Michael's Corner is a monthly publication written by Michael E. Beall, Autodesk Authorized Author and peripatetic AutoCAD trainer. Michael travels all over the USA, bringing his fantastic experience and great understanding of AutoCAD to his clients. Michael's Corner brings together many of the tips, tricks and methods developed during these training sessions for the benefit of all users.
Michael's Corner provides something for every AutoCAD user. Every month, a number of articles cover a wide range of topics, suitable for users at all levels, including "The Basics" for those just starting out. Essentially, the aim of Michael's Corner is to help all AutoCAD users work smarter and faster.
It's a God-thing.
I had no idea that 14 years ago I would be given the opportunity to make an impact on the professional lives of so many. Only God knew what was ahead, and hopefully, the contributions I have made through Michael's Corner have equipped many of you to be more productive and a bit more savvy using AutoCAD. And apart from all the AutoCAD bashing that is going on, I'm sure it has a long life ahead.
So, in an effort to keep the AutoCAD fires burning, here's what I have for my final installment…
…A reminder on how to customize your hot keys
…Three Power Tools — one for Zoom, one for editing, and one for Layers
…Two Odd Spots — one for Layers and one for Hatching
…Buried text treasure
…And how to Search 14 years of the Archives
As for what's ahead for me, I will continue to present a variety of AutoCAD sessions — Fundamentals, Intermediate, Customizing, Updates, and 2D & 3D. I will also keep training CAP Designer, 20-20 Worksheet, Visual Impression (those three from 20-20 Technologies, Inc.), and some Revit Fundamentals. Next year I'm looking forward to being very involved in training CET (from Configura, Inc.) when Herman Miller joins the growing number of manufacturers embracing this software that is being touted as the ‘Future of Space Planning’. Personally, I'm looking forward to spending a bit more time with Donna, my lovely bride of 30 years. When this posts, we'll probably be within days of going on our 30th Anniversary vacation to the Tanque Verde Ranch in Tucson; Ee-Hah! We had such a good time when we went for our 20th, we figured we'd do it again!
Ah, and I'm hoping to have The AutoCAD Workbench, Final Edition out before snow flies.
And with that, Mike drop! …so to speak.
The LORD bless you and keep you;
The LORD make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace. Numbers 6:24-26
Do you want to change "C" to mean Copy rather than Circle? Do you use "R" for Redraw anymore? Set it to Rotate! Veterans will recall that the file containing these "aliases" is called ACAD.PGP (Program Parameters file). And some of the rest of us know pieces of how to do this, but let me pass along something I learned at CAD Camp last year and that was reiterated at Autodesk University: Put your desired aliases at the bottom of the acad.pgp file!
Here's why: Since AutoCAD reads the list of aliases in that file from the top down, if C means Circle early on in the list, and when it gets to the bottom you have it set for C to mean Copy, it supercedes the setting for Circle!
This works for all versions of AutoCAD, even LT! In the following exercise, I'm giving you the steps for editing this file using A2006. AutoCAD 2005 is similar. If you have earlier versions, I would recommend you use the Windows Find routine to find acad.pgp, then open it in Notepad.
Note: Yes, you could use the Express tool for editing the alias, but the following procedure retains the integrity of the original list while enabling you to make your desired settings.
C, *COPY
First, enter the characters you want to type at the command line to launch the command, followed by a comma.
Now, put in a few spaces, then precede the command to be launched with an asterisk and enter the full name of the command. Here are a few examples that I have added to my own acad.pgp
3, *3DORBIT
Q, *QSAVE
R, *ROTATE
RR, *RECTANGLE
WW, *WIPEOUT
CC, *CIRCLE
So there you are, ready to test your new aliases… and they don't work. That's because the acad.pgp file is accessed when AutoCAD launches. Unless, of course, you would like to force AutoCAD to look at it now that you have made these changes.
That dialog box has been there since Release 12. Seriously!