TurboCAD

The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

75 Rowland Way, Novato, CA 94945. 1 800 833 4674

 1998 by IMSI

The material presented in this publication is copyright-protected 1998 by IMSI

and may not be reproduced in any form, by any method for any purpose without the
prior written consent of IMSI. Information in this document is subject to
change without notice. It is against the law to copy the software, except in accordance with the
terms of the licensing agreement.
TurboCAD is a registered trademark of IMSI.
AutoCAD is a registered trademark of Autodesk, Inc.
All other product names are acknowledged as trademarks of their respective owners.

Table of Contents
Introduction ........................................................................................................... v
1. What Is CAD? .................................................................................................... 1
CAD Is a Versatile Software Tool ....................................................................................... 2
Learning to Use TurboCAD ................................................................................................ 2
What Makes a Drawing Program a CAD Program? ......................................................... 3
Precision and Accuracy ........................................................................................................... 3
Automation ................................................................................................................................ 3
Real Scale .................................................................................................................................. 4
Coordinate Geometry ............................................................................................................... 4
Vector Graphics Display .......................................................................................................... 5

2. Fundamental Elements ..................................................................................... 7

Commands and Tools ......................................................................................................... 7
Objects and Entities ........................................................................................................... 8
Launching TurboCAD ........................................................................................................ 8
The TurboCAD Desktop ................................................................................................... 10
Units and Scale ..................................................................................................................11
Cursors and Crosshairs ................................................................................................... 12
Create a Simple Drawing .................................................................................................. 12
Snaps Ensure Accuracy ........................................................................................................ 13
Delete Line .............................................................................................................................. 13
Using Fly-out Toolbars ........................................................................................................... 14
Using the Coordinate Fields .................................................................................................. 15
Using the Edit Bar................................................................................................................... 16
Draw a Rectangle .................................................................................................................... 16
Save the Drawing .................................................................................................................... 18
If You Make a Mistake ............................................................................................................. 18

3. The First Law of CAD ...................................................................................... 21

The Extra Square Inch ...................................................................................................... 21
New Features in This Exercise ........................................................................................ 23

The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

Preparation for Drawing ................................................................................................... 23

Modify Paper Space ............................................................................................................... 24

Draw Polygon A ............................................................................................................... 25

Selecting Objects .............................................................................................................. 27
Creating Groups ................................................................................................................ 29
Creating and Using Symbols ........................................................................................... 30
Saving the First Polygon as a Symbol ............................................................................ 31
Creating the Second Puzzle Piece .................................................................................. 33
Assembling the Puzzle ..................................................................................................... 36
Place the First Puzzle Piece .................................................................................................. 36
Rotating a Selection ............................................................................................................... 37
Place and Rotate the Second Puzzle Piece .......................................................................... 38
Place the First Triangle .......................................................................................................... 39
Complete the Square.............................................................................................................. 40

Assemble the Rectangle Puzzle ...................................................................................... 41

Positive and Negative Scale .................................................................................................. 42
Positive and Negative Rotation ............................................................................................. 42

The Solution ...................................................................................................................... 47

Moving On .......................................................................................................................... 47

4. Keeping Design Simple .................................................................................. 49

The Design Environment .................................................................................................. 50
Adjust Drawing Settings ........................................................................................................ 50
Draw Three Circles ................................................................................................................. 53
Draw Gear Tooth ..................................................................................................................... 54
Explode Rectangle ................................................................................................................. 56
Trim and Delete Lines to Finish Tooth .................................................................................. 57
Copy Tooth Around the Circle ............................................................................................... 58
Draw the Exposure Plate ....................................................................................................... 60
Graft Double Line to Circles .................................................................................................. 62
Mirror Copy to Finish Cartridge ............................................................................................ 63

Looking for Design Technique Clues ........................................................................... 64

Practice Makes Perfect ..................................................................................................... 65

5. The Designer View .......................................................................................... 67

Rubberbanding.................................................................................................................. 68
Snaps.................................................................................................................................. 68
Snaps and the Local Menu .................................................................................................... 69
Combining Snap Modes ......................................................................................................... 70

