When you have different settings between 360 and your computer

When you have different settings on different computer, Autodesk 360 will show an error message on title bar. It won’t do anything further until you confirm what you want. Click customization Sync error under your sign in name.

To sync or not to sync

AutoCAD will offer you to stop syncing this computer or keep syncing with 360. If you choose to stop syncing, then AutoCAD will not do it anymore until you change it from online option.

If you choose to keep syncing, it will show another options. So which one you want to keep? The settings on your local computer or the one on the cloud?

Whatever you choose, choose wisely. I would suggest you to backup your setting before you do this.

After you do above steps, but you still see the error message, you can try to sign out then sign in again. It works on my side. But I think restarting your AutoCAD will also work.

This is a guest post by Will Schoenig. He shares his experience working with layer states. If you are not familiar with it yet, you can read a short tutorial about layer states here.

Recently I encountered a request to create a drawing with multiple options.  I thought this was an excellent opportunity to use layer states to manage and present the different options.

After creating multiple layer states, one for each option, I created multiple layouts, also one for each option, and activated one layer state per layout.  It worked like a charm until I moved back to model space and made some modifications.  Returning to the layouts I realized all but one of the layouts were “gone”.

I could restore each layer state in each layout but I had no intention to do this every time I made a change.

Checking the internet I found many solutions but like so many others, none worked for me.  After a more than a few failed attempts to resolve the problem, some with seemingly strange results I realized that, after I restored one layer state per layout all the layer states were “turned on” in model space.  That’s when it hit me – the layer states were being used as a layer “filter” in the layouts.

If you’ve been stumped by this in the past, there’s a good chance you just face palmed and have run off to create your own solution which is pretty simple.  I’ll walk you through the process step by step however the solution is to create an additional layer state, in which all the layers visible in all the layer states you are using for your layouts are on and unfrozen.  Turn that layer state on before you move to your layouts for display / printing and they will all be right where you left them.

I will make one caveat – occasionally AutoCAD will simply refuse to play nicely and let this work.  Restarting AutoCAD typically resolves this issue.
Here are the steps to using multiple layer states and multiple layouts.  In this example I will use a rack layout as my options however this can be used just as easily for more complicated drawings, for example each floor of a building which is drawn with the floors stacked on one another.
To keep it simple we’ll use AutoCAD LT 2012 and create 3 layers:

1. A-SHEL (building shell)
2. I-RACK-OP1 (rack layout option 1)
3. I-RACK-OP2 (rack layout option 2)

1 – Creating layer states

• Turn on / thaw all the layers we want to use on all our layer states.  For our example all 3 layers are on and unfrozen. (For larger drawings you may want to do this step last).
• From the Home Ribbon, Layers group: select the layer state drop down.  (It typically says: Unsaved Layer State.)
• Choose: New Layer State – a pop up window will appear.

• Give this layer state a name that makes sense to you, we’ll call the layer state we’re making “Print”. You will return to model space when done.

• Modify your layers for Option 1 – for this example, freeze the layer ending in OP2.
• Following the same procedure as creating the “print” layer state create a new layer state called Option1.
• Thaw the OP2 layer, freeze the OP1 layer and create a new layer state called Option2.

We now have 3 layer states:

• Print – with all layers on
• Option1 – with the shell and rack option 1 (green) on and rack option 2 frozen
• Option2 with the shell and rack option 2 (red) on and rack option 1 frozen.

2. Create layouts with specific layer states activated.

Select Layout 1 or insert your own. If they layout doesn’t have a viewport insert one and activate it.

Double click to move to model space.

• Using the same layer state drop down menu we used to create the layer states, select manage layer states.
• A pop-up window will appear and a list of your layer states will appear.
• Select Option1.
• Check the “turn off layers not found in layer state”
• Check Apply properties as viewport overrides
• Click on Restore
• Rename the layout tab Option 1

Create a new layout and follow the same procedures for Option 2.

