Removing All Unused Elements

Removing All Unused Elements
In the preceding exercise, you selected a single block for removal from the Lobby file. If you want
to clear all the unused elements from a file at once, you can click the Purge All button at the bottom
of the Purge dialog box (see Figure 6.24).
Here are the steps:
1. Choose File  Drawing Utilities  Purge to open the Purge dialog box.
2. Click the Purge Nested Items check box to turn on this option.
3. Click Purge All to open the Confirm Purge dialog box, which asks whether you want to
purge a block.
4. Click Yes. The Confirm Purge dialog box displays the name of another block, asking you to
confirm the purge. You can continue to click Yes, and AutoCAD will display the Confirm
Purge dialog box for each unused element still in the drawing.
5. Click the Yes To All option to purge everything at once. The Confirm Purge dialog box closes.
6. In the Purge dialog box, click Close.
7. Close and save the Lobby file, and exit AutoCAD.
The Lobby file is now trimmed down to the essential data it needs and nothing else. You may
have noticed that when you returned to the Purge dialog box in step 6, the items in the list
box no longer showed plus signs. This indicates that there are no longer any unused items in
the drawing.
In this last exercise, you used the Purge Nested Items option at the bottom of the dialog box. The
Purge Nested Items option automatically purges unused blocks, including those nested within
other blocks. If this option isn’t checked, you might have to repeat the Purge operation to remove
all unused elements in a drawing.

The Bottom Line
Creating and Using Templates If you find that you’re using the same settings when you create
a new drawing file, you can set up an existing file the way you like and save it as a template. You
can then use your saved template for any new drawings you create.
Master It Describe the method for saving a file as a template.
Solution After setting up a blank drawing with the settings you use most frequently,
choose File  Save As. In the Save Drawing As dialog box, choose AutoCAD Drawing Template
from the Files Of Type drop-down list. Give your template file a descriptive name, and
click Save.
Copying an Object Multiple Times Many tools in AutoCAD allow you to create multiple
copies. The Array command offers a way to create circular copies or row and column copies.
Master It What name is given to the two types of arrays in the Array dialog box?
Solution Rectangular and Polar.
Developing Your Drawing When laying down simple line work, you’ll use a few tools frequently.
The exercises in the early part of this book showed you some of these commonly used tools.
Master It What tool can you use to join two lines end to end?
Solution Fillet.
Finding an Exact Distance along a Curve AutoCAD offers some tools that allow you to find
an exact distance along a curve.
Master It Name the two tools you can use to mark off exact distances along a curve.
Solution Point and Measure.