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Autodesk AutoCAD Architecture (2011/64bit) | 5,5 Gb

AutoCAD Architecture software is the version of AutoCAD software created for architects. Features designed for architectural drafting help you design and document more efficiently, in the familiar AutoCAD environment. Start working in AutoCAD Architecture software and experience productivity gains right away, while learning new features at your own pace.
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What's New in AutoCAD 2011-Part 5

Here we are again, looking at what AutoCAD 2011 has to offer us. This post's list of new features, while not earth-shattering, nicely enhance existing AutoCAD features.

Part One  Part Two  Part Three  Part Four  Part Five  Part Six


External references

Referenced files are a must in developing our drawing sets. They help us collaborate with other design departments and allow multiple designers to work on a project simultaneously.

AutoCAD 2011 makes their selection even easier. When a reference object is selected in a drawing (Xrefs, images, DWFs, PDFs, etc.) the corresponding reference is selected in the External Reference palette. The opposite is also true. When you select a reference in the palette, the reference is highlighted in the drawing. This helps you to find the files that you are picking. Keep in mind that this only highlights the reference files - it doesn't select them for you. If this behavior annoys you, you can turn off the feature through the system variable ERHIGHLIGHT. A setting of zero turns it off; a setting of one turns it on.

Figure 1: Click to enlarge The Reference Manager now supports object highlighting when a reference file is selected.

Scale lists

Annotated scaling is a great tool that helps us display text properly, regardless of our current scale. Historically, the list of available scales can be difficult to manage and this functionality has been improved a bit in AutoCAD 2011. AutoCAD now stores a customizable list in the registry that can be used whenever needed. You can use this list to define your default scale list options. A scale list is still maintained in the drawing, but you can always reset it to the default list saved in the registry.

If you do reset the scale list, AutoCAD will purge the unused scales in your file and merge those remaining with the list on the registry. The default list can be set by going through Options dialog box and clicking on the User Preferences tab. Near the bottom right of the tab, click the Default Scale List button and work your scale list magic. You can still go to the scale list for any specific file by going to the scale list editor on the status bar when that drawing is opened.

The Default Scale List editor works the same way the Scale List Editor does, with a few more options. One of them is where you can specify if your scales are metric or imperial. When you reset the scale list, a prompt asks if you want Metric or Imperial scales, or both.

Missing SHX and font files (annoying)

Typically when you get AutoCAD files from an outside vendor or designer there are missing SHX or font files. Now you can choose to ignore this! But if you ignore the warning, text using these files will not be displayed so be careful.

Text alignment in linetypes

Have you ever used a linetype that has text in it? If not, why not? If you have then you know that many times that text can be upside down. The orientation of the text depends on which end point of the line was drawn first. AutoCAD 2011 line types now have three possible orientation settings available: U for upright, R for relative, and A for absolute.

Figure 2: The new text alignment feature keeps text in custom linetypes orientated properly.

HELP!!

Help files have seen a major overhaul in this new release. They are now available online! The idea behind this is that method enables Autodesk the ability to more easily keep the help files up to date. However, the response time is slower, and the search features respond differently, too.

If you don't want to use the online Help, you can disable that feature through the Options dialog box. Go to the System tab, bottom right-hand corner, and turn off the feature by unselecting the check box. It also uses Internet Explorer as the default browser. If you prefer a different browser, then you can tell AutoCAD to use your default web browser instead.

Point clouds

Now for some fun stuff. Have you ever used a 3D scanner? If you have one, or know someone who does, you can take your Point Cloud information from that scanner and insert it directly into AutoCAD. The best part about this is that any AutoCAD vertical product also has this feature! AutoCAD Map 3D and Civil 3D really benefit from this new tool.

A Point Cloud looks like a cloud of points. Each point is a scanned point from a scanner. It has three dimensions to it and X, Y, and Z coordinates. Once inserted into AutoCAD 2011, you can snap to these points to create three dimensional geometry. Insert a Point Cloud by going to the Insert tab on the ribbon, then go to the Point Cloud panel. There is an indexing engine that can process the data files. Actually there are two: Ambercore and Lightweight Engine. Each one indexes a different data file type. Their output file types are different, too: .ISD and .PCG. These indexed files are then attached similarly to reference a DWG file.

