Autodesk AutoCAD 2011 User guide

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AutoCAD2011PreviewGuide

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PoweryourdesignprojectsfromconceptthroughcompletionwithAutoCAD

2011software.Yourideascan

takeshapewithgreaterclarityandaccuracythaneverbefore,thankstonewsurfacemodelingtoolsandpoint

cloudsupport.Newinferredconstraintscapabilitiesmakeworkingwithparametricseasier,andupdated

productivitytoolshelpyoudeliverfinaldesigndocumentationfasterthanever.Andmajorupdatesto

materialsandsurfaceshelpyoucommunicatedesignintentwiththeimpactyoudemand.Withtheseand

manyothernewcapabilitiesyou’vebeenaskingfor,AutoCAD2011helpsyoutakedesignanddocumentation

further.

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TableofContents

UserInterface...............................................................................................................................................4

DrawingWindow....................................................................................................................................4

QuickAccessToolbar..............................................................................................................................4

Navigation..............................................................................................................................................5

UCSIconand3DGizmos........................................................................................................................6

TheRibbon..............................................................................................................................................7

VisualStyles............................................................................................................................................9

ObjectVisibility.......................................................................................................................................9

ObjectSelection...................................................................................................................................10

ObjectCreation....................................................................................................................................13

ActionRecorder....................................................................................................................................13

Document...................................................................................................................................................14

ParametricConstraints.........................................................................................................................14

GeometricConstraints...................................................................................................................14

DimensionalConstraints................................................................................................................18

Transparency........................................................................................................................................19

HatchesandGradients.........................................................................................................................22

Polylines................................................................................................................................................25

Splines...................................................................................................................................................26

ExternalReferences..............................................................................................................................27

ScaleLists..............................................................................................................................................28

MissingSHXandFontFiles...................................................................................................................30

TextAlignmentinLinetypes.................................................................................................................

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Explore........................................................................................................................................................31

3DModelingWorkspaces.....................................................................................................................31

3DObjectSnaps...................................................................................................................................32

SolidModeling......................................................................................................................................32

SurfaceModeling..................................................................................................................................33

SurfaceCreationTools...................................................................................................................33

SurfaceEditingTools......................................................................................................................35

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AnalysisTools.................................................................................................................................37

ConsistentMaterials.............................................................................................................................38

MeshModeling.....................................................................................................................................40

PointClouds..........................................................................................................................................41

LearningResources.....................................................................................................................................43

NewFeaturesWorkshop......................................................................................................................43

OnlineHelpSystem..............................................................................................................................43

AutodeskSeek.............................................................................................................................................44

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UserInterface

AutoCAD2011offersavarietyofuserinterfaceenhancementsthatallowyoutodesignwithgreater

easeandefficiency.

Drawing Window

Thedrawingwindowhasbeenup dated inAutoCAD2011todisplayadarkgraybackgroundinmodelspace.

YoucaneasilymodifythedrawingwindowcolorfromtheDisplaytaboftheOption sdialogbox.

Thetraditionaldotgridhasbeenreplacedwithhorizontalandverticalgridlinestomoreclosely

representengineering

graphpaper.Whenthegridisenabled,redandgreenlinesextendfromtheUCS

icontorepresenttheXandYaxesoftheorigin.

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Figure1.AutoCAD2011drawingwindow

Quick Access Toolbar

TheQuickAccesstoolbardisplaysthenameofthecurrentworkspace.Youcaneasilyselectadifferent

workspaceandaccessotherworkspacetools.Inaddition,thedefaultQuickAccesstoolbarnowincludes

boththeSaveandtheSaveAstools.

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Figure2.Workspacemenu

Navigation

AutoCAD2011includesanewNavigationbarwithfrequentlyusednavigationtools,includingAutodesk®

SteeringWheels®,ViewCube,andShowMotion,aswellasPan,Zoom,andOrbit.Itreplacesthe

navigationtoolsthatwerepreviouslyaccessibleontheStatusbar.Youcancontrolthedisplayofthe

Navigationbarforindividualworkspacesvia

apropertyintheCUIdialogbox.

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Figure3.CUINavigationbarproperty

TheNavigationbarprovidesintegratedsupportfor3DConnexion™deviceswhenthe3DConnexion

systemdriverispresent.

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 

Figure4.3DConnexionsettings

TheViewCubehasbeenenhancedtosupportthe2Dwireframevisualstyle,enablingyoutoeasily

changeyourviewpoint.Theclockwiseandcounter‐clockwisecontrolsareparticularlyusefulforrotating

theviewpointonthe2Dplane.

