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W h a t ' s I n s i d e ? AutoCAD 2011 Second Edition • April 30, 2010
Ralph Grabowski
a research paper from upFront.reSearch an imprint of upFront.eZine Publishing, Ltd.
What’s Inside? AutoCAD 2011
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upFront.reSearch This research paper was prepared financially independent of any CAD vendor. Public and private sources may have assisted in providing the information reported by this research paper. upFront.eZine Publishing, Ltd. provides this research paper as-is and does not guarantee its accuracy, and is not liable for any loss resulting from the use of its content. Note that the information and summaries may change over time. upFront.eZine Publishing acknowledges that the trademarks mentioned in this research paper are the property of their respective owners.
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Table
of Contents
Command names new to AutoCAD 2011 are shown in blue.
2. 261 NEW AND CHANGED COMMANDS AND SYSTEM VARIABLES 15 User Interface 16 Background Color 16 Grid and Axes 16 AutoCAD in Model Space 18
Miscellaneous 104 Help 104 HELP, WELCOMESCREEN, CUSTOMERINVOLVEMENTPROGRAM 104
Other 106 DUMPMEMALLOC
106
97
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New Terms 132 New Cursor and Editing Icons 132 Nnew Constrain Bar Icons 132
3. ALPHABETICAL SUMMARY OF 154 NEW AND CHANGED COMMANDS 107 4. ALPHABETICAL SUMMARY OF 107 NEW AND CHANGED SYSTEM VARIABLES 115
New Polyline and Spline Editing icons 133 New Smoothness Icons 133
New Grips 133 New Aliases 134
A. UNDOCUMENTED GRAPHICS COMMANDS 135
5. SYSTEM, FILE, AND OTHER CHANGES 129 System Requirements 129 Compatibility with Earlier Releases 130 API 130 DWG 130
New Keyboard Shortcuts 131 New Keyboard Abbreviations 131 New File Types 131
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Important Notice To the Reader The content of this ebook is accurate to the best of the knowledge of those who prepared it. upFront.eZine Publishing does not, however, warrant the accuracy of the information contained in this ebook. This ebook was prepared using the RC version of AutoCAD 2011.Autodesk is free to change the features of its software at any time, and may do so without warning. Do not rely on the contents of this ebook; rather, use it as a guide to many of the features that are new and changed from the previous release(s) of AutoCAD. This ebook was prepared independently of Autodesk, Inc. “AutoCAD,” “Autodesk,” and other registered names are acknowledged as trademarks of their owners.
About upFront.reSearch This research paper was prepared by upFront.reSearch, an imprint of upFront.eZine Publishing, Ltd. upFront.reSearch has prepared research papers on behalf of clients such as Adobe,Autodesk, Graphisoft, IMAGINiT Technologies, IMSI, IntelliCAD, and SolidWorks. Its founder, Ralph Grabowski, has 20+ years experience in the computer-aided design industry. He is the author of 100+ books on CAD, editor of two industry newsletters, publisher of upFront.eBooks, and manager of three WorldCAD Access weblogs. www.upfrontezine.com/reSearch upFront.reSearch
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Chapter 1
Executive Summary
AutoCAD 2011 is the 25th release of Autodesk’s most popular software.
The Top AutoCAD 2011 Features
Here, in our opinion, are the most important new features. 3D SURFACING Autodesk has promised three releases in a row that concentrated on beefing up AutoCAD’s 3D design capabilities: AutoCAD 2010 — added 3D meshes. AutoCAD 2011 — added NURBS-based splines and surfaces, and 3D object snaps. AutoCAD 2012 — 3D dynamic blocks and constraints? In addition, there are many improvements scattered about existing commands, such as the new MOde option that toggles between surface and solids creation. INSTANT HATCHING Hatching is now nearly instant: 1. 2. 3.
Type h to start the hatch command. Pass the cursor over a closed area to preview the hatching. Press Enter, and the hatch pattern is applied.
Total elapsed time: about 1.0 seconds. CULLING Before this release, AutoCAD introduced the concept of subobject selection, which selects the vertices, edges, and faces of 3D objects — instead of the 3D objects themselves. New to AutoCAD 2011 are two more variations on restricted selections, culling and selection cycling. Culling determines whether hidden 3D subobjects are selected; normally, you keep the new CullingObj and CullingObjSelection system variables turned on (= 1) to avoid selecting hidden subobjects.
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What’s Inside? AutoCAD 2011
8 Selection cycling displays a small menu when the pickbox is on top of two or more objects. The new menu lets you choose which overlapping object to select. Curiously enough, the new SelectionCycling system variable is turned off, by default. A new cursor icon alerts you to overlapping objects, as illustrated below.
INTERACTIVE DRAFTING PREVIEWS In addition to instant hatching, a number of new and existing commands provide realtime drawing and editing functions, albeit to a limited extent. For instance, the new ChamferEdge and FilletEdge command preview the chamfer distances and fillet radii, and then allow users to interactively adjust them. Unfortunately, the interactivity ends after the commands end; users cannot interactively edit chamfers and fillets. As well, the existing Extrude and Revolve commands now interactively preview the extrusion distance and angle of revolution. > Our View While the improvements to AutoCAD’s 3D have been impressive, we wonder if the many methods will overwhelm the heads-down drafter, who now must choose from 3D solids, 3D surfaces, 3D meshes — on top of the collection of legacy objects, such as 3D polyfaces. The non-3D improvements, such as instant hatching, are of greater interest to the majority of drafters, but we wonder how many would pay the new steep upgrade fee just for faster hatch creation. •
Useful but Hidden Features Each release of AutoCAD adds any number of commands, some of which serve utilitarian purposes or are truly useful for drafters. Here are some we think will get a lot of use or are especially intriguing, but may not be immediately apparent. SWITCH INSTANTLY BETWEEN HATCHES AND GRADIENTS The redesigned ribbon tab for hatch patterns is identical to that for gradients. A single droplist lists all patterns and gradients, allowing drafters to switch existing patterns to gradients and vice versa. EXPRESSIONS Hidden away in some commands is a new option, Expressions. Autodesk does not explain its purpose, other than to vaguely refer to the Parametrics command. Commands like Fillet and Extrude can now control the fillet radius and extrusion height through formulas — algebraic formulas (like 2*4) and parametric ones, such as upFront.reSearch
www.upfrontezine.com/wia11 9 d1 or d1*dia3/pi. This means that the height of an extrusion can match a parametrically-size dobject elsewhere in the drawing. MANIPULATE NURBS SURFACES DIRECTLY AutoCAD 2011 introduces a new gizmo for adjust 3D objects. During certain commands, such as Loft and SurfaceBlend, a triangular grip appears. Clicking the grip reveals a shortcut menu for adjusting the topology of the surface. Selecting the Draft Angle option displays the new adjustment gizmo. Drag to change the angle
Drag to increase the magintude
Preview of change in angle
The new 3dEditBar command provides yet another surface editing gizmo, as described in Chapter 2. FBX IMPORT AND EXPORT Autodesk is positioning its open FBX format as a way to exchange 3D data between AutoCAD 2011 and other programs. Data from AutoCAD includes 3D objects, 2D objects with thickness, lights, and materials. (FBX is short for “filmbox,” and is native to Autodesk’s MotionBuilder software. Other software from Autodesk that reads and writes FBX includes MotionBuilder (natively), Maya and 3ds Max (via plug-ins), Softimage (via Crosswalk), and Mudbox. AutoCAD 2011 has the new FbxImport
From Autodesk Marketing
Autodesk’s marketing department emphasizes the ability of AutoCAD 2011 to document and design. Here’s what they tell us: “Power your design projects from concept through completion with AutoCAD 2011 software. “Your ideas can take shape with greater clarity and accuracy than ever before, thanks to new surface modeling tools and point cloud support. New inferred constraints capabilities make working with parametrics easier, and updated productivity tools help you deliver final design documentation faster than ever. And major updates to materials and surfaces help you communicate design intent with the impact you demand. “With these and many other new capabilities you’ve been asking for, AutoCAD 2011 helps you take design and documentation further.”
