KCS Productivity Pack For AEC
Current version: 8.9, Release date: 4/3/11
Features
KCS Productivity Pack for AEC provides both a KCS pulldown
menu, a toolbar menu, and ribbon
- KCS Options and Plug-ins
- KCS-ADT Toolbar
- KCS Abridged Properties Toolbar
- Add Batt Insulation to Wall Style
Ribbon Interface
KCS introduces a new ribbon interface for ACA 2009+, in addition to the
pulldown menu and toolbars.
Note: ACA 2010+ does not include pulldown menus. To display the KCS pulldown,
use the MENUBAR command.
KCS-ADT Toolbar

This toolbar provides quick access to the most commonly used ADT (now ACA)
commands, as an alternative to using the Palettes or Ribbon.
KCS Properties Toolbar

This toolbar may be used instead of the standard AutoCAD Properties toolbar.
It provides the Color and Linetype controls, while eliminating the Lineweight
and Plot Style controls. Saves space if you never use those two controls.

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Add
Ceiling Grid and Space
This command creates the same kind of AEC ceiling grid object as the standard
ADT commands, but much more easily. The resulting grid is automatically centered
in the room in a "balanced" condition, that is with at least a half-tile at each
edge. Options are provided to shift the grid by a half-tile in either direction,
or pick a new alignment point at any location, or re-balance it.
Note that you must be in an RCP (Reflected Ceiling Plan) display
configuration for this command to work properly. One reason is that AEC ceiling
grid objects do not display in a normal plan view. Another reason is that the
boundary of a room cannot be found if there is a door opening; an RCP display
shows the walls as continuous, which avoids this problem. If a Reflected display
is not available, we suggest creating new drawings with one of the AEC templates
provided with ADT, which includes a Reflected display configuration.
Placement Methods include:
- Find boundary (walls) – may be used for any shape room.
Column grids and any other non-wall objects are ignored. Columns or
pilasters protruding from the walls are recognized if they are incorporated
into the wall as an interference condition. Because boundary finding
requires an initial drawing analysis, which takes some time, you may find
the boundaries of several rooms at the same time. When done, a ceiling grid
will be created for each boundary individually, in the order selected. Note:
this option cannot be used if the floor plan is XRef'ed into the current
drawing. For this situation, the Find boundary (xref) option may be used
instead.
- Find boundary (xref) – similar to Find boundary
(walls), except does not ignore non-wall objects. This option is intended
primarily for xrefs, but can also be used where columns or pilasters have
not been correctly incorporated as an interference condition. Note that you
must manually turn off or freeze any layers, such as column grids, that
would create a bogus boundary. Also note that the option to detect columns
in room (see below) will not work with xrefs.
- Rectangle – may be used for plain rectangular rooms, by
specifying the two corners.
- Trace perimeter – may be required in an unusual
situation if the Find boundary methods should fail. An additional feature of
this option is that the grid will automatically be aligned with the first
two points selected
- Existing Space object – may be used if the drawing
already contains AEC space objects. The ceiling grid will be placed at the
height dimension of the space object.
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Options include:
- Create Space object – Optional. Included here for
convenience, and because a ceiling grid may be attached to a space object to
define the clipping boundary and height.
- Retain polyline boundary (on ceiling layer) – The AEC
ceiling grid does not display a line where it meets the wall, so you may
want to retain the polyline boundary (for 3D views). If the grid is attached
to an AEC space object, retaining this outline is optional. But if not
attached to a space object, the polyline must be retained as the clipping
boundary of the grid. Note that this polyline does not become part of the