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Figure5.ViewCubenavigation

TheSteeringWheelsSettingsdialogboxhasbeenupdatedforclarityandcons istency.

UCS Icon and 3D Gizmos

TheUCSiconhasbeenupdatedtodisplayadifferentcolorforeachaxis:Xforred,Yforgreen,andZfor

blue.Inaddition,theappearanceof3Dgizmoshasbeenupdatedforclarityandconsistency.

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Figure6.UCSiconand3Dgizmos

The Ribbon

Anewpull‐downmenuhasbeenaddedtotheribboncyclebuttonattheendofthelistoftabs.Youcan

minimizetheribbon topanelbuttons,tabs, orpaneltitles.

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Figure7.Ribboncycleoptions

Whenyouminimizetheribbontopanelbuttons,lar geiconsappearforeachpanel.Hoveringoverthe

buttoncausesthepaneltoexpand,similartothebehavioryouseewhentheribbonisminimizedto

paneltitles.

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Figure8.Ribbonpanelbuttons

TheInserttabincludesaPointCloudpaneltosupportthenewPointCloudfunctionality.Inaddition,a

newContentpanelprovideseasyaccesstoDesignCenterandAutodesk®Seekwebservice.Autodesk

SeekhasbeenremovedfromtheOutputtab.

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Figure9.Inserttab

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TheViewtabhasbeenupdatedtoincludetheVisualStylespanel,providingyouwith easyaccessto

predefinedvisualstyles,theVisualStylesManager,andothervisualstylescontrols.TheWindowspanel

includesnewUserInterfaceandToolbarcontrolsthatenableyoutoeasilytogglethedisplay

ofvarious

userinterfaceelements,includingAutodesk®ViewCube®andShowMotion®navigationwidgets,the

Navigationbar,andtheTextwindow.TheStatusbarcontrols,whichhavebeenremovedfromthe

Windowspanel,arestilleasilyaccessiblefromtheStatusbar.

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Figure10.Viewtab

Customizableribbonfunctionalityin theCustomizeUserInterface dialogboxhasbeenenhancedto

includenewFoldpanels.AsyouchangethesizeofyourAutoCADwindoworaddandremovepanels

fromatab,Foldpanelsresizehorizontallytofilltheavailablespace.Foldpanelpropertiesenableyouto

specify

default,maximium,andminimumbuttonsizes.

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Figure11.CUIRibbonFoldPanel.

Forexample,theFoldpaneldefinedabovecouldhavethefollowi ng default,maximum,andminimum

appearances.

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Figure12.ExampleFoldpanel

Visual Styles

AutoCAD2011providesfivenewpredefinedvisualstylesincluding:Shaded,ShadedwithEdges,Shades

ofGray,Sketchy,andX‐Ray.Withthemostcommoncombinationsofvisualstylepropertiesrightatyour

fingertips,visualstylesareeasiertousethanever.

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Figure13.Visualstyles

Object Visibility

AutoCAD2011includesnewtoolsthatenableyoutocontrolobjectvisibilityindependentfromlayer

visibility.TheObjectVisibilitytoolsareaccessiblefromtheright‐clickmenuwhenobjectsareselectedas

wellaswhennoobjectsareselected.WhenyouusetheIsolateObjectstool, onlytheselectedobjects

remain

visibleinthedrawing.Allotherobjectsarehidden.

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Figure14.Isolatedobjects

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Alternatively,whenyouusetheHideObjectstool,theselectedobjectsarehidden.

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Figure15.Hiddenobjects

YoucanuseacombinationoftheIsolateObjects andHideObjectstoolstoefficientlydisplayonlythe

objectsthatarerelevanttoyourcurrenttask.Forexample,youmightusetheIsolateObjectstoolto

selectanareaofthedrawingyouwanttoeditandthenusetheHide

Objectstooltohideadditional

objectswithinthatarea.Aftercompletingyourtask,youcanquicklyrestorethehiddenobjectsusing

theEndObjectIsolationtool.

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Figure16.EndObjectIsolationtool

TheOBJECTISOLATIONMODEsystemvariablecontrolswhetherisolated/hiddenobjectspersistbetween

drawingsessions.Alightbulbicononthestatusbarindicateswhetherobjectisolationisactiveinthe

drawing.

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Figure17.ObjectIsolationstatusicon

Inadditiontotheobviousbenefitsobjectvisibilitycontrolsofferfor2Ddesign,they’rejustasvaluable

for3Dmodeling.

Object Selection

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ThenewSelectSimilartoolenablesyoutoselectanobjectandautomaticallyincludeallotherobjectsof

thesametypeandwiththesameproperties,inanewselectionset.Youcanaccessitfromtheright‐click

menuwhenobjectsareselected.