Magnetic Point................................................................................................................... 70
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Introduction

Aperture ............................................................................................................................. 71
Ortho Mode ........................................................................................................................ 71
The Coordinate Plane ....................................................................................................... 72
Cartesian Coordinates ........................................................................................................... 72
Drawing with Coordinate Systems ....................................................................................... 74

Views of the Drawing Space ........................................................................................... 75

Zooming .................................................................................................................................. 75
Panning.................................................................................................................................... 76
Construction Technique: Divide the Area of a Triangle ...................................................... 77
A Better View of the Action .................................................................................................... 81

6. Introduction to Drawing Techniques ............................................................. 83

Basic Definitions ............................................................................................................... 83
Construction Techniques ................................................................................................. 87
Bisect a Line with a Point ...................................................................................................... 87
Bisect a Line with a Perpendicular Line ............................................................................... 87
Draw a Line at a Specific Heading ........................................................................................ 88
Bisect an Angle ....................................................................................................................... 89
Divide an Angle Into Any Number of Parts ........................................................................... 90
Draw a Line Parallel to an Existing Line ............................................................................... 90
Divide a Straight Line into Proportional Parts ..................................................................... 90
Draw the Golden Mean of a Line ........................................................................................... 92
Construction Lines and Circles ............................................................................................ 93
Aligning Objects ..................................................................................................................... 94

Taking Advantage of Construction Techniques ............................................................ 95

7. Editing the CAD Drawing ................................................................................ 97

Edit or Modify? .................................................................................................................. 97
Modify the Divided Triangle ............................................................................................. 98
Seeking Out the Details .................................................................................................... 99
Explode Groups, Extract Details ................................................................................... 100
Remove Unnecessary Objects ...................................................................................... 102
Selection Rectangle Options ......................................................................................... 102
Other Selection Options ................................................................................................. 104
Select and Move Details ................................................................................................. 106
Cut and Paste .................................................................................................................. 107
Practice Makes Perfect ................................................................................................... 107
Chamfer and Fillet ........................................................................................................... 108
Chamfer ................................................................................................................................. 108

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Fillet ....................................................................................................................................... 109

Meet 2 Lines..................................................................................................................... 109

Cleaning Double Line Intersections...............................................................................110
An Infinite Number of Uses .............................................................................................112

8. Text in the CAD Drawing ............................................................................... 113

An Extra Benefit for Graphic Designers ........................................................................113
Text and Professional Drafting Standards ....................................................................114
Placing Text in a Drawing ................................................................................................115
Editing Text in a Drawing ..................................................................................................... 116
Reformatting Text in a Drawing ........................................................................................... 117
Manipulating Text ................................................................................................................. 118
Align Text to a Line ............................................................................................................... 120
Align Text to an Arc or Circle ............................................................................................... 121
Manipulating Text as Graphic Elements ............................................................................. 123
Import Text from Other Applications .................................................................................. 124

The Best of Both Worlds ................................................................................................ 126

9. File and Data Management ........................................................................... 129

Comparing Drawings to Documents............................................................................. 129
CAD Management Systems ........................................................................................... 130
Properties of Entities ...................................................................................................... 131
General Properties ............................................................................................................... 131
Pen Properties ...................................................................................................................... 133
Brush Properties .................................................................................................................. 134

Using Layers in a Drawing ............................................................................................. 134

Using Layers to Force Standards ....................................................................................... 135

Tool-based Property Selection ...................................................................................... 136

Setting the Default Properties of a Tool ............................................................................. 138
Setting the Properties of Selected Objects ........................................................................ 138
The Property Toolbar ........................................................................................................... 138

Choosing Among Symbols, Blocks, and Groups ........................................................ 139

Organized Details Are Useful Details............................................................................ 139

10. Drawing Techniques Part Two .................................................................. 141

Arc Placement Guidelines.............................................................................................. 141
Place an Arc Along a Regular Polygon ............................................................................... 142

Arc Placement Techniques ............................................................................................ 144

