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
This 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.
I 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.
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.)
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.