Michael’s Corner

Michael's Corner is a monthly publication written by Michael E. Beall, Autodesk Authorized Author and peripatetic AutoCAD trainer. Michael travels all over the USA, bringing his fantastic experience and great understanding of AutoCAD to his clients. Michael's Corner brings together many of the tips, tricks and methods developed during these training sessions for the benefit of all users.

Michael's Corner provides something for every AutoCAD user. Every month, a number of articles cover a wide range of topics, suitable for users at all levels, including "The Basics" for those just starting out. Essentially, the aim of Michael's Corner is to help all AutoCAD users work smarter and faster.

This month…

From the Vault

Originally published March 2007

The Dynamic UCS

In the December 2006 lead article, I covered the Presspull command. The result of this command is a 3D solid; cool! A couple years prior to that (time flies!), in August 2004, I covered the Real-Time UCS that was a part of the Express Tool collection (and still is, actually). Starting in A2007, you noticed that DUCS button on the Status bar and may be more than a bit curious about what it does.

To illustrate this feature, I have created a couple walls (using Presspull, of course) on which I'll add a rectangle using the DUCS. Then we'll see how the Presspull command will create the opening in the walls.

Instructions to Add a Door to the Walls

1. On the status bar, click DUCS to turn on the Dynamic UCS feature.
2. Begin the Rectangle command, then move your cursor onto the surface of the wall and you will see the Dynamic UCS switch over so the XY plane is aligned with the wall surface.
3. When prompted for the first corner of the rectangle, use the Snap From feature with Endpoint snap and click the lower left corner of the wall.
4. When prompted for <Offset>, enter 6′,0 to place the first corner 6′ to the right from the corner.

NOTE: Your cursor must remain within the area of the wall when specifying the offset.

5. For the second corner of the rectangle, turn on the DYN button (F12), then type 3′,6′8 and press Enter.
6. Now use Presspull, click within the door opening and move your cursor "back" to effectively push the rectangle into the wall and click anywhere.

AutoCAD automatically subtracts the door rectangle from the wall!

7. At this point, you may move or erase the originating objects displayed in the door threshold area.

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