You now have two layouts with different layer states.  If you return to model space all the layers will be turned on.  If you activate one of the layer states the other will be turned off, including on the layouts, until you turn on your layers you’re printing back on (the “Print” layer state).

This can sound like a lot but once you understand how this process works it can make managing your layouts much easier.

A final note:

-     If you need to change a layer state, for example adding a layer to option 2 you must remember to re-save your “all on” layer state as well.

I posted about this issue a few years ago. Sometimes you just find that AutoCAD is loosing its accuracy.

Apparently this problem is still occur when you work very far away from your drawing’s origin. I found this accuracy issue in AUGI forum, using AutoCAD LT 2012.

This problem mostly happens for metric drawings, because we often have to use mm even for very large site. The only thing I can advice you is trying to draw as close as possible to origin.

I would like to hear your opinion too, how you prevent this happens.

Illustration: http://www.sxc.hu/profile/kliverap

If you have Civil 3D or AutoCAD Architecture installed on your computer, you will see several shortcuts on your desktop to launch your application. You may load it as vanilla AutoCAD, or start the application with metric or imperial measurement.

What they do is actually just load different template or profile. You can create similar shortcuts if you use vanilla AutoCAD. We can define the shortcut using start switches.

The full list of AutoCAD start switches can be found in this knowledge base or you can find it on help page.

What you can do

There are many things you can do by using this switch.

1. You can make it start without showing splash screen/logo.
2. You can create different shortcuts to start AutoCAD using different profile .
3. You can load AutoCAD and start new file using different template.
4. And so on.

Check the switch list to see what else you can do.

Do you remember acaddoc.lsp? Let’s say we have two AutoCAD profiles, Architecture and MEP. Each has their own support folder. If you define the shortcut to load AutoCAD with architecture profile, then it will load architecture profile and its customization. You can define a shortcut for MEP to load different customization.

Creating a shortcut

In recent AutoCAD version, you can’t just use existing shortcut and modify it. You must create a shortcut from the application directly.

Open Windows explorer, then browse to your installation folder. It should be something like this: C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD xxxx

Find acad.exe in that folder. Select it and press [ctrl] + C to copy it.

Now let’s create a shortcut on our desktop. Right click your mouse on desktop and choose paste shortcut.

Rename the shortcut as necessary.

Preparation

Before we customize our shortcut, let’s define what it will do. If you want it to open a profile, create the profile in AutoCAD.

Modify the profile properties as necessary.

If you want this shortcut to load a template file, prepare your template. Let’s say you place it in d:\acadlib\template.

Modifying shortcut properties

After you know what the shortcut will do, now right click your template then choose properties from contextual menu.

Add the switches at target field. Remember, if you don’t create your own shortcut, you will not be able to modify it.

In this sample, I use this line:

“C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2012 – English\acad.exe” /nologo /p “Architecture” /t “D:\acadlib\template\architecture.dwt”

1. /nologo will load AutoCAD without showing splash screen.
2. /p “Architecture” will make architecture profile as current.
3. /t “D:\acadlib\template\architecture.dwt” will create new file using architecture template.

Do you think you startup switches are useful?

Using startup switches probably is not for everyone, and probably not all of you think it will be useful. But if you like customization and work with different configurations, you might like it.

Have you used it before? And if you haven’t, do you think it will be useful for you?

Illustration © diddleman – Fotolia.com

In this post we will look at another automation tool – the command Macro. We will look at the difference between a Script and a Macro and discuss the possibilities of both.

To review:

• An AutoCAD Script Is an ASCII text file, with the file extension .SCR, that contains a number of instructions for AutoCAD to perform at the command line.
• An AutoCAD command Macro is also a list of instructions for AutoCAD to follow, but a Macro is run from the AutoCAD UI (A tool bar button, menu pull down or short cut key combination). A Macro usually lives within your CUI or on a Tool palette.

I hope to demonstrate that the process of writing a Macro is the same as that of writing a Script. All you really need to automate AutoCAD is a good understanding of the sequence of commands that you need to complete to get the job done.