Point Cloud functionality adds a few more system variables to the mix (aren't you glad?)

• Pointclouddensity controls the percentage of points displayed at once.
• Pointcloudrtdensity controls the percentage of points displayed during real-time zooms and pans
• Pointcloudlock controls whether the lock property of the point cloud is set to yes or no when a cloud is attached
• Pointcloudautoupdate controls whether point clouds are dynamically updated when transforming the point cloud or after zooming or panning.

Conclusion

In this post we looked at a few of the "less flashy" enhancements to AutoCAD 2011, with the exception of the brand new Point Cloud feature, which has the potential to help many different designers and AutoCAD users in many different fields. Next post in this series will be our last look at what's new in AutoCAD 2011. I saved the best, or at least the most fun, for last. Next time, we'll explore new 3D modeling tools and functions. So if you like meshes, surfaces, and NURBS, don't miss the next post!

(Reprinted with permission from Autodesk User Group International - AUGI)

What's New in AutoCAD 2011-Part 4

Autodesk has released a new version of AutoCAD every year since AutoCAD 2004. Each release adds more tools and refines existing ones. We are digging deeper into the new features and are really exploring what this release of AutoCAD has to offer. This is the fourth article in the series and there will be two more after this! I wonder, are we really doing a more thorough job of evaluating the new features, or are there that many more things to talk about in AutoCAD 2011? Maybe a little bit of both.

Part One  Part Two  Part Three  Part Four  Part Five  Part Six

Hatches and gradients

Hatches have been in AutoCAD for a long time. In AutoCAD 2011 users can now create and edit hatches in real time. That means that you can see your hatch patterns while you create them. The same goes for editing them. The biggest change is that the hatch dialog box is gone. The settings and controls for creating hatches are now in a contextual ribbon tab. Contextual ribbon tabs were introduced in AutoCAD 2010. These tabs are not visible during regular operations until a trigger occurs. In the case of hatches, the hatch tab will appear when the Hatch command is started. The same is true for the Edit Hatch Command.

Figure 1: Click image to enlarge The HATCH Command is no longer a dialog box. It is now a contextual ribbon panel. This change allows users to create and edit hatches in real time.

Figure 1 shows the hatch contextual ribbon tab. All of the regular controls and settings are there. When the hatch command is started, the tab opens and is activated and the command defaults to a pick point mode of creating hatches. If you need to select an object instead, go to the Boundaries panel and pick the Select Objects button. To change the pattern to be drawn, click on the Pattern Option in the Properties panel. The same goes for angle, scale, and color. You can use the slider bars to change most of the settings. If you miss the old dialog box, you can access it by clicking on the diagonal arrow on the bottom right of the Options panel.

As you create your new hatch pattern, a real time preview hatch is displayed. A hatch is not drawn yet until you complete the command, but you can get a real time preview of the hatch you are creating. Once you have selected an area to hatch, change the settings such as scale and pattern. The preview is updated in real time. Possible hatch areas will be displayed as you move your mouse over a closed area, temporarily displaying a preview of what could be your new hatch.

AutoCAD 2011 has added a few new options to hatches. One is the ability to change the layer the hatch is on while you create it. Expand the Properties panel by clicking on the arrow at the bottom of the panel. There is an option where you can assign the layer for the new hatch. By default, it is set to Current Layer. If you need to create all of your hatches on a specific layer, set it here.

Another new option is to create a background fill under your hatch pattern. In the past, you would have to create two hatches to reproduce this effect. The new command, HATCHTOBACK, was introduced thanks to the AUGI Wish List program! This new command, found in the Modify panel of the Home Tab, will send hatches underneath all other objects in the drawing. It works similarly to the TEXTTOFRONT command, only in the opposite direction, of course.

There is also a new system variable for hatches called MIRRHATCH. It enables you to mirror hatches and to keep their orientation. It works similarly to the MIRRTEXT setting. If it is set to zero, the original angle will be maintained. If it is set to ONE, the hatch angle will be mirrored. There is also a Match Properties button inside the Hatch Tab. You can copy the properties of another hatch and apply them to your new hatch while you create it.

