Michael’s Corner

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.

This month…

From the Vault

Originally published January 2010

PDF Underlay

Beginning in AutoCAD 2010 (and AutoCAD LT 2010!), the External References palette now includes the ability to attach a PDF as an underlay.

Rule No.1: Be Nice

Since the PDF is technically an externally referenced file, it is important that the method of attaching the PDF is set to "Relative Path". The host drawing must be saved by name before the Relative Path setting can be used.

Instructions to Insert a PDF Underlay

1. Save your drawing with a name. On the Ribbon, on the Insert tab, References panel, click the Dialog Box launcher… or you could just type XR.

2. In the External References palette window, click the dropdown list of attachment types, then click Attach PDF to open the Select Reference File dialog box.

3. If necessary, change the Files of Type to PDF File (*.pdf), then navigate to the PDF file to attach, and click Open to open the Attach PDF Underlay dialog box.

4. Set the Path Type to Relative. Leave the Scale at 1.000 and the Rotation at 0 and clear both of their check boxes to Specify on-screen. For Insertion Point, check the box to Specify on-screen.

5. Click OK, then specify the insertion point to place the PDF. At this point, you can close the External References window.

Insights

• Use the Scale command with the Reference option to make the drawing 1:1. (See the main article on "Scale & Reference" in Michael's Corner, April 2003.)

• After scaling the drawing, use the DLINE command with an Osnap of Endpoint to ‘trace’ the walls. (You can download the Dline routine from the AutoCAD Stuff link on my website. Note: Dline is already a command in AutoCAD LT).

• The eTransmit command will include the PDF, so use that command when sending the host drawing to others.

• Click on any of the objects of the PDF and the contextual tab PDF Underlay appears with four panels. There are options for adjusting the fade, showing or hiding the PDF, and the enabling of Snap, among others.

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