frame area.

Press ESC to clear the selection.

6. Select the VOID text object with its center grip.


Right-click anywhere in the drawing. Click Rotate. Rotate the text object.

Press ESC to clear the selection.

7. To hide the boundary of the wipeout object:


Repeat the Wipeout command. Right-click anywhere in the drawing. Click Frames. Right-click anywhere in the drawing. Click Off.

8. Zoom to the drawing extents to view the full extent of the drawing after performing the Wipeout command. 9. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Create Boundaries


In this exercise, you use the Boundary command to make boundaries out of lots on a site plan. You then calculate the lot areas using the Area command, and notate the areas.

Create Boundaries
1. Open c_create_boundaries.dwg. 2. Zoom into the area around the right side of the site plan. Make sure all of the geometry around the seven lots is displayed in the drawing

window. Notice that the current layer is set to Boundaries.

3. Click Draw menu > Boundary.

In the Boundary Creation dialog box, click Pick Points.

4. On the drawing:

Select points near each lot label as shown. You can preview the boundaries.

Press ENTER to create the boundaries.

NOTE: When picking an internal point for the calculation of the boundary, the full area of the bounded shape must be visible in the drawing window. If any part of the geometry that should define the boundary is outside the drawing window, a valid hatch boundary will not be found.

Calculate Lot Areas


1. Touch each boundary with the cursor. The new boundaries are highlighted.

2. Right-click any toolbar and select Inquiry to display the Inquiry toolbar.

3. On the Inquiry toolbar, click Area. With the Area command activated,

Right-click anywhere in the drawing. Click Object. Select the boundary around LOT 1.

4. Repeat the Area command on lots 2 through 7. 5. Zoom to the drawing extents. 6. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Create Regions


In this exercise, you use the Region and Boundary commands to create regions in the drawing. You then use the Union and Subtract solids editing commands to combine the separate regions into a single region representing a specialty extrusion profile. Next, you use the Region/Mass Properties command to view the mass properties of the profile. You complete the exercise by creating a point object at the centroid of the region and comparing the point object's position to the construction geometry representing the original center of the profile. 1. Open c_create_regions.dwg 2. On the dashboard, 2D Draw control panel:

Click Region. Click two points to window select the extrusion objects. Press ENTER.

The objects that qualify are converted to regions and placed on the current layer. 3. To add the 3D Make control panel to the dashboard, right-click any icon on the dashboard, and in the shortcut menu select Control panels and click 3D Make to activate it. This will make boolean command icons available.

4. On the 3D Make control panel:


Click Union. Select the outer region and the four circle regions. Press ENTER.

5. Verify that the circular regions are trimmed and combined with the outer region to create a single region.

6. On the Layers control panel, freeze the Construction layer. 7. Click Draw menu >Boundary.

In the Boundary Creation dialog box, select Region in the Object Type list.

8. Click Pick Points. In the drawing, select points inside the inner extrusion shapes as shown. Press ENTER.

9. On the Layers control panel, freeze the Visible layer. 10. On the 3D Make control panel:

Click Subtract. Select the outer region (1). Press ENTER. Select the inner region (2). Press ENTER.

11. Touch any part of the outer profile to highlight the region. Notice how both outer and inner profiles are now a single region.

12. On the 3D Make control panel, click Union.


Select all regions. Press ENTER.

13. Touch any part of the profile with the cursor. Notice all geometry is highlighted, indicating a single region.

14. On the command line:


Enter SHADE. Press ENTER.

The region is shaded in the color of the layer on which it resides.

15. On the Standard toolbar, click Undo to return to wireframe display mode. 16. On the Layers control panel, thaw the Construction layer. 17. If the Inquiry toolbar is not open, right-click any toolbar and select Inquiry. 18. On the Inquiry toolbar, click Region/Mass Properties. Select the region and press ENTER. The AutoCAD Text window appears, displaying the region's mass properties.

19. Enter No for writing the analysis to a file. Press ENTER to close the text window. 20. Press F2 to reopen the text window. 21. On the command line:

Enter POINT. Press ENTER. Note the Centroid X and Y values. Enter 107.7489, 72.1047. Press ENTER. Press F2 to close the text window.

Note the location of the point, slightly offset from the original construction lines. While the construction lines represent the center of the profile as it was drawn, the point represents the center of mass for the region.

22. On the command line:

Enter SHADE.

Press ENTER.

23. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Use Quick Select


In this exercise, you use the Quick Select command to select blocks in a drawing based on the block name. You then change the attributes for the selected blocks. You also use the Quick Select command to select circles with a specific radius and change the radius of the selected circles.

Select Blocks in a Drawing and Change Their Attributes


1. Open c_using_quick_select.dwg. 2. Ensure that the Properties palette is displayed. Note: If the Properties palette is not displayed, press CTRL+1. 3. Right-click anywhere in the drawing area. Click Quick Select. 4. To set the selection criteria, in the Quick Select dialog box:

Ensure that Entire Drawing is selected from the Apply To list Select Block Reference from the Object Type list. Select Name from the Properties list. Ensure that = Equals is selected from the Operator list. Ensure that Computer is selected from the Value list.

5. In the Quick Select dialog box:

Ensure that Include in New Selection Set is clicked.

Click OK.

6. On the Properties palette, ensure that Block Reference (30) is selected from the list. 7. On the Properties palette, under Attributes:

For Model, enter DELL 8400. For Cost, enter 1895.00.

8. In the drawing area:


Click a blank area. Press ESC to clear the selection set.

9. In the drawing, click two points to create a window selection, as shown.

10. On the Properties palette, click Quick Select.

11. In the Quick Select dialog box:

Select Block Reference from the Object Type list.

Select Name from the Properties list. Ensure that = Equals is selected from the Operator list. Select Phone from the Value list. Click OK.

12. On the Properties palette, ensure that Block Reference (23) is selected from the list. 13. On the Properties palette, under Attributes, for Model, enter Bell Western 2200.

14. In the drawing area:


Click a blank area. Press ESC to clear the selection set.

Select Circles in a Drawing and Change Their Radius


1. Zoom into the drawing to clearly view the circles. 2. Right-click anywhere in the drawing area. Click Quick Select. 3. To set the selection criteria, in the Quick Select dialog box:

Select Circle from the Object Type list. Select Radius from the Properties list. Ensure that = Equals is selected from the Operator list. For Value, enter 24.

4. Click OK to close the Quick Select dialog box. 5. On the Properties palette, ensure that Circle (3) is selected from the list. 6. On the Properties palette, under Geometry, for Radius, enter 36.

7. In the drawing area:


Click a blank area. Press ESC to clear the selection set.

8. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Purge Objects from a Drawing


In this exercise, you purge unused objects, such as blocks, dimension styles, text styles, and layers from a drawing. 1. Open c_purge_objects.dwg. 2. Click File menu > Drawing Utilities > Purge. 3. In the Purge dialog box:

Verify that View Items You Cannot Purge is selected. Under the Items Currently Used in Drawing pane, expand the Blocks group to view the blocks that you

cannot purge.

4. Click View Items You Can Purge. 5. Under the Items Not Used in Drawing pane:

Click the Blocks group. Verify that Confirm Each Item to be Purged is selected. Click Purge.

6. In the Confirm Purge dialog box, click Yes each time the dialog box appears. 7. In the Purge dialog box:

Expand the Dimension Styles group. CTRL+click the dimension styles, as shown.

Clear the Confirm Each Item to be Purged check box. Click Purge.

8. To purge all the items together, regardless of the group that is selected:

Select the Purge Nested Items check box to turn on purging of nested items. Click Purge All.

9. Verify that all the groups appear without "+" icon. This indicates that there are no objects to be purged under the group.

10. Click Close to close the Purge dialog box. 11. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Create Points


In this exercise, you use the Point command to create points in a drawing for locating features on a sheet metal part. You change the point style in the drawing to display the points by using a different symbol. You insert a block containing a point object located at the base point of the block. You can then see how the new point style affects the points embedded in block definitions. 1. Open c_create_points.dwg. 2. On the dashboard, 2D Draw control panel, click Point.

Use object snap tracking to track from the midpoint of the lower edge of the line shown in the illustration.

Move the cursor upward. Enter 50. Press ENTER.

Note: Verify that with the current point style setting, the point object is barely visible.

3. Press ESC to end the Point command. 4. Click Format menu > Point Style.

In the Point Style dialog box, click the point style icon as shown. Verify other settings as shown and click OK.

Note: Verify that there is a change in appearance of the point object you created. 5. On the dashboard, 2D Draw control panel, click Point.

Use object snap tracking and track from the midpoint of the upper edge as shown. Enter 50. Press ENTER.

6. Continue tracking from the midpoints of the remaining top and bottom edges using a distance of 50 each time. 7. Exit the Point command. 8. On the dashboard, Layers control panel, select Visible from the Filter Applied list to make it the current layer. 9. On the dashboard, 2D Draw control panel, click Polygon.

Enter 6. Press ENTER. Shift+right-click anywhere in the drawing. Click Node.

10. Use the Node objects snap to select the point as shown.

Enter C. Press ENTER. Enter 15. Press ENTER.

11. On the status bar, right-click Osnap > click Settings.


In the Drafting Settings dialog box, verify that Node is selected. Click OK.

12. On the dashboard, 2D Draw control panel, click Copy.


Select the polygon. Use the Node object snap to specify the base point for the copy.

Continue using the Node object snap to copy the polygon to the three other points as shown. Exit the Copy command.

13. On the dashboard, 2D Draw control panel, click Insert Block.


In the Insert dialog box, select LouverPunch from the Name list. In the Insertion Point area of the dialog box, select the option Specify On-Screen if it is not checked. Click OK. Use object snap tracking to track from the indicated point. Drag the cursor upward. Enter 25. Press ENTER.

Note: Verify that the point objects that are part of a block definition are also affected by the current point style setting. 14. On the dashboard, 2D Draw control panel, click Array. 15. In the Array dialog box, click Select Objects. 16. In the drawing area, select the Louver-Punch block. Press ENTER. 17. In the Array dialog box:

Adjust the values, as shown.

Click OK.

Note: Verify that the drawing appears as shown in the completed exercise illustration. 18. Zoom into the drawing. Click View menu > Regen. Note: Verify that the display size of the point object is updated to 5 percent of the screen size. This reflects the current point style settings. 19. Zoom to the drawing extents. 20. Click Format menu > Point Style.

In the Point Style dialog box, click Set Size in Absolute Units. Click OK.

Note: Verify that the size of the point object has changed. 21. Zoom into the drawing and note that the size of the point objects remains unchanged. 22. Zoom to the drawing extents. 23. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Divide and Measure Objects


In this exercise, you use the Block option of the Divide command to add shrubs at regular intervals around a parking lot. You then use the Block option of the Measure command to place sprinklers at a specific distance around a building. Finally, you use the Divide command to create equal sized parking spaces in front of the building.

Add Shrubs Using the Block Option of the Divide Command


1. Open c_divide_measure.dwg. 2. Zoom into the lower area of the parking lot.

3. To place point objects on the left side of the parking lot entrance:

Click Draw menu > Point > Divide to start the Divide command. Select the dashed path on the left side of the parking lot entrance. Right-click anywhere in the drawing. Click Block.

4. To create the point objects:


Enter Shrub. Press ENTER. Press ENTER to align the block with the object. Enter 12. Press ENTER.

5. To place point objects on the right side of the parking lot entrance:

Click Draw menu > Point > Divide to start the Divide command. Select the dashed path on the right side of the parking lot entrance. Right-click anywhere in the drawing. Click Block.

6. To complete the Divide command on the right side of the parking lot:

Enter Shrub. Press ENTER. Press ENTER to align the block with the object.

Enter 8 as the number of segments. Press ENTER.

7. Use the Divide command to create the same shrub pattern on the opposite side of the parking lot.

Place Sprinklers Using the Block Option of the Measure Command


1. Zoom into the side of the building.

2. Click Draw menu > Point > Measure.


Select the dashed path along the side of the building. Right-click anywhere in the drawing. Click Block.

3. To place the blocks:


Enter Sprinkler. Press ENTER. Press ENTER to align the block with the object. Enter 2500 when prompted for length of

segment. Press ENTER.

4. Create the Sprinkler pattern on the opposite side of the building as well. Notice that the arc of the Sprinkler block aligns along the path and points toward the opposite side of the building.

Note: The arc of the Sprinkler block aligns along the path and points toward the opposite side of the building because of the direction in which the path was originally drawn, in this case from right to left. If it had been from left to right, the arc would be above or to the right of the path.

Create Equal Sized Parking Spaces Using the Divide Command


1. On the Layers toolbar, select Striping in the Layer list to make it the current layer. 2. To create equal sized parking spaces:

Run the Divide command. Select the line on the right side of the parking lot above the walkway to the building. Enter 3 for the number of segments. Press ENTER.

Note: Since you did not use the Block option, point objects are placed along the object to divide it into three equal segments.

3. On the 2D Draw control panel, click Polyline. Draw two polylines from right to left with a width of 200 units and a length of 4000, using the point objects as the start point for each polyline. Tip: Use the Node object snap to reference the point objects.

4. Zoom to the drawing extents to see the entire drawing after performing all steps. 5. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Use QuickCalc to Adjust Perforated Area


In this exercise, you use QuickCalc to determine the radius required for the perforation circles in order to achieve over 50 percent perforation in the surface area of the disc. 1. Open c_adjust_perforated_area.dwg. 2. Examine the table showing the current perforated area as a percentage of the total disc area.

Formulas in the table have been created to retrieve area information from the holes and the disc area. These values are associative and will update as the areas of the circles change. Note: You can update the table by using REGEN. 3. If the Properties palette is not displayed, click Properties on the Standard toolbar. Note: You can also double-click the large circle mentioned in the following step to display the Properties palette. 4. Select the large circle representing the disc. 5. In the Properties palette:

Click the Area field and confirm the value against the Total Area value in the table.

Click the QuickCalc icon in the Area field.

6. The value is automatically placed in the Input field. On the Number Pad,

Click MS to store the value in memory.

Click Close.

7. Window-select all circles in the drawing, then SHIFT+select the large circle to remove it from the selection set.

8. The Properties palette should indicate 60 circles selected. In the Area field, click the QuickCalc icon.

9. The area of each circle is automatically placed into the Input field. To calculate the total area, complete the expression by entering *60 to multiply the area of one circle by the total number of circles. The completed expression should read 706.8583*60. Press ENTER.

10. The resulting value represents the total area of the perforation circles. Compare this value with the value in the table.

11. On the Number Pad, click / (forward slash). Click MR. Note: You may have to click the down arrows on the Number Pad title bar to expand the Number Pad window.

12. Press ENTER to evaluate the expression and compare the value with the % of TOTAL value in the table.

Here you can note that the current area of the perforated holes is less than the required 50 percent minimum. Next, you need to use additional calculator functions to adjust the area of the perforation circles to achieve the 50 percent requirement. 13. In the QuickCalc dialog box, on the Number Pad,

Click the C button to clear the value. Click MR*.50. Press ENTER. The expression results in 50893.801. This represents the total area required for the perforation circles to achieve a minimum 50 percent perforation area.

14. On the Number Pad,

Click /60 to complete the expression. Press ENTER. The resulting value represents the minimum required area for

each perforation circle.

Click Apply to close the dialog box and pass the resulting value to the Area field in the Properties palette.

15. In the Properties palette, confirm the new Area and Radius values.

The minimum area evaluates to a Radius of 16.4317.

16. In the Radius field:


Enter 16.5 to round off the radius value. Press ENTER.

Press ESC.

17. Click View > Regen to update the table values.

Confirm that the % of TOTAL field is greater than 50 percent.

18. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Create a Drawing Template


In this exercise, you create a drawing template that contains text styles, dimension styles, drawing units, layers, layouts, and a title block.

Set Units, Styles, Layer Properties, and Page Setup


1. Open c_create_drawing_template.dwg. 2. To set the units for the drawing, click Format menu > Units. 3. In the Drawing Units dialog box:

Ensure that the drawing units are adjusted as shown.

Click OK.

4. On the Styles toolbar, click Text Style. 5. In the Text Style dialog box:

Select Arial from the Font Name list. Click Apply to save the changes. Click New.

6. In the New Text Style dialog box:


For Style Name, enter3.5 Gen Notes. Click OK.

7. In the Text Style dialog box:


Select Tahoma from the Font Name list. For Height, enter 3.5. Click Apply to save the changes. Click Close.

8. On the Styles toolbar, select Standard from the Text Styles list. 9. On the Styles toolbar, click Dimension Style. 10. In the Dimension Style Manager dialog box, click Modify. 11. In the Modify Dimension Style dialog box:

On the Primary Units tab, select '.' (Period) from the Decimal separator list. On the Text tab, under Text Alignment, click ISO standard. Click OK.

12. Click Close to close the Dimension Style Manager dialog box. 13. On the dashboard, Layers control panel, click Layer Properties Manager. 14. In the Layer Properties Manager dialog box:

Create new layers and assign layer properties, as shown.

Note: Color assignments are not critical. Use your own color preferences.

For Objects layer, set the value in the Status to current.

Click OK.

15. In the drawing area:


Click the Layout1 tab to activate the layout. Select the predefined viewport. Right-click anywhere in the drawing. Click Display Viewport Objects > No. At the turn off active viewports prompt, enter Y. Press ENTER. Right-click the Layout1 tab. Click Page Setup Manager.

16. In the Page Setup Manager, click New. 17. In the New Page Setup dialog box:

For New page setup name, enter A2ePlot. Click OK.

18. In the Page Setup - Layout1 dialog box:


Select DWF6 ePlot.pc3 from the Name list as the printer/plotter device. Select ISO A2 (594.00 x 420.00 MM) from the Paper size list. Ensure that 1:1 is selected from the Scale list. Click OK.

19. In the Page Setup Manager dialog box:

Double-click the A2-ePlot page setup to assign it to Layout1.

Click Close

Create a Drawing Template


1. On the dashboard, Layers control panel, select TitleBlock from the Filter Applied list. 2. On the dashboard, 2D Draw control panel, click Insert Block. 3. In the Insert dialog box, click Browse. 4. In the Select Drawing File dialog box:

Navigate to A2-Title.dwg. Click Open.

5. In the Insert dialog box, click OK. 6. At the command line, enter 0,0 for the insertion point. Press ENTER. 7. In the drawing area, right-click the Layout2 tab. Click Delete. 8. In the AutoCAD dialog box, click OK. 9. In the drawing area, click the Model tab to activate model space. 10. On the dashboard, Layers control panel, select Objects from the Filter Applied list. 11. Right-click anywhere in the drawing. Click Options. 12. In the Options dialog box, Files tab:

Expand Template Settings > Drawing Template File Location. Double-click the existing path.

13. In the Browse for Folder dialog box:

Navigate to the location where the exercise datasets are installed.

Note: In a real-world situation, these DWT files would probably be stored on a network where all users would have access to them.

Click OK.

14. Click OK to close the Options dialog box. 15. Click File menu > Save As. 16. In the Save Drawing As dialog box:

Select AutoCAD Drawing Template (*.dwt) from the Files of Type list. Verify that the Save In folder switches to the location specified in the Options dialog box. For File name, enter A2-Template. Click Save.

17. In the Template Options dialog box:

Enter the description, as shown.

Click OK.

Open a Drawing Based on New Template File


1. Click File menu > New. Note: Depending on the setting that you have made for the Startup system variable, either the Select Template or Create New Drawing dialog box will be displayed.

If the Select Template dialog box is

displayed, select the template and click Open.

If the Create New Drawing dialog box is displayed, click Use a Template.

Note: In the Create New Drawing dialog box, select your template from the list and click OK. 2. Check the units, layers, text styles, dimension styles, Layout1 settings, and title block of the new drawing. 3. Right-click anywhere in the drawing. Click Options. 4. In the Options dialog box, Files tab:

Expand Template Settings > Drawing Template File Location. Double-click the existing path. Navigate to the default location for the template files: C:\Documents and Settings\<user name>\Local Settings\Application Data\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2008 \R17.1enu\Template. Click OK.

5. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Use Annotation Scaling


In this exercise, you are introduced to basic annotation scaling. You use annotative scale objects to annotate the drawing in model space and in layout viewports with different scales. 1. Open M_Intro-to-Annotation-Scaling.dwg. 2. Set the drawing to use an annotative dimension style:

On the Dimensions dashboard panel, select Annotative in the Dimension Styles list. On the status bar, select 1:50 in the Annotation Scale list. Note: This value varies with each drawing you create. In general, you should set a scale value that is equivalent to your DIMSCALE value if you were not using annotation scaling. Another way to estimate this value is to determine the scale factor of your typical

border, if you were to insert it at a scale large enough to fit the geometry.

3. Zoom into the top right corner of the assembly.


On the Dimensions dashboard panel, click Linear. Place a linear dimension as shown.

Note: Place the dimensions to the green centerlines.

4. On the Dimensions dashboard panel, click Continue. Place a string of continuous dimensions across the entire truss assembly.

5. Click the Details tab to switch to the layout. Three views have already been defined at different scales.

Double-click the lower-right viewport to activate it. Confirm the VP Scale and Annotation Scale values in the status bar are set to 1:30 and the viewport is locked. Make sure the option to Automatically add scales to annotative objects (3) is enabled as shown.

6. On the Dimensions dashboard panel, click Linear and place linear dimensions on the concrete truss base as shown.

7. Zoom out to see the entire sheet. The dimensions are currently only visible in viewports that match the annotation scale. Despite the fact the viewport is set to a different scale factor, the paper size of the dimensions in the upper viewport and the current viewport are identical. 8. Double-click the lower-left viewport to activate it.

On the Dimensions dashboard panel, click Linear. Place dimensions on the view similar to the ones shown. Note: The exact dimensions are not required. On the status bar, click Model to exit the viewport and return to the layout.

9. Zoom out to see the entire sheet. Again note the dimensions only appear in the viewport in which the viewport scale matches the annotation scale of the dimension. The paper size of the dimensions are consistent across viewports.

10. To view all dimensions in each viewport:

Hover the cursor over Show Annotative Objects for Current Scales Only and click to activate Show Annotative Objects for All Scales Indicator on the status bar. Click again to show annotative objects for the current scale only.

11. With the lower left viewport still active, on the status bar, click the Lock icon to unlock the viewport.

Select 1:16 on the Annotation Scale list.

The VP Scale changes to match the Annotation Scale, and the annotative objects are updated in the viewport.

Click the Lock icon to lock the viewport.

12. Select one of the dimensions and position the cursor over the dimension.

Note the double-annotative icon indicating multiple scale representations exist for the selected object. Observe the overlaid dimension values. These are the scale representations.

13. Click the Model tab to return to model space. Click the Show Annotative Objects for all Scales option. 14. Save and close all files.

Exercise: Update an Existing Drawing to Use Annotation Scaling


In this exercise, you update an existing detail drawing to utilize annotative objects and annotative scaling. After the update is completed you insert the drawing into another, and test the annotation scaling. 1. Open I_Update-to-Annotation-Scaling.dwg. 2. When updating an existing drawing to use annotation scaling, you can use the DIMSCALE system variable to determine a good annotation scale to start with.

On the command line, enter dimscale and press ENTER. The value shown should be 12. This indicates that the current annotation is using a scale of 1:12 or 1"=1'-0"

Press ENTER to exit the command. On the status bar, for Annotative Scale, select 1"=1'-0 Any annotative objects you create will now be sized similar to the current annotation. Make sure the other annotative status icons are configured as shown.

3. On the Multileaders dashboard panel, click Multileader Style Manager.


In the Multileader Style Manager dialog box, click Modify. In the Modify Multileader Style dialog box, click the Leader Structure tab. Under the Scale area select Annotative. Click OK. Verify that the Annotative icon appears next to the name. Click Close.

4. While it is possible to update existing leaders and mtext objects to be annotative, multileaders are easier to manage because the leader and text elements are treated as one object.

Using the Multileader command, create new leaders and text for all leaders in the drawing or for as many leaders as time will allow. Tip: Copy and paste the leader text to speed up the process. Delete the leaders and text that you are unable to convert.

5. Near the top of the detail, select both numbers for the roof pitch symbol.

Right-click anywhere in the drawing window. Click Properties. In the Properties palette, select Yes in the Annotative list. Press ESC to clear the selection.

6. Select the hatch patterns in the detail, and set their annotative property to Yes. Press ESC to clear the selection.

7. Save the drawing to your student dataset directory as AEC-Detail.dwg.

8. Open I_Insert-Annotation-Scaling.dwg.

9. Click Insert menu > Block.


In the Insert dialog box click Browse and browse to and select AEC-Detail.dwg. Make sure Specify On-screen is selected under the Insertion point area and click OK. Click a point to position the detail in the area above the floor plans.

