Saving a File as You Work

Saving a File as You Work
It’s a good idea to save your file periodically as you work on it. As with any Windows program, you
can save it under its original name (choose File  Save) or under a different name (choose File 
Save As), thereby creating a new file.
By default, AutoCAD automatically saves your work at 10-minute intervals under a name that
is a combination of the current filename plus a number and that ends with the .sv$ filename extension;
this is known as the Automatic Save feature. Using settings in the Options dialog box or system
variables, you can change the name of the autosaved file and control the time between autosaves.
See Chapter 3 for details.
TIP By default, in Windows XP, the Automatic Save file is stored in C:\Documents and Settings\
User Name\Local Settings\Temp\. You can find the exact location for your system by typing
Savefilepathø at the Command prompt. This file location is often set as a hidden folder, so you may
need to set up Windows Explorer to display hidden folders before you can get to the Automatic Save
file. See Appendix A for information on how to do this.
Making Changes
You’ll frequently make changes to your drawings. One of AutoCAD’s primary advantages is the
ease with which you can make changes. The following exercise shows you a typical sequence of
operations involved in changing a drawing:
1. Use the File  Save As menu option to save the current Clip.dwg file under the name
MyFirst. For convenience, you can save your files in the My Documents folder.
2. From the 2D Draw control panel, click the Erase tool (the one with a pencil eraser touching
paper). This activates the Erase command. You can also choose Modify  Erase from the
drop-down menu.
Notice that the cursor has turned into a small square; this square is called the pickbox. You
also see Select objects: in the Command window and the dynamic input display. This
message helps remind new users what to do.
3. Move the pickbox over the drawing, placing it on various parts of the clip. Don’t click anything
yet. Notice that as you hover over objects with the pickbox, they’re highlighted. This helps you
see the objects the pickbox is likely to select, should you click the left mouse button.
4. Place the pickbox on the crosshatch pattern of the clip (see Figure 1.13), and click. The crosshatch
changes in appearance from a dark highlight to a light highlight. The pickbox and the
Select objects: prompt remain, indicating that you can continue to select objects.
5. Press .. The crosshatch disappears. You’ve just erased a part of the drawing.
In this exercise, you first issued the Erase command, and then you selected an object by using a
pickbox to click it. The pickbox tells you that you must select items on the screen, and it shows you
what you’re about to select by highlighting objects as you hover over them. Once you’ve clicked an
object or a set of objects, press . to move on to the next step. This sequence of steps is common to
many of the commands you’ll work with in AutoCAD.
TIP You can also click an object or a set of objects and then press the Delete key without using the
Erase tool.



Opening Multiple Files

You can have multiple documents open at the same time in AutoCAD. This can be especially helpful
if you want to exchange parts of drawings between files or if you want another file open for
reference. Try the following exercise to see how multiple documents work in AutoCAD:
1. Choose File  New to open the Select Template dialog box.
NOTE If you see the Create New Drawing dialog box after step 1, click the Start from Scratch button
and select Imperial; then, click OK, and AutoCAD will display a default document. You’ll
learn more about the Create New Drawing dialog box in Chapter 2.
2. Make sure acad.dwt is selected, and then click Open.
3. Choose Window  Tile Vertically to get a view of both drawing files. The options in the
Window drop-down menu act just like their counterparts in other Windows programs that
allow multiple-document editing.
TIP When you create a new file in AutoCAD, you’re actually opening a copy of a template file, as
you saw in step 1. A template file is a blank file that is set up for specific drawing types. The
acad.dwt file is a generic template set up for Imperial measurements. Another template file
called acadiso.dwt is a generic template useful for metric measurements. Other templates are
set up for specific drawing-sheet sizes and measurement systems. You’ll learn more about templates
in Chapter 6.
4. Let’s see what can be done with these two files. Click in the window with the clip drawing
to make it active.
5. Choose View  Zoom  All to get an overall view of the drawing.
6. Click the 2D version of the clip at the bottom of the drawing to select it. A series of squares
and arrows appears on the drawing. These are called grips, and you’ll learn more about them
in the next chapter.
7. Click and hold the mouse button on the selected object, but avoid clicking any of the blue
squares. Also avoid dragging the object. You’ll see a small rectangle appear next to the cursor.


8. While still holding the left mouse button, drag the cursor to the new file window. When you
see the clip appear in the new drawing window, release the mouse button. You’ve just copied
part of a drawing from one file to another.
9. This ends the exercises for this chapter. Save the file and then exit AutoCAD.
NOTE You can also use the standard Windows Copy and Paste options (Edit  Copy and Edit 
Paste from the menu bar) to copy objects from one window to the other.
Now you’ve had two files open at once. You can have as many files open as you want, as long
as your computer has adequate memory to accommodate them. You can control the individual
document windows as you would any window, using the Window drop-down menu or the window
control buttons in the upper-right corner of the document window.
Adding a Predrawn Symbol with the Tool Palette
In the preceding exercise, you saw how you can easily copy an object from one file to another by
using a click-and-drag method. AutoCAD offers a Tool Palettes window that lets you click and
drag predrawn objects into your drawing.
You can open the Tool Palettes window by clicking the Tool Palettes Window tool in the Standard
Annotation toolbar. Once it’s open, you can select a tab containing the predrawn objects you
want to use and then click the specific object you want to add. The object appears at the cursor,
ready for you to select a location.



In addition to predrawn objects, the Tool palettes offer a way to quickly add fill patterns and
other components to your drawing. They’re great tools to help you manage your library of custom,
predrawn symbols. Chapter 25 shows you how to use and customize the Tool palettes.

The Bottom Line

Using the AutoCAD Window AutoCAD is a typical Windows graphics program that makes
use of menus, toolbars, and palettes. If you’ve used other graphics programs, you’ll see at least
a few familiar tools.
Master It Name the components of the AutoCAD window that let you select a function.
Solution AutoCAD offers the menu bar, toolbars, and the Dashboard to give you access to
the most common functions.
Getting a Closer Look with the Zoom Command One of the first things you’ll want to learn
is how to manipulate your views. The Zoom command is a common tool in graphics programs.
Master It Name two ways of zooming into a view.
Solution Choose View  Zoom  Window, and then click two points to define a zoom
window. Another option is to use the Realtime tool in the 2D Navigate control panel.
Saving a File as You Work Nothing is more frustrating than having a power failure cause a
loss of hours of work. It’s a good idea to save your work frequently. AutoCAD offers an
autosave feature that can be a lifesaver if you happen to forget to save your files.
Master It How often does the AutoCAD autosave feature save your drawing?
Solution Autosave saves a copy of a drawing every 10 minutes by default. This interval
can be set by the user.
Making Changes and Opening Multiple Files As with other Windows programs, you can
have multiple files open and exchange data between them.
Master It With two drawings open, how can you copy parts of one drawing into the other?
Solution Select the parts you want to copy, and click and hold on any selected part. When
you see a small rectangle appear below the cursor, drag the parts into the other drawing.
Alternately, you can use the standard Windows Copy and Paste functions.