AUTOCAD SOLIDWORKS DESIGN

To see how startup switches are used, let’s disable the splash screen that appears when Auto-CAD launches (in AutoCAD 2007, it’s a transparent green box). That splash screen not only slows you down, but it can be downright annoying after a while: 1. Create a shortcut for launching AutoCAD, if you don’t already have one on your desktop. Use Windows Explorer to locate C:\Program Files\AutoCAD 2007\acad.exe (the file that launches AutoCAD), right-click, and choose Send To ➔ Desktop (create shortcut). 2. Get back to your desktop by minimizing everything (press Windows key+M, or tediously minimize the windows one at a time). Right-click the shortcut to acad.exe on the desktop, and choose Properties. 3. Place the cursor at the end of the text in the Target text box, and type /nologo. All startup switches are added to the end of the target line and immediately follow a forwar slash. These options are passed to the executable when it starts up. Switch to the General tab, and rename the shortc...

The point of the CommandManager is to enable you have many toolbars available to you in a single click, with the main goal being space savings. SolidWorks is a complex program, with a sprawling interface. The CommandManager does a good job of making most of it available to you quickly without taking up a lot of space. Unfortunately, when you save one thing, you usually wind up giving up something else. Interface set up is frequently about compromise or balancing conflicting concerns. In the case of the CommandManager, the compromise is between mouse travels and clicks. You may find yourself clicking frequently back and forth between the Sketch and Features tabs. For this reason, in my interface setup, I put the Sketch toolbar vertically on the right, and remove it from the CommandManager. This enables me to see the Sketch and Features toolbars at the same time, and greatly reduces the times I have to click back and forth between the tabs. You can enable and disable toolbars in several...