Setting up System Variables for Success in AutoCAD - AUGI

System variables in AutoCAD are values that control command settings, ... (-BLOCK) and "A drawing with this name already exists. Jobs Blaugi LogIn JoinAUGI LogIn JoinAUGI WishList WishListHome MakeaWish MyWishes RankWishes VoteonWishes BuyWishes HallofFame Forums ForumsHome FrequentlyAskedQuestions GeneralGuidelines ForumBasics Do's&Don'ts Etiquette Security Confidentiality WarningsandBans GetConnected GetConnectedHome LocalUserGroups FrequentlyAskedQuestions LUGHandbook LUGLeaderGuide EventsandTraining Webinars AUGIAnnualMeeting AutodeskUniversity Top10ReasonstoGo ReasoningwithManagement PhotoGalleries TopDAUGAwards AUGITrainingProgram ResourceDirectory Volunteer Articles Publications PublicationsHome AUGIWorld ContentManagers Submissions 2022Issues 2021Issues 2020Issues 2019Issues 2018Issues 2017Issues 2016Issues 2015Issues 2014Issues 2013Issues 2012Issues 2011Issues 2010Issues 2009Issues 2008Issues 2007Issues 2006Issues 2005Issues 2004Issues 2003Issues 2002Issues HotNews Submissions 2022Issues 2021Issues 2020Issues 2019Issues 2018Issues 2017Issues 2016Issues 2015Issues 2014Issues 2013Issues 2012Issues 2011Issues 2010Issues 2009Issues Surveys&Polls Surveys&PollsHome CurrentSurvey CurrentPoll Archives SalarySurveys Archives QuestionsandFAQs Products ProductsHome AutoCAD AutoCADArchitecture Civil3D Fusion360 Inventor Navisworks Revit RevitArchitecture RevitMEP RevitStructure AboutAUGI AboutAUGIHome OurHistory 1990:MysteryMeet/Meat 1991:WordGetsOut 1992:WindowsontheWorld 1993:AutodeskUniversity 1994:WeirdTiming 1995:VerticalMarkets 1996:BylawsOverhaul 1997:AUGIputsthe“I”in“International” 1998:AUGIintheSoftware 1999:CompleteBudgetControl 2000:Bigness 2001:DamageControl 2002:WhereWe’veBeen,WhereWe’reGoing 2003:ReachingOut 2004:BuildingCommunityTogether 2005:AChangeinWorkflow 2006:ConnectingtheDots 2007:OutwardAppearances 2008:AChangeinManagement 2009:HoldingDowntheFort 2010:CelebratingTwentyYears OrganizationandBylaws ExecutiveTeam BoardofDirectors Nominations ElectionsandVoting MeetingsandMinutes FrequentlyAskedQuestions StandingCommittees OurTeam PromotionalMaterials Autodesk Other Sponsors Benefactors Advertising WhatisAUGIWorld? EditorialCalendar Distribution WhatisHotNews? EditorialContent Distribution Whatiswww.AUGI.com? www.AUGI.comContent Distribution WhatisAUGIBulletin? Distribution AdvertisingMaterials-Digital MembershipDemographics MediaKit TermsofService PrivacyPolicy Sitemap Contact Home Articles SettingupSystemVariablesforSuccessinAutoCAD SamLucido [email protected] Author:SamLucidoisaCADServicesManagerwithHaleyandAldrich,Inc.Hehasmorethan25yearsofexperienceinvolvingdesign,usersupport,andcustomization.SamisprofessionallycertifiedinAutoCAD2011-2014andisafrequentspeakeratAutodeskUniversity.HeuseshisvastknowledgeaboutAutoCADtohelpprovidesupporttoengineeringanddesignteamswithmonthlytipsheetsandWebExtraining.YoucanfindSamatCADProTips.comandhecanalsobereachedat. AppearsintheseCategories SoftwareProducts AutoCADPlatform Back June11th,2022 SettingupSystemVariablesforSuccessinAutoCAD INTRODUCTION Haveyoueverstartedworkinginadrawingandsomecommandsappeartohavestoppedworkingorfunctioninadifferentwaythanbefore?AsadesignsystemsadminIhelpsolveproblemsforuserswhileworkingondesignprojects.Manytimes,theanswercomesdowntoasystemvariablethathaschanged.Thiscouldhavehappenedbystartingadifferentcommand,newworkflow,orloadinganapporlispfileintoyourproject.Systemvariablescanbethekeytosuccesswhenunderstandingandcontrollingthebehaviorofthesemodifiers. OVERVIEW SystemvariablesinAutoCADarevaluesthatcontrolcommandsettings,interfacebehavior,anduseroptions.SomesystemvariablesarestoredwithinthedrawingfilewhileothersarestoredintheWindowsregistry.InthisarticleyouwilllearnhowtoredefineimportantsystemvariablestomaximizeyourefficiencyusingAutoCAD.AftergaininganunderstandingwewillreviewtheSystemVariableMonitorandSystemVariableEditortohelpusmanageandmaintainastandardapproachtoyoursoftwareworkflow. ACCESSINGTHESYSTEMVARIABLELIST