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Figure18.SelectSimilartool

ASettingsoption(accessiblewhenyouenterSELECTSIMILARatthecommandline)enablesyouto

specifywhichpropertiestofilter.IfonlytheLayerpropertyisenabledwhenyouselectacircle,for

example,AutoCADautomaticallyselectsallcirclesonthesamelayerastheoneyouselected.Ifboththe

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LayerandLinetypepropertiesareenabled,however,AutoCADselectsonlythecirclesonthesamelayer

andwiththesamelinetypeastheselectedone.

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Figure19.SelectSimilarSettingsdialogbox

TheSelectSimilartoolals o enables youtoselectmorethanoneobjectandcreatethematching

selectionsetaccordingly.Forexample,iftheLayerfilterisenabledandyouselecttwocircles,eachon

differentlayers,AutoCADselectsallthecirclesonbothlayers.If,instead,youselectacircle

andaline,

AutoCADselectsallthecirclesonthesamelayerastheselectedcircleandallthelinesonthesamelayer

astheselectedline.Inadditiontogeneralobjectproperties,youcanfilterselectionsbasedonobject‐

specificproperties,includingobjectstyleandreferencename.Object

Stylepropertiesapplytotextand

mtext,leadersandmleaders,dimensionsandtolerances,andtablesandmultilines.Referencenames

applytoblocksandexternallyreferencedfiles,includingxrefsandimagesaswellasPDF,DWG™,or

DGNfiles.

InadditiontothenewSelectSimilartool,anewoptionhasbeen

addedtothePICKADDsystemvariable.

WhenPICKADDissettoavalueof2(asitisnowbydefault),objectsthatyouselectusingtheSELECT

commandremainselectedina“pickfirst”stateevenafteryouendtheSELECTcommand.

Easilyselectoverlappingobjectsusingthenew

selectioncyclingfunctionality.Youcanenableselection

cyclingfromacontrolontheStatusbar.Whenyoutrytoselectanobjectthatoverlapsotherobjects,

AutoCADdisplaysalistofalltheoverlappingobjects.Asyoupassthecursoroveranobjectinthelist,

therelevantobjectinthe

drawinghighlights.

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Figure20.Selectioncyclingtool

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Object Creation

ThenewAddSelectedtoolenablesyoutoquicklycreateanewobje ctinyourdrawingbasedonthe

propertiesofanexistingobject.Forexam ple,ifyouusetheAddSelectedtoolandselectapolyline,AutoCAD

automaticallylaunchesthePLINE commandwithbasicobjectpropertiesincludingcolor,layer,linetype,



linetypescale,plotst yle,line weight,transparency,andmaterialpresettomatchtheselectedobject.

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Figure21.AddSelectedtool

Action Recorder

TheActionMacroenablesyoutodeleteorinsertusermessagesforViewChangeoperations.

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Figure22.ViewChangeeditingtools

Themacrolistdisplaysthemostrecentlyusedmacrosabovetheseparationbarandallavailablemacros

belowit.



14 



Figure23.Actionmacrolist

Document

AutoCADissynonymouswithdocumentationforgoodreason.Powerfuldocumentationtoolsin

AutoCAD2011helpyouworkevenfasterwithautomation,management,andeditingtoolsthat

minimizerepetitivetasksandspeedyourtimetocompletion.Nomatteryourproject’ssizeorscope,

youcanmeetthechallengewithAutoCAD—continuouslyleadingand

innovatingdocumentationfor

over25years.

Parametric Constraints

The2DparametricfunctionalityhasbeenenhancedinAutoCAD2011,andincludespredefined

commandmacrostoaccessoptionswithinintheGEOMCONSTRA INTandDIMCONSTRAINTcommands.

Forexample,insteadoflaunchingtheGEOMCONSTRAINTcommandandthenselectingthe

Perpendicularoption,youcanlaunchtheGCPERPENDICULARcommanddirectl y.Repeatingthelast

commandautomatically

repeatsthelastcommandaswellasthespecificoption.

Objecthighlightingwhenyourolloveranicononaconstraintbarorwh enyouselectaparameterinthe

ParametersmanagersupportstheVisualEffectssettingsyouspecifyontheSelectiontaboftheOptionsdialog

box(dashedand

thickenedbydefault).Addition alimprovementstogeometricanddimensionalconstraint

functionalityen ableyoutocreateandeditparametricallyconstrainedgeometryfasterthaneverbefore.

GeometricConstraints

AutoCAD2011significantlysimplifiestheprocessofaddinggeometricconstraintsto2DAutoCAD

geometry.AutoCADcaninfergeometricconstraintsasyoucreateandmodifygeometry.