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On Autodesk R emoving VBA from AutoCAD Removing
AutoCAD 2011 and AutoCAD-based verticals do not ship with VBA (Microsoft’s Visual Basic for Applications), but 32– and 64-bit versions are available as a download from www.autodesk.com/vba-download. VBA will not be supported by AutoCAD 2012; the VBA module will not be available as a download then. It still ships with Inventor 2011, however. The reason is entirely Microsoft’s fault, for they have discontinued the sale of new VBA distribution licenses back in 2007 and have stated that they plan no more enhancements. This leaves application companies and customers in a lurch. Microsoft had done much to promote the use of VBA as a “universal” programming language, but then abandoned it. This means that programmers need to (a) stop writing new VBA code now and (b) port their VBA code to other APIs eventually. At time of writing, Autodesk was unsure which of Microsoft’s APIs might be the most future-proof one: “We are still at an early stage in evaluating what (if any) in-product IDE should replace VBA. However, at this time, we do not expect to be embedding VSTA into Autodesk products. Revit software is currently the only Autodesk product that incorporates VSTA. However, our review of in-product IDEs will include an evaluation of whether VSTA is the best long-term IDE solution for Revit. Therefore, we encourage Revit add-in developers to concentrate on creating professional add-ins using Visual Studio rather than VSTA when possible.” The elimination of VBA does not affect AutoCAD’s ActiveX COM (common object model), which was also designed by Microsoft originally. The R ecommended VBA R eplacement Recommended Replacement Autodesk’s recommends moving your VBA code to a .net language, such as VB.NET using Visual Studio 2008, including the free Express edition available from msdn.microsoft.com/enus/vstudio/aa718373.aspx. But .net add-ins run differently from VBA macros. Whereas VBA code is embedded in the VBA IDE (integrated development environment) and run using AutoCAD’s VbaRun command, .net code is more complex: 1. Choose which object model to use*. 2. Write the code in the external Visual Studio IDE. 3. Compile it to a DLL (dynamic link library). 4. Load it using AutoCAD’s NetLoad command. 5. Run it by entering its command name at the ‘Command:’ prompt. *) You have to choose one of the following object models: • When migrating VBA code to .net, use the same ActiveX APIs as before. • When writing new .net code, use AutoCAD’s new native .net APIs. This will involves a learning curve, but allows operations not possible with VBA. • Or mix COM Interop with native .NET, since it is also possible to employ both object models – familiar and advanced ....continued
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www.upfrontezine.com/wia11 11 and FbxExport commands.Third-party developers can use the C++ and Python programming languages to integrate FBX into their applications. Autodesk has partially published the FBX specification through documenting the FBX reader/writer source code. TIP Autodesk provides Mac and Windows QuickTime plug-ins for viewing FBX files exported from AutoCAD at area.autodesk.com/fbx.
MULTITOUCH SUPPORT AutoCAD 2011 rather discretely supports multitouch screens and digitizers, although the capability is not yet turned on, according to Autodesk. > Our View The new interactive technology employed by Hatch, Extrude, FilletEdge, and other commands continues the ongoing push to make AutoCAD drafting and editing realtime and interactive. (We first saw this with the improved 3D solid modeling a few releases ago.) Together with the new expressions feature, we foresee powerful new future for this 26-year-old software package. •
Future Releases Autodesk executives have mapped out the features for the releases of AutoCAD following 2011, but have revealed few details to the public. We can guess at future features by general statements, from surveys Autodesk carries out, from the AUGI wishlist, and from mid-release feature sets made available to subscribers. For example, the Fillet command originally worked with 2D objects only; then Autodesk added support for filleting 3D solids.This release of AutoCAD has the new SurfFillet command for filleting surfaces; we expect surface filleting to be integrated into Fillet in a future release — as well as Extrude,Trim, Extend, and so on.
...continued VBA Migration Guides Autodesk provides the following resources for migrating VBA code to .net, and plans more in the future: • AutoCAD VBA to VB.NET Migration Basics – on using .net COM Interop to simplify migration . • AutoCAD .NET Developers Guide – contains many comparative samples of native .NET API and the VBA code required to perform the same task (docs.autodesk.com/ACD/ 2010/ENU/AutoCAD%20.NET%20Developer's%20Guide/index.html>. • Ask for advice using Autodesk’s ADN DevHelp Online support portal. • Employ a consultant to perform the porting. www.autodesk.com/developer
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From Autodesk Sales
Autodesk plans to ship the following updated software packages this year: AutoCAD 2011 AutoCAD LT 2011 Architecture AutoCAD Architecture 2011 AutoCAD MEP 2011 Revit Architecture 2011 Revit MEP 2011 Revit Structure 2011 GIS
AutoCAD Civil 3D 2011 AutoCAD Map 3D 2011 MapGuide Enterprise 2011 Topobase 2011
Mechanical AutoCAD Electrical 2011 AutoCAD Mechanical 2011 Inventor Suite 2011 Inventor Professional 2011 Navisworks 2011 Vault 2011 Other AutoCAD P&ID 2011 Digital Entertainment 3ds Max 2011 Entertainment Creation Suites 2011 FBX 2011 HumanIK 4.5 Middleware Kynapse 7 Middleware Maya 2011 MotionBuilder 2011 Mudbox 2011 Softimage 2011 www.autodesk.com/purchaseoptions
Automatically trimmed projection
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www.upfrontezine.com/wia11 13 GENERAL EXECUTIVE STATEMENTS Autodesk now releases midterm upgrades to AutoCAD for the sole benefit of subscription customers; these enhancements become part of the next release. In addition, Autodesk previews new technology ideas at its labs.autodesk.com site, some of which find their way into future releases of its software. Autodesk conducts online surveys to ask users their opinions on possible new features. A survey late in 2008 asked about the following features. Several years later, some of them made it into AutoCAD 2011: • • •
Enhanced visual styles. Transparent hatch fills. 3D enhancements.
But many did not: • • • • • • •
Batch process drawings in AutoCAD (currently possible through scripts). Draw order by layer. Visual comparison of two drawings. 3D dynamic blocks. Conversion of PDF to DWG (partially implemented in AutoCAD 2010). Hatch pattern generator (available as an Express Tool). Linetype creator (the #1 request by our weblog readers).