AEC ceiling object and is not controlled by display properties. This means
you will need to freeze the ceiling layer in all non-RCP viewports to
prevent it from displaying.
- Ceiling height – Height is specified here when not
using an AEC space object. If a space object is used, ceiling height is
taken from its height dimension.
- Detect columns in room – This option will find columns
(AEC mass elements) within the area and interrupt the grid (attach a hole)
wherever required.
Before a grid is created, you will be prompted:
Specify angle for X direction, relative to area (green
arrow) <0.00>
The program has determined an orientation of the area, using the first two
points of the polyline selected or created by finding a boundary. A green arrow
is displayed to indicate that orientation, and the angle you specify is relative
to that orientation. So an angle of 0 would align the grid X direction with that
arrow.
The following prompt will then appear:
New base point or [Xshift/Yshift/Re-balance]
:
Xshift and Yshift shift the grid by half a
tile in their respective direction, changing whether it is centered on the tile
or the grid. Using either one repeatedly would simply shift it back and forth
between the two positions. You may also pick a point to locate a grid
intersection at that point, and possibly follow that with Xshift and/or Yshift.
The Re-balance option restores the initial balanced condition
(useful in case you inadvertently picked a bogus base point). Press Enter when
done.
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Add
Wall (w/ Z-Lock)
This command may be used in place of the standard ADT WALLADD command. This
custom version allows object snapping to walls or other objects on another level
without forcing the new wall to the level of the existing object. Very handy for
using a previously drawn level to trace over to create another level. This
command will lock the new wall at 0, or whatever your Elevation is currently set
to, and ignore the Z value of the object snap.
Add Batt
Insulation
This command adds a batt insulation pattern. It may be used with AEC walls, line
walls, or anywhere else - in plans, details, or sections. Unlike other routines
which use a polyline, the KCS command uses a special hatch pattern. One
advantage is that it can be chopped off at an angle to allow the kind of partial
hatching commonly seen in hand drafting. Another advantage is that the hatching
extents can be adjusted by stretching or grip editing. Yet another advantage is
that the same hatch pattern can be used in a wall style, instead of applying it
separately with a command (see below).
End Condition: may be set to Angled or Square, or set to prompt for which each
time. You might like to use the angled end for a partial indication on long
walls, but use the square condition to completely fill a shorter space.
Width: Auto will work for simple two-line walls. You can choose to be prompted
for complex walls.
Adding the Pattern to a Wall Style
This is an alternative to adding the pattern with the command (described above).
The obvious advantage is that you do not need to apply the pattern where you
want it - it's part of the wall style. You can also add doors and windows
without worrying about the hatch pattern. But you cannot show partial
indications with this method. Also note that the hatch pattern file must be
available when the drawing regenerates, or the pattern does not appear. Keep
this in mind if you share drawings with consultants and want them to see the
insulation.
To add the pattern to a wall style, edit the wall style Display Props. In the
Layer/Color/Linetype tab, turn on Hatch for the desired component. In the
Hatching tab, click on the pattern name for that Hatch. In the Hatch Pattern
dialog, set the pattern Type to Custom, then click the Browse button. In the
Hatch Pattern Palette dialog, go to the Custom tab. Select KCS_BattInsul.pat and
click OK. Back in the Hatch Pattern dialog, you must enter the pattern name
KCS_BattInsul in the Custom Pattern box, then click OK. Back in the Hatch
Pattern Palette dialog, set the hatch Scale to match the width of the component