AnewInfer

Constraintbuttononthestatusbarenablesyoutotoggleinferredconstraintsonandoffsimilarto

togglingobjectsnapsonandoff.ThistoggleisalsoavailableontheGeometrictaboftheConstraint

Settingsdialogbox.



Figure24.InferConstraintstool



15 

UsinginferredconstraintsautomaticallyappliescoincidentconstraintsforEndpoint,Midpoint,Center,

Node,andInsertionobjectssnaps.Forexample,ifyoudrawacirclebysnappingitscentertothe

midpointofaline,AutoCADautomaticallyappliesacoincidentcon straintbetweenthecenterofthe

circleandthemidpoint

oftheline.Ifyoumovethecircle,thelinegoeswithit.Thesamepowerful

functionalityappliestoeditingcommands.If,forexample,youcopytheinsertionofablocktothe

endpointofaline,AutoCADautomaticallyappliesacoincidentcon straintbetweenthosetwopoints.

Whenyoumovethe

line,theblockmaintainsitspositionattheendpointoftheline.



Figure25.Editingwithinferredconstraints

Inadditiontocreatingpoint‐to‐pointcoincidentconstraintswiththepreviouslymentionedobjectsnaps,

youcanusetheNearestobjectsnaptoapplyacoincidentconstraintbetweenapointandanobject.For

example,ifyoudrawthecenterofacircleonalineusingtheNearestobjectsnap,

thecenterofthe

circlehastheflexibilityofmovinganywherealongthelineincludingthevirtualextensionoftheline.



Figure26.Nearestobjectsnapwithinferredconstraints

ThePerpendicularandTangentobjectsnapsautomaticallyapplyperpendicularortangentconstraints

betweentheobjectbeingcreatedoreditedandtheobjectbeingsnappedto.Theyalsoapplyapoint‐to‐

pointorpoint‐to‐objectcoincidentconstraintifappropriate.UsingtheParallelobjectsnapautomatically

appliesaparallelconstraintbut

nocoincidentconstraintsareappliedsince,bydefinition,thetwo

objectsneverintersect.Whenyoudrawhorizontalorverticallinesandpolylinesegments,inferred

horizontalandverticalconstraintsautomaticallyapplytothosesegments.

Inferredconstraintsenhancethebehaviorofrectangles,fillets,andchamfersbyautomaticallyapplying

appropriategeometricconstraints.For

example,ifyoudrawarectangle(usingtheRECTANGcommand),

AutoCADautomaticallyappliesapairofparallelconstraintsandaperpendicularconstrainttotheclosed

polyline.Whenyoumodifythesizeand shapeoftherectangle,youcanrestassuredthatitwillremain a

rectanglewithparallelsidesandperpendicular

corners.Creatingafilletautomaticallyapplies coincident

andtangentconstraintsbetweenthenewlycreatedarcandtheexistingpairoflineshelpingmaintain



16 

thefilletevenwhenthearcorlinesaremodified.Similarly,creati ng achamferappliescoincident

constraintsbetweenthenewlycreatedlineandtheexistingpairoflines.



Figure27.Filletsandchamferswithinferredconstraints

Evenafteryou’veappliedconstraints,youcantemporarilyrelaxthembypressingtheCTRLkeywhile

editingconstrainedobjects.

AutoCAD2011improvesthesupportofgeometricconstraintsforellipsesandtext.Youcannowapply

Parallel,Perpendicular,Collinear,Horizontal,andVerticalconstraints betweenthemajororminoraxes

ofanellipse

andotherobjects.



Figure28.Constraininganellipse

Similarly,youcanapplyParallel,Perpendicular,Collinear,Horizontal,andVerticalconstraintstothe

rotationangleoftextobjects.Inaddition,textandmtextobjectsbehaveconsistentlyandpredictab ly, 

withtheidentifiedinsertionpointoftheobjectbeingtheconstrainablepoint.



Figure29.Constrainingtext

TheAutoConstrainfunctionalityinAutoCAD2011hasbeenupdatedtoincludetheEqualconstraint.

WhenyouuseAutoConstrainwiththeEqualoptionenabled,theEqualconstraintisautomatically

appliedtolinesandpolylinesegmentsofequallengthandarcsand/orcirclesofequalradius.



