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2. 2D Drawing Basics

201 Drawing Lines Using the Command Line


Lines consist of straight line segments. Before you draw your first line, look at the command line
and notice that it currently prompts you to Type a command. Any time you see this, it means that
there is no command active; instead, the program is waiting for you to start a command. To create a
line, move the cursor over the Line tool in the Draw panel on the Home ribbon, but do not click yet.
Notice that when you move the cursor over a button, a tooltip appears that tells you basic
information about that tool. The tooltip then expands to display more information. In this case, the
extended tooltip shows that with the LINE command, you can create a series of contiguous line
segments and that each segment is a line object that can be edited separately. Now, click the Line
tool. When you start the LINE command, on the command line, you can see that the LINE
command is now active. You can see the name of the command. You can also see that the program
is prompting you to Specify first point. Notice that you can also see this same prompt adjacent to the
cursor. This is called dynamic input. It is a very handy feature because you can see what the
program is expecting you to do next without having to take your eyes off the cursor and look back
down at the command line. Click anywhere in the drawing to specify the starting point of the line. As
soon as you specify the starting point, the prompt changes. Now the program is prompting you to
Specify next point, and in the command line, you are prompted to Specify next point or [Undo].
Notice that you can see a line extending from the point you just picked to the cursor. That line
stretches as you move the mouse. Click to pick another point. As soon as you do, the program
creates a line between the two points you specified and the prompt repeats. It again tells you to
Specify next point. When you click to pick another point, the program draws another line segment
and the prompt repeats again. But notice that the prompt in the command line has changed. It now
prompts you to Specify next point or [Close Undo], and the words Close and Undo are inside square
brackets and have a gray background. Whenever you see anything inside square brackets on the
command line, those are options. That means that in addition to specifying the next point, you can
choose one of those options, and there are several different ways that you can choose one of those
options. You can type the capital letter corresponding to the option you want to select, or you can
simply click on the option in the command line. For example, click the Undo option, and the program
eliminates the line segment you just created. You could have also typed the letter U and pressed
ENTER, but clicking the option is much faster. If you click Undo again, the line segment before that
is removed. You can actually keep undoing the previous line segment until you have removed the
very first line segment that you created, in which case the command goes back to its very first
prompt, Specify first point. Click to specify a point again to create one line segment. With just one
line segment created, the only option available is Undo. Now pick another point to create a second
line segment. Once you have created two or more line segments, the Close option becomes
available. When you select this option, the program draws a line segment from the end point of the
most recent line back to the very first point you specified when you started the LINE command. This
also ends the command. You can see that the command has ended because in the command line,
the program once again tells you to Type a command.
202 Drawing Lines Using Dynamic Input
Dynamic input provides a command interface near the cursor in the drawing area. When dynamic
input is turned on, which it is by default, a tooltip displays dynamically updated information near the
cursor. When a command is in progress, you can specify options and values using dynamic input.
Dynamic input is a very handy feature because you can see what the program is expecting you to
do next without having to take your eyes off the cursor and look back down at the command line. On
the Home ribbon, in the Draw panel, click the Line tool. In the command line, you can see that the
program shows you the name of the command and also prompts you to Specify first point. But with
dynamic input turned on, you see this same prompt alongside the cursor. Click in the drawing to
specify the first point. As soon as you do, the program prompts you to specify the next point, and
with dynamic input turned on, the prompt now appears both in the command window and near the
cursor. When you pick the next point, the prompt repeats, again both in the command line and near
the cursor. Create a second line segment. On the command line, you are prompted to Specify next
point or [Close Undo], and the words Close and Undo appear inside square brackets and have gray
backgrounds, because they are options. But notice that the dynamic input also includes the word
"or" and to the right of the dynamic input tooltip, there is a small down arrow. When you press the
Down Arrow key, you see a menu with these same two options, Close and Undo. You can choose
one of these options by clicking the option, or by using the arrow keys on the keyboard to select the
option and then press ENTER. For example, press the Down Arrow key to select the Close option
and then press ENTER to create a final line segment from the endpoint of the last segment you
created back to the starting point of the first line you created when you started the LINE command.
This also ends the command. You can see that the command has ended because in the command
line, the program once again tells you to Type a command. You can turn dynamic input off if you
wish. To do this, on the Status bar, click the Customization button and select Dynamic Input in the
menu, so that a check mark appears adjacent to that option. Then, click anywhere in the drawing
area to close the menu. Notice that now, a Dynamic Input button appears in the Status bar. Click
this button to toggle off dynamic input. Then, start the LINE command again. Notice that now, you
no longer see a dynamic input prompt near the cursor. The prompts only appear in the command
line. Draw several line segments and then end the command. You can see how useful dynamic
input can be. Go back to the Status bar and click the Dynamic Input button to toggle it back on.
Since it is unlikely that you would ever want to turn off dynamic input, there is no need to keep this
button on the Status bar. It is just taking up space. So go back to the Customization menu and click
Dynamic Input to clear the check mark.

203 Drawing Lines Using the Right-Click Menu


Another way to select options when using a command is by right-clicking to display a shortcut
menu. When you create line segments, the program prompts you in the command window, and if
dynamic input is turned on, adjacent to the cursor. After you specify the first point of the first line
segment, the prompt includes options. These options are displayed in the command window inside
square brackets, and you can choose an option by clicking on the option in the command window,
or by typing the capital letter corresponding to the desired option. Notice that when dynamic input is
turned on, when you type a letter, the letter appears in the dynamic input field, not in the command
window. When using dynamic input, you can also select one of the options by pressing the Down
Arrow on the keyboard. There is also a third way to select one of these options. Whenever the
program offers you options for a command, you can right-click to display a shortcut menu that
includes those options. The available options appear in the middle portion of this shortcut menu,
and I can choose the option I want by clicking on it inside this menu. So as you can see, there are
three different methods for selecting these options and it really doesn't matter which method you
use. As you become more proficient, you will probably figure out which method works best for you. I
actually prefer to right-click. That way, I can focus on my drawing and I do not have to take my hand
off the mouse. I can click to select commands and pick points, and right-click to select options.

204 Repeating the Last Command


Being able to repeat a command is quite useful, because you will often find yourself doing the same
thing multiple times. For example, let's say you just created a line segment and ended the
command. Then you decide that you want to create another line segment. Although you could start
the command again by going back to the ribbon and clicking on the Line tool, this requires a lot of
movement and extra clicks. Every time you go back and click on a button in the ribbon, you have to
take your eyes off the drawing window and direct your attention back to the ribbon. And depending
on the size of your display, this can require a lot of mouse movement. There ought to be an easier
way to repeat the last command, and there are actually several different ways you can repeat a
command. If you have ended the command and the program is waiting for you to select a new
command (which you can see by the fact that in the command window the command line actually
says Type a command), you can simply press the SPACEBAR to repeat whatever command you
used last. So in this case, since the last command I used was the LINE command, pressing the
SPACEBAR repeats the LINE command. And I can see the prompt to specify the first point. After
you have finished drawing lines, pressing the SPACEBAR or the ENTER key or the ESC key will
end the command. And then again, pressing the SPACEBAR will restart the LINE command. You
can also repeat the last command by pressing the ENTER key, but most users find it easier to press
the SPACEBAR, because it is easier to locate the SPACEBAR on the keyboard without having to
actually look down at the keyboard. Another way that I can repeat the command is to right-click to
display a shortcut menu. Notice that the first item in the shortcut menu is the LINE command. This
shortcut menu will always show the most recently used command on the first line of the menu. So
you can repeat the command by choosing it in this shortcut menu. A third way to repeat a command
is to move your cursor down into the command window and then click on the Recent Commands
tool. The program displays a list of recent commands, and you can start a command by simply
choosing it in this list. Note that you can also right-click in the command window. When you right-
click in the command window, the program displays a shortcut menu. Notice that at the top of this
menu is an item labeled Recent Commands. If you expand this selection, you can see a list of up to
six recent commands, with the most recent command, in this case the LINE command, as the first
item in the list. You can then repeat any one of these commands by selecting it in the flyout list. But
clicking on the Recent Commands tool in the command line is simpler. And here is one more tip. Not
only will pressing the SPACEBAR restart the last command, but if you press the SPACEBAR
another time after starting the command, the program will jump back to the last point you specified.
So in this case, pressing the SPACEBAR once restarts the LINE command and pressing it again
uses the endpoint of the previous line segment as the starting point for the next line segment.

205 Understanding Command Options


Almost all commands have what are known as command options. An option is simply a choice that
you can make while using the command. For example, when you use the LINE command, after you
specify the first point, the command then offers options. The options appear in the command
window inside square brackets. When the program prompts you to specify the next point of the first
line segment, the option is to Undo the point that you specified for the starting point of the line. After
you specify the endpoint of the first line segment, the Undo option would undo the choice you made
for the endpoint of the line segment. After you create two line segments, the option changes. Now,
in addition to undoing what you just did, you can also use the Close option to create a line segment
extending from the last point you specified back to the starting point of the first line segment you
created. It is common for options to change as you progress through various steps in a command.
When a command presents various options, there are four different ways to access these options.
First, you can type to specify the option. When you type, you only need to enter the letter
corresponding to the letter within the desired option that is capitalized. So, for example, to select the
Close option you can just type the letter C. It does not matter if you enter it as a capital or lower-
case C. Just type the letter C and press ENTER. Similarly, to select the Undo option, you would type
the letter U and then press ENTER. The second way to select an option is even easier. Instead of
typing, you can simply click on the option in the command window. So when I'm in the middle of the
Line command, I can click on the Close or Undo option. The third method you can use to select an
option is to right-click to display a shortcut menu. Notice that the two options appear in the middle
portion of the shortcut menu. You can then select the desired option by clicking on it in this menu.
And the fourth method of selecting an option only works when you have dynamic input turned on.
When dynamic input is enabled, you can press the Down Arrow on the keyboard to display the
available options and then either use the Up and Down arrow keys and press ENTER to select the
desired option, or just click on the option in the list. So, to select a command option, you can click in
the command line, type at the keyboard, right-click and then choose the option from the shortcut
menu, or press the Down Arrow and then select the option from the list.