to be hatched, set the angle at 0, and change the orientation to Object.
The drawing may get quite sluggish if there are many walls with this much
hatching. There are a couple of ways to get around that. One way is to off the
hatch display in that wall style until ready to plot. Or you can keep the -Patt
layer frozen except for plotting.
NOTE: The DTI_BattInsul.pat file is also included for backward compatibility
with drawings that may have been set up using the DTI_BattInsul pattern in wall
styles. For any new settings, the KCS version should be used.
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Layer
Change
Change selected objects to another layer.
Select object for layer name or [Nested/Type/Dialog/0] :
Options:
Pick object on existing layer
Nested option to pick object in a block
Type option to use keyboard entry
Dialog option to select from list of existing layers
Layer 0 may be specified directly without using the Type option
[Enter] will change objects to the
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Layer
Copy
Copy selected objects to another layer. Prompt and options are the same as
Layer Change above. After objects are copied, the new objects may be selected
with "Previous".
Select
Layer
Select all objects on picked layer. Objects may then be selected with
"Previous".
Layer
Freeze
Freeze layers of selected objects. When used inside a viewport, the layer is
frozen in that viewport only. Otherwise it is frozen globally.
A Nesting level option provides three nesting levels:
None: Freezes the layers of selected objects. If a block or
an xref is selected, the layer containing that block or xref is frozen.
Entity level: Freezes layers of selected objects even if they
are nested in an xref or a block.
Block level: Freezes layers of selected objects. If a selected
object is nested in a block, the layer containing that block is frozen (similar
to None). If a selected object is nested in an xref, the layer of the object is
frozen (similar to Entity Level).
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Layer Off
Turn off layers of selected objects. Same options as Layer Freeze except
layer are turned off globally regardless of whether used inside a viewport or
elsewhere.
Layer
Visible
Make Layers Visible - from list of non-visible layer. Layers will appear in
the list if they are turned off, frozen, frozen in the current viewport, or any
combination of these. A layer selected to be made visible will be turned on,
thawed, and thawed in the current viewport, as required. Multiple layers may be
selected.
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Layer
Lock
Lock layers by picking objects.
Layer
Unlock
Lock layers by picking objects.
Layer
Isolate
Display selected layers only (all other layers are turned off globally).
Nesting level options same as Layer Freeze.
Layer
Unisolate
Reverse last Isolate in current drawing session.
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Layer
Vport
Display selected layers in the current viewport only. Selected layers are
frozen in all other viewports either in the current layout or all layouts,
according to the Freeze level setting. Nesting
level options are also available for object selection.
Layer
List
List layer name of selected objects. When object is part of a block or xref,
both the insertion layer and the nested layer are listed (with the nested layer
in parentheses).
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Layer Set
Set current layer by picking an object.
elect object for layer to set or [Nested/Type/Dialog/0]:
Options:
Pick object on existing layer
Nested option to pick object in a block
Type option to use keyboard entry
Layer 0 may be specified directly without using the Type
option
Dialog option to select from list of layers. In this dialog
there are two Source options:
Existing layer displays a list of layers present in the drawing, along with
the Visibility status of each. If the layer is not not currently visible for any
reason, whether Off, Frozen globally, or Frozen in the current view port,
Visibility is listed as "No". A Display option allows you to exclude non-visible
layers.

