How To Place Horizontal And Vertical Dimensions Onto A Drawing?

AutoCAD Technical Design

Part 9 of 13 in our How To Use AutoCAD series

Placing dimensions in AutoCAD is essential for documenting your drawing. AutoCAD 2016 offers the same dimensions as the previous versions, that is: linear, aligned, angular, arc, radius, diameter, ordinate and jogged.

Using the “Linear” dimension command, you can create and place a horizontal, vertical or rotated dimension line.

You can accomplish this task by following these simple steps:

1.Locate the dimensioning tools in the Annotation panel, on the Home tab. Click on the drop-down arrow and choose “Linear”.  This will give us a horizontal or vertical distance between the selected points.

Locating AutoCAD Dimensioning Tools

2.Click on the snap points to specify the dimension line location.

3.Once you specify the dimension points, you have several choices: if you pull to the right, you’ll get horizontal measurement; if you pull upwards you’ll get vertical measurements.

4.Left click to complete the dimensioning and continue with your work.

In practice, you’ll probably have to create various dimensions, as well as utilize different dimension styles, depending on your project. For an all encompassing guide on using this AutoCAD feature check out CAD Tutor’s  AutoCAD Dimensioning Tutorial.

Top 5 Tips For Solving Your Common Digital Document Problems

Technology Support

As a PDF converter solutions company, we’re no strangers to document-related stress. We deal with it on a daily basis. And because of this, we’ve shared a number of tips that have made working with documents and their content less stressful.

We’ve covered solutions to some of the most stressful and, unfortunately, common issues that can pop up at any given time. To ensure you have a solution when you need it, we’ve collected some of our best hits into one single mashup where you can access and find that one tip you’re looking for.

We have the low-down on a good workaround if you are….

…Required To Send Both A PDF File And A Word Document

PDF Embedded Word File

It’s known that you could always add other files, like MS Word to PDF documents. But what about the other way around? This post on How to Attach a PDF File to Microsoft Word Documents  shows you an MS Office feature which allows you to do just that.  The feature we cover can be a timesaving workaround when you need to attach multiple files to an email.

…Working With An Expired Microsoft Office Subscription 

Now that Microsoft Office  is offered as a subscription service, free MS Word alternatives can act as a good emergency backup.  When your Office subscription expires, your documents are left uneditable, locked in viewing mode. And when it does, Google Drive is generally the number one solution. So for this, we included our post on using Google Docs and Sheets Add-ons which offers you a look at how you can create a research paper from beginning to end right in your browser if needed.

…Trying To Edit PDF Text And Pages

When you need to make changes to your PDF, your natural instinct is to do it directly on the page. Why ignore that knee-jerk reaction? This article on How to Edit a PDF Document will show you how you can naturally and intuitively make changes to both text and pages in your PDF without Acrobat.

…Struggling To Work Efficiently Between OpenOffice And Google Docs

Entering GoogleDocs Credentials

Working between a desktop and online document processor is now a quick and easy way to get things done. You create a document on your desktop, save it and then upload the file to the online application. But believe it or not, you can make things even simpler than that when working OpenOffice and Google Docs. How to Export Open Office Files to Google Docs features a tutorial on how to transfer OpenOffice documents directly from the application to the online suite with one simple extension.

…Stuck With PDF Documents In a Different Language

Can’t speak 50 different languages? Don’t worry. We included our post on How to Translate PDF Documents without Learning Another Language to this list because working with PDFs in other languages can be a part of how you categorize, research and process documents in your work. In the post, you’ll learn a few ways to translate PDFs on-the-spot with the help of the web.

We know this list is short compared to the list of document-related problems you may have. But let us know what document issues you need a workaround for in the comments and we’ll see if we have a post on it that we can add to the above.

How To Quickly Create Perfectly Parallel Lines, Parallel Curves And Concentric Circles?

Part  8 of 13 in our How To Use AutoCAD series

While working in AutoCAD, you’ll often come across a situation where you need to draw perfectly parallel lines, rectangles or circles. Whether they’re for designing a structure, designing a machine part, or creating an object, precision is the goal.

Since it’s extremely important to be as accurate as possible when working on your drawings, the best way to quickly create perfectly parallel shapes is by using the “Offset” command.

The “Offset” command in AutoCAD 2016, is located on the bottom right of the Modify panel, on the Home tab.

Locating AutoCAD Offset Command

Here’s how to use the Offset command:

1.Draw a shape that you would like to offset.

2. Click on the Offset command (bottom right on the Modify panel).

3. Select the Offset distance. You can do this in two ways. The first is to enter the distance manually into the number box. The second way is to left click on a blank space in the drawing window and then move your cursor in any direction.

4. Select the object to offset. Left click on the object and you will get a perfectly parallel copy.

Using AutoCAD Offset

 

As a general rule of thumb, don’t forget to use Offset when drawing stairs, concentric circles or any other element. This command will save you a ton of time editing and re-adjusting your drawing by getting them right the first time around.

How to Calculate CAD Scale Factor?

Industrial Technical Drawing

Part 7 of 13 in our How To Use AutoCAD series

When working in AutoCAD, you’re not only working with objects and drawings, you’re also working with dimensions and measurements. The latter two elements are what can make or break your drawing. If you can’t resize basic values when you need to, your drawings can’t be as accurate as needed.

Calculating a scale factor in CAD is, thus, a simple, but important task. When the drawings are printed for production, they’re represented much smaller than they actually are. Hence, we need to understand and implement the scale factors in order to adequately size dimensions, text, blocks and lines.

In short, the scale factor is the relationship between our printed units and our drawing units.  The simplest way to calculate the scale factor is by using these simple formulas.

For calculating scale factor out of architectural drawing scale:

  1. Choose your scale. For example:  1/4” = 1”
  2. Invert the fraction and multiply by 12 to get:  4/1 x 12 = 48
  3. Your scale factor is 48

For calculating the scale factor from an engineering drawing scale, only multiply the feet by 12. For an in-depth look at both engineering and architectural scales, check out this tutorial on CAD Scale Factors by ArchToolbox.

How To Align And Scale Objects Simultaneously?

Part 6 of 13 in our How To Use AutoCAD series

As you know, AutoCAD is all about creating accurate drawings. So being able to adjust and fine tune the placement and size of your objects accordingly is a necessary skill to have.  Whether you need to  resize your objects or move them around, you need to be able to manipulate your drawings accurately and with efficiency. That’s why it’s important to master the Align tool early on.

Here’s how to align and scale objects at the same time:

1. Identify which objects you would like to align. Go to the Modify panel, click on the drop down arrow and select the “Align” tool, located on the bottom left side.

Locating AutoCAD Align Tool

2. Select the object that you wish to align and hit “Enter”.

3. Select the source point. The source point is a part of the object that you align (for example, its edge, side or center). After doing so, specify the destination point of the alignment. The destination point represents a point to which you align your selected object. Hit “Enter” and specify the second source and destination point.

Specifying Second Destination Point

4. Either right click on the drawing window or press “Enter”. You’ll be prompted on whether you want to “Scale objects based on alignment points?” or not. If you’d like AutoCAD to automatically scale the selected object to fit your destination object, click Yes. Otherwise, click No.

Once you get the hang of it, this method will come as second nature. Mastering this tool is great skill to have under your belt. Not only does it allow you to quickly edit CAD designs accordingly, but it’ll also give you a better sense of how AutoCAD professionals work with the application.