Importing Settings

Importing Settings
In this exercise, you’ll use the Bath file as a prototype for the studio unit plan. However, you must
make a few changes to it first. After the changes are made, you’ll import the bathroom and thereby
import the layers and blocks contained in the bathroom file.
As you go through this exercise, observe how the drawings begin to evolve from simple forms
to complex, assembled forms.
Use these steps to modify the Bath file:
1. Open the Bath file. If you skipped drawing the Bath file in Chapter 5, use the file
05c-bath.dwg (or 05c-bath-metric.dwg).
2. Use the Base command and select the upper-left corner of the bathroom as the new base
point for this drawing, so you can position the Bath file more accurately.
3. Save the Bath file. If you use the online file, choose File  Save As and save it as Bath.
4. Choose File  Close to close the Bath drawing.
Next, you’ll create a new file. But this time, instead of using the Start From Scratch or Use A
Template option in the Create New Drawing dialog box, you’ll try the Use A Wizard option:
1. Choose File  New to open the Select template dialog box.
2. Locate and select the Acad.dwt template file. Metric users should locate the Acadiso.dwt
template file.
3. Click Open to open the new file.
4. If you’re using Imperial measurements, choose Format  Units; then, in the Drawing Units
dialog box, select Architectural from the Length group’s Type drop-down list, and click OK.
Metric users, use the default decimal length type.
5. Choose Format  Drawing Limits. At the Specify lower left corner or [ON/OFF]
<0.0000,0.0000>: prompt, press ↵ to accept the default drawing origin for the lowerleft
corner.
6. If you’re using Imperial measurements, enter 528,408 at the next prompt. These are the
appropriate dimensions for an 81⁄2˝ × 11˝ drawing at 1⁄4˝ = 1´-0 ˝ scale. Metric users should
enter 1485,1050. This is the work area for a 1:50 scale drawing on an A4 sheet.
7. Choose View  Zoom  All.
Let’s continue by laying out a typical studio unit. You’ll discover how importing a file also
imports a variety of drawing items such as layers and linetypes. Follow these steps:
1. Begin the unit by drawing two rectangles, one 14´ long by 24´ wide, and the other 14´ long
by 4´ wide. Metric users should make the rectangles 426 cm wide by 731 cm long and 426 cm
wide by 122 cm long. Place them as shown in Figure 6.8. The large rectangle represents the
interior of the apartment unit, and the small rectangle represents the balcony. The size and
location of the rectangles are indicated in the figure.


TIP If you used the Rectangle tool to draw the interior and balcony of the apartment unit, make
sure you use the Explode tool on the Modify toolbar to explode the rectangles. The Rectangle tool
draws a polyline rectangle instead of simple line segments, so you need to explode the rectangle
to reduce it to its component lines. You’ll learn more about polylines in Chapter 18.
2. Click the Insert Block tool on the Draw toolbar to open the Insert dialog box.
3. Click the Browse button, and locate and select the bathroom drawing by using the Select
Drawing File dialog box. Then, click Open. If you haven’t saved a Bathroom drawing from
earlier exercises, you can use 05c-bath.dwg.
TIP If you’re using the 05c-bath.dwg file, do the following: After selecting 05c-bath.dwg in
step 3, change the name that appears in the Block text box to Bath instead of 05c-bath before
you click OK in step 4. This gives the inserted file a block name of Bath, even though its originating
filename is 05c-bath.
4. Click OK in the Insert dialog box, and then click the upper-left corner of the unit’s interior
as the insertion point (see Figure 6.9). You can use the Endpoint osnap to place the bathroom
accurately. Use a scale factor of 1.0 and a rotation angle of 0°.


TIP If Running Osnaps haven’t been set up in this file, you need to use the Osnap shortcut menu
(Shift+right-click) to access the Endpoint osnap. You can set up Running Osnaps to take advantage
of AutoCAD’s AutoSnap functions by right-clicking the Osnap button in the status bar. Set
the Running Osnaps as described in Chapter 3.
5. Assign the two rectangles that you drew earlier to the Wall layer. To do this, select the two
rectangles so they’re highlighted, and then open the Layer drop-down list in the Layers toolbar
and select Wall. Press the Esc key twice to clear the selection.
TIP You can also use the Match Properties tool on the Standard toolbar to change the layer settings
of an object to those of another object in the drawing. See Chapter 7.
By inserting the bathroom, you imported the layers and blocks contained in the Bath file. You
were then able to move previously drawn objects to the imported layers. If you’re in a hurry, this can
be a quick way to duplicate layers that you know exist in another drawing. This method is similar to
using an existing drawing as a template, but it lets you start work on a drawing before deciding which
template to use.