by Ralph Grabowski BricsCAD for AutoCAD Users V20 Payment Information This book is covered by copyright. As the owner of the copyright, upFront.eZine Publishing, Ltd. gives you permission to make one print copy. You may not make any electronic copies, and you may not claim authorship or ownership of the text or figures herein. Copyright Information Copyright © 2019 by upFront.eZine Publishing, Ltd. All rights reserved worldwide 12th edition Based on BricsCAD V20 First printing 28 October 2019 Technical writer Ralph Grabowski Technical editing Bricsys Staff All brand names and product names mentioned in this book are trademarks or service marks of their respective compa- nies. Any omission or misuse (of any kind) of service marks or trademarks should not be regarded as intent to infringe on the property of others. The publisher recognizes and respects all marks used by companies, manufacturers, and develop- ers as a means to distinguish their products. This book is sold as is, without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, respecting the contents of this book and any disks or programs that may accompany it, including but not limited to implied warranties for the book’s quality, per- formance, merchantability, or fitness for any particular purpose. Neither the publisher, authors, staff, or distributors shall be liable to the purchaser or any other person or entity with respect to any liability, loss, or damage caused or alleged to have been caused directly or indirectly by this book. Quick Contents 1. BRICSCAD FOR AUTOCAD USERS ..........................................................................................1 2. COMPARING USER INTERFACES BETWEEN AUTOCAD & BRICSCAD ............................ 35 3. COMPATIBILITY OF DRAWING ELEMENTS ........................................................................ 75 4. CUSTOMIZING AND PROGRAMMING BRICSCAD ........................................................... 113 5. OPERATING DUAL-CAD DESIGN OFFICES .........................................................................159 6. WORKING WITH ADVANCED 3D ........................................................................................187 7. BRICSCAD FOR BIM ............................................................................................................. 221 8. BRICSCAD MECHANICAL & COMMUNICATOR ...............................................................241 APPENDICES A. AUTOCAD-BRICSCAD COMMAND CROSS-REFERENCE ................................................ 267 B. SYSTEM VARIABLE CROSS-REFERENCE .......................................................................... 297 C. KEYSTROKE & BUTTON CROSS-REFERENCE .................................................................. 335 D. SETTING UP NETWORK LICENSES ................................................................................... 347 Table of Contents AutoCAD-BricsCAD Dictionary ..................................................................................................................................xiv 1. BricsCAD for AutoCAD Users .....................................................1 THE BRICSYS BENEFIT ...................................................................................... 2 THE AGONY OF AUTOCAD .......................................................................................................... 2 THE BUSINESS OF BRICSYS ........................................................................................................ 3 A Substitute for AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT ...............................................................................................4 24/7 Project Management ...........................................................................................................................5 Bricsys Shape: Early-Phase Design Software (Free) ..................................................................................6 BricsCAD is Not IntelliCAD ...........................................................................................................................6 THE BRICSCAD ADVANTAGE ............................................................................7 MANY FILE FORMATS VS. UNIVERSAL DWG FORMAT ........................................................... 7 SPEED .............................................................................................................................................8 NEAR-IDENTICAL USER INTERFACE ..........................................................................................8 Extra Commands and System Variables .....................................................................................................8 3D Direct Modeling and Constraints......................................................................................................... 10 Artificial Intelligence ................................................................................................................................... 11 APIS AND CUSTOMIZATION ......................................................................................................12 Examples of Add-ons ..................................................................................................................................13 No-charge Developer Network ................................................................................................................. 14 LOWER PURCHASE AND MAINTENANCE PRICES ..................................................................15 Keep Your BricsCAD .................................................................................................................................. 16 It Makes More than Cents ......................................................................................................................... 16 WHAT’S MISSING FROM BRICSCAD? ........................................................................................17 What’s Missing from AutoCAD ..................................................................................................................17 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS ................................................................................19 RECOMMENDED HARDWARE ...................................................................................................19 About BricsCAD Network Licenses ............................................................................................................................20 SUPPORT FOR MULTIPLE OPERATING SYSTEMS ..................................................................21 Supported Operating Systems ..................................................................................................................21 What’s New in BricsCAD V20 ..................................................................................................................................... 23 2. Comparing User Interfaces Between AutoCAD & BricsCAD . 35 Comparison of User Interfaces ..................................................................................................................................36 Comparison of User Interface Elements....................................................................................................................38 AUTOCAD AND BRICSCAD START SCREENS ............................................... 39 LAUNCHER DIALOG (BRICSCAD ONLY) ..................................................................................39 Start Page ..................................................................................................................................................40 COMPARING USER INTERFACES ....................................................................41 DIALOG BOXES ........................................................................................................................... 42 COMPARING ‘:’ AND ‘TYPE A COMMAND’ ..............................................................................44 Customizing the Command Prompt (BricsCAD only) ..............................................................................44 PROMPT MENU (BRICSCAD ONLY) ......................................................................................... 45 Controlling the Prompt Menu (BricsCAD only) ........................................................................................45 Additional Command Options (BricsCAD only)........................................................................................46 THE QUAD (BRICSCAD ONLY) .................................................................................................. 47 Turning On the Quad .................................................................................................................................47 Displaying Information With the Quad .....................................................................................................48 Editing Properties With the Quad (BricsCAD only) ..................................................................................48 Editing Entities with the Quad .................................................................................................................49 Drawing With the Quad.............................................................................................................................50 COMPARING OPTIONS AND SETTINGS ......................................................... 51 TOURING THE SETTINGS DIALOG BOX ................................................................................... 52 Using Real-time