LT On-line: Lesson 14
30 Apr, 2001 By: Mark MiddlebrookMore command-first editing
Page
1: Object selection for command-first editing
Last month's lesson
familiarized you with the different editing styles in AutoCAD and object
selection basics. In this lesson, we'll cover some of the finer points
of command-first editing: its mind-boggling (and command line-boggling)
16 object selection options and how to make the most of the Move and Copy
commands.
Before you work through
this lesson, make sure that you're familiar with the differences between
command-first editing and selection-first editing and with implied windowing
object selection. The previous
lesson covers these concepts.
The procedures described
here work with AutoCAD 98-LT 2000i and AutoCAD Release 14-2000i.
Object
selection for command-first editing
One benefit
(or confusion, depending on your point of view) of command-first editing
is that it provides you with a slew of additional selection methods, as
you can see by typing ? and pressing <Enter> at any Select objects
prompt:
Window/Last/Crossing/BOX/ALL/Fence/WPolygon/CPolygon/Group/
Add/Remove/Multiple/Previous/Undo/AUto/SIngle
In order to use any
of the additional selection methods, type the uppercase letters in the
option's name, press <Enter>, and follow the prompts. The following
table describes the most useful methods.
Selection Method | Description |
Window | All objects within a rectangle that you specify by picking two points. Duplicates the implied windowing Window functionality. |
Last | The
last object you drew that's still visible in the drawing area. |
Crossing | All objects within or crossing a rectangle that you specify by picking two points. Duplicates the implied windowing Crossing functionality. |
ALL | All objects on layers that aren't frozen. |
Fence | All objects touching an imaginary polyline whose vertices you specify by picking points. |
WPolygon | All objects within a polygonal area whose corners you specify by picking points. (Similar to the implied windowing Window object selection method, except that the selection area can be bounded by any polygonal shape). |
CPolygon | All objects within or crossing a polygonal area whose corners you specify by picking points. (Similar to the implied windowing Crossing object selection method, except that you can bind the selection area by any polygonal shape). |
Previous | The previous selection set that you specified. |
When you finish selecting objects, press <Enter> to indicate that
you completed the selection and are ready to continue with the command.
Follow the additional prompts for the particular editing command that
you chose.
If you're curious
about the other command-first object selection methods, look up Select
command in the AutoCAD on-line help system.
Note: With some commands,
such as Offset, Lengthen, and Break, AutoCAD prompts you to select a single
object (or two objects one at a time in the case of the Chamfer and Fillet
commands). In other words, you won't see the Select Objects prompt and
won't have the chance to build up a selection set with multiple picks,
implied windowing, or the command-first selection options described in
this section. In these cases, AutoCAD always tells you that it's looking
for a single object instead of one or more objects:
Select object:
Simply point and click to pick a single object.
More command-first editing
Page 1: Object selection for command-first editing
Page 2: Move and copy: How far and in what direction?
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