Cadalyst - January/February 2009 - (Page 43) circlesandlines Based on IMSI/Design's award-winning CAD code with over 2 million copies sold worldwide. Introducing DoubleCAD XT ™ FREE Drafting & Detailing. Figure 3. Choosing the correct operator ensures you have the right selection set. Works like AutoCAD LT . But FREE. ® You’ll notice that whenever you complete the QSelect command, it reports back the number of objects selected. To count all the objects in the drawing, you wouldn’t apply any filters at all. The Operator option gives you increased power in the selection process. You could select all the text that is less than 1/8”. Or you could select all blocks that are not rotated 90 degrees. (You would use Not Equal.) All these parameters can be controlled by choosing the proper operator, as figure 3 shows. You’ll even find an operator called Wildcard Match that allows you to use wild cards such as * to select, for example, all the blocks that have names starting with “D” (D*) or mtext objects that contain the text “bolt.” And what if you just need to perform an old-fashioned object count? You’ll notice that whenever you complete the QSelect command, it reports back the number of objects selected. To count all the objects in the drawing, you wouldn’t apply any filters at all. Imagine the possibilities! Use QSelect when you need to change all the rotation angles of the block called Circuit to 90 degrees or you need to change all the 1/8” text to 1/4”. You can get as granular as you want; for example, you can select all the text on the Notes layer that has a text style of Anno1 and includes the characters PT. I think you’ll find that the very powerful QSelect command is easy to use and ultimately will save you loads of time. Until next time: Happy AutoCADing! Lynn Allen, Autodesk Technical Evangelist, speaks to more than 30,000 users worldwide each year. She has written Cadalyst’s “Circles and Lines” column for 16 years and is the voice behind Cadalyst’s popular AutoCAD video tips. She began using AutoCAD software with Release 1.4 more than 20 years ago and taught at the corporate and collegiate levels for 13 years before joining Autodesk. A sought-after public speaker with a unique comedic style, she is the host of Autodesk University and always one of the event’s highestrated speakers. She has written three AutoCAD books; the latest is titled AutoCAD Professional Tips and Techniques. • Better drafting • Better detailing • Self-healing walls • Self-aligning blocks • Real handle editing • Snap prioritization • Smart dimensions and much more! • Open & save DWG formats from AutoCAD® R14/2000 to 2009 • Superior workflow with Google SketchUp TM TM AutoCAD Video Tips from Lynn Allen Every one of Lynn Allen’s AutoCAD video tips is packed with knowhow to bring you an instant productivity boost. See what all the buzz is about the second and fourth Tuesdays of every month in the Cadalyst Video Gallery or check out the archives today! Download FREE at www.DoubleCAD.com DoubleCAD was formerly offered under the name of "A/CAD" by IMSI/Design, which is not in any way related to, affiliated with, or endorsed by Autodesk, Inc. DoubleCAD is a trademark of IMSI/Design. Google and SketchUp are trademarks of Google. AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT are registered trademarks of Autodesk. www.cadalyst.com/videogallery January/February 2009 cadalyst www.cadalyst.com 43 http://www.DoubleCAD.com http://www.DoubleCAD.com http://www.cadalyst.com/videogallery http://www.cadalyst.com
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