Thereareacouplewaystoaccessthesystemvariablelist.AtthecommandprompttypeSETVARandselectentertwice.InthetextwindowyouwillseeallthesystemvariableswithinyoursessionofAutoCADasshowninFigure1.SelectF2ifthetextwindowdoesnotappear. Figure1:SETVARdialogbox Thesecondandmostpreferredwayisontheexpresstoolstaboftheribbonunderthetoolspanel,selectSystemvariablesasshowninFigure2. Figure2:ExpressTools Adialogboxwillappear(Figure3)givingyoualistofsystemvariableswhereyoucangothroughandchangevaluesaswellasreadupontheactionstakenbymakingchanges. Figure3:SystemVariableDialogBox Withinthiswindowyoucantypethevariableyouarelookingfor. Thesecondareaiswhereyoucanseeifthevariablecanbechange,isreadonly,andwhereitissavedin. Thethirdareaiswhereyoucangaininformationaboutthedifferentsettingsandhowtheyaffectyourdrawingenvironment. REVIEWINGSYSTEMVARIABLES AlthoughwecannotcoverallthesystemvariablesinAutoCAD,wewillfocusonthoseyoucanchangeandthatcanalterthewayyouwork.Wewillnavigatealphabeticallythroughalistof20. APERTURE Aperturecontrolshowcloselythecrosshairsmustbetoanobjectbeforethesnapmarkerappears.Youcansetthisvaluebetween1and50pixels.Thedefaultvalueasshownbelowis10. ATTIPEDIT Thisvariablecontrolshowattributesareselectedwithintheattributedialogbox.Youcanalsoaccessembeddedattributesbyholdingdownthectrlkeythenselectingtheattribute.Thiswilllaunchtheattipeditcommand. Figure4:ControlKey EXPERT TheExpertvariablewillsuppresstheoperationinquestionisperformedasthoughyouenteredyattheprompt.Note:SettingEXPERTcanaffectscripts,menumacros,AutoLISP,andthecommandfunctions.Thefollowingsettingsaretakendirectlyfromtheknowledgebasearticle. 0-Issuesallpromptsnormally. 1-Suppresses"Abouttoregen,proceed?"and"Reallywanttoturnthecurrentlayeroff?" 2-Suppressestheprecedingpromptsand"Blockalreadydefined.Redefineit?"(-BLOCK)and"Adrawingwiththisnamealreadyexists.Overwriteit?"(SAVEorWBLOCK). 3-SuppressestheprecedingpromptsandthoseissuedbytheLINETYPECommandprompt(-LINETYPE)ifyoutrytoloadalinetypethat'salreadyloadedorcreateanewlinetypeinafilethatalreadydefinesthatlinetype. 4-SuppressestheprecedingpromptsandthoseissuedbyUCSSaveandVPORTSSaveifthenameyousupplyalreadyexists. 5-Suppressestheprompt,"ThatnameisalreadyinUse,redefineit?"issuedbythe-DIMSTYLESaveoptionwhenyousupplythenameofanexistingdimensionstyle. DIMMASOC Thisvariablecontrolshowdimensionobjectsarecreated.Thedefaultvalueissetto2whichcreatesanassociatedimensionobjectwhichareconnectedtothegeometryobject.Ifyousetthisvariableto0,yourdimensionswillbeexplodedandenteredassingleentitieswithinyourdrawingasshowninsteps1and2. Figure5:DimensionsExploded SELECTIONANNODISPLAY Thisvariablecontrolsthevisibilityofannotativeobjectsthatarenotcontrolledbythecurrentscale.Turningitoff(settingto0)willeliminatetheghostingeffectyoucanhaveondrawingsasshowninFigure6. Figure6:GhostingText ROLLOVERTIPS IftheROLLOVERTIPSsystemvariableissetto1andyouhoveryourcursoroveranobjectinthedrawingarea,thenatooltipwillappearwhichwillshowasmalllistoftheobjectproperties.Makethisvariable0toincreasespeedwhenworkingwithlargedrawings. Figure7:RolloverTips REMEMBERFOLDERS Thiswillrememberthefoldersofthelastplaceyouwereinwhileinsertingablock.Asimpleonoffswitchwillcontrolthissystemvariables. STATUSBAR ControlsthevisibilityofthestatusbarinthelowerrightofyourdrawingareaasshowninFigure8.Settingthevalueto0willturnoffthestatusbar. Figure8:TheStatusbar PEDITACCEPT ThedefaultvalueofPEDITACCEPTsystemvariableissetto0whichallowsPolylineEditcommandtoreturnapromptasshowninFigure9. Figure9:PEDITcommand(Y) Ifthevalueofthissystemvariableischangedto1thenthedefaultvalue“Y”willbeaccepted,andthispromptwillbesuppressed. SELECTIONPREVIEW Bydefault,thevalueofSELECTIONPREVIEWsystemvariableissetto3,whichallowsapreviewoftheobjectunderselectionwhenyouhoveryourcursorovertheobjectinthedrawing.Youcanchangethisvalueto0toavoidanyobjectselectionpreviewtherebyimprovingtheperformanceofAutoCAD. PALETTEOPAQUE