Those of you who applied Update 1 for AutoCAD 2011 or AutoCAD LT 2011 now have a hotfix available to remedy a serious issue introduced by the original iteration of Update 1. The issue occurs when the Layer Manager is open when the Plot, Render, Orbit, or Autosave commands are running. Modifying any layer properties at that time can cause AutoCAD to become unstable. Be sure to read the readme file before installing the hotfix. Remember that you don’t need the hotfix if you haven’t installed Update 1 for AutoCAD 2011.

AutoCAD 2010 and later launches the Xref palette whenever you open a drawing that contains a missing xref. If you don’t want this level of service, set the XREFNOTIFY system variable to 0.

When you work with blocks, a little advance planning can eliminate major headaches down the road. Before you create a block, determine its unique name (something as descriptive as possible and in keeping with your existing naming conventions) and insertion point. If you want any of the entities in your block to retain the properties you assign to them initially, put them on any layer besides Layer 0 and make sure that the properties you want to retain are not set to Byblock or Bylayer.

Caption: Specify the value of any property you want to keep constant throughout all insertions of the block. Also place the entity somewhere other than Layer 0.

If you want any block entities to inherit their properties from the layer on which they are inserted, put them on Layer 0 and make sure the object properties are set to Bylayer.

Caption: Place entities on Layer 0 and set their properties to Bylayer if you want them to take on the properties of the layer on which you insert the block.

If you want to be able to change the properties for a specific block, put the entities on any layer and make sure the properties you want to change are set to Byblock.

Caption: Set any property you want to be able to change for a specific instance of your block to Byblock.

AutoCAD 2009 introduced a spiffy new look for AutoCAD. The big red “A” at the upper left of the program window is more than decorative, however. It’s the icon for a new feature called the Menu Browser.  

Caption: The big red “A” displays the Menu Browser in AutoCAD 2009 and up.

The Menu Browser is meant to replace the menus that in prior releases ran across the top of the AutoCAD window. When you click on the Menu Browser, you see the menus in a vertical list. When you select a menu, the Menu Browser expands to show the commands in that menu. You can then select your desired command.

Caption: The Menu Browser is the new home for AutoCAD’s menus (left panel). Select a menu to see its commands.

Note the search box at the top right of the Menu Browser. This allows you to search the CUI (Customization User Interface) to quickly find commands. As you type your search term, any CUI item that contains it will appear in the Menu Browser. For example, if you type “line,” the Menu Browser will display Line, Linetype, Multiline, and so forth. Simply click on the appropriate item to launch the command.

The items at bottom left in the Menu Browser allow you to view recent or open drawings.

Caption: Select Open Documents to view thumbnail images of all open documents.

The items at bottom left in the Menu Browser allow you to view recent or open drawings. You can also view recent actions you’ve selected, then select one to repeat it, if needed.

Caption: Right-click in the menu browser to access additional options. Here the menu allows you to open, partial open, or pin a document that appears when you select the Recent Documents option.

One final note: The big red “A” also stands for Abort— just double-click on the “A” to shut down AutoCAD.

Autodesk plans to release a 64-bit version of AutoCAD 2011 for Mac OS X. Mac support was last seen in AutoCAD Release 12 (circa 1992–1995). AutoCAD for the Mac is expected to be available this fall in North America and Europe. Suggested retail price is $3,995, the same as for the PC version of AutoCAD. The educational version will be provided free of charge to students and educators.

Autodesk also plans to release a free app for mobile devices such as the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. The app will let you view, annotate, and exchange DWG files. You can move, rotate, and scale objects, as well as draw basic shapes and measure distances.