The holidays are certainly getting closer as I can tell companies are winding down little by little. At Autodesk we only have one week left before we take a two week break (I can hardly wait!). Of course I have all of these grandiose plans as to what I will accomplish during those two weeks - I am sure when it is all said and done I'll find only a few items actually checked off of the list!
A couple of weeks ago Cadalyst Magazine released one of my video tips on the PURGE command. Here you'll find some good nuggets of information on why you should keep your AutoCAD drawings clean and exactly how to go about doing it! You can even see my kitchen peeking through in the background of my picture in picture (it's not a very big kitchen - sadly).
AutoCAD 2010 added a nice option to the PURGE dialog for cleaning up the excess garbage in your drawing files. I'm referring to empty text objects and zero length geometry (translated - garbage!)/ If you find yourself working with drawing files from other programs (such as Microstation) or lots of external references then you will love this new addition!
There is also a top secret option that exists in the PURGE command that is only accessible from the command line version of the command. That means you need to put a dash in front of PURGE to get to it (-PURGE).
That option is Regapps (for Registered Applications). Cleaning these space eating mongrels out of your drawing can reduce the file size by half (depending on what you have going on!). You won't miss these apps - and AutoCAD will just load them again if it needs them!
Enter type of unused objects to purge:
[Blocks/Dimstyles/LAyers/LTypes/MAterials/MUltileaderstyles/Plotstyles/SHapes/te
xtSTyles/Mlinestyles/Tablestyles/Visualstyles/Regapps/Zero-length
geometry/Empty text objects/All]:
Take a look at the video - and then start purging your drawing files! Keep them nice and clean and they'll run better and faster (and who doesn't want that?)
For entertainment purposes - I'm throwing in a picture of my dog dressed in her Santa outfit...just trying to spread a little cheer! Happy Holidays to you all!
(doesn't it drive you crazy when people dress up their dogs?)