Autodesk AUTOCAD 2010 - Assembly instructions

AutoCAD LT
®
Kate Morrical’s Tips and Tricks
for Using AutoCAD LT 


User Interface
The User Interface
The user interface is possibly one of the
most important features in AutoCAD
LT®. It’s where you do all your
work, access all your commands, and
even make changes to settings. Several
improvements to user interface features
mean it’s easier than ever to find your
favorite commands while leaving plenty
of room on the screen for your drawing.
The Application Menu
The big red “A” in the upper left-hand
corner of the AutoCAD LT window is
home to the Application menu. Formerly
known as the Menu Browser, the Ap-
plication menu has been streamlined to
provide a place for common file-related
tools. Here you’ll find commands like
Open, Save, and Print, as well as draw-
ing maintenance functions like Audit
and Purge.
A search box at the top-right corner of
the menu enables you to dynamically
look through the entire CUI file for com-
mands, ribbon panel names, and other
ribbon controls. The lists of Recent and Open documents
can be accessed with two buttons at the
top of the left-hand side. You can choose

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User Interface
to display icons or preview images, and
sort the lists by name, type, size, or
access date.
Look for separating lines on the
icons on the left-hand side of the Applica-
tion Menu, indicating commands that
you can launch without selecting from
the sub-menu.
The Ribbon
The ribbon, which was introduced in
AutoCAD LT , has been improved in
a few key areas for AutoCAD LT . It
still consists of commands organized into
tabs and panels, where each tab contains
multiple panels, and each panel contains
multiple tools. Now, though, the ribbon
has been updated to make it even more
flexible and adaptive—and of course,
customizable.
With sticky panels, you can make the
tools on a panel available no matter
what tab is active. To turn a panel into
a sticky panel, simply drag it o the
ribbon into the drawing editor. Now that
panel will always remain visible, even if
its tab is not, until you choose to put the
panel back on the ribbon.

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User Interface
The ribbon also responds to object
selection, displaying the tools that are
most appropriate for working with that
object. For example, when you select an
external reference, you’ll see the External
Reference contextual tab appear on the
ribbon. This tab contains features and
commands specifically for external refer-
ences, such as Edit and Clip. AutoCAD LT
 comes pre-loaded with several con-
textual tab states, and you can choose
the tab—whether a built-in one or one of
your own—that you want to appear for
each type of object.
Use the CUI editor to convert dash-
board panels from AutoCAD LT 
into ribbon panels that can be used in
AutoCAD LT .
Pressing ALT brings up visual
indicators of key combinations you can
use to activate ribbon tabs or individual
commands.
The Quick Access Toolbar
The Quick Access toolbar has also seen
its share of updates. The Undo and Redo
tools now include history support, so
you can see exactly what actions will be
aected.
You can easily remove a command from
the toolbar with an option on the right-
click menu. The right-click menu also
contains a separator tool to help you
organize your toolbar, and a toggle to
display the Quick Access toolbar above
or below the ribbon.

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User Interface
In addition to the improved right-click
menu, a flyout menu has been added
at the end of the toolbar. This menu
contains a list of command commands
that you can quickly add to the toolbar.
If you need a command that’s not on this
list, the “More Commands” option takes
you right to the complete Command List
in the CUI editor.
Use the CUI editor to create a
unique Quick Access toolbar for every
workspace.
Quick View Tools
The preview images for Quick View
Layouts and Quick View Drawings have
been enhanced to include a preview
image of Model space in addition to the
layout previews.