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ADT layers displays a list of all layers in the current ADT
layer standard. It shows both the description and the current layer name for
that description. Any layer key overrides in effect will be reflected in the
actual layer name. If the layer does not already exist, it will be created with
the color and linetype specified in the layer standard. A Sort option allows you
to sort by either Description or current Layer Name.

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KCS Layer
Snapshot
Save and restore layer states. Although there are at other similar tools
available elsewhere, the KCS Layer Snapshot has some significant differences:
- A Snapshot may be created either in Model space or in a Viewport, and it
may be restored either in Model space or in a viewport. When restored in a
viewport, layers will be thawed globally as required and frozen for the
viewport as required.
- Xref layers may be captured in three different ways when creating a
snapshot (see below).
- Xref layers are (by default) given the same properties as base layers
(unless you chose otherwise) when you Apply.
- Properties are also Applied to bound xref layers (layers like xref|WALL
and xref$0$WALL are handled same as WALL).
- The snapshot is saved as a file rather than in the drawing, allowing it
to be easily shared without exporting and importing. The snapshot file is an
ASCII text file (extension .LSS), with one line per layer in a simple
comma-delimited format, and may be edited manually to achieve combinations
of xref capture methods, add new layers, or make other revisions. A header
at the top of the file indicates the format.
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To Create a snapshot, you may do so either in model space or
in a viewport that has the layer settings desired. Xref layers may be captured
in three different ways when creating a snapshot:
- Localized: This method is probably the most useful in
most cases. Use this method when MyLayer should always be displayed the same
way in an xref as in the current drawing. When captured, layer Xref|MyLayer
is regarded as MyLayer. When applied, all instances of MyLayer will be
restored the same way, whether in the current drawing or in any xref.
- Generic: This method is useful for situations where you
want to display layers in all xrefs differently than the current drawing -
for instance, if you want to use xrefs as a "background", where MyLayer in
the xrefs is a different color than MyLayer in the current drawing. In this
method, layer Xref|MyLayer is captured as *|MyLayer, and all instances of
MyLayer for any xref name will be restored the same way.
- Explicit: This is the same as used by Express Tools and
AutoCAD's own Layer State. Layer Xref1|MyLayer is captured with that name.
If you later attach another xref that contains layer Xref2|MyLayer, this
layer will be unknown to the snapshot. We recommend this method only when
you use consistent xref names, and want to control the display of MyLayer
differently for each xref.
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The snapshot will capture TrueColors as well as standard colors, along with
current linetypes and lineweights of layers wherever the snapshot was created.
To Apply a snapshot: when in a paper space layout, you have
several options providing maximum flexibility. With all default choices (as
shown here), the chosen snapshot will be applied to Model space layers and
layers in all viewports in the current layout, for consistent properties
throughout.
On the other hand, you may have already applied one snapshot to your model
layers, and now wish to set up one or more viewports to another snapshot. Simply
uncheck Apply to Model space.
There may be times when you want to apply layer properities (color, linetype,
linewt) from a snapshot to the viewport(s) without altering the VP Freeze status
of any layers. To do so, simply uncheck this option. Note that for best results,
your Model space layers should be set as desired before applying a snap to your
viewport(s).
Similarly, you can control just the Freeze/Thaw status without applying the
properties.

These options do not apply when in Model space - all layer properties are
applied to all existing layers. The Paper Space section of the dialog is
disabled when in Model space, and is not present if using an AutoCAD version
prior to R2008 (when VP layer properties were introduced). For older versions, a
snapshot may be applied to vieports, but only the VP Freeze status is affected.
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Ref Point
This tool is used to locate a point a specified distance and angle from a base
point. Unlike standard AutoCAD tracking and From tools, this Ref Point tool will
keep prompting for another point until you press Enter. This allows going in
more than one direction to arrive at the desired location.
Mid of 2 Points
This tool is used to locate a point midway between two specified points. It may
be used whenever you are being prompted for a point. An example of this would be
to locate the middle of a corridor, or any other situation where there is no
object to use a midpoint osnap on.
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Frac of 2 Points
This tool is used to locate a point at any fractional distance between two
specified points. It may be used whenever you are being prompted for a point.
This button is a flyout from the Mid of 2 Points toolbar button.
Set Snap Angle
This command allows you to set the snap angle by picking a line or ADT wall. You
can also hit Enter to use keyboard entry or pick two points. A macro SA is also
provided for this command. The macro may be used transparently during another
command by preceding it with an apostrophe ('SA). A quick way to restore to 0
angle is by the SA0 macro.
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Get XY (specify Z)
Click this to get the X,Y location of a point but input some other Z value. This
is needed for the first point - after that the Hold Z filter may be used to
maintain the same Z value.
Z-Lock (at current elevation)
Pick X,Y on screen, with Z preset to current elevation. Start command, then
click this button when prompted for point.


Hold X, Hold Y, Hold Z
When specifying a point these commands may be used to retain the x, y or z value
of the previous point.
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KCS Leader and Text
This command creates a leader with text in a different manner than the standard
AutoCAD QLeader command. One difference is that text is created on screen, like
dtext, then (optionally) converted to mtext.
This leader command also has the unique ability to create a series of notes on
the left side of a detail using left justified text with a uniform left margin.
When the second segment points to the left, the cursor changes to an I-beam, to
indicate that this will be the text starting point. If a point is picked at
existing text, the command will automatically osnap to its insertion point,
resulting in perfect alignment.
While inputting the text on screen (on the left side), additional lines of text
will be created under the first, but when done they will be shifted upwards to
place the last line at the point selected. (This is similar to the way AutoCAD
displays right justified dtext as left justified until done.) When done, the
leader tail is adjusted appropriately for the length of the last line.
When drawing a leader from left to right, you may pick a point near the end of
an existing leader tail to make the new leader end in alignment. Note that no
AutoSnap box will appear, but an osnap will happen automatically none the less.