Once a hatch has been created, editing it can be very easy. Double-click the hatch to open the Contextual Hatch Edit Ribbon Tab. Starting the Hatch Edit command by either typing it on the command line or picking the button from the Ribbon will start the "old" hatch edit dialog box.

Once the contextual ribbon is up, all of your options are there, just like the create hatch options. One last thing, we now have the ability to use grips to edit some of the basic settings of your hatch pattern. Select a hatch. A Blue, Filled, Circle glyph will appear in the center of the hatch object. Hover over it to see your options. They are: Stretch, Origin Point, Hatch Angle, and Hatch Scale. Click the one you want and drag your mouse to edit these settings in real time.

Figure 2: Hatches can be edited with Grips. Stretch, Origin Point, Hatch Angle, and Hatch Scale can all be edited without starting a command.

Polylines

Who doesn't love a good Polyline? Who hates editing them? With the new tools for Polylines in AutoCAD 2011, editing them is a much easier task. Similar to the new grip edit abilities in hatch objects, polylines have new grip edit features. Select a polyline, hove over the midpoint grip and a box will pop up giving you three options: Stretch Vertex, Add Vertex (my favorite), and Convert to Arc. Hover over an End Point Grip and your options are: Stretch Vertex, Add Vertex, and Remove Vertex. These options are some of the most common edits that you would want to do with the PEDIT (Polyline Edit) command, except maybe the join option. If you select one of the grips, press the CTRL key to toggle through the three options. You will see the changes take place in real time. You can also select segments and edit them. Hover over the segment of the polyline you want to edit, press and hold the CTRL key, then left-click to select it.

Figure 3: Now you can add a vertex to a polyline on the fly by using the grip edit tools.

Splines

Splines have been updated, allowing you more control over them. You can define a Spline by using either Control Vertices or Fit Points. Control Vertices (CV) Splines are appropriate if you are working with NURBS (which you can in AutoCAD 2011) and 3D surfaces. The traditional method of Fit Splines makes sure that the spline object passes through the Fit points, which are the points you pick when you draw your spine. The CV Splines have a degree of tangency to the Control Vertices, but do not pass through them. Grip editing a spline, like hatches and polylines, gives you easy access to several editing features. One tool is a Pull Down Arrow that allows you to switch form Fit Points to Control Vertices. It won't change the spline, just how you control it. The Grip Edit options are: Stretch Fit Point (or CV), Add Fit Point, remove Fit Point. Control Vertices have a fourth option, Refine Vertices. This option adds more control vertices to your spline but doesn't change your spline.

Conclusion

Wow! We only covered three topics. AutoCAD 2011 adds real-time editing tools to hatches, polylines, and splines. Each of these tools now have real-time grip editing abilities that allow you to change these object types without starting a command. The new Hatch contextual ribbon tab allows you to create new hatches in real time and saves screen room while doing it. Adding new features to traditional tools like these is one reason AutoCAD 2011 is a more efficient version of AutoCAD than its predecessors.

(Reprinted with permission from Autodesk User Group International - AUGI)

What's New in AutoCAD 2011-Part 3

This is the third post in a series discussing the new features in Autodesk's newest release of AutoCAD, AutoCAD 2011.

Part One  Part Two  Part Three  Part Four  Part Five  Part Six

Parametric Constraints

AutoCAD 2010 introduced Parametric Constraints. AutoCAD 2011 made them a bit better. Parametric Constraints are functions in AutoCAD that allow users to “program” their linework. They define and lock in certain design parameters into the model, or linework. One of the biggest (and best in my opinion) enhancements to constraints in AutoCAD 2011 is the new Inferred Constraints. This function can be toggled on or off (like Osnaps or ortho). The toggle button is on the status bar on the bottom of the screen. Right click on it to bring up the constraint settings. With the Infer Constraints on, constraints are added to your linework as you draw them. It automatically applies coincident constraints for endpoints, midpoints, center points, nodes and insertion object snaps. For example, with this on, when you snap to an object, the infer constraints will apply a coincident constraint to that point. The same goes with editing commands. If you move, copy, rotate, etc., the points you select will have a coincident constraint applied to them. If you place an object with the Nearest object snap, that point will have a coincident constraint applied to it. This is a very powerful design tool that now makes certain your design stay locked and in place.

