Ten easy fixes for common Acad problems

Can you even count the hours you've spent on huge finish schedules, endless sheets of elevations, putting together fancypants presentations? You should be the expert, right? Yet there you are at 1:35 AM struggling to plot a simple layout on 8.5 x 11. How could this happen!!! Here are some tricks to solve Cad problems common to big minds in small offices.

Before we begin? When trying any unfamiliar procedure – save your drawing. Commands will be shown in uppercase. I've tried to make this generic for all Acad versions but there will probably be discrepancies, be flexible in your interpretation.

1. Whatever layer I change to - the color stays the same.

The COLOR command affects all newly created objects. Set your COLOR to BYLAYER. That means that all new objects will be colored by the layer they reside on. To correct the problem for objects on an existing drawing – use the CHANGE command, choose PROPERTIES, select ALL, then COLOR, and BYLAYER. Then set the color variable in the LAYER command to determine the color of all objects on that layer.

2. Whatever linetype I use they all look solid.

Linetypes may look solid in modelspace but still be correct in paperspace. The way a linetype appears is controlled by LTSCALE. LTSCALE works like a focus, low numbers = tiny dashes, high numbers = big dashes. When they are very close they look as if they are one solid line. If you would like to see your linetype properly in modelspace, adjust your LTSCALE to about 1/3 of the scale you expect to plot at: 8 for 1/2” scale, 16 for 1/4, and 24 for 1/8. When in paperspace reset your LTSCALE to 1/2 and your PSLTSCALE to 1 and REGENALL. After checking to see that the linetypes are correct in modelspace, most people will leave the settings for pspace to avoid constantly switching back and forth. Be sure LINETYPE is set to BYLAYER, similar to color you may SELECT ALL though PROPERTIES and set to BYLAYER.

3. When I hatch an object it comes out a big solid blot or not at all.

Hatch patterns are a little like linetypes, they have a scale and if it's set too low it will look like a solid, too high and it will appear blank. The difference is that the correct scale on one hatch may be way off for another. Trying to determine in advance what scale a hatch pattern will look correct at is nearly impossible. In general ANSI hatches will read legibly around 16 and descriptive name hatches at 0.5. Always preview, If it looks empty – decrease the number, if it looks solid – increase.

4. My dimension text looks like a tiny dot.

There are a crazy number of variables for dimensioning. Here's a few for a standard look suitable for interiors and architecture -to be used in modelspace. Use DDIM to create a new 1/4” scale dimension style. Following the tabs from left to right choose SYMBOLS and ARROWS, change the first and second arrowheads to architectural ticks, leave the leader as an arrow. Next tab TEXT, choose standard (your default text style) size 3/16”. Next FIT, choose “use overall scale of” and enter 48. Finally in PRIMARY UNITS under 'zero suppression' check off feet. And save and set current, close command. Enter DIM and then DIMUP enter all and confirm.

5. When I open a drawing from another firm -it's upside down, or crooked.

Someone probably changed the x,y coordinates to work on a particular drawing problem. Enter UCS (for user coordinate system) then WORLD and return, next the PLAN command and enter, lastly SNAPANG and set to 0. This will set your drawing to it's original orientation and zoom it to extents. This needs to be done for modelspace and may be required for every viewport in paperspace.

6. When I send a drawing to my consultant, they tell me the xrefs are missing.

Or you've received a drawing that's missing drawings. An Xref is complete drawing or image or pdf, that's attached to your drawing. The file path to a specific folder is retained with each unique xref and has to be duplicated to reload. If the originator specified a file in a folder the new user doesn't have, you get an error message and no xref. The easiest way to solve this problem if you're sending the drawing is to move the xref files to the same directory as the main drawing and set the paths to none. Because of the different versions you may be using, here's a method that should work for all. Move all xref'd files to the same folder. Enter -XREF (with the dash in front). Choose PATH, type in the name of the xref'd drawing and enter, repeat for each xref.

If you are on the receiving end, first ask for the missing files, put them in the same directory as the main drawing and re-path them to none as described above. An easier solution (for you at least) is for them to resend the drawings through the ETRANSMIT command. That will package all the pieces of the drawing in one file, that will easily reassemble at the other end.

7. My drawing has a pdf (or img) file attached, but I can't touch it.

This is an easy one. You have the commands PDFFRAME or IMAGEFRAME that turn on and off a border that allow you to select pixel type images. Set it to 1, move or adjust your files, and set it back to 0 so the border doesn't plot.

8. My drawing has practically nothing in it, but the file is huge.

The problem drawing carries objects with empty data from earlier versions or piggybacked in from other drawings. A whole lot of them can take up plenty of space. First PURGE and then select PURGE ALL. For an even more thorough cleansing try -PURGE. Notice the dash in front? That adds a couple of additional categories. To rid your drawing of even more excess material, DXFOUT. This will save your drawing in a more primitive format that doesn't allow extended data. Reopen after, selecting the dxf format in 'files of type' and save in Acad dwg format. As noted above always save your drawing before trying a procedure you are unfamiliar with.

9. Where are all the linetypes?

Autocad only includes linetypes that you have specifically requested, or have been used in earlier versions of your drawings. Use LINETYPE then choose LOAD in the upper right corner. Scroll through the descriptions to choose your linetype. Most people use the named linetypes at the bottom of the list. Then open your layer dialogue box and your newly added linetype should be available.

10. The background is black (or white) shouldn't it be white (or black)?

If you are used to drafting with a particular background it can be irritating to be stuck with the wrong color. Choose TOOLS, then OPTIONS, then DISPLAY. There should be an option for COLOR, select 2D MODELSPACE or SHEET LAYOUT, then choose the color of your background.

11. I can't get the right scale in Paperspace.

OK there's eleven, I cheated. Always draw in full scale in modelspace (TILEMODE 1). Change over to TILEMODE 0, which is where paperspace lives. Activate a viewport by entering MSPACE. ZOOM and choose CENTER. Pick the center of the area you want to see and enter the zoom factor as 1/yourscale)XP. So for 1/2” scale 1/24XP, 1/4” scale 1/48XP and so on. Change back to paperspace by PS.

And now your are done, no problems, woohoo and lets go to the beach. Next time I'll tackle plotting. You really only need one (well, sort of) plotting configuration. But that should help you archive your work, save you money, and communicate with clients. © 2011