Adding the Final Detail

Adding the Final Detail
If you’re working through the tutorial, your final task is to set up an insertion point for the current
drawing, to facilitate its insertion into other drawings in the future. Follow these steps:
1. Type Base↵.
2. At the Enter base point <0´-0˝,0´-0˝,0´-0˝>: prompt, pick the upper-left corner of the
bathroom. The bathroom drawing is complete.
3. Choose File  Save to record your work up to now.
Controlling Lineweights
You may have noticed a Lineweight column in the Layer Properties Manager dialog box. If you click
this option for a given layer, the Lineweight dialog box opens, where you can control the plotted thickness
of your lines. Plotted lineweights can also be set through direct object property assignment. You
can view lineweights as they will appear in your final plot by making setting changes in the Lineweights
Settings dialog box, which you’ll learn about in Chapter 16.
With the Lineweight option and Lineweight Settings dialog box, you have greater control over
the look of your drawings. This can save time because you don’t have to print your drawing just to
check for lineweights. You’ll be able to see how thick or thin your lines are as you edit your drawing.
You’ll get a chance to delve into lineweights in Chapter 16.
Keeping Track of Blocks and Layers
The Insert and Layer Properties Manager dialog boxes let you view the blocks and layers available
in your drawing by listing them in a window. The Layer Properties Manager dialog box also
includes information about the status of layers. However, you may forget the layer on which an
object resides. You’ve seen how the Properties option on the shortcut menu shows you the properties
of an object. The List option in the Tools  Inquiry menu also enables you to get information
about individual objects.
Use these steps to see an alternate way to view the properties of a block:
1. Choose Tools  Inquiry  List from the menu bar.
TIP If you just want to quickly check which layer an object is on, click it. Its layer will appear in the
Layer list of the Layers control panel.
2. At the Select objects: prompt, click the Tub block, and then press ↵ to open the
AutoCAD Text Window.
3. In the AutoCAD Text Window, a listing appears that shows not only the layer the tub is on,
but also its space, insertion point, name, rotation angle, and scale.
The information in the Text Window, except the handle listing, is duplicated in the Properties
palette you see when you right-click and choose Properties. But having the data in the AutoCAD
Text Window gives you the flexibility to record the data in a text file, in case you need to store data
about parts of your drawing. You can also use the AutoCAD Text Window to access and store other
types of data regarding your drawings.
TIP The Space property listed for the Tub block designates whether the object resides in Model
Space or Paper Space. You’ll learn more about these spaces in Chapters 8 and 16.