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Autocad 2005

My experience of AutoCAD 2005 aka Neo.

Retired by Autodesk March 14 2008

Previous AutoCAD version AutoCAD 2004 and newer version AutoCAD 2006.

New and/or enhanced functions and some bugfixes

New and/or enhanced functions and some bugfixes

No change in the file format this time!

AutoCAD 2005 can be installed side by side with earlier versions.

Most 3:rd party applications will work directly with the version that worked for AutoCAD 2004.

No change in the minimum hardware requirements.

The New Features Workshop is a good start to learn about AutoCAD 2005.

TABLE is a new command that lets gives you almost the same table functionality that is in Microsoft Word. You can copy data from Excel and use Paste Special using AutoCAD Entities option. This will create a table in AutoCAD. Blocks and Fields can also be included in a Table.

Fields are placeholders in text objects for data like date, filename, sheet name, project name and other things. FIELDS is a new commands that also is integrated with MTEXT, TEXT, ATTDEF, EATTEDIT and some other commands. That means that if you want improved RTEXT, leave it and start using FIELDS instead. It can also get information from sheet sets and sheets.

Views can now have layers associated with it.

Plotting is something that have been changed. First is that the PLOT command changed quite much.

Background plotting is added. You can choose if you want single and/or multiple plots with Publish being plotted in the background or not. The reason is that AutoCAD opens a new instance of AutoCAD that makes the plot and that takes of course a little time and memory.

Publish works well with the new Sheet Sets and have been improved here and there.

The Layer Manager (LAYER command) has been enhanced to include layer filters and grouping functionality. Descriptions can also be added to the layer names.

Layer filters creation has more functionality to support creation of complex filters based on several criteria.

Hatches can now be trimmed.

You have now control on if you want the hatch created below or above the boundary.

Hatches can also take gaps in the boundary into account by specifying a gap tolerance.

OLE objects has been enhanced to adjust the point size from Excel to an equivalent size in AutoCAD units. They also acts more normal like other AutoCAD objects, you can use grips, select them with other objects and use commands like move on them.

MTEXT and Dimension text now supports background fill/mask capability.

TextToFront is a command that moves all text objects on top of other objects. Handy to make sure that some text is not below hatches or other objects.

DrawOrderCtl is introduced to control the Draw Order functionality. To get full functionality set it to 3.

FieldDisplay

FieldEval

MsOleScale

PlotOffset

TbCustomize

TaskBar is a new command that let you have multiple windows on the taskbar just like Excel. It's off by default.

Tool palettes are improved. New tool types are added and it's much easier to create them. The AutoCAD 2004 RX1 extension is included with grouping of palettes, flyouts, gradient hatches and custom commands.

QSELECT has now a lookup list for block names.

You can change the order of menu bars with the MENULOAD command.

If a menu named Custom.mnu or Custom.mns is found in a search path it's automatically loaded.

Dual monitors are better supported.

Express Tools command REVCLOUD has now again the Calligraphy option.

Express Tools command EDITTIME is now back since being removed in 2004.

NetLoad is a command to load .NET DLLs. This makes it possible to create code using for example VB.NET.

When binding xrefs the message before could be *invalid* but is now something more meaningful so you might understand why the xrefs doesn't bind. One cause could be that the xref has proxies that do not allow themselves to be cloned.

The Copy command now defaults to Multiple copies.

From the Plot dialog box you can import page setups from other drawings.

XrefType is a system variable that controls the default reference type when attaching or overlaying an external reference.

Autodesk Error Report Utility now has a functionality so that if you have a subscription you may be informed via the Communication  Center of resolutions or workarounds for errors you have reported as they becomes available. Yet another reason why you should have this activated. You will also be helpful in making AutoCAD a better and more stable product.

Several long-standing issues with solid hatches have been fixed. The reliability is improved but can result in larger plot files when a drawing contains solid hatches.

OSNAPNODELEGACY is an undocumented system variable that lets you enable or disable node snapping for mtext objects. 0 = Node snap is enabled. 1 = Node snap is disabled.

DDEDIT dialog box now supports drag and drop of selected text so you can move or copy (while holding down CTRL) it just like in the MTEDIT dialog box. If you right click you also have the option to Insert Fields.

