Tips & Tricks for AutoCAD Architecture 2015
New Tab
When you start AutoCAD® Architecture 2015, open a new tab (+), or close the last drawing, a New tab is displayed (see Figure 1). Each New tab contains the Create Page and the Learn Page. The Create Page is a quick launch pad to decide what to do. The following sections are displayed on the Create Page:
- Get Started
- Start New Drawing
- Templates
- Open Files
- Open a Sheet Set
- Get More Templates Online
- Explore Sample Drawings
- Recent Documents
- Notifications
The Learn page provides access to learning resources such as videos, tips, and other relevant online content or services. For every new content update, a notification badge is displayed at the bottom of the page. It is important to note that if there is no Internet connection, the Learn page is not displayed.
Figure 1: New Tab
File Tabs
File tabs provide an easier way for you to access all the open drawings within AutoCAD Architecture, as well as create new ones. You can turn the file tabs bar on or off using the File Tabs control on the View ribbon tab. When file tabs are turned on, a tab for each open drawing is displayed at the top of the drawing area showing the full name of the file (see Figure 2).
File tabs are displayed in the order they were opened, but you can drag tabs to change their order, if needed. If you run out of room for all the file tabs to display across the AutoCAD Architecture window, an overflow menu at the right end of the file tabs bar provides access to the additional files. Simply select a file tab to make it active. A lock icon on the file tab indicates that the file is open as read-only and an asterisk on the file tab indicates if the file has been modified since its last save.
When you pass the cursor over a file tab, preview images of the model and layouts are then displayed. If you pass the cursor over one of the preview images, the corresponding model or layout is temporarily displayed in the entire drawing area. Plot and Publish tools are accessible from each preview image. A Plus (+) icon to the right of the drawing tabs enables you to easily create new drawings. The right-click menu for file tabs enables you to create, save, open, and close files, including the ability to close all open files except the one on which you right-clicked. You can also copy the full file path to the clipboard or open the file location in Explorer.
Figure 2: File tabs
Command Preview
The Command Preview provides you a quick feedback of the active command and shows you exactly how the objects will look when the command is executed. As you make changes within the command, you can instantly preview the final result. The interactive preview applies to the following commands:
- BREAK
- CHAMFER
- FILLET
- EXTEND
- LENGTHEN
- MATCHPROP
- OFFSET
- TRIM
You can enable/disable the Command Preview control on the Selection tab of the Options dialog box.
Autodesk ReCap
For those who work with 3D laser scans, Autodesk ReCap is an excellent tool. Autodesk ReCap is used to convert scanned file data from a variety of formats to a high-speed point cloud that you can view and edit in other Autodesk products. Begin by opening Autodesk ReCap and select scan files you wish to import. Then use the tools provided inside Autodesk ReCap to work with the scanned data. You can use the Home tile menu to save the current project as a Point Cloud Project file (.rcp) or you can export to a Point Cloud Scan file (.rcs). Both of these file types can be used in AutoCAD Architecture. You can use the Display Tools tile menu to change the appearance and display of components, and analyze and specify lighting options of the point cloud.
Lasso Selection for Objects
Lasso Selection is a new object selection feature that can be created by clicking, dragging, and releasing the mouse button (see Figure 3). You can now drag from left to right to select all objects that are entirely enclosed in the lasso or drag from right to left to select all objects that are crossed by the lasso. Click Enter. You can deselect objects by pressing shift and then clicking the individual objects or dragging across multiple objects. Press Esc to deselect all objects. It is important to note that when using lasso selection, you can press the spacebar to cycle between the Window, Crossing, and Fence object selection modes.
Figure 3: Lasso Selection
Geographic Location
Geographic location information in a drawing file is built around an entity that is known as the geographic marker. The geographic marker points to a reference point in model space that corresponds to a location on the surface of the earth of known latitude and longitude. The program also captures the direction of the north at this location. Using this information, the program can derive the geographic coordinates of all other points in the drawing file. You can set a geographic location using the Set Location tool on the Insert tab of the ribbon. Then easily search for an address from a map and drop a marker on the map to mark the spot. Drawing units can be easily modified.
After you insert a geographic marker in a drawing, you can do any of the following:
Make the program automatically determine the angle of sunlight when you perform sun and sky simulation.
Insert a map from an online maps service in a viewport.
Perform environment studies.
Use position markers to mark geographic locations and record related notes.
Locate yourself on the map in real-time on systems that support location sensing.
Export to AutoCAD® Map 3D and expect the model to position itself automatically.
You can remove geographic location information from a drawing file using the GEOREMOVE command. The geographic marker and GIS coordinate system are removed from the drawing file. However, position markers will continue to remain in the drawing file.
