This document provides 80 tips for increasing productivity in AutoCAD. It covers tips for customizing the user interface, layers, dimensions, text, and tables. It also provides tips for keys and shortcuts, embedding drawings in PowerPoint, accessing online resources from Autodesk Labs and using free Autodesk applications like DWG TrueView, Design Review, and Freewheel. The overall objective is to show techniques that help users work smarter in AutoCAD.

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60 AutoCAD Tips in
60 Minutes
Lynn Allen
Autodesk Technical Evangelist

2. © 2005 Autodesk
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Objective:
Show you some tips and techniques that will
increase your productivity and help you
work smarter!

3. © 2005 Autodesk
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User Interface Tips
1) Workspaces
2) AutoComplete (Tab to cycle)
3) Move Model space/Layout tabs
4) Easy Copy of Layout Tabs New!
5) Drag and Drop to Sheet Set New!
6) New 2D Dashboard New!
7) Status Bar and Tray customization
8) Anchored Palettes
9) Clean Screen (or Ctrl 0)
10) Taskbar to 1
11) Lock Toolbars
12) Double click toolbars to float
13) Lock/Unlock Viewport on Status Bar New!
14) VP Scale on Status Bar New!

4. © 2005 Autodesk
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Quick Customizing Tips
15) CUI now customizes the Dashboard New!
16) Drag and drop toolbars to the Dashboard New!
17) Easier to Search and Create New Commands New!
18) Get rid of F1!
19) Quickly create a Tool Palette of your blocks in Design Center
20) Customize the File dialog

5. © 2005 Autodesk
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Layer Tips
21) Layer properties per viewport New!
 Control of visual properties
 Easy reset to global properties
22) Customize your Layer Columns New!
23) Deactivate the Status Column to save time
24) Speedy Layer State Manager Access New!
25) Applying Layer States per Viewport New!

6. © 2005 Autodesk
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Misc. Layer Tips
26) SETBYLAYER New!
27) Layer Isolate now fades layers New!
28) LAYUNISO is back New!
29) Layer Translater (LAYTRANS)
 Translates layers to a standard (dws, dwg or dwt)
 Force objects to bylayer
30) LAYWALK (View layers individually)
31) LAYDEL (Delete even the most stubborn layers!)

7. © 2005 Autodesk
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AutoCAD 2006
32) SCALELISTEDIT – Plot, Page Setup, Vport
toolbar, Properties, etc.
33) JOIN Command (Glue)
• works on plines, lines, arc, elliptical arcs
and splines
• Use to turn an arc into a circle
34) LAYERFILTERALERT (Set to 3)
35) FILTERS command
36) PEDITACCEPT
37) IMAGEFRAME
38) JPGOUT, BMPOUT, PNGOUT, TIFOUT
39) OVERKILL
TimeSavers!

8. © 2005 Autodesk
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Text Tips
40) Word Docs maintain spacing,
font, etc. New!
41) Text wraps automatically over
multiple columns New!
42) Tab styles and paragraph line
spacing control for selected
lines New!
43) New Spell Checker
Improvements
44) Multiline Attributes! New!
45) Control the Text Sample string
 (MTJIGSTRING)
46) Click outside of the dialog box to
exit command quickly
47) Control+Enter to exit command
MTEXT
48) TEXTTOFRONT command

9. © 2005 Autodesk
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Table Tips
49) AutoFill available in AutoCAD Tables
50) Tables wrap automatically over multiple columns
51) Insert blocks and text in same cell

10. © 2005 Autodesk
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Dimensioning tips (all new)
52) Multiple Leaders
 Multiple segments
 Leading or trailing
position on text
 Options for placement of
leader with respect to
text
53) MLEADERALIGN
54) MLEADERCOllECT
55) DIMBREAK
56) DIMJOGLINE
57) DIMSPACE

11. © 2005 Autodesk
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Misc. Tips in AutoCAD 2008
58) Inverse Xclip
59) Layer control for attached DWF files
60) Create smaller PDFs with DWF
61) PUBLISHCOLLATE – multipage PDF
62) Import/Export DGN
63) Recover for Xrefs

12. © 2005 Autodesk
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Keys, Keys, Keys
64)Control+R to cycle through all of your viewports
65)Control+A to select all the objects in your drawing
66)Control to cycle through objects
67)Tab to cycle through object snaps
68)Navigate through layouts with Control+PageUp and Control+PageDown
69)Hold down right mouse button to clear grips
70)Shift for more than one hot grip
71)Arrow up and down through commands
72)Control+Tab to cycle through open drawings
73)OSNAP Tracking to find the center of a box
74)M2P or MTP to find the midpoint between two points

13. © 2005 Autodesk
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Tip #75: Embed Drawings into PPT!
Insert menu – Object –> Autodesk DWF Viewer Control
Right click on image – Autodesk DWF Viewer Control ->Properties – Select
DWF File
DWF will only display when the Slide Show is playing

14. © 2005 Autodesk
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Tip #76 Autodesk Labs:
labs.autodesk.com (commandcomplete)

15. © 2005 Autodesk
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Supports viewing and plotting of DWG files, and publishing to DWF
Batch converts drawings to previous releases
Stand alone product – no need for ACAD to be installed
Same fidelity as Save as in AutoCAD
Conversion of pen widths to line weights and the addition of page
setups.
www.autodesk.com/trueview
Pricing
FREE
Tip #77: DWG TrueView (now
includes True Convert)

16. © 2005 Autodesk
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Autodesk Design Review 2008
www.autodesk.com/designreview
Pricing
FREE

17. © 2005 Autodesk
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Tip # 78: Autodesk Design Review 2008
www.autodesk.com/designreview
Pricing
FREE

19. © 2005 Autodesk
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Tip # 79: Autodesk Design Review –
Drawing Version Compare Feature
Free Download: autodesk.com/designreview
Highlight
additions/
deletions
1. Select Tools >
Compare
2. Browse and load
the DWF files
3. Select sheets to
overlay and click
OK

20. © 2005 Autodesk
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Tip # 80: Introducing Autodesk Freewheel
Share designs
online - Free
1. Publish DWF
2. Upload & Email Link
3. View & Print 2D & 3D
designs online without
install software
4. Utilize for drawing
catalogs and archives
freewheel.autodesk.co
m

21. © 2005 Autodesk
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lynn.allen@autodesk.com
www.autodesk.com/lynnallen