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- Lesson 2
- Block & Wblock
- Array
- Fillet
- How to get a drawing from an archive
- Attdef
- Attedit
-
- 5. Block and Wblock
-
- Block is a command to group a "set" of entities together, so
- that this set can have a name and be placed on a drawing in
- many places. The three most important features about block are
- giving the set a name, and giving a place on the set which can
- be used to orient the set on the drawing called ( base point of
- insertion) and picking the entities for the set.
-
- After a block has been made it is treated as one entity if you
- want to erase one part of the block and pick it, the whole set
- will be chosen for erasure.
-
- Blocks, even though they may not be visible may be stored with
- any particular drawing. When a Purge is preformed it will get
- rid of any blocks which have not been called up in the drawing
- during any drawing session. If the block has been used in the
- drawing even if the layer it was placed on is off, the block
- will be saved with that drawing and not purged.
-
- Wblock very simply allows you to create a block and write it to
- the hard drive for use in other drawings.
-
- If you know that the block you want to use has been updated,
- you may insert the block by
- command:(block to insert:)"blockname="
- The equal sign at the end of the block name will search the
- standard Autocad paths for the blockname and if it all ready
- exists in the drawing it will be updated with the new updated
- block it found in the path.
-
- If you want use a block but feel it must be modified for your
- drawing. You may insert it by
- command:(block to insert:)"*blockname")
- The * allows the block to be inserted as its separate entities,
- so it comes in "exploded". You may also use the explode command
- to return a block to it separate entities after its placed on
- the drawing however it does not effect the block which is
- stored in the drawing.
-
- 6. Fillet
- The command fillet is used to show two lines as an
- intersection.
- The intersection may have a radius or it may have a radius of 0
- inches or units for an absolute intersection. It will do a trim
- or an extend as required between two lines.
-
-
-
-
-
-
- Lesson 2 cont'd
-
- To change the radius from 0 to any other measure use the switch
- "R" after calling on fillet.
- command:Fillet (R/pick two lines:)"R"<CR> (enter radius):
- It will become effective the next time fillet is called.
-
- Don't forget to reset it to 0 after you have made your
- intersection.
-
- It is also important to note, that, if the radius is greater
- then 0, a third entity the radius now exists. Instead of two
- lines, it is now two lines and an arc or radius.
-
- If the line over-running the intersection is longer then either
- entity, the entity will be trimmed instead of the over-run.
- Care must be taken that the over-run of the entity to be
- filleted is shorter then the entity.
-
- 7. Array (Hooray for Array)
- Array will allow you to chose any number of entities and make
- copies in a row a specific distance apart or in rows and
- columns at a specified distance or in a circle or arc. An
- example of array is when you are starting a new floor plan the
- stud marks are arrayed along the top and bottom this is an
- example of two entities being arrayed with one row 16" apart.
- It would be a good idea to look this one up in the manual as
- there are some switches and formats which can get to complex
- for here.
-
- 8. Archive file Retrieval
- This does not have anything to do with Autocad or the network.
- Because of our storage resources (Hard & Floppy Drive Space),
- we use a program called PKZIP to take our drawing files and
- compress them, allowing us to get more drawings on a disk.
- You can store (ZIP, compress) one file to its own zip file but
- for expediency we use the multiple file technique.
- You may take several files and pack them into one file the size
- of which is smaller than if the files were stored separately.
- An individual drawing may be extracted from the file using
- PKUNZIP with the switch " -e"
- ex:
- PKUNZIP -e zipname.zip (A: or B: floppy drive )drawingname.dwg
- <CR>
-
- All the file names in the zip file may be seen with
- ex: PKUNZIP -v zipfilename.zip <CR>
-
- The "unziped" file may be copied to your local hard drive or to
- the network for you to work on.