Lynn Allen's Blog

Gestures and AutoCAD for Mac

At first I had to chuckle a little when I heard that AutoCAD for Mac supports gestures.  Being the uncool unMac user that I am- the only gestures that came to mind when using AutoCAD were not good ones.  For you fellow unMac users - AutoCAD for Mac works quite well with some very useful gestures - so much so I'm kind of jealous that we don't have them for the PC as well!

Some things to keep in mind (for you PC guys who have never worked on a Mac).  There is no left or right click keys on a Mac laptop keyboard (say it isn't so!).  Not only that - but the standard Apple "Magic Mouse" doesn't technically have two physical left and right mouse buttons,(although you can still left or right click) or a scroll wheel.  Mac users just go about things a little bit differently!  I promise you - they get the job done anyway - they just take a slightly different route (just like "the Force" - you just have to Believe!).

(Some of you Mac users may have a "Mighty Mouse"...but the only Mighty Mouse I am familiar with s a cartoon so I am not really qualified to comment on that)

Unlike the PC, the Mac doesn't expect the world to be right handed.   You can easily configure the primary and secondary clicks on the mouse's multi-touch surface to work with whichever hand you choose in the Apple=>System Preferences:

In fact - if you aren't getting a right click on your mouse...you should check out your mouse settings.

Let's take a look at the Gestures in AutoCAD for Mac:

Note:  Since AutoCAD for Mac isn't shipping yet...you might want to bookmark this for future reference...I just thought you might like a little head start.

The gestures I'll be covering include using the Magic Mouse and/or the trackpad (pictured below)

Select an object or command:  Single One finger click on the trackpad or a Left click on Magic Mouse: 

To open a shortcut menu:  Two finger click on the trackpad or a Right click on Magic Mouse:

Now here's where it gets interesting:

To pan the drawing:  Use a Two finger swipe on the trackpad (very cool) or a one finger swipe on Magic Mouse (which is a little tricky for us PC users to get used to - in fact I haven't yet).

Note:  There are two more means of panning the drawing on a Mac - one by holding down the space bar and moving the Magic Mouse (much easier) or another by holding down the spacebar and swiping the trackpad.

 

To Zoom in or Zoom out: well you've all seen this done on an iPhone or iPad - pinch your fingers together to Zoom Out, pull them apart to Zoom in.  You can also swipe a finger up or down on Magic Mouse - much like you would a wheel (see - Macs don't need no stinkin' wheel!).

 

 

To Orbit in 3D:  Hold down the Shift key and do a single finger swipe on Magic Mouse (very cool), or Shift and Two Finger swipe on the trackpad.  You can, of course, always use the Viewcube as well.

All of these take a little getting used to for the PC user - but come much more naturally to the Mac user (or so they say).  And truth be told - you can always grab your beloved PC mouse and use that instead...which is probably what most of you PC veterans would do if you decided to go Mac!   AutoCAD for Mac has a great welcome video that also takes you through these gestures.

I know some Mac desktop users who also use the "Magic Trackpad" with their keyboards - and that involves a similart set of gestures (but a much larger desk than I have).

All I know is I am LOVING my AutoCAD for Mac...and I can't wait to get out there and show everyone how great it is...I hear that once you go Mac - you never go back! 

 (couldn't resist)

Disclaimer:  I'm still learning the World of Mac - so please forgive me if I don't talk proper Mac yet! 

Me talk Pretty Mac some day...

 

Back from India and getting ready for AutoCAD for Mac

I'm finally back from a week of presentations in India. A great big thank you to Kannan who took very good care of me and started off all of the events with a great welcome and overview.  Below is a picture of Kannan (who doesn't look very happy - probably because he realized i was leaving)  Ha!  I'm pretty sure he'd had his fill of me after traveling together for a week!

 While in Chennai I had the opportunity to meet with one of our ADN partners - KKM Softwho showed me an amazing demo of some of their applications for both AutoCAD and Inventor.  They have built some great custom applications (mostly with the engineer in mind) and are going to be in the Exhibit Hall at Autodesk University so be sure to check them out!  Remember their name - KKM Soft  (Very impressive!). 

 

And now for the last day highlight in Mumbai - the Spice Lady!  This wonderful woman named Sydney Pinto brought her husband (who uses AutoCAD) and her brilliant son Lionel (who uses AutoCAD, Inventor, etc) to our event.  Mrs. Pinto doesn't use any of our products - she owns a spice company !  Well...for those who know me - my second passion is cooking - so I was thrilled to meet Sydney Pinto (from KSC Spices) She promised me some of her spices and literally ran all over town (through tons of traffic) trying to get them to me - above and beyond!  Thank you so much Sydney and wonderful Lionel for delivering the best Indian spices in the world.  I'm happy to report I've already used some of them (they are fantastic!)

 

So my time in India came to a close and now I've moved on to AutoCAD for Mac.  Soon I'll be touring around doing AutoCAD for Mac presentations and I look forward to sharing some tips on my blog so stay tuned!