206 Drawing Rectangles


Rectangles are another common object you can create. To create a rectangle, click the Rectangle
tool in the Draw panel of the Home ribbon. If you hover your cursor over the tool, notice that the
tooltip shows you that the rectangle tool creates a rectangular polyline. If you pause your cursor
over the tool for a few seconds, the tooltip expands to show you additional information. The tooltip
also shows you the name of the actual command. In this case, the command is RECTANG. In
addition to clicking on the button in the ribbon, you could start the command by typing RECTANG
and then pressing ENTER. The tooltip will always show you the name of the command represented
by a particular button, and any command can be started by typing. But that takes much more effort,
so it is almost always easier to simply click on the appropriate tool. Notice that as soon as you start
the Rectangle command, the program prompts you to specify the first corner point, and also shows
you a list of options. Options are displayed in the command window inside square brackets. You can
select any of these options by typing the capitalized letter corresponding to the desired option or by
simply clicking on the option in the command window, by right-clicking and choosing from a the
options that appear in the middle portion of the shortcut menu, or, if dynamic input is enabled, by
pressing the Down Arrow and then selecting from a list. To simply draw a rectangle without selecting
any options, just click to specify one corner of the rectangle, and then notice that the prompt has
changed. The program now prompts you to specify the other corner or opposite corner of the
rectangle, and also presents a different set of options. As you move the cursor, you can see the
rectangle that will be created. There are two different methods that you can use to specify the
opposite corner of the rectangle. With dynamic input toggled on, notice that you can see the X and
Y coordinates, the length and width of the resulting rectangle. You can simply move the cursor until
the rectangle is the desired size, or you can type the length and width values. Once you specify the
opposite corner, the rectangle is created and the command ends. You can tell that the command
has ended because in the command window, the command line tells you to Type a command, and if
dynamic input is turned on, there is no longer a prompt adjacent to the cursor. To repeat the
command, you can simply press the SPACEBAR, or you can right-click and choose the RECTANG
command from the top of the shortcut menu.
207 Drawing Rectangles Using the Area Option
Rectangles are another common object you can create. When you create a rectangle, you specify
the first corner and then the opposite corner, and there are various ways in which you can specify
the opposite corner of the rectangle. Start the rectangle command by clicking the Rectangle tool in
the Draw panel of the Home ribbon. The program prompts you to specify the first corner of the
rectangle. Once you select the first corner, the program prompts you to specify the other corner
point. You could simply click to select the other corner, or you can choose one of the other three
options. Notice that in the command line, you can see that the options are Area, Dimensions, and
Rotation. You can choose one of these options by clicking on it in the command line or by typing the
capital letter corresponding to the desired option, for example, type the letter A to choose the Area
option. Or, you can right-click and choose the Area option from the shortcut menu. Or, with dynamic
input enabled, you can press the Down Arrow on the keyboard and then choose the Area option
from the list. If you know what the total area of the rectangle needs to be, you can choose the Area
option. The program prompts you to enter the area of the rectangle in current units. Notice that the
value 100 is displayed inside angle brackets. Any time you see a value or an option inside angle
brackets like this, that is a default value, and if that is the value you want to use, you can accept the
default by simply pressing ENTER. But let's say that the area of the rectangle needs to be 60 units.
Since current default value is 100, I must type 60 and then press ENTER. After I specify the area,
the prompt changes. The program wants to know if it should calculate the rectangle dimensions
based on a specified length or a specified width. It shows me these options inside square brackets.
Again, notice also that the word Length is displayed inside angle brackets as the default option. If
dynamic input is turned on, you can also see this default option already selected adjacent to the
cursor. Rather than having to specify a value or select an option, if the value or option you want to
use is already displayed inside these angle brackets, you can accept that default by simply pressing
the ENTER key. So in this case, if I want to specify the length of the rectangle and then let the
program calculate the proper width in order to come up with a resulting rectangle having the area I
specified, I can press the ENTER key to accept the default option of Length. If you decide that you
want to specify the width instead, you can specify that option. Let's specify a length of 10 units. I'll
type 10 and then press ENTER. As soon as I press ENTER, the rectangle is created. I'll start the
rectangle command again by pressing the SPACEBAR, specify the first corner, and then choose the
Area option again. Notice that this time, not only does the program prompt me to specify the area,
but it shows the value 60 inside angle brackets. Many commands remember the value you specified
the last time you used that particular command and provide that same value as the default the next
time you use the command. So if I want to create another rectangle with an area of 60, I can press
ENTER to accept the default value. If I wanted to specify a different area, I would need to type the
new value. I'll press ENTER to accept the default value and create another rectangle with an area of
60. Again, the program asks if I want to calculate the rectangle dimensions based on the length or
the width, and shows the Length as the default option. If I want to specify the width this time, I need
to choose that option, by either typing the letter W, by right-clicking and choosing the Width option
from the shortcut menu, or, since in this situation the options automatically display with dynamic
input turned on, I can simply choose the width option. The program prompts me to enter the width.
I'll enter a width of 10 units and press ENTER. And as soon as I do, the rectangle is created.

208 Drawing Rectangles Using the Dimensions Option


Rectangles are a common object you can create, and one of the ways you can draw a rectangle is
to specify its length and width dimensions. Start the rectangle command by clicking the Rectangle
tool in the Draw panel of the Home ribbon. When you start the command, the program prompts you
to specify the first corner point. Click to select the corner. As soon as you specify the first corner, the
program prompts you to specify the other corner point and also displays three options: Area,
Dimensions, and Rotation. You can choose the Dimensions option by clicking the option in the
command line or typing the letter D, by right-clicking and choosing the Dimensions option from the
shortcut menu, or with dynamic input enabled, by pressing the Down Arrow key and then selecting
the Dimensions option from the list and then pressing the ENTER key. Once you select the
dimensions option, the program will prompt you for the length of the rectangle. Notice that it displays
a default length inside angle brackets. If this is the desired length, you can select it by pressing the
ENTER key. Otherwise, you can type a different length and then press ENTER. Remember that
length is measured in the direction of the X-axis. So if I want the rectangle to be 12 units long, I'll
type 12 and then press the ENTER key. The program then prompts me to specify the width. I'll
specify a width of 8 units by typing 8 and pressing ENTER. The program then repeats the prompt for
me to specify the other corner. Notice that one corner of the rectangle is locked at the first point I
specified, but as I move the cursor, I can position the other corner to the upper-right, upper-left,
lower-left, or lower-right quadrant in relation to that first corner. To complete the rectangle, click
when the rectangle is in the desired position.

209 Drawing Rectangles Using the Rotation Option


Rectangles are a common object you can create, and one of the ways you can draw a rectangle is
to specify its rotation. Start the rectangle command by clicking the Rectangle tool in the Draw panel
of the Home ribbon. When you start the command, the program prompts you to specify the first
corner point. Click to select the corner. As soon as you specify the first corner, the program prompts
you to specify the other corner point and also displays three options: Area, Dimensions, and
Rotation. You can choose the Rotation option by either clicking the option in the command line or
typing the letter R, by right-clicking and choosing the Rotation option from the shortcut menu, or with
dynamic input enabled, by pressing the Down Arrow key and then selecting the Rotation option from
the list. Once you select the Rotation option, the program will prompt you to specify a rotation angle,
or to pick points. Note that when you enter angles, they are measured in a counter-clockwise
direction. By default, an angle of zero points to the east or 3-o'clock position. So if you type a
rotation angle of 30 and then press ENTER, notice that the rectangle is now locked in at an angle of
30-degrees. The program then repeats the prompt for me to specify the other corner and repeats
the options for Area, Dimensions, and Rotation. So now, I can specify the size of the rectangle by
simply picking the opposite corner point, by using the Area or Dimensions option, or even change
the rotation angle again. I'll choose the Rotation option again. Notice that now, in the command
window, you can see the previous angle of 30 degrees inside angle brackets. Any time you see a
value inside angle brackets, this is the default value and you can accept that value by simply
pressing the ENTER key. The program remembered the last rectangle rotation angle I had specified
and offers it as the default value. Many commands will remember the last thing that you did and
offer that as the default the next time you use the command. This time I'll specify the angle by
picking a point. Then, I'll click in the command line to choose the Dimensions option. I'll make the
length of the rectangle 8 units and press ENTER, and the width of the rectangle 5 units and press
ENTER. The program then repeats the prompt for me to specify the other corner. Notice that the
rectangle is now locked at the specified angle and one corner of the rectangle is locked at the first
point I specified, but as I move the cursor, I can position the other corner. To complete the rectangle,
click when the rectangle is in the desired position.

210 Drawing Rectangles with Fillets


Rectangles are a common object you can create, and when you draw a rectangle, you have the
option to include fillets or rounded corners. To do this, you must choose the Fillet option before you
specify the first corner of the rectangle. Start the rectangle command by clicking the Rectangle tool
in the Draw panel of the Home ribbon. When you start the command, the program prompts you to
specify the first corner point and also displays a number of options. To include a fillet, do not click to
select the first point. Notice that Fillet is one of the options that appear as part of this very first
prompt. You can choose the Fillet option by either clicking the option in the command line or typing
the letter F, by right-clicking and choosing the Fillet option from the shortcut menu, or with dynamic
input enabled, by pressing the Down Arrow key and then selecting the Fillet option from the list.
Once you select the Fillet option, the program will prompt you to specify the fillet radius. With
dynamic input turned on, this prompt appears both in the command window and adjacent to the
cursor. Let's specify a radius of 1.5 units and then press ENTER. Now I'll click to pick the first corner
point. Notice that as I move the cursor away from that corner, once I reach a point at which the
length or width of the rectangle is more than 3 units, so that it is large enough to include the 1.5 unit
radius fillets, those fillets appear as part of the rectangle. I can then use any of the options to specify
the other corner - picking the other corner, or using the Area, Dimensions, or Rotation option - to
complete the rectangle. In this case, I'm simply going to click to pick the other corner. Notice that the
resulting rectangle includes rounded corners.