10. Click the D-size Plot tab to switch to layout.

Create a single viewport below the notes as shown.

11. Activate the viewport and zoom around the detail.

On the status bar, set the Annotation Visibility option to Show annotative objects for all scales. On the status bar, click 1/2"=1'0" in the VP Scale list. The annotation and hatch objects update to reflect the new scale.

12. If necessary, pan the view and adjust the size of the viewport so that all text is visible.

If the multileader text objects are overlapping, explode the block and grip edit the leader text accordingly. Click the Lock icon on the status bar to lock the viewport and annotation scale or experiment with other annotation scales.

13. Save and close all files.

Exercise: Control Annotation Scaling


In this exercise, you use annotation scaling commands to create and manage annotative objects in a drawing. You set the SAVEFIDELITY system variable so the drawing can be viewed in an earlier version of AutoCAD while maintaining visual fidelity for annotative objects. 1. Open M_Control-Annotation-Scaling.dwg. 2. Select the lower-left viewport and check the VP Scale and Annotation Scale settings on the status bar. They are currently out of sync because the viewport has not yet been scaled properly.

3. To set the annotation scale and viewport scale simultaneously:

On the status bar, select 1:16 in the Annotation Scale list. Double-click inside the viewport to activate it, and use the Pan command to center the view inside the viewport. Click the Lock icon to lock the viewport and annotation scales. Compare your status bar settings to the following image. If necessary, adjust your settings to match.

4. On the dashboard, click Text Style on the Text control panel.

In the Text Style dialog box, select Romans in the Styles list and select Annotative. Click Apply. Click Close.

5. On the dashboard, click Single Line Text.


Select a start point as shown (1). Enter 3.5 for the paper height. Select point (2) to specify the rotation angle. Enter 150x90x12 L for the text. Press ENTER twice to exit the command.

6. Hover the cursor over the text object you just created. Note the appearance of the Annotative icon, indicating it is an annotative object. Next,

hover over the other three text objects; the annotative icon does not appear. Even though their text style has been made annotative, the existing objects do not automatically receive the annotative property.

7. To make the existing text objects annotative:


Select each text object. Right-click anywhere in the drawing window, and click Properties. In the Properties palette, adjust the properties as shown.

8. Press ESC to clear the selection.


Close the Properties palette. Hover the cursor over the three text objects and note the appearance of the annotative icon.

9. On the Status bar, change the Annotative Visibility icon to activate the Show Annotative Objects for All Scales option. (The light bulb icon should turn yellow.)

Note the appearance of several multileader objects and dimensions in the viewport.

Select all of the multileader objects. On the Annotation control panel of the dashboard, click Add Current Scale.

10. On the status bar, turn off Show Annotative Objects for All Scales. Confirm that in the viewport, only those objects with scale representations that match the current annotation scale are visible. 11. Using standard grip editing techniques, adjust the positions of the leaders and dimensions to clean up the view. 12. Select one or more of the multileaders or dimensions you have moved and note the appearance of multiple scale representations. The current scale representation (1) and alternative scale representations (2).

13. To synchronize the position of the scale representations:


Select one or more annotative objects. Right-click anywhere in the drawing window. Click Annotative Object Scale > Synchronize Multiple-scale Positions. The positions of the alternate scale representations should match with the current scale representation.

14. In the upper-left area of the viewport, several dimensions and multileaders exist that are not required for this view. To remove them from the view:

Select the dimensions and multileaders as shown. On the Annotation Scaling control panel of the dashboard, click Delete Current Scale.

15. To remove all the unnecessary scale representations:


On the Annotations Scaling control panel, click Add/Delete Scales. All annotative objects are made visible. Select the multileaders and dimensions highlighted in the following image and press ENTER.

16. In the Annotation Object Scale dialog box, select 1:1 and click Delete. Click OK. 17. Double-click the top viewport to activate it.

Select the highlighted dimensions and multileaders. On the Annotation Scaling control panel of the dashboard, click Delete Current Scales.

18. To prepare this drawing to be opened by an earlier version of AutoCAD:


Right-click anywhere in the drawing window. Click Options. In the Options dialog box select the Open and Save tab. Select the Maintain Visual Fidelity for Annotative Objects option if it is not selected. Click OK.

19. Double-click anywhere on the sheet to make sure you are in a layout. Click Zoom Extents and save the drawing. 20. Optional Steps:

If AutoCAD 2007 or an earlier version of AutoCAD is installed on your workstation, launch the application. Open the saved version of M_ControlAnnotation-Scaling.dwg.

If an earlier version of AutoCAD does not exist on your workstation, this exercise is complete, you can save and close all files. 21. Open the Layer Properties Manager.

Note the appearance of the Annotation @ 16 and additional Dimension layers. These are the layers that contain the annotative objects. Freeze the Annotation @ 16 layer and the Dimen @ 16 layer.

The dimension and text objects are not longer visible in the lower left viewport. 22. Save and close all files.

Exercise: Work with Multiline Text


In this exercise, you format columns to add text notes to the drawing. You also spell check your notes for accuracy. 1. Open M_Create-Column-Text.dwg .

2. To locate multiline column text:


On the dashboard, Text panel, click Multiline Text. Specify a rectangle from the lower left corner of the drawing, and track up from the corner of the revision block to below the door schedule.

3. To define the columns, in the Text Formatting dialog box, click Columns > Static Columns > 4.

4. To apply paragraph settings to the column text:


In the Text Formatting dialog box, click Paragraph. In the Paragraph dialog box, enter 1/4"[6mm] for the Left and Right Indent. For Hanging enter 1/2"[13mm]. Click OK.

5. To adjust settings for the column text:

In the Text Formatting dialog box, click Columns > Column Settings. In the Column Settings dialog box, enter the following values for Height and Gutter. Height 3 5/8" [90mm], Gutter: 1" [25mm]. Click OK.

6. In the Text Formatting dialog box, enter the following notes with a space between each sentence. Click OK.

NOTES: ROOFING SYSTEM IS TO BE ENGINEERED TRUSSES. OVERHANG IS TO BE PRESENT AT ALL EVES. METAL ROOFING IS TO BE MCELROYMETAL, INC. STRUCTURAL STANDING SEAM ROOF SYSTEM. INTERIOR OF HOUSE IS TO BE PAINTED FLAT WHITE WITH OAK BASE BOARD AND OAK TRIM. VERIFY ROUGH OPENINGS AND FRAMING REQUIREMENTS PRIOR TO FRAMING. VERIFY ALL DIMENSIONS AND CONDITIONS BEFORE BUILDING OR STARTING CONSTRUCTION. NOTIFY THE ARCHITECT OF ANY DISCREPANCY OR VARIATION IMMEDIATELY.

7. Click OK.

8. To specify text for spelling check:


On the dashboard, Text panel, click Spell Check. In the Check Spelling dialog box, under

Where to Check, select objects from the list. Click the Select Text Objects button and select the column text. Press ENTER. Click Start.

The Check Spelling dialog box should find MCELROYMETAL and offer possible solutions. 9. Since MCELROYMETAL is a brand name, click Ignore to retain this spelling. Continue to check the rest of the column text for spelling errors.

In the AutoCAD message dialog box, click OK. In the Check Spelling dialog box, click Close.

10. To display the Attribute Definition dialog box, click Draw > Block > Define Attributes. 11. To create an attribute definition:

In the Attribute Definition dialog box, under Attribute, in the Tag field, enter ROOM_INFORMATION. In the Prompt field, enter Room Name & Door-Window Count. Under Mode, click Multiple Lines.

12. To define the boundary width:


Under Text Settings, in the Boundary Width field, enter 1 1/2" [38mm]. Click OK.

13. To locate the attribute definition, click any blank area in the drawing window.

14. Create a block using the attribute definition.


Name the Block: Room Information. Under Base Point, click Pick Point. Specify a point near the attribute definition. Under Objects, click Delete. Click Select Objects, and select the attribute definition. Click OK.

15. To verify that the ATTDIA is set to on.


On the command line, enter ATTDIA. If the default is not 1, enter 1.

16. To add information to a room:


Click Insert menu > Block. In the Insert dialog box, for Name, click the arrow and select Room Information. Verify that the insertion point is set for Specify On-screen. Click OK.

17. To locate the block:


When prompted to specify insertion point: In the Second Floor Plan view, click inside the lower left room. In the Edit Attributes dialog box, click Open Multiline Editor.

18. To define the multiline attribute:

In the streamlined Text Formatting dialog box enter: Master Bedroom. Press ENTER. Enter 5 Windows. Press ENTER. Enter 3 Doors. Press ENTER.

19. To override the boundary width:

In the streamlined Text Formatting dialog box, click the right arrow and drag until the text is not wrapped.

20. In the Text Formatting dialog box, click OK. In the Edit Attributes dialog box, click OK.

21. Save and close all files.

Exercise: Use DesignCenter


In this exercise, you use DesignCenter to insert and scale an entire drawing. The drawing was originally drawn using imperial units and you convert the design to use metric units. You also insert blocks for kitchen appliances from DesignCenter. 1. Open i_Use_DesignCenter.dwg. 2. On the Tools menu, click Inquiry > Distance. 3. In the drawing area, click two points and note the distance between them.

4. Close the drawing. 5. Create a new metric drawing from scratch. Note: If the Create New Drawing dialog box is not displayed when you open the Select Template dialog box, select Open with no Template - Metric from the drop down list on the Open button. 6. On the Standard toolbar. Click DesignCenter. 7. In the DesignCenter, navigate to the folder where exercise datasets are installed. 8. In the tree pane, click the \Intermediate\ folder. 9. In the Content pane, click i_use_DesignCenter.dwg.

10. Drag the i_use_DesignCenter.dwg drawing into the current drawing. 11. On the command line:

Note that the scale of the drawing is indicated. At the Specify Insertion Point prompt, enter 0,0. Press ENTER. Continue to press ENTER until the insert command is complete.

12. On the Tools menu, click Inquiry > Distance. Note: You may need to zoom the drawing to extents to view the inserted drawing. 13. In the drawing area, select the two points indicated.

Note: The distance should be 4286.5746 units. Because the current drawing's insertion scale units are represented in millimeters, the drawing is scaled based on a 1 = 25.4 conversion factor. 14. On the Layers dashboard, select Appliances from the Layer list to set Appliances the current layer. 15. In DesignCenter:

Click Home. Expand the Kitchens.dwg file located in the DesignCenter folder.

Select the Blocks object group.

16. In the content pane on DesignCenter, doubleclick the Refrigerator-2 Door - 36 in Top block. 17. In the Insert dialog box, under Rotation:

Clear the Specify On-screen checkbox. For Angle, enter -90. Click OK.

18. In the drawing area, select the location near the door marked 3, as shown. The block is scaled using a conversion factor of 25.4.

19. In DesignCenter, drag the Sink-double - 36 in Top block and place it near the indicated point.

20. In the drawing area, grip edit or move the block to the indicated location.

21. In DesignCenter, under Content pane, doubleclick the Range-Oven - 30 in Top block. 22. In the Insert dialog box, under rotation:

For Angle, enter 90. Click OK.

23. Position the Range-Oven block near the indicated point, and then use the Move command to adjust it, as shown.

24. Zoom to the drawing extents. 25. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Create a New Tool Palette with Custom Tools


In this exercise, you create a new tool palette and drag objects from a drawing to create new command and content tools. You then use the DesignCenter to create a new tool palette that contains all the blocks in a drawing.

Create a Tool Palette with Custom Tools


1. Open c_create_tool_palettes.dwg. 2. Ensure that the Tool Palettes window is displayed. Note: To display the Tool Palettes window, press CTRL+3. 3. In the Tool Palettes window:

Right-click an empty area. Click New Palette.

For the tool palette name, enter Landscaping. Press ENTER.

4. In the drawing area:


Select and drag the shrub block onto the tool palette. Select and drag the sprinkler block onto the tool palette.

Tip: Select and drag from an outer point on the block, not the grip.

5. In the drawing area:


Select and drag any of the dimension objects to the tool palette. Select and drag one of the parking lot stripe lines.

6. On the Visual Styles tool palette, right-click the Sprinkler content tool. Click Properties. 7. In the Tool Properties dialog box:

Ensure that the source file path is populated in the Source file field. Select Yes from the Prompt for Rotation list to rotate the sprinkler block when you place it in a drawing.

Click OK.

Note: The tool does not work if the source file path is not populated in the source file field. 8. In the Tool Palettes window, right-click the Linear Dimension command tool. Click Properties to configure the Linear Dimension command tool as

a flyout tool. 9. In the Tool Properties dialog box, click [] in the Flyout Options field. 10. In the Flyout Options dialog box:

Clear the Jogged Dimension, Ordinate Dimension, and Tolerance check boxes. Click OK.

11. Click OK to close the Tool Properties dialog box. 12. In the Tool Palettes window, click the Linear Dimension flyout to view the available options.

13. Right-click the Polyline command tool. Click Properties to configure the Linear Dimension command tool as a flyout tool. 14. In the Tool Properties dialog box:

Select No from the Use Flyout list.

Click OK.

Note: The Name and Description fields are populated automatically.

Create a Tool Palette from Design Center


1. On the Standard toolbar, click DesignCenter. 2. In the DesignCenter window:

Navigate to the /Sample/DesignCenterHome-Space Planner.dwg file. Right-click the drawing. Click Create Tool Palette .

3. Verify that a new tool palette is created, named after the drawing and containing all the blocks in the drawing.

4. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Create and Activate a Custom Palette Group


In this exercise, you assign existing tool palettes to a custom palette group. 1. Open a new drawing. 2. If the Tool Palettes window is not open, on the Standard Annotation toolbar, click Tool Palettes Window. 3. In the Tool Palettes window, right-click an empty area. Click Customize Palettes.

4. To create a new palette group, in the Customize dialog box, Palette Groups area:

Collapse all palette groups. Right-click an empty area. Click New Group.

For the name of the new palette group, enter Object Creation.

5. To add a tool palette to the new group, drag Annotation from the Palettes area to the Object Creation group. 6. To add more palettes to the Object Creation group, repeat step 5 for the Hatches and Fills,

Draw, and Modify palettes.

7. To set the Object Creation palette group current, right-click the Object Creation folder. Click Set Current. 8. Notice that the Tool Palettes window displays only the palettes that are a part of the Object Creation palette group.

9. To reorder the palette groups, in the Customize dialog box, Palette Groups area:

Ensure that all the palette groups are collapsed. Drag the Object Creation folder and position it above the Architectural Tools folder.

10. Click Close to close the Customize dialog box. 11. To ensure that the palette groups are reordered, on the title bar of the Tool Palettes window:

Click Properties (1). Verify that the Object Creation group (2) appears as the first group in the list.

12. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Share Tool Palettes


In this exercise, you simulate a network environment, and import custom tool palettes and a palette group. You then modify the custom tool palette. 1. Open c_sharing_palettes.dwg. 2. To simulate a network drive for sharing palettes, use Windows Explorer to create a folder named CustomToolPalettes in drive C. 3. To store tool palettes in the

CustomToolPalettes folder, in Windows Explorer:


Navigate to the location of the exercise files. Right-click the AcTpCatalog.atc file. Click Copy. Navigate to the CustomToolPalettes folder. Right-click anywhere in the CustomToolPalettes folder window. Click Paste.

4. To configure the new path of the ATC file, right-click anywhere in the drawing area. Click Options. 5. In the Options dialog box, Files tab:

Expand Tool Palettes File Locations. Click Add. Click Browse.

6. In the Browse for Folder dialog box:


Navigate to the CustomToolPalettes folder. Click OK.

7. In the Options dialog box, Files tab:

Under Tool Palettes File Locations, ensure that C:\CustomToolPalettes is selected. Click Move Up.

8. Click OK to close the Options dialog box. 9. Open the Tool Palettes window. 10. To import tool palettes, right-click a blank area in the Tool Palettes window. Click Customize Palettes. 11. In the Customize dialog box, Palettes list, right-click a blank area. Click Import. 12. In the Import Palette dialog box:

Navigate to the location of the exercise files. Click the 2d_basic_drawing.xtp file. Click Open.

13. Repeat steps 11 and 12 to import the basic_editing.xtp file. 14. To import palette groups, right-click a blank area in the Palette Groups list and click Import. Note: The Import option appears only when a tool palette group is highlighted on rightclicking. 15. In the Import Group dialog box:

Navigate to the location of the exercise files. Click the 2d_basic_drawing.xpg file. Click Open.

16. In the Customize dialog box, Palette Groups list, verify that the 2D Basic Drawing group is imported and added to the end of the list.

17. From the Palettes list, drag the 2D Basic Drawing and Basic Editing palettes to the 2D Basic Drawing palette group, as shown.

18. In the Palette Groups list, right-click the 2D Basic Drawing group. Click Set Current. 19. In the Tool Palettes window, verify that the 2D Basic Drawing palette group is set current.

20. From the Draw toolbar, drag the Arc, Ellipse, and Make Block tools to the 2D Basic Drawing palette, as shown.

21. To view the tool palette source files:

Using the Windows Explorer, navigate to the CustomToolPalettes folder. Expand the Palettes subfolder that is created automatically. Verify that the source files for the two new palettes are created.

22. Click Close to close the Customize dialog box. Note: To make these new palettes available to the members of your design team, you add the network path of the tool palettes folder to the Tool Palettes File Locations property of each member's computer. 23. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Work with Xrefs


In this exercise, you work with several drawings that are used as xrefs. You load, unload, attach, and open the xrefs for editing. 1. Open Ground Floor.dwg. This is located in the \Use Xrefs subdirectory. 2. On the Dashboard, 2D Draw control panel, click External References. Note: If the Reference toolbar is not displayed, right-click any toolbar. Click Reference. 3. On the External References palette, note the status and the saved path values of the xref.

4. Verify that the Existing-Building xref refers to the structure indicated in the following illustration.

Note: You may need to move the External References palette to see the Existing-Building xref. 5. On the External References palette:

Right-click the Existing-Building xref. Click Unload. Verify that the status of the ExistingBuilding reference changes to Unloaded.

6. Close the External References palette. 7. Verify that the xref is unloaded and the drawing for the existing structure disappears. 8. Repeat the Xref command. 9. On the External References palette:

Click Existing-Building. Right-click Reload. Verify that the status of the ExistingBuilding reference changes to Loaded.

10. On the External References palette, click the Attach DWG icon. 11. In the Select Reference File dialog:

Navigate to SiteConcrete.dwg. Click Open.

12. In the External Reference dialog box:


Under Reference Type, click Attachment. Select Relative path from the Path Type list. In the Insertion Point, Scale, and Rotation areas, clear the Specify On-screen options to place the xref at 0,0,0.

13. Click OK to close the External Reference dialog box. 14. Notice that the site concrete and the topo lines cover the floor plan. 15. Locate the Draw Order toolbar. 16. In the drawing area, select the concrete geometry. 17. On the Draw Order toolbar, click Send to Back. 18. In the drawing area, verify that the drawing appears, as shown.

19. In the drawing area, zoom into the front entrance of the building.

Note: There is a problem with the concrete pad because it does not extend far enough beneath

the floor plan. Because the problem is with the xref, you need to edit the xref. Although it is possible to edit the xref in-place, for now you use the Xopen command to open the xref in a separate window. 20. On the dashboard, 2D draw control panel, click External References. 21. Notice the appearance of the SiteTopo nested xref.

Note: SiteTopo is referenced into the SiteConcrete drawing as an attachment and therefore it is displayed here. It appears when you attach the SiteConcrete drawing. 22. On the External References palette:

Click List View. Right-click SiteConcrete. Click Open. Verify that the status of the SiteConcrete reference changes to Opened.

23. Close the External References palette. 24. On the 2D Draw control panel, click Stretch. 25. In the drawing area:

Define the stretch crossing window, as shown.

Stretch the geometry 500 units at 180 degrees, to the left. Save and close the SiteConcrete drawing.

26. Return to the Ground Floor drawing. 27. Notice the bubble in the Status field indicating that the SiteConcrete xref needs to be reloaded.

28. Click Reload SiteConcrete in the bubble in the Status field as shown in the previous step. 29. In the drawing area, verify that the concrete pad appears correctly under the floor plan, as shown.

30. In the lower-right corner of the screen, click Manage Xrefs to access the External References

palette. 31. On the External References palette, click SiteConcrete and change the type as overlay in the Type field.

32. Verify that the Type of the xref changes to Overlay.

Note: The Ground Floor drawing is referenced into other drawings that do not require the SiteConcrete and SiteTopo geometry. Changing the xref type to Overlay prevents the reference from carrying forward and showing up in those drawings. You cannot change the SiteTopo xref because it is a nested xref. However, because it is nested within an overlay xref, you do not have to change it. 33. Close the External References palette. 34. Save and close all files.

Exercise: Edit, Bind, and Clip Xrefs


In this exercise, you reconcile the new layers while you attach Xref and perform an in-place reference edit on the Main-Roof.dwg drawing. You bind an xref to make it a permanent part of the Space-Plan drawing and complete the drawing by using the Xclip command to control the display of the xrefs.

1. Open Second-Floor.dwg. This is located in the \Manage Xrefs subfolder. Note: The Ground Floor drawing is already referenced into this drawing. 2. Notice that the SiteConcrete and SiteTopo geometry does not appear. Note: The SiteConcrete and SiteTopo geometry does not appear because the SiteConcrete xref is changed to an overlay in the Ground Floor drawing. 3. On the dashboard, 2D Draw control panel, click External References. 4. On the File menu, click Save to save the drawing. 5. On the External References palette, click the Attach DWG icon. 6. In the Select Reference File dialog box:

Navigate to and select Main-Roof.dwg. (This file is in the student files directory.) Click Open.

7. In the External Reference dialog box:


Under Reference Type, click Attachment. Under Path Type, select Relative Path. Under Insertion Point, ensure that Specify On-screen is cleared. Click OK.

8. On the status bar:

Notice the Unreconciled New Layers notification.

Click on the View Unreconciled New Layers in Layer Properties Manager link to open the Layer Properties Manager dialog box.

9. In the Layer Properties Manager dialog box, click Unreconciled New Layers.

10. Select all the unreconciled layers and right-click the selected unreconciled layers. Click Reconcile Layer to reconcile the unreconciled layers.

11. Click OK to close the Layer Properties Manager dialog box. 12. On the Drawing area, the Main Roof geometry appears but closer evaluation determines that it is not complete and needs to be edited.

13. In the drawing area:


Select any part of the Main Roof geometry. Right-click anywhere in the drawing. Click Edit Xref In-place.

14. In the Reference Edit dialog box:

View the default settings.

Click OK.

15. In the AutoCAD dialog box that opens, click OK to save the Edits in the Xref file in the release format of the referenced drawing file. 16. In the drawing area, note the faded geometry, which indicates that you are performing an inplace edit. 17. On the dashboard, Layers control panel, select the $0$A-ROOF layer to set it current. Note: This is the temporary layer for in-place editing. The geometry that you create will be moved to the A-ROOF xref layer when the editing is complete. The Layers control panel also need to note that to view the layer $0$AROOF you need to select the All Used Layers filter in the Layer Properties Manager tree view. 18. Using standard geometry creation and editing commands, create the roof lines, as shown.

Note: The angle lines from the roof corners are at 45 degrees. Zoom into the geometry, as required, and make certain you reference the correct geometry with object snaps. For adjusting the reference edit fading right-click anywhere in the drawing area. Click Options > Display tab and change the reference edit fading intensity as required. 19. On the Refedit toolbar, click Save Reference Edits. 20. In the AutoCAD dialog box that opens, click OK to save the reference edits. 21. Open Main-Roof.dwg. 22. In the drawing area, verify that the new lines are added to the drawing. 23. Close all files without saving. 24. Open Space-Plan.dwg. 25. On the Dashboard, 2D Draw control panel, click External References if it is not open. 26. On the External References palette:

Select and right-click Ground Floor. Click Bind.

27. In the Bind Xrefs dialog box:

Click Insert.

Click OK.

28. On the External References palette, verify that both the xrefs disappear and are now a permanent part of the drawing. 29. In the drawing area, select any part of the floor plan. 30. On the Dashboard, 2D Draw control panel, click

Explode to explode the floor plan drawing. 31. Open Fire-Station.dwg. 32. Open the External References palette to view the current xrefs. Note: The SiteConcrete and SiteTopo drawings are saved as overlays in the Ground Floor drawing. As a result, they are not displayed in this drawing. 33. Open Ground Floor.dwg. 34. On the External References palette, select SiteConcrete and under Details, select Attach from the Type list to change the SiteConcrete xref to be an Attachment type. 35. Close this file after saving. 36. On Fire-Station.dwg, on the Status bar, click the Reload Ground Floor link in the External Reference Alert bubble.