THE AUGI WISHLIST The AutoCAD User Group International is another source for learning of Autodesk’s future plans. Autodesk typically includes 70% of the AUGI wishlist in the next release.The user group regularly posts lists of the features voted on by members.The most recent one is listed below <www.augi.com/autocad/ results.asp?cycle=ACAD011>: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Join individually created hatch areas into a single hatch object. Add tool palettes to the CUI. Rotate the window and crossing selection boxes to align with rotated crosshairs. Create and change hatch patterns graphically (implemented in AutoCAD 2011). Fillet 3D polylines. Control whether text/attributes are mirrored with blocks. eTransmit to zip drawing packages with multiple formats of the drawing, such as PDF and DWF. 8. Add an editor for the creation of complex linetypes. 9. Set attributes horizontally relative to UCS regardless of the rotation of the block. 10. Rename anonymous blocks. — In mid-March 2011 we find out about AutoCAD 2012. In the meantime, let’s look at AutoCAD 2011 in detail.
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Chapter 2
261 New and Changed Commands and System Variables
AutoCAD 2011 introduces 86 new commands (documented and undocumented) and 89 new system variables. Around 86 existing commands and system variables experience a change of some kind. New Commands
New System Variables
Changed Commands & System Variables
AutoCAD 2011
86
89
86
AutoCAD 2010
58
70
100+
AutoCAD 2009
46
42
AutoCAD 2008
35
40
AutoCAD 2007
77*
*) Includes18 converted from Express Tools.
This chapter details new and changed commands and system variables, grouping them by function. The following chapters summarize new and changed commands and system variables in alphabetical order. New commands and system variables are indicated by the blue color in this book. Existing commands that have changes are shown with boldface names. Commands and system variables not documented by Autodesk are indicated by italics. The sole command removed from AutoCAD 2011 is flagged with strikethrough text. The functional groups are as follows: •
User Interface
•
Drafting, Editing, Properties, and Selecting
•
Constraints and Parameters
•
3D Modeling and Rendering
•
Customization, Settings, Plotting, and Files
•
Miscellaneous
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User Interface AutoCAD 2011’s user interface looks dramatically different from 2010 due to the change in background color, the new lined grid, and new navigation bar — as well as from other changes that are less noticeable. BACKGROUND COLOR Reacting to demands from users, Autodesk again changes the background color to dark, this time a very dark blue (RGB = 33,40,48). Many users prefer the dark background for it makes the colors of lines stand out.
AutoCAD’s new default user interface (new 3D Basics workspace shown) The background in AutoCAD 2010 was a pale yellow, but the Restore Classic Colors button (Options | Display | Colors) changes the background to black. GRID AND AXES Several releases ago, the grid had changed from dots to lines for 3D display modes; now the lined grid comes to 2D display mode: model space, the Block Editor, and layout mode. The 2D version has all the same attributes as that of 3D: major and minor grid lines, adaptive grid, sizing and colored axes (red = x, green = y). By default, the grid is now turned on.
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AutoCAD’s new default user interface in Block Editor (transparent palette shown) In layout mode, you can now turn on the grid so that it covers the entire drawing area. This is in addition to the grid in paper space.
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What’s Inside? AutoCAD 2011
18 AUTOCAD IN MODEL SPACE
Changed: Workspace droplist located to here
AutoCAD 2011 user interface (at right)
Changed: SaveAs added to toolbar
Changed: Application menu has restyled icons
Changed: Background color is dark blue
Changed: 2D grid is lined; has subdivisions; is turned on by default
New: 2D space now has green (y) and red (x) axis lines
www.upfrontezine.com/wia11 19 New: Simplified ribbon for 3D modeling
Changed: Aspects fo the ribbon's tabs and panels
Changed: Help now uses HTML
Changed: Navigation cube displays in 2D workspace
New: Navigation bar
New: Integrated support for 3D mice from 3Dconnexion
New: Toggle hardware graphics acceleration
New: Isolate objects
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20 AUTOCAD IN PAPER SPACE AutoCAD 2011 default user interface (at right)
Changed: Background color is light gray
Changed: 2D grid is lined; has subdivisions; is turned on by default
New: Paper space has grid (normally turned off)
AutoCAD 2010 default user interface (below)
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New: Navigation bar
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What’s Inside? AutoCAD 2011
22 TIP You can change the grid back to the less obtrusive dot pattern, as follows: 1.
Enter the DSettings command, and then choose the Snap and Grid tab.
2.
In the new Grid Style area, turn on one or more of the following options:
3.
•
2D model space.
•
Block editor.
•
Sheet/layout.
Click OK.
WORKSPACES The WorkSpace command’s Settings dialog box and Quick Access toolbar droplist now include a new 3D Basics workspace. This workspace displays a ribbon with fewer buttons and options.
Above: The Home tab of the 3D Basics ribbon Below: Home tab of the full 3D Modeling ribbon
The workspace droplist is moved from the status bar up to the Quick Access toolbar.
Workspace droplist on the Quick Access toolbar. The Workspace button remains on the status bar, however, and still provides access to workspaces.
Workspace button on the status bar.
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www.upfrontezine.com/wia11 23 The new WsAutosave system variable allows you to instruct AutoCAD 2011 to automatically save changes that you make to the current workspace. This new feature is turned off, by default. RELATED SYSTEM VARIABLE
WsAutosave toggles automatic saving of changes to workspaces: 0 – off (default). 1 – on.
RIBBON Autodesk continues to add to the ribbon, for AutoCAD 2011 has new controls and new tabs. As noted above, the new 3D Basics workspace displays a simplified ribbon layout to help overcome the overwhelming number of buttons and options on the 3D modeling ribbon.The Hatch, Gradient, and HatchEdit commands have redesigned tabs, as described later. The ribbon has a new panel display mode, helped along by a new menu next to the ribbon control button.
The new ribbon control menu. The new display mode shows panel buttons (the Minimize to Panel Button option). Click on a button to view the entire tab in droplist format.
Above: The new Panel Buttons mode. Below: Accessing a panel from its button.
APPLICATION MENU Export FBX is added to the application menu.
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24 UCS ICON Both the 2D and 3D UCS icons are redesigned in AutoCAD 2011; the paperspace UCS icon is unchanged. In 2D visual styles, the UCS icon now takes on the red-green colors to indicate the x and y axes:
Left: 2D UCS icon in AutoCAD 2010... Right: ...and in AutoCAD 2011. In 3D visual styles, the UCS icon loses the optional cones:
Left: 3D UCS icon in AutoCAD 2010... Right: ...and in AutoCAD 2011. The UcsIcon command’s Properties dialog box has new options: • •
The Cone option is removed. The new Apply Single Color option toggles the icon between tricolored and black.
Left: UCS icon properties dialog box in AutoCAD 2010... Right: ...and in AutoCAD 2011. The cones appear on the 3D move gizmo:
Left: 3dMove gizmo in AutoCAD 2010... Right: ...and in AutoCAD 2011.
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www.upfrontezine.com/wia11 25 CHANGED GIZMOS AND NEW ICONS AutoCAD 2011 changes the look of gizmos and introduces new cursor icons. Gizmos are used for 3D rotation, scaling, and moving, and for applying material mapping; here are the changes to the move and scale gizmos (the rotate gizmo is unchanged):
Move gizmos from AutoCAD 2010 and 2011.
Scale gizmos from AutoCAD 2010 and 2011.
The material mapping gizmos have similar-looking changes, as illustrated later in this ebook. All of the new cursor icons are illustrated in the last chapter of this ebook, and here are a couple of examples: Location of the new control vertices of splines. G0 level of smoothness on blended surfaces. QUICK PROPERTIES The QpMode system variable changes its default values from 1 to -1. This means that the Quick Properties palette is now turned off by default, but remembers its setting (1 or 2).
