More Work Smarter Not Harder

4. Don't start from scratch!
Why re-invent the wheel each time you do a drawing? Standards make drawing faster and easier. At the very least you should have one drawing template that has your most frequently used: layers, text styles, dimension styles, plot layouts, multiline styles, or any other commonly used syles. If you are using a vertical application like Desktop - then there are probably several drawing templates that you'll need. Whether you set up one template or several templates, you'll be heading in the right direction if you don't have to go grab styles or layers from other drawings or worse re-invent them each time you start a new drawing.

5. Customize your interface.
Wasn't my first tip to learn how to do something sans customization? Yep. But before you call hypocrisy on me, hear me out. It's most likely that you'll be using the SAME computer day in and day out (until it craps out on you and you buy a new one). Using Autocad straight out of the box without customizing it to the way you work, is like running a race with an anchor tied to your leg. Yes, you should learn keyboard commands - especially for common and frequently used commands - but there are a whole host of more complicated commands and resources that Autocad has to offer that are much easier to find and use when you customize your interface.
Autocad 2006 and later makes this VERY easy with the CUI (Custom User Interface). If you are pre-2006, then you're out of luck. CUI lets you manage all the toolbars, icons, shortcut commands, and double click actions that are in your drawing and loads them when you start up. You can also EXPORT your CUI, so when you switch computers or upgrade, you can take all your customization with you.

6. Double Up!
Okay - I'll admit that you need to lay out some cash for this next tip. Dual monitors are...well....twice as good. You may need to buy a new graphics card and a second monitor to reap the benefits of dual monitors, but even if they aren't huge flat screens, you'll be happier with two. Especially in the later versions of Autocad (2004 and higher) where floating palettes and more intensive properties interfaces are the norm, if you can drag all those informative and complicated windows over to another screen and keep them out of your drawing area you'll be better off. What are some other great reasons for dual monitors? How about these:

• Run two Autocad applications at the same time on different screens.
• Open PDFs, photos, emails, word documents, etc for reference on your second screen
• Have your internet browser open on your second screen
• Be able to view your desktop, file folders, etc on your second screen.

7. Keep a Library
This tip can be a double edged sword. If you are an organized, observant person than a block library can be a great thing for you - if not, it can become a nightmare. The benefits of a block library are clear: you have a repository for all those details, plumbing fixtures, cars, trees, etc. at your fingertips. However, you also have to manage them and UPDATE THEM!!! A detail that utilizes asbestos ISN'T CURRENT and therefore shouldn't be in your library.
I suggest that you organize your blocks into drawings containing like information and that you format those drawings with sheets (whatever size works for the number of blocks you have in the drawings). Use those sheets like contact sheets in photography. If you are the CAD Manager, make a habit of printing those sheets out every 6 months or yearly and review the details. Have you changed the way you do partition types? Have you decided not to spec a certain type of mortar? Did you realize that you need to add additional notes to a particular detail? Make the changes on the contact sheets (you can even keep them printed and on hand during the year for when the ideas strike you) and then treat them like normal drawings - have someone pick up the redlines and you'll stay current.

8. X-Refs
Just as blocks and groups are powerful tools for organizing and streamlining changes within a single drawing - X-REFS are like blocks that can work in multiple drawings. If you don't use X-REFS you need to learn how. Newer versions of Autocad and especially the Project Navigator feature in Architectural Desktop make it much easier to control and manage X-REFS. Why would you make the same change to the same toilet room on 10 different drawings? X-REFS allow you to make that change on ONE drawing and update it in all the others.