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This command can use either the current text style or a specified style. If a
style is specified that does not exist, it will be created using the specified
font. Text size may use the the current AutoCAD text size (same as
standard Text commands), or as specified in the settings for this command.
Automatic layer control is provided by the KCS Auto-Layer,
if turned on in KCS Options.
The KCS Leader uses your current AutoCAD dimension style for leaders. To change
the arrow head, create a Leader dimension sub-style and choose the arrowhead
desired.
Convert to Mtext
This command converts one or more lines of single-line text into an AutoCAD
MTEXT object, maintaining the original text style, height and layer. The lines
of text are automatically sorted according to their relative locations in the
drawing. This allows multiple lines to be selected with a window or in any
order.
Special treatment is given to a first line ending with a colon, such as "NOTE:
". This line will remain as is and will not word-wrap with the rest of the text.
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Text with Shadow Box
This tool creates Mtext with a shadow box. The text and box are attached, so
that any editing of the text will automatically update the shadow box to match.
The toolbar flyout also contains a tool to attach a shadow box to existing Mtext,
and another to add a freestanding shadow box anywhere in your drawing.
Dimension Editing Tools
Dimension Offset and Split
This tool creates a copy of the selected dimension, offset in the indicated
direction. The offset distance is governed by Baseline spacing (DIMDLI variable)
in your dimension style settings. The two origin points of the new dimension
will be the same as the original. Next you are prompted for a new origin point -
the new dimension will be split in two, with a new extension originating form
this point.
Dimension Split
This tool splits an existing dimension into two dimensions, with a new origin
point added somewhere between the two original origins, as specified.
Dimension Join
This tools joins two dimension together into one.
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Dimension Dot Pointer
With this tool you can change the pointer on a dimension extension line from
your normal slash or arrow to a dot. This provides the ability to implement the
convention where a dot is used to indicate a dimension to the center of some
object. The same tool will also restore a dot pointer to your normal pointer.
Note that no additional dimension styles are created, and no changes are made to
your dimension style.
Dimension Note
This tool allows you to easily add a note, such as V.I.F. or CLEAR, to a
dimension, as shown. The resulting text will be part of the dimension object,
with the same properties as the dimension text. The same tool can also remove a
previously placed note.

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Draw By Example (Clone)
This command allows you to "clone", or draw by example, almost any object
already in your drawing just by picking the existing object. For all objects, it
will duplicate the layer of that object. If a line is picked, it will draw a
line on that layer. If text is picked, it will create text with the same style
and height. And so on, for most AutoCAD objects.
Align Objects
Use this command to align text and other objects vertically or horizontally on
screen. The first object picked establishes a point of alignment (or you may
pick a point instead). The default alignment is to a vertical line passing
through this point, as indicated by a dashed screen line. Horizontal alignment
may be chosen instead.

Each object picked will then be aligned to that line, according to the
designated alignment point. For objects with multiple alignment points, the one
closest to the point picked is used. This provides a great deal of choice in how
you want objects to line up. Alignment points are at endpoints, midpoints,
quadpoints, etc., depending on the type of object.
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Block Swap
This command will replace selected block insertions with a different block.
Layer, scale, rotation, and attributes of each original insertion are retained.
Any number of insertions may be selected, and they need not be the same block
name. The block name to use as replacement may be selected from a list of blocks
in the drawing, or it may be obtained by picking an existing block.
Demolish
This command will convert existing conditions to demolition. Many options
are provided, with help buttons for individual options. A special Cutting Window
selection option will break walls where it crosses them.

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Bearing
This command will label property lines (lines or polylines) with the bearing
(in surveyors units) and/or distance (in decimal feet). It will give correct
results whether the drawing is in foot units or inch units, by specifying which.
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Options: Features that work automatically rather than
by running a command.
KCS Options and Plug-ins
Auto-Layer
Enhanced Status
Scale for Annotation Layers
Text Macros
KCS Macros (keyboard shortcuts)
The following options are features that work automatically rather than by
running a command. Any of these features may be turned off if not desired.

