8/15/06
Q: Why don’t I see the proper line type in my paper space layout when my “ltscale” is 1?
A: Check the setting of “psltscale”. This should be set to “1” for the scaled view port to control the line type scales. Another possibility can be that the individual lines have their “ltscale” properties set to a value other than 1 or the line type has been set to something other than “bylayer”. You should also check that the lines are on the proper layer and that the layer uses the correct line type.
Q: Why doesn’t my polyline show the proper linetype even when the layer settings are right?
A: A polyline is made up of joined segments. If the segments are too short to show the selected linetype, a continuous line appears for that segment. You can toggle Linetype Generation to “ON” in the Pedit command to ignore the end points of the segments and show the selected linetype across the whole pline as if it were only one segment. Plinegen is the system variable to control this globally within the drawing. It will only affect newly created plines. Existing plines stay the way they were.
Q: Why can’t I change the linetype generation on my polyline?
A: Check to see if the polyline is a 3d polyline. If it is then you cannot set this variable. You can however convert 3d polylines to 2d polylines in the Terrain menu – 3d Polylines – convert to 2d Polyline. Now you can set linetype generation.
Q: Why doesn’t my fence line in one drawing look like it does in other drawings?
A: Linetypes are dependant on several factors to get consistent results. The most common issue is linetype scale being set at the wrong value. We prefer linetype scale (LTScale) to be set to 1. If more detail is required to identify a line, you can reduce the linetype scale to see more of the line characteristics. Another common problem occurs when using linetypes that contain letters or words. The linetype style should be created using s text style where the height in not fixed (set to 0). We typically use the standard text style for this purpose. If the text style is set to a fixed height, the text on the line will appear at the wrong scale and probably will appear shifted to one side. This is corrected by setting the text style height to 0 for the text style that was used to create the linetype. If the line is part of an xref, you may need to change the text style height in both drawings.
Q: Why do some of my blocks have different linetypes when they are used in different drawings?
A: One possibility is that the block was created with entities on layer “0”. That layer is called the “chameleon layer” because blocks created on this layer take on the properties of the layer they are inserted on. The block will take on COLOR as well as LINETYPE. One way to force a linetype to always be CONTINUOUS, regardless of which layer it is inserted on, is to make sure the linetype override is set to CONTINUOUS when the object is created (before it is made into a block).
Q: Why don’t I see all the blocks in the detail book in my symbol manager library?
A: One good possibility is that there are multiple Palettes for a given Category. Click on the down arrow next to the Palette window. You may find a very small scroll bar in the list that appears below the Palette window. Click on the arrows in that scroll bar to see other Palette names.
Q: Why doesn’t my inserted spreadsheet plot clearly?
A: Right click on the OLE object and click on properties. Make sure the OLE plot quality is set to spreadsheet (line art).
Q: Why must I always change my plot setup in one drawing but other drawings stay setup?
A: The “Save changes to layout” box in the upper left corner of the plot dialog box must be checked to retain the plot settings in a particular drawing.
Q: Why don’t I see my Plot style tables (pen assignments) in some drawings I receive from outside sources?
A: There are two modes AutoCAD uses to store pen setting information. They are named plot style tables(*.stb) and color-dependent plot style tables(*.ctb). Color-dependent plot style tables are the way AutoCAD has done it for years and we, at Lanc & Tully, use this mode for our drawings. Named plot style tables are new with release 2000. When a drawing is created, it inherits the mode set in your AutoCAD preferences. Use “Convertpstyles” at the command line to change between modes after a drawing is created. It this command is not available on your machine, the migration assistant must be installed.
Q: How do I use the standard plot styles and plotter configurations everyone else on the network is using?
A: The standard files have been placed on S:\LDT-LIB\ in 3 subdirectories. You must reconfigure AutoCAD to look there for the setups.
At the command line, type OPTIONS
Click on the files tab
Under printer support path:
Q: How do I get the standard layouts into my drawing?