Intuitive table creation. Instead of drawing lines to create tables, create table objects using a dialog box. Specify the number and size of rows and columns, and add text and fields to the cells. Save table configurations to reuse later.

Fields that can be updated. Insert a field into any text except tolerances to display drawing data that you expect to change, such as a date or sheet number. When the information changes, the value of the field is updated.

Display of overlapping objects. Use the tools on the Draw Order toolbar to change the display and plotting order of overlapping objects without regenerating. Assign a draw order to a hatch pattern in advance. Specify that text and dimensions always display in front of other objects.

Markups for design review. Use the electronic markup utility to help your project team or customers provide feedback about your work, even if they do not have AutoCAD.

Backgrounds for multiline text and dimensions. Add an opaque fill or background mask to emphasize multiline text and dimension text in a visually complex drawing.

New notation symbols. Insert symbols for commonly used notations such as angle, delta, property line, and centerline from the shortcut menu of the Multiline Text Editor.

Hatch object trim. A hatch object now can be trimmed like other objects.

Hatch tolerance for areas with gaps. Use HPGAPTOL to set the maximum size of gaps that can be ignored when objects serve as a hatch boundary.

Interchangeable commands for editing attributes. You no longer need know the text type before choosing an editing command. Both the DDEDIT and ATTEDIT commands can be used to edit attributes.

Reverse arcs and calligraphy style for revision clouds. Choose a calligraphy style when creating revision clouds. Reverse the direction of the arcs for revision clouds converted from both open and closed objects.

Backgrounds for 3D scenes. When working with three dimensional objects, you can add a solid color or gradient background, or attach a raster image as a background to the scene. The background is displayed when you use SHADEMODE, as well as when you render the scene.

Control of display as you adjust clipping planes. In the Adjust Clipping Planes window, pan and zoom the displayed objects. Use the Reset option on the shortcut menu to zoom to the extents of the drawing.

Vertical text. Set text styles that have a vertical orientation by specifying font names that are preceded by the @ symbol.

Layer management. Use the streamlined Layer Properties Manager to organize and manage layers more efficiently.

Maximized viewports. In paper space, click the Maximize Viewport button on the status bar to quickly expand a viewport for editing. Click the arrows next to the button to cycle through the available views. You can also double click on the viewport boundary to maximize the viewport. To restore the viewport just double click outside the red border.

Scaled text in OLE objects. Text in OLE objects inserted from other programs such as Microsoft Excel is now automatically scaled to approximate the text size in the original application.

Midpoint between two points. Use the MTP (or M2P) command modifier with object snaps to find the midpoint between two points. Access it from the right-click OSNAP menu.

Object snap off for hatches. Ignore hatch objects while using object snaps by changing the setting on the Drafting tab of the Options dialog box.

Object zoom. Quickly zoom to an object's extents.

Relative path for image files. Insert an image with a relative path based on a folder organization, not an absolute or exact path.

Context-sensitive information. Keep the Info palette docked next to the drawing area to access suggested procedures based on your current activities in the product. Unlock the content so the information changes dynamically as you work or lock the content to help you follow a procedure.

License borrowing for network users. Borrow a license to use AutoCAD when your computer is not connected to the network. Your network administrator must first authorize use of this feature.

Removal of irrelevant applications from the registry. Use the Regapp option in the -PURGE command to purge irrelevant Registered Applications from the RegApp table in DWG files.

Reference type and uniform scale settings for external references. Set the default reference type for attaching external references to either attachment or overlay. Select the Uniform Scale option in the External Reference dialog box to ensure that the Y and Z scale factors of the attachment automatically equal the X scale factor.

Time-tracking Express Tool. Use the EDITTIME Express Tool to track the amount of active editing time you spend on a drawing.

Applications on your computer's taskbar. Display multiple open drawings as separate items on the Windows taskbar (TASKBAR set to 1), or display only the active drawing on the taskbar (TASKBAR set to 0)

Copyclip (CTRL-C) and pasteclip (CTRL-V) can now copy and paste xrefs between drawings without changing them to blocks.

 

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