Getting Started

This chapter presents the basic information you need to configure your system for SI Mechanical, step-by-step installation procedures, and directions for starting SI Mechanical. Before continuing, please become familiar with the Getting Started section of your AutoCAD User's Guide for typographical conventions used throughout this manual.

Required Equipment

In general, SI Mechanical 5.2 requires the same equipment as AutoCAD. You must be running AutoCAD release 2000. A hard disk with about four megabytes of free disk space is required.

Installing SI Mechanical

SI Mechanical should be installed after AutoCAD. The following steps show how to install SI Mechanical on Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, or Windows NT. The install program is designed to run from a CD drive or floppy drive. Use the correct drive letter for your drive.

1. Place the CD (or floppy disk) in the appropriate drive. This example uses drive D.
2. Click the Start button, and then click Run...
3. In the Open: box, type: d:\install
4. Follow the prompts on the screen to complete the installation.

Use the SI Mechanical Release Notes icon for more information.

Starting SI Mechanical

Once SI Mechanical is installed, you must configure AutoCAD to use it. The following steps must be followed only the first time that SI Mechanical is started:

Support File Search Path

You must first configure AutoCAD so that it is able to find the SI Mechanical files:

• Start AutoCAD using your preferred icon.
• Execute the AutoCAD CONFIG command:

  Command: config

  A dialogue box similar to the following figure will be displayed:

  

• Click on the Files tab. Highlight the Support File Search Path folder group and pick the Add... button. Enter the SI Mechanical directory or click the Browse... button and locate the directory. Move it up to the top with the Move Up button.

Template Drawing File Location

You will now point AutoCAD to the SI Mechanical template drawings. These templates contain defaults for SI Mechanical that are preset to the applicable drawing standards.

• Click on the Files tab. Highlight the Template Drawing File Location folder group and pick the Browse... button. Locate the SI Mechanical directory. Pick the Apply button.
• The results should appear as follows:

  

Initial Loading Of SI Mechanical

• Use the AutoCAD APPLOAD command to load si-mech.fas

  Command: appload

  A dialogue box similar to the following figure will be displayed:

  

• Start SI Mechanical:

  Command: si-mech

• All SI Mechanical commands are now available from the AutoCAD command line. Use the SI Mechanical DPMODMNU command to make a new combined menu that includes your menu and the SI Mechanical toolbar.

  Command: dpmodmnu

• You can then use the AutoCAD MENULOAD command to add the SI Mechanical pull-down menu if desired.

  Command: menuload

  A dialogue box similar to the following figure will be displayed:

  

  Use the Insert button to place the SI-MECH pull-down menu in the desired location. Just before the Help pull-down menu is a logical position.

Default Template Drawing

"C:\Program Files\ACAD2000\acad.exe" /t "siasmin.dwt"

The /t indicates that what follows is the default template drawing. The string "siasmin.dwt" is the SI Mechanical template that contains the ASME, inch standards preset.

Using SI Mechanical

Now that AutoCAD is configured to use SI Mechanical, starting SI Mechanical is easy. SI Mechanical will appear in your toolbar and optionally, in the pull-down menu. Whenever you want to use SI Mechanical commands, first pick the SI Mechanical icon in the toolbar or use the SI-MECH pull-down menu and pick Load SI Mechanical... SI Mechanical will then be available for that drawing session.