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Block References
Block References
Blocks have been an important tool in
AutoCAD LT for many versions, and
they just keep getting better. New
commands in AutoCAD LT  make
working with dynamic blocks and block
attributes easier and more intuitive.
Test Block
Inside the Block Editor, a new Test Block
tool enables you to see the eect your
changes will have before you apply
those changes to every instance of the
block. It’s perfect for testing dynamic
parameters and actions. When you close
the Test Block window, you’re returned
to the Block Editor.
The Test Block environment can
be identified by its title bar and by its
contextual ribbon panel, which contains
a “Close Test Block Window” tool.
Action Bars
Actions in dynamic blocks are now
automatically grouped into bars, making
it easy to see which parameter they’re
associated with. Selecting an action high-
lights the related parameter, all aected
objects, and the selection window (for
stretch actions). Right-clicking an action
brings up a menu with options to delete
or rename the action, to modify its selec-
tion set, or to hide the action bars.
If you want to turn on the action
bars again, you can either close and
re-open the Block Editor, or use the com-
mand BACTIONBAR.
A new icon enables you to easily
identify which parameters have their
“Chain Action” property turned on.

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Block Attribute Tools
AutoCAD LT  has taken a giant
leap forward in working with attributes
in block references by including two
features previously available only in
AutoCAD.
The Enhanced Attribute Editor provides
a convenient interface for changing the
properties of individual attributes, such
as color or width factor, in addition to
entering attribute values.
The Synchronize Attributes command,
or ATTSYNC, enables you to update a
block definition after you add or remove
attributes. This is a great command
because it lets you put new attributes
(or take out ones you don’t need) in
without aecting any data that already
existed in the block.
Parametric Drawing
AutoCAD® software now
includes the ability to create and
modify geometric and dimension-
al constraints, which help ensure
that specific relationships and
measurements remain persistent
even as objects are modified.
AutoCAD LT  cannot create
parametric constraints, but it
can view, use, or delete them if
they have already been created in
AutoCAD . This applies both
to constraints in the normal draw-
ing environment and to constraint
parameters in dynamic blocks.
Block References

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External References
AutoCAD LT  provides a consolidat-
ed interface and increased flexibility for
working with externally referenced files
in a variety of formats, including DWG,
DWF, DGN, PDF, and image files.
The Reference Panel
The Reference panel on the Insert tab
of the ribbon provides tools for you to
attach and modify externally referenced
files. You can control the display and
plotting of reference frames and turn
on or o the ability to snap to the refer-
enced geometry.
PDF Underlays
AutoCAD LT  addresses one of the
top Autodesk User Group International
(AUGI®) wish list requests by enabling
you to attach a PDF file to an AutoCAD
LT drawing as an underlay. You can work
with PDF underlays in the same way
you work with other external references
including DWG, DWF, DGN, and Image
files. You can even snap to key points
on PDF geometry using familiar object
snaps.
Clip
The ability to clip an external reference is
now fully functional in AutoCAD LT. Use
this tool to show only the portion of the
file that you need.
External References

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Use the arrow-shaped grip on a
clipped external reference to invert the
clipping boundary.
Edit In-Place
In-Place Reference Editing, or REFEDIT,
is now included in AutoCAD LT .
This feature enables you to edit an
externally referenced drawing directly,
without opening it in its own window.
Open
Open Reference is another AutoCAD
LT  command that was previously
available only in AutoCAD. This tool
enables you to select a referenced file
and instantly open it in the appropriate
program for that reference type. Now
you can quickly open a referenced file
without having to list it, remember its
name, and browse your computer or
server to find it.
External References


Geographic Data
If both the host drawing and the external
reference drawing have a geographic
location defined, a new option on the
External References dialog box enables
you to locate the attached xref relative to
the host drawing using Geographic Data.
A similar option for blocks is available in
the Insert dialog box.
Unresolved References
When you open a drawing that has
unresolved references, a new tool helps
identify the missing files.
If you choose Update, AutoCAD LT
opens the External References palette
so you can re-path the missing files. If
you choose Ignore, the warning closes
and takes no action. If you always want
to ignore unresolved references, use the
checkbox at the bottom to stop the warn-
ing from displaying again.
This is a big improvement over previ-
ous versions, when you had to manually
search for missing references by checking
the command line when opening a file,
scouring the drawing for the text strings
identifying unresolved references, or
looking in the External References
palette.
External References