Access to the Internet
ACIS Engine and Solids Editing
AutoCAD DesignCenter
AutoSnap and Object Snap
Database Connectivity
Dimensioning
Drawing Properties
DXF and Programming Features
Enhancements to Text
Layer Properties and Lineweights
Multiple Design Environment
Multiple Layouts
Non-rectangular Viewports
Object Property Manager
Partially Open and Load Drawings
Plotting Enhancements
Quick Select
Reference Editing
3DOrbit
UCS per Viewport
User Interface
View and Options Dialog Boxes

Hyperlinks are now live in AutoCAD 2000 drawings. You can attach a URL (short for uniform resource locator) to any object; the URL can be the filename of another AutoCAD drawing, any other file on your computer, on your office’s network, or on the Internet. This allows you to, for example, create a contract document with hyperlinks to all related documents, including contracts, drawings, project flow diagrams, etc.

In addition to the URL, you can include a description to AutoCAD objects through the new Attach Hyperlinks dialog box. When you pass the cursor over a hyperlinked object, the cursor displays the hyperlink icon and a tooltip describing the URL.

From within almost all file-related dialog boxes, you now have access to files stored on the intranet and the Internet. AutoCAD 2000 includes a simple Web browser. Drawing and support files can be opened across the Internet, including DWG, DXF, ARX, and LSP files.

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The ACIS solids modeling engine has been updated to version 4.0. This has allowed AutoCAD 2000 to add a thin shell capability, as well as separate solids of disjoint volume.

More flexible editing of ACIS solids is provided by using face, body, and edge solid editing techniques:

• Face editing moves, rotates, offsets, tapers, deletes, copies, and changes the color of face.
• Edge edition copies and colors edges.
• Body editing imprints objects onto the solid, separates a solid, shells a solid, and checks the validity of the solid.

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The new AutoCAD DesignCenter is an independent window that lists the names of all blocks, dimension styles, external references, linetypes, text styles, layers, layouts, and hatch patterns for all drawings currently open, as well as in DWG files located on your computer, network drives, and Web sites. The user interface is similar to that of the Windows Explorer; if you have used AutoCAD LT, then you are already familiar with the similar Content Explorer.

With DesignCenter, you can easily share drawing content between drawings, departments, and clients: simply drag the block (or other item) from AutoCAD DesignCenter and drop it into the drawing file. You can bookmark frequently used files via the DesignCenter’s Favorites; the last 120 accessed files are available in the History folder.

The scaling of units between blocks and the drawing takes place automatically. The updated BMake command (short for "block make") allows you to add an icon and a long description to each block.

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Improved! AutoSnap and Object Snap

The AutoSnap user interface, first introduced in AutoCAD Release 14, has been vastly improved by adding visual feedback with acquired points and temporary construction lines. AutoCAD displays temporary construction lines when the cursor lines up with reference points and specific angles.

AutoCAD 2000 adds two object snaps: extension and parallel. You no longer need to pick a point to acquire an object snap; instead, simply pause the cursor over the point.

The new polar tracking feature snaps the cursor to the nearest specified angle, such as every 15 degrees. AutoTracking displays a tooltip so that you know the current object snap mode.

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The new dbConnect Manager replaces the ASE… commands found in AutoCAD Release 14 and earlier. A single command, dbConnect, displays a dialog box for administering and organizing the database connection between objects (in the drawing) and records (in an external database file).

Linking a row to an object is now as simple as selecting the rows, selecting the Link command, and selecting the object in the drawing. Linked elements in the design file (or the database file) are easily located; dbConnect zooms in to the linked object.

dbConnect uses Microsoft’s OLEDB v2.0 database specification. The dialog box allows you to view and edit the contents of any table or query. Tables and queries are viewed in an Excel-like format.

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The new Dimstyle Manager features a preview pane that updates as you change dimension variables. The compare option lists the differences in dimvars between two dimension styles. You can easily access dimension styles from other drawings.

The QLeader command (short for quick leader) has moved from being a bonus command to a core command. It allows you to customize the leader via a dialog box.

The new QDim command (short for "quick dimensioning") allows you to create continuous, staggered, and baseline style of linear and radial dimensions. Once the string of dimensions are in place, you can remove and add extension lines to customize the dimension arrangement.

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Each AutoCAD drawing file now carries a list of drawing properties, such as Creation date, Title, Subject, Author, Keywords, and Comment. You can also define custom fields to store text information relevant to your field. The text is accessible from AutoCAD or Windows Explorer using the Properties function.

The Hyperlink Base option you to store the base address used for all relative hyperlinks inserted in the drawing.

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DXF files now include the preview image. You can now partially load DXF files.

Visual LISP, which was an extra-cost item with Release 14, is now included free with AutoCAD 2000. Visual LISP gives you access to an IDE (short for integrated development environment) for AutoLISP. The color-coded source text editor allows you to identify typographic errors.

A richer set of AutoCAD ActiveX objects is available for customizing and programming more aspects of AutoCAD 2000.

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The Text and DText commands have been merged into a single Text command. The new Euro currency symbol has been added to all SHX and TTF fonts. The MText dialog box has been enhanced with line spacing (controls "at least or exact" line spacing).

The new Find command searches (and optionally replaces) text in the drawing. The command finds the following types of text: text, mtext, URLs (hyperlink text), dimension annotations, and block attributes. The Zoom To button zooms in on the found text.

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The new, resizeable Layer Properties Manager dialog box features lineweights, plot styles, and the plot-noplot toggle for each layer. The plot-noplot option means that you can see the layer but it will not plot. Other new features include: support for 255-character layer names, tooltip display of long layer names; and double-click to set the current layer.

