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Michael’s Corner

Michael BeallMichael's Corner is a monthly publication written by Michael E. Beall, Autodesk Authorized Author and peripatetic AutoCAD trainer. Michael travels all over the USA, bringing his fantastic experience and great understanding of AutoCAD to his clients. Michael's Corner brings together many of the tips, tricks and methods developed during these training sessions for the benefit of all users.

Michael's Corner provides something for every AutoCAD user. Every month, a number of articles cover a wide range of topics, suitable for users at all levels, including "The Basics" for those just starting out. Essentially, the aim of Michael's Corner is to help all AutoCAD users work smarter and faster.

This month…

October - One-derful!!!

It's a God-thing.

I had no idea that 14 years ago I would be given the opportunity to make an impact on the professional lives of so many. Only God knew what was ahead, and hopefully, the contributions I have made through Michael's Corner have equipped many of you to be more productive and a bit more savvy using AutoCAD. And apart from all the AutoCAD bashing that is going on, I'm sure it has a long life ahead.

So, in an effort to keep the AutoCAD fires burning, here's what I have for my final installment…

…A reminder on how to customize your hot keys
…Three Power Tools — one for Zoom, one for editing, and one for Layers
…Two Odd Spots — one for Layers and one for Hatching
…Buried text treasure
…And how to Search 14 years of the Archives

As for what's ahead for me, I will continue to present a variety of AutoCAD sessions — Fundamentals, Intermediate, Customizing, Updates, and 2D & 3D. I will also keep training CAP Designer, 20-20 Worksheet, Visual Impression (those three from 20-20 Technologies, Inc.), and some Revit Fundamentals. Next year I'm looking forward to being very involved in training CET (from Configura, Inc.) when Herman Miller joins the growing number of manufacturers embracing this software that is being touted as the ‘Future of Space Planning’. Personally, I'm looking forward to spending a bit more time with Donna, my lovely bride of 30 years. When this posts, we'll probably be within days of going on our 30th Anniversary vacation to the Tanque Verde Ranch in Tucson; Ee-Hah! We had such a good time when we went for our 20th, we figured we'd do it again!

Ah, and I'm hoping to have The AutoCAD Workbench, Final Edition out before snow flies.

And with that, Mike drop! …so to speak.

The LORD bless you and keep you;
The LORD make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace. Numbers 6:24-26

This month's articles

Change F1 to ESC
Smoother Zoom
Stretch with Extension
Lock Layers with a Crossing Window
Layer Columns & Hatch Background Color
Text Frame on Mtext

From the Vault

Originally published October 2015

AutoCAD 2016 Revision Cloud

Revision Cloud menuOK, this is actually quite elegant. On the expanded Draw panel of the Home tab, you have a dropdown for the reinvented, new, and improved Revision Cloud: Rectangular, Polygonal, Freehand.

Vertex editing

Revision Cloud Insights

  • Set the Layer, Arc Length, and Style before you start.

  • Use Freehand for the original Revision Cloud.

  • The Rectangular version only needs two corners!

  • Each cloud type has multifunction grips for the endpoints and midpoints. It's fun to just click Stretch and watch it morph!

  • When creating any version, Polar and Ortho cannot be enabled, but they can when you're editing using grips.

  • You can edit an existing revision cloud by adding one or more segments.

How to Modify an Existing Revision Cloud

  1. Editing a revision cloudLaunch any Revision Cloud, then click Modify.

  2. The location you click when selecting the ‘polyline to modify’ is where a new cloud segment will begin. There is also a First Point option — similar to the Break command — if you picked a point unwittingly or want to be more precise.

  3. Specify the new points as needed. When you click on another point of the original cloud, you are prompted to pick the side to be deleted.

    Click to delete

  4. AutoCAD makes an assumption on the direction of the resulting cloud, but you are still prompted to Reverse Direction [Yes No] <No>.

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