211 Drawing Rectangles with Chamfers


Rectangles are a common object you can create, and when you draw a rectangle, you have the
option to include angled or chamfered corners. To do this, you must choose the Chamfer option
before you specify the first corner of the rectangle. Start the rectangle command by clicking the
Rectangle tool in the Draw panel of the Home ribbon. When you start the command, the program
prompts you to specify the first corner point and also displays a number of options. To include a
chamfer, do not click to select the first point. Notice that Chamfer is one of the options that appear
as part of this very first prompt. You can choose the Chamfer option by either clicking the option in
the command line or typing the letter C, by right-clicking and choosing the Chamfer option from the
shortcut menu, or with dynamic input enabled, by pressing the Down Arrow key and then selecting
the Chamfer option from the list. Once you select the Chamfer option, the program will prompt you
to specify two chamfer distances. With dynamic input turned on, these prompts appear both in the
command window and adjacent to the cursor. Before I specify these distances, let's look at how
these distances affect the creation of the rectangle. Here is a rectangle that has 90-degree corners.
A chamfer is created by adding an angled corner. The first chamfer distance is the distance
measured from the corner back to the start of the chamfer along the length of the rectangle and the
second chamfer distance is the distance measured from the corner back to the start of the chamfer
along the width of the rectangle. So working our way around the rectangle counter-clockwise, here
is D1 and D2, then this is the third D1 and D2, and the fourth D1 and D2. Now let's go back and see
how this works when you actually create a rectangle. If I want to chamfer each corner at a 45-
degree angle, I am going to specify the same value for the first and second chamfer distances. So
when the program prompts for the first chamfer distance, I'll enter .75 units and then press ENTER.
Then, when the program prompts me for the second chamfer distance, notice that the value I
specified for the first chamfer distance is shown as the default, inside the angle brackets, so I can
accept that value by simply pressing the ENTER key. Now I'll click to pick the first corner point.
Notice that as I move the cursor away from that corner, once I reach a point at which the length or
width of the rectangle is more than 1.5 units, so that it is large enough to include the .75 unit
chamfer distances, those chamfers appear as part of the rectangle. I can then use any of the
options to specify the other corner - picking the other corner, or using the Area, Dimensions, or
Rotation option - to complete the rectangle. In this case, I'll choose the Rotation option. Notice that
the chamfers remain and I can rotate the rectangle to the desired angle and then complete the
creation of the rectangle. Notice that the resulting rectangle includes the chamfered corners.

212 Drawing Rectangles Using the Width Option


Rectangles are a common object you can create, and when you draw a rectangle, you have the
option to draw the rectangle with a wide line. To do this, you must choose the Width option before
you specify the first corner of the rectangle. Start the rectangle command by clicking the Rectangle
tool in the Draw panel of the Home ribbon. When you start the command, the program prompts you
to specify the first corner point and also displays a number of options. To create a rectangle with a
wide line, do not click to select the first point. Notice that Width is one of the options that appear as
part of this very first prompt. You can choose the Width option by either clicking the option in the
command window or typing the letter W, by right-clicking and choosing the Width option from the
shortcut menu, or with dynamic input enabled, by pressing the Down Arrow key and then selecting
the Width option from the list. Once you select the Width option, the program will prompt you to
specify the line width for rectangles. With dynamic input turned on, these prompts appear both in
the command window and adjacent to the cursor. You can specify this value by either clicking on the
screen or by typing the width value. Let's say that I want the width of the line to be .25 units. I'll
type .25 and then press the ENTER key. The program then prompts me as it normally does to
specify the first corner point, or I can choose one of the other options. I'll click to pick the first corner
point. Notice that as I move the cursor, you can see that the rectangle lines are created with the line
width I specified. If you look carefully, you can see that the width of the lines is actually measured
out from either side of the centerline of each side of the rectangle. So the dimensions of the
rectangle are measured from the centerline of the sides, and if you want the rectangle drawn so that
the outside edges are at a specific distance, you will need to take this into account when creating
the rectangle. When I specify the other corner, notice that the resulting rectangle has been created
with wide lines.

213 Resetting the Rectangle Default Options


When you create a rectangle using any of the available options, the program remembers the values
that you used, and provides those values as the defaults the next time you use the command. For
example, if you create a rectangle with wide lines, say .25 units wide, and also with filleted corners,
lets say .75 unit radius fillets, and then when you create the rectangle, you draw it at an angle, let's
say a 35-degree angle, the rectangle is created using those values. If you start the RECTANGLE
command again - and since it was the previous command remember that you can start it again by
simply pressing the SPACEBAR - notice that the command remembers the values you used to
create the last rectangle. So in the command window, the program shows you that the current
rectangle mode is set to create another rectangle with a fillet of .75 units, a line width of .25 units,
and a rotation angle of 35-degrees. So essentially, other than the size of the rectangle, if you
continue without selecting any options, the new rectangle will be created using these values. Even if
you were to erase this rectangle, or use the UNDO command to reverse the creation of the previous
rectangle, the program will always remember the last way that a rectangle was created. And this is a
feature, because many times you will create similar objects using all or most of the same values.
But what this means is that if you do not want to draw a new rectangle using these values, you must
use the options again to change or reset any of these presets to the values that you do want to use,
even if that means entering values of zero. So I'm going to start the rectangle command again, click
the Width option and reset the width to 0. Then I'll click the Fillet radius option and reset the fillet
radius to 0. And then, once I pick the first corner of the rectangle, notice that the program no longer
creates a rectangle with wide lines or filleted corners, but it still remembers the rotation angle. So I'll
click the Rotation option and either enter a new rotation angle or reset it back to a value of 0. Then I
can finish creating my new rectangle that no longer uses any of the presets. The rectangle has been
reset back to its default settings.

214 Using the Undo and Redo Commands


UNDO and REDO are two complimentary commands that can be quite helpful. Let's quickly create
some objects. I'll use the LINE tool to create a line segment. I'll end the command and then start it
again, and this time, I'll create several line segments and then right-click and choose the Close
option to create a closing segment and end the command. Then I'll use the RECTANGLE command
to draw a rectangle. And finally, I'll use the LINE command to create one more line segment. The
important thing to note here is the order in which I used the command. 1. 2. 3. And 4. Now, if I come
up here to my Quick Access Toolbar and click once on the Undo tool, the program will undo the last
thing I did. In this case, it undoes the last line segment I created. If I click on Undo again, it will undo
the next most recent thing I did, in this case, it removes the rectangle. If I click Undo again, it will not
undo the individual line segments, but rather all of the line segments created in that instance of the
LINE command. When you are in the middle of the LINE command, its undo option lets you step
back and remove previous line segments, but once you have ended the LINE command, the UNDO
command reverses all of the line segments you created during that particular use of the LINE
command. And if I click on Undo again, it will undo the very first line segment I created. Clicking on
the Redo button one at a time will reverse what I just did with the UNDO command, so each time I
click the Redo button, each object is restored to the drawing. You can also click on the down arrow
adjacent to the Undo button to view a list of all the commands. You can then roll back through a
series of commands. So rather than having to click the Undo button three times to undo everything
but the very first line, I can select the last three commands at the top of the list to undo the LINE, the
RECTANGLE, and the LINE. The arrow adjacent to the Redo button lets me do the same thing.
Rather than clicking the Redo button two times to restore the line segments and then the rectangle,
I can simply click on the second item in the list to redo the last two undo actions. The combination of
the UNDO and REDO commands is perfect for trying what-if scenarios. Or, if you do something and
do not get the desired results, you can immediately undo whatever you just did. Do not try to fix it.
Just undo it. One thing to remember, however. The REDO command only reverses whatever you
just undid using the UNDO command. If you use any other command after you undo something, you
will no longer be able to use the REDO command to reverse whatever you undid.

215 Drawing Circles Using Radius and Diameter


A circle is one of the most basic objects you can create. To create a circle, you can click the Circle
tool in the Draw panel of the Home ribbon. Notice that if you click the arrow adjacent to the Circle
tool, you can see that there are a number of different ways in which you can create circles. If you
pause your cursor over one of these methods, you see a tooltip describing that option. The tooltip
also shows you that the name of the command in each case is CIRCLE. Each method simply pre-
selects some of the possible CIRCLE command options. Let's look at the Center-Radius method.
When you click the Circle by Center-Radius option, the program prompts you to specify the center
point for the circle. In the command window, you can see that the CIRCLE command has several
options. You can pick the point where you would like the center of the circle to be located, or you
could type in the coordinate location. By pressing the TAB key, you can toggle between the X-
coordinate location and the Y-coordinate location. Remember that the program uses a Cartesian
coordinate system of X- and Y-coordinates, and when working in 3D, of X-, Y-, and Z-coordinates.
So I can position the center of the circle. Let's say that I want it at 5 units in the X-direction, then
press the TAB key to switch to the other field, and I'll type 6 to specify the location in the Y-direction.
When I press the TAB key again, it locks in that value. To finalize the selection of that point, I'll press
the ENTER key. Once I specify the center of the circle, the program prompts me to specify the
radius. The radius can also be specified by picking points or typing the radius value. Let's say that I
want the radius to be exactly .75. I'll type the value and then press the ENTER key to create that
circle. I'm going to repeat the command by pressing the SPACEBAR. This time I'm going to pick the
location for the center of the circle. Then I can drag the cursor and specify a new radius. But before I
do that, let's take a look at the command window. Notice that the program is prompting me to
specify the radius of the circle. I also have the option of specifying the diameter of the circle. But
there is also a default value. The program remembers the radius of the previous circle and displays
that value as the default. So if I want to create another circle of the exact same size, I can just press
ENTER to accept that default value. If I press the SPACEBAR to repeat the command again, pick
the center point, and then enter a new radius value, let's say 1.25. Then, if I start the command
again, after I specify the center point, now the command shows me the radius of the most recent
circle, in this case 1.25, as the new default value. Let's start the CIRCLE command again, but this
time I'll choose the Center-Diameter method. Again, the program prompts me to specify the center
of the circle. But notice that this time, after I select the center point, the command prompts me to
specify the diameter of the circle rather than the radius. In the drawing window I can see the
diameter and the default value is now 2.5. That is the diameter value of the last circle I created. So
the program still remembers the size of the previous circle and offers it as the default value for the
new circle, but since I specified that I wanted to create the circle based on its diameter instead of its
radius, it has now converted the default into a diameter value. If you look carefully in the command
window, you can see exactly what happened. The previous circle had a radius of 1.25. Selecting the
Center-Diameter method in the ribbon automatically chose the Diameter option. I can see the letter
D right there on the command line. So the prompt changed to Specify diameter and the new default
value appears as the diameter value. If I press the ENTER key, I create a circle the same size as
the previous circle. I'll start the command again by pressing the SPACEBAR and then specify the
center of the circle. But notice that the command has gone back to prompting me to specify the
radius of the circle. If I want to specify the diameter instead, I can click to select the diameter option,
type the letter D, or right-click and choose Diameter from the shortcut menu, or with dynamic input
enabled, I can press the Down Arrow and choose Diameter. Then I can specify the diameter of the
circle.

