Microsoft Word - AutoCAD 2017.1 Update Preview Guide.docx

Aut oCAD'2017.1'Upda t e/Enhancement'

Preview'Guide'

Introduction '

The$AutoCAD$2017.1$Update$offers$several$valuable$enhancements$to$AutoCAD$2017,$including:$

• PDF$Import$en h a n ce ments$

• Improve d $T ex t$to $Mtext$co n ve rs io n $

• Off-screen$selection$

• Improve d $lin e typ e $gap$selection$

• Improve d $su p p o r t$fo r$h ig h $re so lu t io n $d isp la y s$

• Improve d $p e rfo rmance$fo r $3D$navigatio n $

After$i nst al l i ng$ the $upda te, $ new$ func ti onal i t y$ i s$ hi ghl i ghte d$ wit h$or ange $c i rc le s$ on$the$Insert$and$Express$Tools$

ribbon$tabs$as$well$as$on$the$Help$menu.$This$ makes$ it $ easy$ for$ you$t o$i dentif y$and$ access$ updated$tools.$

Once$you$become$familiar$with$the$new$functionality$you$can$turn$off$the$new$featu re$h ighlightin g$from $

the$Help$me nu .$

PDF'Enhancements'

PDF$files$ar e$t he$most$ common$fil e$f ormat$used$ when$exchanging$design$inf ormation$bet ween$designers,$

contractors,$clients,$et$ al.$In$AutoCAD$2017, $ AutoCAD$ included$the$ability$to$import$PDF$files.$The$PDFIMPORT$

command$imports$PDF$data$into$AutoCAD$as$2D$geometry,$TrueType$text,$and$images.$

SHX'Text'Recognition'

One$shortcoming$of$PDFIMPORT$is$that$Adobe’s$PDF$file$format$doesn’t$recognize$SHX$fonts.$When$

plotting$to$PDF,$text$defined$with$SHX$fonts$is$written$out$and$stored$in$the$PDF$as$wireframe$geometry,$

therefore,$the$text$is$also$brought$in$as$wire frame$geometry$during$import.$$

The$AutoCAD$2017$Update$offers$a$SHX$text$recognition$tool$that$enables$you$to$select$imported$PDF$

wireframe$geometry$representing$SHX$text$and$convert$it$to$text$objects.$Access$this$functionality$from$

the$Recogn ize$SH X$Te xt$tool$(PDFSH X TE XT $comman d)$on$the$Insert$ribbon$tab.$$

The$SHX$recognition$tool$analyzes$clusters$of$geometry$(e.g.$line s,$polylines,$etc.)$from$your$selectio n$se t$

and$compares$them$to$characters$in$specified$SHX$cache$files.$$

A$Settings$option$is$available$to$help$you$manage$which$SHX$fonts$to$compare$against$the$selected$tex t,$

as$well$as$control$some$settings$during$the$conversion.$The$most$common$SHX$fonts$are$listed$by$

default.$You$can$add$or$remove$SHX$fonts$based$on$your$needs$and$then$select$which$fonts$in$the$list$

you$want$to$compare$against$the$selected$text.$$

After$comparing$the$geometry$to$the$SHX$fonts,$the$geom etry$tha t$m atch es $is$autom a tically$rep lace d$

with$one$or$more$mtext$objects.$A$message$box$displays$the$results.$

Additional'PDF'Import'enhancements'

In$addit io n $to $t h e$S H X $r ec o g n itio n $t o o l,$th e $A u to C A D$2017 $U p d a t e$o ff er s$t h e$f o llo w in g $P D F $Import$

enhancements:$

• The$PDF$import$a n d $at ta ch $to o ls $

(PDFIMPO R T$and$PDFATTACH$

commands)$disp lay$th u m bn a il$

previews$of$PDF$files$in$the$Select$File$

dialog.$

• Fixed$orientation$problems$with$

rotated$TrueTyp e$tex t.$It$no$longer$

creates$upside-down$text.$

• Improve d $sc a lin g$o f $PDF$geometry$

from$layouts.$G e ometry$is$scaled$to$

real-world$size$in$Model$space$if$all$

the$viewports$are$of$the$same$scale.$

• Better$Form$data$support$when$

importin g$P D F s.$

Text'to'Mtext'Enhancements'