Text Alignment
AutoCAD Architecture 2015 now has a new TEXTALIGN command that allows multiple text objects to be aligned to a base object and provides a preview of the result. After typing TEXTALIGN, the prompt “Select text objects to align [alignment Options]” is displayed. Select two or more objects to align and press Enter. With this command, you can easily control the spacing or alignment direction.
Point Clouds
A point cloud is a large collection of points placed on a three-dimensional coordinate system. Collected by 3D laser scanners or other technologies, millions of points create 3D representations of existing structures. Point cloud files support the design process by providing real-world context where you can recreate the referenced objects or insert additional models. Once a point cloud is attached to a drawing, you can use it as a guideline for drawing, change its display, or apply a color stylization to distinguish different features.
Before you can use the data of a point cloud, however, it needs to be converted to readable point cloud files. Use ReCap to convert raw scan data to scan files (RCS files) and to create project files (RCP files) that reference multiple RCS files. Both these formats can be attached to an AutoCAD Architecture drawing. Attaching an RCS or RCP file to a drawing is much like attaching any other external reference (xref). If the unit of measurement in the attached point cloud differs from the units in the target drawing, the point cloud is automatically scaled based on the unit type in the target drawing. You can use the new Point Cloud Manager to work with multiple point clouds in a drawing. It is important to note that point clouds are not supported on 32-bit systems. To work with point clouds, you need a 64-bit system and hardware acceleration must be turned on.
You can cut, copy, paste, move, scale, rotate, and erase point clouds. You can customize your colorization in the new Point Cloud Color Map dialog box (see Figure 4). These colorization options will help you to better visualize your point cloud. There are also new lighting tools that control various lighting effects. All great new options!
Use the Point Cloud Manager to reveal or hide separate regions (RCS files) within a point cloud project (RCP file). You can double-click a scan in the Point Cloud Manager to view the point cloud from the vantage point of the camera location for the scan. Use the 3DSWIVEL or 3DWALK commands to look around. You can use the 3DORBIT command in conjunction with the ORBITAUTOTARGET system variable to set a target point when orbiting around a point cloud. The 3DORBIT, 3DSWIVEL, and 3DWALK commands are available from the Display panel of the Point Cloud contextual tab.
Figure 4: Color Map dialog box
Design Feed
The Design Feed palette provides a way to post and reply to messages, which can include attached images to colleagues and clients through Autodesk 360. The messages can be linked to locations and areas within the drawing and can be accessed online by the people you authorize. These posts will remain with the related drawings on the desktop, Web, and across mobile devices.
To create a Design Feed Post, begin with a drawing open and click the Autodesk 360 tab, AutoCAD Online panel, Design Feed, and select Find. This opens the Design Feed palette. Type your message in the text box. If you wish to attach an image, click the Attach Image button. You can attach up to three images (BMP, JPG, GIF, or PNG) to each post and a thumbnail of each will appear within the post. The maximum file size for each image is 5MB. Once you have created a post, you can share it with others by clicking the Tag People icon. If connections are already listed, select the people to be tagged for this post. If no connections are listed yet, click Add People to display a dialog box in which you can enter the email addresses of the connections with whom you want to share the drawing and the post. Select Post when you are finished.
You can associate a post with a location or an area within the drawing. To do this, click the location or area icon and specify the location with a point or a rectangular area with two diagonal points within the drawing. The location or area that you want associated with a design feed post is indicated by a design feed bubble.
Layer Merge
Layer Merge (LAYMRG) has been incorporated into the Layer Manager with AutoCAD Architecture 2015. At the command prompt, enter LAYMRG. Then in the drawing area, select an object on each layer that you want to merge and press Enter. Next select an object on the target layer. All objects on layers that contain objects in the first selection set are moved to the target layer.
You can also do this using the Layer Properties Manager. Select the Home tab of the ribbon, Layers panel, and then select Layer Properties. In the Layer Properties Manager, select the layers you want to merge into another layer and right-click and select “Merge Selected Layers To” (see Figure 5). You will need to press Ctrl+click to select more than one layer. In the Merge to Layer dialog box, select a target layer. Objects on the merged layers are moved to the layer you select in this dialog box. The now empty layers are automatically deleted.
Figure 5: Merge Selected Layers To
Smooth Line Display
AutoCAD Architecture 2015 has added a solution to the jagged diagonal lines that you sometimes see in 2D wireframe drawings. The command is LINESMOOTHING. This variable can also be found under the Options dialog box, System tab. Click on Graphics Performance and the Graphics Performance dialog box appears. Checking Smooth Line Display removes the jagged lines.