37. On the status bar:


Notice the Unreconciled New Layers notification. Click on the View Unreconciled New Layers in Layer Properties Manager link to open the Layer Properties Manager dialog box.

38. Repeat steps 9 to 11 to make the unreconciled layers as reconcile. 39. Verify that the drawing appears, as shown.

40. On the command line, enter XCLIP. Press ENTER. 41. Select any point on the SiteConcrete or SiteTopo xrefs.

Press ENTER. Press ENTER again to create a new boundary. Press ENTER to use the Rectangular option.

42. Create a rectangular boundary, as shown.

Note: If the border of the clipping boundary is not visible, enter XCLIPFRAME in the command line to make the clip boundary visible. 43. Verify that all the geometry outside the border is removed from the drawing.

44. On the Dashboard, Layers control panel, click Layer Properties Manager. 45. In Layer Properties Manager:

Expand the Xref filter group. Under the Xref filter group click SiteConcrete. In the layer list, freeze the SiteConcreteSite-Foundation layer. Click OK.

46. Select the Ground Floor layout tab to verify the change in the drawing after the Site-Foundation layer is frozen. 47. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Import a Raster File


In this exercise, you create a building layout by using a site plan image as reference. 1. Open a new drawing. 2. Create a new layer named Building Layout. Set the Color property of the layer as red. 3. Create a new layer named Text. Set the Color property of the layer as blue. 4. On the command line, enter IMAGEATTACH. Press ENTER. 5. In the Select Image file dialog box:

Navigate to the location of the exercise datasets. Click c_site_plan. Click Open.

6. In the Image dialog box, under Insertion Point, Scale, and Rotation, ensure that the Specify Onscreen check box is clear. 7. In the Image dialog box, under Insertion Point:

For X, enter 0. For Y, enter 0. For Z, enter 0.

Note: The value 0 that you enter automatically changes to 0.0000 because the precision for the values is set to four decimal places. 8. In the Image dialog box:

For Scale, enter 1. Under Rotation, for Angle, enter 0.

Click OK.

9. In the drawing area:


Zoom to the drawing extents to view the complete image. Verify that the drawing appears, as shown.

10. Set the Building Layout layer current. 11. In the drawing area, use the Line command to draw lines above the existing borders in the Building 1 layout image to trace the Building 1 layout.

12. Set the Text layer current. 13. In the drawing area, use the Single Line Text command to create text in the Building 1 layout, as shown.

14. On the dashboard, 2D Draw control panel, click Insert Block > External References.

15. On the External References palette:


Verify that the c_site_plan raster image is listed under File References. Right-click c_site_plan. Click Unload.

16. In the drawing area, verify that the drawing appears as shown.

17. On the External References palette, right-click c_site_plan. Click Reload to retrieve the unloaded site plan image. 18. Repeat steps 10 through 13 to trace Building 2 and Building 3 layouts and to create text in both the building layouts, as shown.

19. Zoom to the drawing extents to view the complete drawing. 20. On the External References palette, right-click c_site_plan. Click Detach because you do not need the site plan reference image. 21. In the drawing area, verify that your drawing appears as shown.

22. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Create Blocks


In this exercise, you create blocks to use them in the bathrooms of a floor plan. You insert the blocks and then edit one of them in place. You complete the exercise by writing the blocks to drawing files and creating annotative blocks.

Create Blocks
1. Open c_create_blocks.dwg. 2. In the drawing area:

Zoom into the drawing. Verify that the geometry you need to use for creating blocks is already created.

Note: All the geometry is created by using standard drawing and editing. 3. On the 2D Draw control panel, click Make Block. 4. In the Block Definition dialog box:

For Name, enter Bathtub. Click Pick Point to select a base point.

5. In the drawing area, select the lower-right corner of the bathtub geometry, as shown.

6. In the Block Definition dialog box, click Select Objects.

7. In the drawing area:

Use a window selection to select all the objects that make up a bathtub.

Press ENTER to end the selection, and return to the Block Definition dialog box.

8. In the Block Definition dialog box:


Under Objects, select the Convert to Block option. Note the number of objects selected and the block preview. Verify that the settings in the other areas of the Block Definition dialog box are as shown.

9. Click OK to close the Block Definition dialog box. 10. In the drawing area:

Select any part of the newly created block. Verify that all the objects are selected and a single grip appears at the intersection point.

11. Repeat the Block command, and create a block from the toilet geometry. 12. In the Block Definition dialog box:

For Name, enter Toilet. Click Pick Point to select the base point.

13. In the drawing area, use the Midpoint object snap to select the point, as shown.

14. In the Block Definition dialog box, click Select Objects. 15. In the drawing area:

Use a window selection to select all the objects that make up a toilet.

Press ENTER to end the selection, and return to the Block Definition dialog box. Click OK to close the Block Definition dialog box.

16. In the drawing area:


Select any part of the newly created block. Verify that all the objects are selected and a single grip appears at the mid point.

17. Repeat the Block command and create a block from the sink geometry.

18. In the Block Definition dialog box:


For Name, enter Bathroom Sink. Click Pick Point to select the base point.

19. In the drawing area, use the Quadrant object snap to select the point, as shown.

20. In the Block Definition dialog box, click Select Objects. 21. In the drawing area:

Use a window selection to select all the objects that make up a bathroom sink.

Press ENTER to end the selection, and return to the Block Definition dialog box. Click OK to close the Block Definition dialog box.

22. In the drawing area:

Select any part of the newly created block.

Verify that all the objects are selected and a single grip appears, as shown.

23. In the drawing area, select the three newly created block objects. 24. On the dashboard, Layers control panel, select Appliances from the list to move the blocks to the Appliances layer.

Note: Because the blocks are created from the geometry that resides on layer 0, the blocks inherit the properties of the layer on which they are placed. 25. In the drawing area:

Use the grips to drag the blocks to the locations just to the right, as shown.

Press ESC to clear all selections.

Insert Blocks
1. In the drawing area, zoom to the bathroom on the right side of the floor plan, as shown.

2. On the Layers control panel, select Appliances from the list to make Appliances the current layer. 3. On the 2D Draw control panel, click Insert Block. 4. In the Insert dialog box:

Select Bathtub from the Name list. Under Rotation, ensure that Specify Onscreen is cleared. For Angle, enter 270.

5. Click OK to close the Block Definition dialog box 6. In the drawing area, select the insertion point, as shown.

7. Repeat the Insert command. 8. In the Insert dialog box:


Select Toilet from the Name list. Under Rotation, select Specify On-screen.

Click OK.

9. On the status bar, click Osnap to turn it off. 10. In the drawing area:

Click near point (1). Press SHIFT and move the cursor downwards, as shown. Click near point (2).

11. Repeat the Insert command to place the Bathroom sink block in the same way as you placed the Toilet block.

Edit Blocks In-place


1. To edit one of the blocks in-place and view the effect on other instances of the block, in the drawing area:

Select the Bathtub block. Right-click anywhere in the drawing. Click Edit Block In-place.

2. In the Reference Edit dialog box, click OK. 3. In the drawing area:

Verify that all the other objects in the drawing are faded. Verify that the Refedit toolbar appears.

Note: The fading of all the other objects in the drawing indicates that only the bathtub geometry is currently considered for editing. 4. On the 2D Draw control panel, click Stretch. 5. In the drawing area:

Define the stretch crossing area, as shown.

Press ENTER.

6. In the drawing area:

Select the point, as shown.

Enter @12<270. Press ENTER.

7. On the Refedit toolbar, click Save Reference Edits. 8. In the AutoCAD dialog box, click OK to save all references edits.

9. In the drawing area, view the Bathtub block in the other bathroom and note how the changes you made to the block are applied to all its instances in the drawing.

Write Blocks to Drawing Files


1. To make the blocks available for use in other drawings, on the command line, enter WBLOCK. Press ENTER. 2. In the Write Block dialog box:

Under Source, select the Block option. Select Bathtub from the Block list. In the File Name and Path field, verify that the path is the location of your exercise files.

3. Click OK to close the Write Block dialog box. 4. Repeat the steps 13 for the Bathroom Sink and Toilet blocks. 5. Verify that the files have been written to the drawing files by opening them as drawings. 6. After verifying the files, close all files without saving except the c_create_block file.

Create Annotative Blocks


1. On the dashboard, Layer control panel, switch the North Arrow layer on to make the North Arrow layer the current layer and to turn on the visibility of the North Arrow layer. 2. In the drawing area, verify that North Arrow is displayed, as shown.

3. On the status bar, ensure that the Automatically Add Scales to Annotative Objects When the Annotation Scale Changes icon is turned off.

4. In the drawing area rescale the North Arrow to the correct scale for appearing the viewports:

Using the Scale command, window select the arrow and N. Press ENTER. Select the top apex point of the North Arrow symbol to specify a base point for the Scale command. Enter .025 to define the scale factor at which you want to scale the objects.

Zoom into the drawing to the rescaled objects.

Note: Notice that the size of North Arrow symbol is reduced to a point sized object after scaling the North Arrow to .025 scale factor. To view the scaled North Arrow symbol, zoom into the drawing closely. 5. On the 2D Draw panel, click Make Block. 6. In the Block Definition dialog box:

For Name, enter North Arrow. Click Pick Point to select a base point for the block.

7. In the drawing area, select the top apex point of the North Arrow symbol, as shown.

8. In the Block Definition dialog box:

Verify that the settings are as shown.

Under Objects, ensure that Convert to Block is selected. Click Select Objects.

9. In the drawing area:

Window select the entire North Arrow symbol along with the letter N.

Press ENTER.

10. In the Block Definition dialog box:

Under Behavior, select Annotative to make the North Arrow block annotative.

Click OK.

11. In the drawing area:

Hover the cursor over the newly created block and verify that the annotative symbol appears near the block.

Select the block. Right-click the block and select Annotative Object Scale > Add/Delete Scales.

12. In the Annotation Object Scale dialog box, click Add.

13. In the Add Scales to Object dialog box:

Under Scale List, select 3/16 = 1'-0.

Click OK.

14. Click OK to close the Annotation Object Scale dialog box. 15. With the Model tab still selected:

Change the annotation scale value on the status bar to 3/16 = 1'0 to view how the North Arrow block appears in a layout with 3/16 = 1'0. Zoom out the drawing to view the complete the North Arrow block and verify that the block is now visible at the selected scale.

16. At the bottom of the drawing area, click the Dsize Plot tab to switch to the D-size Plot layout.

17. On the dashboard, Layers control panel, switch on the Viewports layer. 18. In the drawing area, verify that the drawing appears, as shown.

19. Select the left viewport.

Note: If the viewport display is locked, then turn it on by clicking Lock/Unlock Viewport on the status bar. 20. On the status bar, set the VP Scale to 3/16 = 10. 21. In the drawing area, verify that all the objects are scaled down and that the North Arrow block appears at the same size as it appears in model space with the same Annotation Scale setting.

Note: The North Arrow block may take a few minutes to adjust to the correct scale. The North Arrow block is not scaled down because of the annotative property of this block. 22. On the status bar, ensure that the Automatically Add Scales to Annotative Objects When the Annotation Scale Changes icon is turned off. 23. On the status bar, set the VP Scale to 1/8 = 10. 24. In the drawing area, verify that the North Arrow block disappears.

Note: The North Arrow block disappeared because it is does not have an annotative scale representation available for an annotative scale of 1/8 = 1'-0. 25. Click Undo once to cancel the previous action. 26. On the status bar, click Automatically Add Scales to Annotative Objects When the Annotation Scale Changes.

27. Select the left viewport and set the VP Scale to 1/8 = 1-0. 28. Notice the North Arrow block is visible again, and has been sized the same as with the previous scale setting. This is because the annotative scale of 1/8 = 1'-0 is added. Now you can change the VP Scale to 1/4 = 1'0, and the North Arrow block will again appear at a consistent size. 29. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Create Attributes


In this exercise, you use the Attdef command to create attributes for a title block. 1. Open c_create_attributes.dwg. 2. Zoom into the lower-right area of the drawing.

3. On the dashboard:

Right-click any control panel. Click Control Panels > Block Attributes. On the Block Attributes control panel, click Define Attributes.

4. In the Attribute Definition dialog box, enter the following information:


For Tag, enter Project. For Prompt, enter Enter Project. Ensure that Left is selected from the Justification list. Ensure that PTITLE is selected from the Text Style list. Ensure that 4 is entered for Height.

5. Click OK to close the Attribute Definition dialog box. 6. In the drawing, position the attribute, as shown.

7. Press ENTER to repeat the Attdef command. 8. In the Attribute Definition dialog box:

For Tag, enter Drawing. For Prompt, enter Filename. Click Insert Field.

9. In the Field dialog box:


Select Filename from the Field Names list. Click Filename Only. Ensure that Display File Extension is selected to turn on the display of file extensions.

Note: Using the Filename field in the attribute reflects the current filename when you insert the title block into a drawing.

10. Click OK to close the Field dialog box. 11. Click OK to close the Attribute Definition dialog box. 12. In the drawing, position the attribute, as shown.

13. Press ENTER to repeat the Attdef command. 14. In the Attribute Definition dialog box:

For Tag, enter Date. For Prompt, enter Enter Date. Ensure that Left is selected from the Justification list. Ensure that PTITLE is selected from the Text Style list. Ensure that 4 is entered for Height.

15. Click OK to close the Attribute Definition dialog box. 16. In the drawing, position the attribute. 17. Press ENTER to repeat the Attdef command. 18. In the Attribute Definition dialog box:

For Tag, enter Scale. For Prompt, enter Enter Scale. Ensure that Left is selected from the Justification list. Ensure that PTITLE is selected from the Text Style list. Ensure that 4 is entered for Height.

19. Click OK to close the Attribute Definition dialog box. 20. In the drawing, position the attribute, as shown.

21. Save and close the file. 22. Open culinary_first_floor.dwg. 23. On the Status Bar, click Dyn to turn off dynamic input. Note: If the command line is not currently displayed, enter COMMANDLINE to turn it on. 24. On the Dashboard, 2D Draw control panel, click Insert Block. 25. In the Insert dialog box, click Browse. 26. In the Select Drawing File dialog box:

Navigate to the location of the exercise files. Click c_create_attributes.dwg. Click Open.

27. Click OK to close the Insert dialog box. 28. In the drawing, click to position the title block in the lower-right corner of the sheet. 29. On the command line:

At the Primary Title prompt, enter Culinary Arts Bldg. Press ENTER. At the Secondary Title prompt, enter ACME Community College. Press ENTER. At the Enter Project prompt, enter Space Plan. Press ENTER. At the Filename prompt, press ENTER.

Note: Because you used the Field option, the value for Filename is automatically determined. 30. On the command line:

At the Enter Date prompt, enter the current date in mm/dd/yy format. Press ENTER.

At the Enter Scale prompt, enter 1:100. Press ENTER.

31. In the drawing:


Verify that the title block is added. Zoom into the lower-right area of the drawing.

32. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Edit Attributes


In this exercise, you use several tools to add and edit title block attributes.

Edit the Block by Adding New Attributes


1. Open c_edit_attributes.dwg. 2. Zoom into the lower-right corner of the drawing.

3. Click File > Drawing Properties. 4. In the Properties dialog box, Summary tab, for Author, enter L. Nelson.

5. On the Custom tab, click Add. 6. In the Add Custom Property dialog box:

For Custom Property Name, enter Checked By. For Value, enter M.E.B..

Click OK.

7. Click OK to close the Drawing Properties dialog box. 8. Right-click any toolbar > Refedit to display the Refedit toolbar. 9. On the Refedit toolbar, click Edit Reference InPlace.

10. In the drawing area, select the title block. 11. In the Reference Edit dialog box:

On the Settings tab, ensure that Display Attribute Definitions for Editing is selected.

Click OK.

12. On the command line, enter ATTDEF. Press ENTER. 13. In the Attribute Definition dialog box:

For Tag, enter Drawn. For Prompt, enter Drawn By. Click Insert Field to enter a value in Default.

14. In the Field dialog box:

Select Author from Field Names list.

Click OK.

15. In the Attribute Definition dialog box, Text Settings area:


Select Left from the Justification list. Select PTITLE from the Text Style list. For Text Height, enter 4. Click OK.

16. In the drawing area:

Position the Drawn attribute, as shown.

Press ENTER to repeat the ATTDEF command.

17. In the Attribute Definition dialog box:


For Tag, enter CBY. For Prompt, enter Checked By. Click Insert Field to enter a value in Default.

18. In the Field dialog box:

Select Checked By from Field Names list.

Click OK.

19. Click OK to close the Attribute Definition dialog box. 20. In the drawing area, position the Drawn attribute, as shown.

21. On the Refedit toolbar, click Save Reference Edits.

22. In the AutoCAD alert, click OK to save all reference edits.

Synchronize and Edit Attributes


1. In the drawing area, verify that the new attributes disappear from the title block. Note: The new attributes disappear from the title block because the title block needs to be synchronized with the edited block definition. 2. On the dashboard, Block Attributes control panel, click Block Attribute Manager. 3. In the Block Attribute Manager dialog box, click Sync to display the new attributes.

4. In the Block Attribute Manager dialog box:


Select Primary from the Tag list. Click Edit.

5. In the Edit Attribute dialog box, Properties tab:

Select Blue from the Color list.

Click OK.

6. Click OK to close the Block Attribute Manager dialog box. Note: Note that the primary title text in the title

block is now blue. 7. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Use Dynamic Blocks


In this exercise, you explore the capabilities of dynamic blocks by changing several dynamic blocks in a drawing. 1. Open c_use_dynamic_blocks.dwg. 2. In the drawing area, select the window block on the conference room wall, as shown.

3. To adjust the window size:

Select the right arrow grip and verify that Drag to Adjust Window Width is the tooltip that appears for the selected grip. Drag the right arrow grip.

Note: The parameters and actions defined in the dynamic block enable you to change the width of the window. If this were a standard block, you would have to explode the block to change its

size. 4. To modify the conference table and increase its length:

Select the block representing the conference table to modify the conference table. Select and drag the right arrow grip and verify that Drag to Adjust Table Length is the tooltip that appears for the selected grip.

Click as the cursor approaches the 9' marker.

5. Verify that as you change the length of the table block, the number of chairs is also updated.

6. Zoom into the bathroom located in the upperright corner of the left side floor plan, as shown.

7. To modify the type of sink:


Select the sink. Hover the cursor over the Visibility grip of the block and verify that Select Sink Style is the tooltip that appears. Select the Visibility grip of the block. Click Octagon.

8. Press ESC to clear all selection.

Note: The dynamic block is defined to allow some geometry to be visible and some hidden based on the option you select on the menu, as shown. 9. In the drawing area:

Zoom to the drawing extents. Zoom into the room containing the bed dynamic blocks.

10. In the drawing area:


Select the bed on the right side of the room. Hover the cursor over any of the square grips of the block representing the bed and verify that Drag to Adjust Bed Width, Drag to Adjust Bed Length is the tooltip that appears. Select the Visibility grip of the block representing the bed. Click Full/Double.

11. Press ESC.

Note: The bed size is updated on the basis of the size parameters stored in the dynamic blocks look-up table. 12. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Use the Block Editor Environment


In this exercise, you create a new block by using the Block Editor environment. 1. Open m_use_block_editor.dwg. 2. On the command line, enter BE to create a block. Press ENTER. 3. In the Edit Block Definition dialog box:

For Block to Create or Edit, enter MyBlock. Click OK.

4. On the command line:


Enter RECTANGLE. Press ENTER. At the Specify First Corner Point prompt, enter 8,8. Press ENTER. At the Specify Other Corner Point prompt, enter @100,100 to create a 100 mm x 100 mm square. Press ENTER.

Note: The location of the rectangle in the drawing is not important. 5. On the command line, enter CIRCLE. Press ENTER. 6. Using object snap tracking, locate the center of the rectangle from the midpoints of two sides. Click to place the center of the circle.

7. On the command line, enter 25 to create a 25 mm radius circle in the center of the square. Press ENTER.

8. In the drawing area, move the circle and square to be centered on the 0,0 coordinate.

9. On the Block Editor toolbar, click Authoring Palettes.

Note: Clicking the Authoring Palettes icon hides the Block Authoring palettes. 10. On the Block Editor toolbar:

Click Save Block Definition.

Click Save Block As to create a copy of the block with a different name.

11. In the Save Block As dialog box:

For Block Name, enter MyBlock Dynamic.

Click OK.

Note: You will use this version of the block later when you add dynamic features. 12. On the Block Editor toolbar, click Close Block Editor. 13. On the dashboard, 2D Draw control panel, click Insert Block to insert the block. 14. In the Insert dialog box:

Select MyBlock - Dynamic from the Name list. Click OK.

15. In the drawing area, verify that the block is centered at the cursor as you insert the block. 16. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Add Parameters to a Dynamic Block


In this exercise, you add parameters to a dynamic block. After adding the parameters, you also adjust the parameter properties.

Note: The dynamic block will not be functional until you add actions to it.

Add Parameters to a Dynamic Block


1. Open m_add_parameters.dwg. 2. In the drawing area, double-click the block. 3. In the Edit Block Definition dialog box:

In the left pane, verify that the My Block Dynamic option is selected.

Click OK.

4. On the Block Authoring palettes, Parameters tab, click Linear Parameter.

5. To position the parameter on the block:


Click the endpoints of the block from left to right. Select a point below the block.

6. On the Block Authoring palettes, click Linear Parameter. 7. To add one more linear parameter between the midpoint of a line and the center of a circle:

Click the midpoint of the line on the left side of the block and the center of the circle. Select a point above the block.

Adjust Parameter Properties


1. In the drawing area, select the Distance parameter at the bottom of the block. 2. On the Properties palette, adjust the properties of the parameter. Under Property Labels:

For Distance Label, enter Length. For Distance Description, enter Change length. For Parameter Name, enter BlockLength.

Note: If the Properties palette is not visible, press CTRL+1. 3. On the Properties palette, under Value Set:

Select Increment from the Dist Type list. For Dist Increment, enter 25. For Dist Minimum, enter 100. For Dist Maximum, enter 200.

4. On the Properties palette, under Misc:


Ensure that Startpoint is selected from the Base Location list. Ensure that Yes is selected from the Show Properties list. Ensure that No is selected from the Chain Actions list. Select 1 from the Number of Grips list.

5. Press ESC to clear the selection of the linear parameter. 6. Verify that the new label, single grip arrow, and increment marks appear on the block .

7. In the drawing, select the Distance1 parameter. 8. On the Properties palette:


Under Property Labels, Distance Label field, enter CircleMove. Under Property Labels, Parameter Name field, enter CircleMove. Under Misc, select 0 from the Number of Grips list.

Note: The number of grips is set to 0 because the parameter will be driven by a Stretch action that you will add in the later steps of this exercise. Because the position of the circle should not be changed manually, you do not display the grips. 9. Press ESC to clear the selection of the linear parameter. 10. To position the insertion point of the block:

On the Block Authoring palettes, Parameters tab, click Base Point Parameter. Select the lower-left corner of the block.

11. To close the block editor:

On the Block Editor toolbar, click Close Block Editor.

When prompted to save changes to the block, click Yes.

12. In the drawing area:


Select the block to display its grips. Notice the appearance of the Base Point grip in the lower-left corner and the Linear Parameter grip in the lower-right corner. Place the cursor over the Linear Parameter grip to verify that the tooltip displays Change length.

Note: The dynamic block that you have created is not functional until you add actions. After you add actions to the dynamic block, you can stretch the geometry according to the properties defined in the linear parameter. 13. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Add Actions to a Dynamic Block


In this exercise, you add actions to the dynamic block, and test the functionality of actions in a dynamic block. 1. Open m_add_actions.dwg. 2. In the drawing area, double-click the block to edit. 3. In the Edit Block Definition dialog box:

Ensure that MyBlock - Dynamic is selected. Click OK.

Note: If you get an AutoCAD dialog box, select the Do Not Display This Alert option and click Yes. 4. On the Block Authoring Palettes, Actions tab, select Stretch Action. 5. To add the action to the block:

Select the Length parameter (1).

Click near the lower-right corner (2) to specify the parameter point with which to associate the action.

6. To define the object that the stretch action will affect:


Specify the stretch frame from point (1) to point (2), as shown. Select the rectangle (3).

Press ENTER.

7. Click to the right of the Length parameter to position the Stretch action, as shown.

8. To save the changes to the block:


On the Block Editor toolbar, click Close Block Editor. On the AutoCAD dialog box, click Yes.

9. To test the block, on the drawing area:


Select the block to display the grips. Click and drag the grip in the lower-right corner.

Notice how the circle does not move. This is because no action has been assigned to its parameter.

