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The Tutorials section provides over 100 original tutorials for AutoCAD, 3ds Max and other design applications. Michael’s Corner is an archive of productivity articles that brings you the best AutoCAD tips and tricks. Our Forum is a lively community where AutoCAD users can ask questions and get answers. The Downloads area provides free AutoCAD blocks, free AutoLISP routines and free images.
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AutoCAD Productivity
Update the Source File Block Edits on the Tool Palette
From: AutoCAD Productivity Articles #139
Originally published: April 2015
Throughout the archives of Michael's Corner you will find dozens of references to tool palettes, including the key component of blocks on a tool palette: the Source File. [Coverage of the Block Source file was originally presented in March 2006.]
Scenario: You add this armless chair to the source file and put several chairs in a drawing… then you update the chair in the source file with arms.
Problem: The chair on the palette now displays arms, but the chairs in the drawing have no arms, soooo…
How to Update Drawing Blocks from the Source File
After modifying the block in the Source File, right-click on the related block on the tool palette, then click Update tool image.
Now, in the drawing containing the blocks that were in the former armless state, go to the tool palette, right-click on the updated block image, then click Redefine… and all those chairs now have the updated condition with arms!
See all the articles published in April 2015
Michael's Corner
Between 2003 and 2016, Michael Beall (and one or two guests) wrote almost 600 articles for CADTutor. The focus of these articles is AutoCAD productivity, and although some of them are now more than a few years old, most remain relevant to current versions of AutoCAD. The article above is just one example. Check out Michael's Corner for a full listing.
Image of the Week
Gallery of Work
Over the years, our forum members have contributed hundreds of images, showcasing their amazing work. The images above are just a small selection that demonstrate the wide range of project types our community is involved with. Take a look at our gallery to see all the images published in the last 12 months.
Tip of the Day
Auto-repeating Commands
Sometimes you need to repeat a command lots of times and it can be a bit tedious doing the usual
and or even using the Enter key on the keyboard. It would be really useful if you could just keep a command auto-repeating until you hit the Escape key Esc. Well, you can. All you need to do is make a small change to the CUI.For example, say you want to draw lots of circles and have the circle command auto-repeat so that you can just pick center, radius, center, radius etc. Here's what you do:
- Select from the pull-down menu to display the CUI dialogue box.
- In the "Customizations in All CUI Files" section, click on "Toolbars" and then "Draw" to reveal the Draw commands, and then click "Circle".
- The Properties area now changes to display the Circle button properties and under the "Macro" heading, you will see the macro used to start the Circle command. By default, this macro is:
^C^C_circle
. To cause the Circle command to auto-repeat, simply add a "*
" before the existing macro. Once edited, your macro should look like this:*^C^C_circle
. - Now click the "OK" button to save and return to the drawing.
Try the circle command and see what happens.
This technique can be used with most commands. For example, if you are doing a lot of dimensioning, you could auto-repeat the Linear Dimension command so that you can draw all your dimensions without breaking stride.
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