WorldCAD Access

Cui Group Name

I am updating my ebook, Tailoring AutoCAD CUI 2010, and came across a ribbon button property that isn't documented by Autodesk: Group Name, under the Appearance section.

I couldn't find an explanation for in with the help files provided by Autodesk with AutoCAD 2010. I googled for it, but only found references to another kind of Cui-related "group" -- partial CUI files loaded with the CuiLoad command. A few moments worth of tinkering found that Cui's Group Name is not related to the names of Cui groups.

I reread the Cui dialog box's description for Group Name:

Specifies the group name for the command when grouping is enabled for a drop-down.

It appeared to be related to drop-downs, Autodesk's new name for flyouts. I searched through the Cui file to see if Autodesk used this Group Name feature anywhere. It didn't appear to.

Then I found that flyouts (sorry, drop-downs) have a different property for groups: Grouping can be Yes or No. The dialog box's description for this option is:

Specifies whether commands under a drop-down are grouped together using their assigned group name (Yes or No).

Things that make you go, "Hmmm..." I knew that buttons in flyouts are listed by the order in which they appear in the Cui file. I wondered if Grouping grouped the buttons by user-defined names specified by Group Name.

I randomly assigned the names "jim" and "bob" to the buttons in the Circle flyout, and then tested it. My hunch was right, as the following figure illustrates:

The grouping option allows you to segregate flyout buttons into user-named groups.

There is no way to specify the order of the user-defined names. Because I gave the first button the group name of "jim," jim got listed first.

- - -

As for Tailoring AutoCAD CUI 2010, I hope to have it ready for purchase by early next week.

Use Task-Appropriate Tools

Next time a vendor tells you to upgrade his software, ask youself if you even need the software -- never mind the upgrade. The US Navy did. Check out the aircraft and bomb databases described in The Nimitz Goes To Home Depot by Kevin Meyer.

He told us he was offered a multi-million-dollar touch-screen computer system to replace [the existing manual system]. His answer? How do I fix it in the Persian Gulf under attack, or during a typhoon?

By Accident. Or on Purpose.

I'm updating my Using AutoCAD book for Autodesk Press, and as I go through AutoCAD 2010 -- and as technical editor Bill Fane tech edits my work -- we got to wondering: Does Autodesk pull features from new releases on purpose, or by accident?

Here's some of the puzzlers we've come across:

Mtext command. The ribbon interface leaves out the AutoStack function, as does the right-click context menu. To access this useful feature, you need to change mtexttoolbar system variable to 1, which switches the mtext user interface to the traditional floating toolbar.

Presspull command. In AutoCAD 2009 and earlier, you could use the presspull function directly on faces. In AutoCAD 2010, you have to start the command, and then select the face to press/pull.

Toolbars. I've complained about this one before, but AutoCAD 2010 makes it difficult to turn on a toolbar. (Once one is visible, you have quick access to all others.)

3D workspace. The ribbon displayed by the 3D workspace contains no provision for layers. You can't create, change, or manage layers. "I guess we're supposed to do everything simply by using QuickProperties to change colours and line types of individual objects," says Bill. On the other hand, visual styles get two placements in the 3D ribbon.

Tip: Skins for AutoCAD 2009

Hidden away in AutoCAD 2009's Options dialog box is an item labeled Color Scheme. Currently there are just two choices, Dark (default) and Light. But I see this as a skinning mechanism and perhaps programmers more knowledgeable than myself might be able to create additional skins.

How about an architectural skin that's all right-angles and looks like glass. Or a mechanical one that is all curvey and looks like metal. A geo one that combines fluorescent orange with earth tones.

TIP: Trimming AutoCAD Drawings

A reader asks,

Which way I can trim part of the AutoCAD drawing and save it in new file?
- Victor, Russia

Like this:

1. Use the ExTrim command to trim the drawing with a polyline or other closed entity. (ExTrim is a Bonus tool included with AutoCAD .)
2. Use the WBlock command to save the result to a .dwg file. Alternatively, use the SaveAs command to save by another name.
3. Quit the drawing; do not save.

Victor replies: "But I can't trim the hatch."

You're right: the ExTrim command has problems with hatches. One solution is to explode the hatch. Another is to freeze the hatch layer, and then re-hatch the areas in the new drawing.

Follow Up: Annotative Text

Reader "bigamike" had a couple of questions about annotative text:

Q: Let's say I have a drawing (DWG 1) and I've used "Atext" in the model space and have viewports utilizing various scales in the paper space. Then the text automatically displays at the proper scale; any text not set as "Atext" or set with an indicator for scale of that particular viewport is not displayed. That's what I'm reading as the intended purpose.

A: You've got it partly right. Here's what happens to text:

* Normal non-annotative text is always displayed at any viewport scale, just as in AutoCAD 2007 and earlier. Its size changes as the viewport scale changes. (You can change existing non-annotative text to atext through the Styles toolbar or the Properties palette.)

* Annotative text is displayed when its scale matches the viewport's scale factor.

* Annotative text can have more than one scale factor assigned; it is displayed at more than one VP scale, but always looks the same size.

* A system variable (and a button on the new Infobar) lets you see all annotative text, no matter their assigned scale factors.

Q: If I have a drawing (DWG 2) in model space with "Atext" set with various scales. Then I Xref DWG 2 into the model space of DWG 3 and have various viewports of differing scales in the paperspace of DWG 3. Will the "Atext" work the same way xref'd as it does not xref'd?