Click near the third marker, indicating 150 units in length.

10. In the drawing area, double-click the block. 11. In the Edit Block Definition dialog box, click OK. 12. On Block Authoring Palettes, select Move Action. 13. To define the action:

On the block, select the CircleMove parameter (1). Click near the center of the circle to associate the point with the Move Action (2). Select the Circle object (3).

14. Press ENTER, to view the changes. 15. Position the Move Action label to the left of the CircleMove parameter.

Note: The CircleMove parameter was modified to display 0 grips. As a result, no grips are displayed to move the circle object. This is because the circle must move automatically as the rectangle is stretched. To accomplish this, you must use the Chain Actions property. 16. Select the CircleMove parameter to modify the chain actions property of the parameter. Note: As soon as another action affects this parameter, actions associated with this parameter are activated automatically. 17. Open the Properties palette. 18. On the Properties palette, select Yes from the Chain Actions property list.

19. Press ESC to clear the selection. 20. To modify the stretch action:

Double-click the Stretch lightning bolt icon. When prompted to specify the first corner of the stretch frame, press ESC because the frame was already specified.

21. To add the CircleMove parameter to the action set:

Select the CircleMove parameter.

Press ENTER.

22. Select the Move action lightning bolt icon to define how the circle will move, based on the length parameter.

Note: This allows the circle to move half the distance of the length parameter as it is stretched. This results in the circle remaining in the center of the rectangle. 23. In the Properties palette, in the Distance Multiplier field, enter 0.5.

24. To save the changes to the block:


On the Block Editor toolbar, click Close Block Editor. On the AutoCAD dialog box, click Yes.

25. To verify the dynamic block functionality, in the drawing area:


Select the block to display its grips. Drag the lower-right grip to test the different lengths.

Note: The circle should remain in the center of the rectangle and the range of the rectangle's length should be between 100 and 200. 26. Close all the files without saving.

Exercise: Use Parameter Sets on Dynamic Blocks


In this exercise, you use parameter sets to create additional parameters and actions. You do the following:

Create Linear Stretch and Linear Move parameter sets. Verify the block functionality.

Create Linear Stretch and Linear Move Parameter Sets


1. Open m_use_parameter_sets.dwg. 2. In the drawing area, double-click the block to modify it.

3. In the Edit Block Definition dialog box:

Verify that MyBlock-Dynamic is selected.

Click OK.

4. On the Block Authoring Palettes, Parameter Sets tab, click Linear Stretch. 5. In the drawing area:

Select the lower-left corner of the block (1). Select the upper-left corner of the block (2). Position the parameter, as shown.

6. In the drawing area:


Select the Distance parameter. Right-click the grip. Click Properties.

7. On the Properties palette:

For Distance Label, enter Height. For Distance description, enter Change Height. For Parameter Name, enter Height.

8. In the drawing area:


Press ESC to clear any active selections. Double-click the Stretch1 action.

9. To edit the Stretch action:


Specify the corner of the stretch frame by clicking near (1), and then near (2). Select the rectangle (3).

Press ENTER.

10. To modify parameter properties, select the Height parameter. 11. On the Properties palette, adjust the Value Set properties, as shown.

12. In the drawing area, press ESC to clear the selection. 13. On the Block Authoring Palettes, Parameter Set tab, click Linear Move. 14. To add a Linear Move parameter:

Select the center of the circle (1). Select the midpoint of the top edge of the square block (2). Click to position the Distance parameter to the right of the block, as shown.

15. Select the Distance parameter. 16. To modify the parameter properties, on the Properties palette:

Under Property Labels, for Distance Label, enter CircleMoveVert. Under Property Labels, for Parameter Name, enter CircleMoveVert. Under Misc, select Yes from the Chain Actions list.

17. In the drawing area, press ESC to clear the selection set. 18. To define the action:

Double-click the Move1 action (1). Select the circle (2).

Press ENTER.

19. To modify the action properties, select the Move1 action. 20. On the Properties palette, for Distance Multiplier, enter 0.5. Note: For the circle to move when the rectangle is stretched, you need to associate the CircleMoveVert parameter with the Stretch1 action that stretches the circle in the vertical direction.

21. In the drawing area:


Press ESC to clear any active selections. Double-click the Stretch1 action.

22. To associate the parameter and action:


Press ESC when prompted to specify the corner of the stretch frame. Select the CircleMoveVert parameter. Press ENTER.

23. In the drawing area:

Verify that with the Chain Actions property of the Linear Move parameter set to Yes, the Move1 action is activated. Verify that the Move1 action is activated by selecting the Stretch1 action with which CircleMoveVert also gets selected.

Note: The activation of Move1 action moves the circle 0.5 units for each 1 unit the rectangle is stretched vertically. 24. To save the changes to the block:

On the Block Editor toolbar, click Close Block Editor. When prompted to save the block definition, click Yes.

Verify Block Functionality


1. To test the block functionality, in the drawing area:

Select the block to display its grips. Select the upper-left grip (1). Stretch the block vertically to its maximum distance.

2. Verify that an additional grip is displayed (1).

Note: The additional grip is the CircleMoveVert parameter grip and is not required. 3. To edit the block definition, double-click the block. 4. In the Edit Block Definition dialog box:

Verify that MyBlock-Dynamic is selected. Click OK.

5. In the Block Editor environment, select the CircleMoveVert parameter. 6. On the Properties palette, select 0 from the Number of Grips list to remove the extra grip from the block. 7. To save the changes to the block:

On the Block Editor toolbar, click Close Block Editor. When prompted to save the block definition, click Yes.

8. In the drawing area:

Select the block to display its grips.

Verify that only the grips shown in the illustration are visible.

9. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Create a Wall Sink Dynamic Block


In this exercise, you create a dynamic block of a wall sink. You use the Visibility parameter to enable the wall sink block to display the plan, front, or side views. You do the following:

Create a wall sink block. Add parameters and actions to the block. Use the wall sink dynamic block.

Create a Wall Sink Block


1. Open c_wall_sink.dwg. 2. To use the Block Editor for creating a new block, on the command line, enter BE. Press ENTER. 3. In the Edit Block Definition dialog box:

For Block to Create or Edit, enter WallSink. Click OK.

Note: If a dialog box appears, asking if you want to see how dynamic blocks are created, click No to continue working with the Block Editor. 4. On the dashboard, 2D Draw control panel, click Insert Block to insert the plan view of the wall sink in the floor plan. 5. In the Insert dialog box:

Select ws-plan from the Name list. Click OK.

6. In the Block Editor drawing area, click a point to position the block.

7. On the Standard toolbar, click Zoom All to zoom and see the Plan view of the Wall Sink block. 8. On the dashboard, 2D Draw control panel, click Insert Block to insert the front view of the wall sink in the floor plan. 9. In the Insert dialog box:

Select ws-front from the list. Click OK.

10. In the drawing area, position the block by using the Midpoint object snap on top of the ws-plan block, as shown.

11. On the dashboard, 2D Draw control panel, click Insert Block to insert the side view of the wall sink in the floor plan. 12. In the Insert dialog box:

Select ws-side from the list. Click OK.

13. In the drawing area, position the block by using the Midpoint object snap on top of the ws-plan block, as shown.

Add Parameters and Actions to the Block


1. On the Block Authoring Palettes, Parameters tab, click Base Point Parameter. 2. In the drawing area, position the point at the midpoint of the plan view, as shown.

3. On the Block Authoring Palettes, Parameters tab, click Point Parameter. 4. In the drawing area, position the point at the midpoint of the plan view, as shown.

5. On the Block Authoring Palettes, Actions tab, click Move Action to add a Move action to the Position parameter. 6. In the drawing area:

Select the Position parameter. Window-select all geometry and parameters.

Press ENTER.

7. In the drawing area, click to position the Move action icon near the Point parameter.

8. On the Block Authoring Palettes, Parameters tab, click Visibility Parameter to add a Visibility parameter. 9. In the drawing area:

Position the parameter, as shown.

Select the Visibilty parameter. Right-click the Visibility parameter. Click Properties to specify the property label for the Visibility parameter.

10. On the Properties palette, under Properties Labels, for Visibility Description, enter Select view.

11. In the drawing area, double-click the Visibility parameter to display the Visibility States dialog box. 12. In the Visibility States dialog box:

Click Rename. Under Visibiltiy States, enter Plan.

Click New.

13. In the New Visibility State dialog box:

For Visibiltiy State Name, enter Front.

Click OK.

14. In the Visibility States dialog box, click New. 15. In the New Visibility State dialog box:

For Visibiltiy State Name, enter Side. Click OK.

16. In the Visibility States dialog box:

Double-click Plan to set it current.

Click OK.

Note: You now have defined three visibility states. Next, you associate specific views of the block with each visibility state. 17. On the Block Editor toolbar, click Make Invisible. Note: The Make Invisible icon is located at the far right of the Block Editor toolbar. 18. In the drawing area:

Select the Front and Side views.

Press ENTER.

19. On the Block Editor toolbar:


Select Front from the Visibility list to select objects for the Front view. Click Make Invisible.

20. In the drawing area:

Select Front from the Visibility list to select objects for the Front view.

Press ENTER.

21. On the Block Editor toolbar:


Select Side from the Visibility list to select objects for the side view: Click Make Invisible.

22. In the drawing area:

Select Plan and Front views.

Press ENTER.

23. On the Block Editor toolbar, click Close Block Editor to exit the Block Editor. 24. In the AutoCAD warning dialog box, click Yes to save changes to the Wall Sink block.

Use the Wall Sink Dynamic Block


1. On the dashboard, 2D Draw control panel, click Insert Block to insert the Wall Sink block into the drawing. 2. In the Insert dialog box:

Select Wall-Sink. Click OK.

3. In the drawing area:


Click anywhere to place the block in the drawing. Zoom out as required to view the Wall Sink block.

4. To test the Visibility modes:

Select the Wall Sink block to reveal the grips.

Click the Visibility grip and select different visibility states to see the resulting views.

Note: Note that the instructions "Select view" appear when you hover over the visibility grip. 5. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Create a Dynamic Diverter Valve


In this exercise, you use Rotation and Flip parameters and actions to create a dynamic block of a diverter valve. You do the following:

Use Rotation and Flip parameters to create diverter valve. Use the diverter valve dynamic block.

Use Rotation and Flip Parameters to Create Diverter Valve Dynamic Block
1. Open m_rotate_action.dwg. 2. To open the block for editing, on the command line, enter BE. Press ENTER. 3. In the Edit Block Definition dialog box:

Select Diverter Valve. Click OK.

4. On the Block Authoring Palettes, Parameters tab, click Rotation Parameter to add a Rotation parameter to the block. 5. In the drawing area:

Select the center of the valve at (1). Select a point near (2).

6. To finish positioning the Rotation parameter:


Right-click anywhere in the drawing. Click Base Angle. For the base angle, enter 315. Press ENTER. For the default rotation angle, enter 90. Press ENTER.

7. In the drawing area, select a point to position the Rotation parameter, as shown.

8. To set properties for the Angle parameter:


Select the Angle parameter. Right-click the Angle parameter. Click Properties.

9. On the Properties palette:


Under Properties label, for Angle Description, enter Adjust valve position. Select List from the Ang Type list. Click the Ang Value List field. In the Ang Value List, click [...].

10. In the Add Angle Value dialog box:

Enter the values, as shown.

Click Add. Click OK.

11. In the drawing area, press ESC to clear the selection set. 12. On the Block Authoring Palettes, Actions tab, click Rotate Action to add a Rotate action to the Angle parameter. 13. In the drawing area:

Select the Angle parameter (1). Select the Diverter Valve object (2). Press ENTER. Position the Rotate action, as shown (3).

14. On the Block Authoring Palettes, Parameter Sets tab, click Flip Set to add a Flip parameter set to the diverter valve. 15. In the drawing area:

Select the endpoint of the centerline (1) as the base point for the Flip parameter. Using Ortho mode, select a point near point (2). Click near point (3) to position the label.

16. On the Properties palette, for Flip Description, enter Flip valve body position to describe the Filp parameter. 17. In the drawing area:

Double-click the Flip1 action. Using a window or crossing window select all objects and parameters.

Press ENTER.

18. On the Block Editor toolbar, click Close Block Editor to close the Block Editor. 19. In the AutoCAD warning dialog box, click Yes to save changes to the Diverter Valve.

Use the Diverter Valve Dynamic Block


1. In the drawing area, select the block to display its grips. 2. On the status bar, verify that the Ortho mode is turned off. 3. In the drawing area, select the Rotation grip (1) and experiment with different angles.

4. Select the Flip Parameter grip to flip the block.

5. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Create a Dynamic Block of a Door


In this exercise, you create a dynamic block of a door. You add parameters and actions so the block can be dynamically edited to represent different standard size doors. You do the following:

Create parameters for door dynamic block. Create actions for parameters. Use and modify the door dynamic blocks by using grips.

Create Parameters for Door Dynamic Block


1. Open c_create_dynamic_door.dwg.

2. In the drawing area, zoom in to the door geometry. 3. On the dashboard, 2D Draw control panel, click Make Block to make a block of the existing door geometry. 4. In the Block Definition dialog box, click Select Objects. 5. Select all geometry that makes the door:

Select all geometry that makes the door by using window selection.

Press ENTER.

6. In the Block Definition dialog box, under Base Point, click Pick Point. 7. In the drawing area, select the base point, as shown.

8. In the Block Definition dialog box:


For Name, enter Door. Ensure that Convert to Block is selected. Ensure that Open in Block Editor is selected. Click OK.

9. On the Block Authoring Palettes, Parameters tab, click Linear Parameter to add a Linear parameter. 10. In the drawing area:

Place the Linear parameter by selecting points at the bottom of the door from left to right. Position the parameter below the door geometry, as shown.

Note: Selecting the points from left to right simulates the direction in which the door is stretched 11. On the Block Authoring Palettes, Parameters tab, click Flip Parameter to add a Flip parameter. Note: The Flip parameter enables you to change the door from a left-swing unit to a right-swing unit when the dynamic block is placed in the drawing. 12. In the drawing area:

SHIFT+right-click. Click Mid Between 2 Points. While holding SHIFT, click points (1) and (2). While holding SHIFT, click to position the label near point (3) ensuring that point (3) creates a 90-degree flip axis line.

Note: Ensure that the Ortho mode is switched on. 13. In the drawing area:

Select the Flip parameter. Right-click the Flip parameter. Click Properties.

14. On the Properties palette, for Flip Description, enter Adjust opening direction. 15. On the Block Authoring Palettes, Parameters tab, click Alignment Parameter to add an Aignment parameter. Note: The Alignment parameter allows the door to align itself to the wall when you place it in the drawing. 16. In the drawing area:

Click point (1) as the base point for the alignment axis. Click point (2) to define the vertical direction for alignment axis.

Create Actions for Parameters


1. To adjust the properties of the Distance parameter to enable the door size to adjust from 24 units to 36 units, using a 2-unit increment:

In the drawing area, select the Distance parameter. Right-click the Distance parameter. Click Properties. On the Properties palette, for Distance Descrioption, enter Adjust door width. For Number of Grips, select 1. Adjust the Value Set properties, as shown.

Note: Adjusting the Value Set properties as shown in the illustration limits the door width changes to increments of 2 units between 24 (minimum door size) and 36 (maximum door size). 2. In the drawing area, press ESC to clear the selection set. 3. On the Block Authoring Palettes, Actions tab, click Scale Action to add a Scale action. 4. In the drawing area, select the Distance parameter.

When prompted to select objects, select the arc (1) and Flip State parameter (2). Press ENTER. Click to position the Scale action (3) to the right of the arc, as shown.

5. On the Block Authoring Palettes, click Stretch Action. 6. In the drawing area, select the Distance parameter. 7. To place the Stretch action:

Select the grip point (1) on the right side of the Distance parameter. Click (2) for the first corner of the stretch frame and (3) for the second corner. Simultaneously select the vertical lines of the door (4) from right to left for the objects to stretch. Press ENTER.

8. In the drawing area:

Position the Stretch Action icon near the top of the door, as shown.

Select the Stretch action.

9. On the Properties palette, for Angle Offset, enter 90.

Note: It is required that the Angle Offset be set to 90 because the geometry being stretched is currently 90 degrees from the Distance parameter that will be dynamically edited. 10. To add a Flip State parameter to the Flip action, in the drawing area:

Press ESC and then double-click the Flip State parameter. Window select all objects and parameters in the drawing, as shown.

Press ENTER.

Note: Double-clicking the Flip State parameter assigns the Flip action, as it is the only action compatible with the Flip State parameter. 11. Position the Flip action icon near the center of the Distance parameter of the door.

12. On the Block Editor toolbar, click Close Block Editor to close the Block Editor. 13. In the AutoCAD warning dialog box, click Yes to save changes to the Door block.

Place and Adjust Door Block by Using Dynamic Grips


1. In the drawing area:

Select the Door block to move the door to the required position. Click the Alignment grip in the lower-left corner of the door. Drag the Door block to the opposite side of the wall, as shown.

Note: Ensure that the Ortho mode is switched off. 2. In the drawing area:

Click at the endpoint of the wall to place the door at that point. Click and drag the Arrow grip on the left side of the door to resize it to 30 units.

Note: To get the door to align perpendicular to the wall as shown, you need to hover the mouse to the right of the hinge point along the wall, and then move the mouse left to the corner snap point before clicking the corner point. 3. Click the Flip Parameter grip in the center of the grip to flip the direction of the door swing.

4. On the dashboard, 2D Draw control panel, click Insert Block. 5. Using the default options in the Insert dialog box, insert the door block into other openings in the floor plan.

Note: Use the flip option to flip the door and use the grips to increase the width of the door as required after inserting the door block. 6. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Create Layer Filters


In this exercise, you use the Layer Properties Manager to create layer property and group filters. 1. Open c_create_layer_filters.dwg. 2. On the dashboard, Layers control panel, click Layer Properties Manager. 3. In the Layer Properties Manager dialog box, click New Property Filter.

4. In the Layer Filter Properties dialog box:


For Filter Name, enter Annotation. For Filter Definition, enter the filter criteria in the Name column, as shown.

Verify that the layer list is displayed in the Filter Preview window as you type the criteria.

5. Click OK to close the Layer Filter Properties dialog box.

6. In the Layer Properties Manager dialog box, verify that the number of layers displayed with the Annotation filter selected is 19.

7. Press ALT+P to create a property filter. 8. In the Layer Filter Properties dialog box:

Enter the filter name and the criteria, as shown.

Click OK.

9. In the Layer Properties Manager dialog box, click different filters to view the results displayed in the layer list. 10. Press Alt+P to create a property filter. 11. In the Layer Filter Properties dialog box:

For Filter Name, enter Frozen. For Filter Definition, select the Frozen icon from the list in the Freeze column, as shown.

Click OK.

12. To view the working of the freeze feature, in the Layer Properties Manager dialog box:

Click the All layers filter. Freeze the first four layers.

Click the Frozen layer filter. Verify that only the frozen layers are displayed.

13. To undo the freeze effect, thaw the frozen layers in the Layer Properties Manager dialog box. 14. To create a new group filter in the Layer Properties Manager dialog box:

Click New Group Filter. Enter Plans for the group filter name.

Note: The group filter does not display any layers initially because layers must be added manually to the group filter. 15. To search for a particular Layer in the Layer Properties Manager dialog box:

Click the All layers filter. In the Search for Layer box, enter floor*.

16. To drag a layer into a group, in the Layer Properties Manager dialog box, drag the Floor Plans layer into the Plans group filter.

17. To view the effect of dragging a layer into a group filter, in the Layer Properties Manager dialog box:

Click the Plans group filter. Verify that only the Floor Plans layer is

displayed. 18. To drag a set of layers into a group, in the Layer Properties Manager dialog box:

Expand the Xref filter. Under the Xref filter, click the Floor Plans xref filter. Right-click any layer in the list. Click Select All. Drag the selected layers to the Plans group filter. Click the Plans group filter to display all the layers assigned to the group filter.

19. Click the various filters to view the effect on the layers list. 20. In the Layer Properties Manager dialog box:

Click the All layers filter. Double-click layer 0 to set it current.

21. Right-click the Annotation filter. Click Visibility > Frozen. 22. In the Layer Properties Manager dialog box:

Click Apply. Verify that the dimension and text layers are frozen.

23. Right-click the Annotation filter. Click Visibility > Thawed. 24. In the Layer Properties Manager dialog box:

Click Apply. Verify that the dimension and text layers are thawed.

25. To manually remove layers from group filters:


Click the Plans group filter. In the Search for Layer box, enter *text*. Click the first layer in the list. Press CTRL+A to select all the layers. Right-click a selected layer. Click Remove From Group Filter.

26. In the Layer Properties Manager dialog box:


Click another layer filter to clear the temporary search criteria. Return to the Plans group filter. Scroll through the layer list to verify that no layers with the word text exist in the list. Click Apply. Click OK.

27. On the dashboard, Layers control panel:

Click the Layer list to view the available layers.

Verify that only the current layer 0 and the layers in the group filter are displayed.

28. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Use Layer States


In this exercise, you use the Layer States Manager to save, restore, export, and import layer states.

Exercise: Use Layer States


1. Open c_use_layer_states.dwg. 2. On the Dashboard, Layers control panel, click Layer Properties Manager. 3. In the Layer Properties Manager dialog box:

Verify that layer 0 is set current. Click Layer States Manager.

4. In the Layer States Manager dialog box, click New. 5. In the New Layer State to Save dialog box:

For New Layer State Name, enter T.Jones-Initial.

Click OK.

6. In the Layer States Manager dialog box, click Close. 7. In the Layer Properties Manager dialog box, click Apply to save the new layer state. 8. In the layer list view, adjust the layer properties as follows:

For the A-ANNO-DIMS layer, turn on freezing. For the A-ANNO-VPRT layer, turn off plotting. For the A-DOOR layer, change the status to Current. For the A-WALL-EXST layer, turn on locking.

9. Turn off the visibility of the A-SLAB, C-TOPO, and P-FIXT layers by changing their Status to Off.

10. In the Layer Properties Manager dialog box:


Click Apply to save the layer properties. Press ALT+S to return to the Layer States Manager dialog box.

11. In the Layer States Manager dialog box, click New. 12. In the New Layer State to Save dialog box:

For Name, enter T.Jones -Working. Click OK.

13. In the Layer States Manager dialog box:

Verify that two layers appear under Layer States.

Click Close.

14. In the Layer Properties Manager dialog box:


Click Apply to save the layer states. In the layer list view, for all layers, set the properties to on, thaw, and unlock.

Click Apply to save the layer states.

15. In the Layer Properties Manager dialog box, press ALT+S. 16. In the Layer States Manager dialog box:

Select the T.Jones-Working layer state.

Click Restore.

17. In the Layer Properties Manager dialog box:

View the layer settings to verify that they have been restored to the layer states saved in the Working layer state. Click Apply. Press ALT+S.

18. In the Layer States Manager dialog box:


Select the T.Jones-Initial layer state. Click Export to export the layer state of the current drawing.

19. In the Export Layer State dialog box:


View the default path and the file name. Click Save.

20. In the Layer States Manager dialog box, click Close. 21. In the Layer Properties Manager dialog box, click

OK. 22. Close the file without saving. 23. Create a new drawing using the acad.dwt template. 24. On the Dashboard, Layers control panel, click Layer Properties Manager. 25. In the Layer Properties Manager dialog box, press ALT+S. 26. In the Layer States Manager dialog box, click Import. 27. In the Import Layer State dialog box:

Select Layer states (*.Ias) from the Files of Type list. Select the YourName-Initial file. Click Open.

28. In the AutoCAD message box, which states that the restore could not restore all line types, click OK.

Note: This alert is displayed because the linetype used for one of the layers is not loaded by default. 29. In the AutoCAD dialog box, click Yes to restore the layer state. 30. In the Layer Properties Manager dialog box:

Click Apply. Verify that all the layers from the previous drawing are created in the new drawing.

Click OK.

31. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Use Layer Standards


In this exercise, you fix the layers in an existing drawing to match the established layer standards. Some layers in the drawing already adhere to these standards. 1. Open c_use_layer_standards.dwg. 2. On the dashboard, Layers control panel, click Layer Properties Manager. 3. In the Layer Properties Manager dialog box:

Sort the layers in the ascending order by clicking the Name field. Scroll to the end of the layers list.

4. In the layer list view:


Rename the Columns layer to S-COL. Rename the Doors layer to A-DOOR. Rename the Phone Line layer to TCOMM-TELE. Rename the Plants layer to I-PLNT. Rename the Walls layer to A-WALL.

5. In the Layer Properties Manager dialog box:

Verify that the layers are renamed, as shown.