Arc Center and Radius ......................................................................................................... 144
Concentric Arc ...................................................................................................................... 147

Double Point Arc ................................................................................................................... 149

Start/Included/End (1-2-3) Arc ............................................................................................. 151

Drawing Arcs with the Edit Bar ..................................................................................... 153

Drawing Tangent Arcs, Lines and Circles .................................................................... 153
Using Ellipses .................................................................................................................. 160
Draw a Standard Ellipse ....................................................................................................... 160
Draw a Rotated Ellipse ......................................................................................................... 161
Draw an Elliptical Arc ........................................................................................................... 161
Draw an Elliptical Rotated Arc ............................................................................................. 162

Curve Tools ...................................................................................................................... 162

Curve Properties ............................................................................................................. 163
Using Curves to Create Parabolas and Spirals ................................................................. 163

Node Editing .................................................................................................................... 167

On Your Own.................................................................................................................... 168

11. Dimensioning ............................................................................................... 169

Elements of Dimensioning ............................................................................................. 170
Format Property Sheets....................................................................................................... 170

Dimensioning Tools ........................................................................................................ 174

Linear Dimensioning Methods ............................................................................................ 175
Manual, Segment and Entity Dimensioning ....................................................................... 177
Angular Dimensioning ......................................................................................................... 179
Radius and Diameter Dimensioning ................................................................................... 184
Leader Dimensions .............................................................................................................. 186

Professional Standards .................................................................................................. 187

The Secret to Simple Dimension Formats.................................................................... 188
The Seven Laws of Dimensioning ................................................................................. 188

12. Drawing Enrichment ................................................................................... 191

Hatch Patterns and Solid Color Fills ............................................................................. 191
Menu: Format|Create Hatch ................................................................................................ 197
Insert a Picture or Object ..................................................................................................... 197
Picture and Object Edit Options .......................................................................................... 201
OLE Drag and Drop .............................................................................................................. 202
Paste Commands ................................................................................................................. 202

Practice Exercise ............................................................................................................ 203

13. Printing and Plotting ................................................................................... 207

Printer Paper and the Drawing Sheet ........................................................................... 207
Simple Printing ..................................................................................................................... 208
Tiled Printing ......................................................................................................................... 209

The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

Print Commands in the File menu ...................................................................................... 211

Print Dialog ............................................................................................................................ 215

14. Drawing Import and Export ........................................................................ 217

TurboCAD proprietary formats ........................................................................................... 217
Drawing Exchange Format -- DXF ....................................................................................... 219
DWG: AutoCAD native file format ....................................................................................... 219
HP-GL and HP-GL/2: Hewlett Packard Graphics Language ............................................. 219
Third-party program for file conversion ............................................................................. 220
Exporting TurboCAD Drawings Using OLE Drag and Drop .............................................. 220

15. Customizing the Desktop ........................................................................... 223

Why change the desktop? ............................................................................................. 223
Create a personal workspace ........................................................................................ 224
Create a new toolbar ............................................................................................................ 224
Add fly-out tools to the toolbar ........................................................................................... 227
Create a new menu ............................................................................................................... 227
Create a keyboard shortcut ................................................................................................. 229
Saving customization changes ........................................................................................... 230

16. Increasing productivity ............................................................................... 231

Creating and using additional views ............................................................................ 231
Using Aerial View .................................................................................................................. 232
Using Viewports .................................................................................................................... 236
Using Multiple Windows ...................................................................................................... 237

Measuring objects .......................................................................................................... 238

Using Keyboard Shortcuts ............................................................................................ 245

Index ................................................................................................................... 247

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Introduction

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The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

viii

Introduction

Introduction
From humble beginnings in the mid 1980s, TurboCAD has grown to become one of the top
low-cost CAD (Computer Aided Design) software products. The current version, TurboCAD
4 for Windows, is filled with features that rival much more expensive products. TurboCAD 4
for Windows offers much more than just a comprehensive set of drawing commands. It is
now possible to customize the program, to link drawings with files created by other
Windows programs, and to extend the capabilities of the program by writing external
software programs that use TurboCAD as a drafting engine.
Learning to use a software program becomes more difficult as the complexity grows. This
book is written with one goal in mind: to enable you to master TurboCAD 4 for Windows as
easily as possible.