A: Xrefs respect the settings of the viewport scale. If an xref contains several annotative objects at different scales, they are only displayed when the viewport scale matches. The scale of the xref insertion is ignored by atext.

For example, insert an xref at 1:1, and then set vp scale to 1:50. The 1:50 atext is displayed; the 1:20 atext is not; the non-annotative text is always displayed.

Q: I am looking forward to this release of AutoCAD. I work in the civil industry and sadly we don't use Civil3D. But aside from that, the Atext and multi-leader aspects of 2008 appear to be potentially very valuable additions. We've had drawings of highway intersections that overlap and are oriented in different directions and scales and these new tools should help us a lot in regards to those situations. The xref aspect really concerned me at first.

Another question. I'm assuming that you can save atext styles, and have them preset in DWT [template] files?

A: The Style dialog box has been modified, and now accommodates the annotative property. So, yes, Annotative styles can be stored in template files. In fact, the default DWT files for AutoCAD now include Standard and Annotative as two defaults.

Q: Oh wow!!!! I knew that was available in Civil3D but didn't know if it would get ported down to base AutoCAD. Whoo hoo. That will be much appreciated! Does this work with dimensions as well, or should I say does the annotative aspect of the text work with dimensions as well?

A: The annotative property applies to dimensions, multileaders, tolerances, hatch patterns, blocks, and attributes, and separately to linetype scales. In short, any object that's scale-dependent. Most commands and dialog boxes that relate to those entities have been modified to allow for annotation.

Futher Notes

Another feature that may be useful to you is the under-reported Orientation property. It keeps text properly oriented when the view is rotated. Works with text, attributes, and blocks. For example, use the 3dOrbit command to rotate the viewpoint any way you want, and oriented text is displayed facing you; regular text will be off at some angle.

Blocks and attributes can be oriented independently, so the block could orient but the attribute text not, and vice versa. Or both together. That could lead to some interesting situation, when you consider that a block can be anything.

(I notice, however, that the oriented text looks coarser after righting itself to face you. Another point: orientation is not new to AutoCAD, because the LsNew command did it for many releases, before being pulled from AutoCAD 2007.)

There is an interesting effect when changing vp scales. The multi-scale atext changes its size, and then the smooth zoom occurs.

I think that atext will be like paper space: it will take users a while to figure it out.

AutoCAD 2008: New Direct, Interactive Moving

AutoCAD 2006 and 2007 feature a hidden shortcut that let you copy and move objects directly -- without using the Move/Copy commands or the tedious grips editing method. You select an object, and then drag it by the right mouse button. When you let go, a shortcut menu appears that lets you chose from Copy Here, Move Here, Paste as Block, or Cancel.

AutoCAD 2008 does the same thing. But if you use the left mouse button, it moves the object (without the shortcut menu appearing):

1. Select an object.
2. Grab it on a non-grip location with the left mouse button (avoid the grips).
3. Begin dragging the object. Notice that there is a slight delay, and then the object begins moving with the cursor.
4. Let go of the mouse button. The object is in its new location.

You can benefit from learning more about AutoCAD 2008 in my "What's Inside? AutoCAD 2008" ebook, available for US$16.50 from www.upfrontezine.com/wia8. Plus, you receive a free update of this ebook -- which I am working on right now -- with added information after AutoCAD 2008 ships.

New Longest Command Namein AutoCAD History!

If nothing else, you may want to upgrade to AutoCAD 2008 just to be able to type in the longest command name in the 25-year-old software's history:

customerinvolvementprogram

At 26 letters, it's as long as the alphabet! Oh, and its an undocumented command, as well. It's purpose is to get to you agree to allow Autodesk to anonymously collect information about your computer and use of its software.

Painful: Tracing 3D to Create 2D!

A reader writes:

I have a 3D model as reference file and from the viewport in Paper Space where we do our 2D drawings. It's just like we're tracing the lines to produce the 2D drawings. A portion of the drawing that we would like to show is in an angle plane and Clip Command only works perpendicular to the camera view. How do you clip angle?

This method of tracing the 3D to create 2D in paper space for me looks more like going backwards, because we're double drafting. Is there a way to save time with re-tracing these lines from 3D. Can I just export the 3D file as 2D?
- AL

Oh my goodness. You should NOT be tracing the 3D models to produce 2D drawings! The whole point to MCAD software -- like Solid Edge, SolidWorks, Inventor, and so on -- is to automatically generate 2D plans from 3D models. These 2D plans update themselves automatically when the 3D model is changed.

I recommend you download (or get the CD) of each vendor's demo version to see which one works best for you, and then make the purchase. The software is typically US$5000 each (plus annual maintenance) but will probably pay for itself in the first year.

AutoCAD has a poorly-documented triple set of commands for doing this properly. These commands generate 2D "profiles" of 3D models, including hatching of sliced open parts and hidden lines for hidden edges: SolView, SolDraw, and SolProf.

You shouldn't be using AutoCAD for this work at all. But if your drawings are simple, then the SolView-SolDraw-SolProf trio might be sufficient.

If you are using AutoCAD 2007, then it has the FlatShot command that you might find useful. It creates a 2D profile of the 3D model at the current viewpoint angle.

A reader asks:

How can I get freehand style linetypes rather than the dead straight? Someone did this for me about 100 years ago and I need an 'artisan' look for a set of drawings.
- I.P.

If you want the entire drawing to look handdrawn, there is software called Squiggle that converts drawings into a variety of hand-drawn looks. 15-day trial at Palisades Research.