CADTutor: The best free help for AutoCAD on the web
Michael's Corner RSS Feed

Michael’s Corner

Michael BeallMichael'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 November 2011

Reload All Xrefs from One Button

File ReferencesHere's another one that came from a customer: Can I make a button to reload all the Xrefs at once?

If we're going to put it on a button, we need to know the Command line equivalent of the 'Reload' feature in the External References window. To launch the Xref command without a window opening, enter -XREF, then you see the options. You probably know where we're going from here…

How to Make a Button to Reload All Xrefs

  1. Set the desired Workspace to be current, then open the CUI.

  2. Expand Quick Access Toolbars, then expand Quick Access Toolbar 1.

    Rather than making a new button, we'll just duplicate an existing one and change the Macro.

  3. DuplicateUnder the Command List, find Xref and Block, Save Reference Edits, then right-click, Duplicate.

  4. Edit PropertiesIn the Properties pane one the right, edit the Name and Description as shown in the figure.

  5. Enter the following in the field for Macro:

    -XREF;R;*;

    The macro means:

    -XREFRun the Command line version of the Xref command
    ;Press [Enter]
    RThe Reload option of the Xref command
    *When prompted for which Xrefs to reload, select all of them

  6. Drag buttonAfter editing the Properties, drag your new button up into the list of commands under Quick Access Toolbar 1.

Now you can hit one button to update all references at once!

QAT

Top of page

Local Navigation

Options

Sponsored Links

The Basics

Accessibility statement

Valid XHTML 1.0!Valid CSS!Creative Commons Licence