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 when creating a polyline using the Arc option. Drawing a tangent polyline 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 Width option. 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. NOTE Polyline 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. NOTE Polyline 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 A polyline arrow created by varying the polyline width A curved polyline arrow created using polyline arcs

“The RECTANGLE or RECTANG command draws a polyline rectangle using two user supplied corner points.” NOTE AutoCAD remembers the length and width dimensions you enter so the next time you draw a rectangle using the Dimensions option you can simply press to draw a rectangle the same size. NOTE AutoCAD remembers the length and width dimensions you enter so the next time you draw a rectangle using the Dimensions option you can simply press 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: TIP The 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. TIP The 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. The PEDIT 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 more open polylines either if their ends connect or if they are within a specified fuzz 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. Polyline Before Join Polyline After Join

The Width option allows you to specify a new uniform width for all the polyline segments. After you select the Width option, enter the new uniform width and press to change the width. TIP You 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 property individually. TIP You 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 property individually. Original Polyline with Width = 0.0 Updated Polyline with 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 definition in a continuous pattern through all the vertices of the polyline. NOTE The Ltype gen option does not apply to polylines with tapered segments. NOTE The 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. NOTE When you explode a polyline with a width, all the associated width information is discarded, and the resulting lines and arcs follow the polyline’s centerline. NOTE When you explode a polyline with a width, all the associated width information is discarded, and the resulting lines and arcs follow the polyline’s centerline. TIP You 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 used by the drawing and makes editing drawing information more difficult. TIP You 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 used by 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 Hatch Closed Polyline Hatch with an Island Gradient Fill Hatch with Nested Islands Solid Fill

Selecting Objects Previewing the Pattern 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 Gradient dialog box

AutoCAD comes with many predefined patterns that you can select from the Pattern panel. Click on Down Arrow to Display Additional Hatch Patterns Predefined Hatch Patterns

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 back to selected cutting edges. When trimmed, the boundary edge of the hatch is trimmed back to the cutting edge, and the boundary is recalculated and reassociated if necessary. You cannot extend a hatch pattern out to a boundary edge. There may be times when you need to modify the individual lines within a hatch pattern. To do this, you can use the EXPLODE command on hatch patterns. The EXPLODE command will convert hatch patterns to individual line 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.