Quick Properties now support the new NURBS surface objects and transparency property.
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What’s Inside? AutoCAD 2011
26 NAVIGATION BAR The new NavBar command toggles the display of the new navigation bar. Enter an option [ON/OFF] : (Enter ON or OFF.) Close navigation bar Turn on Navigation Cube interface (NavSCube) Flyout of additional modes Start Pan command Start Zoom command
Start 3D Orbitcommand
Turn on Show Motion interface (NavSMotion) NavBar options
The navigation bar is the newest “toolbar” in AutoCAD. The translucent navigation bar appears at the right edge of the drawing area. Several buttons that previously appeared on the status bar are relocated here. You can turn off the navigation bar, and can relocate it with the options menu.
The options of the navigation bar. RELATED SYSTEM VARIABLE
NavBarDisplay toggles the display of the navigation bar; applies to all viewports and layouts (the NavBar command applies to the current viewport or space): 0 – off. 1 – on (default). upFront.reSearch
www.upfrontezine.com/wia11 27 QUICK ACCESS TOOLBAR The Quick Access toolbar gains the Workspaces droplist and the SaveAs button.
NAVIGATION CUBE The navigation cube is now turned on in 2D display modes. Although it initially appears in plan view, you can manipulate it to show 3D viewpoints.
The initial appearance of the navigation cube in 2D display mode. RELATED SYSTEM VARIABLE
NavVCubeDisplay now allows the ViewCube to be displayed in 2D modes. 0 – not displayed. 1 – displayed in 3D visual styles, but not 2D 2 – displayed in 2D visual styles, but not 3D (new to 2011). 3 – displayed in 2D and 3D visual styles (new to 2011; default).
STATUS BAR The status bar gains and loses buttons in AutoCAD 2011. The following buttons are added to the left end of the status bar: Infer Constraints toggle (right-click to access Settings). 3D Osnap toggle (right-click to access Settings). Transparency toggle. Selection Cycling toggle (right-click to access Settings). And these are the buttons added to the right end of the status bar: Hardware Acceleration toggle (right-click to access Settings). Isolate and Hide Objects toggle. The Pan, Zoom, Steering Wheel, and ShowMotion buttons move from the status bar to the new navigation bar.
Above: The changed status bar in AutoCAD 2011. Below: The status bar from AutoCAD 2010.
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28 ROLLOVER TRANSPARENCY In previous releases of AutoCAD, the PaletteOpaque system variable determined the translucency of palettes. AutoCAD 2011 adds new system variables to set a different level of translucency when the cursor moves over palettes, as illustrated below:
RELATED SYSTEM VARIABLE
RolloverOpacity specifies the translucency of palettes when cursor moves over them; range is 0 to 100: 0 – (default). GlobalOpacity sets the default level of translucency for all palettes (when transparency is turned on): 0 – fully transparent (default). 100 – fully opaque. ApplyGlobalOpacities toggles all palettes between opaque and translucent: 0 – opaque (default). 1 – translucent.
VISUAL STYLES VSCURRENT, VISUALSTYLES
The VsCurrent command gets five new predefined styles: Command: vscurrent Enter an option [2dwireframe/Wireframe/Hidden/Realistic/Conceptual/Shaded/shaded with Edges/shades of Gray/SKetchy/X-ray/Other] <2dwireframe> (Enter an option.)
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www.upfrontezine.com/wia11 29 Left: Shaded visual style. Right: Shaded with edges.
Left: Shades of gray Right: Xray
Sketchy visual style The VisualStyles command’s palette has been redesigned.
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Left: Visual Styles Manger in AutoCAD 2010... Right: ... and in AutoCAD 2011. RELATED SYSTEM VARIABLES
VsEdgeLEx specifies the length of line extensions of edges in visual styles (negative number turns off extensions); range is 0 to 100 pixels: -6 – six pixels, but turned off (default).
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www.upfrontezine.com/wia11 31 “None” or “.” – no background color (default). 1 through 255 – AutoCAD Color Index Name – name of the first seven colors, such as “Red.” RGB: or HSL: – red-green-blue or hue-saturation-luminosity, such as "RGB:130,200,240"; range is 000 to 255. Colorbook – PANTONE, DIC, or RAL color specifications, such as "DIC COLOR GUIDE(R)$DIC 43". VsOccludedEdges toggles the display of hidden (occluded) edges in visual styles: 0 – off. 1 – on (default).
Occluded edges shown with dashed linetype in cyan (light blue). VsOccludedLtype determines the linetype of hidden (occluded) lines in visual styles. Changing this system variable creates a new unsaved visual style. Range is 1 to 11: 1 – solid lines (default for most visual styles). 2 – dashed lines (default for hidden and shaded with edges). 3 – dotted lines. 4 – short Dash lines. 5 – medium Dash lines. 6 – long Dash lines. 7 – double Short Dash lines. 8 – double Medium Dash lines. 9 – double Long Dash 10 – medium Long Dash 11 – sparse Dot
PAN AND ZOOM
3dPan2 (undocumented) command pans drawings in realtime. Command: 3dpan2 (Press Esc to exit the command.)
3dZoom2 (undocumented) command zooms drawings in realtime. Command: 3dzoom2 (Press Esc to exit the command.)
OTHER SYSTEM VARIABLES ClassicKeys toggles the meaning of Ctrl+C: 0 – copies objects (default).
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32 1 – cancels commands. Digitizer reports the style of digitizer attached to AutoCAD (read-only): 0 – none (default). 1 – integrated touch. 2 – external touch. 4 – integrated pen. 8 – external pen. 16 – multiple input. 128 – input devices are ready. MaxTouches reports the number of touch points supported by multi-touch digitizers (read-only): 1 – (default).
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Drafting, Editing, Properties, and Selecting DRAFTING OSNAP
The Osnap command’s modes now apply matching constraints automatically when the new InferConstraints option is turned on. For example, turn on CENter osnap and AutoCAD 2011 automatically applies the center constraint during drawing and editing commands. See the new ConstraintSettings command for more details. AutoCAD 2011 now separates 3D object snaps from 2D ones. The DSettings command’s dialog box has a new tab that accommodates 3D osnaps; see the new 3dOsnap command. SKETCH
The Sketch command now draws splines when the SkPoly system variable is set to 2. Sketch line (green)
Resulting spline (black)
The resulting splines can be editing with the new spline editing grips and options; see Spline command. When the sketch type is set to 1, the resulting polylines can be edited with the polyline editing grips new to AutoCAD 2011; see PLine/PEdit command. The prompts have changed from (AutoCAD 2009): Command: sketch Record increment <1.0000>: Sketch. Pen eXit Quit Record Erase Connect . 154 lines recorded.
The old drawings options (Pen, Erase, Connect, etc) no longer work. Instead, you hold down the mouse button to sketch; green lines appear. Press Enter to end the command; the sketch lines become the current color. The new prompts are as follows: Command: sketch Type = Lines Increment = 0.1000 Tolerance = 0.5000 Specify sketch or [Type/Increment/toLerance]: (Hold down left mouse button and draw.) Specify sketch: (Press Enter to end sketching.) 154 lines recorded.