17 

Constraintbarsareenhancedtoprovidemorecontrolandflexibility.Youcanselectmultipleobjectsfor

showingorhidingconstraintbarsusingstandardselectionmethods,includingWindow,Crossing, Fence,

andImpliedWindow/Crossing.Quicklydisplayallco nstraintbarsintheiroriginalpositionusingthenew

Resetoption.And,a

newsettingintheGeometrictaboftheConstraintSetting sdialogsenablesyouto

showconstraintbarswhenobjectsareselectedevenifthoseconstraintbarsarecurrentlyhidden.When

thegeometryisnolongerselected,thetemporarilydisplayedconstraintbarsare,onceagain,hidden.

Whenyoumoveaconstraintbar

andthenedittherelatedgeometry,theconstraintbar maintains its

positionrelativetothegeometry.



Figure30.GeometricConstraintsettings

ThenewconstrainticonsforFix,Horizontal,andVerticalconstraints visuallyindicatewhethertheyapply

toanobjectortoapoint.Thesymmetricconstrainticonisalsoupdatedtoindicatewhetheritis

identifyingasymmetricalpointorobject,orthesymmetricline.

Constraint Icons Description

Fix



Differenticonsforfixpointandfixobjectconstraints

Horizontal



Differenticonsforfixpointandfixobjectconstraints

Vertical



Differenticonsforfixpointandfixobjectconstraints

Symmetric



Differenticonsforsymmetricalpoint,object,andsymmetryline



18 

DimensionalConstraints

TheDIMCONSTRAINTcommandincludesanewConvertoptiontoconvertassociativedimensionsto

dimensionalconstraintsratherthanit beingthedefaultbehavior.



Figure31.DIMCONSTRAINToptions

Whenenteringdimensionalconstraint valuesin‐place,youcanclickonanexistingdimensional

constrainttoinserttheconstraintname.Whendynamicdimensionalconstraints referenceanother

parameter,theparametertextisprependedwith“fx:”tohelppreventyoufromaccidentallyassigninga

constantvaluetoaparameterthatreferencesothervariables.



Figure32.Dimensionalconstraints

NewtoolsontheDimensionalPaneloftheParametrictabprovideyouwithmorecontroloverthe

displayofdimensionalconstraints.UsingtheShow/Hidetoolyoucanselectthespecificdimensional

constraintsyouwanttoshoworhide.



Figure33.Dimensionalconstraintvisibilitytools

TheParametersManagerofferssignificantimprovementsinAutoCAD2011.ItincludesanewFilters

panewhereyoucandefineparametergroupsthatdisplayasubsetoftheparameters.Createnew filter

groupsusingthebuttonatthetopoftheParametersManagerorbyselectingtheoptionfromtheright‐

click

menu.Withyourfiltergroupscreated,youcanthendragparametersintothem.Theright‐click

menuforparametersintheParametersManagerisupdatedwithadditionaloptionsincludingtheability

todisplaytheFiltertreeandtoremoveparametersfromagroup.



19 

 

Figure34.Parametergroupfilters



Anewsearchboxfilterstheparametersdisplayedinthegridcontrolbasedontheparametername.

Columntooltipsdisplaythefullnameofthecolumnaswellasadescription.

AdditionalenhancementstotheParametersManagersimplifytheterminologyfordimensional

constraintsanduservariablescreatedinthedrawing

editorversustheblockeditor.TheShowcolumnin

theBlockEditorincludesanewoptiontoconvertbetweendimensionalconstraintparametersoruser

parametersdefinedinthedrawingeditorversustheblockeditor.IntheBlockEditor,iconsaredisplayed

foractionparameters,attributes,anduserparameters.

Transparency

AutoCAD2011includesanewtransparencypropertythatenablesyoutoapplytransparencytoobjects

andlayersinthesamewayyouapplycolors,linetypes,andlineweights.



20 



Figure35.Transparentobjects

Youcansettransparencybylayer,byblock,orindividuallyforanobject.Thedefaulttransparencyvalue

forlayersandobjectsis0,andyoucansetitashighas90.

TheLayerPropertiesManager(paletteanddialog),theLayerStatesManager,theLayerFilterdialog,

andtheLayerTranslator

haveallbeenupdatedtoreflectthenewtransparencyproperty.IntheLayer

PropertiesManager,anewcolumnforTransparencyisavailableinmodelspaceandlayouts,anda

columnforViewport(VP)Transparencyisavailableinlayoutsandfloatingmodelspaceviewports.



Figure36.LayerTransparancyoptions

Youcansettransparencyforindividualobjectsjustlikecolorandlinetype.Settingatransparencyvalue

foranindividualobjectoverridesthelayertransparencysettingforthatobject.Youcanaccessobject

transparencyfromanumberofplaces:thePropertiespalette,QuickProperties,ortheribbon.Thenew

CETRANSPARENCYsystemvariable

setsthetransparencypropertyfornewobjects.

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