Autodesk has issued Update 1 for AutoCAD 2010 to fix incompatibility with the Windows DFS (Distributed File System). Though Autodesk doesn’t officially support DFS for AutoCAD, the two worked together amicably in the past. DFS allows Windows servers to organize multiple distributed folders into a single folder for easy access.

AutoCAD 2010, however, can’t open a DFS folder from the File Navigation dialog box. This issue is fixed by Update 1 for AutoCAD 2010. Note that if you are using AutoCAD LT 2010 or an AutoCAD-based vertical product, you should look for Update 1 for your particular product. It will include the AutoCAD update.

A second, unresolved problem affects DFS on AutoCAD 2010, mainly when run on Vista SP2 and Windows 7. That problem is the inability to double-click folders on a DFS share to open them. The workaround is to use the Open button instead.

Caption: Autodesk’s suggested workaround for DFS double-click dysfunction.

The PREVIEWFILTER system variable can make it easier and quicker to select objects by excluding certain objects from selection previewing. Values for PREVIEWFILTER are as follows. Add the values together to exclude multiple object types.

0 = Excludes nothing

1 = Excludes objects on locked layers. Default setting has this option on.

2 = Excludes objects in xrefs. Default setting has this option on.

4 = Excludes tables. Default setting has this option on.

8 = Excludes multiline text objects. Off by default.

16 = Excludes hatch objects. Off by default.

32 = Excludes objects in groups. Off by default.

We’ve previously discussed the basics of creating dynamic blocks, including the need (for the most part) to add actions to parameters. When you add an action, you are prompted to select objects to create a selection set on which the action will operate. This selection set can include not only block geometry, but also parameters. For example, you may have a plate with a linear parameter and a stretch action so you can make it wider. The plate has a drill hole that you want to be able to move independently (so you’ve assigned it a Point parameter and a Move action). But you also might want it to move to the right when you stretch the plate to the right. To do this, you would include the hole and its point parameter in the selection set for the plate’s Stretch action. That means you must create the Point parameter for the hole before you create the Stretch action. When you want to include another object in an action that has a parameter of its own, you should create the parameters first, before adding the first action.

Another example of a case where you might want to include an additional parameter in an action’s selection set is when you’ve set a Base parameter. You use the Base parameter when you want the base point of the block to remain in the same position in relation to the block—for example, always in the lower-left corner of your plate. If an action, such as Move or Stretch, could move that corner, you will want to include the Base parameter in the selection set for that action. The Base parameter is included in addition to whatever parameter you assign for that action.

Distance multipliers and angle offsets are action overrides. Both let you specify a factor by which a dynamic block’s parameter value is increased or decreased when the parameter is manipulated during a block insertion.

Suppose your block features a component that needs to remain centered when you stretch the entire block—for example, a rectangle that comes in several different sizes but always has the hole centered in the middle. To keep a component centered, you apply a distance multiplier of 0.5, so that the component will always move half the distance of the rest of the block.

For example, you might apply a Stretch action to change the size (a Linear parameter) of your rectangle. You would then attach a Move action to the same Linear parameter as well as to the central hole, with a distance multiplier of 0.5.

To create the distance multiplier, you add your action as usual (in our example, the Move action). After you are prompted to select objects, you will see a prompt to Specify Action Location or [Multiplier/Offset]. Select the Multiplier option and specify the distance multiplier. You can also select an action and change the multiplier in the Properties palette.

Caption: Setting a distance multiplier.

The angle offset lets you increase or decrease the angle of a parameter by a specified amount. With an angle offset of 45 applied to a Move action, for example, the block would move 45 degrees beyond the angle value specified when you moved the block’s grip.

When you need to jam dimensions into a tight space, you can specify your preferences in the Fit tab of the Dimension Style dialog box. If you use layouts, you can choose to Scale dimensions to layout in the Scale for Dimension Features section of the Fit tab. AutoCAD will automatically scale all dimensions. If you don’t use layouts, you can assign an overall scale for all dimension properties such as arrow size and text height.

Caption: Dimension Style Fit tab options.

The Text Placement section governs what happens when the dimension text does not fit between the extension lines. Your choices are to place the dimension text beside the line or over the line with or without a leader. The Fit section governs what happens if there’s not enough room for both text and arrows inside the extension lines. Here you can specify that the arrows move outside first, the text moves outside first, both text and arrows move, or either text or arrows move, depending on which produces the best fit.

Caption: Arrows and text move outside the lines.
You can also opt to always keep text inside the extension lines and to suppress arrows if they don’t fit inside.

Caption: Keeping everything between the lines regardless of whether it fits or not is an option.
The Fine Tuning section provides the options to place text manually and to draw the dimension line between the extension lines.

To temporarily disable the viewport overrides, you can use the VPLAYEROVERRIDESMODE system variable (just try typing that at the command line). A value of 0 makes all layers in all viewports display with their global properties. A value of 1 makes all layers in all viewports display using any layer property overrides.

Note: When VPLAYEROVERRIDESMODE is set to 0, you can still apply property overrides.