216 Drawing 2 Point and 3 Point Circles


A circle is one of the most basic objects you can create. There are several different methods you
can use to create circles. The two-point method lets you specify any two points to define the
diameter of the circle whereas the three-point method lets you create a circle that passes through
three points. Let's look first at an example of a two-point circle. Notice that you can select this
method by clicking the arrow adjacent to the Circle tool on the Draw panel of the Home ribbon. Note
that you could also simply start the CIRCLE command and then specify the two-point option by
clicking the 2P option in the command line, typing 2P, right-clicking and choosing the two-point
option from the shortcut menu, or by pressing the down-arrow key and then selecting the option
from a list. When you choose this option, the program prompts you to specify the first end point of
the circle's diameter. I'll click to select a point. The command then prompts you to specify the
second end point of the circle's diameter, and as I move the cursor, notice that I can see the
diameter of the circle in the drawing window. The first point I picked is at one end of that diameter
and the other end of the diameter is attached to my cursor. The program shows me the length of the
diameter line. Also note that we can specify the angle of the diameter line. Remember that east or
3-o'clock is the zero angle and angles increase in a counter-clockwise direction. So at this point, I
can either pick the other end of the diameter, or press the TAB key to cycle between the length and
angle values. To lock the diameter line in at an angle of 45-degrees, I can press TAB until that field
is active, then type 45, and then press the TAB key to switch back to the diameter value. Notice that
the angle is now locked, but I can continue to move the cursor to drag the length of the diameter. I
can then type in the diameter, let's say, a value of 3. A three-point circle lets you create a circle by
specifying three points. The resulting circle will pass through those three points. I'll start the
command and then pick the first point, and then the second point. Notice that when I go to pick the
third point, I can see the resulting circle. As I move the cursor, the size of the circle changes. The
circle continues to pass through the first two points, but the resulting circle changes as I prepare to
select the third point. When I click to pick the third point, the circle is created. Notice that after you
create the circles, if you select them, grips are displayed at their center points and quadrant points.
Even though these circles were not defined based on their center points, once you create them, the
properties of all circles include the center point and radius. It doesn't matter how they were created.
Regardless of the method you used, they're all the same type of circle object.

217 Drawing Circles Using the TTR and TTT Options


A circle is one of the most basic objects you can create. There are several different methods you
can use to create circles that are tangent to other objects. The first method is called Tangent,
Tangent, Radius. You can find this method here in the Circle pull-down in the Draw panel of the
Home ribbon tab. The Tangent, Tangent, Radius method creates a circle with a specified radius that
is tangent to two existing objects. I'll click to select that method. Let's say, for example, that I want to
create a circle that is tangent to these two lines. Notice that in the command window and at the
dynamic command prompt, the program prompts me to specify a point on the object for the first
tangent of the circle, and as I move my cursor anywhere over one of these lines, I see a small glyph
and a tooltip appears that says Deferred Tangent. This is an object snap that automatically pops up
and allows us to snap to that geometry. I'll click to pick a point on one line. Then I'll move the cursor
over to the other line. The prompt changes. It now asks me to specify a point on an object for the
second tangent of the circle and again I see the same glyph and tooltip. I can click to pick a deferred
tangent point on the other line. I still don't see the circle, but now the command is prompting me to
specify the radius of the circle. There is a default value from the last time I used the CIRCLE
command. I can either pick points to specify the radius or type the value. I'll type in a value of 1.5.
As soon as I press ENTER, the circle is created. Notice that the circle is tangent to the two lines. It
is not necessarily drawn at the points I specified, but it is tangent to the lines I specified. If I had
specified a smaller radius, the tangency points would probably be here and here. Let's create
another circle tangent to these same two lines. I'll go back to the Draw panel in the ribbon. Notice
that the Tangent, Tangent, Radius method is now the default method shown in the Circle button. Any
time a button includes a flyout like this, which ever option you choose from the flyout becomes the
new default method assigned to the button. It floats to the top. So I do not have to click the arrow,
this time I can simply click the button. Again, I'll click to select the first line, and I'm going to click out
here towards the end of this line, and then I'll click to select the other line. Then, when the program
prompts me to specify the radius, I'll type .75, half the size of the previous circle. Notice that the new
circle is still tangent to the two lines, but now it touches them much further from the points I used to
select those lines. You can use the Tangent, Tangent, Radius method to create a circle tangent to
any two objects. I'll click to select each of the lines, and then press ENTER to accept the default
radius value. Again, the program creates a circle of the desired radius tangent to the two objects I
selected. Let's look at the other method, Tangent, Tangent, Tangent. I want to create a circle that fits
exactly inside this triangle so that it touches and is tangent to all three sides. In the Draw panel of
the Home ribbon tab, I'll click on the Circle flyout and choose the Tan, Tan, Tan tool. I'll pick
anywhere on one side of the triangle, then anywhere on the second side, and then anywhere on the
third side. The program will then automatically calculate the radius of the circle that fits perfectly
inside the triangle and is tangent to each side.

218 Drawing Circles Using the Default Method


It is important to realize that although there are six different methods for creating circles, once you
have created a circle using one of these methods, any time you then repeat the CIRCLE command,
by pressing the SPACEBAR or right-clicking with your mouse and choosing Repeat CIRCLE from
the shortcut menu, the command does not repeat the previous method for creating the circle. The
CIRCLE command has one default method: to specify the center point for the circle and then the
radius. If you want to repeat one of the other methods, you can go back to the Draw panel on the
Home ribbon and select the desired method from the Circle tool-and notice that the last method you
used floats to the top and is now the default method when you click on the Circle button within the
Draw panel. The other way to select one of the other methods for drawing a circle is to simply
restart the CIRCLE command and then, when the program prompts you to specify the center point
for the circle, you can choose any of the other options by either clicking in the command line or
typing, or right-clicking and selecting the desired option from the shortcut menu, or if dynamic input
is enabled, by pressing the Down Arrow key and then selecting the option from the list.

219 Drawing Arcs


An arc is one of the most basic objects you can create, and there are quite a number of different
methods you can use to create arcs. On the Home ribbon, in the Draw panel, expand the Arc split
button. Notice that you can see 11 different methods you can use to create an arc. The default
method lets you create an arc by picking three points that the arc will pass through, but you can also
create an arc by picking its start point, center point, and endpoint; by picking its start point, center
point, and an included angle; by picking its start point, center, and the length of a chord; the start
point, endpoint, and included angle; the start point, endpoint, and tangent direction; the start point,
endpoint, and radius; the center point, start point, and endpoint; the center, start point, and included
angle; the center, start point, and chord length; or you can draw an arc tangent to the last line or arc
that you created. Note that with the exception of the Continue option, each of these methods
requires you to select three points, or two points and a value. Several use the same combinations,
but change the order in which you pick points or specify the values. Also note that when you select
one of these options from the split button, the method you choose floats to the top of the button and
becomes the default method the next time you click the button in the ribbon. Cancel the command.
Then expand the split button again and choose the default 3-Point method. When you do, the
command prompts you to specify the start point of the arc. But notice that there is also a Center
option. Choose the Center option. Now the prompt changes. Click to specify the center point of the
arc. As soon as you do, the program prompts you to specify the start point of the arc. Click to
specify the start point. As soon as you do that, the prompt changes again. Now the program is
prompting you to specify the end point of the arc, and by default, the arc is being drawn in a
counter-clockwise direction. But notice that the prompt also tells you that you can hold the CTRL
key to switch direction. When you press CTRL, notice that the arc is now being drawn in a clockwise
direction. As soon as you specify the endpoint of the arc, the arc is created and the command ends.

220 Drawing Arcs by Specifying 3 Points


An arc is one of the most basic objects you can create. On the Home ribbon, in the Draw panel,
expand the Arc split button. You can see that there are 11 methods for creating arcs. With the
exception of the Continue option, all of these methods require you to specify either three points or
two points and a value, such as the radius, chord length, or tangent direction. The default method is
to create an arc that passes through three points. When you choose the 3-Point option, the program
prompts you for the starting point of the arc. Click to select the start point and then the second point.
As soon as you specify that second point, you can see a preview image of the arc. As you move the
cursor, the preview changes, so that the arc extends from the start point and through the second
point to the position of the cursor. The first two points remain fixed and it is the third point, the end
point, that completes the creation of the arc. Once the arc has been created, when you select it,
grips appear at specific locations that correspond to the geometry used to store the arc. The
program stores the start point, the end point, and the center point of the arc. There is also a grip at
the midpoint. Go back to the ribbon and this time create an arc using the Start, Center, Length
method. Once you have created the arc, notice that when you select it, you again see grips at the
start point, the end point, and the center point. Regardless of the method you use to create the arc,
once it has been created, the program uses the start point, the end point, and the center point to
store the definition of the arc. Notice that the Start, Center, Length method has floated to the top of
the split button. If you click that button now, instead of using the default 3-Point method, the
program repeats the Start, Center, Length method. But if you cancel the command and then press
the SPACEBAR or right-click to repeat the command, the program reverts back to the default
method, which creates an arc passing through three points. Of course, even if you start the
command using the default method, you can easily switch to any of the other methods by choosing
options. The available options always display on the command line. If dynamic input is enabled,
these options also appear adjacent to the cursor. You can then choose any available option by
clicking the option on the command line, by pressing the down-arrow on the keyboard, by right-
clicking and choosing from a shortcut menu, or by typing the letter corresponding to the desired
option. In this case, choose the Center option. Now the program is prompting you to select the
center point of the arc. Once you click to pick the center point, the prompt changes. Now the
program is prompting you to specify the end point of the arc. But notice that at this point, you can
also choose the Angle or Chord Length option to complete the arc. Choose the Angle option. As
soon as you do, the program prompts you to specify the included angle. Notice that by default, the
arc is extending in a counter-clockwise direction. If you press the CTRL key, however, the arc
extends in a clockwise direction. You can also type an angle value. If you specify a positive angle
value, such as 90 degrees, the arc will be drawn in a counter-clockwise direction. But if you specify
a negative angle value, such as negative 90 degrees, the arc will be drawn in a clockwise direction.