The Type option chooses the sketching object: Enter sketch type [Lines/Polyline/Spline] : (Enter an option.)
• • •
Lines option draws line segments. Polyline option draws connect polyline segments. Spline option draws splines (new to AutoCAD 2011). upFront.reSearch
What’s Inside? AutoCAD 2011
34 The Increment option specifies the length of line and polyline segments Specify sketch increment <0.1000>: (Enter any positive real number.)
The new toLerance option determines how closely the spline fits the sketch; applies to splines only: Specify spline fit tolerance <0.5000>: (Enter a real number between 0 and 1.) RELATED SYSTEM VARIABLES
SkPoly now allows splines as one of the types of objects created by the Sketch command: 0 – lines (default). 1 – polylines 2 – splines (new to 2011). SkTolerance specifies how closely a spline fits to a freehand sketch; range is 0 to 1: 0.5000 – (default).
SPLINE
The Spline command’s splines can now be created with control vertices with a range of degrees, and can have knots and kinks. Control vertices are needed when splines form the basis of the new NURBS surfaces. (See the SplinEdit command for information on the new methods of editing splines.) Control vertex
Spline
It is no longer necessary to specify start and end tangency points; they are now ignored by default. (In the past, you pressed Enter at the ‘Specify start tangent’ and ‘Specify end tangent’ prompts to ignore the tangencies.) The command displays new and reworded prompts in AutoCAD 2011: Command: spline Current settings: Method=Fit Knots=Chord Specify first point or [Method/Knots/Object]: (Pick a point or enter an option.) Enter next point or [start Tangency/toLerance]: (Pick another point or enter an option.) Enter next point or [end Tangency/toLerance/Undo/Close]: (Press Enter to end the command.)
The new Method option specifies how the spline is created; prompts you: Enter spline creation method [Fit/CV] : (Enter F or C.)
• •
Fit option draws splines using the method from AutoCAD 2010 and earlier. CV option (short for “control vertices) is preferred for creating splines that will be used to create 3D NURBS surfaces using the new
TIP You toggle the display of control vertices with the new CvShow and CvHide commands.
When Method = Fit, then the new Knots option appears, which specifies the spacing of editing points along the spline. Prompts you: Enter knot parameterization [Chord/Square root/Uniform] : (Enter an option.) upFront.reSearch
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• • •
Chord option spaces edit points according to their location on the curve. Square Root option spaces edit points based on the square root of the chord length between knots. Uniform option spaces edit points evenly.
When Method = CV, then the new Degree option appears, which specifies the number of “bends” in each span; range is 1 to 3. Prompts you: Enter degree of spline <3>: (Enter 1, 2, or 3.)
• • •
1 option spans a line; bends = 0; control vertices = 2. 2 option draws a parabola; bends = 1; control vertices = 3. 3 option draws a cubic Bezier; bends = 2; control vertices = 4.
The new start Tangency and end Tangency options replace the old ‘Specify start tangent’ and ‘Specify end tangent’ prompts. RELATED SYSTEM VARIABLES
SplDegree specifies the default degree for new splines created with control vertices; range is 1 to 5: 3 – (default). SplKnots specifies the default knot setting when specifying fit points for new splines: 0 – chords (default). 1 – square root chords. 2 – uniform. SplMethod toggles the default type of new splines: 0 – fit (default). 1 – control vertices.
FIELD
The Field command now supports the transparency property.
EDITING JOIN
The Join command now joins 3D polylines to other open objects, such as lines, elliptical arcs, and splines; the most complex curve must be selected first (such as a 3D polyline), because the attached curves are elevated to its status. For example, joining a polyline to a spline turns the polyline into a spline (complete with kinks), as illustrated below: Spline Join point Polyline
TIP AutoCAD does not let you join a more complex object to a simpler one. Joining the spline to the polyline results in the following error message: “0 segments added to polyline.” You have to do the reverse: join simpler objects to complex ones. upFront.reSearch
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36
Some objects being joined are no longer required to be coplanar. This command’s prompts vary, depending on the initial object selected: Source Object
Prompt
Straight objects: Line
Select lines to join to source
Polyline segment
Select objects to join to source
3D polyline
Select any open curves to join to source (new to AutoCAD 2011)
Curved objects: Arc
Select arcs to join to source or [cLose]
Polyline arc
Select objects to join to source
Ellipical arc
Select elliptical arcs to join to source or [cLose]
Spline, Helix
Select any open curves to join to source
PEDIT
The Pline/PEdit commands’ polylines now have a grip at the mid point of each segment; pausing the cursor over a grip lets you convert between line and arc segments, add a vertex, and stretch. New segment editing grip Polyline
Right-click menu for polyline segments
Right-click menu for editing polyarcs
Segments can now be selected through the Ctrl key. Icons now indicate the editing action., as copied from AutoCAD 2010’s cursor icons for editing the boundaries of non-associative hatch patterns. Press Ctrl to switch between editing modes:
Polyline Editing Mode
Cursor Icon
Stretching a vertex or segment Adding a vertex Removing a vertex Converting an arc segment to a line Converting a line segment to an arc
TIP When adding vertices, hold down the Ctrl key to add multiple vertices.
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www.upfrontezine.com/wia11 37 SPLINEDIT
The SplinEdit command changes the order of prompts and adds more options. The prompt from AutoCAD 2010: Enter an option [Fit data/Close/Move vertex/Refine/rEverse/Undo]:
and now in AutoCAD 2011: Enter an option [Close/Join/Fit data/Edit vertex/convert to Polyline/Reverse/ Undo/eXit] <eXit>:
The new Join option joins splines with lines, arcs, elliptical arcs, polylines, splines, and other open objects whose endpoints meet (coincident); the result is a single spline with the new kink feature at the join points. Select any open curves to join to source: (Choose one or more open objects.) Arc
Single pline object
Coincident end point Kink
Line
Spline Kink
Left: Line, arc, and spline with coincident end points. Right: Thee objects joined into a single spline, with kinks. The new convert to Polyline option converts splines into polylines, after you specify the precision value: Specify a precision <10>: (Enter an integer between 0 and 99.)
Precision determines how closely the polyline fits the source spline; higher values are more accurate, but may slow down AutoCAD. The spline is converted to polyline or polyarc segments, depending on the setting in the PlineConvertMode system variable. (0 = lines; 1 = arcs). The original spline is retained when the DelObj system variable is set to 0. Grips editing of splines now displays shortcut menus during grips editing of splines:
Splines have a new grip that displays options for showing fit points or control vertices:
The CvAdd command adds control vertices to NURBS splines. (This command also applies to NURBS surfaces, but displays different prompts; see Surfaces.) CV is short for “control vertices.” Command: cvadd Select a NURBS surface or curve to add control vertices: (Choose a spline.) Select point on spline or [insert Edit point]: (Pick a point, or type E.)
The insert Edit point option toggles the type of vertex to be added: Select point on spline or [insert Control vertex]: (Pick a point, or type C.)
• •
insert Control vertex adds the vertex on the spline; displays a brown circle. insert Edit point adds the vertex to the frame between two vertices; displays an orange dot.
