AutoCAD - Object Snap Tracking and Command: Line Docking Status

There is an issue in AutoCAD^® with Object Snap Tracking when the Command: line is undocked and either Dynamic Input is disabled, or, if enabled, the Pointer Input component of dynamic input is disabled. Under these circumstances, when you acquire a point, and move the cursor to a position where you have a tracking line active, when you start to type the distance you want from the tracking point, the tracking line disappears from the screen, and if you press ENTER after typing the distance, the resulting point will not be where you want it.

Three ways to avoid this:

1. Dock the Command: line.
2. If you like your Command: line undocked, turn on Dynamic Input (if off) and verify that Pointer Input is enabled. See NOTE below.
3. If you really do not like having Pointer Input enabled, you can leave it disabled (leave Enable Dimension Input where possible enabled and keep Dynamic Input turned on), but after you type in the distance value for the offset from the tracked point (and the tracking line has disappeared), BEFORE you press the ENTER key, move the mouse slightly to reactivate the tracking line, and THEN press the ENTER key.

The Screencast below shows several attempts to use Object Snap Tracking to locate the starting point of a Line 10'-0" at 0 degrees from the existing intersection of two lines:

1. Undocked Command: Line, Dynamic Input turned off. [Fail]
2. Docked Command: Line, Dynamic Input turned off. [Success]
3. Undocked Command: Line, Dynamic Input turned on, Pointer Input disabled. [Fail]
4. Undocked Command: Line, Dynamic Input turned on, Pointer Input enabled. [Success - notice that tracking line does not disappear when typing offset distance]
5. Undocked Command: Line, Dynamic Input turned on, Pointer Input disabled. [Success - because mouse was nudged after offset distance was typed, restoring tracking line, before ENTER was pressed]

NOTE: If you want to minimize the amount of time that the Pointer Input box appears on screen, you can right click on the Dynamic Input tool on the Application Status Bar and choose Dynamic Input Settings from the context menu. In the Drafting Settings dialog that appears, on the Dynamic Input tag, choose the Settings button in the Pointer Input area and choose the As soon as I type coordinate data radio button in the Visibility area.

You can also set the DYNPIVIS System Variable to 0 .

I would like to see Autodesk address this deficiency, but from Discussion Group posts, it appears to have been around for quite a few releases, so you may want to make note of the workarounds above.

ACA 2014: Command Line Search

AutoCAD^® Architecture 2014 expands upon the new AutoCAD 2014 feature that allows you to type in a few characters of a content item's name to initiate an "add" command for that content type, using that specific content. In ACA, this means you can add an instance of an object of a specific style or definition, just by typing in a few letters of the style/definition name, and then picking the style or definition from a list. This feature works on Curtain Wall Styles, Door Styles, Door/Window Assembly Styles, Railing Styles, Slab Styles, Space Styles, Stair Styles, Structural Member Styles, Wall Styles, Window Styles, AEC Dimension Styles, Schedule Table Styles, Zone Styles, AEC Polygon Styles, Mask Block Definitions and Multi-View Block Definitions. It will not work for Mass Element Styles or 2D Section/Elevation Styles.

To determine if this feature is active, select the Customize tool (wrench icon) on the Command Line and choose Input Search Options from the context menu. In the Input Search Options dialog, verify that the Search content at command line toggle (top of right side) is checked, and, in the Content Type box, that the Architecture toggle is checked. You can control which AutoCAD content types are available through Command Line search using the other toggles in the Content Type area.

With the feature activated, simply type a few letters in the name of the style or definition for which you want to create a new instance, and a list will pop up above the Command Line. Depending on the number of types of object names and the number of names that match the typed string, you may get a list of style names, with or without a scroll bar.

If you have tool tips enabled, you can hover over one of the choices on the list and see the entire command string that would be sent to the Command Line if you select that item.

