The H-Factor

Reducing Entropy

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Unblocking a Group of Files

After downloading a file, it is often Blocked. You must right-click on it, pick Properties and then check the Unblock item: But doing a dozen or more files gets old, real fast. I just learned a way to Unblock a batch of files at once. It involves using PowerShell, a Microsoft tool that is a…

by art September 30, 2026

Adding Hanger Types to HydraLIST

If you want to use a new type of hanger, or are a fab shop that gets a job from a contractor that uses a hanger type that you do not have, it is easy to add that new hanger type to your own machine. A hanger is an assembly, and an assembly is just…

by art July 31, 2026

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Recently our previous blog service (Typepad) ended their business – so, we have a new home. It will take a bit to get images back and displaying properly, but we are working on it! Final pageview count of original Typepad blog: 387,232

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A Couple of Tips on Preparing a Drawing for Plotting

October 29, 2008

HydraCAD has had a couple of pretty useful commands on the Cleanup toolbar that many are not aware of:

1. Change Item Colors: If you have a need to differentiate piping as New or Existing , you can do it with this command. Run Pretty Pipes first, then pick the color or linetype you want and Apply it to various parts of the drawing. The pretty pipes, the sprinkler heads, hangers, pipe sizes, etc will all change to the color applied.

2. Select Plot Layers: This command is used to turn layers on and off for plotting. It is fully aware of which HydraCAD layers are meant to be turned off and which are meant to be turned on for a final plot. You can choose from Center-to-Center lengths or Cut lengths. You can even choose your own layer file based on one you have saved using the HcadTool->Layer Control->Save On/Off Status

Posted in HydraCAD