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Integrated BIM tools, including Revit, AutoCAD, and Civil 3D
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Professional CAD/CAM tools built on Inventor and AutoCAD
Integrated BIM tools, including Revit, AutoCAD, and Civil 3D
Professional CAD/CAM tools built on Inventor and AutoCAD
Create a trace for your AutoCAD drawing, and copy objects from the trace into the drawing.
Type:
Tutorial
Length:
4 min.
Transcript
00:03
In all AutoCAD platform products, including Civil 3D,
00:08
the Trace tool enables you to add feedback and markups as an overlay for an existing drawing without altering the drawing itself.
00:16
Like laying a piece of tracing paper over a drawing, a trace lets you add markups, text,
00:22
and additional geometry to help facilitate collaboration.
00:27
You can contribute to traces from the desktop, mobile and web versions of AutoCAD, meaning that you can use it anytime, anywhere.
00:35
A drawing can have one or multiple traces, and all or some of the objects in a trace can easily be copied into your drawing.
00:44
To create a trace, with your AutoCAD drawing open, on the ribbon, select the Collaborate tab.
00:52
Then, on the Traces panel, click Traces Palette.
00:57
In the Traces palette, you can see that the drawing shown has no existing traces.
01:03
Click New Trace.
01:06
A trace opens, with the Trace toolbar at the top of the Trace environment.
01:11
Click Settings.
01:14
Here, you can adjust the Transparency of the Overlay Effect and for the geometry in the trace.
01:20
Currently, the trace is in front of the drawing, as indicated by Trace (Front) on the toolbar.
01:28
This means that you can edit and add to the trace.
01:32
Click the icon to toggle to Trace (Back) mode.
01:36
Now the trace is behind the drawing, which means that you can edit the drawing with the trace still visible.
01:42
Switch back to Trace (Front).
01:46
You can also add markups to the trace using the standard AutoCAD tools.
01:51
In this case, from the Annotate tab, a note is added.
01:56
Then, a deck and a walkway are drawn, with additional text to label them.
02:02
In the Traces palette, you can see that these trace markups are all included in Trace1.
02:09
Click New Trace, to add a second trace, Trace2.
02:13
On this trace, a different path is added, as well as a Rev Cloud with a note.
02:21
On the Trace toolbar, switch to Trace (Back).
02:25
Zoom in and notice that you can still see the trace markups behind the drawing.
02:31
In the Traces palette, select Trace1, then switch to Trace (Back).
02:37
Now, you can see the markups for Trace1 behind the drawing.
02:42
Using more than one trace allows you to select between different options and can easily be closed or deleted.
02:49
In the Traces palette, right-click Trace1 to Close, Rename, or in this case, Delete the trace.
02:58
You can copy all or selected objects from a trace into the drawing.
03:03
Select the trace—in this case, Trace2—and enter “copyfromtrace” on the command line.
03:10
Now, select the objects you wish to copy from the trace, such as the pathway, and then press ENTER to place them in your drawing.
03:20
When you are finished, right-click Trace2 and select Delete.
03:25
Notice that the pathway is included in the drawing, even after the trace is removed.
03:30
Anyone with access to this drawing can now view the traces, incorporate trace markups into the drawing, or add their own markups.
Video transcript
00:03
In all AutoCAD platform products, including Civil 3D,
00:08
the Trace tool enables you to add feedback and markups as an overlay for an existing drawing without altering the drawing itself.
00:16
Like laying a piece of tracing paper over a drawing, a trace lets you add markups, text,
00:22
and additional geometry to help facilitate collaboration.
00:27
You can contribute to traces from the desktop, mobile and web versions of AutoCAD, meaning that you can use it anytime, anywhere.
00:35
A drawing can have one or multiple traces, and all or some of the objects in a trace can easily be copied into your drawing.
00:44
To create a trace, with your AutoCAD drawing open, on the ribbon, select the Collaborate tab.
00:52
Then, on the Traces panel, click Traces Palette.
00:57
In the Traces palette, you can see that the drawing shown has no existing traces.
01:03
Click New Trace.
01:06
A trace opens, with the Trace toolbar at the top of the Trace environment.
01:11
Click Settings.
01:14
Here, you can adjust the Transparency of the Overlay Effect and for the geometry in the trace.
01:20
Currently, the trace is in front of the drawing, as indicated by Trace (Front) on the toolbar.
01:28
This means that you can edit and add to the trace.
01:32
Click the icon to toggle to Trace (Back) mode.
01:36
Now the trace is behind the drawing, which means that you can edit the drawing with the trace still visible.
01:42
Switch back to Trace (Front).
01:46
You can also add markups to the trace using the standard AutoCAD tools.
01:51
In this case, from the Annotate tab, a note is added.
01:56
Then, a deck and a walkway are drawn, with additional text to label them.
02:02
In the Traces palette, you can see that these trace markups are all included in Trace1.
02:09
Click New Trace, to add a second trace, Trace2.
02:13
On this trace, a different path is added, as well as a Rev Cloud with a note.
02:21
On the Trace toolbar, switch to Trace (Back).
02:25
Zoom in and notice that you can still see the trace markups behind the drawing.
02:31
In the Traces palette, select Trace1, then switch to Trace (Back).
02:37
Now, you can see the markups for Trace1 behind the drawing.
02:42
Using more than one trace allows you to select between different options and can easily be closed or deleted.
02:49
In the Traces palette, right-click Trace1 to Close, Rename, or in this case, Delete the trace.
02:58
You can copy all or selected objects from a trace into the drawing.
03:03
Select the trace—in this case, Trace2—and enter “copyfromtrace” on the command line.
03:10
Now, select the objects you wish to copy from the trace, such as the pathway, and then press ENTER to place them in your drawing.
03:20
When you are finished, right-click Trace2 and select Delete.
03:25
Notice that the pathway is included in the drawing, even after the trace is removed.
03:30
Anyone with access to this drawing can now view the traces, incorporate trace markups into the drawing, or add their own markups.
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