Re-sort the layers in the ascending order by clicking the Name field. Click OK.

6. Save the drawing on your desktop. Note: After you save the drawing, the layer baseline is created. 7. On the Dashboard, Layers control panel, click Layer Properties Manager. 8. In the Layer Properties Manager dialog box, click Settings. 9. In the Layer Settings dialog box:

Click Evaluate All New Layers. Select the Save check box to turn on new layer notification when saving a drawing. Select the Insert check box to turn on new layer notification when inserting a drawing.

10. Click OK to close the Layer Settings dialog box 11. In the Layer Properties Manager dialog box:

Click New Layer. For the name of the new layer, enter SCOLS-RECT.

12. In the Layer Properties Manager dialog box:

Repeat step 10 to create a new layer called S-COLS-CIR.

Click OK.

13. In the Layer Properties Manager dialog box:

Note that the Unreconciled New Layer icon is displayed on the status bar.

Select the Unreconciled New Layers filter to view the list of new layers.

14. In the layer list view, right-click the S-COLS-CIR layer. Click Reconcile Layer.

15. Verify that after reconciling, the layer S-COLSCIR is removed from the unreconciled layer filter list. 16. Repeat step 13 to reconcile the S-COLS-RECT layer and note that the Unreconciled New Layers filter is no longer available. 17. Click OK to close the Layer Properties Manager dialog box. 18. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Create Layouts


In this exercise, you create layouts using different methods. 1. Open truss_create_layouts.dwg.

Note: This exercise uses the Layout and Model tab's shortcut menu options. 2. Ensure that the Model and Layout tabs are visible at the bottom of the drawing window.

Note: Right-click the Layout icon on the status bar and click Display Layout and Model tabs to display these tabs, if required. 3. At the bottom of the drawing window, click the Layout1 tab to make it the active layout. 4. Note that Layout1 has a defined page size with a border, a title block, and two views of the model space geometry.

5. In the drawing area, move your cursor to the upper-right corner of the paper preview. 6. On the status bar, note that the paper size shows a value of more than 580 units for the X coordinate and around 400 units for the Y coordinate Note: If the coordinates are grayed out and are not changing as you move the cursor, right-click them and select Absolute. 7. At the bottom of the drawing window, right-click the Layout1 tab. Select New Layout. 8. Click the Layout2 tab to activate it.

9. On the drawing area:


Move your cursor to the upper-right corner of the paper preview. Review the coordinate values on the status bar.

Note: The value for the X and Y coordinates of this corner is dependent on the default plotter for your software's installation. The value may be different from what is configured in Layout1. 10. At the bottom of the drawing window, right-click on the Layout1 tab. Click Move or Copy. 11. In the Move or Copy dialog box:

Select Create a Copy. In the Before Layout list, select (Move to End).

Click OK.

12. At the bottom of the drawing window, click the Layout1 (2) tab to make it the active layout. Note: The drawing in this tab should appear identical to the drawing in the Layout1 tab. 13. At the bottom of the drawing window, right-click any layout tab. Click From Template. 14. In the Select Template From File dialog box:

Select the standard AutoCAD template file, Tutorial-mArch.dwt. Click Open.

15. In the Insert Layout(s) dialog box:

Select ISO A1 Layout.

Click OK.

16. At the bottom of the drawing window, click the ISO A1 Layout tab to make it the active layout. The layout should appear as shown.

17. Open truss_project_100.dwg. 18. On the Window menu, select truss_ create_ layouts.dwg to make it the active drawing. 19. On the Standard toolbar, click DesignCenter. 20. In DesignCenter:

Click the Open Drawings tab In the tree view pane, expand truss_project_100.dwg to view the categories under it. Click the Layouts category.

21. From the right pane of DesignCenter, drag ISO A2 - 3 vports to the drawing area of truss_create_layouts.dwg. 22. Click the ISO A2 - 3 vports tab to make it active.

23. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Work with Layouts and Page Setups


In this exercise, you rename, delete, and move layouts. You also configure a layout to use a different printer and paper size, and then save that configuration as a named page setup. You then import a named page setup from a different drawing and activate it for the layout. Finally, you initiate the Plot command and switch between named page setups.

Rename, Delete, and Move Layouts


1. Open c_truss_modify_layouts.dwg. 2. Ensure that the Layout1 tab is selected so that it's drawing area is active.

Note: If the Layout tab is not visible at the bottom of the drawing window, right-click the drawing area. Click Options. In the Options dialog box, Display tab, under Layout Elements, select Display Layout and Model Tabs. Click Apply and OK to display the tabs. 3. To rename the Layout1 tab, in the drawing area:

Double-click the Layout1 tab.

For name, enter Detail-1. Press ENTER.

4. To delete the Layout1 (2) tab:


Right-click the Layout1 (2) tab. Click Delete. In the AutoCAD warning message box, click OK to permanently delete the layout.

5. To move the ISO A2 - 3 vports tab:


Right-click the ISO A2 - 3 vports tab. Click Move or Copy. In the Move or Copy dialog box, ensure that Detail-1 is selected. Click OK. In the drawing area, verify that the ISO A2 - 3 vports layout has moved to the left of Detail-1 layout.

Configure a Layout by Creating Page Setup


1. To open the Page Setup dialog box for Layout 2:

In the drawing area, click the Layout2 tab to activate it. Right-click the Layout2 tab. Click Page Setup Manager. In the Page Setup Manager, ensure that *Layout2* is selected. Click Modify.

2. To change the plotter device and paper size:

In the Page Setup - Layout2 dialog box, under Printer/Plotter, select PublishToWeb PNG.pc3 from the Name list. In the Paper Size Not Found dialog box, click OK to use the default paper size. In the Page Setup - Layout2 dialog box, verify that the names of the plotter device and paper size have changed.

Click OK.

3. In the Page Setup Manager dialog box, click New. 4. To create the new page setup, in the New Page Setup dialog box:

Under Start With, ensure that *Layout2* is selected. For New Page Setup Name, enter Web_PNG.

Click OK.

5. Click OK to close the Page Setup - Layout2 dialog box. 6. In the Page Setup Manager dialog box, click Close. 7. To resize the viewport on the Layout2 tab:

In the drawing area, click the blue

rectangular viewport in the lower-left corner of the layout. Click the upper-right grip and reposition the rectangle to the upper-right corner of the layout, as shown.

8. To view the complete model space geometry in the viewport:

In the drawing area double-click in the rectangular viewport to activate the model space. On the dashboard, 2D Navigate control panel, click Extents to fill the viewport display with the model space geometry.

9. To prepare to import a new page setup:

In the drawing area, double-click the gray background outside the page to activate the layout. Right-click the Layout2 tab. Click Page Setup Manager. In the Page Setup Manager dialog box, click Import.

10. In the Select Page Setup From File dialog box:


Navigate to the location of the exercise datasets. Click c_truss_project200.dwg. Click Open.

11. In the Import Page Setups dialog box:

Ensure that the A4-ScaleToFit page setup is selected.

Click OK.

12. In the Page Setup Manager dialog box:

Under Page Setups, double-click the A4ScaleToFit page setup to set it current.

Click Close.

13. On the Standard toolbar, click Plot. 14. In the Plot - Layout 2 dialog box:

Under Page Setup, select A4-ScaleToFit from the Name list. Under Printer/Plotter, select DWF6 ePlot.pc3 from the Name list. Under Paper Size, select ISO A4 (210.00 x 297.00 MM) from the list. Under Plot Area, ensure that Extents is selected from the What to Plot list. Under Plot Scale, ensure that the Fit to Paper check box is selected.

15. Verify that the settings in the Plot - Layout 2 dialog box appear as shown.

16. In the Plot - Layout2 dialog box, under Page Setup, select Web_PNG from the Name list.

17. In the Plot - Layout2 dialog box, verify that following settings change for the Web_PNG page setup:

Under Printer/Plotter, ensure that PublishToWeb PNG.pc3 is selected from the Name list. Under Paper Size, ensure that Sun HiRes (1600.00 x 1280.00 Pixels) is selected from the list. Under Paper Area, ensure that Layout is selected from the What to Plot list. Under Plot Scale, ensure that 1:1 is selected from the list.

18. In the Plot-Layout 2 dialog box:

Verify that the settings appear as shown.

Click Cancel.

19. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Create Layout Viewports


In this exercise, you create nonrectangular viewports, convert a closed loop object to a viewport, clip an existing viewport with a closed loop object, and create multiple rectangular viewports by using the Viewports dialog box.

Create Non-Rectangular Viewports


1. Open m_truss_viewport_creation.dwg. 2. At the bottom of the drawing window, verify that the Layout and Model tabs are visible.

Note: Right-click the Additional Layouts icon on the status bar and click Display Layout and Model tabs to display these tabs, if required. 3. Click the Details tab to set it as the active layout.

4. Set the Viewports layer as the current layer. 5. On the Viewports toolbar, click Polygonal Viewport.

Note: If the Viewports toolbar is not displayed, right-click any toolbar. Click Viewports. 6. In the drawing area:

In the blank lower-left area of the layout, select points to create a viewport, as shown.

Double-click in the viewport to activate it.

7. On the View menu, click Named Views. 8. In the View Manager dialog box:

Expand the Model Views node. Double-click Detail-1.

Click OK.

9. In the drawing area:

Activate the layout by double-clicking in an open area on the layout or the gray background outside the layout. On the lower-center part of the layout, draw a circle with a radius of approximately 80 mm.

10. On the Viewports toolbar, click Convert Object To Viewport.

11. In the drawing area:


Select the circle. Verify that the circle is now a viewport and appears as shown.

Double-click in the circular viewport to activate it.

12. On the View menu, click Named Views to set the view in the circular viewport. 13. In the View Manager dialog box:

Double-click Detail-2. Click OK.

14. In the drawing area:


Verify that the circular viewport appears, as shown. Activate the layout by double-clicking in an open area on the layout or the gray background outside the sheet.

15. On the Viewports toolbar, click Single Viewport.

16. In the drawing area:

Create a rectangular viewport in the blank lower-right area of the layout, as shown.

Double-click in new the rectangular viewport to activate it.

17. In the drawing area:

Zoom and pan to set the view in the rectangular viewport, as shown.

Activate the layout by double-clicking in an open area on the layout or the gray background outside the layout.

18. On the dashboard, 2D Draw control panel, click Polyline. 19. In the drawing area:

Draw a closed polyline over the geometry by using the Polyline command and the Close option from the shortcut menu of the polyline. Select the newly created Polyline.

20. On the Viewports toolbar, click Clip Existing Viewport.

21. In the drawing area:


Select the rectangular viewport. Select the closed polyline.

Create Multiple Rectangular Viewports


1. At the bottom of the drawing window, click the Sections tab to set it as the active layout. 2. On the Viewports toolbar, click Display Viewports Dialog.

3. In the Viewports dialog box, New Viewports tab, select Four: Equal from the Standard Viewports list.

4. To set the views for the viewports, in the Viewports dialog box, under Preview:

Click the upper-left square. Select Detail-2 from the Change View To list. Click the upper-right square. Select Section-A from the Change View To list.

5. Set the remaining viewports. In the Viewports dialog box, under Preview:

Click the lower-left square. Select Section-B from the Change View To list. Click the lower-right square. Select Section-1 from the Change View To list.

6. In the Viewports dialog box:

Verify that the Preview area appears, as shown.

Click OK.

7. Specify two corner points to place the viewports as shown.

8. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Work with Viewports


In this exercise, you adjust the scale factor, lock the display, maximize the model space display, and turn off the display of data in layout viewports. You also set the annotation scaling of the viewports.

Activate and Reactivate a Layout Viewport


1. Open c_truss_work_with_viewports.dwg. 2. Click the Details layout tab to activate the Details layout. 3. On the command line, enter LIST. Press ENTER. 4. In the drawing area, Details layout tab:

Select the top rectangular viewport.

Press ENTER.

5. In the AutoCAD Text Window:


Press ENTER to continue. Verify that the value for Scale Relative to Paper Space is 0.0200xp.

Close the text window.

Note: The 0.0200xp value can also be written as 2/100. The 0.0200xp decimal value written as a ratio of paper units to model units is 1:50. 6. In the drawing area, Details layout tab, doubleclick in the rectangular viewport to active it. 7. On the status bar, verify that the 1:50 scale factor is selected from the Viewport Scale Control list.

8. In the drawing area, Details layout tab:


In the top rectangular viewport, Zoom Extents to view the complete viewport. Press ENTER.

9. On the Viewports toolbar, verify that the scale factor in the Viewport Scale control list changes to 0.0072 or 1:139 approximately.

10. On the status bar select 1:50 value for VP Scale from the Viewport Scale list.

11. In the drawing area:

Right-click the top rectangular viewport. Click Pan to get back the previous main truss section. Press ENTER. Activate the layout by double-clicking in an open area on the layout or the gray background outside the layout.

Lock, Set Scale, and Display Objects of a Viewport


1. In the drawing area, select the non-rectangular viewport, as shown.

2. On the status bar, select VP Scale of 1:10 from the Viewport Scale list. 3. In the drawing area:

With the non-rectangular viewport still selected, lock the viewport on the status bar by clicking the Lock/Unlock Viewport

icon.

Double-click in the non-rectangular viewport to activate it.

4. In the activated viewport:


Right-click the active viewport. Click Pan. Press ENTER. Right-click the active viewport. Click Zoom. Press ENTER.

Note: Notice that you cannot pan or zoom in the locked viewport. Instead, you pan and zoom in the layout. 5. On the status bar, click Maximize Viewport.

6. In the drawing area:


Right-click the viewport. Click Pan. Press ENTER. Right-click the viewport. Click Zoom to view the far right side of the truss. Press ENTER.

Note: Notice that you have complete access to add or modify the geometry in model space. You can pan and zoom the viewport even when it is locked. 7. On the status bar, click Minimize Viewport.

8. In the drawing area:


Select the non-rectangular viewport. Unlock the viewport by clicking the Lock/Unlock viewport icon on the status bar.

9. In the drawing area,

Select the non-rectangular viewport.rightclick the viewport. Click Display Viewport Objects > No.

10. In the drawing area:


Select the non-rectangular viewport. Right-click the viewport. Click Display Viewport Objects > Yes to turn the model space geometry display back on. Verify that the viewport now appears, as shown.

Set Annotation Scales of a Layout Viewport


1. In the drawing area, Sections tab, select the upper-right viewport.

2. On the status bar, VP Scale, verify that 1:20 scale factor is selected from the scale list. 3. On the status bar:

Click Viewport Scale to change the scale of the viewport. Select 1:30 from the list of viewport scaling factors.

4. In the drawing area:


Press ESC to clear the selection. Notice that all the objects including the text objects are scaled down.

Note: The text objects have scaled down and are not legible because annotative property is not set for the text objects. 5. In the drawing area:

Zoom Window the left viewport, as shown.

Select the viewport.

6. On the status bar:


Click Viewport Scale to change the scale of the viewport. Select 1:50 from the list of viewport scaling factors.

7. In the drawing area:

Notice that the annotation text objects are scaled automatically according to the viewport scale. Double-click in the viewport to activate it.

Note: The text objects in this viewport are legible because annotative properties are set for the text objects in the left viewport. 8. In the drawing area:

Move the cursor over the text objects to notice the annotative property of the text objects.

Select a text object. Right-click the text object. Click Properties.

9. On the Properties palette, under Text, in the Annotative Scale field, click [].

10. In the Annotation Object Scale dialog box:

Under Object Scale List, verify that two annotation scales are listed.

Click OK.

11. In the drawing area:


Press ESC to clear the selection. Double-click in the drawing area outside the viewport. Zoom in to the lower-right viewport. Ensure that the Automatically Add Scales to Annotative Objects When the Annotation Scale Changes icon is switched off. Select the lower-right viewport.

12. On the status bar:


Click Viewport Scale to change the scale of the viewport. Select 1:40 from the list of viewport scaling factors.

13. In the drawing area:

In the lower-right viewport, verify that text objects disappear.

Press ESC to clear the selection. Double-click in the lower-right viewport.

Note: The text objects disappear because the annotation scale for the text objects is set to 1:30. 14. Undo twice to get back to the previous stage of the drawing and select the lower-right viewport. 15. On the status bar:

Click Automatically Add Scales to Annotative Objects When the Annotation Scale Changes.

Click Viewport Scale to change the scale of the viewport. Select 1:40 from the list of viewport scaling factors

16. In the drawing area, in the lower-right viewport, verify that the text objects are now visible. 17. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Control Object Visibility Per Layout Viewport


In this exercise, you freeze the display of geometry on certain layers on a viewport-by-viewport basis in a layout. You also override the properties of some layers in the viewport.

Freeze Layers in the Existing and New Viewport


1. Open m_truss-object_visibility.dwg.

2. On the Layers toolbar, click Layer Properties Manager. 3. In the Layer Properties Manager dialog box:

Freeze the Steel layer.

Click OK.

Note: Freezing a layer in this manner freezes the display of geometry on the layer in all layout viewports. 4. On the dashboard, Layers control panel, click Layer Previous to undo the freezing of the Steel layer.

5. Double-click in the rectangular layout viewport to activate it. 6. On the Layers control panel, click Layer Properties Manager. 7. In the Layer Properties Manager dialog box:

Select the Details-Dimen, Details-Text, and Dimen layers. Click the icon in the VP Freeze column for the selected rows to freeze only these layers in the current layout viewport.

Click the icon in the New VP Freeze column for the selected rows to set these layers to be frozen in any layout viewports that are subsequently created.

8. Click OK to close the Layer Properties Manager dialog box. In the drawing area, verify that the viewport appears as shown.

9. Click in the nonrectangular viewport at the bottom-right to activate it. 10. On the dashboard, Layers control panel:

Click the Layer list to view the list of thawed and frozen layers in the current viewport. Click Freeze or Thaw in Current Viewport icon for the Dimen, Grid, and Text2 layers.

11. In the layout:

Click to set the layer changes. Verify that this viewport appears as shown.

12. In the layout, double-click anywhere in a blank area. 13. Click the Blank Sheet layout tab to activate it.

14. On the Viewports toolbar, select Scale to Fit from the list of scale factors.

Note: If the Viewport toolbar is not available, right-click any toolbar. Click Viewports. 15. On the Viewports toolbar, click Single Viewport. 16. Create a layout viewport in the middle of the drawing area.

Note: Geometry on the Details-Dimen, DetailsText, and Dimen layers are not visible in this newly created viewport on the basis of the frozen setting in the New VP Freeze column.

Override Layer Properties in the Viewport


1. Click the Details layout tab. 2. Double-click in the rectangular viewport to activate it. 3. On the dashboard, Layers control panel, click Layer Properties Manager. 4. In the Layer Properties Manager:

Click the Steel layer. In the VP Color column, change the color to magenta.

5. In the Layer Properties Manager:


Select the Section layer. In the VP Linetype column, change the linetype to hidden.

Note: The layers with property overrides are highlighted. You can click on the Viewport Overrides filter to view only the layers with overrides. 6. Click OK to close the Layer Properties Manager. 7. Verify that the viewport appears as shown.

8. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Create and Apply Plot Style Tables


In this exercise, you create a color-based plot style table and a name-based plot style table. You apply these tables to drawings that use those plot style table types.

Create a Color-Based Plot Style Table


1. Open c_floor_plan_color_based.dwg. 2. On the Standard toolbar:

Click Plot Preview. Review the visual display of the geometry to identify the properties of objects like color, linetype, lineweight and how the drawing is plotted before applying any plot style.

3. Click Close Preview Window to exit the plot preview and come out of the preview mode. 4. In AutoCAD, click File menu > Plot Style Manager. 5. Double-click Add-A-Plot Style Table Wizard. 6. On the Add Plot Style Table - Introduction page, click Next. 7. On the Add Plot Style Table - Begin page:

Select the Start from Scratch option.

Click Next.

8. On the Add Plot Style Table - Pick Plot Style Table page:

Select the Color-Dependent Plot Style Table option.

Click Next.

9. On the File Name page:

Enter Check Plot - BW in the file name box.

Click Next.

10. On the Add Plot Style Table - Finish page, click Plot Style Table Editor.

11. In the Plot Style Table Editor, Form View tab, select the first nine colors in the Plot Styles list.

12. In the Plot Style Table Editor, Form View tab, under Properties:

For Color, select Black. For Dither, select Off. For Lineweight, select 0.0000 mm.

13. In the list of Plot Styles, click Color 4 to make it the only one selected.

14. Under Properties, for Lineweight, select 0.7000 mm.

15. Click Save & Close. 16. On the Add Plot Style Table - Finish page, click Finish.

Apply a Color-based Plot Style Table


1. In AutoCAD, click File menu > Page Setup Manager. 2. In Page Setup Manager:

Select the *First Floor (D-size)* option. Click Modify.

3. In the Page Setup - First Floor dialog box, Plot Style Table list:

Select Check Plot - BW.ctb.

Click OK.

4. In Page Setup Manager, click Close. 5. On the Standard toolbar, click Plot Preview. Note: In reviewing the preview while using this CTB file, you should verify that all the geometry that falls in the color range of 1-9 now previews in black. 6. On the Preview page, zoom into the front porch area to see the difference in the line width for the geometry that was cyan, Color 4.

Note: You can use this view to compare the modified drawing with the initial drawing. 7. Click Close Preview Window to exit the plot preview. 8. Close the file without saving.

Create a Name-based Plot Style Table


1. Open c_floor_plan_name_based.dwg. 2. On the Standard toolbar:

Click Plot Preview. Review the visual display of the geometry to identify the properties of objects like color, linetype, and lineweight and how the drawing is plotted before applying any plot style.

3. Click Close Preview Window to exit the plot preview and come out of the preview mode. 4. In AutoCAD, click File menu > Plot Style Manager. 5. Double-click the file acad.stb. Click the Form View tab. 6. On the Plot Style Table Editor, Form View tab, click Add Style. 7. On the Add Plot Style dialog box:

Enter THICK.

Click OK.

8. On the Plot Style Table Editor, Form View tab, with the THICK plot style highlighted, change the following properties:

For Color, select Black. For Dither, select Off. For Lineweight, select 0.7000 mm.

9. To create a new style by copying the style THICK:


Right-click the plot style THICK. Click Copy. Right-click in the Plot Styles list area. Click Paste. Enter MEDIUM in the Add Plot Style dialog box. Click OK.

10. On the Plot Style Table Editor, Form View tab, with the MEDIUM plot style highlighted, change the Lineweight property to 0.5000 mm. 11. Repeat step 9 to create a new style named THIN and click OK. 12. With the THIN plot style selected, change the Lineweight property to 0.350 mm. 13. Repeat step 9 to create a new style, SCREEN40 and click OK.

14. With the SCREEN-40 plot style selected,

change the Screening property to 40. 15. Click Save As to save these settings in a new plot style table. 16. In the Save As dialog box:

Enter Typical-BW. Click Save.

17. In the Plot Style Table Editor, click Cancel because the new plot style created in step 16 was just saved.

Apply a Name-based Plot Style Table


1. In AutoCAD, on the Layers dashboard control panel, click Layer Properties Manager. 2. In the Layer Properties Manager, click the Plot Style value for the layer TitleBlock. 3. In the Select Plot Style dialog box:

For the Active Plot Style Table, select Typical-BW.stb. In the list of Plot Styles, select THICK.

Click OK.

4. In the Plot Style column in the Layer Properties Manager, continue making changes for the identified layers by assigning the specified named style:

For Walls, select MEDIUM. For View Labels, select MEDIUM. For Furniture, select SCREEN-40 For Deck, select THIN. For DB - Windows, select MEDIUM.

5. In the Layer Properties Manager:


For CHAIRS, select SCREEN-40. Verify that the Layer Properties Manager appears as follows.

6. Click OK to close the Layer Properties Manager dialog box after making the changes. 7. On the Standard toolbar, click Plot Preview.

Note: In reviewing the preview image, you will notice that geometry assigned to the identified layers previews in different colors and with different line widths. If you look closely, you can see that the desk and chairs appear in a shade of black because the screening property is only allowing 40% of the color through. Also note that the text in the title block is still displaying in color, while the line geometry is black. 8. Click Close Preview Window to exit the plot preview. 9. Close all files without saving.

Publish the Sheets to DWF and PLT Files


1. In AutoCAD, to test the saved sheet list file that you created previously:

Save and close all files. Create a new drawing but do not save it.

2. On the Standard toolbar, click Publish to publish the DSD file. 3. In the Publish dialog box, click Load Sheet List.

Note: If you get the Save Sheet List dialog box, click No. 4. In the Load List of Sheets dialog box.

Select the c_publish_drawings.dsd file. Click Load.

