New Commands in AutoCAD 2005: Part 7
Direct Editing
by Ralph Grabowski
Introduction
AutoCAD still uses the command-line interface developed originally back
in the early 1980s. That means you enter commands, options, and responses
through the keyboard at the 'Command:' prompt. That's unusual in today's
Windows-oriented world, where there is no such thing as a command-line.
Now, that's not a bad thing. I find typing commands much faster than
using the mouse to select commands from toolbars and menus -- especially
when typing aliases (two-letter command abbreviations.
Over the years, Autodesk has added more mouse-oriented actions to AutoCAD.
Release 9 was the first step, adding menus and dialog boxes. AutoCAD
Release 11 for Windows added the toolbar, while Release 12 added grips
editing.
AutoCAD 2005 adds a simple, direct editing interface that provides access
to three commands: copy, move, and create block.
Step-by-Step Tutorial
Direct Editing
1. Start AutoCAD 2005 with a new or existing drawing. If new, draw an
object, such as a circle.
2. Select the circle, so that the grips are displayed.
Figure 1: Draw a circle, and then select it.
3. Move the cursor over a blue grip, and then hold down the right
mouse button. (No not press-and-release the right button, nor use the
left button.)
Notice that the grips disappear from view, and that the cursor changes
to an arrow with a rectangle. This cursor tells you that AutoCAD is
now in direct editing mode.
Figure 2: Hold down the right mouse button, and notice the new style
of cursor.
TIP: You can directly edit more than one object at
a time. Select two or more objects, and then hold down the right mouse
button on one of the object's blue grips.
4. Drag the circle away. Notice that there are two circle: the original,
and the new one.
TIP: I think that direct editing is still a work in
progress, because AutoCAD's drafting aids don't work, such as ortho
and snap. Turning on ortho mode, for instance, does not constrain movement
to right-angles during direct editing. Another tip that direct editing
is not complete in AutoCAD 2005: holding down the Shift key adds a +
symbol to the cursor, indicating "copy" mode, but AutoCAD
does not automatically make a copy; it still displays the shortcut menu
of options.
Figure 3: Dragging the circle creates two circles.
5. When the circle is in position, let go of the mouse button. Notice
that AutoCAD displays a shortcut menu with four options:
Figure 4: Letting go of the button displays the shortcut menu.
* Move Here -- moves the circle to this position
(erases the original circle).
* Copy Here -- places a copy of the circle at this
position.
* Paste as Block -- turns the copied circle into a
block. AutoCAD gives the block a name of its own choosing, such as "A$C272600FF".
The insertion point is located at the selection point; ie, the point
at which you dragged the object. Use the Rename command to change the
name of block.
* Cancel -- cancels the operation, returning to the
original circle.
Direct Editing Between Drawings
You can use this technique of direct editing to copy objects between
drawings.
1. Open a second drawing.
2. To see both drawings at the same time, from the menu select Window
| Tile Vertically.
3. Use the direct editing technique to drag the circle over to the new
drawings. When you let go of the mouse button, the shortcut menu appears
with some different options.
Figure 5: Dragging objects between drawings.
* Copy Here -- places a copy of the circle at this
position.
* Paste as Block -- turns the copied circle into a
block, and inserts it at the cursor location.
* Paste to Orig Coordinates -- inserts the circle as
block in the same location (of the new drawing) as the circle's coordinates
in the original drawing.
* Cancel -- cancels the operation; circle is not placed
in the new drawing.
Direct Editing Between Documents
Finally, you can use direct editing to copy objects from AutoCAD drawings
to documents in other programs, such as word processors and other CAD
programs. It didn't work for me when I tried to drag the circle into
PaintShop Pro (raster image editor), Eudora (email software) or Opera
(Web browser).
When dragged to Windows Explorer (file manager), a "scrap"
object is created. When dragged back into AutoCAD, the scrap becomes
an OLE object. Not too useful, but perhaps future releases of AutoCAD
will build on this technique.
The steps to direct editing are a bit tricky to complete the first
few times; practice until it seems natural. You might prefer to return
to grips editing, where you click on a blue grip, turning it red, and
then pressing the Spacebar until the appropriate command appears on
the command-line:
** STRETCH **
Specify stretch point or [Base point/Copy/Undo/eXit]:
** MOVE **
Specify move point or [Base point/Copy/Undo/eXit]:
** ROTATE **
Specify rotation angle or [Base point/Copy/Undo/Reference/eXit]:
** SCALE **
Specify scale factor or [Base point/Copy/Undo/Reference/eXit]:
** MIRROR **
Specify second point or [Base point/Copy/Undo/eXit]:
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