The$Convert$to$Mtext$express$tool$enables$you$to$combine$many$individual$text$objects$into$one$multi-line$

text$object.$This$can$be$particularly$useful$after$recognizing$and$converting$SHX$text$from$an$imported$PDF$

file.$You$can$access$the$Convert$to$Mtext$tool$(TXT2MTXT$command)$from$the$Express$Tools$ribbon$tab$or$

from$the$Combine$Text$tool$on$the$Insert$ribbon$tab$next$to$the$Recognize$SHX$Text$tool.$

The$following$are$enha n ce ments$to $th e $T X T 2 MTXT$e xp re s s$to o l:$

• You$can$select$Mtext$objects$in$addition$to$text$objects.$$

• A$Settings$option$on$the$Command$line$displays$the$Text$to$MText$Settings$dialog.$

• Character$codes$translate$correctly$between$Text$and$Mtext$(for$example$the$degree$symbol$appeared$as$

%%d$when$converted$to$Mtext).$

• The$“Select$objects”$prompt$adheres$to$standard$error$checking$and$messaging.$For$example,$objects$on$

locked$lay ers $a re$filt ere d $fro m$the$selec tio n $s et,$a n d $so $o n .$

• Justification$(Top $left,$T o p $c enter,$Top $ri g h t)$i s$i n fe rr e d $fo r $th e $Mtext$object$being$created$based$on$the$

positioning$of$the$text$objects$in$the$drawing$instead$of$always$using$Top$left$justification.$When$no$

justification $ca n $b e $lo gic a lly$in f er re d ,$it$d ef au lts$to$top-left. $

• Numbered$and$lettered$list$formatting$is$inferred$when$the$word-wrap$text$box$is$checked.$If$a$line$starts$

with$one$or$two$characters$followed$by$a$period$and$up$to$10$spaces,$list$formatting$will$be$applied$

automatically.$

• An$option$was$added$to$the$Settings$dialog$box$to$not$combine$selection$into$a$single$mtext$objects$

(converts$text$obje ct$to$mtext$withou t$combining).$

• The$top-down$sorting$order$is$relative$to$the$current$UCS$and$sorting$is$left-to-right$when $text$ob jects$are $

collinear.$When$multiple$text$objects$are$collinear,$they$are$treated$as$if$on$the$same$line$with$a$space$

between$them.$$

• A$new $Settings$option$enables$you$to$force$uniform$line$

spacing$or$maintain$existing$line$spacing.$$

Off-screen'Selection'

With$the$AutoCAD$2017$Update$you$can$begin$a$selection$

window$in$one$part$of$your$drawing$and$then$pan$and$

zoom$to$another$part$wh ile$maintaining$selection$of$the$

off-screen$objects!$

Linetype'Gap'Selection'Enhancements'

Linetype$gap$behavior$is$enhanced$to$support$complex$and$DGN$linetypes.$In $a d dition,$this$feature$

works$with$all$objects,$such$as$polylines$with$width$and$splines.$Now$you$can$select$complex$and$DGN$

linetypes $o r$s na p $to $t he m$by$pic kin g $o n $th e$g a p s$b e tween$th e $ge o metry.$

High'Resolution'(4K)'Monitor'Support'

The$AutoCAD$2017$Update$supports$higher$display$resolutions$and$pixel$densities$to$ensure$the$best$

possible$viewing$experience$even$on$4K$displays$and$higher.$Commonly$used$user$interface$elements,$

such$as$the$Comman d$Line,$Layer$Man ager,$ViewCu be,$Pick$Box,$and$Grips$are$appro priately$sca led $and $

displayed$as$per$the$Windows$setting.$$

3D'Navigation'Performance'

The$AutoCAD$2017$Update$offers$significant$improvements$when$using$zoom,$pan$and$3D$orbit$

operations$in$com m o n ly $us e d $vis u al$s ty les .$

$ '

Autodesk'Desktop'App'

The$AutoCAD$2017$update$is$available$as$a$download$through$your$AutoCAD$Subscription.$You$can$

access$it$from$the$Autodesk$Desktop$App$when$you’re$logged$into$your$Autodesk$account.$