The New View in AutoCAD 2018.1

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Autodesk finally got around to much-needed, major improvements in basic AutoCAD functionality to manage and employ both Named Views, the MVIEW command, and XREF layer overrides in all AutoCAD based software with the recent release of the AutoCAD 2018.1 Update.

It’s About Time – Our Time

These new and improved core AutoCAD tools should mean you can produce better deliverables in less time. If you are a civil engineer or surveyor the odds are you already depend on MVIEW, Named Views, and either DVIEW TWist or CAmera option tweaks, to publish you work. If you successfully employ the Civil 3D Production Tool and Viewframes, you do the do and understand about the need to manage this stuff.

Whether you employ XREFs or pre-published and QAQC’d DWFs is a whole different matter. Say What? See the Faster Civil 3D Standards with UL post and the included short video if that doesn’t make sense. More the half the battle in AutoCAD Civil 3D is reducing the downstream complexity at crunch time. It’s really an easier Civil 3D workflow thing.

States in Less Time

If you must employ XREF’s, then I trust you employ well-designed Layer States and know how to employ them. Most of our successful and happy customers don’t need the LA (Layer Manager) command too often. No way? Yes way! The Framework for Civil 3D employs well-integrated Layer States and very useful AutoCAD Layer Standards files. We even supply better city and county infrastructure NCS and GSA compliant Layer Standards right out of the box. Why? So you can…

Work Smarter Not Harder

For the time being it also seems you’ll also probably find yourself using the REA (REGENALL) command more frequently. Just saying. The AutoCAD 2018.1 Update appears to cheat a bit more.

AutoCAD 2018.1 Update

The basic nuts and bolts…

  • The AutoCAD 2018.1 Update applies to all AutoCAD based application software including AutoCAD Civil 3D 2018.
  • The AutoCAD 2018.1 Update does not update the default AutoCAD Civil 3D 2018 CUI and Ribbon menus.
    The new Highlight New Features tool will show new the 2018.1 command features in Civil 3D where appropriate.
  • Don’t be confused. The digits in the release number of Autodesk updates do matter.
    This AutoCAD 2018.1 update is different from previous AutoCAD 2018.1 and AutoCAD 2018.0.2 updates which were smaller update fixes to the initial AutoCAD 2018 release.
  • The AutoCAD 2018.1 and AutoCAD LT 2018.1 Update Preview Guide PDF briefly details many of the improvements listed below.
  • The AutoCAD 2018 on-line help also includes links to a 2018.1 Update new features video

 

AutoCAD 2018.1 New Features and Improvements

Did you pay careful attention to the use of the new Insert View tool in a Layout disclaimer? Undisciplined ACAD users will love this quick and dirty. Autodesk likes to keep them happy. In Civil 3D if you don’t or cannot Name it, you will regret it later most of the time.

AutoCAD has, of course, both MVIEWs and VIEWs which are not at all the same thing. The new official vernacular for MVIEWs is Layout Viewports in the help files.

Named Views and Ribbon Tools

  • A new Named Views panel is added to the View tab to make it easy to create and restore named views from the ribbon, and to create scaled views and viewports for your layouts.
  • The new Layout Viewports are automatically assigned a standard scale that can easily be changed from a new scale grip on the viewport.
    The new Layout Viewports have new Move and Scale grips. Wait for it.
  • The new New View tool will create Named Views based on a viewport or window selection.

Xref Layer Management

  • Improvements to Xref Layers make it easier to identify overrides and restore them to their default values.
  • Layout aware display of Xref Layers inside the Layer Manager
  • New Xref layer override filters and optional highlight colors. Oooo.
  • Layer Manager Setting control of specific Layer property overrides if you want that.
    Say hello to VISRETAINMODE.

New System Variables: VISRETAINMODE, XREFLAYER, LAYEROVERRIDEHIGHLIGHT

High Resolution Monitor Support

  • Supports additional dialog boxes.
  • Palettes and icons are correctly adjusted to the Windows setting for the display scale.

Changed and New Commands: MVIEW, NEWVIEW

3D Graphics Performance

  • Work on performance continues to optimize the speed of 3D display for the Wireframe, Realistic, and Shaded visual styles.
  • Increases in graphics performance will vary depending on the size and content of the 3D DWG files.
  • For the best results, use these 3D visual styles in their default states on a 64-bit machine with a compatible graphics card.

Changed Commands: 3DORBIT, ZOOM, PAN, VSCURRENT

Performance Enhancements

  • Plot and Preview offer significant performance improvements for drawings with missing SHX fonts.

Standards Checking

  • Custom line type properties are supported when checking STANDARDS with multiple custom line type definitions in drawing.
    This is an interoperability Microstation linestyle and State DOT support thing.

Object Selection

  • Crossing window and Fence selections are supported when trimming or extending lines that are not on the current UCS plane
    I think this might have been on the AutoCAD User Wish List for like two decades.
    How is this going to work with my Feature Line edits in AutoCAD Civil 3D?
    We shall see.

Read the AutoCAD 2018.1 Readme