by Paul Richard and Jim Fitzgerald

Chapter 9 - Drawing and Editing Complex Objects

• Draw polylines with straight line segments

• Draw polyline arcs

• Create rectangles using two points

• Make multisided polygons

• Create solid and hollow donuts

• Draw revision clouds

• Edit polylines as a unit

• Explode complex objects

“A polyline is a complex line object made up of one or more connected line segments and/or arcs that are treated as a single line.”

It is possible to switch from drawing line segments to drawing arcs whencreating a polyline using the Arc option.

Drawing a tangentpolyline arc

Drawing multiple tangent polyline arcs

Switch from a polyline arc to a straight line segment

It is possible to assign a physical width to a polyline using the Widthoption. In fact, it is possible to vary a polyline’s width between vertex points using the Width option so that a polyline segment can be tapered.

NOTEPolyline width is not related to the lineweight property discussed in Chapter 6. Polyline width is a unique property that is assigned directly to the polyline. Because it is unrelated to the lineweight property, it is not affected by the Show/Hide Lineweight lineweight toggle on the status bar.

NOTEPolyline width is not related to the lineweight property discussed in Chapter 6. Polyline width is a unique property that is assigned directly to the polyline. Because it is unrelated to the lineweight property, it is not affected by the Show/Hide Lineweight lineweight toggle on the status bar.

A polyline drawn with a constant width of 0.100

A polyline arrow created by varying the polyline width

A curved polylinearrow created usingpolyline arcs

“The RECTANGLE or RECTANG command draws a polyline rectangle using two user supplied corner points.”

NOTEAutoCAD remembers the length and width dimensions you enter so the next time youdraw a rectangle using the Dimensions option you can simply press <Enter> to draw a rectangle the same size.

NOTEAutoCAD remembers the length and width dimensions you enter so the next time youdraw a rectangle using the Dimensions option you can simply press <Enter> to draw a rectangle the same size.

You have three possible ways to input the rotation angle:

• Type the angle at the keyboard

• Pick a point to define the angle using the first corner point as the base point

• Use the Points option to pick two separate points to define the angle

“When you start the POLYGON command AutoCAD

prompts you to Enter number of sides”

A Polygon with six sides inscribed in a circle and a Polygon with six sides circumscribed outside a circle.

When you start the DONUT command…

• Specify inside diameter of donut • Specify outside diameter of donut • Specify center of donut

“The REVCLOUD command draws a polyline of sequential arcs to form a cloud shape that can be used as a revision cloud on a drawing to highlight markups and changes”

• Changing the Arc Length

• Switching Styles

• Creating Revision Clouds from Existing Objects

• Convert lines and arcs to polylines

• Close and open polylines

• Join multiple polylines together

• Change a polyline’s width

• Edit polyline vertices so that you can move, add, and remove points

• Curve fit a polyline

• Control a polyline’s linetype generation

The PEDIT command allows you:

TIPThe PEDITACCEPT system variable allows you to suppress display of the Object selected is not a polyline prompt so that objects are automatically converted. Setting the PEDITACCEPT to 1 (on) suppresses the prompt. Setting PEDITACCEPT to 0 (off) turns the prompt back on.

TIPThe PEDITACCEPT system variable allows you to suppress display of the Object selected is not a polyline prompt so that objects are automatically converted. Setting the PEDITACCEPT to 1 (on) suppresses the prompt. Setting PEDITACCEPT to 0 (off) turns the prompt back on.

You can close or open a polyline using either the Close or Open option. ThePEDIT command provides one option or the other depending on the polyline’s current open or closed status.

Closing an open polyline

The Join option allows you to join a polyline, line, or arc to one or moreopen polylines either if their ends connect or if they are within a specifiedfuzz distance of each other.

fuzz distance: Distance used to determine whether polyline end points that are not connected can be connected by extending them or trimming them, or connecting them with a new polyline segment.

fuzz distance: Distance used to determine whether polyline end points that are not connected can be connected by extending them or trimming them, or connecting them with a new polyline segment.

Polyline Before Join Polyline After Join

The Width option allows you to specify a new uniform width for all thepolyline segments. After you select the Width option, enter the new uniform width and press <Enter> to change the width.

TIPYou can vary the width from point to point using the Properties palette. The Properties palette allows you to step through each vertex of a polyline and set its width propertyindividually.

TIPYou can vary the width from point to point using the Properties palette. The Properties palette allows you to step through each vertex of a polyline and set its width propertyindividually.

Original Polylinewith Width = 0.0

Updated Polylinewith Width = 0.1"

The Edit vertex option allows you to edit a polyline’s vertex points individually so you can:

• Breaks one or more polyline segments

• Insert a vertex point

• Moves a vertex point

• Regenerates the polyline

• Straighten two more polyline segments

• Attach a tangent direction

• Change the starting and ending width of a polyline segment

• The Fitcurve option• The Spline options • The Decurve option

The Ltype gen option allows you to generate the polyline’s linetype definitionin a continuous pattern through all the vertices of the polyline.

