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AEC CAD Newsletter - Issue 9
News, tips & tricks for AutoCAD users in the AEC fields.
Brought to you by Custom CAD Solutions

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LegalWriter is highly customizable, allowing you to specify exactly how you want the description to read.

Download a free evaluation copy of LegalWriter by Custom CAD Solutions at http://www.customcadsolutions.com/products/legalwriter

Purchase LegalWriter soon and save over $80. Until July 15th, it is only $99.

Q & A

Q. ...

A. What? No question?!!! C'mon, somebody send in a question! To fill the void, I'll give you some handy Windows shortcuts.

Most of us use Windows every day, but just barely. We double-click the AutoCAD icon in the morning, then do a Start | Shut Down... at night. But there is so much more! Here are some handy key combinations to have you whipping thru Windows like a pro:

SHIFT	while inserting CD-ROM	Bypass AutoPlay when inserting a CD
SHIFT	+Delete	Delete an item immediately w/o placing it in the Recycle Bin
SHIFT	+F10	View the shortcut menu for the selected item
SHIFT	while clicking the Close button	Close the selected folder and all its parent folders
SHIFT	while dragging the file	Move a file
CTRL	while dragging the file	Copy a file
CTRL+SHIFT	while dragging the file	Create a shortcut
CTRL	+ESC	Display the Start menu
CTRL	+X	Cut
CTRL	+C	Copy
CTRL	+V	Paste
CTRL	+Z	Undo
CTRL	+A	Select all items
ALT	+ENTER or +DOUBLE-CLICK	View an item’s properties
ALT	+F4	Quit a program
ALT	+TAB	Switch to the window you last used or switch to the next window by pressing ALT while repeatedly pressing TAB
SHIFT	+TAB	Move backward through options
CTRL	+TAB	Move forward through tabs
CTRL+SHIFT	+TAB	Move backward through tabs
NUMLOCK	+ *	Expand all subfolders under selected folder
NUMLOCK	+ +	Expand selected folder
NUMLOCK	+ -	Collapse selected folder

	F1	See Help on the selected dialog box item
	F2	Rename an item
	F3	Display Find: All Files
	F5	Refresh the contents of a window
	DEL	Delete
	APPLICATION key	Display the item’s shortcut menu
	BACKSPACE	View the folder one level up
	TAB	Move forward through options
	RIGHT ARROW	Expand current folder
	LEFT ARROW	Collapse current folder

Our Rendering Service

Contact Custom CAD Solutions for renderings of your proposed development, house, addition, or product. Visit http://www.customcadsolutions.com/visualization for more information.

Tips & Tricks

C'mon, get a grip!

How much do you use grips? I'll bet you use them a lot. I'll also bet that you could use them more. (And I'll bet you will after you finish this issue!) And please excuse me in advance for the images. They are a bit fuzzy and not a terribly recent version of AutoCAD, but reusing them saved me some time. :o)

What is a grip, you ask? It's those funny little blue squares that light up a screen every time you select an object. You did know that they actually served a purpose, didn't you? Read on!

The above screenshot shows the right-click menu (slang for the more proper "cursor menu" or "context menu") active when a grip is "hot". Many have seen this, but few use it. Most users' grip experience is limited to tweaking polyline vertices, but there is oh so much more.

Those of you guilty of vertex tweaking have probably seen the command prompt version:

** STRETCH **

<Stretch to point>/Base point/Copy/Undo/eXit:

But have you tried grip cycling? Press the space bar and watch what happens.

As you have likely figured out, each grip function corresponds to an AutoCAD command you are already familiar with. So, whether you pick it from the right-click menu or cycle your way to it at the command line, you have a bunch of choices. (Which choices and how many are dependent upon the type of entity and grip.)

While the number of options is very handy, I'm still not to the best part! Like I said, I'm sure you have stretched a vertex, but have you ever stretched a few at once? Yes, it is possible! Before you select your first vertex (called making it "hot"), hold down the shift key. Just like in many other Windows applications, holding shift allows multiple selections. Notice how each grip selected is shown as "hot" by turning red. When you are done selecting, pick one of them as a reference and watch them maintain their geometric relationship. Cool, huh?!

How about this one. Have you ever wanted to perform an operation more than once? Once your objects are selected and grip(s) are hot, hold down the shift key while selecting the first point. Now you are performing a multiple stretch, copy, rotate or whatever function is active!

But wait, there's more! Continue to hold shift down, and AutoCAD will maintain the same offset relationship. You won't find a quicker way to do that!

So, go fire up AutoCAD and get a grip! You'll be glad you did.

About Custom CAD Solutions

Custom CAD Solutions is a developer of software to extend AutoCAD's capabilities and make your job easier. We also create custom programs to fit your company's needs, and perform custom drafting and visualizations to your specifications.

Contact info@customcadsolutions.com to discuss your project.

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