Chapter 3   Save, Open, Print, etc, the Files Menu.

• New, Control N, Erases the drawing board and resets all view values to the default values which have been set in the Default Settings in the Settings menu. If the current drawing has been changed since the last save, you will be prompted to save it.

• Open, Control O, Presents a dialog box in which you can select a file to be opened. The open dialog contains the following features.

  • At the lower left corner is a drive selection drop down list. It displays the currently selected drive letter and name.

  • Just above the drive box is the directory tree window. Double clicking on a directory will open it and its contents will be displayed in the files window to the right.

  • The files window shows all files in the currently selected directory that have the extension "dwg". Single clicking on a file will select it. Double clicking on a file will cause it to be loaded into the program and the "Open" dialog will be closed.

  • Below the Files window is the filename text box. If you know the name of the file you want to load, you may type it in this box. If you select a file in the files window its name will appear in the filename box.

  • In the lower left below the drive drop down is the "Open" button. If there is a file name in the filename box, clicking this button will cause it to be loaded. If the box is blank or contains ".dwg", nothing will happen.

  • To the right of the "Open" button is the "Cancel" button. If you change your mind click this button. The dialog will be closed and no file will be loaded.

• Open Backup. When a file is saved the previously saved version is renamed to have a "BAK" extension. Then the file is saved with the normal "dwg" extension. If a file becomes corrupt or you made some changes that really messed it up you may want to go back to the previously saved version. This feature makes that possible.

  When you select "Open Backup" from the files menu, there is no hot key, the same dialog as that used in the open command will open but files with the extension "BAK" will be displayed in the files window. You may open one of these files in the same way as in the Open command above. You may not save a backup file. You must use Save As and change the file name or overwrite the existing "dwg" file, not recommended.

• Insert, Control I, Will insert any drawing into the current drawing. When you invoke this command you are prompted to click an insertion point. This point is where the 0,0 point of the inserted drawing will be placed. Next you will be given a chance to type in a scale factor. Press TAB to take the default of 1. The standard "Open" dialog will open and you may select any dwg file to be inserted.

  If you use "Insert" to insert a shape file you can edit the shape after insertion. When the "Shape" command is used to add a shape to the drawing board it may not be edited. It's all or nothing.

• Save, Control S, Causes the current file to be saved under the current file name which is displayed at the top of the screen. If no file name has been established since the last use of "New", the "Save As" command will be executed giving you a chance to set a file name and destination folder.

• Save As, Causes the "Save As" dialog to open. This dialog looks exactly the same as the "Open" dialog. If no file name has been established, the filename text box will be blank. You may type in a name. If you fail to provide an extension the "dwg" extension will automatically be added. If you have typed a name that is the same as another file in the current directory you will be asked if you are sure you want to overwrite the file. If you single click on a file in the files window it will be placed in the filename text box. When you press the save button you will be asked if you are sure you want to overwrite the existing file.

• Print Drawing, Control P, Causes the current drawing to be sent to your printer. That part of the drawing board that is within the "Limits" setting will be printed. If part of the drawing is outside of the limits, it will be clipped. If the limits are set quite large with a small drawing in the middle, the printout will appear the same way. To help you set proper limits, after invoking the "Limits" command type the letter A, upper or lower case, in the box and press tab. The limits will be automatically set to just a bit larger than your drawing.

  If you want a one-to-one scale between the screen and printer, set the screen limits to be 10 wide and 7.5 high. Then go into the "Printer Setup" and make sure the "Landscape Mode" box is checked. If you have a tall thin drawing set the limits to 10 high and 7.5 wide. Go into the "Printer Setup" and uncheck the "Landscape Mode" box.

• Printer Setup, Opens a dialog that has 4 text boxes, two buttons, one checkbox, and a partridge in a pair tree.

  1. Print Scale permits the user to adjust the scaling between the screen and the printed page. It is currently set to 1 but can be changed.

  2. The X Offset allows adjustment of the position of the image on the printed page. See below regarding the current value.

  3. The Y offset performs the same as the X offset. The X and Y coordinates refer to the screen.

  4. Draw Width sets the width of the lines. This is currently set to 6 and is strictly a matter of taste. A larger number makes the lines wider while a smaller one makes them narrower.

  5. The Landscape Mode checkbox sets the orientation of the printed image on the page. If checked, hold the paper with long dimension horizontal to see the picture the same as on the screen. If unchecked, hold the paper with long dimension vertical to see the picture the same as on the screen.