How this book is organized

This book reveals the features of TurboCAD 4 for Windows in a natural sequence. Chapter
One offers a detailed explanation of Computer Aided Design, and why CAD software is in a
class by itself.
Chapter Two covers the TurboCAD 4 for Windows desktop, and how you can modify it to
match your preferences; a theme that continues in Chapter 15. Chapters Three through Six
cover the basics of drawing, editing and modifying. (In TurboCAD, editing and modifying
refer to making changes to previously drawn objects.) The terms editing and modifying have
differing meanings in TurboCAD 4 for Windows, and will be explained fully as the book
progresses.
Chapters Seven through Twelve cover important topics such as dimensioning (adding
measurements to drawings), file management, the use of hatch patterns, and specialized
drawing techniques. Chapters Thirteen and Fourteen cover printing and plotting, and using
TurboCAD 4 for Windows drawings in other software programs. The last two chapters
present information on features new to this version of TurboCAD.

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The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

Explanations, exercises, tutorials

Each command and tool in TurboCAD 4 for Windows has its own explanation. Each
command is introduced, typical uses are explained, followed by a hands-on sequence
showing you how the command works. In some chapters, these hands-on explanations are
progressive, and become part of a larger exercise that continues throughout the chapter. In
other chapters, the hands-on sequences are separate. When several tools are very close to
each other in use (such as the Align tools), a common explanation is given to avoid being
redundant.
If you really want to master TurboCAD 4 for Windows, take time to follow the hands-on
exercises and tutorials. It is the rare person who can read through a software manual and
immediately go to work. Most users need to practice commands and procedures, and
become comfortable gradually. As I often tell my clients, it is one thing for your brain to
understand a software command, but quite another for your hands to become equally
knowledgeable. The exercises and tutorials in this book bridge the gap between brain and
hands.

What you need

This book makes a few assumptions about the program in use, the readers knowledge, and
the computer equipment available.

TurboCAD for Windows Version 4

This book is based on TurboCAD 4 for Windows, published by IMSI, Inc. of San Rafael,
California. The program has undergone substantial revision from previous versions, and this
book does not attempt to cover the differences between version for and earlier releases.

Windows operating environment

This book assumes no prior knowledge about TurboCAD 4 for Windows or about a specific
method of drafting. It does assume that you have a basic familiarity with the Windows
operating environment. In particular, you should know the following:

How to start (or launch) a program;

What directories and subdirectories are (also known as folders in Windows 95);
What files are, and how to copy, move or delete them.

TurboCAD 4 for Windows is fully Windows 95 compliant, and complies with the
Microsoft Office standard.

Introduction

Appropriate computer hardware

TurboCAD 4 for Windows requires a computer with these minimums:

496 or better CPU;

8 MB RAM recommended;
30 MB of free hard disk space;
VGA graphics card or better;
A CD-ROM drive (for installation only);
Windows 95 or Windows NT.

Summary
This book will help you become comfortable and productive with TurboCAD 4 for
Windows. It offers explanations in real English and exercises that are practical, yet easy to
follow. This book will serve you now as you learn TurboCAD 4 for Windows, and later
when you need to review a command or other feature.

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1
What Is CAD?
Demystifying CAD
Almost all computer owners have a word processing program. They use it often, and find it
very helpful. After all, a word processor is a useful tool for a variety of tasks. Computer
users realize you dont have to be a professional writer to make good use of a
word processor.
But for some reason, many computer users assume CAD (Computer Aided Design) software
is just for technical professionals. They dont see themselves using the same software an
architect or mechanical engineer uses. Ask a few computer users, and youll hear a variety
of excuses why they dont have a CAD program:

Too complex.
I dont have any artistic ability.
I dont have a use for it.
Too expensive.
Whats CAD?

