AUTO CAD 2013

About the author _
Akif Hossain is a student of National Gems Higher
Secondary School in Kolkata, India. The book was written
at the age of 15 when he was in class 10. He is an indeed
writer on the internet. You can get many other technology
e-books at internet. The e-books are best of all.

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AUTO CAD 2013


AutoCAD(R) is a proffessional drafting system designed with an open
architecture so you can customize and extend its many features. As a result, you
can expand and shape AutoCAD according to your needs.
AutoCAD can be customized in simple ways. For example, you can change the
directory structure or create a custom title block to use on a layout. If you want
to change the interface further, you can edit the Tool Sets palette or menu bar,
and use DIESEL statements to create custom commands.
You can also use a number of powerful application programming interfaces
(APIs) to add to and modify AutoCAD to suit your needs.
The list that follows is arranged from least to most complex:
Organize files. You can organize program, support, and drawing files. For
example, you can make a separate folder for each project that includes only

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the support files that project needs.
Create custom drawing templates (DWTs). You can create custom
drawing templates to use when creating a new drawing. Drawing templates
are used to store the layers, blocks, and styles that you might use across all
your drawings.
Run external programs and utilities from within AutoCAD. You
can, for example, copy a disk or delete a file from within AutoCAD by adding
the appropriate external command to the program parameters (PGP) file,
acad.pgp.
Define command aliases. You can define simple abbreviations, or aliases,
for frequently used commands from within AutoCAD by adding the
command to the PGP file acad.pgp. For example, you might want to start
the BLOCK command by entering b.
Create custom linetypes, hatch patterns, shapes, and text fonts.
You can create linetypes, hatch patterns, shapes, and text fonts that
conform to your company standards and working methods.
Customize the user interface. You can control many aspects of the
user interface, including the functionality and appearance of the Tool Sets

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palette and menu bar. You use the CUI command to create and edit
commands, and assign them to a menu on the menu bar or a tab on the
Tool Sets palette.
Customize the status line. You can toggle the display of the controls
on the status bar. Right-click an empty area of the status bar and choose
which controls to turn on or off.
Automate repetitive tasks by writing scripts. A script is an ASCII
text file containing commands that are processed like a batch file when
you run the script. For example, if a set of drawings needs to be plotted a
certain way, you can write a script that opens each drawing, hides and
displays various layers, and issues PLOT commands.
Redefine or disable selected AutoCAD commands, either at the
command prompt or as part of an AutoLISP or ObjectARX(R)
program. You can redefine certain AutoCAD commands to issue
supplementary messages and instructions or, for example, to create a
drawing management system in which the QUIT command is redefined
to write billing information to a log file before ending the editing session.

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Overview of File Organization
AutoCAD uses support files for purposes such as storing customization
definitions, loading AutoLISP and ObjectARX applications, and describing
text fonts.
The default directory structure for the AutoCAD program and support files is
designed to efficiently organize those files into logical groups. If this
organization does not suit your needs, you can change it. However, some
applications look for certain files in specific locations, and you should verify
that your modifications do not conflict with the requirements of those
applications. Without the full path, including drive and directory, AutoCAD
can locate only those files that are found in the library search path.
The location of local customizable files is stored in the LOCALROOTPREFIX
system variable. The location of roamable customizable files is stored in the
ROAMABLEROOTPREFIX system variable. If a network supports roaming,
customizable files in the user's roaming profile are available on the machine
the user is logged onto.

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Library Search Path
The library search path specifies where the program searches for files when
you do not specify a full path name, as follows:
Current directory.
Directory that contains the current drawing file.
Directories listed in the search path specified on the Applications tab in
OPTIONS. (See Specify Search Paths and File Locations in the User's Guide.)
Directory that contains the AutoCAD program files.
Depending on the current environment, two or more directories may be the
same.
If a file is not in this search path, you must specify both its path name and
file name before AutoCAD can find it. For example, if you want to insert the
part5.dwg drawing into your current drawing and it is not in the library search
path, you must specify its full path name, as shown here:
Command: insert
Enter block name or [?]: /files2/olddwgs/part5
If the drawing exists in that location, AutoCAD prompts you to finish the
INSERT command in the usual manner.

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Command Search Procedure
When you enter a command, AutoCAD goes through a series of steps to
evaluate the validity of the command name. A command can be a built-in
command or system variable, an external command or alias defined in the
acad.pgp file, or a user-defined AutoLISP command. Commands can also be
defined by ObjectARX applications or a device driver command. You can enter
a command on the command prompt or choose a command from the
appropriate menu. Commands can also be entered from a script file or by an
AutoLISP or ObjectARX application.
The following list describes the search order AutoCAD uses to validate a
command name.
1 If the input is a null response (Spacebar or Enter), AutoCAD uses the
name of the last command issued.
2 AutoCAD checks the command name against the list of built-in
commands. If the command is in the list and is not preceded by a period
(.), AutoCAD then checks the command against a list of undefined
commands. If the command is undefined, the search continues.

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Otherwise, the command is run, unless another reason prevents it from doing so.
Running it transparently or in Perspective mode might be impossible.
3 AutoCAD checks the command name against the names of commands
defined by a device driver, and then by those defined by the display
driver.
4 AutoCAD checks the command name against the external commands
defined in the program parameters file (acad.pgp). If the command name
corresponds to a defined external command, that command runs, and
the search is complete.
5 AutoCAD checks the command name against the list of commands
defined by AutoLISP or ObjectARX applications. At this point, an
autoloaded command is loaded.
6 AutoCAD checks the command name against the list of system variables.
If the command name is in the list, AutoCAD executes the SETVAR
command, using the input as the variable name.
7 If the command name corresponds to a command alias defined in the
program parameters file, AutoCAD uses the expanded command name
and continues the search, starting a new search against the list of built-in

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commands.
8 If all the preceding steps fail, the search terminates with a warning
message about illegal command names.
Locate Plotter Files
The location AutoCAD looks in for custom printer settings is stored in the
Application Preferences dialog box. You can use the OPTIONS command to
locate which folder is being used to store your plot configuration files.
To locate your plotter files
1 From the Finder menu bar, click Go Applications.
2 In the Applications window, double-click Autodesk AutoCAD
2013 AutoCAD.
3 From the Mac OS menu bar, click AutoCAD Preferences.
4 In the Application Preferences dialog box, Application tab, click the
arrow to the left of Printer Support File Path.
5 Click the arrow to the left of Printer Configuration Search Path.
6 Under Printer Configuration Search Path, click the path name to view
the location of your plotter files.

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To locate your texture files
1 From the Finder menu bar, click Go Applications.
2 In the Applications window, double-click Autodesk AutoCAD
2013 AutoCAD.
3 From the Mac OS menu bar, click AutoCAD Preferences.
NOTE
A drawing must be open to see the Preferences menu item.
4 In the Application Preferences dialog box, Application tab, click the
arrow to the left of Texture Maps Search Path.
5 Under Texture Maps Search Path, click the path name to view the location
of your texture files.
Create Command Aliases
To open the program parameters file (acad.pgp)
1 From the Finder menu bar, click Go Home.
2 In the Finder window, double-click Library. Continue to navigate to
Application Support/Autodesk/Roaming/AutoCAD
2013/<version>/<language>/Support and double-click acad.pgp. If prompted
for an application to use, select TextEdit.

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