Cad CARD

Have you ever needed to know what size your text should be? Or have you ever wondered what the dimensions for a sheet of paper is? How about scale factors, or better yet, the inverse scale factor? There is a tool available that many of you may have used before, or at least seen. It is the Cad CARD from Autograph technical Services. The Cad CARD has been around since 1989. I have been using mine since AutoCADr10, whenever that was. In fact, my Cad CARD even says its for r10! So what is it? It is a cardboard slide chart used as AutoCAD productivity aids. They will quickly help you determine drawing border sizes, text sizes, sheet sizes, and much more. The cards have two sides, each side providing different types of information. Some of the information provided:

- Drawing Scale & Scale Factor

- Inverse Multiplier

- Sheet Sizes & Usable Areas

- Block Insertion Scale
- Hatch Pattern Scale
- Linetype Scale
- Dimscale

- Text Height for Various Text Sizes

- Fonts
- Text Width
- Obliqing and Rotation Angles
- Orientation
- Justification
- Mirroring Text

- Width Factors
- Special Character Control Codes

- Text Measuring Gauge

The front side of the card focuses on scale issues and text. You can use it to quickly determine the proper settings, and values needed to scale your entire drawing, a scaled view, or set the text to be displayed the way you want it to.

And that's just the front. The back side has:

- Function key assignments
- Units
- PDMODE options

- Dimension Variables and how they affect the Placement and Display of Dimensions
- Definitions of many Dimension Variables

- Dimension Lines, Extension Lines, Alternate Units

- Arrowheads, Arc Length Symbol, Center Mark for Circles

- Linear Dimensions, Measurement Scale, Zero Suppression, Angular Dimensions
- Tolerances and Tolerance Display
- How to set AutoCAD to Round Off Dimensions
- Text Appearance, Alignment, Placement, Fit Options, Fine Tuning
- We have even included a few Drafting Scales, just so they are handy.

The back focuses on dimensions and other operations.

The cards themselves are made of coated card stock and they are very durable. Mine has several coffee stains on it! There are 2 Metric versions and 2 U.S. versions. There is even a wallet sized version called the Cad CARD Junior! I use this one a lot because it is small and gets me scale factor and text sizes very quickly. I recommend the Cad CARD. I've been using mine for for so long I can't remember, but its been since at least 1994! Its compatible with all sorts of different versions of AutoCAD and has been updated to work with AutoCAD 2010! Even if you have an older version, it still works.

You can order your Cad CARD online from their website. Use a credit card or paypal and you don't have to be in the US to purchase it. The price is a definite value, because you can use it with more than AutoCAD, and they are long lasting. Autograph even provides discounts when buying the Cad CARD in bulk, so buy some for your entire department, or for your class if you are an instructor.