Added in V52.4/V53.01, this new feature allows users to specify a central location (drive path) to look for sprinkler head symbols, so that all users have access to the same symbols. This is done by editing the HCAD_ENV.INI file found in the 50.3/Version53 folder and adding the full path to the head library next to…

The Autodesk Subscription Center is where many of us are dragged kicking and screaming to get our updates, but it has a great deal of useful information. You can get previous versions, download installations and patches, and check you serial numbers and product key. You can also assign rights to users in your organization. This…

A long time customer of ours (good guy, has poor taste in baseball teams) emailed me a drawing in which he could not explode the bulk of the building. Some research produced a solution – the block was specified to not allow exploding when it was created. This, fortunately, is easily correctable. A LISTing of…

Possibly the coolest new feature of 2015 is the Lasso. This new selection mode lets you freehand a selection set of virtually any shape, quickly and (sometimes) easily. It can be used anytime you are selecting objects. When presented with the familiar Select Objects: prompt, just hold down the left mouse button and drag the…

There are two ways of doing this. the first involves the Design Center and is, perhaps, the now preferred method: Design Center Method 1. Open the drawings or template you want to copy from, and to2. Switch to the 'to' drawing – the one that needs the layout tabs3. Open Design Center (from the AutoCAD…

This question comes up often. The answer is, it depends. It depends on what the bid documents are specifically asking for and what the Architect/GC/Project Engineer/AHJ is asking for. Right now, there are three basic formats: 1. AutoCAD Drawing – If the concerned party is asking for an AutoCAD drawing, then they will also need…

The Slope Entire System command was added to the Piping toolbar (Define Pipe Elevation flyout) a while back, but many still do not know of its existence, or how to use it. With it, you are able to specify a slope for your mains and a (maybe different) slope for your lines and slope the…

HydraCAD V52.04/51.14 instituted a new way to locate flexible sprinkler heads and it couldn't get much easier. 1. Simply insert a 'regular' sprinkler head using any of our sprinkler insertion tools2. Insert a flexible sprinkler on top of the regular sprinkler That's it! The regular sprinkler head will get erased when a flexible sprinkler is…

Need to line up your 3D model for coordination in Revit, Navis or something else? Use the Move Model command from the Collaborate toolbar: This is a two step process. Pick Denote Basepoint. Then, pick a window around the section to move and then locate the Match Point. This will become the new Base Point.…