Topics covered in this Lesson:

Rectangle | Multi Line | Extend | Offset | Trim | Introduction to Object Snaps

The previous lesson dealt with drawing commands. This lesson will introduce some common modifying
commands. In AutoCAD, you may actually use modifying commands more often than drawing
commands. Now that you know the basics, here are some more commands to add to your collection.
Three commands, Trim, Extend and Offset are used standard AutoCAD work.

Command Keystroke Icon Location Result

RECTANGLE /
Home > Draw > Draws a rectangle after you enter
Rectangle
Rectangle one corner and then the second.
REC
Home > Modify > Trims objects to a selected
Trim TRIM / TR
Trim cutting edge.
Home > Modify > Extends objects to a selected
Extend EXTEND / EX
Extend boundary edge.
Home > Modify > Offsets an object (parallel) by a
Offset OFFSET / O
Offset set distance.
CLICK
Object OSNAP / OS / Tools > Object
Brings up the OSNAP dialog box.
Snaps F3 Snap Settings

Assignment #2 - Modifying Commands

The purpose of this assignment is to use the commands learned in the previous lesson and learn some
new ones.

Once again, do not worry about title blocks, text or dimensions, draw only what is in yellow.

Start AutoCAD and begin the drawing by opening up the template file like you did in Lesson 1-2.

Draw a LINE from 1,2 to 3,2 to 3,4 to 1,4 (*Remember to watch the command line as you
do this.) For the last line's endpoint, you can either type in 1,2 or C to close the line back to the first
point you entered. These are absolute coordinates. Make sure you understand what the points your just
entered represent.

Draw the next square using the RECTANGLE command. A rectangle is created by specifying 2 points to
represent the opposite corners. Enter the first point as 4.5,2 and then make the opposite corner 2
inches over and 2 inches up @2,2 using relative coordinates. This is much faster and also makes the
square one object and not 4 separate lines.

ERASE the rectangle. You will see that all of it is gone with one pick. Redraw it and continue.

For the 3rd square, draw a 1.5 x 1.5 unit square using any of the methods you know. The bottom left
corner must be a 8,2.
Draw a line from 2,5 to 2,6.5 Draw another line from 1,6 to 3,6 You should now have two
perpendicular lines. What you want to do is trim off the top of the vertical line and create a T.

Start the TRIM command. It will first ask for a cutting edge. Select the horizontal line and press
<ENTER>. It will now ask for the object to be trimmed. Select the vertical line anywhere above the
horizontal (cutting) line and press <ENTER> to finish the command.

This is what you saw on the command line:

Command: TR <enter> TRIM

Current settings: Projection=UCS, Edge=None
Select cutting edges ...
Select objects: <Select the Horizontal line> 1 found
Select objects: <enter>
Select object to trim or shift-select to extend or
[Fence/Crossing/Project/Edge/eRase/Undo]: <Select the vertical line>
Select object to trim or shift-select to extend or [Project/Edge/Undo]:
<enter>

Once again, it is important to keep your eye on the command line as it will guide you through most
commands.

Draw a LINE from 4,6.5 to 6,6.5 Draw another line from 5,5 to 5,6 What you want to do now
is extend the vertical line up to the meet horizontal line. Start the EXTEND command. AutoCAD asks for
a boundary edge; select the horizontal line press <ENTER>. It then asks for an object to extend; select
somewhere in the top half of the vertical line. Press <ENTER> to end the command. Your command line
history should match what is shown below.

Command: EX <enter> EXTEND

Current settings: Projection=UCS, Edge=None
Select boundary edges ...
Select objects: <Select the horizontal line> 1 found
Select objects: <enter>
Select object to extend or shift-select to trim or
[Fence/Crossing/Project/Edge/Undo]: <Select the top half of the
vertical line>
Select object to extend or shift-select to trim or [Project/Edge/Undo]:
<enter>

Draw a CIRCLE with a center point of 7.5,5.5 with a radius of .5 Now you will use to offset
command to make another circle 1/4" larger. Start the OFFSET command (watch the command line) and
enter .125 as the offset distance (1/2 of 1/4"). Now select the circle and pick anywhere outside the
circle. Press <ENTER> to end the command.

Object Snaps

Suppose you want to draw a line from the center of the circle to the middle of the vertical line you
extended earlier. AutoCAD has a feature that makes this very easy. These are the Object Snaps (or
Osnaps "Oh-Snaps"). Type OS <ENTER> . You will see this dialog box appear.