A:
Q: How do I get the Page Setup Names in my current drawing?
A: All the Lanc & Tully layouts have a Page Setup Name defined in S:\DRAFTING STDS \LTESPC-LAYOUTS.DWG. Type INSERT from the command line. Click on Browse to locate S:\DRAFTING STANDARDS \LTESPC-LAYOUTS.DWG. Select LTESPC-LAYOUTS.DWG and click OPEN. Clear the check marks from “Specify on-screen” for Insertion Point, Scale & Rotation. Click OK. Now you will be able to select the Page Setup Name when in the Page Setup or Plot Dialog boxes.
Q: Why doesn’t my layout “plot to fit” when I select “plot to fit” for my plot scale?
A: Check that the “plot area” is Extents, Display or Window. Layout “plot area” doesn’t plot to fit even though you can select it.
Q: How do I send a .plt file to our HP1050C?
A: You must run the COPY command from a DOS Command Prompt window. To print myfile.plt to the network printer netprint, on the server printserv, type the following string at the command prompt and press ENTER:
Copy myfile.plt \\cadserver2\hp-1050
Q: How do I import the standard layers we use into my current drawing?
A:
Q: Why isn’t my layer list sorted?
A: At the command line, check that your “Maxsort” variable is set high enough to handle the number of layers in the drawing. Usually a setting of 200 is sufficient.
Q: How do I import the standard text styles we use into my current drawing?
A:
Q: I have masked my text with Express Tools TEXTMASK, but when I move the text, the mask stays behind. How can I fix this?
A: TEXTMASK uses a group to keep the mask object and the text together. This group is made selectable so that the objects in the group behave as one when they are moved or copied. The following situations can affect a group's selectability
The system variable PICKSTYLE determines the selectability of groups. If this variable is set to 0 or 2, you cannot select a group by selecting an object within the group. To allow the group to be selected, set PICKSTYLE to 1 or 3
If you used the WBLOCK command to write out the masked text, the file will no longer have the group that held the mask and the text together. The WBLOCK and BLOCK commands work this way in relation to groups, and cannot be changed. Avoid using WBLOCK or BLOCK with masked text objects.
Like Image objects, Wipeout objects (textmasks) have frames that can be turned on and off. You cannot select a Wipeout object on screen, unless the Wipeout frames are turned on. Use the Frames option in the WIPEOUT command to control the Wipeout frame visibility in your drawing. This setting is global and controls the visibility of all Wipeouts in your drawing. Remember to turn frames off before plotting.
*** Click here for LDT2005s new Mtext Background Masking instructions
Q: How do I get my curve table tags to be rotated correctly in my drawing?
A: When LDD3 creates curve labels, it uses aec curve-text if you choose to “align label on object”. This limits the amount of rotation and movement of the text. It is preferred to choose not to “align label on object” and regular text is generated for the tag. (Labels=> Settings=> Curve Labels=> Align Label On Object=> Uncheck). The Non-Aligned Label Rotation Angle can be set in this dialog box as well.
Q: How do I send a client who uses R14 an AutoCAD drawing with multiple layouts that was created with AutoCAD 2000?
A: Our standard policy is NOT to send R14 files to clients since AutoDESK has chosen to no longer support AutoCAD R14. AutoCAD R14 allows only one layout in paperspace and will only save the layout that is current when saving the file. This might cause information to be missing after the conversion. If there is no other alternative, try “layoutmerge” to get all the layouts in the drawing. They will not be individual layouts, as they were in R2000 but rather, they will be copied into model space. The drawing can be “flattened” by using “Layoutmerge” at the command line for backward compatibility to R14. If only model space is needed or there is only one layout in paperspace, you can simply “saveas” in R14 format and “layoutmerge” would not be necessary.
Q: Why doesn’t all of my PDF form print out?
A: Forms created in Adobe 5.0 containing textboxes don’t print out correctly in Adobe 6.0. In the print dialog box, change “Print What” to “Documents and Comments”.
