How Do You Smooth Lines in AutoCAD?

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AutoCAD is a powerful tool for creating precise and professional drawings. However, sometimes the lines in your drawings may appear jagged or rough. In this article, we will explore various techniques to smooth lines in AutoCAD and enhance the overall visual appeal of your drawings.

1. Use the REGEN Command

If you notice that the lines in your drawing are not appearing smooth, one quick solution is to use the REGEN command. This command regenerates the entire drawing and updates all objects, which can help improve line smoothness.

2. Adjust the VIEWRES System Variable

Another way to improve line smoothness is by adjusting the VIEWRES system variable.

This variable controls the resolution of curved objects and can significantly impact line quality. To modify VIEWRES, follow these steps:

  1. Open AutoCAD’s command line by pressing Ctrl + 9.
  2. Type VARIABLES and press Enter.
  3. In the Variables dialog box, locate VIEWRES and double-click on it.
  4. Enter a higher value (e.g., 1000) to increase line smoothness.
  5. Click OK to save your changes.

3. Utilize Anti-Aliasing

To further enhance line smoothness in AutoCAD, you can enable anti-aliasing.

Anti-aliasing is a technique that reduces jagged edges by smoothing out pixels along curves and diagonal lines. To enable anti-aliasing:

  1. Click on the Application button (the big red A) in the top-left corner of AutoCAD’s interface.
  2. Select Options from the dropdown menu.
  3. In the Options dialog box, navigate to the Display tab.
  4. Under the Graphics Performance section, check the box that says “Enable anti-aliasing. “
  5. Click Apply and then OK to save your changes.

4. Use Smoothing Groups

Smoothing groups can help improve line quality, especially when working with 3D models in AutoCAD.

By assigning smoothing groups to specific objects or faces, you can create a more visually appealing and realistic representation. To use smoothing groups:

  1. Select the object or face you want to assign a smoothing group to.
  2. Type SMOOTHGROUPEVAL in the command line and press Enter.
  3. Enter a number for the smoothing group (e., 1).
  4. Press Enter again to confirm your selection.

5. Increase Hardware Acceleration

If you have a capable graphics card, increasing hardware acceleration can also contribute to smoother lines in AutoCAD. Follow these steps:

  1. Go to the Application button and select Options.
  2. In the Options dialog box, navigate to the System tab.
  3. In the Performance section, click on the Graphics Performance button.
    • Note: The Graphics Performance button may be labeled differently depending on your AutoCAD version.

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