Autodesk User Group International

Forgotten Habit #2 � Looking Backwards
Many of us find that we are constantly moving forward and trying to embrace the "new features" of each release of the software. We strain to understand the latest new tool that Autodesk provides. Many of these tools really do improve our CAD experience and enhance our production efforts. Just when I think that AutoCAD� has matured so much that there is nothing left to add, Autodesk developers pop out some unexpected treats.

But let's not forget the old tools, the tried-and-true tools that have gotten us this far. Good AutoCAD users will take a look back to see what existing tools they have not fully exploited. I do this by re-reading the User Guide that comes with the software. By reading the book again you may be surprised by how much more you find. You may not have the same needs or perspectives you did the first time you went through the book. By taking time to review the tools you thought you knew so well, you may find some hidden jewels. If your software did not come with the book, then go to http://www.autodeskbookrequest.com.

I often go to the help files and do a search on some of the basics such as "layer" and find some little trick to help me get more bang for my CAD buck. Sometimes you get a good laugh from what might be in the Help files, like this:

Note: It is recommended that you create several new layers with which to organize your drawing rather than create your entire drawing on layer 0.

Yes, that is really in the Help files. Do you know anyone who might need to read that?

Here is something I just found, straight from the AutoCAD Help files. Did you know this?

To rename more than one layer

On the command line, enter rename.
In the Rename dialog box, in the Named Objects list, select Layers.
In Old Name, enter the old name, using wild-card characters; for example, enter stairs$*.
In Rename To, enter the new name using wild-card characters; for example, enter s_*. Results for this example are as follows: the layers STAIR$LEVEL-1, STAIR$LEVEL-2, STAIR$LEVEL-3 are renamed S_LEVEL-1, S_LEVEL-2, S_LEVEL-3.
Click Rename To to apply changes and continue, or click OK.

Well, maybe you did, but I'll bet some of you didn't. So take some time and look at the old tools again.

Forgotten Habit #3 � Purging your files
Most of us are fairly good about purging our files, but I think that is a forgotten habit that needs to be addressed. We now have such expanded CPU power, loads of RAM, and semi-unlimited storage space for our files that purging may seem unneeded. It seems as if no one purges anymore.

Oh yeah, you use it when you are having troubles, but not as a routine part of CAD. I have seen many files that were blotted and needed to lose some "wait."

So why do you need to Purge from time to time?

It reduces file size.
It helps avoid potential problem data.
It cleans out the layer list.
It purges the following: Blocks, Dimstyles, Layers, LTypes, Plotstyles, Shapes, TextStyles, Mlinestyles, Tablestyles, Regapps or All the above.

Sometimes AutoCAD Purge is not enough. Here are some alternatives to the AutoCAD tool:
SmartPurger at JTB World
DwgPurge 8.0 by DotSoft
SuperPurge by Manusoft
M8Tools for batch purging

Forgotten Habit #4 � AUDIT
Following on the heels of purging is doing an Audit of your files. I do this from time to time just to keep things clean. I let it auto-fix my files.

Forgotten Habit #5 � Saving your file
I see many users who are not saving their files in a timely manner. By this I mean that they are not purposeful in the way they apply a save to the files on which they are working. Many times I have users come to me asking how they can recover files that they failed to save. Autodesk has added a Drawing Recovery tool in case disaster happens, but it is not the best way of managing saves. I have seen people who open files in the morning and don't save until lunch. Or worse they never really save at all. I still prefer to save my files myself. I don't rely upon the software to do it for me.

Here are some tips for when to save your files:

Save after you have finished drawing or editing something that you do not want to do again.
Don't rely on AutoSaves to save your work.
Save every 10 minutes or so�just because.
If you are in the habit of saving every 10 minutes then set your SAVETIME to 20 minutes. That way you will not be annoyed by the Autosave kicking in.
If you are not in the habit of saving every 10 minutes, then get in the habit and in the meantime at least set your SAVETIME to 10 minutes.

Another tip related to Saving
In the Options Dialog box under the Open and Save Tab is a box for Incremental Save Percentage. This sets the percentage of potentially wasted space in your drawing file. A Full save is not done until you have passed the percentage that is defined in that box. An Incremental Save is done until that point is reached. Incremental saves are faster because they only save the changes and tag them onto the end of your file database, which increases the size of your drawing. Once you do a Full Save, the incremental data is pushed back into the correct location in the file, the file is organized, compressed, and it then jettisons the incremental data at the end of the file.

If you set Incremental Save Percentage to 0, every save will be a Full Save. This is overkill. The default is set to 50. If hard disk space becomes an issue, set the value to 25. If you set the value to 20 or less, performance of the SAVE and SAVEAS commands can take longer since it is writing the complete file out each time. (ISAVEPERCENT is the system variable).

So brush up on old forgotten habits and make them new again. Your files will be better for it.

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Submitted by Mark W. Kiker, a member-at-large on the AUGI Board of Directors. Mark is a National CAD Standards Project Team Member and president of the Core Technology Group, a consulting firm. He is the General Editor of BLAUGI and also publishes caddmanager.com, the CADD Managers Journal, and the caddmanager.com blog. He is currently Director of Technology for HMC Architects in Ontario, California.