If you pick an ACA style/definition from the list, the appropriate "add" command is executed, and the style or definition is set to the one chosen. All other defaults are based on the last use of that command. See the Command Line for the next prompt or other options.


Depending upon what is typed and the names of both ACA styles/definitions and the names of AutoCAD content and command names, you may get a single line for the desired style/definition type, with a "+" (plus sign) at the right end.

Select the "+" to expand the list and show all of the styles/definitions of that type, as well as any matching AutoCAD object styles, in this case, Walls Styles and Hatch patterns with "bri" in the name.


This new feature can speed up the process of adding an ACA object whose style/definition is already in the drawing where there is no identifiable instance on the screen to select and choose Add Selected from the contextual ribbom tab or from the right-click menu.

AutoCAD 2013 - Command Line Enhancements

A number of nice enhancements have been made to the Command Line. You can still have it docked at the bottom or top of the screen, and adjust the height to show previous lines. As always, click on any image to see an enlarged version.

As you can see in the image above, there have been some changes. A command icon has been added at the left side of the Command Line and the name of the active command is also always displayed adjacent to the icon. If you ever get interrupted in the middle of a command, you no longer need to check the command line history to remind yourself what command is running. Color has also been added to the Command Line, highlighting the minimum necessary characters for any active command options. The command options are now also clickable, making it even easier to pick an option.

Select the command icon to get a menu of recently used commands. This menu is also still available as a flyout on the context menu that displays after right-clicking the Command Line.

The enhancements I find most useful are those made to the undocked Command Line. I personally have never found much advantage in having the Command Line undocked in previous versions, but expect to be leaving it undocked when we move to 2013. When undocked, the Command Line shows a single line "floating" above the AutoCAD window. The width can be adjusted by moving the mouse to the far right side; when the cursor changes to the double arrow icon, click and drag to change the width. While a command is active, a user-seletable number of partially transparent lines of history (from 0 to 50) related to the active command will appear above the command line.

If you start a new command immediately after ending the previous command, the previous command's history lines displaying above the Command Line are replaced with the history of the new command. You can review the full command history by pressing F2 or selecting the up arrow icon at the right end of the Command Line.

The size of the full command history area can be adjusted by moving the mouse to the top of the area. When the cursor changes to the double arrow icon, click and drag to change the height. You can scroll the history area by using the mouse wheel or by moving the cursor to the right side of the history area to get the scroll bars to show.

If you move the Command Line near an edge or a corner of the AutoCAD window or docked palette, it will snap to it, and stay snapped in that position even if the AutoCAD window is resized or a docked palette is undocked. Here is the reason I will be undocking my Command Line: if you hold the CTRL key down when moving the Command Line, you can move it over the top or bottom of the AutoCAD window without having it dock. This allows you to position the floating Command Line over the left side of the Drawing Status Bar and reclaim the drawing space that the docked Command Line would have taken.

If you use the Drawing Management Feature (Project Browser/Project Navigator), this will cover the display of the project name and the current drawing type/name that is displayed on the Drawing Status Bar when a Project/Project Drawing is current. My firm does not use the Drawing Management feature, so that is not a problem for me. Even if you do use the Drawing Management feature, you can set two levels of transparency on the Command Line in 2013, one for when the mouse is over the Command Line, and one for when it is not (see below). As the image above shows, the project name and drawing type/name can be read through the Command Line with the opacity set to 65%.

Select the wrench icon at the left side of the Command Line to display a context menu that allows you to customize the Command Line and also access the Options dialog.

The AutoComplete flyout allows you to control the features of AutoComplete (added in the 2012 release). The Lines of Prompt History menu item allows you to set the value of the CLIPROMPTLINES system variable, which specifies the number of lines of command history that should be displayed above the undocked Command Line when a command is active. As noted above, valid values are integers between 0 and 50. The Transparency menu item opens the Transparency dialog,

which allows you to set the General level of transparency for the Command Line and how transparent the Command Line should be when the mouse is over it. The latter value cannot be less than the General value.