Note: Each of the layouts has already been assigned a page setup file that directs the layout to the appropriate device for plotting. In this case, both plotter configurations are configured to output the plot to a file-plotting device. The process for batch plotting to a plotter is identical to the process for batch plotting to a printer. The page setup configurations are as follows: D-Size: Plots to the DWF6 ePlot.pc3 and creates a DWF file. B-Size: Plots to the 11x17 PC3 file that you created in a previous exercise and creates a PLT file. 5. In the Publish dialog box.

Under Publish To, click Plotter Named in Page setup. Click Publish Options and confirm the default output location path. Click OK to close the Publish Options dialog box. Click Publish.

6. When the plot and publishing job is complete, navigate to the My Documents folder to view the DWF and PLT files. Verify that there is one file for each sheet, First Floor.dwf, Second Floor.dwf and Schedules.plt. 7. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Create a Sheet Set


In this exercise, you create a new sheet set from existing drawings. You add a location for resource drawings and prepare a resource drawing for later inclusion in the sheet set. 1. Create a new drawing. 2. To review the existing drawing set by using Windows Explorer.

Navigate to the Sheet Sets subfolder of your exercise dataset installation. Notice the structure and names of folders and files.

3. In the software, click File menu > New Sheet Set. 4. In the Create Sheet Set wizard:

Click Existing Drawings. Click Next.

5. To specify the name and location for the sheet set file:

For Name of New Sheet Set, enter Project A. Provide a description for the new sheet set. Click [] on the Store Sheet Set Data File (.dst) Here field.

6. In the Browse for Sheet Set Folder dialog box:


Navigate to the Sheet Sets\01Project folder. Click Open.

Note: The 01Project folder is a subfolder of your exercise dataset installation 7. In the wizard, click Next. 8. To adjust the import options, click Import Options. 9. In the Import Options dialog box:

Set the options, as shown in the following illustration.

Click OK.

10. In the Create Sheet Set wizard, click Browse. 11. In the Browse for Folder dialog box:

Navigate to the Sheet Sets\01Project\Drawings folder. Click OK.

12. In the Create Sheet Set wizard:

Select all the layouts and folders except the Res folder.

Click Next.

13. Verify that the sheet set matches the following illustration.

14. Click Finish to create the sheet set.

15. Verify that the Sheet Set Manager opens to display the new sheet set. 16. Verify that the sheet subsets mirror the subfolder names in the 01Project\Drawings folder. 17. In the Sheet Set Manager, Details pane, select different sheet subsets and sheets and view the details. 18. Click the Sheet Views tab. 19. On the Sheet Views tab, verify that only one sheet, Main & Second Floor Plans, is displayed.

Note: This is because, of all the sheets imported, it is the only sheet that contains named layout views. For the Place Callout and Place Label View options to be available, the view must be listed on the Sheet Views tab. 20. On the Model Views tab, Locations pane, doubleclick Add New Location. 21. In the Browse for Folder dialog box:

Navigate to the Sheet Sets\01Project\Drawings\Architectural\Res folder. Click Open.

22. In the Sheet Set Manager, right-click Exterior Elevations.dwg. Click See Model Space Views. 23. On the Model Views tab, verify that the Exterior Elevations drawing contains three model space views that can be used for the layouts and for inclusion in the sheet set as sheets.

24. For creating an additional model space view in the Exterior Elevations drawing, double-click Exterior Elevations.dwg to open it. 25. On the command line, enter VIEW. Press ENTER. 26. In the View Manager dialog box, click New. 27. In the New View dialog box:

For View Name, enter Right Elevation. Select Elevation from the View category list. Click Define Window.

28. In the Drawing area, define the view window by selecting the point objects, using the Node object snap.

Press ENTER. 29. In the New View dialog box, click OK. 30. In the View Manager dialog box:

Verify that the new view is displayed in the View dialog box.

Click Ok.

31. Save the drawing. 32. In the Sheet Set Manager:

Click Refresh.

Verify that the new model space view appears in the list.

Note: The views are now ready to be placed on the layouts. 33. In the drawing area:

On the Layouts tabs, click the Front Elevation tab to activate the layout. Drag the Front Elevation view from the Sheet Set Manager to the layout.

34. In the Sheet Set Manager Error dialog box, click OK. Note: This error message is displayed because the layout is not included in the sheet set. You need to correct this later. 35. On the command line, verify that you are prompted to specify an insertion point. 36. In the drawing area, right-click anywhere in the drawing and select 3/16" = 1'-0" from the scale list to set the scale for the viewport.

37. In the drawing area, position the view on the sheet, as shown.

38. On the command line, enter VIEW. Press ENTER. 39. In the View Manager dialog box, in the Views pane under Layout Views:

Note the new view and its location on the Front Elevation layout.

Click OK.

Note:The Front Elevation (2) view will be displayed on the View List tab of the Sheet Set Manager when you import the layout as a sheet. 40. Save and close the Exterior-Elevations.dwg. 41. In the Sheet Set Manager, click the Sheet List tab. 42. Right-click the Project A sheet set. Click Close Sheet Set.

Exercise: Work with a Sheet Set


In this exercise, you modify a sheet set by reorganizing sheet locations, creating a new sheet subset, renaming and renumbering sheets and views, removing sheets, creating sheet selection sets, importing layouts as sheets, and placing views from a resource drawing onto a sheet.

Organize and Renumber Sheets


1. Create a new drawing. 2. In the Sheet Set Manager, select Open from the Sheet Set list and navigate to \Project_wss\01Project\Project A.dst. 3. Drag 9-Title Sheet to just above the Architectural sheet subset, as shown.

4. Right-click 9-Title Sheet. Click Rename & Renumber. 5. In the Rename & Renumber Sheet dialog box:

For Number, enter T-1.

Click OK.

6. Drag 6-Site Survey to just above the Structural sheet subset.

7. Using Rename and Renumber, renumber the sheets in the Architectural sheet subset:

Renumber the first sheet A-1. In the Rename & Renumber Sheet dialog box, click Next to proceed to the next sheet in the subset. Renumber all sheets in the subset, as shown.

Click OK after renumbering all the sheets in the subset.

8. As illustrated in steps 4, 5, and 7, renumber the sheets in the Structural sheet subset, as shown.

9. In the Sheet Set Manager:


Select the Architectural sheet subset. Right-click the Architectural subset. Click New Subset.

10. In the Subset Properties dialog box:


For Subset Name, enter Elevations. In the Store New Sheet DWG Files In field, click [].

11. In the Browse for Folder:


Navigate to the \Project_wss\01Project\Drawings folder. Click Open.

12. In the Subset Properties dialog box, click OK. 13. In the Sheet Set Manager, right-click the 6-Site Survey sheet set. Click Remove Sheet. 14. In the Remove Sheets dialog box, click OK. 15. In the Sheet Set Manager, verify that your sheet set configuration appears, as shown.

16. Create a named sheet selection called Architectural as follows:


CTRL+select the A-1, A-3, and A-5 sheets in the Architectural sheet subset. Click the down-arrow beside the Sheet Selections icon. Click Create.

17. In the New Sheet Selection dialog box:


For Enter the Sheet Selection Name, enter Architectural. Click OK.

18. Repeat step 15 to create a sheet selection called

Structural that contains the Structural sheet subset. 19. Click the Architectural and Structural sheet selections in the Sheet Selection list to activate and test them.

20. Double-click various sheets to open them in the software. 21. Close all the drawings without saving the changes except for the new drawing that you created in step 1.

Import Layouts to Sheet


1. Right-click the Elevations sheet subset. Click Import Layout as Sheet. 2. In the Import Layouts as Sheets dialog box, click Browse for Drawings. 3. In the Select Drawing dialog box:

Navigate to the \Project_wss\01Project\Drawings\Architectural\Res folder. Click c_exterior_elevations.dwg. Click Open.

4. In the Import Layouts as Sheets dialog box:


Select the four layouts, as shown. Clear Prefix Sheet Titles with File Name. Click Import Checked.

5. Using the method to renumber and rename sheets, rename and renumber your sheet list, as shown.

6. In the Sheet Set Manager, Sheet Views tab, verify that the Front Elevation layout is listed, as shown.

Note: Front Elevation layout is listed because it contains a named layout view, Front Elevation (2). As soon as the Front Elevation layout becomes part of the sheet set, it is listed in the View List tab. 7. On the Model Views tab:

Double-click c_exterior_elevations.dwg to open the drawing. Click the Rear Elevation layout to activate it. Drag the Rear Elevation model space view onto the layout.

8. In the drawing area:


Right-click anywhere in the drawing. Select 3/16" = 1' in the scale list. Position the viewport on the layout. Grip edit the viewport to fit it inside the border.

9. Save the drawing file. 10. Repeat the process illustrated in steps 7, 8 and 9 to create the Left and Right Elevation layouts. Note: Save the drawing after each layout is created. 11. In the Sheet Set Manager, Sheet Views tab.

Click the View by Category icon. Expand the Elevation category.

12. For Front Elevation(s), in the Rename & Renumber View dialog box:

For Number, enter 1. For View Title, enter Front Elevation. Click Next. Change the number and titles for the remaining views as illustrated. When complete with Right Elevation, Click OK.

13. Rename and renumber the views in the Plans category, as shown.

14. Save and close c_exterior_elevations.dwg. Note: If you choose to later perform the steps of this exercise again, you will need to re-install the datasets. 15. In the Sheet Set Manager, click the Sheet List tab. Rightclick the Project A sheet set. Click Close Sheet Set.

Exercise: Edit Sheet Set Properties


In this exercise, you edit sheet set properties to set up the locations for label blocks for views, callout blocks, page setup overrides, and sheet templates. You also create new page setups in the Page Setup Manager, and add a new sheet to the sheet set.

Set Page Setup Overrides and Sheet Creation Properties


1. Create a new drawing. 2. In the Sheet Set Manager, click Open in the Sheet Set list. 3. In the Open Sheet Set dialog box:

Navigate to the \Sheet Sets\02Project folder. Select Project A.dst. Click Open.

4. Assign a page setup overrides file to the sheet set as follows:

In the Sheet Set Manager, right-click the sheet set title. Click Properties.

In the Sheet Set Properties dialog box, Under Sheet Set, click the Page Setup Overrides File field. In the Page Setup Overrides File field, click []. In the Select Template dialog box, navigate to the \Sheet Sets\02Project folder. Select SheetTemplate.dwt. Click Open.

5. Assign sheet creation properties to the sheet set as follows:

In the Sheet Set Properties dialog box, under Sheet Creation, click the Sheet Storage Location field. In the Sheet Storage Location field, click []. In the Browse for Folder dialog box, navigate to the \Sheet Sets\02Project\Drawings folder. Click Open. In the Sheet Set Properties dialog box, under Sheet Creation, click the Sheet Creation Template field. In the Sheet Creation Template field, click []. In the Select Layout as Sheet Template dialog box, click [] in the Drawing Template File Name field. In the Select Drawing dialog box, navigate to the \Sheet Sets\02Project folder. Select Sheet Template.dwt. Click Open. In the Select Layout as Sheet Template dialog box, click OK.

In the Sheet Set Properties dialog box, click OK. In the Confirm Changes dialog box, click Yes to apply the changes to the nested subsets.

Note: This step is important because subsets can consist of different property values to the sheet set.

Set Label Block and Callout Block Properties


1. Assign a label block to the sheet set as follows:

In the Sheet Set Manager, right-click the sheet set title. Click Properties. In the Sheet Set Properties dialog box, under Sheet Set, click the Label Block for Views field. In the Label Block for Views field, click []. In the Select Block dialog box, click [] in the Enter the Drawing File Name field. In the Select Drawing dialog box, Select AutoCAD Drawing Template (*.dwt) from the Files of Type list. Navigate to the \Sheet Sets\02Project folder. Select Sheet Template.dwt. Click Open. In the Select Block dialog box, click Choose Blocks in the Drawing File. Select the View Label block.

Click OK.

2. Assign callout blocks to the sheet set as follows:

In the Sheet Set Properties dialog box, under Sheet Set, click the Callouts Block field. In the Callouts Block field, click []. In the List of Blocks dialog box, click Add. In the Select Block dialog box, click [] in the Enter the Drawing File Name field. In the Select Drawing dialog box, select AutoCAD Drawing Template (*.dwt) from the Files of Type list. Navigate to the \Sheet Sets\02Project folder. Select Sheet Template.dwt Click Open. In the Select Block dialog box, click Choose Blocks in the Drawing File. CTRL+select the following blocks from the list: Callout Bubble. Elev Indicator Ext Down. Elev Indicator Ext Up. Elev Indicator Ext Left. Elev Indicator Ext Right. In the Select Block dialog box, click OK. In the List of Blocks dialog box, click OK.

3. In the Sheet Set Properties dialog box:

Verify that all the properties are readjusted according to the changes you made.

Click OK.

Create Page Setup for Publishing a Sheet Set


1. Plot using page setup overrides as follows:

In the Sheet Set Manager, right-click the sheet title or any sheet or subset. Click Publish > Publish Using Page Setup Override. Verify that the page setup options appear, as shown.

2. Create new page setups as follows:

In the Sheet Set Manager, right-click the sheet set title. Click Publish > Manage Page Setups. In the Page Setup Manager dialog box, click New. In the New Page Setup dialog box, for New Page Setup Name, enter LaserJet. Click OK. In the Page Setup dialog box, select ANSI A (8.50 x 11 Inches) from the Paper Size list. Select Extents from the What to Plot list. Under Plot Scale, select Fit to Paper. Select DWF6ePlot.pc3 from the Name List because you do not have LaserJet installed. Click OK. In the Page Setup Manager dialog box, click New. In the New Page Setup dialog box, for New Page Setup Name, enter DesignJet. Click OK. In the Page Setup dialog box, select ARCH D (36.00 x 24.00 Inches) from the Paper Size list.

Select Layout from the What to Plot list. Select 1:1 from the Scale list. Select DWF6ePlot.pc3 from the Name List because you do not have DesignJet installed. Click OK. In the Page Setup Manager dialog box, verify that the two newly created page setups are listed, as shown.

Click Close to exit the Page Setup Manager dialog box.

3. Verify access to your new page setups as follows:

In the Sheet Set Manager, right-click the sheet set title or any sheet or subset. Click Publish > Publish Using Page Setup Override. Verify that the new page setup options appear, as shown.

Note: The page setup overrides are saved to the Sheet Template.dwt file that you selected in the sheet set properties. 4. Create a new, blank sheet in the sheet set as follows:

In the Sheet set Manager, right-click the sheet set title. Click New Sheet. In the New Sheet dialog box, for Number, enter M-1. For Sheet Title, enter Misc-Detail.

Note the File Name, Folder Path, and Sheet Template. Click OK to close the New Sheet dialog box.

5. In the Sheet Set Manager, double-click the M-1 Misc-Detail sheet to open the newly created sheet. 6. In the drawing area, review the title block data. Note: The title block fields are blank. Currently, the title block is using static attribute data that must be filled in manually for each title block in the sheet set. 7. Close the new drawing without saving the changes. 8. In the Sheet Set Manager, right-click the M-1 Misc-Detail sheet. Click Remove Sheet. 9. In the Remove Sheets dialog box, click OK Remove to remove the sheet from the sheet set. 10. In the Sheet Set Manager, right-click the sheet set title. Click Close Sheet Set. 11. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Use Fields in a Sheet Set


In this exercise, you modify a sheet template to include a plot stamp that contains fields associated with different drawing properties. 1. Create a new drawing. 2. Open the Sheet Set Manager by clicking the Sheet Set Manager icon on the toolbar. 3. In the Sheet Set Manager, Sheet List tab, select Open from the list. 4. In the Open Sheet Set dialog box:

Navigate to the \Sheet Sets\03Project folder. Select Project A.dst. Click Open.

5. In the software, click File menu > Open. 6. In the Select File dialog box:

Under Files of Type, select Drawing Template (*.dwt). Navigate to the \Sheet Sets\03Project\Sheet Template.dwt file. Click Open.

7. To verify the name and location of the sheet creation template:


Right-click Project A. Click Properties. Click OK to close the Sheet Set Properties dialog box.

8. On the Dashboard, Text control panel, click Multiline Text. 9. In the Drawing area, create a multiline text object below the border on the left side of the sheet. 10. On the Text Formatting toolbar, enter1/16 in the Text Height list. 11. Create the Plotstamp labels in the multiline text object so that it looks similar to the following image.

12. To insert the File Name field in the multiline text object:

Move the cursor to the appropriate location. Right-click the location. Click Insert Field.

13. In the Field dialog box:


Select File Name from the Field Names list. Click the Filename Only option. Click OK.

14. Repeat step11 for each of the following field

names:

PlotDate DeviceName PageSetupName Login

15. In the in-place text editor:


Adjust the width of the mtext object so that the text is on a single line. Click OK.

16. Zoom to the drawing extents. 17. Save and close Sheet Template.dwt. Note: If you want to perform the exercise steps again, you will need to reinstall the datasets. 18. To test the changes that you made to the sheet template, in the Sheet Set Manager, right-click the title Project A. Click New Sheet. 19. In the New Sheet dialog box:

Enter a sheet number and a sheet name. Click OK.

Note: The sheet name and the sheet number are not important. You will remove this sheet later. 20. In the Sheet Set Manager:

Double-click the new sheet to open it. Zoom into the lower-left corner of the sheet to view the plot stamp.

21. Close the drawing without saving the changes. 22. To remove the new sheet, in the Sheet Set Manager, right-click the new sheet. Click Remove Sheet. 23. In the Remove Sheets dialog box, click OK. 24. Close all files without saving. 25. In the Sheet Set Manager:

Right-click the Project A sheet set title. Click Close Sheet Set.

Exercise: Use Attributes in a Sheet Set


In this exercise, you create custom properties for a sheet set and sheets by using attributes. You modify a sheet set creation template by replacing existing attributes with fields. You also modify existing callout and view label blocks by using fields. You test the functionality of the new title block, view labels, and callout blocks on new and existing sheets in a sheet set.

Create Custom Properties for a Sheet Set


1. Create a new drawing. 2. On the command line, enter SHEETSET. Press ENTER. 3. To open a sheet set:

In the Sheet Set Manager, select Open from the list. In the Open Sheet Set dialog box, navigate to the location where exercise datasets are installed. Navigate to \Sheet Sets\03Project. Click Project A.dst. Click Open.

4. To edit the properties of the sheet set:


In the Sheet Set Manager, right-click the Project A sheet set. Click Properties. In the Sheet Set Properties dialog box, click Edit Custom Properties. In the Custom Properties dialog box, click Add. In the Add Custom Properties dialog box:

For Name, enter Checked By. For Default Value, enter T. Jones. Under Owner, click Sheet. Click OK.

Create custom properties for the sheet set, as shown.

Click OK to close all dialog boxes.

5. In the Sheet Set Manager, under Details, verify that the custom properties appear as shown.

Modify a Sheet Set Creation Template


1. To create a new sheet based on a modified version of the sheet creation template:

In the Sheet Set Manager, Sheet List tab, right-click the Project A sheet set. Click New Sheet. In the New Sheet dialog box, for Number, enter SHEETNUM. For Sheet Title, enter SHEETNAME. Click OK.

2. In the Sheet Set Manager:


Double-click the SHEETNUM SHEETNAME sheet to open it. On the sheet, select the title block. On the dashboard, 2D Draw control panel, click Explode. On the sheet, zoom into the title block. Verify that the attributes for the title block are displayed, as shown.

3. To replace the default attribute values with fields:


Double-click the PROJECT_NAME1 attribute. In the Edit Attribute Definition dialog box, right-click the Default field. Click Insert Field.

4. In the Field dialog box:


Select SheetSet from the Field Category list. Select CurrentSheetSetCustom from the Field Names list. Select Project Name1 from the Custom Property Name list.

Click OK.

5. Click OK to close the Edit Attribute Definition dialog box. 6. Repeat steps 3 through 5 for the remaining attributes in the title block. Refer to the following table for mapping fields to attributes.

Note: You do not need to double-click the attributes for displaying the Edit Attribute Definition dialog box because the command is still active. 7. Press ENTER to end the command. 8. In the Sheet Set Manager, right-click the SHEETNUM - SHEETNAME sheet. Click Remove Sheet. In the Remove Sheets dialog box, click OK. 9. On the dashboard, 2D Draw control panel, click Make Block. 10. In the Block Definition dialog box:

Select Title Block from the Name list. Verify that the base point coordinates are set to 0'-0. Under Objects, click Select Objects.

11. On the sheet:


Select all objects except the plot stamp text. Press ENTER.

12. In the Block Definition dialog box:

Verify that number of selected objects is 36.

Ensure that Convert to Block is clicked. Click OK.

13. In the AutoCAD dialog box, click Yes to redefine the title block. 14. Click OK to close the Edit Attributes dialog box. Note: If the Block Editor appears, close it. Click OK to save changes to the title block. 15. To replace the old sheet creation template with the new template:

In the Sheet Set Manager, right-click the Project A sheet set. Click Properties. In the Sheet Set Properties dialog box, under Sheet Creation, note the filename and location of the sheet creation template. Click Cancel. Click File menu > Save As to overwrite the previous version of the sheet creation template. In the Save Drawing As dialog box:

Select AutoCAD Drawing Template (*.dwt) from the Files of Type list. Navigate to the location where exercise datasets are installed. Navigate to Sheet SetsProjectSheet Template.dwt. Click Save.

In the Save Drawing As dialog box, click Yes to replace the previous version of the sheet creation template. In the Template Options dialog box, click OK.

Modify Existing Callout and View Label Blocks


1. To edit the label blocks in the sheet creation template

On the dashboard, Block Attributes control panel, click Block Attribute Manager. In the Block Attribute Manager dialog box.

Ensure that Callout Bubble is selected from the Block list. Click the SheetNumber tag Click Edit. In the Edit Attribute dialog box, right-click the Default field. Click Insert Field. In the Field dialog box:

Select SheetSetPlaceholder from the Field Names list. Select SheetNumber from the Placeholder Type list. Select the Associate Hyperlink check box. Click OK.

Click OK to close the Edit Attribute dialog box.

2. Repeat the previous step for the ViewNumber tag. Ensure that you select the ViewNumber placeholder type in the Field dialog box. 3. In the Block Attribute Manager dialog box, click Apply. 4. In the Block Attribute Manager dialog box:

Select View Label from the Block list. Edit the default values for all the tags by using the Field dialog box. You do not need to associate hyperlinks with these labels. Ensure that for the ViewportScale, you specify the #" = 1' format.

Click Apply.

5. Repeat the previous step for the following callout blocks. Ensure that you select the Associate Hyperlink option:

Elev Indicator Ext - Down Elev Indicator Ext - Left Elev Indicator Ext - Right

Elev Indicator Ext - Up

6. Click OK to close the Block Attribute Manager dialog box. 7. Save and close the drawing template file.

Verify Functionality of Title Blocks, View Labels, and Callout Blocks


1. To verify the Field functionality:

In the Sheet Set Manager:


Click the Sheet Views tab. Double-click the 1 - Front Elevation view to open it. Right-click the 1 - Front Elevation view. Click Place View Label Block.

In the drawing area, click to position the view label below the left side of the viewport. Zoom in to note that the view number, name, and scale are automatically placed in the view label. This is the result of using fields in the view label attributes.

2. Repeat the previous step for the rear, left, and right elevations. 3. Save and Close Exterior Elevations.dwg. Note: Ensure that a default drawing is open; otherwise, you will not be able to perform the next step. 4. To verify the plot stamp data:

In the Sheet Set Manager, click the Sheet List tab. Right-click the Architectural sheet subset. Click New Sheet. In the New Sheet dialog box:

For Number, enter A-6. For Sheet Title, enter All Elevations. Click OK.

In the Sheet Set Manager, double-click the A-6 - All Elevations sheet to open it. In the drawing area, zoom into the plot stamp. Review the plot data.

Notice that the Plotted field is blank as it cannot display a date until the sheet is plotted.

5. To verify the title block data:


In the drawing area, zoom into the title block. Notice that the sheet title, sheet number, date and other data are displayed. This information is coming from the sheet properties.

In the Sheet Set Manager, right-click the A-6 - All Elevations sheet. Click Properties. In the Sheet Properties dialog box:

For Checked By, enter M. Wright. For Drawn By, enter D. Jones. Click OK.

On the command line, enter REGEN. Press ENTER. In the Sheet Set Manager, right-click the Project A sheet set. Click Properties. In the Sheet Set Properties dialog box, under Sheet Set Custom Properties:

For Client Address, enter GEORGIA, GA. For Client Name, enter ABC MANUFACTURING.

Click OK.

On the command line, enter REGEN. Press ENTER. In the title block, verify that the values for the Client Address and Client Name properties are updated.

