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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 July 2011

Stacking Fractions in Mtext

Depending upon the need — or your eyesight — automatic stacked fractions can be unexpected and/or unwanted. My buddy Serge, Design Manager at American Office, was asking me about this recently so I thought I'd take this up this month.

AutoStack Properties

How to Specify and Adjust Stacked Fractions

  1. Sample textLaunch Mtext, then enter the first line of text shown here and you will probably get the AutoStack Properties dialog box shown, above.

    In the lower portion of the dialog box, notice the two options of stacking — Diagonal fraction or Horizontal fraction.

  2. Click the radio button for the desired stack condition, then click OK to close the AutoStack Properties dialog box and your fraction will reflect your decision.

  3. Stack PropertiesTo disable the stacking of fractions in Mtext — possibly because it is too difficult to discern — highlight the fraction (be careful not to include the inches or feet sign, if they're present), then right-click to display the shortcut menu.

  4. Stack Properties dialog

    The option to Unstack is pretty intuitive, but what about Stack Properties? In addition to changing the value of the Upper and Lower text values, you can also specify the Style, Position, and possibly more importantly, the percentage of the height of the fraction numerals in relation to the text itself (Text Size).

UnstackAutoCAD 2012 Note: I noticed that in A2012, when you're in the Mtext Editor, after highlighting the fraction to edit, if you click on the highlight, a small white down-arrow displays. Click on that arrow (not right-click), then choose the desired option. Nice.

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