HyperPics: Beyond the UI

Gone Tweeting

Did you hear that? I thought I heard a tweet. Looking for byte size pieces of information on AutoCAD. Follow me on Twitter, if you don't I promise you will not hear a peep out of me; I know bad pun but sounds good at 11:44PM.

Twitter Page:
http://twitter.com/LeeAmbrosius

A Call for Transparency (in AutoCAD)

Transparency is a term or buzz word that seems as popular as social media these days.  Depending on who is using the term it can mean very different things.  In AutoCAD, transparency controls how opaque or solid linework or fills appear.  AutoCAD 2011 allows you to add transparency directly to an object or by layer.  When you create hatch objects, you can specify a transparency value for the hatch object that is being created.  Using transparency with solid and gradient fills is a great way to highlight an area of a drawing or overlay multiple hatch objects without obscuring the objects under them.

The following illustration shows a tree that overhangs a curb.  The image on the left is using a transparency of 0, and the one on the right has been assigned a transparency of 45.  With transparency assigned to the hatch, you can see that a feature in the gutter was hidden before along with some of the sketch work of the tree.

 

Transparency can also be useful in drawing stamps that might indicate a drawing is in a draft state by stamping DRAFT across the drawing or even confidential if it should not be shared.  Watermarks can also be created using transparency, but appear behind the objects of a drawing.

To create a transparent object, you adjust the Transparency slider on the Properties panel of the ribbon.  Select Transparency Value from the Transparency drop-down list to the left of the Transparency slider.  When the Transparency drop-down list is set to ByLayer, the transparency value that is assigned to a layer is inherited by an object when it is created.  After an object is created, you can adjust an object's transparency value using the Properties panel on the ribbon or the Properties/Quick Properties palettes.

The display of transparency in the drawing window is enabled by default but if you find that the performance of AutoCAD seems to be slow, you can disable the display of transparency by clicking the Show/Hide Transparency on the status bar or changing the value of the TRANSPARENCYDISPLAY system variable.

To learn more about using transparency in AutoCAD, see the AutoCAD 2011 New Features Workshop.

The following new commands and system variables affect Transparency:

Commands:

• N/A

System Variables:

• TRANSPARENCYDISPLAY - Toggles the display of transparency objects in the drawing area on or off.
• CETRANSPARENCY - Controls the transparency value that is assigned to new objects.
• HPTRANSPARENCY - Controls the transparency value that is assigned to new hatch objects.

Following my blog for more information on other features introduced in AutoCAD 2011 and AutoCAD LT 2011.

Sincerely,
  Lee