Michael’s Corner

Michael Beall 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…

October - One-derful!!!

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

This month's articles

Change F1 to ESC

Smoother Zoom

Stretch with Extension

Lock Layers with a Crossing Window

Layer Columns & Hatch Background Color

Text Frame on Mtext

From the Vault

Originally published April 2012

Rotation Parameter for a Dynamic Block

Rotate with Polar Tracking Section callouts, Elevation indicators, and other directional annotation can be much more efficient if you simply add a rotation parameter to the annotation block itself.

In the following example, I'm using the elevation marker shown in the figure. The circle has a separate line across the middle with attributes above and below the line. The hatched arrow is a polyline and a hatch. Feel free to create something similar, then begin the exercise where you start by creating a block.

How to Add a Rotation Parameter

After creating the desired geometry, launch the Block command, give it a name, select the objects, and specify a base point. My base point is the center of the circle. But before you click OK…
Check the box in the lower left corner to Open in Block Editor, then click OK.
In the Block Editor, on the Parameters tab, click Rotation.
When prompted to specify the base point, specify the center of the circle.

Note: If the center of the circle was also the base point of the block, you may see the UCS icon positioned there, too.
When prompted to specify the 'radius of the parameter', turn on Ortho, move to the right, then click a point just beyond the perimeter of the block geometry.
Enter 0 when prompted for the 'default rotation angle' to complete the parameter assignment. You will now see a blue rotation dot for the rotation parameter and a yellow exclamation box.
To associate an Action to the parameter, on the Action tab, click Rotate.
When prompted to select the parameter, click the blue text 'Angle1'. You will not need to press [Enter].
For the selection set, select those objects you want to have rotated when using the rotate parameter. In this exercise, I'm selecting the polyline with the three hatched sections. After selecting the objects to rotate, press [Enter].
After selecting the objects to associate to the rotation parameter, the yellow exclamation box goes away, verifying a successful assignment. You will also see the small Rotate parameter icon.
Click Close Block Editor, then save your changes. To rotate the selected geometry, click once on the block to display the blue rotation parameter dot, then click the dot and spin it around!