Q: Why do drawings I receive from other people come into my drawings at different scales if everyone is drawing in “full size” in AutoCAD model space?
A: Every object you draw is measured in units. You determine the value of the units within AutoCAD before you draw. For example, in one drawing, a unit might equal one millimeter of the real-world object. In our case, we use a foot unit.
Q: How do I draw a line across an alignment at a specific station and offset?
A: Under the Lines/Curves pull down menu select Draw line @ Station/Offset, Specify station, then specify two offsets. If you want the line equidistant across the alignment specify the same offset but as positive and negative (e.g. –20 and 20). You could draw to one side by using offsets 0 and 20, for example.
Q: What is a LISP Routine and what do they do?
A: LISP is a programming language that AutoCAD can understand. Many people have written LISP routines to perform all kinds tasks for AutoCAD users. You can think of them as scripts, macros, programs, or code. Basically, they are just text files with instructions (in a special language) that AutoCAD uses to automate repetitive or complicated AutoCAD tasks.
Some useful programs at Lanc & Tully:
An.lsp – An autonumbering routine that creates and spaces a sequence of numbers for paperspace notes.
Blockonline.lsp – Inserts a block at a specified distance along a line.
Clo.lsp – Current Layer Offset. Use this to offset objects on any layer a specified distance to the current layer.
Clayoff.lsp – Use this to offset objects on any layer a specified distance to the current layer. Similar to Clo.lsp but this routine prompts the user for distances each time.
Cvl.lsp – Current Viewport Layer. This routine creates or modifies a layer to be visible in the current viewport only.
Fontchg.lsp – Resets all L&T standard text styles to proper sizes based on current drawing scale.
ReplPgSetup.lsp – Loads standard page setups for layouts.
Rpl.lsp – This command loads grcad_rpl_free.vlx then creates a new pline on the current layer in the reverse direction from the selected original.
Snag.lsp – Use this to set your snap angle to your viewport dview twist settings to align text vertically and horizontally.
Aligntxt.lsp – This routine aligns text or mtext to a pline or line’s angle and is useful in property line labeling cleanup.
Mtmask.lsp – Adds background mask to mtext in LDT2005 dwgs. Mtunmask is a command within Mtmask.lsp to unmask mtext.
Fx.lsp – Sizes the mtext box to the longest text line length.
Q: How do I use LISP routines?
A: A LISP routine must be loaded prior to typing the “Command” that starts the routine at the AutoCAD command line. If you have the “Custom” toolbar loaded and visible, you can simply click on the icon and the program is automatically loaded and started. The following procedure outlines LISP program usage for programs not found on the toolbar. From the AutoCAD pull down menu, choose Tools> Load Application. Find the Lisp File you want to use in the directory browser window and highlight the file name. Click on load and AutoCAD is ready to use the program. Now all you have to do is type the “Command” that starts the routine at the AutoCAD command line. Each Lisp program uses it’s own “command” name to initiate the program. Usually people write the command names to be the same as the file name (without the .lsp extension part) or they might put a reminder at the command line that tells the user what the command name is when the program is loaded. Another way to find what the command to run it is, is to view the Lisp file in a text editor and see the word that follows the command definition. For example, “(DEFUN C:CLAYOFF ()” is a portion of code in the clayoff.lsp file. The startup command will be “CLAYOFF” (command names are not case-sensitive). All the lisp routines used at Lanc & Tully can be found in S:\lisp subdirectory.
To have certain Lisp routines loaded each time autocad is started automatically, you can place those names in the “Startup Suite” within the “Appload” Dialog box.
Q: How do I select model space within a viewport that is completely overlapped by another viewport in a layout?
A: Select modelspace in any viewport then use “Ctrl-R” to cycle through all viewports. It is best to not completely overlap viewports when practicable.
Q: Why can’t I “TRIM” objects with elevations using a cut line with 0 elevation?
A: You can if you set the variable “PROJMODE” to “1”.