NOTEThe Ltype gen option does not apply to polylines with tapered segments.

NOTEThe Ltype gen option does not apply to polylines with tapered segments.

One of the easiest ways to edit polylines is to use multifunctional polyline grips .

The Edit Grip Options menu

You can explode any of the complex line objects and convert them into multiple individual line and arc segments using the EXPLODE command.

NOTEWhen you explode a polyline with a width, all the associated width information isdiscarded, and the resulting lines and arcs follow the polyline’s centerline.

NOTEWhen you explode a polyline with a width, all the associated width information isdiscarded, and the resulting lines and arcs follow the polyline’s centerline.

TIPYou can also explode other complex AutoCAD objects such as hatch objects, multiline text, dimensions, and blocks into their individual sub-objects. These and other complex objects are discussed later in the textbook. Typically, it is wise not to explode complex objects unless it is absolutely necessary because it increases the amount of memory usedby the drawing and makes editing drawing information more difficult.

TIPYou can also explode other complex AutoCAD objects such as hatch objects, multiline text, dimensions, and blocks into their individual sub-objects. These and other complex objects are discussed later in the textbook. Typically, it is wise not to explode complex objects unless it is absolutely necessary because it increases the amount of memory usedby the drawing and makes editing drawing information more difficult.

by Paul Richard and Jim Fitzgerald

Chapter 10 – Pattern Fills and Hatching

• Select a hatch bounding area

• Select and create hatch objects

• Modify hatched areas

• Match the settings of existing hatched areas

• Created solid and gradient fills

• Edit hatched areas

• Use DesignCenter to create hatch objects

• Hatch boundary • Hatch islands • Hatch pattern • Hatch and Gradient dialog box

Boundary HatchClosed Polyline

Hatch with an Island

Gradient Fill

Hatch with Nested Islands

Solid Fill

• Selecting Objects

• Previewing the Pattern

• Picking Points

• Picking Points

•The point is, that for hatch to work correctly it needs to be within a closed polyline object.

Selected Objects Resulting Hatch

The Hatch and Gradientdialog box

AutoCAD comes with many predefined patternsthat you can select from the Pattern panel.

Click on Down Arrowto Display AdditionalHatch Patterns

Predefined HatchPatterns

• Custom Patterns

• Hatch origin

• Specified origin option

• The Store as default origin box

There are many different types of hatch patterns for many different applications for various disciplines. The hatch patterns with the ANSI prefix are typically used to denote different materials in section on mechanical drawings.

The Properties panel provides control over features that include hatch type, color, transparency, angle, scale, layer, and ISO pen width.

The Properties panel

The Annotative button turns automated annotation scaling on and off. If Annotative is on, the hatch pattern is automatically scaled up or down based on the current annotation scale.

The Gap Tolerance setting allows you to heal any gaps in a boundary. When the gap tolerance is set to 0, the boundary must be completely closed in order for a valid boundary to be created. When the gap tolerance is set greater than 0, AutoCAD will attempt to determine a boundary and will ignore any gaps that are smaller than or equal to the specified tolerance.

The Open Boundary Warning box

• Island Detection

• Island display style

• The Normal setting

• The Outer setting

• Island display style

The Draw order setting allows you to control the order in which the hatch pattern is drawn with respect to the boundary. The default option is to send the hatch pattern behind the boundary, which means that the boundary will be drawn on top of the hatch pattern.

If you have an existing hatch pattern in your drawing, AutoCAD can read the properties of the hatch pattern and use those settings to create a new hatch pattern.

• GRADIENT command displays the Hatch Creation ribbon with the Gradient options.

• One Color Gradient

• Two Color Gradient

• Gradient Pattern

• The HATCHEDIT Command

• Hatch and Gradient dialog box

• Recreate boundary button

When using the TRIM command, you can trim hatch patterns backto selected cutting edges. When trimmed, the boundary edge of the hatchis trimmed back to the cutting edge, and the boundary is recalculatedand reassociated if necessary. You cannot extend a hatch pattern out toa boundary edge.

There may be times when you need to modify the individual lines within ahatch pattern. To do this, you can use the EXPLODE command on hatchpatterns. The EXPLODE command will convert hatch patterns to individualline segments.

• Using the Properties Palette

• Using DesignCenter with Hatch Patterns

To create a hatch object with DesignCenter, you can simply drag and drop the desired hatch pattern into any closed area on your drawing. AutoCAD will create a simple boundary hatch using the default hatch settings. You can then double-click the hatch pattern to display the Hatch Editor ribbon and make any desired changes.