Bless its heart. The UCS icon has been through years of neglect with only occasional costume changes. Several versions ago they put it on WeightWatchers® which made it much less clunky.

Then somewhere along the line they added the Properties option of the UCSICON command. [View tabCoordinates tabUCS Icon, Properties]. And for those of you still using AutoCAD 2010, you can go ‘retro’ and get the old-timey one back.

In AutoCAD 2012, however, they have empowered the icon itself with multi-function grips! Yes, the RTUCS command is still around (Real Time UCS, covered nearly 7 years ago in August 2004), but the A2012 improvements are much more intuitive.

To experiment with the features, draw a rectangle and rotate it to something other than 45 or 30 (boring) degrees.

How to Adjust Your A2012 UCS Icon

1. Click on the UCS icon to display the default grip at 0,0, and the round grips on the X and Y axes.

2. Click the 0,0 grip, then move the icon to one of the corners of the rotated rectangle and place it. For me (and my customers), that fundamental step is just so cool!

3. Hover in the round multi-function grip on the X-axis and click…

   Rotate Around Z Axis

4. Now rotate the UCS icon around and snap it to the rectangle.

5. To return the UCS to World, click in the 0,0 grip, then click World.

At this point, that is my most favorite feature of AutoCAD 2012, based on frequency of use and time saved. Next month, we'll look at the new associative Array command.

Article by Michael Beall a.k.a.”The AutoCAD Trainer Guy” from his monthly AutoCAD Tips newsletter June 2011: http://www.cadtutor.net/corner/2011/june.php#article_405

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