On some computers that are using a Windows 7 Aero desktop theme, AutoCAD 2010 may lock up when you are trying to navigate to a file in a dialog box—for example, File Open or Xref. To fix the problem, change your desktop theme. Right-click on the Desktop background and select Personalize from the shortcut menu that appears. Choose a new look from the Basic and High-Contrast Themes list.

When uninstalling AutoCAD or a related product in Windows 7, you may encounter a warning that Windows Explorer is in use and needs to be closed. Note that it promises to restart the program once setup is complete.

Caption: Windows Explorer warning.

You can quickly display any toolbar by right-clicking in the empty space outside any open toolbar. A shortcut menu will appear. Select the type of toolbar, then the specific toolbar. This is particularly useful for bringing up the Express Tools toolbars, which you most likely don’t want to keep open all the time. Select Express, then the toolbar you want.

Caption: Right-click in the empty space near any toolbar to get quick access to Express Tools toolbars.

DesignCenter has several handy features that can help you track down stray drawings. Select DesignCenter on the Tools / Palettes menu. The <Ctrl>+2 key combination also launches the Design Center. Its Search feature lets you search for blocks, dimension styles, drawings, hatch patterns, layers, layouts, linetypes, table styles, text styles, and xrefs. Select the magnifying glass button in the DesignCenter toolbar.

Caption: The magnifying glass icon displays the DesignCenter search feature.

Use the Look For pull-down list to specify what you want to search for. Next, specify what drive to search. Uncheck the Search subfolders box if you don’t want to search all folders and subfolders on that drive.

Caption: Select what you want to search for in the Look For pull-down list.

The Search dialog box contains three tabs that let you specify the search criteria. On the Drawings tab you can enter a filename, title, subject, author, or keywords, along with the text to search for. You can use the * (any number of characters) and ? (any one character) wildcards in your text string.

Caption: Drawings tab.

The Date Modified tab lets you search according to the last date the file was saved or modified. Specify either a range of dates or a certain number of previous days or months.

Caption: Date Modified tab.

The Advanced tab searches text in drawing descriptions, block names, attribute values, and attribute tags. Searching by drawing size is another option provided on this tab.

Caption: Advanced tab.

The previous tip notes that you can search by drawing title, subject, author, or keywords. These are all specified in the Properties dialog box, which you can access by selecting Drawing Properties from the File menu. Summary tab you can enter information (metadata) about your drawing that can be viewed in Windows Explorer by people who don’t have a copy of AutoCAD.

Caption: The Summary tab of the Properties dialog box.

You can also enter comments and create custom properties, if those in the Summary tab fail to meet your needs. Note that the Express Tool Propulate (best Express Tool name ever!) lets you automatically create or update Property information for one or many drawings.

Caption: You can add your own custom properties on the Custom tab.

Now that there’s a new version of AutoCAD afoot, let’s review some of the common approaches to upgrading.

Upgrade only on the even numbers. Some may dismiss this belief as merely a lingering aftereffect of the nightmare that was Release 13, but a case can be made that the odd-numbered releases tend to be more disruptive, while the even releases fix the features introduced in the odd ones. A thoroughly unscientific count of Service Packs/Updates for the last few releases supports this:

• AutoCAD 2007          2 Service Packs
• AutoCAD 2008          1 Service Pack
• AutoCAD 2009          3 Updates
• AutoCAD 2010          1 Update

Even if this pattern did not hold true, skipping every other release makes sense if you aren’t in desperate need of any of the new features in the most recent release. You’ll have more time to test new releases and roll them out in an orderly manner. If you try to stay current with each new release, you may find you have little time left for anything besides upgrading and troubleshooting.

Don’t upgrade until the first Service Pack comes out. With a product on an annual release cycle, the early adopters are basically the beta testers. By waiting for the first Service Pack, you are assured that many, if not most, of the significant bugs have been addressed. You’ll also be able to assess the quality and stability of the release by following the discussion in various Internet forums.

Don’t upgrade until the next release comes out. By staying one release behind, the thinking goes, you’ll get the full benefit of those who have gone before you.

Don’t upgrade. As long as you can get the work done and keep your customers satisfied, there’s no reason to go through the headaches of upgrading. Experience with using the product more than makes up for any productivity lost by not having the latest and greatest features. Once Autodesk retires your version, you will have to pay full price if you do want to upgrade someday, but if you hold on to your old release long enough, you’ll end up ahead.

Good reasons to upgrade:
You’d benefit greatly from a feature in the new release.

Your current release will be retired within the next year, meaning you’ll have to buy a new license if you want to upgrade after that.

Your best customers have all upgraded and expect you to do so.

Bad reasons to upgrade:
You get the new release automatically because you’re on subscription. Just because you get it doesn’t mean you need to install it.