Handy hints and tips.

I have been using CADSTAR for 20+ years, I am familiar with most of it however even though I use it daily, show others how to use it and fix problems with it I am amazed that I am still learning all the little things, it is almost as if I learn something new every month. Why is this? Possibly because not every method of doing something is documented - besides, who reads the documentation?



So what I am going to do with this page is present a "What I learnt today" and "did you know" type of page and will list those handy tips and tricks as & when I find them.

So let me start:

 A whole page of tips:
When you start first CADSTAR you are presented with a handy tip popup, many disable this so that they never see it again.

If you open "C:\Program Files (x86)\Zuken\CADSTAR 16.0\Programs\tips.txt" you will have a list of over 50+ wonderful hints and tips that are shown in this popup - well worth a read.


Changing Units: I have not used the toolbar\ribbon setting for
changing units for years - I always left click on the unit setting
at the bottom of the page to change the units from thou to mm etc.






 What I saw someone do was to right click on the units setting on the status bar, this presents a quick unit change menu.






Naming nets: I have always added a signal reference while I am adding a connection by clicking the RMB and using Sig Ref, selecting the symbol then typing the net name in the name field.

I have found that it's easier than that - simply type the net name while you are adding the connection and once you have finished double left click to leave a dangler. The net will be named & displayed next to the dangler.
Then copy another signal reference symbol and paste onto the dangler you leave.

Fix -Unfix items:
You can select an item and type "fix" followed by the <Enter> key to fix it.
It's even quicker to unfix selected items - just type"U"  followed by the <Enter> key to unfix it.

More tips will follow as & find them (and the time to add them).