Note: If you want to change custom sheet properties for a sheet that already exists in a sheet set, you need to right-click the sheet. 6. To verify the view label data:

In the Sheet Set Manager, Model Views tab, under Locations, expand the tree. Expand Exterior Elevations.dwg. Drag the Front Elevation view onto the sheet. Right-click anywhere in the drawing. Click 3/32" = 1' on the scale list. Click to position the view in the upper-left corner of the sheet. In the drawing area, zoom in to the view label. Verify that the view title and scale are displayed. In the Sheet Set Manager, Sheet Views tab:

Ensure that Elevations is expanded. Right-click the Front Elevation view. Click Rename and Renumber.

In the Rename & Renumber View dialog box:


For Number, enter 1a. Click OK.

On the command line, enter REGEN. Press ENTER. In the drawing area, verify that the view label updates accordingly.

7. To verify that an xref link to the resource drawing is created:


On the command line, enter XREF. Press ENTER. On the External References palette, verify that the A-6 All Elevations external reference is displayed.

Click Close on the title bar.

Note: When you place a view from a resource drawing onto a sheet, an xref link to the resource drawing containing the view is automatically created. 8. To remove a sheet:

In the Sheet Set Manager, Sheet List tab, right-click the A-6 - All Elevations sheet. Click Remove Sheet. In the Remove Sheets dialog box, click OK. Close the drawing without saving.

9. To verify the callout:

In the Sheet Set Manager, Sheet List tab, double-click the A-1 - Main & Second Floor Plans sheet. In the Sheet Set Manager, Sheet Views tab, ensure that the views are displayed by category. To ensure that the views are displayed by category, click the View by Category icon on the Sheet Views tab. Right-click the Elevation category. Click Properties In the View Category dialog box:

Select all the listed callout blocks.

Click OK.

On the Sheet Views tab, right-click the 1 Front Elevation view. Click Place Callout Block > Elev Indicator Ext - Up. In the drawing, click to place the callout block in the bottom-right area.

Notice that the view and sheet numbers of the elevation view are displayed.

10. CTRL+click the hyperlink to access the associated sheet and view.

11. Close all drawings without saving. 12. In the Sheet Set Manager, click Close on the title bar.

Exercise: Publish, Transmit, and Archive Sheet Sets


In this exercise, you update all the drawings in the sheet set with the new title block and plot stamp. You insert a sheet list table and then publish the sheet set by using different options. You create a transmittal package of the sheet set and complete the exercise by archiving the sheet set.

Update Sheet Sets with New Title Block and Plot Stamp
1. Create a new drawing. 2. In the Sheet Set Manager, select Open from the Sheet Set list and navigate to \Project_ptass\Project A.dst. 3. In the Sheet Set Manager:

Expand the Elevations subset. Double-click the E-1 - Front Elevation

subset. 4. In the drawing area:


Select the title block (1). Select the plot stamp (2).

5. To copy the selected title block and plot stamp:


Right-click anywhere in the drawing area. Click Copy with Base Point. Enter 0,0. Press ENTER.

6. In the Sheet Set Manager:


Double-click T-1 - Title Sheet to open it. Select the existing title block.

7. On the dashboard, 2D Draw control panel, click Erase. 8. In the drawing area:

Right-click anywhere in the drawing area. Click Paste. Enter 0,0. Press ENTER.

9. In the drawing area, verify that the new title block and the plot stamp appear in the drawing. 10. Repeat steps 6, 7, and 8 for all the sheets in the Architectural and Structural subsets. Note: The TITLEBLOCK-BORDER layer may be turned off in some sheets. If so, turn it on by using the Layers toolbar. 11. In the drawing area, verify that the sheet set properties are updated in each title block. Note: The Elevation drawings already contain the correct title block. 12. In the Sheet Set Manager, right-click the Project A sheet set title. Click Properties. 13. In the Sheet Set Properties dialog box:

Under Sheet Set Custom Properties, for Total Sheets, enter 12.

Click OK.

14. Starting with the sheet that is currently visible, save and close each sheet until you return to T-1 - Title Sheet. Do not close the T-1 - Title Sheet.

Insert a Sheet List Table


1. In the drawing area:

Verify that the current Sheet Index table has individual lines and text.

Using window selection, select the complete table. Press DELETE to erase this table and replace it with a dynamic sheet list table.

2. In the Sheet Set Manager, right-click the Project A sheet set title. Click Insert Sheet List Table. 3. In the Insert Sheet List Table dialog box, Table Style Settings, select PROJECT INDEX from the Table Style Name list.

4. In the Insert Sheet List Table dialog box:


Under Table Data Settings, for Title Text, enter Sheet Index. View other settings.

Click OK.

5. In the drawing area, click point (1) to position the table, as shown.

6. In the drawing area:


Select the table to activate its grips. Select the grip (1), as shown. Drag the grip (1) to the point (2) to increase the column width of the table.

7. Press ESC to clear the selection. 8. In the Sheet Set Manager:


Select the Project A sheet set title. Click Publish > Publish to DWF.

9. In the Select DWF File dialog box, click Select.

Publish and Create Transmittal and Archival Package


1. On the status bar:

Verify that a notification to view plot and publish details appears. This may take a minute or two before the plot to DWF finishes. Click the notification or right-click the Plot/Publish Details icon.

2. In the Plot or Publish Details window, click Close after viewing the details. 3. In the Windows Explorer:

Navigate to your My Documents folder. Double-click the Project A.dwf file.

4. Verify that a multi-page DWF file is created, containing all the sheets in the sheet set. 5. In the navigation pane, click the various sheets to view them.

6. Close the DWF Viewer. 7. Open several drawings and review their default page setups as follows:

Double-click the sheet name to open the drawing. Right-click a layout tab. Click Page Setup Manager. Click Close to close the Page Setup Manager dialog box after viewing the settings in the dialog box.

8. In the Sheet Set Manager:


Select A-1-Main & Second Floor Plans. Right-click the file > Publish > Publish to Plotter. After the job has completed, try selecting and publishing any of the Elevations.

9. When the plots are complete, review the Plot and Publish Details to verify which sheets were plotted: one sheet, multiple sheet, one subset, the entire sheet set, or named sheet selections. 10. In the Sheet Set Manager:

Right-click the Project A sheet set title. Click Resave All Sheets. Right-click the Project A sheet set. Click eTransmit.

11. In the Create Transmittal dialog box:

View the Sheets, Files Tree, and Files Table tabs.

Click OK

12. Enter a name or accept the default name for the transmittal ZIP file. Click Save. 13. In the drawing area, right-click the Project A sheet set. Click Archive. Note: If the AutoCAD message box appears informing you that some of the sheets were not saved, click OK and resave all sheets and repeat the step to archive Project A. 14. In the Archive a Sheet Set dialog box:

View the Sheets, Files Tree, and Files Table tabs.

Click OK.

15. Enter a name or accept the default name for the archive ZIP file. Click Save. 16. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Create a Table Style


In this exercise, you create a new table style and assign it to existing tables in a drawing.

Create a New Table Style

1. Open c_create_table_styles.dwg. 2. In the layout, zoom to view the tables below the floor plans. 3. On the Dashboard, Tables control panel, click Table Style. 4. In the Table Style dialog box, click New. 5. In the Create New Table Style dialog box:

For New Style Name, enter Schedule.

Click Continue.

6. In the New Table Style dialog box:


Select Data from the Cell Styles list. On the Text tab, select Romans from the Text Style list.

7. In the New Table Style dialog box:


Select Header from the Cell Styles list. On the Text tab, select Romans from the Text Style list. On the General tab, select Yellow from the Fill Color list.

8. In the New Table Style dialog box:


Select Title from the Cell Styles list. On the Text tab, select Architect from the Text Style list. On the General tab, select Cyan from the Fill Color list.

9. To force the title text to be uppercase:


Verify that Title is selected from the Cell Styles list. On the General tab, click [] to change the table cell format.

10. In the Table Cell Format dialog box:

Select Uppercase from the Format list.

Click OK.

11. Click OK to close the New Table Style dialog box. 12. In the Table Style dialog box:

Under Preview, verify that the table appears, as shown.

Note: Notice that the preview does not indicate the uppercase text formatting but the text will get correctly formatted in the actual table.

Click Set Current to set the new table style as the current style. Click Close.

Assign a New Table Style to an Existing Table


1. In the drawing area:

Verify that the Door Schedule table appears, as shown.

Note: Notice that the table includes the initial caps formatting of the title text.

Select the Door Schedule table.

2. On the dashboard, Tables control panel, select Schedules from the Table Style list, to apply the current table style to the Door Schedule table. 3. In the drawing area:

Press ESC. Verify that the Door Schedule table appears, as shown.

4. In the drawing area, select the Window Schedule table. 5. On the Styles toolbar, select Schedules from the Table Style list to apply the current table style to Window Schedule table. 6. In the drawing area:

Press ESC. Verify that the Window Schedule table appears, as shown.

7. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Create a Dimension Table


In this exercise, you create a new table containing tabulated dimensions for a design. You enter static values in the table and a formula that you copy to other cells. You use grips to adjust the size of the table columns. You also use the Properties palette to change cell properties.

Create a Table
1. Open c_create_table.dwg. 2. On the dashboard, Tables control panel, click Table.

3. In the Insert Table dialog box:


Under Insertion Behavior, ensure that Specify Insertion Point is selected. Under Column & Row Settings, adjust the options as shown.

4. In the Insert Table dialog box:

Under Set Cell Styles, specify the options as shown.

Click OK.

5. In the drawing area, specify an insertion point for the table.

6. Verify that the In-Place Text Editor is displayed with the first cell in the table ready for editing. 7. In the table:

In the A1 cell, enter PART NAME. Press TAB. In the B1 cell, enter A. Press TAB. In the C1 cell, enter B. Press TAB. In the D1 cell, enter C.

8. Verify that the table appears as shown.

9. Click OK to close the In-Place Text Editor. Note: If you need to move the table, select the table, and then move it by selecting the top corner grip. 10. Zoom into the table. 11. In the table:

Double-click the empty cell under PART NAME. Enter B762. Press DOWN ARROW.

12. Enter values in the other cells, as shown.

13. After entering the data in the last row:


Press TAB to move to the next column. Use UP ARROW to move to the first cell under A.

14. Enter the values under A, as shown.

Tip: The numbers are the same as under the PART NAME column but without the prefix B. 15. Press TAB to move to the last row under B. 16. In the cell:

Enter the formula as shown.

Click OK.

Note: Do not confuse the labels in the table with the actual cell letter or number. Functions reference the actual cell location. 17. Select the cell in which you entered the formula. 18. Click and drag the grip in the lower-right corner light upwards to auto-fill the other cells under B.

19. Verify that the cell contents under B appear as shown.

20. Press ESC to clear the selection. 21. In the table:


Double-click the first cell in the last column. Enter values as shown.

22. Click OK to close the In-Place Text Editor. 23. Verify the values in the table with the values in the following illustration.

Edit the Table


1. Window select the header cells A to C as shown.

Note: Ensure that you click inside the cells for

window selecting their content. 2. On the Properties palette, under Cell, select Yellow from the Background Fill list.

Note: If the Properties palette is not visible, press CTRL+1 to launch it. 3. Press ESC to clear the selection. 4. Repeat steps 1 to 3 to set the background fill color of PART NAME column to Cyan.

5. Select the table to display its grips. 6. Click and drag the header column grips to resize the columns as shown.

7. Click and drag the top-left grip to reposition the table, as shown.

8. Zoom to the drawing extents. 9. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Use Advanced Table Contents


In this exercise, you edit schedule tables to add a new row that is used to display the total cost for doors and windows in a drawing. You add a revision block to the drawing and include it in the revision table along with field-enabled text that automatically tracks and enters the date of the saved revision and comments from the revision label.

Estimate the Total Cost by Using Formulas


1. Open c_advanced_table_contents.dwg. 2. In the drawing area, zoom into the Door Schedule table. 3. To add a row to the table, in the Door Schedule table:

Select any cell in the bottom row. Right-click anywhere in the drawing. Click Rows > Insert Below. Verify that the Door Schedule table appears, as shown.

4. To merge table cells:


In the bottom row, SHIFT+ select all the cells except the last cell. Right-click anywhere in the drawing. Click Merge > By Row.

5. To right-justify the text in the merged cell:

Right-click anywhere in the drawing. Click Edit Text to open the Text Formatting toolbar. On the Text Formatting toolbar, click Mtext Justification > Bottom Right BR.

6. In the Door Schedule table, for the text in the merged cell, enter Total. 7. On the Text Formatting toolbar, click OK. In the Door Schedule table, verify that the text in the merged cell appears, as shown.

8. To edit the table cells in a column:

Under Cost column, SHIFT+select all the data cells, as shown.

Right-click anywhere in the drawing. Click Data Format.

9. In the Table Cell Format dialog box:


From the Data Type list, select Decimal Number. From the Format list, select Decimal. Click Additional Format.

10. In the Additional Format dialog box:


Under Additional Text, for Prefix, enter $. Click OK and close all dialog boxes. Verify that the last column of the Door Schedule table appears.

11. To sum multiple cells:


Select the bottom right cell in the Door Schedule table. Right-click anywhere in the drawing. Click Insert > Formula > Sum. Select the cells for the sum formula as shown.

12. Click OK to close the Text Formatting toolbar. In the drawing area, verify that the Door Schedule table appears, as shown.

13. Repeat steps 2 through 12 to insert a row, edit and merge cells, format cells, and sum multiple cells for the Window Schedule table. After repeating the steps on the Window Schedule table, verify that the table appears, as shown.

Insert Blocks and Fields in Table Cells


1. From the dashboard, 2D Draw, select Insert Block.

2. In the Insert dialog box:


For Name, select Rev-Label. Click OK.

3. In the drawing area:


Position the block above the schedule tables and click to place it. For Revision Number, enter 1, as shown.

For Revision Attribute Comments, enter Added Total Cells.

4. In the drawing area, verify that the block

appears, as shown.

5. In the drawing area, zoom into the Revisions table in the lower-right corner of the drawing. 6. To add a block to the table:

In the Revisions table, select the blank cell above NUMBER. Right-click the selected cell. Click Insert > Block.

7. In the Insert a Block in a Table Cell dialog box,


Select Rev-Label from the Name list. Select Middle Center from the Overall Cell Alignment list. Click OK.

8. In the Enter Attributes dialog box:


For Revision Number, enter 1. For Revision Comments, enter Added Total Cells. Click OK. In the drawing area, verify that the block in the Revisions table appears, as shown.

9. To add a date to the table, in the drawing area:


In the Revisions table, select the blank cell above DATE. Right-click the selected cell. Click Insert >

Field. 10. In the Field dialog box:


Select Date from the Field Name list. Select the third option from the Examples list. Click OK. In the drawing area, verify that the date in the Revisions table appears, as shown.

Note: The date will be different from the image shown. 11. To add comments to the table:

In the Revisions table, select the blank cell above COMMENTS. Right-click the selected cell. Click Insert > Field.

12. In the Field dialog box:


Select Objects from the Field Category list. Select Object from the Field Name list. Click the Select Object button, as shown.

13. In the drawing area:


Between the schedule tables, select the Rev-Label block. In the Field dialog box, under Property, select REVCOMMENTS. Click OK. Press ESC.

14. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Extract Attributes


In this exercise, you extract attributes to create tables for door and window schedules. You add a Total column and row and optionally add the necessary

equations to the cells in tables.

Create a New Table Style


1. Open c_extract_attributes.dwg. 2. Open On the dashboard, Tables control panel, click Table Style. 3. In the Table Style dialog box, click New. 4. In the Create New Table Style dialog box:

For New Style Name, enter Schedule.

Click Continue.

5. In the New Table Style dialog box:


Select Data from the Cell Styles list. On the Text tab, select Romans from the Text Style list.

6. On the General tab, select Middle Left from the Alignment list.

7. In the New Table Style dialog box:


Select Header from the Cell Styles list. On the Text tab, select Romans from the Text Style list.

8. In the New Table Style dialog box:


Select Title from the Cell Styles list. On the Text tab, select Romans from the Text Style list.

Click OK.

9. In the Table Style dialog box:

Select Schedule from the Styles list.

Click Set Current. Click Close.

Extract Attributes for Door Schedule


1. On the dashboard, Block Attributes control panel, click Data Extraction. 2. On Page 1 of the Data Extraction wizard, click Next. 3. In the Save Data Extraction As window:

For File Name, enter Door Schedule. Click Save.

4. On Page 2 of the Data Extraction wizard:

Ensure that Include Current Drawing is selected.

Click Next.

5. On Page 3 of the Data Extraction wizard:

Select Display Blocks with Attributes Only.

Right-click in the Objects list. Click Uncheck All.

6. Select the check boxes adjoining the following options in the Object column:

Door Door - Bifold Door - French

7. Click Next to display Page 4 of the Data Extraction wizard. 8. On Page 4 of the Data Extraction wizard:

Under Category Filter clear all check boxes except Attribute.

Right-click in the Properties list. Click Check All to select all attributes. Click Next.

9. On Page 5 of the Data Extraction wizard:

Right-click the Count column. Click Rename Column. For column name, enter Quantity.

10. On Page 5 of the Data Extraction wizard, drag each column to reorder them in the following sequence:

Sym Width Height Style Ref# Manufacturer Quantity Cost Name

11. To sort the values in the table in ascending order of Sym column values:

Select the Sym column. Click Sort Column Options.

12. In the Sort Columns dialog box:


Select Ascending from the Order list. Click OK.

13. On Page 5 of the Data Extraction wizard:


Clear Show Name Column to stop displaying the Name column. Click Next.

14. On page 6 of Data Extraction wizard:

Select Insert Data Extraction Table Into Drawing to select the output type for attribute extraction.

Click Next.

15. On Page 7 of the Data Extraction wizard:

Ensure that Schedule is selected from the Select the Table Style to Use for the Inserted Table. For Enter a Title for Your Table, enter DOOR SCHEDULE. Ensure that Use Property Names as Additional Column Headers is selected.

16. Click Next to display Page 8 of the Data Extraction wizard. 17. On Page 8 of the Data Extraction wizard, click Finish to complete the extraction and close the wizard. 18. In the drawing area, select an insertion point below the left side view, as shown.

Extract Attributes for Window Schedule


1. On the dashboard, Block Attributes control panel, click Data Extraction.

2. On Page 1 of the Data Extraction wizard:


Select Use Previous Extraction as a Template (.dxe or .blk). Click [].

3. In the Open Template window:


Select Door Schedule. Click Open.

Note: Though the new table will represent Window Schedule, selecting the previous extraction simplifies selecting the attributes and sorting the columns because the blocks contain the same attribute names. 4. On Page 1 of the Data Extraction wizard, click Next to display the Save Data Extraction As window. 5. In the Save Data Extraction As window:

For File Name, enter Window Schedule Click Save.

6. On Page 2 of the Data Extraction wizard, click Next to display Page 3 of the wizard. 7. On Page 3 of the Data Extraction wizard:

Clear the check boxes adjoining all Door options in the Object column. Select the check box adjoining Window option in the Object column.

Click Next.

8. On Page 4 of the Data Extraction wizard:


Under Category Filter, ensure that Attribute and Dynamic Block is selected. Click Next.

9. On Page 5 of the Data Extraction wizard:

Verify that the columns are already in order by checking whether the column names are in the same order as you placed them for the Door Schedule table. Verify that the values in Sym column are already sorted in the ascending order. Click Next.

Note: The columns are in order and sorting is already done as a result of using the data extraction template file. 10. On Page 6 of the Data Extraction wizard:

Ensure that Insert Data Extraction Table Into Drawing is selected. Click Next.

11. On Page 7 of the Data Extraction wizard:


For Enter a Title for Your Table, enter WINDOW SCHEDULE. Ensure that Schedule is selected from the Select the Table Style to Use for the Inserted Table. Ensure that Use Property Names as

Additional Column Headers is selected. Click Next.

12. On Page 8 of the Data Extraction wizard, click Finish to complete the extraction and close the wizard. 13. In the drawing area, select an insertion point below the right side view, as shown.

Compute Total Cost


1. In the drawing area, zoom into the Door Schedule table. 2. To insert a column to the right of the Door Schedule table:

Select the first cell in the Cost column. Right-click anywhere in the drawing. Click Columns > Insert Right. Verify that the Door Schedule table now appears, as shown.

Note: The cells in the table may be in a locked state. To unlock the table cells, select all the cells in the table, right-click anywhere in the drawing, and click Locking > Unlocked. 3. In the Door Schedule table:

Select the last cell in the Cost column. Right-click anywhere in the drawing. Click Rows > Insert Below. Verify that the Door Schedule table appears, as shown.

4. Select the cell indicated in the following illustration.

5. To insert an equation into the selected table cell:


Right-click anywhere in the drawing. Click Insert > Formula > Equation. Verify that the = sign appears automatically in the selected cell. For equation, enter G3*H3 in the selected cell.

6. On the Text Formatting toolbar, click OK.

7. In the drawing area, in the Door Schedule table, verify that a new value is placed in the selected cell, as shown.

8. To edit a table cell:

Select the cell in which you inserted the equation.

Right-click anywhere in the drawing. Click Insert > Edit Field.

9. In the Field dialog box:


Select 0.00 from the Precision list. Click Additional Format.

10. In the Additional Format dialog box:


For Prefix, enter $. Click OK.

11. Click OK to close the Field dialog box. 12. In the drawing area:

Press ESC to clear all selections. In the Door Schedule table, verify that the $ sign now appears before the value in the edited cell, as shown.

13. To copy a table cell:


Select the cell (1) that you just edited. Right-click anywhere in the drawing. Click Copy. Holding SHIFT down, select all the cells (2) below the cell (1).

14. To paste the copied table cell in the selected cells:

Right-click anywhere in the drawing. Click Paste. Press ESC. Verify that the column appears, as shown.

15. To increase the width of the last column:


Select the Door Schedule table. Holding SHIFT down, select the last column. Grip edit the second row of grips to increase the column width.

16. Verify that the last column appears, as shown.

17. To enter text in a table cell:


Double-click the top cell in the last column of the Door Schedule table. For text, enter TOTAL in the selected cell. Verify that the cell appears, as shown.

18. To merge table cells:

In the bottom row, holding SHIFT down, select all the cells except the last cell.

Right-click anywhere in the drawing. Click Merge > By Row. Double-click the merged cell.

19. On the Text Formatting toolbar, click Mtext Justification > Bottom Right BR to right-justify the text in the merged cell.

20. In the Door Schedule table, for the text in the merged cell, enter TOTAL. 21. On the Text Formatting toolbar, click OK.

22. In the Door Schedule table, verify that the text in the merged cell appears, as shown.

23. To sum multiple cells:


Select the bottom right cell in the Door Schedule table. Right-click anywhere in the drawing. Click Insert > Formula > Sum. Select the cells for the sum formula by defining a window from point (1) to point (2).

24. On the Text Formatting toolbar, click OK. 25. To edit the cell with the sum value:

Select the cell with the sum value. Right-click anywhere in the drawing. Click Insert > Edit Field.

26. In the Field dialog box:


Select 0.00 from the Precision list. Click Additional Format.

27. In the Additional Format dialog box:


For Prefix, enter $. Click OK.

28. Click OK to close the Field dialog box. 29. In the drawing area:

Press ESC. Verify that the new cell appears, as shown.

30. Repeat the steps in this exercise to insert columns, rows, and equation, to edit and merge cells, and to sum multiple cells for the Window Schedule table. 31. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Import and Export Tables


In this exercise, you import a parts list table into an assembly drawing. You remove the property overrides and assign the Parts List Table style to the table. You then export the table and compare the results. 1. Using Microsoft Excel, open parts_list.xls. 2. In the Excel spreadsheet:

Select the F3 cell representing the total weight of item 1. Verify that the formula for calculating the total weight is =E3*B3.

3. To copy the cells to the clipboard:


Activate the A1 cell. SHIFT+select all the cells that contain data.

Press CTRL+C .

4. To convert the data to an AutoCAD table:


Open c_import_export_table.dwg. Click Edit menu > Paste Special.

5. In the Paste Special dialog box:


Select AutoCAD Entities from the list. Click OK.

6. In the drawing:

Select a point to position the table. Click OK to close the In-Place Text Editor.

Zoom in to the table.

Note: You may need to use the lower-right grip to resize the height and width of the table. 7. In the table:

Double-click the first cell in the Total Weight column. Verify that the formulas used in the spreadsheet are maintained.

Click OK to close the Text Formatting toolbar.

8. To change the number format in the Item and Qty columns, in the table:

SHIFT+select all data cells in the Item and Qty columns. Right-click anywhere in the drawing area. Click Data Format.

9. In the Table Cell Format dialog box:

Select Whole Number from the Data Type list.

