AutoCAD
is a complex program and one of its major selling points
is that it is highly customizable. Every user will use
AutoCAD differently. Some use icons, some use command
line prompts. Each drawing is also different. You may
have different text heights, or dimension styles from
one drawing to the next. To keep track of these different
parameters, AutoCAD uses a large number of system variables
to do this. You have recently used one system variable: LTSCALE.
This could have been changed in the Linetype dialog box,
but typing LTS is
easier and quicker.
A
system variable is a configuration setting that can be
changed by the user. Some system variables can not be
changed, these are known as read-only variables. Here
is an example of each:
SYSTEM
VARIABLE |
CURRENT
VALUE |
TYPE |
TEXTSIZE |
0.200 |
USER
CONFIGURABLE |
ACADVER |
"16" (read
only) |
READ
ONLY |
Most
of AutoCAD's system variables are changeable. This allows
for quick customization as well as easier programming.
Once
you have used AutoCAD for a while, you may find that
it is easier to redefine a system variable than to go
through a dialog box to get the same result. In some
cases, the only way to make these changes is through
the system variable itself. Unfortunately, there are
no shortcuts for entering these, you have to either remember
them, or have a list nearby. Some of them are quite straightforward
as to what they do, but some are rather cryptic and make
it difficult for memorization.
**NOTE:
In Level 3 (3-D), you were working with system variables
to some degree.
Warning: Don't change system variables unless
you know exactly what you're doing.
To
see a list of all of the AutoCAD system variables, follow
these steps:
Command: setvar <ENTER>
Variable
name or ?: ? <ENTER>
Variable(s)
to list <*>: <ENTER>
It
shows you what the settings were for a particular drawing
at a specific time. The list also shows you which system
variables are read only. For a listing of these in AutoCAD 2008, click here.
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