AutoCAD Tips and Tricks

If you need to change an AutoCAD file but do not use AutoCAD often, see below for some useful tips and tricks for creating floor plans that import into Exhibitor Floor Plan.

Hotkeys and Useful Commands

• J - Join. Joins two lines that are end to end into a single polyline with a new vertex at joint.
• PL - Polyline. Line command to use for any drawing. 
  • Each time you choose a point, it continues the line until you press Esc.
  • You can explode polylines into lines.
  • The squares are grips that allow you to move individual points. 
  • Bars in the middle of lines allow you to stretch the line. 
  • It is easier to use the end point grips rather than the stretch grips.
• Rect - Rectangle. Useful for drawing rectangular booths. 
  • Make sure you are on the correct layer and type in the command.  
  • Choose your starting point and then hover your mouse in a cardinal direction.
  • Type in the distance you want and press Enter. 
  • Move your pointer in a perpendicular direction, type in a new distance and press Enter. The end result is a rectangular box of set dimensions.
• Mtext - Useable text box. This text allows you to edit size, position, and shape of the text easier than a normal text box.
  • Once the text looks correct, use the Explode command to make it into a normal text box to import into the floor plan.
  • Not using the Explode command still imports it into the floor plan but it is imported in a single line (no line breaks). 
• Hatchsetboundary - Allows you to select a hatch in the drawing and apply it to a different boundary. Use this to copy hatches into boundaries in new drawings.
• Xref - Opens an external reference screen. Use this screen to reference other dwgs or other useful files like PDFs. These files show up in your workspace but are not editable.
• Layer - Open layer manager.
• Prop - Open properties screen.
• Drop/x/break - Break apart selected object.
• Group - Creates a group where the individual pieces maintain their individuality but move as one.
• Block/wblock - Creates a group where the individuals become one object, move as one and have properties of one until exploded.
• Dist - Measure distance.
• Units - Opens the drawing units screen.
• Ex - Extends a line or an arc until it intersects the selected target line.
• Tr - Trims a line at the selected target line.
• Off - Offset. Copies a line a set distance away from itself. This is beneficial for creating wall thickness if you only have a single line drawn.
• Purge - Eliminates unused layers, block definitions, fonts, styles, etc. You may have to run this command multiple times from the purge screen.
• Overkill - Deletes and reduces any lines that are overlapping or redundant.
• Boundary - Allows you to pick a point within a shape and draw a polyline over every boundary it encounters. This tool is most helpful when a drawing contains booths that are lines instead of closed polylines.

Snapping

AutoCAD uses a snapping feature that is controlled through the Osnap command. The Drafting Settings screen allows you to tell AutoCAD what you want to snap to. Typically, you want endpoint turned on and everything else turned off. This prevents you from accidentally snapping to something you did not intend. You can toggle the snap feature on and off using F3. Momentus recommends using snapping whenever possible!

Selecting

When you select an object or many objects, the Properties screen shows you the properties and name of what is selected. This is useful for determining what exists in the drawing, how many lines there are in the drawing or if there are things that you cannot see but are still in the drawing.

Layer Manager

The left side of the layer manager screen indicates where the layers are stored. Xref means the layers are only stored in external references. All non-xref means only the layers that are in your drawing. By default, the All selection is used which may confuse you because layers may show in that list that are not in your drawing. 

You can set layers to on/off, frozen/thawed, locked/unlocked, and frozen/thawed only in this view. If any of these are set improperly, you do not see the lines you need. You can only select locked lines and not edit them. When editing a drawing, verify all layers are on (light bulb lit), thawed (sun icon), unlocked, and thawed in this view (paper icon with a sun).

Xref Manager

The Xref Manager allows you to see what other drawings are attached to your drawing. When starting to simplify a new dwg, Momentus recommends starting a fresh dwg (using the new button) and then referencing it in the original dwg. This allows you to control the background information in the drawing and prevents version corruptions, bogging down of the drawing, and other errors. Starting with a new dwg file ensures you only have the relevant data in the drawing and prevents you from creating irreversible changes in the original file. 

To attach a dwg:

1. Use the small icon in the top left of the xref panel with the paperclip over the dwg. 
2. Navigate to the project folder and select the file. 
3. Click OK on the screen that displays. This screen is asking if you want to specify scale, insertion point and a few other variables. You do not want to do this because you want the other drawing to reference its exact location, orientation, and scale.
4. After you click OK, the screen does not change. 
5. Press z Enter, e Enter to zoom to extents. This focuses your viewport on the newly attached reference.

To copy the line work from the reference to the empty drawing:

1. Navigate to the Xref Manager.
2. Right-click the drawing you attached.
3. Select open. This opens the original client dwg. 
4. Select everything to copy.
5. Press Ctrl+C.
6. Return to the dwg.
7. Press Ctrl+V.
8. Select anywhere where nothing overlaps the xref.
9. Select the newly copied items.
10. Press m for move.
11. Select a focal point in an easily recognizable spot. 
12. Move all the lines at once to line up exactly with the xref image. 
13. Right-click the xref in the XRef Manager.
14. Select Unload. This hides the xref image from site while leaving it attached.

Make sure the xref panel is empty when you try to import. External references may cause import problems.

Drawing Procedures

When starting start a new line by typing pl, it prompts for the first point. After you select the first point, it prompts for a second point. To draw the line exactly 10 units away from the first point, you can hover the mouse in the direction you need to place the line and enter 10. When you click, it draws a line exactly 10 units long in the direction of the pointer. You can continue this process to draw whatever shape you want. 

Additional Help

Click here for additional CAD help files.