Certain Express Tools do not Function in AutoCAD Electrical 2013

This is apparently a known issue in AutoCAD Electrical 2013, whereby some of the Express Tools files are not loaded and maintained on starting AutoCAD Electrical.

 

This means that certain tools, such as Text to MText do not function.
However there is a fix:

• Start AutoCAD Electrical
• Type appload at the commandline
• Click on Contents under Startup Suite
• Hit Add in the Startup Suite dialog
• Browse to C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Acade 2013\Express
• Using CTRL select the following files - sysvdlg.arx, ctextapp.arx, dimsio.arx, leaderex.arx and mocoro.arx
• Click Open
• Now close all dialogs and check the Express Tools which were not working (i.e. Text to MText)
• You can always double check by closing AutoCAD Electrical 2013 and restart to ensure it maintains these files

Square Fillet Corners in AutoCAD

The AutoCAD Fillet command can be used for adding Fillets at a chosen Radius, however it can also be used to add Square corners. To do this you can change the Radius to 0, or usefully hold the Shift Key whilst selecting the relevant lines you want the Square corner between.

The Hitchhikers Guide to AutoCAD

If you are new to AutoCAD, need a quick refresher or want to find out what it is all about, then the article below from Autodesk may be of use.

Welcome to The Hitchhikers Guide to AutoCAD - your guide to the basic 42 commands you need to create 2D drawings using modern AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT.

This guide is a great place to get started if you just completed your initial training, or to refresh your memory if you only use AutoCAD occasionally. As you can see from the illustration, the 42 commands are grouped together according to types of activity. In addition, these groups are arranged sequentially to follow a typical workflow.

 

Vault Keyboard Shortcuts

For those of you who like their Keyboard Shortcuts, you can use hotkeys to quickly access Vault commands too.

Vault Client

Paste		Ctrl+V
Open		Ctrl+O
Print		Ctrl+P
Cut		Ctrl+X
Copy		Ctrl+C
Paste as link		Ctrl+Alt+V
Select All		Ctrl+A
Delete		Ctrl+D
Edit Properties…		Ctrl+E
Move to Folder…		Ctrl+Shift+V
Refresh		F5
Find		Ctrl+F
Manage Ownership…		Ctrl+M
Update		Ctrl+U
Change Item Number		Ctrl+H
Check In…		Ctrl+I
Check Out…		Ctrl+O
Go to Working Folder		Ctrl+W
Help		F1
Back		Ctrl+Left
Forward		Ctrl+right

AutoCAD Joystick Control

A different way of navigating AutoCAD, but instead of panning you could use Joystick. To do this simply press CTRL and hold the Mouse Wheel down, you will be taken into Joystick mode.