221 Understanding Coordinate System Concepts


Like most CAD programs, AutoCAD uses a Cartesian coordinate system to identify the location of
points in two- and three-dimensional space. In order to draw accurately, you need to understand
how to work within this coordinate system. Before you begin, on the Status bar, click the
Customization button. Then, in the menu, select Coordinates to toggle on the Status bar display of
the coordinates. Then, click anywhere inside the drawing window. Notice that now, as you move the
cursor, the coordinates on the Status bar update and show you the X, Y, and Z location of the cursor
within the Cartesian coordinate system. On the Home ribbon, click to expand the Draw panel and
then click the Multiple Points tool. Notice that now, when you move the cursor, you not only see the
coordinates update on the Status bar, you can also see the X and Y coordinates change adjacent to
the cursor. Since the coordinate display takes up a considerable amount of space on the Status bar,
click the Customization button again and toggle off the Coordinates. Then, click in the drawing
window. The POINT command is still active, and you can still see the X and Y coordinates adjacent
to the cursor. Notice that the grid is currently toggled on. You can see the X- and Y-axes, indicated
by the red and green lines, respectively. The point at which those two lines intersect is the 0,0
location, which is also known as the origin of the coordinate system. When you move the cursor to
the right of the Y-axis, the green line, and above the X-axis, the red line, notice that the X and Y
coordinate values are both positive values. When you move the cursor to the left of the Y-axis, but
above the X-axis, the X value changes to a negative value, but the Y value is still positive. When
you move the cursor below the X-axis, both the X and Y values are negative. And when you move
the cursor to the right of the Y-axis but keep it below the X-axis, the X value remains positive but the
Y-value is negative because the cursor is below the origin of Y. As you can see, each point in the
drawing is always based on its X- and Y-coordinate values when working in a 2D view. And when
working in 3D, points are located based on X, Y, and Z coordinate values, in a system known as a
Cartesian coordinate system. Once you understand this concept, you can create geometry
anywhere in space. There is no limit to the drawing. And when you model in AutoCAD, you create
objects at full scale, actual size.

222 Using Absolute Coordinates


Absolute coordinates are coordinate values measured relative to the origin point (the 0,0,0 point).
Whenever the program prompts you to specify a point, you can do so in one of two ways: you can
pick the point or you can type the absolute coordinates of the point. To illustrate this, on the Home
ribbon, in the Draw panel, click the Line tool. The program prompts you to specify the first point of
the line. And with dynamic input turned on, you also see this prompt near the cursor, along with
fields showing the X- and Y-coordinates of the cursor. In this example, instead of picking a point,
specify the point by typing coordinate values. The X-coordinate field is currently active. Type 3,
meaning three units to the right of the origin, and then press the TAB key to switch to the Y-
coordinate field. Notice that the X-coordinate is now locked to a value of 3. Type 5 and then press
the TAB key. Notice that now the Y-coordinate is locked to a value of 5, but a point has not yet been
specified. Press ENTER to specify the absolute coordinate 3,5 as the first point of the line. Now the
command prompts you to specify the next point. But notice that dynamic input is now showing the
length and angle of the line. Although you can specify absolute coordinates, it is generally easier to
specify an angle and distance from the previous point, so the program automatically switches to this
method. To draw a line exactly 5 units long at a 45-degree angle, type 5, press the TAB key to
switch to the angle field, type 45, and then press ENTER. Then press ENTER one more time to end
the command. You can use absolute coordinates whenever the program prompts you to specify a
point. For example, on the Home ribbon, in the Draw panel, click the Center, Radius circle tool. The
program prompts you to specify the center point for the circle and the dynamic input fields again
show the X- and Y-coordinates. Suppose you want the circle to be centered at the first point of the
previous line. Although you could certainly type the absolute coordinate value, the program actually
remembers the coordinates of points you have recently used. Right-click to display a shortcut menu
and choose the option called Recent Input. Notice that the point 3,5 appears as the second
coordinate in this list. Click to select that coordinate. The program immediately uses that point as
the center of the circle and prompts you to specify the radius of the circle. Type 2.5 and press
ENTER to complete the circle and end the command.

223 Using Relative Coordinates


Relative coordinates are coordinates specified in relation to previous coordinates. When you start a
command and the program prompts you to specify a point, you can either click to pick a point or you
can type the absolute coordinates of the point. On the Home ribbon, in the Draw panel, click the
Line tool. The program prompts you to specify the first point of the line. Type 4,5 and press ENTER.
Note that when you typed the comma, the X-coordinate field became locked and the Y-coordinate
field became active, the same as if you had pressed the TAB key. And when you pressed ENTER,
you specified the first point of the line and now the program is prompting you to specify the next
point. Suppose you want to draw a square with each side exactly 2 units long. Although you could
certainly specify each corner of the square using absolute coordinates, it is usually much easier to
specify the next point of each line relative to the end point of the previous line. To draw a horizontal
line exactly 2 units long in the positive X-direction, type 2,0 and then press ENTER. Notice that in
the command line, you can see that the program actually added an at-symbol (@) in front of the
coordinate. The at-symbol tells the program to use relative coordinates, so the next point is located
relative to the previous point. With dynamic input, you do not need to actually type the at-symbol. To
draw the next line as a vertical line exactly 2 units long in the positive Y-direction, type 0,2 and then
press ENTER. The next line segment needs to be a horizontal line that extends 2 units in the
negative X-direction. So this time, type -2,0 and then press ENTER. The final line segment needs to
be a vertical line that extends 2 units in the negative Y-direction. So you could type 0,-2 and then
press ENTER. But since this will be the final line segment to close the square, there is an easier
way to draw this final line segment. Right-click and choose the Close option to draw that closing
segment and end the command.

224 Understanding Drawing Units and Angle Measurements


Drawing objects are measured in drawing units. Before you start to draw, you must decide what one
drawing unit will represent based on what you plan to draw. Then you create your drawing at actual
size with those drawing units in mind. Of course, you can always convert a drawing between
systems of measurement by scaling it. To set the drawing units used in the drawing, expand the
Application menu and choose Drawing Utilities > Units to display the Drawing Units dialog. In the
Length group, expand the Type drop-down. There are five types of length units to choose from, and
when you select the type of units, you can see sample output. Notice that the Architectural and
Engineering units actually have an associated unit value. Architectural units display in feet and
inches while Engineering units display in decimal inches. The other three unit types - Decimal,
Fractional, and Scientific - do not have unit values, so you can use them to represent any type of
units you wish. For example, they could represent feet, inches, meters, millimeters, or miles. Select
Decimal units and then expand the Precision drop-down. This value controls the number of decimal
places used to display linear measurements. If you had chosen architectural or fractional units, this
value would be expressed as a fractional precision. The precision value is only for display purposes.
It determines the number of decimal places shown on the Status bar or in the dynamic input field,
but it does not affect the accuracy of the drawing. You can always enter more precise values and
the program will always be accurate to 14 decimal places. In the Angle group, expand the Type
drop-down. There are five different types of angle units to choose from, and when you select the
type of units, you can see sample output. Once you have chosen the type of angle measurement,
you can control its precision. Again, the precision only affects the display of angles, not the accuracy
with which the program calculates angles. You can also control whether angles are measured in a
clockwise or counter-clockwise direction. By default, angles in most CAD systems are measured in
a counter-clockwise direction, so unless you have a very specific reason to change this, you should
not select the Clockwise checkbox. When you click the Direction button, the program displays the
Direction Control dialog. By default, the base angle (or 0-angle direction) is set to East (or 3-
o'clock). Although you can use the controls in this dialog box to change that, unless you have a very
specific reason for doing so, you should not change these settings. Click Cancel to close this dialog.
In the Insertion scale group, the drop-down can be used to control the measurement for blocks and
drawings that are inserted into the current drawing. And in the Lighting group, you can specify the
units used for measuring lighting intensity. Leave this set to International. Once you have set your
drawing units, click OK to close the Drawing Units dialog. Any changes you may have made will now
appear when you create or modify geometry. Changes to the units display will also appear in the
dynamic input and on the Status bar if the coordinates display is visible. There is also a Status bar
tool you can use to change units, but by default, this tool is not visible. On the Status bar, click the
Customization button to display the menu. Then, click both Units and Coordinates to toggle on the
display of those tools, and then click anywhere to close the menu. Now you can see both the
coordinates and the current drawing units on the Status bar. When you click the arrow to the right of
Current drawing units, you see a menu and can choose a different unit of measurement. Select
Architectural. Notice that the type of units displayed in the coordinates area on the Status bar has
changed. It now displays in feet and inches, with a precision of 1/16th of an inch. Start the LINE
command and notice that the dynamic input also now displays the same way. But if you wanted to
change the precision, you would still need to go back to the Drawing Units dialog. Switch back to
decimal units. Since the coordinate display and drawing units control take up space on the Status
bar, expand the Customization menu and toggle off those controls.

