The H-Factor

We’ve all done it – either permanently erased a drawing we were working on or worse – saved over a drawing we wanted to keep. How to get the drawing back? Restore the backup you made of the drawing. No, I’m not being sarcastic here – every night you should copy the drawing to a tape drive, cd or a server location so you have a copy to restore if necessary.

If you don’t have that, you can try to restore the automatic copy AutoCAD makes. But first you have to find it. It is stored in a location that is specified in your AutoCAD OPTIONS dialog:

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1. Open up OPTIONS and pick the File tab. Navigate down to Automatic Save File Location and pick the + there. This lists the folder in which your automatically saved files go. Note that it uses the old DOS scrunchy abbreviations for the folder names.

2. Open Explorer (or whatever you use to navigate through your files) and located the folder specified in the above location.

3. Find your drawing. Note that it will be your original drawing name followed by the extension .sv$ instead of .dwg. Rename the drawing to something entirely new and change the extension to be .dwg. Copy this newly named file to your usual drawing file folder and open it up to see if it is what you expect.

You can also try the AutoCAD DRAWINGRECOVERY command. It will locate most of these backup files for you.

PS – AutoCAD also saves temporary files in case you crash in the middle of a drawing session, but these get erased as soon as you successfully open AutoCAD the next time, so they are pretty useless as far as this goes.

By now most of you are aware of three tools for eliminating z-coordinates from a drawing:

1. Eliminate Z-Coordinates Phase 1
2. Eliminate Z-Coordinates Phase 2

Both from our HcadTool->Tools pulldown menu and…

3. Flatten – the AutoCAD Express Tools command

If neither of these gives you the results you want then try the following, written by Josh here at the ‘tec:

A method to remove z coordinates from an architects drawing
is to create DWFs and Xref them into the drawing. The process to do so follows:

Note: These steps will walk you through keeping each layer
unique and there for be able to treat them as separate layers in your drawing.
If you wish to have all the architects layers merged to a single layer then skip to Option 2. 

1. Open the architect’s drawing and choose the layer you want as the current layer.
2. Turn off all layers (this should leave only the layer you selected on)
3. Select Print and choose the DWF writer as your plotter and DWF virtual pens as your pen style.
4. When prompted for a file name use a name that is easily recognizable, i.e. Arch_Walls or Mech_Ducts
5. Repeat the above processes until you have all the layers you will want for your sprinkler drawing.
6. Open a new drawing using a HydraCAD template.
7. Create a layer for each DWF you created using a name that is easily recognizable. You may want to name the layer same as the DWF.
8. Repeat until you have a layer for each DWF you created. This is needed so that you can turn individual DWFs off and on.
9. Through the Xref command load the DWFs into your drawing making sure that the layer you want them in is the current layer. Use a common insertion point and scale.
10. Before printing the job you will need to select the DWF and under properties change it to Monochrome – Yes. Not doing this will cause the plot to print in color. 

Option 2

1. Open the architect’s drawing and turn off any layers you do not want
2. Select Print and choose the DWF writer as your plotter and DWF virtual pens as your pen style.
3. When prompted for a file name use a name that is easily recognizable, i.e. Arch or Mech
4. Open a new drawing using a HydraCAD template.
5. Create a layer for the DWF you created using a name that is easily recognizable. You may want to name the layer same as the DWF.
6. Through the Xref command load the DWFs into your drawing making sure that the layer you want them in is the current layer. Use a common insertion point and scale.
7. Before printing the job you will need to select the DWF and under properties change it to Monochrome – Yes. Not doing this will cause the plot to print in color.

Now all of the layers will be in your new drawing but
without any Z coordinates. You can still use all of the typical Osnap commands: End, Midpoint, Perpendicular….

In AutoCAD 2008 Autodesk made a change in how they display drawing entities in layers that are locked. Entities in these locked layers show up as dimmed images compared to those entities in unlocked layers.

As always, there is an AutoCAD variable that can control the amount of dimming or turn it off entirely. The variable is: LAYLOCKFADECTL

From the AutoCAD Help file:

Controls the dimming for objects on locked layers

The range for controlling the dimming for objects on locked layers is from
-90 to 90.

PS – The HydraCAD tools – Pick Lock and Pick Unlock (which are both found in HcadTool->Layers) are handy for locking and unlocking layers without knowing the layer names.

This one comes via Robert Matteson of Dynamic Fire Protection Systems, Inc – Texas:

When selecting objects using a
window or crossing window, I am sometimes hindered from selecting all items that
I want quickly due to the rectangular constraint of  the window or crossing
window.

I found out today, that by entering
WP (window polygon) or CP (crossing polygon) before you select your items, you can
work the window around complex selections very
easily.

Thanks, Robert!
 

Tired of defining the same sprinkler heads over and over again? Then do it in your template once and get it over with.

Open up the template you use most often and hit cancel if asked for sheet size and scale. This preserves this option for when you start a new drawing. Next, define the heads you use most often – they don’t have to be actually inserted into the template drawing. Lastly, save the template.

If you are nervous about messing with our template just do a Save As after opening it up and give it a name you can remember.

Is the Architect/Fire Marshall insisting that you use specific layer names? Try using the LAYTRANS tool that comes with AutoCAD 2007 and later. You can type it in or find it under Tools->Cad Standards->Layer Translator…

1. Once open, pick the New button and type in each new layer name you want
2. Pick a layer on the left and one on the right and pick Map. That layer now disappears from the left and the mapping appears below
3. When done mapping all layers, pick the Save button and pick a name and location that you will remember. You mapping is now done.
4. When ready to translate, pick the translate button and your drawing is ready to go
5. In the future, pick Load and choose the File Type ‘Standards (*.dws) to select your saved mapping

In AutoCAD 2008 some of you might have noticed that you do not get a Startup dialog box and there is no longer a setting for it in the Options. Great, huh?

In their wisdom, AutoCAD removed that ‘feature’ and now we are relegated to typing it at the command prompt, so type in STARTUP and set it to 1 and all will be as it should