Cadalyst - May 2008 - (Page 50)

hottipharry By Bill Kramer Shortcuts and Solutions Harry’s top tip helps you manage xref block layers. arry peered into the window with a smile on his face. As he slipped in the envelope with this month’s top tips, he said, “I’ve got some great shortcuts and a few solutions for those pesky xrefs.” And with that, he was gone. H Tip 2288: DIMLFAC Quick Setting DIMLFAC Quick Setting, submitted by Matt Sibum, is a very fast way to set the DIMLFAC system variable (linear dimension scale factor) when using nonassociative dimensions in a viewport. After loading the LISP code, type DF at the Command line. The macro prompts you to select a viewport, from which it grabs the height of the viewport in both paper space and model space units. The model space height is divided by the paper space height to produce a new scale factor for linear dimensioning in the viewport. Tip 2285: Automatic XLines Automatic XLines by Jon Jonas simplifies the creation of a horizontal or vertical construction line (xline) at selected points. Load the LISP code and type XHH at the Command prompt to create a horizontal construction line at a selected point. You can use XVV in the same way to create a vertical construction line. Tip 2289: Layer Creator Layer Creator from Timothy Spangler is a comprehensive application for managing a variable layer standards set. This utility lets you select from a library of predefined layer tables to quickly set up the layers, linetypes, and similar relationships in a drawing. To use this utility, place the files in a path searched by AutoCAD and load the LISP code. Type LC at the AutoCAD Command prompt to launch the dialog box and select the layer setup you need. Tip 2286: Reset Path for Xref Blocks Reset Path for Xref Blocks comes to us from frequent contributor Leonid Nemirovsky. This routine solves a relatively common problem for those who use externally referenced blocks — path changes. When you encounter a problem with lost xref blocks, copy all the external files into one folder that is part of the AutoCAD search path. Then load the LISP code and type XrefRel at the Command prompt. The rest is automatic, as the routine ripples down the blocks table and looks for externally referenced blocks. Tip 2290: Tangent Arc Generators Submitted by Rogelio Bravo, Tangent Arc Generators is a small set of utilities for generating arcs tangent to other objects. The tip includes four LISP files and one DCL file. Copy these files into a folder searched by AutoCAD and then load the ARCTOD.LSP file. Type Arctod at the AutoCAD Command line to activate the dialog box, where you can select from the arc generator options. Tip 2287: Convert Text to Standard Notes Ravi Prakash sent in the Convert Text to Standard Notes utility, which includes LISP code for a series of simple functions that change existing text objects into standard drawing notes. Some simple fabrication notes are provided as examples in the code, and they can be adjusted to your own needs. The basic operation is to load the code and then type N1 (or N2, N3, . . . ) for the various notes. When the command functions run, they ask you to select an existing text object in the drawing. The text data is then updated from the standard note text for the given N function and variable assignment. Tip 2291: Xref Block Layer Cleanup This month’s top tip, Xref Block Layer Cleanup from Michael Kolomiyets, is a reactor-based solution for handling layers from xref blocks. This routine runs behind the scenes after it is loaded through the use of reactors. The goal is to add the letters “xref-” plus the block name to the start of all layers created through the inclusion of an externally referenced block. When the xref block is removed from the drawing, all the layers containing the letters “xref-” plus the block name at the beginning are removed from the drawing. Until next month, keep on programmin’. Cadalyst contributing editor Bill Kramer has been programming AutoCAD solutions, writing magazine articles and books, and teaching CAD/CAM/CAE customization for more than 20 years. Bill wrote the first article about AutoLISP in Cadalyst back in 1986. www.cadalyst.com cadalyst May 2008 Get the Code! 50 Download Harry’s May 2008 code at www.cadalyst.com/code. Downloads are free, provided as is without warranty or support. Tips included in “Hot Tip Harry” are tested with AutoCAD 2008, unless otherwise noted. Review tip submission guidelines at www.cadalyst.com/tips and then submit your AutoCAD tip to harry@cadalyst.com. Authors of all published tips will receive a Cadalyst T-shirt. The author of Harry’s Top Tip each month will win a $100 cash prize, and all published authors will be entered in the Hot Tip Harry 2008 Hot Code Contest random drawing for a chance to win a trip to Autodesk University 2008. http://www.cadalyst.com/code http://www.cadalyst.com/tips http://www.cadalyst.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Cadalyst - May 2008

Cadalyst - May 2008 Contents Editor's Window Cad Central A Solid Job in AutoCAD Today’s Power — Quad-Core Workstations Performance — Tomorrow’s Possibilities Reverse Engineering an Antique Italian Treasure Trends in Reverse Engineering NextEngine 3D Scanner — Reverse-Engineering Tool Setting CAD Standards Fight for Your Hardware Rights The Jack and Jill of Ergonomics Technology for Civil Infrastructure Cad Cartoon Issue Indexes Shortcuts and Solutions

Cadalyst - May 2008

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