225 Erasing Objects by Picking


The ERASE command removes objects from the drawing. In order to remove those objects, you
must select them. The most basic way to select objects is to simply pick them. On the Home ribbon,
in the Modify panel, click the Erase tool. The program prompts you to Select objects and displays a
small box called the pick box. All modify commands work in a similar two-step fashion. The first step
is to select the objects you want to modify, a process known as creating a selection set. Once you
have finished creating the selection set, the second step is to complete the command, by either
right-clicking or pressing the ENTER key. In this example, the modify command you are using is the
ERASE command. To select objects by picking, simply move the cursor over the object you want to
erase and click. Notice that when you move the cursor over an object, it highlights and you can see
a small red X to help identify that you will be erasing the selected object. When you click to select
the object, its appearance changes so that you can clearly see that the object has been selected.
Also notice that in the command line, you can see that one object has been found. Click to select
another object. Again, you can see the object you are about to select and after selecting it, its
appearance changes. And in the command line, you can see that another object has been found
and there are now a total of two objects selected. Every time you click to select an object, the
program tells you that it has found the object and gives you a running total of the number of objects
selected. If you select an object that was already selected, the program reports that if found an
object but indicates that there is a duplicate, in other words, the object you selected was already in
the selection set. No objects have been erased yet, because you are still in the object selection step
of the command. Once you have finished selecting the objects you want to erase, either right-click
or press ENTER to complete the command and remove the objects from the drawing.

226 Selecting Objects by Window and Crossing


In addition to simply picking the objects you want to modify, you can select objects by using a
selection window or a crossing window. On the Home ribbon, in the Modify panel, click the Erase
tool. The program immediately prompts you to select objects and displays a pick box. If you move
the cursor over an object, the object highlights and you can select it by simply clicking. But instead
of picking an object, move the cursor over an empty spot in the drawing and then click. The prompt
immediately changes. Now the program is prompting you to specify the opposite corner to define a
rectangular selection area. As you move the cursor, notice that there are a number of visual clues. If
you move the cursor to the right of the point you just selected, the rectangle has a solid border, a
blue background, and a small blue symbol near the cursor. This is a selection window. Any objects
that are entirely inside this window will be selected. Those objects become part of the selection set
and will be modified by the command. If you move your cursor to the left of the first point, the
rectangle has a dashed border, a green background, and a small green symbol near the cursor. This
is a crossing window. Any objects that are entirely inside this window or that cross its border will be
selected. Those objects become part of the selection set and will be modified by the command.
Create a selection window that surrounds the three lines and the circle. As you move the cursor, the
objects that are inside the selection window highlight to indicate that they will be selected. When you
click to specify the opposite corner, the appearance of those objects changes so that you can
clearly see that they have been selected. And in the command line, the program reports the number
of objects that have been found. The ERASE command is still active and the program is prompting
you to select objects. Click again in an empty spot in the drawing and then move the cursor to the
left to use a crossing window so that the circle and lines indicated are inside the window and the arc
crosses its border. As you move the cursor, the objects that are either inside the crossing window or
that cross its border highlight to indicate that they will be selected. When you click to specify the
opposite corner, the appearance of those objects changes so that you can clearly see that they
have been selected. And again, in the command line, the program tells you how many additional
objects have been found. Because several of the objects had already been selected, it also tells you
how many of the objects you selected were duplicate, meaning that they were already in the
selection set. When the program prompts you to select objects, you can also force it to use a
selection window or crossing window. To force it to use a selection window, type W and press
ENTER. Notice that now, after you specify the first corner, it does not matter if you move the cursor
to the left or to the right to specify the opposite corner. The program uses a selection window
because you specifically told it to use that method. To force the program to use a crossing window,
when the command prompts you to select objects, type C and press ENTER. Then, after you
specify the first corner, it does not matter if you move to the cursor to the left or to the right. The
program uses the crossing window selection because you specifically told it to use that method. No
objects have been erased yet, because you are still in the object selection step of the command.
Once you have finished selecting the objects you want to erase, either right-click or press ENTER to
complete the command, and the objects are removed from the drawing.

227 Selecting Objects by Window Polygon and Crossing Polygon


You can also select objects by using an irregularly shaped window, known as a polygon window. On
the Home ribbon, in the Modify panel, click the Erase tool. The program prompts you to select
objects and displays the pick box. Picking individual objects can be tedious, but sometimes if you
were to use a selection window or a crossing window, you might select objects that you do not want
to erase. To use a polygonal selection window instead of a rectangular selection window, type WP
and press ENTER. Now the program prompts you to select the first polygon point or to pick or drag
the cursor. Click to pick a point and then move the cursor to start picking points to create a
polygonal window surrounding just those objects you want to select. As objects are contained within
the polygon, they highlight to indicate that they will be selected. Also notice that the polygon has a
solid border and a blue background, just like a rectangular selection window. Only those objects that
are entirely inside the polygon will be selected. Once the objects you want to select are all inside the
window polygon, press ENTER to complete the selection. The appearance of those objects changes
so that you can see that they have been selected, and you can see in the command line the number
of objects that were found. The ERASE command is still active and the program is prompting you to
select objects. The other polygon method of selecting objects is known as a crossing polygon. To
use this method, type CP and press ENTER. Again, the program prompts you to select the first
polygon point. This time, as you begin to pick points, notice that the polygon has a dashed border
and a green background, just like a rectangular crossing window. Only those objects that are
entirely inside the polygon or cross its border will be selected, and they highlight to indicate that they
will be selected. Once the objects you want to select are all either inside the crossing polygon or the
border crosses over those objects, press ENTER to complete the selection. Again, the appearance
of those objects changes so that you can see that they have been selected and you can see in the
command line the number of objects that were found, how many of those were duplicates, and the
total number of objects in the selection set. No objects have been erased yet, because you are still
in the object selection step of the command. Once you have finished selecting the objects you want
to erase, either right-click or press ENTER to complete the command, and the objects are removed
from the drawing.

228 Selecting Objects by Fence and Last


Selecting objects to be modified by Fence or Last are two additional options that you can use with
any modify command. I'll start the ERASE command by clicking the Erase button in the Modify
panel of the Home ribbon tab. Notice that the program prompts me to select objects. Instead of
picking an object, I'm going to type the letter L and then press the ENTER key. What that just did is
it caused this circle to be selected. I can see that it's highlighted. L represents Last, the last object
that was added to the drawing. Let's prove this. I'll use the LINE command to draw a new line
segment from here to here. Then, when I select the ERASE command, type L, and press ENTER,
notice that the program selects that line that I just created. Another way of selecting objects is
what's known as a Fence. I'll select that method by typing the letter F and then pressing ENTER.
Notice that now, the program prompts me to specify the first fence point. Think of a fence as a
crossing line segment. Rather than a crossing window or crossing polygon, I'm simply going to draw
a series of crossing line segments that pass through the objects I want to select. Any object that the
fence line crosses will be selected. I can see that it's a crossing line by its dashed appearance, just
like the border of a crossing window or crossing polygon. Once the fence line crosses all of the
objects I want to select, I can press the ENTER key or right-click to complete the selection, and all
of the objects that the fence line crosses are selected. I can tell that they're selected because they
are highlighted in the drawing, and if I look down here in the command window, I can see that the
program has found 6 more objects, for a total of 7 objects selected. Remember that the objects
have not been erased yet. What I've done is I've created a selection set of objects that I'd like to
erase. Once I have selected all of the objects I want to erase, I can right-click or press the ENTER
key to complete the ERASE command. Once I complete the command, the objects are removed
from my drawing.

229 Selecting Objects Using Undo and Previous


Undo and Previous are options you can use with modify commands to reverse whatever you just did
to the selection set or to select a previous selection set. Let me demonstrate. I'll start the ERASE
command and then click to select a few of these circles. I'll also use a window to select these
objects. And then let's say I realize that I didn't want to select these objects here. I made a mistake
in my selection. What I can do is simply type the letter U and then press ENTER. U means undo.
Similar to the UNDO command itself, I'm simply undoing the objects I just added to the selection
set. This way, I can then come back and select just the correct objects. If I type the letter U now and
press the ENTER key, it will simply undo the selection of the arc segment. Typing another U will
undo the selection of the line segment to the left. But if I made a selection using a crossing window,
typing U and pressing ENTER will undo the selection of all of the objects that were made with that
crossing window selection. So typing U, to undo something when you are selecting objects will undo
whatever you did with the last selection method. After I finish making my selections, I can right-click
with my mouse or press the ENTER key, and the objects are erased. At this point, if you realize that
you erased some objects by mistake, you can restore those objects by immediately going up and
clicking on the Undo button in the Quick Access Toolbar. But, if you have used some other
commands since you erased those objects, such as using the LINE command to draw some
additional lines, and then you realize that you need to restore some of the last group of objects you
erased, UNDO will not work in this case because UNDO will also remove those line segments that
you created after you erased the other objects. The way you can get the objects back is with the
OOPS command. If you type OOPS and press ENTER, the last group of objects you erased is
restored. This is separate from UNDO. Notice that the line segments I created after I erased those
objects are still in the drawing. So OOPS can be a pretty handy command. Again, to use the
command, you will need to type OOPS when the program is waiting for you to start a new
command, and then press ENTER. If I start any modify command again, and type the letter P for
previous, and then press ENTER, the program will automatically select all of the objects that were
part of the previous selection set; the set I created using the previous modify command. This is a
very powerful technique, particularly when using modify commands like MOVE and COPY, because
if you want to make another copy or move those objects again, you do not have to select them
again. When the program prompts you to select objects, typing P for previous and then pressing the
ENTER key will re-select that same selection set you created the last time you used a modify
command.

230 Selecting Objects Using the Box Option


Another object selection method is the Box selection option. You can select objects with a window or
crossing window simply by clicking on an empty spot in the drawing when the program prompts you
to select objects. The program then prompts you to specify the opposite corner, and you can drag
your cursor to the left or to the right to use a crossing window or a selection window that you can
use to select the objects. But sometimes, there are so many objects in the drawing that you can't
easily pick in an empty spot. If that is the case, what you can do instead is type B and then press
ENTER. B stands for box. Notice that the program immediately prompts you to specify the first
corner. Then, when you click anywhere in the drawing, even on an object in a crowded drawing, this
still selects the first corner, and then, when you move the cursor, the program still uses a selection
window when you move the cursor to the right of the first point, or a crossing window when you
move the cursor to the left. Remember that a selection window has a solid border and a blue
background, and selects only those objects that are entirely inside the window. A crossing window
has a dashed border and a green background, and selects objects inside the window or crossing its
border. So typing B, for Box, lets you use these selection methods even when you can't easily click
in an empty area of the drawing.

