I recently had the pleasure of teaching AutoCAD 2006 to a group of brand new users. I've taught a lot of new users, but the difference this time was that I taught this class totally without a command line.
For those of you that have wondered what was behind Autodesk giving us the option of no command line, here's what I understand. Many users that are new to AutoCAD, have difficulty with the concept of the command line. Some have used some other CAD program that doesn't have a command line.
The biggest problem for new users (and sometimes even experienced users) is to keep reminding them to read the command line. The command line tells us what AutoCAD wants to do, though sometimes you have to read between the lines to figure that out.
It's been a long-time request to eliminate the command line. Of course those of us that have been using AutoCAD for many years feel naked without our command line. But with this all in mind, I made up my mind to teach this class to users who had never heard of a command line how to use the program for the first time using the Dynamic Input.
This of course was harder for me to get used to than it was for them. I did find out something interesting though. Even though I don't have to keep repeating to read the command line, I do have to do essentially same the same thing. The prompts are now at your cursor, but you still have to read them. This was a surprise because I was expecting that with the text right in front of their noses they'd be fine. This proves that it doesn't matter whether we use a command line or dynamic input. Reading the information is still key.
The other thing that I discovered is that even though you have more screen space with no command line and have the information right under your nose, the dynamic input is lacking in one area (my opinion). With the command line, we can read available options. With the dynamic input, there is a drop down arrow when we have options. This arrow is too often missed by the new users and me included. In some cases, I knew that there should be options available and tried to remember to look for the arrow. But in many cases we missed that arrow all together.
My suggestion would be to set your dynamic inputs settings (right click on the DYN button on your status bar and choose Drafting Tooltip Appearance or choose Options>Drafting tab>Drafting Tooltip Appearance) as large as possible. This way you may be less likely to miss that little drop down arrow.
To access command options, simply use the down arrow on your keyboard. The options appear grayed out to me, but they are available. Choose the option with your down arrow. A small dot will appear in front of each option. Then press Enter.
Don't get me wrong. I like the dynamic input feature. Just remember that you still have to read the input and you have to train yourself to look for the down arrow.
Enjoy your Cinco de Mayo!
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1 comments:
I would have to find a new line of work if the Command Line was ever done away with. I have never used Dynamic Input (I call it 'Using The Icons')except for Express Tools and my old Custom Toolbars I wrote for ADT 2000 to integrate with our Custom AEC Objects as our office standards(Such as Walls, Doors, Windows, etc..). I am actually the only person in our office that exclusively types in all commands and I am here to tell you that I can actually execute 4 to 5 commands in the same time it takes you to locate the Menu and its options to execute 1 command. Time is money and if that means anything to you Directly( Such as Ownership) you would do well to insist that your employees learn to use direct input. You can also solve a lot of software problems at the command line that I have not yet found possible Dynamically. Do yourself a favor and try to slowly familiarize yourself with the command line if you are not already. It never hurts to have options!
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