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Enhanced Status

Displays two additional items of information in the AutoCAD status line. One
is the current drawing scale. The other is the ADT/ACA
layer key override status. A display of LKO: (none) indicates no
overrides are in effect. If any override is set, it will be listed using the
first two letters of the field name. Custom layer fields are listed along with
standard AIA fields. AIA overrides, if any, are listed in their normal order
first, followed by any custom fields. If you are an advanced user setting layer
key overrides with lisp routines, see KCS_AECReadme.txt for additional
information.
Note: When first starting a new drawing, the status line may
contain question marks. The real values will appear as soon as the ADT/ACA
display system is initialized by the use of any ADT/ACA command.
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Load KCS Macros
This option automatically makes KCS macros available in each drawing session.
KCS macros are similar to standard AutoCAD keyboard shortcuts (defined in
supportacad.pgp), except that lisp macros can do much more. Macros provided
range from the simple but handy, such as BF (Break First) and ZP (Zoom
Previous), to more the complex and powerful. KCS macros are defined in
Macros.lsp. This file is provided uncompiled to allow renaming macros if
desired. Notepad may be used for this, or any ASCII text editor. If you
choose to do this, be aware that a lisp macro will automatically supercede a
standard keyboard shortcut of the same name. KCS macros do this in one instance:
an EL macro for "Erase Last" replaces the standard shortcut for Ellipse. If you
would rather retain the shortcut for Ellipse, you may delete this macro from
Macros.lsp. You can also add your own macros to this file, if you're handy
with LISP. See Macros.lsp for additional information.

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Macro Usage
KCS macros are mostly self-explanatory according to their descriptions. Use
MH (Macro Help) to display a dialog listing all macros, along with their
descriptions. Macros can be run directly from this dialog. There is also a
button to print the complete list to the screen, which may then be copied into a
text file for reference, if desired.
Macros are now grouped into Categories for easier access. Categories are
fully user-definable. (See Macros.lsp for additional information.)
Editing Macros.lsp
This button will open the Macros.lsp file in Notepad so you can edit as
desired. The original file will be backed up as Macros_0.lsp the first time you
do this, and the current file will also be backed up as Macros.bak each time you
open it. After you edit and save the file, click OK to reload it.
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Auto-Layer
Provides automatic layer control when placing dimensions and/or text. These
items are placed on the layer specified in your ADT/ACA layer settings. It also
responds to any layer key overrides that may be in effect. No special macros or
menu items are required to do this; you can create dimensions and text just as
you normally would. If you are an advanced user creating custom text commands
for different layers, see KCS_AECReadme.txt for additional information. Note
that the Auto-Layer setting for Text does not have any effect on KCS Text Macros
(see below).
Layers for leaders may be done in either of two ways. Leader text is always
placed on the layer for text, but the leader itself may be placed either on the
dimension layer or the text layer. This may be specified in KCS Options. With
the leader on the dimension layer, plotted lineweight may be controlled by the
properties of the dimension layer. Those preferring to keep both text and leader
on the text layer can control the leader lineweight by creating a Leader
dimension style family member and setting the desired color or lineweight in the
dimension style properties.
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Scale for Annotation Layers
This allows you to automatically add a scale designation to your dimension
and text layers. The various settings for this feature provide a great deal of
flexibility in the format. An example displays your current layer name with the
scale added to it per the current settings. When in Paper Space, or if dimscale
is set to 1, no scale designator will be added. Note - dimscale must not be set
to 0 or this feature will not work. These settings apply to both Auto-Layer, if
used, and the KCS text macros.

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Text Macro Settings
KCS Text Macros provide a family of configurable commands for different text
sizes. These commands create text sizes Fine, Small, Medium, Large, and Title.
Each command creates text with a specified style, size, and layer. The text size
is automatically multiplied by the current ADT drawing scale to achieve the
specified plotted size. It will also give the correct results in paper space.
There are actually two families of text macros - one for MText and one for
DText. The default macro names for MText are TF, TS, etc., and DTF, DTS, etc.
for DText. If you prefer using DText most of the time, you may want to edit
KCS_AcadMacros.lsp and change the MText family to MTF, etc., and remove the D
from the DText family.