AutoCAD Scripts

The Good – AutoCAD scripts can contain long lists of instructions for AutoCAD to follow. AutoCAD scripts can be stored in a central location on your server. Should you want to update a Script file, you only need to change it in one place for everyone to get the changes. AutoCAD scripts can contain comments, to remind you what the script does.

If you are using the full version of AutoCAD, you can use the LISP programming language within your script. This is not available to AutoCAD LT users.

The Bad – Loading Script files can be a fiddle, and your users will need to know where to find the Script files. Some internal training will be required to run your Scripts.

AutoCAD Macros

The Good – AutoCAD command Macros can be distributed via the CUI or tool palettes, making it much more intuitive for your users to use. AutoCAD Command Macro’s can contain LISP code, and they can also contain DIESAL code (which is good for AutoCAD LT users). Macros can contain pauses for user input, but be careful – there is no error handling method in a Macro.

The Bad – Writing long, complicated command Macro’s can be very difficult to debug.

Tip: You can of course, get the best of both worlds by using a command Macro to call a Script…

Automate your plotting – reloaded

In the last post, we learned how to examine what we had previously written at the command line to write a script. We end up with this script to create an A1 PDF plot in our default plotting location:

-plot
y

DWG To PDF.pc3
ISO A1 (841.00 x 594.00 MM)
m
l
n
l
1:1
0.00,0.00
y
monochrome.ctb
y
n
n
n
n
y

To write the same routine as a macro, we would put it all on one line, like this:

^C^C-plot;y;;DWG To PDF.pc3;ISO A1 (841.00 x 594.00 MM);m;l;n;l;1:1;0.00,0.00;y;monochrome.ctb;y;n;n;n;;n;y;

Note that, instead of a carriage return macros use the semi-colon to indicate where you would usually press return on your keyboard. Spaces are also interpreted as hitting the return key (just like when you are operating AutoCAD manually). However, using spaces can make your code difficult to read and debug so I suggest that you replace the spaces with semi-colons.

The ^C^C at the beginning of the command is equivalent to pressing ‘Esc’ on the keyboard twice. This should cancel any other commands that are running before your Macro runs. You can read more about the Syntax for AutoCAD Macros here.

Running and Debugging your Macro.

You can run your Macro from the AutoCAD CUI (See Edwin’s post on creating new AutoCAD commands) however I am going to show you how to run your command from a tool palette.

First use the keyboard combination shortcut CTRL+3 to open your tool palettes. Right click over any blank area on your palette and chose ‘New Palette’ to create a new blank palette which we will use for testing our macro.

Tip: These instructions are for AutoCAD 2012. Previous releases may be a little different. If you are new to working with Tool palettes, read Edwin’s post ‘creating your own AutoCAD palette’ for more information on creating and working with tool palettes.

(click image to enlarge)

1. Right click over any blank area on your new palette and choose ‘Customize commands’. This will bring up the ‘Customize user interface’ dialogue.
2. Type ‘script’ into the search box to bring up the run script command.
3. Drag and drop the run script command from the customize user interface dialogue onto your palette.

You don’t have to use the run script command for testing Macro’s, but there isn’t a ‘Run Macro’ command, so it will have to do!

To add your command Macro to the new toolbar button, right click on the ‘Run script’ tool palette button, and chose ‘Properties’. You can now paste your Macro in under ‘Command string’.

(click image to enlarge)

Click on the OK button to close the dialogue and save your Macro.

Finally, click on your new button… and see what happens!

You now have all the fun of debugging your Macro. I hope that it works for you first time. If it doesn’t – Hit ‘F2’ to bring up the AutoCAD text window to see what happened and what you might need to adjust to get your Macro working.

Macro examples

Here are some examples of command Macros that you could use, see if you can work out the commands and options used.

^C^C_fillet;r;0;

Start the fillet command with a radius of zero – Handy for joining reluctant polylines.

