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Michael’s Corner - February/March 2015

Second Fiddles

As promised, Michael's Corner is back for it's first outing of 2015. We know you probably began the year with some worthy resolutions, and maybe improving your efficiency at work was one of them. By February many of us have either forgotten we made resolutions or have given up on them, so here's some really useful (and timely) stuff to get you back on track if working smarter, not harder was one of the resolutions on your list.

This month, Michael takes a look at a very useful technique when working with overlapping viewports, demonstrates how to mask areas behind dimension text (one of our top 10 FAQs), how to use the Shift key to good effect when working with Ortho and a new feature in AutoCAD 2015 that helps to streamline your interactions with Polar Tracking. All in all it's another great Corner, with something for everyone.

Watch out for the next instalment at the beginning of April when, no doubt, the Web will be buzzing with rumours of fabulous new features in AutoCAD 2016—we can't wait.

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Tip of the Day

Mid Between 2 Points (m2p)

Sometimes you might want to find a point midway between two other points. In the past, you might have drawn a line between these two points and then used "Snap to Midpoint" but this requires the drawing of a construction line and isn't very efficient.

Enter the m2p object snap. This will find the midpoint between any two picked points without the need for a construction line.

How it works: Say you want to draw a circle midway between two squares, start the circle command and then enter "m2p" when prompted to specify the center point. Now just follow the prompts.

Command: circle
Specify center point for circle or [3P/2P/Ttr (tan tan radius)]: m2p
First point of mid: (pick first point)
Second point of mid: (pick second point)
Specify radius of circle or [Diameter] <20.000>: (pick to complete circle)

Today's tip is by yedan

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