  6. The Save Changes button saves the changes you made to the settings.

  7. The Cancel button discards the changes you made and reverts to the former settings.

  8. I lied about the partridge in a pair tree.

  This program was designed when I owned a Lexmark Z53 printer. It started making streaky printouts even with new cartridges so I bought a new one, this time an HP 7590 combo. I had to change the "X Offset" from 0 to -500. Make two drawings consisting of a frame 10 wide and 7.5 high and another 7.5 wide and 10 high. Print each one out with the appropriate setting of the "Landscape Mode" checkbox. If the frame is off center, correct it using the X and Y offsets. If the scale is off, correct it by adjusting the "Printer Scale" value.

• Plot to HPGL File, Control H, converts the current drawing to HPGL (Hewlett Packard Graphics Language) and sends it to a file. The file has the same name as the current drawing but with a "PLT" extension. If you have not yet saved a new drawing to assign it a name you will get an error message reminding you to give the file a name.

  I have Corel Photo Paint 8 which will import HPGL files and permit them to be saved in a wide variety of formats. With line drawings such as these, the "GIF" format produces the smallest files. This is the only way I know to convert files from MaxCAD to formats that can be posted on the internet or exchanged with others. If you have a subroutine that will do it, please contact me.

• Print List of Shortcut Keys, Control Shift F1, will send the first help page to your printer. This page contains a list of the shortcut (hot) keys, some reminders about mouse clicks and keys strokes, and a list of special characters in the supplied font.

• The Most Recent Files List. When MaxCAD is started the most recent file to be worked on is loaded automatically. The next 9 most recent files appear in the most recent files list. The files list is scanned and files may be removed if; they are duplicated earlier in the list, or they have been moved to another folder, renamed, or deleted. Thus the list will not contain any false leads or duplicate names. I wish other programs had these features. Are you listening Microsoft and other Windows application developers? The first time you start MaxCAD there will be no previous files. The "Print List of Shortcut Keys" command will be followed by the "End" command. As you use MaxCAD the list will build up to a maximum of 9.

• End, Control Q. This ends the program as you might expect. If the drawing has changed since the last save you will be prompted to save it. I have tried to avoid the artificial stupidity of many programs which ask you to save an unchanged or nonexistent file.

1. Type Control N to start with a blank drawing board.

2. Type Control I for insert.

3. Click the insertion point, make it 1.2 inches to the left of the point 0,0.

4. Next you will be asked for the scale factor. For this example press TAB to take the default value of 1.

5. The Open File dialog will open. Navigate to the location of the shape files on your computer and select "ScA-BJT, NPN.dwg".

6. If you single click the file name it will be placed in the filename box below the files window. You can then click Open to insert the file.

7. Double clicking on the file name will cause it to be instantly inserted.

8. Notice that the left most point of the transistor symbol was placed at the point -1.2,0. This corresponds to the point 0,0 in the original drawing file.

9. Now type the letter S and select "BJT, NPN from the list which appears. You will find it very near the upper left hand corner of the list.

10. Right Click the point +1.2,0, 1.2 inches to the right of the origin.

11. Right click two more times to lock the shape in place.

12. Press the Del key and click on the circle in the left hand symbol.

13. Notice that only the circle turned gray. Press the TAB key and the circle will disappear.

14. Now press the Del key again and click on the circle in the right hand symbol.

15. Oops, you got the whole thing, didn't you. Try control clicking on the lines away from the circumference of the circle. The whole thing turned back to white didn't it. Shift click the circle again. Press TAB and the entire symbol will disappear.

When a file goes in as a shape the contents of the file are not inserted into the file. See appendix B section 1, subsection B.1.6 Shape. Information about the file is inserted but not the entire file. Thus, when it comes to any sort of editing, it's all or nothing.

When the insert command is used the contents of the original file, less the file header, are inserted verbatim into the drawing file. The inserted object is not a single one but is as many objects as it took to make the original file. That is why the circle could be selected and deleted separately from the rest of the symbol.

A file which contains a great many shapes and is being viewed on a very old computer will draw more slowly but the file will be smaller.

A file which contains a great many shapes that were inserted using the insert command will draw more quickly but will be a larger file.

I have yet to make a drawing large enough to be noticeably slow even when MaxCAD is run on a 450 MHz Pentium running Windows 98.