ICON SETTING ICON SETTING

Endpoint Insertion Point

Midpoint Perpendicular

Center Tangent

Node Nearest

Quadrant Apparent Intersection

Intersection Parallel

Extension M2P Midpoint between 2 points

You may select whichever points you want to 'snap' on an object. Here is a list of your options. Followed
by the command entry to invoke the needed Osnap.

Endpoint - snaps to either the beginning or the end of an object such as a line - END

Midpoint - snaps to the exact middle of a line or an arc - MID

Center - snaps to the center-point of a circle or arc - CEN

Node - snaps to 'nodes' (not covered in this course) - NOD

Quadrant - snaps to any of the four quadrants of a circle - QUA

Intersection - snaps to the point where two object cross - INT

Extension - Snaps to the phantom extension of an arc or line - EXT

Insertion - snaps to the insertion point of an object (such as a block or text) - INS

Perpendicular - will snap so that the result is perpendicular to line selected - PER

Tangent - snaps to create a line tangent to a circle or arc - TAN

Nearest - will find the closest point an object and snap to that point - NEA

Parallel -Snaps parallel to a specified line - PAR

M2P - This isn't technically an 'Object Snap' as you are not snapping to specific point on an object, but it
allows you to select 2 points and it will calculate the midpoint between those 2 points. This is a very
handy option to have.

Note: Beside each checkbox is a symbol. That symbol will show up on the screen when you have found a
valid snap point. (An endpoint will show a small square). If you select the "Options" button, you can
change the aperture size and the color of the Osnaps. Depending upon the background you are drawing
on, this may be needed.

a. Check off the boxes as shown in the dialog box above (Object Snaps On, Endpoint, Midpoint,
Center) and press OK.
b. Begin the LINE command. Move your cursor around the screen and you'll see that as you get
close to an object, it will 'snap' to one of the points that you had checked off in the dialog box.
Place your cursor on the circle (not the middle of the circle) until you see a small purple circle
appear at its center. Left-click to make this the start point of the line. Move the cursor towards the
middle of the vertical line until you see a small triangle appear. (Remember this is the symbol for
'midpoint'). When you see it left-click to accept this as your endpoint. Press <ENTER> to end the
line command.
c. Save your drawing.
d. Print your drawing with the same settings as in Assignment #1. Don't forget to use the preview.

TIP: Before you select the Osnap you want, you can press the TAB key on your keyboard to cycle
through the available Osnaps in the area of your cursor.

CAUTION: Although it may seem tempting to turn 'all' the Osnaps on when drawing, you can have too
much of a good thing. For example, in shorter lines, Midpoint, Nearest and Perpendicular could all be
very close to each other, and you could select the wrong point.

When you have finished the assignment, continue practicing with the commands until they are mastered.
These are common commands that you will use in everyday drafting.
  

   
 Topics covered in this Lesson:
Review and practice of accurate input

Now it's time to see if you were paying attention in the first lesson. In this lesson you will complete the
drawing that will test your knowledge of drawing accurately using different types of precision input. Clients
expect 100% accurate drawings from YOU. It is up to the YOU to ensure that YOU have the ability to
draw quickly and accurately. There is a lot of room for error when drafting, as you need to read
accurately, transfer the numbers to AutoCAD accurately, and draw accurately. It is the job of this exercise
to help you learn to draw accurately - speed will come only through practice.

Print the file out and try to reproduce it. Start at the bottom left corner (1,1). Use the drawing tools you
have learned in the previous lessons. You will have to use a combination of absolute, relative, and polar
coordinate input.

a. Open AutoCAD and set up the drawing as you have for the previous assignments.
b. Complete the assignment by drawing it accurately using the dimensions provided.
c. If you make an error along the way, remember that you can use your ENDPOINT Osnap to begin
where you left off.
d. Save your drawing.
e. Print your drawing using the guidelines given in the previous assignments.

As mentioned earlier, AutoCAD is accurate. It is up to the user to ensure that they give the proper input to
make sure that the drawing is accurate. It can be extremely costly to make mistakes with what seem to be
'minor' errors in accuracy.

By this point in the tutorials, you should able to do the above drawing without referencing other materials.
If this isn't the case, you should review the previous lessons. Here are two more practice exercises to
work on your input and drawing skills.