Some small techniques of using ZWCAD 1

maker — 2008-05-24 04:31:44

Unless you're doing a lot of DTP and/or Photorealistic 3d work, go for a TFT monitor. A wide-screen one especially will allow you to arrange the Property Bar/Calculator Bar conveniently on one side. Not only that, but your eyes will thank you for it.

maker — 2008-05-16 09:55:14

Double-click the mouse roller in the window to zoom extents. Double clicking the middle-button (in a 3 button mouse) should work,too (Can't confirm as I only have a roller type mouse ;)

maker — 2008-05-15 10:31:23

Change the ucsfollow variable to 1 (ON) to automatically create a PLAN of current UCS. (Type ucsfollow, then on OR 1). Thus, for example, rotating the UCS by 90, will rotate the display 90 degrees (zoomed to extents)

maker — 2008-05-12 08:47:54

Make snapshots of your work to keep track of your progress to refer to (and show your boss ;). Type mslide (or go to Tools menu -> make snapshot) to make a slide of your current working window. To refer to it later, type vslide ( or Tools menu -> view snapshot ). This is an easy way to keep track of the progress in your drawing. If you're trying out alternatives in your design, it's best to save the drawing with a slightly changed name. Eg DrawingName-01.dwg, DrawingName-02.dwg .

zw_admin — 2008-05-06 21:10:10

Thank you. Maker. Actually, we always inspire other developers to compile some addons so that they can be applied in ZWCAD as well. Certainly, that will make ZWCAD more friendly to use. If you encounter any problem while do that, please contact us freely. We will try our best to help you

maker — 2008-05-06 12:52:16

Selecting a sub-set of objects: eg. selecting all circles belonging to layer 'wall' in the dwg: Select all objects, then right-click and select 'quick select' In the window (dialog box) which opens, select 'Apply to: Entire drawing'; 'Object type: circle"; 'Properties: Layer'; 'Operator: = Equals'; 'Value: 'walls'. Click ok and you have your selection! You can even select all circles of diameter 10 this way; Go to the Property Bar and you can change all their diameters to 20 at one stroke!

maker — 2008-05-06 12:13:04

Hello Rab, Thanks. That's a nice compliment, especially coming from you. But, I think, more than the skill, I like finding out things about software which will make working with it more fun! Right now I'm trying to integrate more free software into my work routine (architecture) - Blender3d, Inkscape, Gimp etc. (Sketchup already has become one of my most used programs). I think, with a little experimentation, ZwCad should be able to coordinate among them very well. Thanks again.

zw_admin — 2008-05-05 02:27:24

Hello, Maker. Thank you! You are so skillful with CAD software!

maker — 2008-05-03 03:20:17

1. Double-click on object to get it's properties (Property Bar). If you want to change the color, linetype, layer...You can also press CTL+1 for the same thing. 2. The express menu has some very useful commands. Like areasum (menu Express-->tools-->Total Area of selected Objects) gives the area of multiple objects - very useful for Architecture planning. (For area of single object, just double-click and look in the Property Bar)

maker — 2008-04-30 10:01:57

1. Use the '-' (minus sign) before a command to get the commandline version (no dialog box = faster, many times) of the command. Typing -la will give you otpions for layer command. Right-click and you get three additional options - new layer, make new layer current, set layer as current . (Again these options are NOT in Autocad) 2. Don't remember a command: No problem; just start typing the first 1-2-3 letters. As you type ZwCad will give you a floating 'screen menu' of commands to choose from - names starting from your first letter(s). also NOT in Autocad (atleast to ver2007) EDIT: It will even list the names of loaded autolisp routines, eg. I have zp for zoom previous maker2008-05-06 12:21:18

maker — 2008-04-30 02:24:24

Yes, thank you Pavel. I think that tip applies in Autocad too. And I've been using autocad for years (where I work) Using Undo efficiently: If you're unsure of the changes you are about to make, use the Undo->Mark option. Type Undo, then Mark. Then make your changes. If you don't like what you've done, just type Undo, then Back, to go back to where you started from. The Mark options act like bookmarks. You can add as many as you want, and go back one (book)mark at a time. Another option worth looking at is the 'Begin Set' and 'end set' option of Undo. These allow you to group a set of commands, so you can do a 'one-step' undo later. This is something which even Autocad doesn't have.

zw_admin — 2008-04-29 20:44:35

Hello, Pavel. Thank you ! We will share more techniques of using ZWCAD. And as you said, if everyone can share their tips, ZWCAD could be a lot easier to use. Hopefully that will come true soon.

maker — 2008-04-29 06:47:06

Lovely post, Rab, thank you. I was actually thinking of starting a post on this line. Since if everyone shared their tips, ZwCad could be a lot easier to use. And - who knows - some features could even be improved! 1. Easily add and arched segment in a polyline (Easily convert a rectangular window to an arched window) : double-click on the polyline so that the PropertyBar opens. Under 'Geometry' select the vertex after which you want to want the curve. Click on 'Bulge' next and enter 0.25. there, you have a curved segment! You can then adjust the curve as you wish. It's a lot easier to do it than the explanation suggests - once you've done it one or two times Unfortunately there's a bit of trial and error, since the vertex selected is not highlighted in the main window. maker2008-04-29 06:51:37

zw_admin — 2008-04-29 05:41:04

Following is some small techniques of using ZWCAD, and it's the first item.

1, While using Break command, you can enter @ instead of a concrete point to break the entities at the first point.

2. In ZWCAD, files can be inserted in other files as blocks. But it will lead to big size problem, you can use Purge command to clear up them.

3, With the Arctext command in Expression tools, you can arrange the text as arc shape.

4, It