You can now apply lineweights (width) to any object in AutoCAD, not just polylines and traces. This provides a WYSIWYG (short for "what you see is what you get") display on the screen. AutoCAD 2000 includes industry-standard lineweights that can be assigned to objects or to an entire layer.

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New! Multiple Design Environment

You can now open more than one drawing in AutoCAD. AutoCAD is quite flexible in how it lets you do this:

• Open drawings one at a time via the File | Open command, as in earlier releases of AutoCAD.
• Select two or more drawing in the Open dialog box. Hold down the Shift key to select a range of files; hold down the Ctrl key to select a smattering of files.

• Drag and drop DWG filenames from Windows Explorer into AutoCAD. To control how the DWG is used in AutoCAD, drag with the right mouse button.

Once two or more drawings are open in AutoCAD, you can drag and drop objects from one drawing to another. The new Edit | Copy with Basepoint and Edit | Paste to Original Coordinates commands allow you to accurately copy 'n paste objects between drawings. You can switch between drawings without canceling the current command.

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Previous versions of AutoCAD were limited to a single paper space mode. AutoCAD 2000 now allows multiple paper spaces, renamed as layouts. The new tab interface (like the tabs in Excel 97) make it fast and easy to switch between model space and layout mode; you no longer need to worry about the setting of TileMode!

New layouts are created from scratch, or through layout templates provided with AutoCAD 2000. Each layout can have its own plot specifications. The new Page Setup dialog box allows one-button plotting. Layout views show a "page" that reflects the plot area, based on the plotter assigned to the layout.

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Viewports can be clipped to any shape and size you want. Any closed object can be converted into a viewport.

The new Viewport toolbar makes it easier to assign a scale to viewports. The toolbar includes a dropdown list of standard scales, such as 1/2"= 1’. The new Viewports dialog box enables you to specify the 2D or 3D views for each viewport, the spacing between viewports, and sports a preview window.

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The new Property window displays the properties of selected objects. When more than one object is selected, the window displays the properties common to the objects. Autodesk estimates that this window replaces 40 editing commands and dialog boxes, such as the DdModify command.

More than just displaying properties, the Properties window allows you to edit the properties, even when the selection set contains multiple objects. For example, you can globally edit the width, start width, and end width of polylines.

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In AutoCAD 2000, you no longer need to completely load drawings and xrefs (short for externally referenced drawings). By partially loading the drawing, AutoCAD increases its overall performance by reducing the amount of time and memory required.

The drawing can be partially opened based on saved views, or by specified layers. Once a drawing has been partially opened, you can use the new PartiaLoad command to load additional portions of the drawing – once again, based on saved views and layers.

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The redesigned Plot dialog box includes a check box to center the plot. AutoCAD 2000 can plot multiple layouts at once. The new plotting interface and architecture are built on the Heidi engine. The new PC3 file separates how-to-plot data from what-to-plot data.

The new concept of plot styles allows you to override property settings at a layer or layout level. Plot styles allows you to apply screening, lineweight, linetype, gray scale, end joint style and fill patterns. The Plot Style Wizard helps you create new plot styles.

ePlot is the new name for the DwfOut command found in AutoCAD Release 14. The new name reflects the fact that DWF files (short for drawing Web format) are meant to be an electronic plot of the drawing file. ePlot’ing is done from the Plot dialog box.

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To improve on the Select and Filter commands, the new Quick Select allows you to quickly select objects based on their properties. The dialog box enables you to include or exclude objects that meet multiple criteria. For example, you can easily select all polylines colored red.

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Until AutoCAD 2000, you could not edit an xref drawing; now, you can select a portion of an external reference to edit in-place. You can also edit blocks in-place. The associated dialog box displays a tree view of the blocks and external references in the current drawing.

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The new 3DOrbit command replaces the cumbersome DView command. Perhaps the most spectacular new feature in AutoCAD 2000, you can now rotate, zoom, and pan 3D rendered models in real-time. You can choose to view 3D models in wireframe, hidden wireframe, flat shaded, Gouraud shaded, flat shaded with edges, and Gouraud shaded with edges -- in either parallel and perspective projection.

You can create and edit 3D models in any of the shading modes, displaying the shaded model in one or more viewports. The new interactive camera positioning tool makes it much easier to establish the 3D viewpoint; options include camera/target position, adjust distance, and swivel. Interactive front and back clipping of 3D models lets you look inside the 3D model.

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The UCS system (short for user coordinate system) has been improved so that you can define a different UCS for each viewport. Other improvements include: align a UCS to the face of a solid model with a single pick; flip a UCS once aligned; apply the UCS settings from one viewport to another; move the z-elevation of a UCS; have UCSs automatically align to restored orthographic views; and a new UCS Manager dialog combines the DdUcd and DdUcsP commands.

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The prompts that you see at the command line have been rewritten so that they are consistent. The command prompts automatically appear in the right-click menu as options.

Through to AutoCAD Release 14, you could give names as long as 31 characters to blocks, layers, and so on. AutoCAD 2000 now allows the names to be as long as 255 characters, as well as include spaces and other symbols that were previously not permitted.

When you press the right mouse button, AutoCAD 2000 now presents many more context-sensitive content menus. Right clicking:

• On the graphic screen with no geometry selected, displays basic AutoCAD commands.
• While in command mode, displays all command options.
• With a selection set active, displays editing commands specific to the object.
• The status bar provides quick access to dialog boxes and related common commands.

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The View dialog box has been improved to show you more information, such as perspective or parallel viewing modes, and restoration of a view and UCS at the same time.

The Preferences dialog box has been renamed to Options, and handles more aspects of AutoCAD 2000.

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