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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 June 2009

Edit the Rollover Tip Info

If you have A2009, you have probably encountered the vast array of tool tips, one of them being the Rollover ToolTips… and you promptly turned them off (OptionsDisplay tab).

Rollover ToolTip

Let me encourage you to perhaps leave them on if you work on drawings from other sources. In this exercise, you will learn how to modify the information displayed.

Instructions to Edit the Information Shown in the Rollover Tooltip

  1. Type CUI to open the Customize User Interface dialog box.

  2. Expand the Partial CUI Files node (A2009) or Partial Customization Files (A2010), then expand CUSTOM then click Rollover Tooltips.

  3. Edit Object TypeOn the right side, click the Edit Object Type List button to open the list of AutoCAD object types.

  4. In the object type listing, check the box for Hatch and the information on the right side of the CUI will now display additional, hatch-specific properties. You will also see the object type "Hatch" listed with an exclamation point beside it indicating no properties have been selected.

  5. Under the General list of properties, I'm going to check Layer; under Pattern, Pattern Name; and under Geometry, Cumulative Area. You will now see that the Hatch item no longer has the exclamation point.

  6. Click OK to apply, save, and close the CUI. Now when you ‘rollover’ an object in the drawing (albeit very slowly and with a pause), you will see the customized information for that object type!

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