Click OK.

10. In the Invalid Table Cell Datatype dialog box, click OK. 11. In the drawing area, press ESC to clear the selection set. 12. To remove the property overrides, such as the fill color from the table:

Select the table.

Right-click anywhere in the drawing area. Click Remove All Property Overrides.

13. To apply the Parts List style to the table, on the dashboard, Tables control panel, select Parts List from the Table Styles Control list.

14. To right align text in a table cell:


At the bottom of the table, double-click the Total cell. On the Text Formatting toolbar, select Middle Right from the MText Justification list. Click OK to close the In-Place Text Editor.

15. To export the table:


Select the table. Right-click anywhere in the drawing area. Click Export.

16. In the Export Data dialog box:


For File Name, enter large_assembly_parts_list.csv. Click Save.

17. To open the exported table:


Navigate to the location of the large_assembly_parts_list.csv file. Double-click large_assembly_parts_list.csv.

18. In the Excel spreadsheet, ensure that:


The data is displayed with no formatting. The values in the Total Weight column are only static numbers and no formulas are maintained.

19. Close all files without saving.

Exercise: Use Live Tables


In this exercise, you link data from Excel to a table in your drawing. You add static data to the table, modify the Excel file, and update the table data. 1. Open I_Using-Tables.dwg. 2. To create a linked table:

Start Table. In the Insert Table dialog box, Insert Options, select From a Data Link. In the From a Data Link list, click Launch Data Link Manager.

3. To select a data link:


In the Select a Data Link dialog box, click Create a New Excel Link. For Name enter Equipment_List. Click OK. In the New Excel Data Link dialog box, click Browse for File. Select Machine_List.xls, click Open.

4. To use part of the Excel sheet:


In the New Excel Data Link dialog box, Link Options, click Link to Range. For Range enter A1:D21, click Preview. Verify that just the first four columns are chosen. Click OK.

5. To place the table in your drawing:


In the Select a Data Link dialog box, click OK. In the Insert table dialog box, click OK. Click to place the table in the upper right area of your drawing sheet as shown.

6. Zoom in to display just the table. 7. To change the size of all text in the table:

Create a selection by clicking in cell A1, drag to cell D21, and release. Right-click, and then click Properties. Set Text Height = .25. Using grips, adjust the column width as needed.

8. To unlock a column of the table for static data:


Click in cell A2, drag to cell A21, and release. Right-click, and then click Locking > Unlocked.

9. To add data to the unlocked cells:


Add consecutive numbers, beginning with 1, to the Number column. Use Properties to set the text height of the numbers to 5/32".

Use the shortcut menu to set cell alignment to Middle Center.

10. To modify the Excel data:


Open Machine_List.xls. Modify the pool table size to be 4'x8'. Modify the Changer model number to be 5500. Save and close the file. Observe the notification of change.

11. To update your data link:


On the Tables panel, click Update Data Links. Select the table in your drawing. Press ENTER. Select NO, to overwrite Edited Cells.

Note your changes to the pool table size and changer model number.

12. Close all files without saving.

Design with Parametric Constraints in AutoCAD 2010

This tutorial consists of four 10-15 minute lessons that will provide you with a basic understanding of parametric drawing, familiarize you with geometric and dimensional constraints, and introduce you to controlling a design with formulas and parameters. Audience: Users new to the Parametric Drawing feature in AutoCAD 2010 Prerequisites: Basic AutoCAD knowledge Time to complete: 40-50 minutes

Objectives
In this tutorial, you learn the basics of Parametric Drawing including the following:

Work with Geometric Constraints Work with Dimensional Constraints Control a Design Using Parameters and Expressions

Tutorial Files
All necessary files for this tutorial are located at http://www.autodesk.com/autocad-tutorials. Recommended: Before starting this tutorial

1 Download the parametric_drawing.zip file from http://www.autodesk.com/autocad-tutorials. 2 Unzip parametric_drawing.zip to C:\My Documents\Tutorials.

In this Tutorial

Lesson 1: Introduction to Parametric Drawing Lesson 2: Work with Geometric Constraints Lesson 3: Work with Dimensional Constraints Lesson 4: Control a Design Using Parameters and Expressions

Lesson 1: Introduction to Parametric Drawing


Time to complete: 10-15 minutes Learning Objectives On completing this lesson, you will be able to do the following:

Describe the purpose of parametric drawing. Recognize geometric constraints, dimensional constraints, and the constraint cursor icon. Identify the objects that are constrained and what constraints apply to each object. Turn on and off the display of geometric and dimensional constraints, and control the precision and unit style of dimensional constraints.

File Name: PD_Deck1.dwg Command: CONSTRAINTBAR, DYNCONSTRAINTDISPLAY Parametric drawing is a method for designing with constraints. Constraints are rules that are applied to 2D geometry. By applying constraints, you can control the location, size, distance, angle, and other parameters of objects in a drawing. As a result, you can identify and maintain specifications in a project.

2 | Design with Parametric Constraints in AutoCAD 2010

There are two types of constraints:

Geometric constraints control the relationships of objects with respect to each other. Dimensional constraints control the distance, length, angle, and radial values of objects.

Lets explore these constraints by taking a tour of a constrained drawing of a backyard deck plan. To view a constrained drawing You take a tour of a constrained drawing of a simple backyard deck. 1 Start AutoCAD and then on the ribbon, click the Parametric tab.

2 On the Dimensional panel, click Show Dynamic Constraints to make sure that they are turned off. On the Command line, you should see the following: Enter new value for DYNCONSTRAINTDISPLAY <1>: 0 3 Open the drawing file, PD_Deck1.dwg. It should be located in the C:\My Documents\Tutorials folder.

This is the plan view of the deck. However, this drawing could represent a mechanical part or a section of a wide gutter instead, depending on your discipline. 4 Move your cursor over the objects in the drawing. Notice the small, blue cursor icon. It indicates that each object has one or more constraints applied to it.

Lesson 1: Introduction to Parametric Drawing | 3

To view geometric constraints The display of all constraints has been turned off. Lets turn on the display of geometric constraints to see what they look like.

1 On the Geometric panel, click Show All.

2 Click and drag the constraint icons to relocate them as shown.

All the geometric constraints are now displayed. Later, you will learn how to create and delete them. 3 Move your cursor over each constraint icon and notice the tooltip that describes it. 4 Continue moving your cursor over each constraint icon and notice that the associated objects are highlighted so you can determine which objects are constrained.

4 | Design with Parametric Constraints in AutoCAD 2010

The two vertical lines are constrained to be parallel and equal in length. The left vertical line is constrained to be perpendicular to the horizontal line. 5 Move your cursor over each object and notice that the geometric constraints associated with it are highlighted. 6 Move your cursor over each blue square on the corners of the deck to display the Coincident constraint icon.

Coincident constraints display as blue squares to reduce clutter. They constrain the endpoints of the lines and the arc to remain in contact. 7 On the Geometric panel, click Hide All to turn off the display of the geometric constraints. To view dynamic constraints Lets turn on the dimensional constraints to see what they look like. 1 On the Dimensional panel, click Show Dynamic Constraints. Dynamic constraints are the most common type of dimensional constraints used. The other type, called annotational constraints, are used for plotting and you will learn about them later. This deck was constructed using metric units (centimeters).

Lesson 1: Introduction to Parametric Drawing | 5

Dynamic constraints look like dimensions, but behave in the opposite way. Dimensions are driven by objectsthey report the lengths, angles, and radial sizes of objects. In contrast, dynamic constraints drive objectsthey determine the lengths, angles, and radial sizes of objects. The default format of dynamic constraints includes a name such as d1 or rad1, and a lock icon. Later, you will learn how to change the values of these constraints to control the size and shape of a design. 2 Zoom in and out of the drawing. Notice that the dynamic constraints always remain the same size. You can change the numeric display style of dynamic constraints by changing the units or the display precision. 3 At the Command prompt, enter units. 4 In the Drawing Units dialog box, under Length, change the linear precision from 0.00 to 0 and click Ok.

6 | Design with Parametric Constraints in AutoCAD 2010

5 If you use architectural units, open the drawing file, PD_deck1_imperial.dwg. Then use the UNITS command to change the unit style to Architectural with a precision of 0'-0".

To view the effects of constrained objects 1 Click Show All to turn on the display of geometric constraints. 2 Start the Move command and select the horizontal line. Move it to a different location. Because the deck is fully constrained, all the objects are dependent on each other, and the shape and size of the deck does not change. 3 Close the drawing without saving it.

Lesson 1: Introduction to Parametric Drawing | 7

Summary Parametric drawing has many applications for disciplines that require applying and maintaining design specifications. Geometric and dimensional constraints work together to include the design intent and requirements within a drawing. In the following lessons, you learn how to apply and work with constraints. Review Questions 1 How would you describe the purpose of parametric drawing and constraints to someone? 2 What is the purpose of the blue icon that appears when you roll over some objects? 3 How can you tell which geometric constraints are applied to a specific object? 4 What is the purpose of dimensional constraints? 5 How can you change the precision displayed in dimensional constraints?

Lesson 2: Work with Geometric Constraints


Time to complete: 10-15 minutes Learning Objectives On completing this lesson, you will be able to do the following:

Create coincident, perpendicular, and parallel constraints. Recognize and use the point glyph when creating constraints. Use the Autoconstrain feature to apply all geometric constraints automatically. Delete or relax one or all the constraints applied to an object.

File Name: PD_Deck2.dwg Command: GEOMCONSTRAINT, AUTOCONSTRAIN Geometric constraints are applied before dimensional constraints to define and preserve the general shape of the design. For example, geometric constraints can specify that two endpoints always remain coincident, or that specified lines always remain perpendicular. AutoCAD 2010 supports 12 types of geometric constraints.

8 | Design with Parametric Constraints in AutoCAD 2010

Lets apply geometric constraints to a drawing of another simple backyard deck plan. To apply coincident constraints 1 Open the drawing file, PD_Deck2.dwg.

Typically, the first constraints that you apply to a drawing are Coincident constraints. As the name implies, Coincident constraints provide a way of making sure that the endpoints of objects always remain joined. However, the definition is broader. For example, a Coincident constraint accepts the extension of an object as a valid location. In some cases, a Coincident constraint is similar to a Nearest object snap. Lets create a Coincident constraint between the endpoints of the two lines. 2 On the Geometric panel, click Coincident.

3 Click near the endpoints of the horizontal and the vertical lines as shown. This action creates a Coincident constraint that looks like a small blue square at the corner.

Lesson 2: Work with Geometric Constraints | 9

A red point glyph is displayed for each selection. These glyphs work like object snaps, but are limited to Endpoint, Midpoint, and Center. To create a Coincident constraint at a T-intersection between two lines, use the Object option. 4 On the Geometric panel, click Coincident again. 5 At the Command prompt, press Enter to specify the Object option. 6 Select the horizontal line as shown, and then select the vertical line near the endpoint. Make sure that the endpoint glyph is displayed.

You could continue applying Coincident constraints to the other intersections manually, but there is a faster way to apply them. 7 On the Geometric panel, click Coincident again. 8 At the Command prompt, enter a to specify the Autoconstrain option. 9 Select all the objects in the deck plan and press Enter.

All the Coincident constraints are applied. We will now add the rest of the geometric constraints. To apply perpendicular constraints 1 On the Geometric panel, click Perpendicular.

10 | Design with Parametric Constraints in AutoCAD 2010

2 Select the horizontal and vertical lines as shown.

The order in which you select the two lines makes a difference in some cases. For example, imagine two lines in a V-shape with a Coincident constraint at their intersection. When you apply a Perpendicular constraint, the first line that you select is the reference line. The other line will adjust to the first line. This behavior also applies to several other types of geometric constraints. 3 On the Geometric panel, click Perpendicular again. 4 Select the horizontal and vertical lines as shown.

Notice that the two lines do not need to intersect at their endpoints to accept the Perpendicular constraint. In some cases, the lines might not even touch, but can intersect at an extrapolated intersection. There are several lines in the deck plan that should always be parallel. We will add those constraints next. To apply parallel constraints 1 On the Geometric panel, click Parallel. 2 Select the two horizontal lines as shown.

Lesson 2: Work with Geometric Constraints | 11

Parallel constraints do not constrain the lengths and offset distances of these lines. They only make sure that the lines remain parallel. 3 Click Parallel again. 4 Select the two vertical lines as shown.

5 Go ahead and apply Parallel constraints to each of the four lines of the stairs. Use the right-most of the four lines as the reference in each case: 1 and 2, 1 and 3, and 1 and 4. You might need to zoom in to select the lines.

It is not critical to make all the lines parallel to the reference line, but this method captures the design intent.

12 | Design with Parametric Constraints in AutoCAD 2010

To apply fix constraints to the drawing A Fix constraint locks a specified point on an object to a fixed WCS location in the drawing. It can also lock a specified object to a limited range of freedom. Applying Fix constraints typically is used for one of two purposes: Permanently locate an object within a drawing so it cannot be moved or rotated. Temporarily hold an object or a point on an object in place while you manipulate other, partially constrained objects. You can apply Fix constraints to several objects or points on objects in a drawing. 1 On the Geometric panel, click Fix. 2 At the Command prompt, enter o to specify the Object option. 3 Select the horizontal line on the deck plan as shown.

This constraint keeps the selected line segment collinear with an imaginary infinite line, but it does not lock the locations of its endpoints. Lets apply a Fix Point constraint to an endpoint of the same line. 4 On the Geometric panel, click Fix. 5 Click the line near the left end. The second lock icon confirms that the line is now fixed in place. It cannot move or rotate.

Lesson 2: Work with Geometric Constraints | 13

To remove constraints There are several method you can use to remove constraints. 1 Right-click the Fix constraint that you just added and click Delete. Alternatively, you can move your cursor over a constraint icon and press the Delete key. This action removes a single constraint.

2 On the Manage panel, click Delete Constraints. 3 Select one of the lines. All the constraints applied to that line are removed. Alternatively, if you are working within a command and one or more constraints prevent you from making a change, press and release the Ctrl key to relax the constraints on the selected objects. After completing the command, the constraints will be reapplied, if possible. 4 On the Manage panel, click Delete Constraints. 5 Select all the lines using a Window or Crossing selection. This action removes all the constraints from the deck plan. To constrain selected objects automatically The Autoconstrain feature adds a complete set of geometric constraints to selected objects automatically. Lets try it on the deck plan.

1 On the Geometric panel, click Auto Constrain. 2 Select all the lines using a Window or Crossing selection. All the objects are geometrically constrained to each other. You can now make adjustments, deleting the constraints that you do not want to use and applying others.

14 | Design with Parametric Constraints in AutoCAD 2010

Notice from the drawing that Autoconstrain assumed that the bottom horizontal line should always remain horizontal, and that the top step should always be parallel to the right edge of the deck. These and other assumptions are not always going to be correct for your designs. You should always plan to make some adjustments after using Autoconstrain. 3 Close the drawing without saving it. Summary You have learned how to apply several types of geometric constraints to capture the intent and requirements of the design. However, geometric constraints do not fully constrain the size and shape of the objects in a drawing. To fully constrain a drawing, you need to apply dimensional constraints, which is the subject of the next lesson. Review Questions 1 What is the purpose of a coincident constraint? 2 What is the significance of the first object selected when you apply some types of constraints? 3 What are Fix constraints? 4 What is a fast way to remove all the constraints from a selected object? 5 When is it recommended to use Autoconstrain?

Lesson 3: Work with Dimensional Constraints


Time to complete: 10-15 minutes Learning Objectives On completing this lesson, you will be able to do the following:

Describe dimensional constraints. Create aligned and angular constraints. Change a design by changing the values of the dimensional constraints. Plot dimensional constraints for design reviews, and understand the differences between dynamic and annotational constraints.

File Name: PD_Deck3.dwg

Lesson 3: Work with Dimensional Constraints | 15

Command: DIMCONSTRAINT Dynamic dimensional constraints control the lengths, radial sizes, and angles of objects. They also control the distances between objects or points on objects. For example, in addition to controlling the lengths of selected objects, you might want to keep the distance between lines constant, such as the tread length of stairs. Lets apply dynamic constraints to the drawing of the deck plan. To create dynamic constraints 1 Open the drawing file, PD_Deck3.dwg. This drawing is the deck plan with all the geometric constraints applied Lets verify that the geometric constraints are applied. 2 On the Geometric panel, click Show All to display all geometric constraints.

3 On the Geometric panel, click Hide All. 4 On the Dimensional panel, click Aligned. 5 At the Command prompt, press Enter to specify the Object option. 6 Select the horizontal line as shown and then click a location for the dynamic constraint.

16 | Design with Parametric Constraints in AutoCAD 2010

7 Press Enter or click anywhere outside the box to accept the current length of the line.

This step provides the opportunity for you to change the length of the line. 8 Click Aligned again. 9 Create an aligned constraint for the bottom horizontal line as shown. You will need the extra space later.

Lesson 3: Work with Dimensional Constraints | 17

10 Create two more Aligned constraints on the vertical lines as shown.

You might wonder why we did not apply Horizontal and Vertical constraints instead of the Aligned constraints. For this design, we want to control the lengths of the lines. The Horizontal and Vertical constraints control only the horizontal and vertical distances. This distinction is

18 | Design with Parametric Constraints in AutoCAD 2010

important when you work with diagonal lines or later need to rotate a drawing. 11 Zoom into the area of the stairs. We will apply constraints on the tread length for each step. 12 On theDimensional panel, click Aligned. 13 Click the vertical line as shown, making sure that you see the endpoint glyph.

14 Click the endpoint of the vertical line to the left, and click a location for the constraint.

15 Press Enter or click anywhere outside the box to accept the value of 45. 16 Create an Aligned constraint between the next pair of lines as shown.

Lesson 3: Work with Dimensional Constraints | 19

17 Repeat the process for the last pair of lines as shown.

Each of the endpoints of these lines will now maintain a distance of 45 cm from each other, and the parallel geometric constraints will keep the lines parallel. 18 On the Dimensional panel, click Angular. 19 Click the two lines in the corner of the deck as shown.

20 | Design with Parametric Constraints in AutoCAD 2010

20 Click a location for the constraint, and press Enter or click anywhere outside the box to accept the value of 90 degrees. Later, you will see why we chose to use an Angular constraint for this corner. 21 Zoom out until you can see the entire deck plan as shown.

Now that we have fully constrained this deck design, lets change some of the parameters. There are several ways to do this.

Lesson 3: Work with Dimensional Constraints | 21

To change dimensional constraints As mentioned previously, before you modify a constrained design, its often a good idea to apply one or more Fix constraints first. This keeps those objects from shifting or rotating. You can always delete the Fix constraints later. 1 Turn on the display all Geometric constraints and verify that the two Fix constraints are applied. Then turn off the display of all Geometric constraints. 2 Double-click the d1 dynamic constraint as shown.

3 Click within the edit box and enter 1000 as the new value. The entire deck was shortened slightly. Next, we will try to make the deck plan a little less boring. 4 Double-click the ang1 dynamic constraint as shown.

22 | Design with Parametric Constraints in AutoCAD 2010

5 Click in the edit box and enter 120 as the new value.

This design is more interesting, but still too timid. Lets make the angle larger. 6 Change the value of the ang1 dynamic constraint to 140.

Lesson 3: Work with Dimensional Constraints | 23

This design is much more interesting. You might want to experiment with other values. 7 Close the drawing without saving it. To plot dimensional constraints Dynamic constraints do not have the same purpose as the dimensions in a construction document or a manufacturing drawing, nor do they maintain typical dimensioning standards. Thus, dynamic constraints are not plotted with the rest of the drawing. However, you might want to plot them for design reviews. In those circumstances, you can change dynamic constraints into annotational constraints. Annotational constraints are plotted, have a static size, and use the current dimension style. 1 Open the Properties palette. 2 Select a dynamic constraint. 3 In the Properties palette, under Constraint, select Annotational from the Constraint Form drop-down list.

24 | Design with Parametric Constraints in AutoCAD 2010

The resulting annotational constraint uses the current dimension style. 4 Close the Properties palette. 5 (Optional) Plot your drawing to a plotter or a printer. Summary You have learned how to apply dimensional constraints and how they work with geometric constraints to control a design. You also learned how to change designs by changing the values of dimensional constraints. Finally, you learned how to change dynamic constraints into annotational constraints for plots to be used in design reviews. Next, you will learn how to add formulas and expressions to a design. Review Questions 1 What is the most commonly used dynamic dimensional constraint that controls the lengths of objects or the distances between them? 2 How can you change the value of a dimensional constraint? 3 What is the purpose of a Fix constraint? 4 What must you do to create a plot that displays dimensional constraints for a design review?

Lesson 4: Control a Design Using Parameters and Expressions


Time to complete: 10-15 minutes

Lesson 4: Control a Design Using Parameters and Expressions | 25

Learning Objectives On completing this lesson, you will be able to do the following::

Incorporate formulas and expressions, and manage them with the Parameters Manager. Create and name user variables.

File Name: PD_Deck4.dwg, PD_Areas.dwg Command: PARAMETERS, -PARAMETERS You can modify dimensional constraints and user variables either directly or with the Parameters Manager. To rename dimensional constraints Lets change some dynamic constraints to use more descriptive names. 1 Open the drawing file, PD_Deck4.dwg. 2 Double-click the dynamic constraint, d1, and change the d1 to Length as the new name. 3 Press Enter or click outside the edit box to accept the change.

Another way to change the name of a dynamic constraint is to use the Parameters Manager. 4 On the Parametric tab, Manage panel, click Parameters Manager.

26 | Design with Parametric Constraints in AutoCAD 2010

5 In the Name column, double-click d2 and enter Width. 6 Press Enter or click outside the edit box to accept the change. To define a user variable Often, it is convenient to make a single change that affects multiple dynamic constraints. For example, you might want to experiment with several tread widths for the steps in the deck plan. 1 Double-click an empty row in the Parameters Manager.

2 Change the name of the new user variable from user1 to Tread. 3 Press Enter or click outside the Parameters Manager palette to accept the new name.

Lesson 4: Control a Design Using Parameters and Expressions | 27

4 Change the value in the Expression column from 1 to 45. 5 Press Enter or click outside the Parameters Manager to accept the new value. 6 In the Expression column of d5, d6, and d7, enter Tread.

These changes associate the value of each of these distances with the user variable, Tread. Lets test your control over the tread widths. 7 In the Expression column of the user variable, Tread, change the value from 45 to 60. Then change it to 40. The changes are updated automatically in the deck plan. 8 Close the drawing without saving it. To create dimensional relationships between objects The Expression column in the Parameters Manager can contain constants, references to dynamic constraints, references to user variables, arithmetic operators, and functions. Consider the following example. 1 Open the drawing file, PD_Areas.dwg. This is a fully constrained drawing of a rectangle with a circle at its center. The circle always has the same area as the rectangle. Lets examine the dynamic constraints in detail. 2 On the Geometric panel, click Show All and then Hide all to confirm that geometric constraints have been applied.

28 | Design with Parametric Constraints in AutoCAD 2010

3 If necessary, open the Parameters Manager.

4 In the Parameters Manager, click the Length row. As long as your cursor is in the Parameters Manager, the Length dynamic constraint remains highlighted in the drawing. Length is set to the constant 60. 5 Click the Width row and observe the highlighted dynamic constraint. To center the circle, the d1 and d2 dynamic constraints are defined as Length/2 and Width/2. The user variable, Area, is defined as the product of Length and Width, the area of the rectangle. 6 Click the Radius row.

Lesson 4: Control a Design Using Parameters and Expressions | 29

The radius of the circle is defined with the expression containing the area of the rectangle, the square root function, and the constant, PI. This sets the radius of the circle to a value that constrains the area of the circle to be equal to the area of the rectangle. Notice that you can store expressions in a dimensional constraint or in a user variable. A full list of available functions is documented in the AutoCAD Users Guide Help topic, Constrain a Design with Formulas and Equations. 7 Experiment by changing the values for the length and width of the rectangle. Notice that the Value column displays the current value of the expression in the Expression column. Are you curious what would happen if you set the length of the rectangle to 0 or -1? 8 Close the drawing without saving it. Summary You have learned how to incorporate mathematical expressions in dimensional constraints and in user variables with the Parameters Manager. These tools provide a method for completely controlling the shape, size, and proportions of a design. Review Questions 1 What are the two places within a parametric drawing that you can store a formula? 2 How can you display a list of user variables in a drawing? 3 What is the purpose of the Value column in the Parameters Manager? For more information about working with the Parametric Drawing feature, see the AutoCAD Users Guide. Help topic, Design with Parametric Constraints.

30 | Design with Parametric Constraints in AutoCAD 2010

Potrebbero piacerti anche