The
same text commands are also available on toolbars. On the main KCS toolbar, they
can be found in the flyout that starts with the KCS Leader and Text command.
There is one flyout for MText and one for DText. Either or both of these may be
displayed as a separate toolbar (go to KCS Toolbars in the KCS pulldown menu).
The DText macro family uses an enhanced version of DText. Both the actual
text size and the plot size are displayed at the command prompt. Text height is
not prompted for, since the macro already specifies and sets the height.
Rotation angle is not prompted for either, since most text is horizontal.
Instead, an Angle option is provided, similar to the standard MText command. The
elimination of these two prompts greatly streamlines the creation of text.
If the text style specified for the macro does not exist, it will be created
using the specified font (either True Type or AutoCAD) when the macro is used.
Each size may use a different style, if desired, or one style may be used for
more than one size. The specified font will be used only when the style does not
yet exist - this system does not affect text or text styles already present. If
you wish to create the styles beforehand, be sure to make the style height
variable (height = 0). This allows the macro to size the text according to the
current drawing scale (or for paper space).

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The text layer may be specified by either an ADT/ACA layer key or an actual
layer name. If a layer key is used, KCS will create the corresponding layer as
needed, as specified in the ADT/ACA Layer Key Styles settings. If an ADT/ACA
Layer Key Override is in effect, it will be applied to the layer name used.
ADT/ACA does not provide multiple layers for various text sizes, but new layer
keys may be added to Layer Key Styles for this purpose (see ADT/ACA
documentation for instructions). If an explicit layer name is specified in Text
Macro Settings, it will be created as needed but with a default color white. If
you choose to use explicit layer names, you may want to create these layers in
your prototype template. Note also that Layer Key Overrides will not be applied
to explicit layers.
The "Annotative" Property
AutoCAD 2008 introduced the Annotative property to objects such as text and
dimensions, giving them the ability to appear as different sizes according to
the current Annotation Scale setting. KCS commands that deal with text or
dimensions now fully support this new property. For R2008+, if the style does
not exist, you will be prompted on whether or not to make it Annotative. The KCS
text macros behave properly whether the style is Annotative or not.
Layer control for Text Macros is completely independent of the Auto-Layer/a> option. It does not matter if this option
is enabled or not. The Scale for
Annotation Layer settings do apply
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This is a dual purpose installation file, depending on the KCS you may
already have installed, as follows:
* If you do not have KCS_AEC installed, this file will install the free version.
* If you have previously purchased and authorized the program, this file will
update your installation to R2012 compatibility, with all latest revisions.
IInstall this update right over your existing installation. Do NOT uninstall
first.

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Comments From Existing Users
These are a few of many unsolicited comments we have received:
- "the best ceiling grid routine that I have seen" - H. Edward Goldberg,
A.I.A ("Inside Architectural Desktop" article, CADALYST magazine)
- "the Ceiling Grid tool is WORTH IT WEIGHT IN GOLD!!!" - Gregory D.
Kiesewetter (Shive-Hattery, Inc)
- "The mark of a great peice of software is how much you miss it
when it's not there. You have the best tools around". - Phil Shoop, A.I.A
- "Terrific product. I realize how good it is whenever I update ACAD and
do not yet have KCS. Thanks again". - Marvin Michalsen (Johnson & Michalsen,
Architects)
- "Great tools, work seamlessly and the macros are customizable...a real
plus!" - Curtis E Smock (Creo Design, Inc.)
- "Awsome product! Keep up the good work". - Matthew Kyle (KEPHART
Architects)
- "I have become so adicted to your program I am lost without it." - Bert
Elliot, (Elliott Associates)
- "Love your program!!!!" - Hannah Reynolds (Maurer Architecture)
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