AutoCAD For Dummies, 17th Edition

Chapter 27

Ten AutoCAD Secrets

IN THIS CHAPTER

Sheet sets

Custom tool palettes

Ribbon customization

Macro recorder

Programming languages

Vertical versions

Language packs

Multiple projects or clients

Data extraction and linking

Untying the Ribbon

You may have already figured out that your mother never told you about a few necessary principles for living your life. Well, AutoCAD has a few principles that I don’t tell you about elsewhere in this book.

In this chapter, I list ten additional subjects that you may want to explore on your own, using the resources listed in Chapter 25.

Sheet Sets

Very large projects usually involve a great many drawings. At times, you may want to look at or plot specific drawings repetitively from a collection. You can use the Sheet Set Manager to link individual drawings, and even specific paper-space layouts within drawings, into named sets. See the SHEETSET command.

Custom Tool Palettes

Do you regularly use three or four different hatch patterns? Or the same five or six standard symbols or details? No problem. If you can drag and drop, you can create custom tool palettes from which you can drag and drop elements back into your drawings. See the ToolPalettes command.

Ribbon Customization

The Ribbon, and indeed the full specifications for the menu bar and toolbars, are stored in a single CUI (Custom User Interface) file. It can be edited and you can also have AutoCAD access a secondary CUI file to customize AutoCAD’s interface to suit your specific ...