Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Network Licensing
Once again, the paradigm is “big engineering company” versus “home-office doodler”,
and the assumption is that AutoCAD LT users have no need for a network license. With
ten seats of regular AutoCAD, you can get a network license that makes things pretty
easy to administer. If you're an LT user and find that you need ten seats, then you need
ten individual copies.
Express Tools
The Express Tools are a set of officially unsupported but nevertheless pretty reliable
“bonus” commands. The Express Tools are an optional item when you install AutoCAD,
and I highly recommend you choose to include them. There are additional drawing and
editing commands, a far more elaborate hatch routine than the regular HATCH com-
mand, and commands for working with blocks and xrefs, text, dimensions, and layouts.
Because most of the Express Tools are written using the APIs mentioned in the earlier
“Customization Options” section, they won't work in AutoCAD LT. On the positive side,
sometimes a few of the Express Tools are moved into the core of the AutoCAD execut-
able; because they're not using one of those APIs I mention earlier, they can be made
available to AutoCAD LT. For example, AutoCAD LT 2012 now includes the OVERKILL
command for weeding out duplicate objects that had previously been an Express Tool.
Parametrics
I cover parametrics in Chapter 19 of this topic, and I point out that AutoCAD LT is ex-
tremely limited in this area. Yes, there's a Parameters tab, and a Parameters Manager,
but in LT, the Manager doesn't have a lot of clout. You can't create parameters with LT,
but you
can
delete them, and therefore do a lot of damage to a helpless DWG file. If you
like the idea of your drawing geometry changing when you change the value of a dimen-
sion, then you really ought to think about the full version of AutoCAD rather than LT.
Standards Checking