Left: Orange dot on control frame. Right: Brown circle on spline. The CvRebuild command rebuilds the shapes of NURBS splines. (This command also applies to NURBS surfaces, but displays a different dialog box; see Surfaces.) Command: cvrebuild Select a NURBS surface or curve to rebuild: (Chose one surface or curve.) Selecting a surface displays the following dialog box:
The Curve Geometry Details options: • •
Control Vertices count specifies number of control vertices; range is Degree+1 to 32767: Degree specifies number of control vertices per span; range is 1 to ControlVertices-1.
The Options option: •
Delete Original Geometry toggles whether defining geometry (paths and guide curves) is deleted following editing.
The Maximum Deviation item reports the maximum deviation between the original curve and the new one.
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www.upfrontezine.com/wia11 39 The -CvRebuild command rebuilds the shapes of NURBS splines at the command line. This command uses the values stored in Rebuild2dCv (number of control vertices) and Rebuild2dDegree (the degree of the NURBS curve) system variables. Command: -cvrebuild Select a NURBS surface or curve to rebuild: (Pick a spline.)
Given that Rebuild2dCv = 6 and Rebuild2dDegree = 3, the spline is rebuilt as follows:
Left: Original spline with 5 control vertices and degree 2. Right: Rebuilt spline with 6 control vertices and degree 3. The CvRemove command removes control vertices from NURBS splines: Command: cvremove Select a NURBS surface or curve to remove control vertices: (Choose a spline.) Select point on the curve: (Pick a point.)
Left to right: Removing control vertices, from 4 to 3 to 2. TIP A spline must have at least two control vertices; attempting to reduce a spline to one vertex results in the following error message, “Not enough Control Vertices to support a remove operation.”
The CvShow and CvHide commands show and hide control vertices of selected NURBS curves. CvShow operates on selected NURBS objects, while CvHide applies to all. Command: cvshow Select NURBS surfaces or curves to display control Vertices: (Choose one or more NURBS objects.) Select NURBS surfaces or curves to display control Vertices: (Press Enter.)
Command: cvhide
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40 EXPLODE
The Explode command now explodes NURBS surfaces into splines. The Xplode command does not work with NURBS surfaces, curiously enough. FILLET, CHAMFER
The Fillet and Chamfer commands now support expressions when filleting or chamfering 3D solids. Here is an example using the Fillet command: Command: fillet Current settings: Mode = TRIM, Radius = 0.0000 Select first object or [Undo/Polyline/Radius/Trim/Multiple]: (Choose the edge of a 3D solid.) Enter fillet radius or [Expression]: e Enter expression: 2*pi Select an edge or [Chain/Radius]: (Press Enter.)
SELECTING SELECT
The Select command now supports persistent selection sets through the PickAdd system variable’s new 2 option. PickAdd adds a persistent mode to its options: 0 – off (hold down Shift to add objects to the selection set). 1 – on (hold down Shift to remove objects from the selection set). 2 – persistent; keeps objects selected after the Select command ends (hold down Shift to remove objects from the selection set; new to 2011; default).
Other new selection modes are controlled through new system variables: •
Subobject selection now has new Ctrl+selection modes through an addition to the LegacyCtrlPick system variable: LagacyCtrlPick adds option 2: 0 – Ctrl+click selects faces, edges, and vertices (subobjects). 1 – Ctrl+click cycles through overlapping objects. 2 – Ctrl+click selects subobjects when SubObjSelectionMode = 0; otherwise, selects subobjects when Ctrl is not held down.
•
Selection cycling displays a context menu listing the names of overlapping objects. As you pass the cursor over each object name, the related object is highlighted in the drawing.
SelectionCycling toggles selection cycling: 0 – off (default). 1 – on but does not display the list dialog box. 2 – on and display the list dialog box of objects that you be selected.
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www.upfrontezine.com/wia11 41 •
Culling highlights only subobjects (faces, edges, and vertices) that are normal to the current view under these two conditions: (a) when the cursor passes over objects and (b) when objects are selected. CullingObj toggles whether to highlight subobjects when they are not normal to the current view: 0 – not culled. 1 – culled (default).\ PreviewFaceEffect toggles preview selection highlighting of face subobjects: 0 – faces are not highlighted. 1 – faces are highlighted with texture fill (default).
•
Multifunctional Grips provide additional editing options when you pause the cursor over a grip on polylines, splines, and non-associative hatch boundaries made of polylines. This type of grip was introduced in AutoCAD 2010 for the hatch boundary polylines; new to AutoCAD 2011 is the GripMultifunctional system variable that controls what happens. GripMultifunctional controls multifunctional grips: 0 – disabled. 1 – allows Ctrl cycling and the hot grip shortcut menu. 2 – allows the dynamic menu and the hot grip shortcut menu. 3 – allows Ctrl cycling, the dynamic menu, and the hot grip shortcut menu (default).
QSELECT, FILTER
The QSelect and Filter commands now have the new Transparency property.
Transparency property added to Quick Select dialog box.
The SelectSimilar command adds similar objects to the selection set based on their properties.This is a simpler version of the QSelect command. For example, select a circle when Name and Layer settings are turned on.AutoCAD will then also select all other circles on the same layer. Command: selectsimilar Select objects or [SEttings]: (Select one or more objects, or enter SE for settings dialog box.) Select objects or [SEttings]: (Select additional objects, or press Enter to exit.)
The SEttings option displays the Select Similar Settings dialog box:
Toggle the items whose properties should determine the selection set. “Object Style” refers to text styles, dimension styles, and the like. “Name” refers to the object type, such as line or circle. RELATED SYSTEM VARIABLE
SelectSimilarMode determines the matchable properties for the SelectSimilar command (bitcode): 0 – object type 1 – color 2 – layer 4 – linetype 8 – linetype scale 16 – lineweight 32 – plot style upFront.reSearch
www.upfrontezine.com/wia11 43 64 – text styles, dimension styles, table styles, and so on. 128 – names of referenced objects, such as blocks, xrefs, and images. 130 – (default) 2+128 = layer and name of referenced objects.
The AddSelected command creates new objects based on the object type and properties of the selected object. Command: addselected Select object: (Choose one object, such as a line. AutoCAD launches the command needed to create the same object, such as the Line command:) _line Specify first point: Specify next point or [Undo]: (etc.)
The HideObjects command hides selected objects. Command: hideobjects Select objects: (Choose one or more objects.) Select objects: (Press Enter to end command.)
TIPS
Use the HideObjects and IsolateObjects commands to quickly hide objects without needing the Layers dialog
box. When objects are hidden, the new lightblub icon on the status bar changes from yellow to red:
Left: All objects visible. Right: Drawing contains hidden objects. Left or right-click the lightbulb icon for a shortcut menu:
The IsolateObjects command displays selected objects across layers; unselected objects are hidden: Command: isolateobjects Select objects: (Choose one or more objects.) Select objects: (Press Enter to end command.)
The UnisolateObjects command displays objects hidden with the HideObjects and IsolateObjects commands: Command: unisolateobjects 9 object(s) unisolated.
Alternatively, hidden objects can be revealed when you click the lightbulb icon on the status bar. RELATED SYSTEM VARIABLES
CullingObjSelection toggles whether hidden objects are selected when a selection window is dragged. It is not possible to select hidden objects by picking. Turning off this system variable allows you to select hidden objects through windowed selection modes. 0 – not culled; hidden objects are selected (default). 1 – culled; hidden objects are not selected ObjectIsolationMode toggles the display of hidden and isolated objects between drawings sessions: 0 – hidden and isolated for the current drawing session only (default). 1 – hidden and isolated settings saved for the next drawing session. upFront.reSearch
The MeasureGeom command now measures surfaces. The Properties command’s palette now has the new Transparency property.