231 Selecting Objects Using Implied Selection


If you select objects before actually starting a command, you can use a selection method known as
implied selection. No command is currently active. You can tell this because in the command line,
you are prompted to Type a command. Click in an empty spot in the drawing. As soon as you do,
you see a prompt. The program assumes that you want to select objects and is telling you to specify
the opposite corner. If you move the cursor to the right, the program automatically uses a selection
window. You can tell that it is a selection window by its solid border and blue background. If you
move the cursor to the left, the program automatically uses a crossing window. Again, you can tell
that it is a crossing window by its dashed border and green background. In the command line, you
can also see that there are a number of other options: Fence, WPolygon, and CPolygon. You can
see these same options using dynamic input by pressing the Down Arrow key. You do not see this
prompt or options when you first start a modify command-such as the ERASE command-and then
select objects. But in this case, because the program knows you want to select objects, you can do
so using any of these methods. Choose WPolygon and then pick points to define the window
polygon surrounding the objects you want to select. You can tell that it is a window polygon by its
solid border and blue background. Once the objects you want to select are all inside the window
polygon, press ENTER to complete the selection. Notice that the objects inside the polygon are
highlighted, indicating that they have been selected. Since you had not actually started a command,
you can also see small blue squares, called grips. You can now use any modify command to
change these objects. On the Home ribbon, in the Modify panel, click the Erase tool. As soon as you
do, the highlighted objects are immediately removed from the drawing. When you pre-select
objects, and then use a modify command, the program does not prompt you to select objects.
Instead, it simply performs the modify command action on the objects you have already selected.

232 Selecting Objects Using a Lasso


You can also select objects using a lasso, an irregular shape that you drag around the objects. This
method can be used whenever the program prompts you to select objects or to preselect objects
when no command is active. On the Home ribbon, in the Modify panel, click the Erase tool. The
program prompts you to select objects. Click in a blank area of the drawing and then drag around
the objects you want to select. Notice that as you drag, you can see the lasso border begin to form.
If you begin moving the cursor to the right of where you clicked, you create a window lasso, so that
only those objects that are entirely inside the lasso are selected. You can see that it is a window
lasso because it has a solid border and a blue background. Also notice that objects become
highlighted to indicate that they will be selected. When you release the mouse button, the lasso is
completed. The selected objects are highlighted, and in the command line you can see the number
of objects found. Click and drag again, but this time begin moving the cursor to the left of where you
clicked. Now you are creating a crossing lasso, so that objects that are entirely inside the lasso or
crossing its border are selected. You can see that it is a crossing lasso because it has a dashed
border and a green background. Again, notice that objects become highlighted to indicate that they
will be selected. When you release the mouse button, the lasso is completed. The selected objects
are highlighted, and in the command line you can see the number of objects found, how many of
those were duplicates, and the total number of objects now in the selection set. You do not have to
remember to click and drag in the right direction to use a window or crossing lasso. Click and drag
again, but this time, notice that in the command line, the program actually tells you whether you are
currently using a window lasso or a crossing lasso, and it prompts you to Press Spacebar to cycle
options. When you press the SPACEBAR, the program cycles from a window lasso, to a fence
lasso, to a crossing lasso, and then back to a window lasso again. You have already seen the
window lasso and crossing lasso in action, but what is a fence lasso? Press the SPACEBAR until
you cycle back to the fence lasso and then begin to drag the cursor. Notice that now, the lasso has
a dashed border but there is no colored fill. A fence lasso works just like the Fence object selection
method. You drag the fence lasso across the objects you want to select. As you do, only the objects
crossed by the fence lasso line become highlighted to indicate that they will be selected. When you
release the mouse button, the lasso is completed. The selected objects are highlighted, and the
command line shows you the number of objects selected. No objects have been erased yet,
because you are still in the object selection step of the command. Once you have finished selecting
the objects you want to erase, either right-click or press ENTER to complete the command, and the
objects are removed from the drawing. You can also use a lasso to preselect objects when no
command is active. This is similar to implied selection, but you click and drag to use a lasso instead
of simply clicking to use a selection window or one of the other implied selection methods. On the
Quick Access Toolbar, click Undo to restore the objects you just erased. Then, with no command
active, click and drag to select objects using a lasso. You can press the SPACEBAR to toggle
between the three lasso selection modes. When you release the mouse button, the lasso is
completed. Since no command was active, the objects simply highlight to indicate that they have
been selected. You can also see grips. You can now use any modify command to change these
objects. On the Home ribbon, in the Modify panel, click the Erase tool. As soon as you do, the
highlighted objects are immediately removed from the drawing. When you pre-select objects, and
then use a modify command, the program does not prompt you to select objects. Instead, it simply
performs the modify command action on the objects you have already selected.

233 Selecting Objects Using Select Similar


The Select Similar tool enables you to select an object and then automatically include all other
objects of the same type and with the same properties, in a new selection set. For example, notice
that some of the chairs in the furniture layout are the wrong color because those chair blocks were
inserted on the wrong layer. Although you could select each chair individually and then correct this,
it is much easier to use the Select Similar tool to select all of the chairs that are on the wrong layer.
Click to select one of the white chairs. Then, right-click and choose Select Similar from the shortcut
menu. As soon as you do, all of the white chairs are immediately selected. Then, on the Home
ribbon, in the Layers panel, expand the Layer drop-down and select the Furniture layer to change all
of those chairs to the proper layer. You can see that the chairs have been changed to the proper
layer because all of those chairs are now red. The Select Similar tool is quite powerful. By default,
when you select one object and then right-click and choose Select Similar from the shortcut menu,
the program immediately finds all objects with the same name on the same layer. You can also
control which properties are used to determine which objects are similar. To do this, type the
command SELECTSIMILAR and press ENTER. You can then choose the Settings option to display
the Select Similar Settings dialog and use the checkboxes in this dialog box to determine which
properties must match for an object of the same type to be selected. For example, based on the
current settings, the program will consider objects on the same layer and with the same name to be
similar. If both the Layer and Linetype checkboxes were selected, however, the program would only
select objects that are on the same layer and have the same linetype as the object you initially
selected. Note that if you select more than one object before right-clicking and choosing the Select
Similar tool, the program will match both of the selected objects. For example, select a circle on the
white layer and a line on the red layer. Then, right-click and choose Select Similar. Notice that now,
the program will match both of the selected objects. For example, select a circle on the white layer
and a line on the red layer. Then, right-click and choose Select Similar. Notice that now, the program
has found all of the white circles and all of the red lines.

234 Adding New Objects Using Add Selected


The Add Selected tool enables you to quickly create a new object in your drawing based on the
properties of an existing object. For example, if you select a polyline, right-click and choose Add
Selected from the shortcut menu, the program immediately starts the PLINE command. Notice that
since I selected a red polyline with a dashed linetype, the new polyline is automatically created
using those same properties. When you use the Add Selected tool, the program creates the new
object with the same basic properties, such as color, layer, linetype, linetype scale, plotstyle,
lineweight and transparency, preset to match the selected object. Notice that if I select a block, such
as this file cabinet, and then right-click and choose Add Selected from the shortcut menu, the
program immediately starts the INSERT command and prompts me for the insertion point to insert
another instance of the file cabinet block.
235 Hiding and Isolating Objects
You can use object visibility tools to control the visibility of objects independent from layer visibility.
These tools enable you to hide selected objects so that they become invisible or isolate objects so
that only the selected objects remain visible in the drawing. For example, suppose that you want to
make some modifications to the stair tower in this very complex drawing. Even if you zoom in on the
stair, the drawing is still very crowded. Use a selection window to select the stair and the objects
surrounding the stair. Then, right-click and choose Isolate > Isolate Objects. All of the objects that
were not selected are immediately hidden and only the objects you selected remain visible. You can
repeat this to hide additional objects. Select a few more objects, right-click, and then choose Isolate
> Hide Objects to hide the selected objects. You can also hide or isolate selected objects using a
button on the Status bar. Select another object and then click the Unisolate Objects button to
display a menu. Notice that this menu offers the same choices as the shortcut menu. Choose Hide
Objects to hide the selected objects. You can also right-click and choose Isolate > Hide Objects.
The program prompts you to select objects. You can then select objects using any object selection
method. When you have finished selecting objects, either press ENTER or right-click. The selected
objects are immediately hidden. You can use the tool on the Status bar in the same way. After
completing your current task, you can restore the hidden objects so that they are once again visible.
To do so, either right-click and choose Isolate > End Object Isolation from the shortcut menu, or
click the Unisolate Objects button on the Status bar and then choose End Object Isolation. By
default, object isolation ends when you close a drawing. Use the object isolation tool to hide some
of the objects in the drawing. Save the drawing, then close it, and then open it again. Notice that
even if you save a drawing while objects are isolated, the next time you open the drawing, all of the
objects will once again be visible. There is a way, however, to make object isolation persist between
drawing sessions. You can change the value of the OBJECTISOLATIONMODE system variable. To
change this variable, you must type it at the command line. When OBJECTISOLATIONMODE is set
to a value of 0 object isolation does not persist between drawing sessions. If you change this value
to 1, however, objects will remain isolated the next time you open the drawing. Use the object
visibility tools to isolate a portion of the drawing, save your changes, and close the drawing. Then,
open the drawing again. Notice that now, the drawing looks exactly as it did when you saved it. This
can cause problems, however, if you or a co-worker were unaware that some objects existed but
simply were not visible. To help you recognize when objects have been hidden, the button on the
Status bar changes appearance to indicate when object isolation is active or not. When the circle in
the button is blue, the program is telling you that some objects are isolated. Click the Unisolate
Objects button and choose End Object Isolation. Everything in the drawing is once again visible and
the button on the Status bar no longer has a blue circle. Change the OBJECTISOLATIONMODE
system variable value back to 0 so that you do not accidently save a drawing with objects isolated.