Figure 1: Right click on the status bar to open the Constraint Settings dialog box. there you can toggle the Infer Constraints setting on or off.

Other Osnaps like Tangent and Perpendicular will also apply coincident constraints to the objects used. Using the parallel osnap will automatically apply a parallel constraint to the objects. Inferred constraints also affect the way constraints are applied to the rectangle, fillet and chamfer commands.

Constraining Ellipses

More Geometric constraints can now be applied to ellipses. The parallel, perpendicular, collinear, horizontal, and vertical constraints can now be applied. These constraints can be applied to the ellipses minor or major axis and to another object.

Constrain text

After AutoCAD 2010 gave us constraints, one of the biggest requests was for the ability to constrain text. Well, Autodesk listened and we can constrain text now. They can be constrained by the parallel, perpendicular, collinear, horizontal, and vertical constraints. The insertion point of the text is the point constrained to the other object. If you have a roadway or subdivision plan set and you want to label the road, go ahead. Constrain the text with a parallel constraint with the road’s line work and it will stay parallel. Rotate the road and the text will follow.

AutoConstrain

AutoConstrain was already there in AutoCAD 2010, and it is different from Inferred Constraints. AutoConstrain adds coincident points and other geometric constraints based on the command used. AutoConstrain adds geometric constraints after the line work is done. It doesn’t care how the linework was created. It looks for parallel lines and constrains them with the parallel constraint. It looks for perpendicular lines and constrains them as such. In fact, it goes through the user defined list and applies the constraints you want it to, and in a specific order. In 2011 the Equal Constraint was added. It is applied to lines of equal length or to arcs or circles of equal radius.

Constraint Bars and Icons

Constraint bars can now be show when you select objects, even if they have been hidden to clear up your screen. Once the selected objects are released, the temporary constraint bars are hidden again.

Constrain Icons are different now. They visually indicate if a constraint is for an object or for a point. If it is for a point, there will be a dot in the icon. If it is for an object, no dot. Very simple but it helps you to better understand the nature of the constraint. Since it is visual it also makes the identification process quicker.

Figure 2: The Constraint icon on the left is for perpendicular lines. The icon on the right is for a coincident point.

Dimensional Constraints

Geometric constraints define the geometry of your linework. Dimensional Constraints define the length or lengths or your linework. The DIMCONSTRAIN command now has the convert associated dimensions to dimensional constraints as an option rather than this being the default behavior.

When you are creating a dimensional constraint, you can now click on an existing dimensional constraint to tell AutoCAD to enter the clicked constraints name into your new constraint. For example, if you dimensionally constrained one side of a parallelogram, as you dimensionally constrain a second side, pick the first constraint to make the second constraint equal to it. This way they will both have the same length. Or you could manually enter in the constraints name of the first side. If there are many constraints in your file it may be difficult to know which constrain is which. With this new feature you can just pick the ones you want to use.

Parameters Manager

One issue with dimensional constraints is that a file can have a lot of them. Every time you add one the list gets longer. The more you use the more there are to manage. There weren’t any good tools in AutoCAD 2010 for managing them. AutoCAD 2011 significantly improves this management process. It now has filter where you can create groups of parameters. For example, if you draw a series of gears, you can create a group of constraints called Gear 1 for the constraints in the first gear. Then you can create a list called Gear 2, and so on. Once a group is created, just drag the constraints into the group they belong in. There is also a search box in the constraints manager. There you can search for a constraint or group. Make sure to name your constraints in a well-organized manner. This will help you work them more easily.

Figure 3: The Parameters Manager has new features that allow you to group your dimensional parameters into groups.

Conclusion

AutoCAD 2011 has added many new features to Parametric Constraints. These new features make it easier to manage your models constraints and make editing them more efficient. You can apply inferred constraints while you create your linework which will save you effort during your design process. You don’t have to go back and apply constraints later, unless you want to.

(Reprinted with permission from Autodesk User Group International - AUGI)

What's New in AutoCAD 2011-Part 2

AutoCAD 2011 has added several new abilities to its design process tools. One such new addition is the Select Similar Tool. This is our second article in a series looking at the new features in AutoCAD 2011.