^C^C_pedit;m;\\;j;;;

Join multiple lines or arcs into a polyline in one go (this Macro assumes that the variable ‘PEDITACCEPT’ is set to 1)

^C^C_break;\@;

Break a line at the point you click on.

^c^_copy;\;\\_rotate;l;;@;

Copy and then rotate your selection

^c^_zoom;e;_zoom;0.95x;

Zoom a bit more than extents

^C^C-purge;r;*;n;

Purges all registered applications from memory.

^C^C_erase;all;;

Erase everything! – be careful with this one :D

What will you write a Macro for?

Writing Macro’s for AutoCAD can be simple and fun. You can create simple quick Macro’s that will save you time and effort every time you have to create a drawing.  You could create a Macro to plot your drawings at the click of a button, update your title block or create geometry on your company standard layers. Or you could create Macro’s to pull AutoCAD commands together that you use frequently.

What will you create today?

-Paul-

One of the easiest ways to automate a process within AutoCAD is to write a script. In this post, I will demonstrate how to write and develop a script for AutoCAD. In this example we will write a script that will automate a typical plot routine.

What is a script?

In computer programming terms, a script is a programme that will run with no interaction from the user. To AutoCAD, a script file is an ASCII text file that contains a set of command line instructions for AutoCAD to follow – just like an actor reading from a script. AutoCAD script files always have a file extension of ‘.scr’.

Defining a process

Before we can automate a process, first we have to define it. In this example we will write a script file that will create an A1 PDF plot of a drawing. We will work through the instructions that we would usually need to give AutoCAD to make a plot, and make a note of them so that we can write it up into a script.

Recording the steps

AutoCAD script files cannot interact with dialogue boxes, so we need to work out what we would type at the command line to produce our plot. To this end we will use the command line version of the plot command ‘-PLOT’ (the hyphen suppresses the plot dialogue) and we will manually step through the options to produce our plot.

Tip: If you don’t know the answer to the question AutoCAD is asking you, type ‘?’ at the command line and hit return to see a list of available options. Copy these options out into a text file for later reference. You may have to step through the routine a few times to get all the answers you need.

When we have produced a plot manually, we can open up the text window (hit F2 on your keyboard) to review the steps.

Creating the script file

The next step is to open a new blank notepad file (Please don’t be tempted to use Word or another word processing programme for this!). Copy the commands from the AutoCAD text window, and paste them into your notepad file.

Editing out the Junk

The next step is to edit out what you don’t need.

You don’t need AutoCAD’s command line prompts. You do need your replies. In the image below I have highlighted what can be stripped out. An empty line is equivalent to you pressing ‘Return’ on your keyboard, so leave those empty lines in!

Watch out for character wrapping inherited from the AutoCAD text window. Make sure all the text for each step is on the same line.

You should end up with something that looks like this:

Don’t forget that you will need an empty line at the end of your script. This is equivalent to pressing ‘Return’ to complete the command.

Testing the script

The next step is to test the script. First, close down the text file and change the file extension to ‘.scr’

Tip: make sure that Windows is showing file extensions before you do this!

Next, simply drag and drop your Script file into AutoCAD to run it.

Debugging

It may take you a couple of goes to get your script to run. Use the text window to see how far your script ran before it stalled. Make the corrections in the .scr file and keep trying until you are happy!

Adding Comments (putting some junk back in)

Now you have a running script file it is a good idea to add a few comments to remind you what you did. You never know, it might be you who has to re-write the script in six months time…

AutoCAD will ignore any line in your script file that is preceded by a semi-colon. My version of the script ended up looking like this:

How could you use AutoCAD Scripting to automate your workflow?

AutoCAD scripts can be used to automate many tasks. You could use a script to add your corporate standard layers or styles to a drawing. You could write a script to update your title block. And of course you could adapt the script we’ve just finished writing to automate many of your plotting tasks.

AutoCAD scripts also work for AutoCAD LT, and you can run scripts on a whole batch of drawings using a windows .bat file or by using the free Scriptpro program from Autodesk labs.

