Tips for Using your Right Mouse Button in AutoCAD 2006

In AutoCAD you want your Right Mouse Button (RMB) to behave like the ENTER key and to also pull up the context menu. This functionality is available and can be found under the Option > User Preference tab.

Turn on Time-Sensitive Right-Click

Controls right-click behavior. A quick click is the same as pressing ENTER. A longer click displays a shortcut menu. You can set the duration of the longer click in milliseconds.

Submitted by Tad Whitchurch, Hagerman & Company Applications Engineer
May 2005

Having trouble opening a large AutoCAD file?

If you’re having trouble opening a very large AutoCAD file, try using Partial Open. It will let you load up geometry from individual views and individual layers. If you really need to see all of the geometry in the drawing, once you’ve got it open using Partial Open, save and close it. Re-open the drawing and choose “Fully Open” from the dialog box you’re presented with. This can sometimes help large drawings open faster.

Submitted by Forrest Judd, Hagerman & Company Applications Engineer
January 2005
AutoCAD 2002

Problem

Many AutoCAD users have noticed that while editing Multiline text, some fonts can be difficult to read because they are displayed in a very dark grey. This only happens with the older SHX style fonts. Windows True Type fonts display properly as white on black. Autodesk SHX fonts are distinguished by the small drafting compass icon next to the font’s name. True Type fonts sport a "TT" icon.
Cause

Of course modern fonts are designed around filled areas, which make them infinitely scaleable. The older Autodesk SHX fonts are drawn with a single "pen" stroke. Windows uses antialiasing to make the edges of seem smoother. Instead of just white pixels, some grey pixels are introduced at the edges to make the font edge blend smoothly. With the single stroke SHX fonts, all pixels in the font are displayed as grey.
Solution

To resolve this problem, turn off the Windows font smoothing. This can be found by right clicking on a plan portion of the Windows desktop, selecting Properties and then navigating to the Effects tab. Uncheck "Smooth edges of screen fonts." If you are on Windows XP, the settings can also be found under the Windows Display Properties, but on the Appearance tab, under display.

The severity of this problem does seem to be dependant on your monitor and video card. On my Dell Inspiron 8200, this problem does not occur when the ClearType smoothing is used.

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