By John Flanagan
The AutoCAD bad practices included in this blog are examples of the common ones witnessed in drawing offices.
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Not using eTransmit for drawings containing xrefs:
Sending Xrefs manually is not a clever idea as it may cause broken file paths and missing references.
If you want to send a drawing containing xrefs then eTransmit is the best option. The eTransmit tool creates a zip file and automatically extracts all objects from their respective locations and there is no chance of missing any file. -
Putting Xref drawings on layer 0:
Putting objects on layer zero and then “Xref’ing” that drawing into another is not best practice.
If you do that then the layer properties of the Xref are not copied from the main drawing.
If you create a drawing on a layer other than layer zero and then attach that drawing in another drawing as an Xref then it will be copied along with its layers and layer properties
So, you can later change the Xref properties using its dedicated layer. -
Using complete commands instead of aliases:
On the command line it is better to use command aliases instead of complete commands.
If the autocomplete function is ON, then you do not need to enter the complete command as it will automatically show you relevant commands based on the first few letters you type. -
Copy and paste from drawing of different versions or software:
Avoid this practice if possible as it can bloat your drawing file with unnecessary clutter in the database. The purge command can clean AutoCAD drawings, but it may not be able to clean all the redundant data types. -
Not using associative hatch:
When you hatch an area in your drawing try to keep it associative so that changing the boundary changes the associated hatch region as well.
Also, do not explode the hatch. Once exploded a hatch cannot be edited. -
Not using an associative array:
Try to avoid the bad practice of creating nonassociative arrays as they cannot be modified later. -
Not using the OVERKILL command:
The OVERKILL command can make your drawing cleaner by removing duplicate or overlapping lines, arcs, and polylines. Also, combines those that are partially overlapping or contiguous.
In general, you should avoid using several smaller pieces of lines for closed geometries and instead use polylines for the same.
If you have already used several broken lines, then you can combine them all into one polyline using the OVERKILL command. - Avoid different dimension styles:
This practice makes a drawing look untidy and unprofessional.
Use one main dimension style for your primary dimensions and for other dimensions with small variations you can use dimension overrides. -
Changing a dimension value rather than drawing accurately:
Always make your drawing accurate so that the dimensions show the “real” value and do not fool anyone by changing the dimension value to whatever it is supposed to be.
If the dimensions are not showing what they should be then modify your drawing to make it right not the dimensions. -
Keeping all object snap modes on:
New CAD users may find it useful to keep all object snap modes ON to enable the selection of any snap point, but it is certainly a bad practice.
It causes your drawing to snap to incorrect points which are in proximity which will eventually make inaccurate drawings.
To avoid this mistake, try to keep only the required snap points ON or try using Shift right-click (object snap override) for selecting specific snap points.
The object snap overrides must be specified each time you use one.