The Change and ChProp commands now have the new TRansparency property. Command: chprop Select objects: Enter property to change [Color/LAyer/LType/ltScale/LWeight/Thickness/TRansparency/Material/Annotative]:
TIP You can toggle transparency by clicking the new button on the status bar:
RELATED SYSTEM VARIABLES
CeTransparency sets the level of translucency for new objects, except for the hatch pattern, which has its own translucency setting (new HpTransparency system variable). ByLayer – determined by the object’s layer (default). ByBlock– determined by the block in which the object resides. 0 – fully opaque (not translucent) 1 - 90 – range of translucency, as a percentage. Translucency is limited to a maximum of 90% to avoid confusion with hidden and frozen objects. TransparencyDisplay toggles the display of translucency in objects, which Autodesk calls “transparent”: 0 – off. 1 – on (default).
The MatchProp command now has a more colorful cursor:,
Left: The old monochrome cursor from AutoCAD 2010. Right: The new colorful cursor in AutoCAD 2011.
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www.upfrontezine.com/wia11 45 The new Transparency property in its Property Settings dialog box:
OPTCHPROP
The OptChProp (undocumented) command changes the styles of objects at the command line: text, dimension, table, or multiline style. This command is meant for use in macros. Command: optchprop Select objects: (Choose one or more objects.) Select objects: (Press Enter to continue.) Enter property to change [Textstyle/Dimstyle/tAblestyle/Mlstyle]: d Enter dimension style name: (Enter name of new style.)
The Hatch and Gradient commands now have a new command-line prompt, additions to their dialog boxes, and new ribbon tabs. Hatch is supported by many new system variables; Autodesk continues to leave the Gradient-related system variables undocumented, even though they are used by the new ribbon interface. Hatches can now be grip-edited for pattern rotation and scaling. When accessed from the ribbon, both commands now display a new command-line prompt, shown below. Instead of immediately displaying the Hatch and Gradient dialog box, options are now displayed on the new context-sensitive ribbon tab. (When you enter hatch or gradient at the ‘Command:’ prompt, AutoCAD continues to go to the dialog box.) Command: hatch Pick internal point or [Select objects/seTtings]: (Enter an option.)
AutoCAD 2011’s new way of placing hatches works like this: 1.
Pause the cursor over closed areas, and AutoCAD 2011 immediately fills the area with a pattern of the current settings.
Left to right: Cursor passes over closed areas, instantly displays hatch pattern. 2.
Change the pattern’s options through the ribbon tab; the hatch is updated in real-time. upFront.reSearch
What’s Inside? AutoCAD 2011
46 3.
Press Enter to place hatch.
To see the dialog box, enter T. New dialog box options include the following: • •
Layer option specifies the name of the layer for the new hatch pattern. Transparency option specifies the translucency of the hatch pattern.
In addition, the dialog box sports a few redesigned icons and graphics, as highlighted below.
The HatchGenerateBoundary command creates objects from the boundaries of hatch patterns. The boundary is made from polylines or regions, depending on the setting of the HpBound system variable. Command: hatchgenerateboundary Select hatch objects: (Select one or more hatches.) Select hatch objects: (Press Enter.)
Generated boundary shown in black. The HatchSetBoundary command creates new hatch boundaries from existing objects, and then fills it with a pattern selected from another object. Command: hatchsetboundary Select hatch object: (Select a hatch object.) Select objects to be used for the new boundary: (Select one or more objects.) Select objects to be used for the new boundary: (Press Enter.) Erase selected linework? [Yes/No] : (Type Y or N.)
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The HatchSetOrigin command relocates the origin of selected hatch patterns. Command: hatchsetorigin Select hatch objects: (Select one or ore hatch objects.) Select hatch objects: (Press Enter.) Select new hatch origin: (Pick a point in the drawing.)
The HatchToBack command sets the draw order for all hatches in the drawing behind all other objects. Command: hatchtoback 1 hatch object(s) sent to back
-HATCH
The command-line oriented -Hatch command has these new options: Command: -hatch Current hatch pattern: ANSI31 Specify internal point or [Properties/Select objects/draW boundary/remove Boundaries/Advanced/DRaw order/Origin/ANnotative/hatch COlor/LAyer/Transparency]:
The hatch COlor option prompts you: New color [Truecolor/COlorbook/. (for use current)] <use current>: (Specify the foreground color.) New background color [Truecolor/COlorbook/. (for none)] : (Specify the background color.)
For the foreground and background colors, you can specify the color in many ways: • • • • •
“None” or “.” for current foreground or no background color. 1 through 255 for the AutoCAD Color Index colors. Name of the first seven colors, such as “Red.” RGB: or HSL: to specify red-green-blue or hue-saturation-luminosity, such as "RGB:130,200,240"; range is 000 to 255. Enter a PANTONE, DIC, or RAL color specification, such as "DIC COLOR GUIDE(R)$DIC 43".
The LAyer option prompts you: Specify layer or [. (for use current)] <use current>: (Enter the name of a layer.)
The Transparency option prompts you: Specify transparency value (0-90) or [. (for use current)] <use current>: (Enter an integer between 0 and 90.)
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48 HATCHEDIT, -HATCHEDIT
The HatchEdit command displays the HatchEdit dialog box, as before. If you double-click a hatch or gradient, however, AutoCAD 2011 now displays the Hatch Editor tab on the ribbon, and brings up the Properties palette. The -HatchEdit command gets the same three new options does the -Hatch command: Command: -hatchedit Select hatch object: (Select a hatch or gradient.) Enter hatch option [DIsassociate/Style/Properties/DRaw order/ADd boundaries/Remove boundaries/recreate Boundary/ASsociate/separate Hatches/Origin/ANnotative/ hatch COlor/LAyer/Transparency] :
GRADIENT
The Gradient command has the same changes as the Hatch command. When you now pause the cursor over a closed area, AutoCAD 2011 immediately fills the area with a gradient with the current settings. Use the new ribbon tab to modify the settings.
TIP You can switch between gradients and hatch patterns by selecting a different swatch from the Pattern panels of the Hatch Creation tab.
RELATED SYSTEM VARIABLES
HpAnnotative determines whether new hatch patterns take on annotative scale factors: 0 – nonannotative (default). 1 – annotative. HatchBoundSet (undocumented) reports the contents of the hatch boundary set (read-only): 0 – current viewport (default). 1 – existing set. HatchCreation (undocumented) reports whether the Hatch command is active (read-only): 0 – hatching is not active (default). 1 – hatching is underway (Hatch command is active). HatchType (undocumented) specifies the type of hatch pattern (read-only): 0 – predefined (default). 1 – user defined. 2 – custom.
