You can use the context-sensitive help tool to get help about any tool or menu item.
You can check the status bar at the bottom of the screen for descriptions of the active tool and hints about what to do next.
You can press <F1> at any time if you need more help.
If your hatch pattern is too big or small, adjust it using the Hatch scale in the Brush property sheet.
You can hide the Paper by turning off both Margins and Background in the Tools|Desktop property sheet.
You can use flyout toolbars from the Edit Bar to access all the drawing tools using little screen space.
If you frequently use a particular drawing tool, you'll save mouse clicks by displaying its individual toolbar, rather than using the Insert toolbar.
You can customize your interface by dragging toolbars to convenient locations.
You can check Save Desktop on Exit in the Tools|Program Setup dialog, if you want TotalCAD to save your desktop setup.
You can start with a predefined template, modify its settings, then save the drawing as a custom template.
You can set up your drawing using the Setup Wizard. To do this, start a new drawing using the WzNormal or the WzMetric template.
You can draw with the Paper off, then use the Fit feature to fit and center your drawing on the page.
You should turn on Magnetic Point whenever you work. It makes using snap modes much easier.
Snap Aperture makes it easier to see how snap modes work. Turn it on with View|Aperture.
You can adjust the size of the Snap Aperture in the General Property sheet of the Tools|Program Setup dialog.
To manually refresh your screen, press <F5>.
It's usually best to start drawing an entity by defining its starting point. You CAN enter values in the Edit Bar and then define the starting point, but this can lead to confusing results.
You can increase your drawing space by using the View menu commands to hide screen components that you don't need.
Higher screen resolutions increase your drawing space. Use at least 800x600.
Points are defined in the Coordinate Fields by coordinates only, overriding the current snap mode.
If you choose a snap mode in the main menu or in the Snap toolbar, the mode will remain in effect until you change it.
If you choose a snap mode in the local menu, the mode will remain in effect only until you define the next point.
You can set the snap mode you use the most in the Snap toolbar, then override it when you need to using the local menu.
All snaps that snap to vertices on objects or to grid points are mutually compatible. These snap modes are grouped in the middle section of the Snaps and Local Snap menus.
You can customize your grid using the Grid property sheet in the Drawing Setup dialog.
Nearest on Graphic snap mode switches off all other snap modes.
Choosing Cancel, or pressing the <Escape> key, means to stop the current operation and start over.
When you are working in the Edit Bar, pressing <Ctrl>+<F> means Finish.
You can draw a line segment with a fixed length by locking down the Length field in the Edit Bar.
You can draw a line at a fixed angle by locking down the Angle field in the Edit Bar.
You can finish an entity by double-clicking, or by choosing Finish from the local menu.
You can use construction lines and circles to segment your drawing space.
You can toggle Ortho mode by holding down the <Shift> key while drawing or editing.
You can hold down the <Shift> key while dragging resize handles to constrain proportions.
You can <Ctrl>-click on a selection's reference point to move the reference point to another location.
When the mouse is directly over a reference point, the cursor turns into a 4-directional pointer.
You must drag a selection by its reference point to drag it into another drawing or application.
If you move a selection's reference point, you can rotate it around that point.
You can turn on the Make a Copy option in the local menu to copy an object as you move or resize it.
You can hold down the <Ctrl> key while moving or scaling to make a copy.
You can rotate a selection in the negative direction by entering a negative value in the Edit Bar Rotation field.
By default, angles increase counterclockwise and decrease clockwise.
You can reverse the default direction of angles in the Tools|Angle property sheet.
You must use Explode before you Node Edit an entity that is part of a group.
To add a node to a line segment in Node Edit mode, you can hold down the <Ctrl> key and click on the line.
To delete a node from a line segment in Node Edit mode, you can hold down the <Ctrl> key and click on the node.
If you delete the endpoint of a multiline in Node Edit mode, you delete the whole line segment attached to that node.
To edit the radius of a circle or arc, you can select it, choose Node Edit from the local menu, then move its radius node.
You can't delete a node on a single line segment or a triangular polygon, because all of the nodes are needed to define the entity.
When left alone, problems tend to go from bad to worse.
To turn a polygon into a multiline, use the Break command in the Node Edit local menu.
You can close a multiline or curve as you finish drawing it by right-clicking and choosing Close from the local menu.
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
You might try locking down just one Coordinate Field, then drawing with the mouse.
You can customize Ortho settings in the Tools|Angle property sheet.
The average human being spends one third of his or her life sleeping.
You can see the grid without snapping to it, and snap to the grid without seeing it.
If you snap the endpoints of a multiline together, it looks like a polygon, but TotalCAD doesn't know it's a polygon. See next tip.
