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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 2008

Action Recorder in A2009

Tools tabThis has potential. As you know, I'm a big palette fan and the Action Recorder could easily be a feature that could work hand in hand with the tool palette; albeit with "little brother" status. The Action Recorder is a more user-friendly method of, essentially, creating a batch file or script to run a series of commands.

Action Recorder panelI am also making a concerted effort (OK, maybe it's just a lame effort) to acquaint myself - and as a result, you all - with the Ribbon of AutoCAD 2009. To play along (so to speak), you will find the Action Recorder panel at the left end of the Tools tab of the Ribbon.

In this exercise, I'm going to take the procedure we automated with Custom Button #9 (September 2008) which runs Enclose Text With Object, and show you how to automate the use of that command using the Action Recorder.

Instructions to Create and Play a Simple Macro with the Action Recorder

Recording
  1. Add some random lines of text, such as room numbers or names so you have some text to enclose with objects.
  2. Click the big, round Record button on the Action Recorder panel which will open the Action Tree. You can close the Action Tree by clicking on the pushpin in the lower right corner. You will also see a red dot beside the cursor which means your every move is being recorded.
  3. Enter TCIRCLE at the command line to launch the Express feature of Enclose Text With Object.
Request User Input
  1. When prompted to Select Objects, click the Request User Input button on the Action Recorder panel.
  2. In the resulting alert box which is asking what you want to do, click the first option, Insert a request for input at playback. When the macro is played, it will pause for you to select the objects, then it will continue with the macro.
  3. Select a few lines of text, then press <Enter> to complete the selection, and press <Enter> again to move on to the next prompt.

When creating macros, you always need to consider the fact that the defaults may be changed the next time the macro is run, so even though you may want to press Enter to accept the default, it's best to enter the desired value, regardless. (I learned this over 20 years ago when rubbing elbows with the programmers of CADVANCE. Email me if you've ever used it, we'll reminisce.)

Stop
  1. When prompted for the offset factor, enter 0.350.
  2. When prompted for the shape, enter either S for Slots, C for Circles, or R for Rectangles.
  3. For the last prompt, enter V for Variable.
  4. Now go up on the Action Recorder panel and click the big, square Stop button.
  5. Enter a name for this macro (you cannot have spaces in the name), then click OK.
Play
  1. To run your macro, choose the macro from the list, then click the Play button. For macros containing a Request for User Input, you'll get a (really big) notice box, and you will typically want the option to Provide Input.

Action Recorder Shortcomings: Once an action macro has been recorded, there's no (apparent) method of editing that macro to include some action or command you may have omitted. Also, if the procedure being recorded creates objects (as in the process above), you can record the creating of the layer in the macro, but at the completion of the macro, there isn't a method to restore the previous current layer. This differs from how a button on a tool palette works wherein you can specify the properties of the resulting object(s) - Layer, Linetype, Color, etc. - without changing the current layer.

All told, the potential of the Action Recorder is quite substantial and I have seen applications where it can be used to reset Scale Lists, Purge and Audit drawings, etc. I'll be watching for opportunities to use the Action Recorder and will probably bring those to you as a Power Tool.

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