File Navigation Changes
To do anything valuable with a drawing file you will eventually have to save and probably open the file. This is known as File Navigation—making your way through your disk system to access your files. With AutoCAD 2002 much of the focus is placed on the new Today page and its related interfaces. However, the tried-and-true method of file access is still there, the Start Up dialog.
The Today page in AutoCAD 2002 is certainly prevalent, but it is not yet totally self-sufficient. It has no method of browsing a directory and has limited alternative access methods such as an edit box for you to type in a file location. So everyone at some point will see the new file navigation system. If you would like to dispatch the Today page to tomorrow, you can do so by using the Options dialog setting under System and General Options. After you choose the option Show Traditional Startup Dialog, Today is gone for good.
Tip
Any longtime user of AutoCAD will notice something odd the second time he opens AutoCAD. The program refers to the last directory you accessed in your previous AutoCAD session. If you are one who works with many projects and directories this functionality is probably not desirable. By using the system variable REMEMBERFOLDERS and turning it off or to 0 you can restore your AutoCAD 2000 and lower functionality.
Whether or not you choose to use the Today page, the only method to view a directory of files is the Select File dialog (see Figure 1.8). Any action that requires you to locate a file on disk, such as Open and Insert, uses some version of this dialog.
Figure 1.8. The standard Select File dialog with its Tools options.
The first thing experienced users will notice is the column of icons on the left side. These are links to areas in your system and provide quick and easy access to them.
History. Displays shortcut links to files you have recently opened.
Buzzsaw. Provides access to projects that are hosted on Buzzsaw.com.
Redspark. Provides access to projects that are hosted on Redspark.com.
As you can see, you now have many options for where to go to get your files. Also of note in the Select File dialog is a pop-up list at the Open button. This list enables you to specify alternative methods for opening drawings. You can open a drawing read-only or use the partial open feature.
At the top right of the dialog you will find a preview window that displays an image of any selected drawing that has a preview saved with it. And the image is expanded to show the Tools options and how easy it is to add a new favorite to your Favorites list. Once you start using this improved Startup dialog you may find it hard to go back.
Hyped Up Links
The concept of hyperlinks within drawings is not new to AutoCAD but the interface for creating them is greatly enhanced in AutoCAD 2002. The new Insert Hyperlink dialog is similar to Microsoft Office 2000 applications and even makes use of left side shortcuts to show different views of your current drawing. Figure 1.9 shows a typical scenario of its use.
Figure 1.9. The improved Insert Hyperlink dialog better mimics typical Windows link interfaces.
The dialog has additional features for creating a link for email, linking to previously browsed sites, and using the Target button, linking to a specific location in an existing drawing. Once you start taking advantage of hyperlinks you will find it hard to live without them.
You can read more about hyperlinks in Chapter 25, “Publishing on the Web.”
UCS Icon Enhancement
A word about the lowly UCS icon that everyone loves to hate: Often ridiculed for not exactly being user friendly, the UCS icon now has a control dialog to manipulate how it appears onscreen (see Figure 1.10).
Figure 1.10. The new UCS Icon dialog can change how the icon looks on your screen.
To access the UCS Icon dialog use the UCSICON command and then access the Properties dialog by typing P and pressing Enter. When you first ran AutoCAD it probably had the new 3D look. This dialog is where you can get back that trusty 2D version if you want. You can also adjust how big the icon is and its color. If you choose the 3D type, you can also give the line elements a thickness to help them stand out even more.
Find out more about the UCS icon and its use in Chapter 6, “Accuracy in Creating Drawings with AutoCAD 2002.”
Multiprocessor Support
Like with most things, more is usually better with AutoCAD because it can be a resource hog. However, in the past investing in more than one processor did very little to improve the speed of AutoCAD. Now with AutoCAD 2002 you can take advantage of that spare cash and stick in another processor and see some benefit! For most actions in AutoCAD you still will not see performance gains but for things such as plotting and rendering, improvements can be quite noticeable.
Note
You will likely see more benefit in installing more RAM as opposed to another processor. In addition, you will probably need a new motherboard with dual processor support just to even consider the option.