| > Patches and Updates | |
Autodesk released Service Pack 3 for AutoCAD Mechanical 2009. The patch includes Service Pack 3 for AutoCAD 2009 and also addresses issues specific to AutoCAD Mechanical 2009, such as fatal errors that occur when:
Read the Readme file for a full list of flaws that are fixed by the patch. Before installing the patch, back up all custom files and make sure you have administrative privileges. Note: If you are installing the patch on a system running Windows Vista, do not select Automatically close applications and attempt to restart them after setup is complete. Instead, manually close AutoCAD Mechanical 2009 before installing the patch. Also restart Windows after the patch is installed. |
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| > Virus from China | |
The Webroot Threat Blog reports that an adware trojan is using AutoCAD as a delivery vehicle for installing browser helper objects that make Internet Explorer display popup ads. If AutoCAD is installed on a system, the trojan downloads an ObjectARX application and modifies the AutoLISP startup files to load that application when AutoCAD starts. Once the ARX application loads, it modifies the system to allow advertisements to appear when results from certain Chinese search engines are viewed and when the system’s time zone matches Beijing’s. Though you are likely not affected by this particular trojan, it does serve as a reminder to be careful about Web sites you visit and what you download. It’s a good idea to keep your antivirus software updated, though it might not do you much good in this instance because not many check for ARX applications. If you think you may have this virus, check your AutoLISP startup files (check your Help file to determine the file names for your particular version of AutoCAD). You can open these files with a text editor such as Notepad. Look for any unfamiliar (arxload) statements. Webroot notes that the trojan is designed to shut down the system if any of its components are tampered with; it may take a few sweeps of antivirus software that can detect the trojan to eliminate it. |
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| > Copybase Catastrophe | |
Autodesk reports that AutoCAD 2010 may crash with a fatal error when you use the Copybase command when dynamic input is turned on and you select an active grip point as the base point. The suggested workaround is to turn off Dynamic Input by setting the DYNMODE system variable to zero. |
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| > Speeding Up AutoCAD 2009 | |
A common complaint about AutoCAD 2009 is that it seems slower than previous versions—there is often a pause before it responds to user input. Here are some things to try to speed up AutoCAD 2009 performance. Make sure you are up to date on AutoCAD 2009 Service Packs. Turn off Quick Properties. Make sure all paths specified in the Options dialog box File Locations tab actually exist. AutoCAD can spin its wheels trying to follow a path that goes nowhere. Minimizing network paths may also speed things up. Turn off Rollover Tooltips by selecting Options from the Tools menu. On the Display tab, uncheck Rollover Tooltips. The Layer palette slows down many operations, particularly in drawings with viewports and when switching between drawings. Use the Classiclayer command or set LAYERDLGMODE to 0 to restore the Layer command behavior found in previous versions of AutoCAD. The more palettes you have floating around, the more likely you are to encounter sluggish response. Auto-hiding the palettes may not help, so your best bet is to turn them off. If you do keep some open, make sure they don’t overlap or touch the drawing window. Performance is reported to be better on Windows Vista. If you’re using two monitors, keep the command line on the same screen as your drawing window. Or use Dynamic Input and do away with the command line entirely. Note that if you do turn off the command line, dock it first, then hover your cursor over the left side and click on the X that appears. |
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| > Five Favorite Keyboard Shortcuts | |
It is said that the most popular keyboard shortcut is Ctrl+Z, for undo. Here are a few more that you might want to add to your list of favorites (if you aren’t using them already). Note that these are the out-of-the-box shortcuts. If you’ve customized your shortcuts, these may no longer work. Ctrl+A: Selects all objects in the drawing. Ctrl+J: Executes last command. A close corollary is Ctrl+Y, which repeats the last action. Much quicker than re-entering what you just picked or typed. Ctrl+R: Cycles layout viewports. A big help when you have lots of tabs. Ctrl+B: Toggles Osnap on and off. Ctrl+G: Toggles the grid on and off. Sometimes the grid is a great help, but other times it just clutters things up. |
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| > Disable Dynamic Block Editing | |
If you don’t want anyone messing around with your dynamic blocks, you may be tempted to turn block editing off by setting the BLOCKEDITLOCK system variable to 1. With that setting, the Reference Edit dialog box opens when someone double-clicks on the dynamic block. If the block contains attributes, the Enhanced Attribute Editor opens. When the setting is 0 (zero), double-clicking a dynamic block brings up the Block Editor.
Note, however, that when you edit a dynamic block using Refedit, the block may lose its built-in properties. AutoCAD displays this warning when you try to use Refedit on a dynamic block.
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