Suddenly, It's 2012!

There's been a new release of AutoCAD every spring since AutoCAD 2004 was launched in 2003. That's not much time for even an army of programmers to deliver a compelling new feature set that's going to convince all users that they just have to upgrade. What seems to have been happening is a concentration on particular areas in recent releases. For example, AutoCAD 2007 was a 3D release; the 3D modeling engine was made much easier to use, but there was relatively little to please the 2D crowd. By contrast, AutoCAD 2008 was deemed to be “the drafter's release” because of the number of enhancements to 2D drawing capabilities — above all, the introduction of annotative documentation objects. In AutoCAD 2009, the new interface got the lion's share of development (suddenly, it's Office 2007!); major new features were limited to some 3D navigation tools, the very useful Quick Properties tool, and a palettized Layer Properties Manager. AutoCAD 2010 offered significant enhancements to both 2D and 3D users, in parametric drafting tools, and free-form mesh modeling, and AutoCAD 2011 introduced some workflow changes and a welcome new object property, transparency.

• Content Explorer: If you're running in Windows Vista or Windows 7, you're familiar with the new and fast Search feature. Content Explorer is like Windows Search for drawings. You tag folders to be watched in the Content Explorer palette. Then, after they've been indexed (a background operation that can take some time to complete), you can find named blocks, layouts, text strings, styles, and so forth pretty well instantly. I don't cover Content Explorer in detail in this book, so check out the online help for specific information.
• Autocomplete: Starting to type a command is now just like starting to type someone's address in your e-mail program. AutoCAD 2012's Autocomplete feature starts suggesting commands as you type. I wasn't convinced that this was such a great addition until I noticed that I no longer had to type (or mistype!) command and variable names like DRAWORDER or REMEMBERFOLDERS. I introduce you to Autocomplete in Chapter 2.
• Autodesk Exchange: Autodesk Exchange for AutoCAD is a new front end for the program that starts (by default) automatically when you start AutoCAD 2012. The Home screen includes “what's new” videos and links to various Autodesk Web pages. It also contains the AutoCAD version of the iTunes store, where you can purchase apps — free or low-cost add-ins to make your work go more smoothly. The online help system now runs in the Autodesk Exchange window.
• Groups: AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT have had a group function for many years, but it's never been that easy to use. Now a simple Group panel on the Home tab makes creating, viewing, and ungrouping objects a breeze. I cover groups in Chapter 10.
• Copy enhancements: The COPY command gets an Array option for making duplicates in a linear pattern. And the NCOPY command, for copying objects nested inside blocks, formerly an Express Tool, moves to the core program — which means that AutoCAD LT users have it for the first time. See Chapter 11 for more information.
• Delete duplicates: The OVERKILL command is another Express Tool that's been moved to the core (and so is available to LT users). This command searches your drawing for objects drawn on top of other objects and (as its name suggests) deletes them. I cover this feature in Chapter 11.
• Fillets, chamfers, blends, and joins: FILLET and CHAMFER now include a preview that shows you the effect of changing a fillet radius or chamfer distance before you finish the command. The new BLEND command creates curved transitions with tangent- or curve-continuity between lines, arcs, splines, and polylines. And JOIN now incorporates the Join option of the PEDIT command: Select a bunch of individual objects with common endpoints, and then run the JOIN command to create a new polyline object. I cover these changed commands in Chapter 11.
• Associative arrays: Prior to AutoCAD 2012, the ARRAY command created simple rectangular or circular patterns of selected objects. AutoCAD 2012 replaces the old ARRAY with a new, complex command that creates a new associative array object. I'm of two minds on this one. It has its uses, I'm sure, but the old ARRAY was probably more useful in everyday drafting, and that command is now harder to use than it was in AutoCAD 2011. I cover associative arrays in Chapters 11 and 18.
• Online tab: Both AutoCAD 2012 and AutoCAD LT 2012 get a new Online tab. Most of the tools on this tab start the AutoCAD WS service. With an account at www.autocadws.com, you can upload drawings to and from mobile devices running Apple's iOS4 operating system — that is, iPhones, iPads, and the iPod touch. For more information, have a look at Chapter 20.
• UCS enhancements: The UCS (User Coordinate System) icon is now selectable. You can grab it by selecting the grip and the origin and move it to a new base point, and you can orient your new UCS by dragging the grips on the X-, Y-, and Z-axes of the icon. I introduce you to this new way of setting up coordinate systems in Chapter 21.
• In-canvas viewport controls: This is probably my favorite new feature in AutoCAD 2012. I've barely started using it in this release, and already I'm looking for it in the AutoCAD 2010 version I use at the office every day — and, of course, it's not there! You can simply click one of the labels at the top-left corner of a viewport to switch views or visual styles, or toggle between a multiple viewport configuration or a single viewport. I cover this new interface feature in Chapter 22.