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HpBackgroundColor specifies the background fill color for hatch patterns: “None” or “.” – no background color (default). 1 through 255 – AutoCAD Color Index Name – name of the first seven colors, such as “Red.” RGB: or HSL: – red-green-blue or hue-saturation-luminance, such as “RGB:130,200,240”; range is 000 to 255. Colorbook – PANTONE, DIC, or RAL color specifications, such as “DIC COLOR GUIDE(R)$DIC 43”. HpBackgroundColor (gray)
HpColor (red)
HpTransparency
HpBoundRetain toggles whether boundary objects are created for new hatches (HpBound system variable determines whether the boundaries are region or polylines): 0 – not created (default). 1 – created. HpColor specifies the default color for new hatch patterns: “Use Current” or “.”– use the color defined by CeColor system variable (default). “ByLayer” or “ByBlock” – used color of the associated layer or block. 1 through 255 – AutoCAD Color Index Name – name of the first seven colors, such as “Red.” RGB: or HSL: – red-green-blue or hue-saturation-luminance, such as “RGB:130,200,240”; range is 000 to 255. Colorbook – PANTONE, DIC, or RAL color specifications, such as “DIC COLOR GUIDE(R)$DIC 43”. HpDlgMode determines when the Hatch and Gradient and the Hatch Edit dialog boxes are displayed by the Hatch, Gradient, and HatchEdit commands: 0 – dialog boxes are never displayed; enter the seTtings option to display them. 1 – Hatch and Gradient dialog boxes are displayed; Hatch Edit is not. 2 – dialog boxes are displayed when the ribbon is not active (default). HpIslandDetection determines how islands are hatched: 0 – alternating islands are hatched (Normal mode). 1 – outermost island only is hatched (Outer mode; default). 2 – everything is hatched (Ignore mode). HpIslandDetectionMode toggles the type of island detection; controls HpIslandDetection: 0 – legacy island detection. 1 – shiny new island detection method (default). HpLastPattern (undocumented) reports the name of the last hatch pattern used (read-only): “Ansi31” – (default). HpLayer specifies the name of the layer to use for new hatches and fills. “Use Current” – (default). HpObjWarning now has a default value of 10000, up from 1000 in previous releases; range is 1 to 1073741823.
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50 HpOriginStoreAsDefault (undocumented) specifies whether the user-defined hatch origin is stored as the default value: 0 – not stored (default). 1 – store specified origin as default. HpQuickPreview toggles the display of hatch previews when the cursor is inside boundaries: Off – no preview. On – preview (default). HpRelativePs (undocumented) toggles whether hatch pattern scaling is relative to the paper space scale factor (read-only): Off – hatch patterns are not scaled (default). On – hatch patterns are scaled HpTransparency sets the default translucency percentage for new hatches; has no effect on existing patterns: “Use current” or “.” – uses the translucency specified by the CeTransparency system variable (default). “ByLayer” or “ByBlock” – uses the translucency specified by the associated layer or block. 0 to 90 – range of translucency from 0 (none) to 90 (mostly transparent). MirrHatch toggles the mirroring of hatches: 0 – retains hatch angle (default). 1 – mirrors hatch angle. Mirror line
HpMirror = 1 (pattern mirrored)
Original hatch patterns HpMirror = 0 (pattern not mirrored)
The ClassicLayer dialog box and Layer palette now have the new Transparency and VP Transparency columns, as does their Layer Filters Properties sub-dialog box.
The LayerState, LayTrans, and SetByLayer commands also get the new Transparency property in their dialog boxes. The -Layer command now has the new TRansparency option: Command: -layer Current layer: "0" Enter an option [?/Make/Set/New/Rename/ON/OFF/Color/Ltype/LWeight/TRansparency/MATerial/Plot/ Freeze/Thaw/LOck/Unlock/stAte/Description/rEconcile]: tr Enter transparency value (0-90): (Enter an integer between 0 and 90.)
The VpLayer command also gets the new TRansparency property: Command: vplayer Enter an option [?/Color/Ltype/LWeight/TRansparency/Freeze/Thaw/Reset/Newfrz/Vpvisdflt]: RELATED SYSTEM VARIABLES
SetByLayerMode adds transparency to its list of modes: 128 – includes transparency property.
LINETYPE, LIST, SCALELISTEDIT, STYLE
The Linetype command now supports the new “U” parameter in complex linetypes, which forces text and shapes in linetpes to be displayed “upright.” *GAS_LINE,Gas line ----GAS----GAS----GAS----GAS----GAS----GAS-U=0.0,X=-0.1,Y=-.05],-.25 A,.5,-.2,["GAS",STANDARD,S=.1,U
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52 The List command now has the new Transparency property. The ScaleListEdit command now allows the creation of customized scale lists. The Style command’s dialog box now notes which fonts are missing from the drawing.
MISCELLANEOUS CLIP-TAHOE+1, IMAGE
The Clip-Tahoe+1 (undocumented) command is a placeholder for the unified Clip command from older releases of AutoCAD. Command: clip-tahoe+1 AutoCAD unified clip command goes here.
The Image command supports both kinds of transparency, to the background color and to the overall image:
• •
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Transparency property now applies to the entire image. Background Transparency is the new name for the property that applies to a single color; formerly the Transparency property (and command).
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Constraints and Parameters CONSTRAINTSETTINGS
The ConstraintSettings command’s dialog box’s Geometric tab has new options:
The Infer Geometric Constraints option causes AutoCAD 2011 to infers geometric constraints as you draw and edit geometry. For example, using the Rectang command to draw a rectangle now automatically applies horizontal, parallel, and perpendicular constraints to ensure it remains a rectangle when grip-editing it. Parallel contraint Horizontal constraint
Perpendicular constraint
The Show Constraint Bars When Objects are Selected option displays the constraint bars of the selected objects temporarily. This is useful when you have the display of constraint bars turned off (to reduce clutter in the drawing). AutoCAD 2011 removes the Show All Dynamic Constraints option.
RELATED SYSTEM VARIABLES
ConstraintCursorDisplay (undocumented) toggles the display of the constraint icons that appear next to the cursor: 0 – off. 1 – on (default). upFront.reSearch
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54 ConstraintInfer toggles the inference of geometric constraints as objects are drawn and edited: 0 – not inferred (default). 1 – inferred.
BEDITOR
The BEditor command’s Parameters palette adds the Show and Order columns for toggling the display and determining the order in which constraints appear in the Properties palette.
Icons are now displayed for action parameters, attributes, and user parameters, as they were in the drawing editor version of this palette. DIMENSIONAL CONSTRAINTS DCDISPLAY
The DcDisplay command toggles the display of selected dynamic constraints; it does not work with annotational dimensional constraints (use layers to hide them). Command: dcdisplay Select objects: (Select one or more dimensional constraints.) Select objects: (Press Enter.) Enter an option [Show/Hide]<Show>: (Type S or H.) TIP This command contains two hidden options, Showall and Hideall, which show and hide all dynamic constraints at once. Enter either option at the ‘Select objects’ prompt; there is no need to select objects.
The DimConstraint command has a new option, Convert, for converting associative dimensions to dimensional constraints: Command: dimconstraint Current settings: Constraint form = Dynamic Enter a dimensional constraint option [Linear/Horizontal/Vertical/Aligned/ANgular/Radius/Diameter/Form/Convert] c :c Select associative dimensions to convert: (Choose one or more dimensions.) Select associative dimensions to convert: (Press Enter.) 4 associative dimensions converted
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www.upfrontezine.com/wia11 55 This command’s options can now be accessed directly through new commands that begin with DC, such as DcLinear, as listed below. The DcAligned command constrains the distance between two points on objects. Command: dcaligned Specify first constraint point or [Object/Point & line/2Lines]
