Sketching. Autodesk AUTOSKETCH 8

To draw a polyline segment

1 On the Draw menu, click Polyline, Segment, or click the Polyline Segment button on the All-In-One toolbar.

2 (optional) Change the settings on the edit bar for Width, Segment Length, and Segment Angle.

3 (optional) Use the plus (+) and minus (-) keys on the numeric keypad (or press F5) to rotate the segment.

4 Click to place the polyline segment.

OR

Press CTRL while clicking to place one end of polyline segment. A rubberband segment, anchored to the point you clicked, appears and follows the pointer. Click again to place the polyline segment.

To draw a perpendicular polyline

1 On the Draw menu, click Polyline, Perpendicular, or click the

Perpendicular Polyline button on the All-In-One toolbar. The pointer changes to a drawing tool.

2 Click a line, arc, circle, polyline segment, or polygon segment. The segment appears highlighted and a rubber-band line appears and follows the pointer at right angles to the segment.

3 Click an endpoint for the polyline.

To draw a corner polyline

1 On the Draw menu, click Polyline, Corner, or click the Corner Polyline button on the All-In-One toolbar. The pointer changes to a drawing tool.

2 Enter lengths in the Corner Length 1 and Corner Length 2 text boxes on the edit bar.

3 Click the line or poly-segment you want to be parallel to the first line. The segment appears highlighted.

4 Click the line or poly-segment you want to be parallel to the second line.

The polyline appears, creating a rectangle from the original corner.

Sketching

Sometimes you need a polyline that represents an unusually shaped entity in your drawing, such as the isobars in a weather map or an elevation in a topographical map. AutoSketch simulates freehand drawing with the Sketch command by closely following the movement of your mouse.

Sketching

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Controls on the edit bar allow you to specify the real world width of a sketch polyline prior to creating it. Selecting an existing sketch polyline displays similar controls that allow you to change its type or width.

The Polyline Sketch Units value on the Drawing page of the Drawing Options dialog box determines how closely sketch polylines follow your mouse movement. This value specifies how many pixels of movement occur before

AutoSketch adds another vertex to the sketch polyline. Smaller values produce a finer sketch with more vertices in the polyline. Larger values result in rougher sketches and a simpler entity. The default number is 8. Increasing the number creates longer segments that take up less memory.

To draw a “freehand” polyline

1 On the Draw menu, click Polyline, Sketch, or click the Sketch Polyline button on the All-In-One toolbar.

2 (optional) Change the Width setting on the edit bar.

3 Click a point where you want the polyline to begin, then drag. As long as you hold the left mouse button down, segments are added to the polyline.

4 Release the mouse button.

To change sketch precision

1 On the Tools menu, click Drawing Options. The Drawing Options dialog box appears.

2 Click the Drawing page tab.

3 Change the number in the Polyline Sketch Units drop-down list box.

Lower values increase the accuracy of the sketch polyline.

4 Click OK.

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Chapter 12 Polylines, Polygons, & Curves