Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
You can also type XR ↵. The Reference Manager palette should look familiar from Chapter 7,
“Mastering Viewing Tools, Hatches, and External References.” It's the same palette you used to
manage external references. Just like external references (Xrefs), raster images are loaded when
the current file is open, but they aren't stored as part of the current file when the file is saved.
This helps keep file sizes down, but it also means that you need to keep track of inserted raster
files. You must make sure they're kept together with the AutoCAD files in which they're inserted.
For example, you might want to keep image files in the same folder as the drawing file to which
they're attached.
Another similarity between Xrefs and imported raster images is that you can clip a raster
image so that only a portion of the image is displayed in your drawing. Portions of a raster file
that are clipped aren't stored in memory, so your system won't get bogged down, even if the ras-
ter file is huge.
The following exercise gives you step-by-step instructions for importing a raster file. It also
lets you see how scanned resolution translates into an image in AutoCAD. This is important if
you're interested in scanning drawings for the purpose of tracing over them. Here are the steps:
1. Create a new file called Rastertrace.
2. Set up the file as an architectural drawing with a 1/4˝=1´ scale on an 8½˝- × -11˝ sheet (set
the Limits settings to 0,0 for the lower-left corner and 528,408 for the upper-right corner).
Make sure the drawing units type is set to Architectural. Metric users should set up their
drawing at a 1:50 scale on an A4 size sheet. (The Limits settings for metric users should
be 0,0 for the lower-left corner and 1480,1050 for the upper-right corner.)
3. Click the Zoom tool from the status bar and then type A ↵. You can also press Z A ↵ to
make sure the entire drawing limits are displayed on the screen.
4. Draw a line across the screen from coordinates 0,20´ to 64´,20´. Metric users should draw
the line from 0,600 to 1820,600. You'll use this line in a later exercise.
5. Click the line you just drew, and then select Red from the Color pop-up list in the
Properties Inspector palette. This helps make the line more visible.
6. Press -7 to open the Reference Manager palette.
7. Click the Attach Reference tool from the Reference Manager palette.
From the Select Reference File dialog box, click the File Format pop-up list and select All
Image Files. From the dialog box, locate and select the raster1.jpg project file, which can
be obtained from the topic's companion website, www.sybex.com/go/masteringautocad-
mac. You can see a preview of the file on the right side of the dialog box.
8. Click Open to open the Attach Image dialog box (Figure 13.2).
9. Uncheck the Specify On-Screen option in the Insertion Point group to accept the 0,0,0
coordinates.
10. Click OK, and then at the Specify scale factor <1>: prompt, use the cursor to scale
the image so it fills about half the screen, as shown in Figure 13.3. The raster1.jpg file-
name appears in the External References palette.
Search WWH ::




Custom Search