236 Restoring Erased Objects with OOPS


Something that happens often with the ERASE command is that after you have erased some
objects, it is not until many commands later that you realize that you erased some objects by
mistake. Let's walk through that scenario. I'll start the ERASE command by clicking the Erase tool in
the Modify panel of the Home ribbon tab. I'm going to select a number of objects. Then I'll right-click
and erase those objects. Then I'll use other commands. I'll use the Circle command to create a
circle. I'll create another circle. And I'll also draw a couple of additional line segments. And now, after
I've created these new objects, I realize that I've also erased objects several commands ago that I
didn't want to erase. The common solution a lot of people take is to go up to the Quick Access
Toolbar and use the Undo command. But the problem with undo is that I would have to undo the
lines and circles I just created in order to restore the objects I erased, because undo can only step
back and undo each previous command in sequence. But I want to keep the line and the circle that I
just created. I don't want to undo those. So the command of choice here, that complements the
ERASE command, is OOPS: O O P S. You can type in that four-letter command right at the
command prompt or at the cursor. When you press the ENTER key, the program will restore the
objects that you erased. It does not matter how many other commands you have done since then.
As long as you have not done another ERASE command, it will restore all of the objects you erased
the last time you used the ERASE command. You won't find this command in the ribbon. So to
restore erased objects, type O O P S and press ENTER.

237 Selecting and Deselecting Objects


When you are selecting objects to create a selection set as part of a modify command, if you select
objects that should not be part of the selection set, it is quite easy to remove those objects from the
selection set before you complete the modify command action. For example, I'll start the ERASE
command and use a crossing window to select a number of objects. Let's assume that I did not
want to select these circles. A lot of people would cancel the command and start again, or maybe
type the letter U and press ENTER to undo the entire selection, but that means you will need to
select all the other objects over again. There is no need to do that. I'll select all of those objects
again and then show you how you can remove the circles from the selection set. If, while you are
selecting the objects you want to modify, you realize that you included an object by mistake, you can
simply press and hold down the SHIFT key and then click on the object that you want to remove
from the selection set. So if I press and hold down my SHIFT key and then click on a circle, notice
that the circle is no longer highlighted. It is no longer included in the selection set. It has been
deselected. And if you look down here in the command window, you can see that the program has
found 1 object and removed that object from the selection set, and now the selection set includes 7
total objects, whereas before it included a total of 8 objects. So again, you can select objects to add
them to the selection set using the window, or crossing, or window polygon, or crossing polygon, or
any other object selection method, and then, if you realize that you selected something by mistake,
you can deselect objects by holding the SHIFT key down and then selecting the object again, using
any of these same object selection methods, to remove them from the selection set. So I can select
objects to add them to the selection set, in this case, I'll use a crossing window. And by simply
pressing and holding down the SHIFT key and then repeating the same crossing window selection, I
can deselect those objects to remove them from the selection set. This same process works with all
of the modify commands. You can use any one of a number of different selection methods to select
objects, to create a selection set, press the SHIFT key and select objects to remove them from the
selection set, and then, when the selection set contains just those objects you want to modify, press
ENTER or right-click with the mouse complete the modify command. Let's take this one step further.
Let's say that I want to erase everything in the drawing except for the square. When I start the
ERASE command, I might come over and select everything that I can see in the drawing by using a
crossing window. Once everything has been selected, I can press and hold the SHIFT key and then
do a window selection around the square to deselect those four lines. Then I release the SHIFT key.
Notice that in the command window, I can see the original 12 objects that were found, then I found 4
that were removed from the selection set, leaving 8 objects that will be erased. Now that I have
created my selection set exactly the way I want it, I can press the ENTER key or right-click to
complete the command and erase everything except for the square.

238 Selecting All Objects


There are many different methods you can use to select objects in a drawing. But what if you want
to select everything in the drawing, even objects that are not currently visible? You can use the ALL
object selection method to select all of the objects in the drawing. Use the roller wheel on the mouse
to zoom in a bit, so that you can no longer see all of the objects in the drawing. Then, on the Home
ribbon, in the Modify panel, click the Erase tool. When the program prompts you to Select objects,
type ALL and press ENTER. Then zoom back out so that you can see all of the objects in the
drawing. Notice that the program selected all of the objects in the drawing, not just the ones that you
could see when you selected the objects. The ALL option can be quite powerful. For example, click
the Erase tool again, then use the ALL option to select everything in the drawing. Now press the
SHIFT key and use a window to deselect the objects you want to keep in the drawing. Understand
that you are removing them from the selection set. Then, either right-click or press ENTER to
complete the command. All of the objects are erased except for the objects that you deselected.
There are a few things you need to remember, however, when using the ALL object selection
method. ALL will select all of the objects in the drawing, including those on layers that are currently
turned off and any objects that are currently hidden using the object isolation tools. Only objects on
frozen layers will not be selected. For example, on the Quick Access Toolbar, click Undo to restore
all of the objects that you erased. On the Home ribbon, in the Layers panel, expand the Layer drop-
down and turn on the Points layer. Notice that the drawing includes two point objects that were not
visible because they were on a layer that had been turned off. Expand the Layer drop-down again
and turn off the Points layer. Then, select the four lines representing the square, right-click, and
choose Isolate > Hide Objects. Now, neither the square nor the points are visible. There are only
eight objects currently visible: the five circles, an arc, and two lines. Click the Erase tool again and
use the ALL option to select everything in the drawing. All of the visible objects highlight, and in the
command line you can see that 14 objects were found. Press ENTER to complete the command.
Notice that the Isolate Objects tool on the Status bar indicates that there are no hidden objects. The
lines comprising the square were erased even though they were not visible. Expand the Layer drop-
down and turn on the Points layer. The two point objects were erased even though they were on a
layer that had been turned off. Obviously, you do need to be careful when using the ALL object
selection method.

239 Controlling Selection Settings


There are a number of settings you can use to control object selection. For example, on the Home
ribbon, in the Modify panel, click the Erase tool. When the program prompts you to select objects,
you also see a pick box. You can adjust the size of this pick box. Click in an empty spot in the
drawing and then move the cursor to the right to use a selection window and then to the left to use a
crossing window. You can control the highlighting of objects that will be selected, the appearance of
the selection and crossing windows, and even the behavior of the program when selecting objects.
In essence, you are controlling the very fact that when you click in an empty area, the program
automatically goes into window or crossing selection mode. All of these behaviors can be modified
using tools in the Options dialog box. To display the Options dialog box, first press ESC to cancel
the ERASE command and then either right-click and choose Options in the shortcut menu or
expand the Application menu and click the Options button. In the Options dialog box, click to display
the Selection tab. All of the settings on this tab affect object selection in some way. In the Pickbox
size group box, you can use the slider to adjust the size of the pickbox. As you move the slider, the
preview updates. In the Grip size group box, there is a similar slider that adjusts the size of the
grips. The various controls in the Grips group box affect the color and behavior of grips. The controls
in the Preview group box determine when selection preview occurs. All of these checkboxes should
be selected, so that the program always displays a preview so that you can see the results of an
action before you complete the command. Click the Visual Effect Settings button to open the
Visual Effect Settings dialog. Here, you can control the color used to indicate a selection window
and a crossing window and also adjust the transparency of that colored fill. By default, the opacity
value is set to 25 percent. The checkboxes in the Selection Preview Filter group box on the right
control whether the selection preview is applied to certain types of objects. Selection preview is not
applied to any object types selected here. Typically, you should leave all of these settings as they
are. Click Cancel to close the dialog. The tools in the Selection modes group box control the
program's actual behavior when you select objects. By default, the checkboxes shown should be
selected and you should not change any of these settings. But if object selection ever stops
behaving as you expect it to, you can open the Options dialog and come back to this tab to reapply
these settings. For example, if Use Shift to add to selection were to be selected, you would no
longer be able to press the SHIFT key to remove objects from a selection set. And if Implied
windowing was not selected, the program would no longer automatically go into window or crossing
mode when you click in an empty area of the drawing. Similarly, if Allow press and drag for Lasso is
not selected, the lasso selection method will not work. Notice also that if you clear the Implied
Windowing checkbox, then the lasso selection method is also disabled. So again, if object selection
ever stops behaving as you expect it to, come back to this tab and make sure that Noun/verb
selection, Object grouping, Implied windowing, and Allow press and drag for Lasso are the only
checkboxes selected in the Selection modes group box and that the Window selection method is set
to Both - Automatic Detection. Then click OK to close the Options dialog box.

240 Using Selection Cycling


When you work in a complex, crowded drawing, with overlapping objects, it is sometimes difficult to
select the desired objects. For example, in this drawing, if you find it difficult to select the yellow arc
without zooming in, you can turn on the Selection Cycling tool and then use it to help you select
objects. By default, the Selection Cycling tool is not available on the Status bar. To turn it on, click
the Customization button, choose Selection Cycling in the menu, and then click away from the
menu to close it. Notice that the Selection Cycling tool now appears on the Status bar. Click it to
toggle on Selection Cycling. Now, when you click in a crowded area of the drawing, the program
displays a Selection list box containing a list of objects near where you clicked. As you move the
cursor over the list, the objects highlight in the drawing. When the object you want to select is
highlighted, click in the list to select it. You can then continue with whatever operation you wanted to
perform. When you deselect the object, the Selection list box also disappears. You can also click its
close button. You can control the appearance and position of the Selection dialog. To do so, right-
click the Selection Cycling button on the Status bar and choose Selection Cycling Settings to
open the Selection Cycling tab of the Drafting Settings dialog. You can use these controls to turn
selection cycling on and off. When Selection Cycling is enabled and Cursor-Dependent is selected,
you can specify the location of the selection cycling list box relative to the cursor. Notice that you
can position it to the top-right, top-left, bottom-right, or bottom left of the cursor. You can also specify
the distance from the cursor, measured in pixels. If you were to choose Static, the list box would
always open in whatever position it was in the last time it displayed. You can always drag the
Selection list box to a different location. By default, the list box has a title bar that identifies it as the
Selection list box. If you clear the Show title bar checkbox, then the list box will not include a title
bar. Click Cancel to close the Drafting Settings dialog. While selection cycling can be useful at
times, improvements in the program's selection effects have made it much easier to select objects.
For that reason, many users find that they no longer need to use selection cycling. Since the
Selection Cycling button does take up space on the Status bar, first click the Selection Cycling tool
to turn off selection cycling. Then, click the Customization button to display the menu, click Selection
Cycling to clear the checkbox, and then click away from the menu to close it.

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