Michael’s Corner

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…

From the Vault

Originally published August 2014

The CTAB System Variable in a Field

Fields were introduced about a decade ago, and their fundamental operation is still the same. I wrote about them on several occasions—the earliest of which was in Michael's Corner July 2005—and I enjoying finding interesting applications for them.

By default, the text of a Field has a gray background, so when I saw some field text in a customer's drawing that wasn't the drawing name or the date, I looked a bit closer. As it turns out, the Field contained the name of the Current tab.

How to Add the Layout Tab Name to a Title Block

1. Set the desired Layer and Text Style to be current first, then click on your Layout tab of choice.

2. On the Insert tabData panel, click Field.

3. On the left, under Field Names, scroll to the bottom and select SystemVariable.

4. In the middle section, select ctab.

5. Click the desired format on the right, then click OK and the name of the current layout tab is attached to your cursor.

6. If necessary, click Height to change the height of the field text, then place the text.

7. Double-click the name of the tab and change it, then Regen the drawing to update the field.

Keep in mind that a Field can be added as an attribute, so if you are using attributes in a title block or a border for a layout tab, this would be a great feature to include!

Note: Even though the gray color won't plot, to turn off the gray background of a field, go into OptionsUser Preferences tab, then clear the check box in the bottom left to Display Background of Fields.

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