Thissystemvariablecontrolsthetransparencyofpalettes,toimproveperformancekeepthetransparencyofforsetthevalueofPALETTEOPAQUEsystemvariableto1.Thedefaultvalueofthissystemvariableis0. HPLAYER Controlsthedefaultlayerwhichhatchpatternsareplacedon.ThiscanbecontrolledviatheHatchedit(HE)dialogboxaswellasshowninFigure10. Figure10:DefaultHatchLayer CURSORSIZE Determinesthesizeofthecrosshairsasapercentageofthescreensize.Validsettingsrangefrom1to100percent.Whensetto100,thecrosshairsarefull-screen,andtheendsofthecrosshairsarenevervisible.Whenlessthan100,theendsofthecrosshairsmaybevisiblewhenthecursorismovedtooneedgeofthescreen. HIGHLIGHT Thissystemvariablecontrolswhethertheselectedobjectwillbehighlightedornot.ThedefaultvalueofHIGHLIGHTsystemvariableis1whichallowsobjectstoremainhighlightedwhenselected.Youcanchangethissystemvariableto0tostophighlightingobjectswhenselected. FILEDIA ThissystemvariablecontrolswhetherdialogboxesaresuppressedinAutoCAD.Settingthisvariableto0willcauseallthecommandstobeshownonthecommandlineandnotviaadialogbox(Figure11).Always,remembertolookatthecommandlineasthisvariablecanchangewithappsandlispfilesusedinAutoCAD. Figure11:NoDialogBoxes MIRRTEXT Thissystemvariablecontrolshowmirrorreflectsatextobject.Settingthisvariableto0willforcethetexttoretainitscurrentdirectionandnotbemirroredalongwiththeobjectsselected. XFADCTRL Controlstheamountoffadingwithinareferencebeingeditedinplace.Thissettingaffectsonlytheobjectsthatarenotbeingeditedinthereference.Validvaluesarefrom0to90. LAYOUTTAB   TogglesthevisibilityoftheModelandLayouttabs.Whenthisissetto0;Modelandlayouttabsarehidden.Settingto1willdisplayModelandlayouttabsasshowninFigure12 Figure12:Layout1and2Tabs STARTMODE StartmodewilldeterminewhetheryouwantthestarttabtoshowupornotwhenyoulaunchAutoCAD.Somemoreexperiencedusersturnthisoffbutdon’tdosorightaway.Thereisalotofgreatinformationonthestarttabincludingrecentfilesandlearningcontent.SeeFigure13foralistofgreatinformationthatcanbeprovidedfromthestarttab. 1.RecentDrawingfiles. 2.AutodeskDocs–DirectconnectiontoBIM360 3.LearningMaterial 4.MyInsights 5.OnlineHelpMenus 6.Announcements(Haveyoutriedseries). 7.SendfeedbacktoAutodesk Figure13:TheStartTab SYSTEMVARIABLEMONITOR TheSystemVariableMonitorisdesignedtocontainalistofAutoCADsystemvariablesandprovideaccesstoviewandchangethedefaultvaluesasneeded.YoucanaccessthesystemvariablemonitorbytypingSYSVARMONITORatthecommandpromptorrightclickingonthestatusbarasshowninFigure14andselectConfigureSystemVariableMonitor. Figure14:SystemVariableMonitorStatusBar Clickonthe“EditList”buttonwithinthemainwindowandanewdialogwillopen(Figure15).Scrollthroughtheavailablesystemvariablesintheleftwindowpaneorbegintypingavariablenameinthesearchfield.Selectthevariablethenclickontherightarrowtomovethemtothemonitoredsystemvariablesintherightpane.Youcanalsoremovevariablesbyreversingthisstep.Whendoneclickon“OK” Figure15:SystemVariableMonitorDialogBox CONCLUSION Ifyouwanttolearnmoreaboutsystemvariablesandhowtheycanaffectyourdrawings,thenlookformyclassatAutodeskUniversity2022named“SystemVariablesExplained”inNewOrleans.Inthisclasswewillreviewover50systemvariablesthatcandirectlyaffectthewayyouworkinanegativeorpositiveway.Atthetimeofwritingthisarticlethevotingwillbeunderwayandwewillnotknowiftheclasswasselectedornot.EitherwaywewillcontinuetoinvestigatesystemvariablesinAutoCADandhowtheycanaffectyourworkflow. SamLucido [email protected] Author:SamLucidoisaCADServicesManagerwithHaleyandAldrich,Inc.Hehasmorethan25yearsofexperienceinvolvingdesign,usersupport,andcustomization.SamisprofessionallycertifiedinAutoCAD2011-2014andisafrequentspeakeratAutodeskUniversity.HeuseshisvastknowledgeaboutAutoCADtohelpprovidesupporttoengineeringanddesignteamswithmonthlytipsheetsandWebExtraining.YoucanfindSamatCADProTips.comandhecanalsobereachedat. AppearsintheseCategories SoftwareProducts AutoCADPlatform Back