Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 6-7:
The Select Color dialog box. Magenta is selected from the Standard Colors list.
The normal AutoCAD color scheme — AutoCAD Color Index (ACI) — provides 255
colors. So many choices are overkill for ordinary drafting.
For now, stick with the first nine colors — the ones that appear in a
single, separate row to the left of the ByLayer and ByBlock buttons on the Index Co-
lor tab of the Select Color dialog box — for the following reasons:
• These colors are easy to distinguish from one another.
• Using a small number of colors makes configuring your plot parameters easi-
er. (I describe that procedure in Chapter 16.)
In the Select Color dialog box, the True Color tab offers a choice of more
than 16 million colors, which you can specify by using
HSL
(Hue Saturation Lumin-
ance) or
RGB
(Red Green Blue) numbers. The Color topics tab enables you to use
PANTONE and RAL color schemes, which are popular in publishing. If your work re-
quires tons of colors or close color matching between the computer screen and
printed output, you're probably familiar with the relevant color palette and how to
use it. If you're using AutoCAD for ordinary drafting or design, stick with the
AutoCAD Color Index palette.
5. Click a color to select it as the color for this layer and click OK.
The Select Color dialog box closes, and focus returns to the Layer Properties Man-
ager palette. In the Color column, the new layer color changes to either the name or
the number of the color that you selected.
AutoCAD's first seven colors have both numbers and standard names: 1
= red, 2 = yellow, 3 = green, 4 = cyan, 5 = blue, 6 = magenta, and 7 = white (which ap-
pears black when displayed on a white background). The remaining 248 colors have
numbers only.
6. On the same line as the new layer, click the Linetype name of the new layer.
The Select Linetype dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 6-8.
The default AutoCAD linetype is
Continuous,
which means no gaps in the line
.
