Video Tutorials
Lesson 45 - Working with Isometric Drafting in nanoCAD
nanoCAD 21 introduces new tools for creating isometric drawings. These drawings show three sides at the same time - left, top, right and look 3D but are in fact 2D. In this video, you learn how to work with isometric drawings:
• How to start a new isometric drawing
• Accessing commands for drawing isometric rectangles, circles, and arcs
• Setting up text styles and placing isometric text
• Setting up dimensions styles and placing isometric dimensions
Lesson 44 - Working with Interactive Arrays in nanoCAD
nanoCAD introduces parametric arrays that are interactive. Instead of specifying their look with a dialog box or at the command line, you now interact with them while drawing the array. In this video, you learn how to work with interactive arrays:
• How to create rectangular and polar arrays interactively
• Editing arrays using grips
• Creating 3D arrays
Lesson 43 - Placing Raster Images in nanoCAD Drawings
You can place raster images, like photographs, in drawings, and then use them as backgrounds or to trace over them. In this video, you learn how to place them in drawings and then change them:
• Using the ROpen command to place a raster image file in a drawing
• Understanding how to select images, and how to turn them off
• Changing the brightness and contrast of the image
• Clipping an image to reduce its size and shape
• Removing clipping boundaries from images, and images from drawings
Lesson 42 - Inserting Drawings in Drawings (About DWG References)
Sometimes you need to reference other drawings, and nanoCAD lets you insert those other drawings in the one you are working with. This is called 'DWG references' or 'external references' or 'xref' for short. In this video, you learn how to insert drawings in drawings:
• Using the XAttach command to attach an external drawing to the current one
• Editing the attached drawing and updating it
• Toggling the visibility of xrefs
• Removing xrefs form drawings by unloading them
Lesson 41 - Viewing Proxy Entities with nanoCAD
nanoCAD uses the DWG file format, which means it can open and edit drawing files from many other CAD programs. One quirk about DWG is that it can define custom objects that are unique to one program. When you open such a drawing in nanoCAD, the custom objects are displayed as proxies -- entities that can be seen but not edited very much. In this video, you learn how to work with proxy objects:
• Identifying which objects are proxy objects
• Changing the look of proxy objects with the ProxyShow variable
Lesson 40 - Creating and Working with Groups
nanoCAD has several ways of working with groups of entities, and one of them is called "groups." Groups essentially are named selection sets. In this video, you learn how to create and insert blocks in drawings:
• Using the Group command to make a group of entities
• Understanding the difference between "selectable" and "uselectable" modes
• Using groups in commands
• Eliminating groups
Lesson 39 - Working with Attributes in Blocks
Blocks can hold data called "attributes," such as prices and model numbers. In this video, you learn how to add attributes to and extract data from blocks:
• Adding attributes to blocks
• Filling data into attributes
• Editing attribute data
• Toggling the visibility of attributes
• Exporting attributes to a spreadsheet program
Lesson 38 - Editing and Sharing Blocks with nanoCAD
Once you have added blocks to a drawing, you may want to change them, and you definitely want to use them in other drawings. In this video, you learn how to edit and share blocks with other drawings:
• Using the Block Editor to make changes to blocks
• Editing blocks in-place
• Sharing blocks between drawings through the Clipboard
• Saving blocks to disc with the SaveAs and WBlock commands
• Adding blocks to the Tools palette
Lesson 37 - Creating and Inserting Blocks with nanoCAD
CAD is all about drawing efficiently, and one of the most efficient tools is the block. A block is a symbol that you use a lot, such as a door or a bolt. In this video, you learn how to create and insert blocks in drawings:
• Using the Block command to make a desk symbol from a rectangle
• Inserting the desk block in the drawing with the Insert command
• Understanding unit blocks
• Inserting a unit block as a scaled desk symbol
Lesson 31 - Advanced Dimensioning Methods in nanoCAD
nanoCAD has the flexibility to show several kinds of advanced dimensions. In this video, you learn how to have both Imperial and metric distances on dimensions, as well as how to show four kinds of tolerances on dimensions.
Lesson 30 - Working with Dimensions Styles
nanoCAD lets change the look of dimensions through the use of styles. Apply a different style, and the dimension looks different instantly. In this video, you learn how to make a new dimension style, and then apply it to existing dimensions. As well, you learn how to change the look of a dimension on-the-fly with the mDim command's Properties option.
Lesson 29 - Editing Dimensions in nanoCAD
Once dimensions are placed in drawings, they can be edited. nanoCAD lets you change their position and their look. In this video, you learn how to use grips to change the position of dimensions, and the Properties panel to change their look. In addition, you learn how to break dimension lines to make drawings look cleaner and how to flip the arrowheads on dimensions.
Lesson 28 - Semiautomatic Dimensioning With the mDim Command
Although nanoCAD produces perfectly accurate drawings, it can be useful to place dimensions to get a feel for the overall size of objects. In this video, you learn how to use the mDim command to place a variety of dimensions on straight, angles, and curved entities -- semi-automatically, because nanoCAD senses the entity type to determine the correct dimension to place.
Lesson 27 - Placing Callouts with Note Command
Notes are used to make callouts that point to areas of drawings. A note (or callout) is a piece of text that uses a leader line to point to the item of interest. In this video, you learn how to use the Note command to place callouts, edit them, and create reusable callout styles.
Lesson 26 - Understanding Text Styles and Justification
The look of text is controlled by styles, which operate exactly the same as in word processing software. In this video, you learn how text styles work, and then how to create a new style using the Style command. In addition, you learn how to override the style, as well as how the text's insertion point affects its justification in the drawing.