To turn a multiline into a closed polygon, you can use the Close command from the Node Edit local menu.
You can think of a circle as a closed arc.
To close an arc, you can use the Close command from the Node Edit local menu.
Heavier things cause more damage when they fall.
To turn a circle into an arc, you can select it, choose Node Edit, then change its starting and ending angles.
You can change a Bezier curve into a Spline curve, or vice versa, using the Curve property sheet.
You can <Shift>-click to add new objects to a selection.
You can <Shift>-click to deselect objects one at a time.
You can select multiple objects by dragging the selection window across the objects, then releasing the mouse button.
You can flip a selection by grabbing a selection handle and dragging it across the selection to the opposite side.
Insanity is defined as doing the same thing over and over again and hoping for different results.
You can use Array Copy to tile objects a specific distance apart.
You can use Fit Array Copy to tile objects within a specific area.
You can use Vector Copy to make a copy of an object at a specific angle and distance from the original.
The Open Window option (local menu) determines whether the selection window selects objects partially enclosed, or only completely enclosed objects.
Things that go away by themselves can come back by themselves.
You can constrain a line segment to a particular angle by entering an angle in the Edit Bar then locking the Angle field.
To close the end of a double line, you can use the Node Edit Close Double End command in the local menu.
To get context-sensitive help on a local menu item, you can highlight the item, then press <F1>.
For lines that need square end caps, you can use filled double lines.
You can change the alignment of nodes in double lines using the Double Line Reference property.
You can cap the ends of double lines using the Double Line End Caps property.
To close gaps left from double line intersections, you can use the Close Gaps command in the local menu.
You can press <Ctrl>+<E> to go to the Edit Bar.
You can press <Ctrl>+<R> to go to the Coordinate Fields.
You can press <Ctrl>+<D> to go to the drawing area.
Miss Piggy says: Never eat more than you can lift.
If you are working in the drawing area, you can start entering text in the first field of the Edit Bar by just starting to type.
You can press <Tab> in the drawing area to move to the first field of the Edit Bar.
You can press <Ctrl>+<Backspace> (Zoom Extents) to see the largest possible view of your entire drawing.
You can press <Shift>+<Backspace> (Full View) to see the largest possible view of the your drawing's printable area.
You can move a selection using coordinate entry. First click the Reference Point, enter the coordinates of the target location, then press <Enter>.
To zoom in or out centered on the mouse, you can press <+> or <-> on the numeric keypad.
You can change the amount you zoom in or out with Tools|Program Setup. Change the Zoom Factor setting.
If you want to scale double line separation with a selection, you must Explode the double line first.
The Modes|Coord System|Relocate Origin command lets you manually relocate a fixed or non-fixed relative origin.
You can use layers when you are creating complex drawings to sort your objects into classes.
You can use the Tools|Layer property sheet to create or modify layers.
You can set a different default color for each layer in your drawing.
Objects will have the default color of their layer if their Color property is set to By Layer.
You can prevent changes to a layer while you are working by making it Not Editable.
You can use the Redraw Order property of layers if you want some layers to always be drawn on top of others.
You can hide layers to simplify your view of a drawing by making them Not Visible.
You can use Edit|Select By|Layer to select all the objects on a layer.
You can make selected objects into symbols by dragging them into the Symbol palette.
You can insert 3D symbols into your drawing from TotalCAD 3D.
You can nest groups, forming complex objects.
The Stretch command is a powerful resizing and reshaping tool that works by repositioning nodes. It is often a good alternative to handle-based scaling.
You can use T-Meet 2 Double Lines and Intersect 2 Double Lines to create and clean up line intersections.
You can customize dimensions using the Format property sheet.
Use the Chamfer tool to create a beveled corner.
Use the Fillet tool to create a rounded corner.
For more precise placement, you can move a selection's reference point before moving the selection.
When creating text, you can get precise alignment using the Align feature from the local menu.
You can specify text height and angle "on the fly" with the local menu when you are using the Text tool.
To edit text, you can open its properties, then change the contents of the Attribute field.
To manipulate text as graphics, Explode the text twice so that the characters become multilines.
You can use the Selection Info palette to check whether you have accurately scaled an object.
You can print out at any size by tiling your drawing across multiple sheets.
Crop marks make it easy to trim tiled printed sheets then paste them to a backing.
TotalCAD can read AutoCAD .DXF files with great accuracy, even 3D files.
Any folder containing drawings of a type that TotalCAD can read can be used as a symbol library.
Symbol libraries are saved in drawings and templates.
It's polite to turn a drawing into a group before you save it in a symbol library that will be used by somebody else.
You can use the Align commands to quickly arrange objects in your drawing.
You can right-click on a drawing tool to view and modify its default properties.
