Michael’s Corner #141
August/September 2015

Settings and Switches

by Michael Beall

It looks like the insights I have this time are Behind-the-Scenes / Under-the-Hood kinda things. Tinkering with the mechanics of what makes this squirrely software tick. One of them came from one of the AutoCAD users in the Facilities Department at Facebook, and the rest were the result of my own discoveries or what I saw in my customers' drawings.

On deck this time you'll learn…

…What the AutoCAD 2016 Variable Monitor can do for you
…How to switch the case in text objects
…The trick to suppressing that logo (Heart valve? Hotel in Dubai?) when you launch AutoCAD
…Why you should avoid using the Standard text and dimension styles

Hope you've had a delightful summer!

If you would like to contact me directly, you can do that also.

Blessings to one and all,
Michael

The A2016 Variable Monitor

If we all worked in a vacuum—and didn't have to open anyone's drawings except our own—our AutoCAD life would be nearly hassle-free. But alas, we have to share with others.

There are two types of variables, those saved in the Registry, such as CURSORSIZE, and those saved in the Drawing, such as TEXTSIZE. It's that second group—Drawing variables—that can change, based on the drawing currently open.

Enter AutoCAD 2016's System Variable Monitor (emphasis on 'Monitor'; more on that later).

System Variable Monitor Insights

• If one of your favorite variables is different than your preference, you see the System Variable Monitor icon on the Status bar. If they're all OK, you won't.

• To open the System Variable Monitor so you can Edit the List, use the command, SYSVARMONITOR.

• If there's a Status alert icon for a variable, you'll see a Preferred value and the Current value. To update those variables to the Preferred value, click—I know, this is counter-intuitive—Reset All

  Note: That will take some getting used to since, to me, ‘reset’ means to go to my preferred setting, not take the current and make it preferred.

• After clicking Reset All, the variables that were reset display a green check… and can't be edited until you click OK out of the Monitor, then return.

• To modify a variable value, double-click anywhere on the line (unless it has displays a green check indicating a recent reset).

  Note: You can always type a variable in at the Command line to change it.

• To add variables that you want to keep an eye on, click Edit List where you can enter a few characters to find the variables with that string.

• To add—or subtract—variables from either side, highlight them first, then click the appropriate directional arrow.

  

• Click the ? beside any variable for its definition and function… or… open the System Variable Editor.

The System Variable EDITOR

The new System Variable Monitor presumes you know what the variable does.

The System Variable Editor, however [Express ToolsTools panelSystem Variables] has them all in one place, with their definition and function, and the ability to change them.

For more on the System Variables dialog box, see my articles from June 2004, and again in October 2006 when I covered wildcard searches.

Note: You can always adjust your Input Settings—including the searching of system variables—by clicking on the (very small) wrench at the left end of the Command line.

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Power Tool

TCASE

Whether you have Single Line Text [Dtext] or Multiline Text [Mtext], the only case-related options in the shortcut menu for those text objects is UPPERCASE or lowercase.

However, last week when training the talented AutoCAD users at Facebook, Preston mentioned that he would sometimes use TCASE to edit the names in the facility drawings. I had forgotten all about that command and told him I'd give him credit in this article.

How to Initial Cap a Proper Name

1. On the Express Tools tab, click Modify TextChange Case.

2. Select the text object, then press [Enter] to open the Tcase dialog box.

3. To initial cap a person's name, click Title, then click OK.

Great idea, Preston; be sure to share that… on Facebook!

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The Odd Spot

The /nologo Switch

Some say AutoCAD launches more quickly if the logo/splash screen is disabled. It sure seems like it to me, so just in case you want to check it out yourself, here's how to suppress that curious red splash screen—that looks like a new hotel in Dubai—as well as hot key the AutoCAD launch.

How to Suppress the Logo at Launch and Add a Hotkey

1. Right-click on the AutoCAD icon on your desktop or Start menu, then click Properties.

2. In the Target line, after the "…acad.exe" text, add /nologo as shown in the figure.

3. To launch AutoCAD with a shortcut key, click there (yours may say ‘None’), then hit the key you want to launch with. Windows will automatically add the Ctrl + Alt by default; you just type the additional key you want to launch it with.

Note: And yes, you can add a Shortcut key to any Windows application in its Properties dialog box.

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The Basics

Avoid Using ‘Standard’ in Text & Dimension Styles

In addition to Layer 0, every single drawing on the planet has a Text style called ‘Standard’, and a Dimension style called ‘Standard’. They're the defaults.

When developing company standards, it's best to not modify the Standard styles; leave 'em alone and make your own.

And here's why. Let's say you have text you added to Drawing A (using your modified ‘Standard’ text style to use the Trebuchet font), and you drag that text into Drawing B where the Standard text style uses the TXT.SHX font.

Since Drawing B already has a ‘Standard’ text style—see opening sentence, above—who do you think will "win" when it comes to how the text looks? The text in Drawing B will use the font which is already assigned to the Standard text style.

In the illustration, you see the result when I drag the text from Drawing A into Drawing B. Questions?

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