Next time we will look at the differences between scripts and Macros.

Until then – stay lucky.

So what’s so wrong if I use imperial template for my metric drawing? Nothing is wrong. You will just have more things to do. If you are a veteran AutoCAD user or if you already find the workaround, this will not be a big issue to you. But if you are a beginner, you will want everything to work out of the box. You will not want to use too many commands or change too many variables/properties in your first days of work.

Let’s see how things can be easier if you use proper template for your drawings.

Let’s compare them both!

Create two new drawings

Let’s try to create two drawings in AutoCAD. Create it by clicking the big A button, new> drawing.

AutoCAD will let you choose which template you want to use. For the first file, choose acad.dwt. This is the default template used by AutoCAD out of the box. If you start AutoCAD, then the new drawing you see use this file by default.

If you want to easily distinguish it, you can save it as ‘imperial.dwg’. Create another drawing using acadiso.dwt. Save it as ‘metric.dwg’. Tile both drawing.

Linetype

Load dashdot linetype for both drawings and make it as default.

Let’s start with imperial template. Draw a 1000×1000 rectangle. When we are working in metric, it means this is 1000x1000mm rectangle. Draw the same sized rectangle in the second drawing.

You can see in drawing created with metric template, the rectangle fits in the drawing. In imperial, you still can see the linetype but the rectangle is way too large. It’s still not a problem.

Now zoom extents both drawing, so you can see the rectangle fit in both drawings. What do you see? The one created with imperial now looks continuous, no longer dash dot! Of course you know how to make it appears. By changing linetype scale. To what value?

Hatches

Now let’s try with hatch. I tried with AR-CONC pattern here. Do not change the hatch scale.

You can see the metric display it just right, but too dense in imperial. Again, it’s easy to make it appears correctly. Just change the hatch scale.

It does look very simple. Veteran users might not be disturbed by this, because they know the workaround and already comfortable with this. But beginners will need to do some trials and errors before the get the value they want.

There are more on the list!

We can continue to explore more settings affected by this choice. Not limited to 2D drawings, but also to 3D model. I tried to extrude both rectangle we made and assign same material to both of them. You need extra work if you use wrong template!

It affects many area. Many of scale related problems. From insert block, XREF, styles, and we can continue this list if you want to… but I believe you get the idea now.

While there’s nothing wrong about it, you can avoid additional works to finish your job.

If you are using metric for your drawing, don’t you think it’s worth to use the proper template? Do you have any experience in the past about using the wrong template? Share with us here!

If you have many texts in your drawing, either they are texts, mtexts or block attributes… you may see them rotated to different angles. They can be very hard to read!

When I was in college, my lecturer taught me that we must be able to read annotations from bottom of the paper, or from the right side of the paper. The bottom of the paper is defined by the title block orientation, of course.

To fix our drawing to follow that rules, there is a tool to quickly fix this: Rotate text/TORIENT.

Accessing Rotate text tool

This is an express tool, so if you must have express tools installed. If you use AutoCAD LT, unfortunately this tool is not available for you.

You can access this tool on express tool tab> text panel. Click the small arrow below modify text. Click rotate button.

If you love command line, simple type TORIENT then press [enter].

How rotate text works

The procedure is described on help file. However, let’s see how it works.

After you activate the tool, you can select all texts you want to rotate. Press enter after you finish with the selection.

Now you have most readable as default option. Just press [enter] if you want this option.

Or if you want to define text orientation angle, you can type the angle then press [enter]. Of course, you can click points to define the angle too.

See this image. The left image is how the original texts looks like. If you choose most readable, then the orientation will be like on the right top. It maintain the original angle, but oriented so you can read the texts from bottom or right side of the paper.

If you type 0. Then the result is like on the right bottom. Pretty useful, right?

See how it works on YouTube!

Thank you to R.K. McSwain who brought the tip at this aligning text tip. And thank you to Mary Kachler who mentioned about this on LinkedIn group!