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Custom View Buttons
Tip# 3081 By Paul Grabowski On 05-Jan-2009
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Rated By 2 users
Categories : Tips & Tools Weekly Archive Tips
Software type : AutoCAD Civil 3D
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Create custom view buttons for negotiating around a drawing.

Paul Grabowski wrote to say, "I work in AutoCAD Civil 3D 2008 and Civil 3D Land Desktop Companion 2008. For negotiating around in my drawings, I have created three buttons. For the first, I create a named view called Sheet (you can call yours whatever you want) in all my drawings. This view frames the main part of the drawing in model space, with all the proper layers showing and the appropriate layers frozen. The command for the associated button is this:

^C^C-view;r;sheet;-purge;a;;n;qsave;

"It could also be written to eliminate the purge

^C^C-view;r;sheet;qsave;

"When I have finished with the drawing, whether to stop for lunch, for the day, or until later, I click this button. It essentially prepares the drawing for closing. With one click, it cancels any active command, restores the main view of the drawing (Sheet), setting the layers correctly, and does a purge all and a quick save. Then all I have to do is close. When I or someone else opens the drawing, everything is set and the view is right. Note: The qsave will not work in AutoCAD Civil 3D 2008.

"The other two buttons I have created are a Save Work View button and a Restore Work View button. I use these when I am working with one area of a drawing. When I first focus on the area, I hit the Save Work View button. It creates a named view called Work. Then as I am working in the area, panning and zooming, all I have to do to get back to the overall area of interest or to another area within the work area, is press the Restore Work View button. It takes me out to cover the entire work area and sets up the Zoom Window command. Then all I do is click the corners of the area I want to focus on, and it takes me there, with only a total of three clicks. No more repeating pan or zoom or combinations to get to another area.

"If I do move to a new work area within the drawing and click Save Work View button to change the Work view, I will have to type a Y and hit Enter to replace the existing Work view.

"Once you get used to using these, they really streamline moving around in a drawing. The command for the 'save "work" view button' is

-view;s;work;

"The command for the 'restore "work" view button' is

-view;r;work; '_zoom

NOTES FROM CADALYST TIP PATROL:
The first set of buttons is a great idea. Before it can function properly, a named view called "Sheet" must be created. If you do not want to use this name for the view, simply determine a standard name for the view and change the macro from "Sheet" to your named view of choice. The second set of buttons is also a great idea to help users be more efficient. Again, as in the first set of buttons, if users want the named view to be different, no problem, just change the macro. Also, a third idea might be to create a button similar to the one that creates the named view Work, but have it create the named view Sheet to simplify the first process.

 

 

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