Part One  Part Two  Part Three  Part Four  Part Five  Part Six

The Select Similar tool gives users the ability to automatically select objects with similar traits. There are two main ways to activate this tool: select an object and right click, or typing selectsimilar on the command line. The right click method will bring up the right click shortcut menu. Move down the list until you find the select similar option and pick it. According to the filter settings, every object that is similar (in the file) will automatically be selected. This tool can help you select all of the hatch patterns in a few clicks. If you type the command in you will then pick your object to use as a filter, press enter, and away you go. Selecting more than one object will better define what objects you are going to pick, and don’t forget the filters (see figure 1.) You can filter objects according to Color, Layer, Linetype, Linetype Scale, Lineweight, Plot Style, Object Style, and Name. Toggle on or off any combination of these settings that you want to use. The default settings come with Layer and Name as on, all others are off. That means that if I select a hatch object, then all hatch objects on that layer will be selected. If I pick two hatch patterns, each on different layers, then every hatch on both layers will be selected. The more objects you select, the more criteria you add to the filter. But if you pick different object types, a hatch and a region, that are different layers, they won’t overlap. That means that the hatch patterns will have to be on the hatch’s layer and regions have to be on the regions layer.

Most of the filters are self-explanatory. Color selects objects based on their color. If they are set to bylayer, then only bylayer objects will be selected. Object style applies to obejcts that have styles, like text or dimensions. To gain access to the filter list, type SELECTSIMILAR on the command line. You then have the option to select your filter object, or to type SE to get to the settings. A window will open up where you can pick the filters you want to use.

Figure 1: The Select Similar Settings window allows you to set the automatic selection filters that you want to use.

Selection Cycling


Many times in AutoCAD we need to pick through objects that are literally stacked on top of each other. This can make getting the right object difficult. Pressing the SHIFT+SPACE keys on the keyboard will highlight and toggle through the objects near your crosshairs, but now AutoCAD 2011 has an automatic cycling feature. When you pick an object and there are others on it or under it, a list of those objects appears. Scroll through the list until you find the one you need. You can toggle this tool on and off through the status bar. Right click on the Selection Cycling icon on the status bar to get to its settings. Change the location of the Selection Cycling Window, and other formatting features.

Figure 2: Here is the Selection Cycling window showing us what objects there are to choose from.

Object Creation

Another new drafting tool is the Add Selected tool. This new tool allows you to create new objects based on a selected object that is already in your file. To start the command, select an object, then right click. In the right click menu, pick the Add Selected option. If you pick a line, then the line command starts. If you pick a circle, the circle command starts. The new object will also take on the characteristics of the selected object. It will be drawn on the same layer, with the same color and linetype settings as the selected object regardless of the current settings in your drawing. If you are working on a layer called EXISTING SIDEWALK and you see that you need a quick line on the NEW ROOF layer, pick a line on that layer and AutoCAD will temporarily make the NEW ROOF layer active and start the line command for you. When the command is finished, your settings go back to the way they were. This command can help you get small things done even more quickly.

Action Recorder

The Action Recorder was introduced in AutoCAD 2009. It is a great tool that allows you to create macros to help you get a series of steps done, again and again. AutoCAD 2011 now allows you to add or remove user messages for view change operations. It also displays a list of the most recent macros you have used above a separation bar while showing all available macros below. This is handy if you use certain macros often. It’s a small thing, but it is useful. It works similarly to the file lists in the application menu.

Transparency

AutoCAD added a new object property called Transparency. It is a setting that allows you to make an object or objects translucent, or see through. It can be assigned to objects or layers just like color and linetype are. The new property has been added to the Layer Manager and its value can be assigned to layers and controlled through Viewport transparency, just like View Port Color or linetypes are assigned.
The default value for an object is Zero, for no transparency. The value spans from zero to 90. You cannot make an object 100% transparent, only up to 90% transparent. Each value for the setting is a percent. Zero percent means it has no see through (or transparency) traits at all.

Figure 3: the layer manager can control the transparency settings of your objects. Transparency can also be set per object.

Conclusion

There are many valuable new tools and updates in AutoCAD 2011. We have only gotten through about a third of them. There are many new documentation tools that have been added as well as several high end 3D Modeling tools. We will continue this look at the new features over the next few articles.

(Reprinted with permission from Autodesk User Group International - AUGI)