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…
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…
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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This is a republishing of an earlier post because this is a really helpful tool when you just can't calc a system. Sometimes when you AutoCalc only some of your pipes actually make it to HydraCALC, or you get an error that prevents you from loading the job into HydraCALC. Both of these can be…
One often overlooked feature of the PERPendicular object snap is the ability to line up an object (such as a head) with other objects (other heads). To wit – the two heads below in the Dispatch Office are not lined up with the head plan north of it already piped. How to line up these…
Using a drawing scale other than 1/8"=1' or 1-100, you may notice your riser circle or text is too large or too small. This is how you correct that: 1.Type in 3MO or pick the 3D Modeling Options button from the 3D Modeling toolbar. 2. Pick the Restore HydraCAD Defaults button. This usually does it.…
AutoCAD 2013 introduced a new feature – Select Similar. It does just what it sounds like: 1. Pick an object (line, head, riser nipple, whatever) and right-click 2. Pick Select Similar from the menu that appears You can now do whatever you like with this selection set. You could Move it, Copy it or change…
A customer called yesterday and asked how to get rid of the little window that pops up when you hover over an item in AutoCAD: After some Googling, I came across the subject as a post in Ellen Finkelstein's great blog. Type rollovertips on the command line and press Enter. Type 0 and press…
This entry outlines a little-known feature of AutoLine. Let's say you have large bays with irregular spacing and you have spaced heads throughout those bays, and now need to connect them. Like this: Draw the branch lines from the nearest head, to the furthest head, without stopping at the heads in between. Do this for…
This entry combines a little-known frature of a very common command (BaySpace). Let's say you want to insert heads and branch lines, and these heads want to be on armovers: 1. Use BaySpace to set parameters and pick you bay points as usual, but this time, select One pipe from the Draw: drop down list.…
This entry combines one little-known command (Smart Array) with a little-known feature of a more common command (AutoLine). Inserting Heads using Smart Array Let's say you have a large room with a suspended ceiling like this, and you want to space heads throughout that room, but do not want to calculate how many rows and…
A customer emailed today that his Command Line was docked to the right side of the screen and he could not move it. Furthermore, it took up half the screen. The Command Line can be controlled in the menu (CUI) file. Type in CUI and locate the Command Line as seen below. Be sure to…
The AutoCAD variable LAYOUTREGENCTL controls REGEN between, er, Layouts. There are three settings, 0, 1 and 2. AutoCAD help explains these options the best: Why even have a 0 (zero) option? Well, if your RAM is extremely limited, this keeps you from getting fatal errors due to the memory being overloaded. The best setting is…