All these answers point to the same fundamental problem CAD is misunderstood.
Good CAD programs dont have to be complex. (Yes, some are. We wont mention names
here.) CAD does not require artistic ability. In fact, artistic ability has nothing to do with
learning and using CAD software. As for usefulness, few programs are as versatile as a good
CAD program.
Having bought TurboCAD, you already know better than to believe CAD is expensive. Yes,
there are CAD programs costing thousands of dollars, but they have features only
professional engineers, architects and designers need. As for those computer users who do

The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

not know what CAD is, please gently enlighten them. After all, there was a time when you
also didnt know CAD stands for both Computer-Aided Design and ComputerAided Drafting.
This guidebooks purpose is to sweep away the clouds of mystery and misunderstanding that
have surrounded CAD. If you can write with a word processor, you can draw with
TurboCAD.

CAD Is a Versatile Software Tool

Good software should go beyond the simple automation of an intellectual or creative task
and provide an opportunity for expanded capabilities. Spreadsheets and accounting
software, for example, make it possible for people without training in accounting to do their
own financial record keeping. TurboCAD provides a set of tools and an ease of use that
allows anyone to create drawings for a wide variety of applications. They are limited only
by their design plans and their creativity.
Learn the fundamentals, and you will quickly see that TurboCAD is a versatile software
tool. People who never dreamed of buying a drafting table have used CAD for real estate
appraisal and sales, facilities planning, and arts and crafts brainstorming. The same software
used by architects to design houses is used by storekeepers to plan retail layouts. Sales
representatives use CAD software on laptop computers to draw up bid specifications in the
field, and police officers prepare accident reports. Home owners are drawing remodeling
plans for contractors and inspectors, saving money and communicating their ideas with
precision. The list of applications, both professional and amateur, goes on and on.
A computer is a tool kit for the mind, but too many people only have word and number tools
in their kit. TurboCAD makes the visual design tool an affordable and practical addition to
any computer users software tool kit. Once you understand how this tool works, youll find
many uses for it.

Learning to Use TurboCAD

For the most part, so far weve been talking about CAD software in general. But this book is
specifically about TurboCAD 2D for Windows Version 4. The books goal is to teach
TurboCAD commands in a useful context, not to document capabilities without giving
thought to when or where commands can be used.
Most software manuals are reference manuals, they present commands in isolation. By
contrast, this is a handbook, where subject matter is presented in context. The Boy Scout
Handbook doesnt just document knots, it explains when to use them. Thats an example of
context. We will be using a similar approach throughout this book.
So, each chapter from here on out will follow the same pattern. New commands will be
introduced and briefly explained. A tutorial project or exercise will provide an opportunity
to explore the new features. Finally, each chapter ends with a review of the material
covered.

Chapter 1 What Is Cad?

Take the time to follow the tutorials and work through the lessons. Your goal should be to
move from head knowledge (where you read a description and assume you understand it) to
hand knowledge (where you can actually execute a command correctly).

What Makes a Drawing Program a CAD Program?

A variety of software products create visual images, and they can all be lumped into the
category of graphics software. CAD software belongs in this group, as well as a variety of
other programs. Several characteristics distinguish CAD software from other types of
graphics software. These five elements are:

Precision and accuracy

Automation
Real Scale
Coordinate Geometry
Vector Graphics display

Some graphics software products have one or two of these elements, but it takes all five to
be a true CAD program.

Precision and Accuracy

CAD is meant to replace manual drafting, so it must meet the standards of those who do
drafting work. Part of the standard is mathematical precision. When you draw a line with
TurboCAD, the line has an exact length, which the program can calculate to a precision of
eight decimal places. Every line, circle, etc., is on a coordinate grid, the exact location of
which TurboCAD stores in memory. (More about the coordinate grid later in the chapter).
When drawing by hand, its easy to be sloppy and let a line go an extra 1/32 or so, or to
jiggle the compass when drawing a circle. But such imprecise actions are impossible in
TurboCAD. A 12 line will measure exactly 12. Circles are true, angles are exact.
Commands known as Snaps allow you to attach one object to another with extreme
precision at exact locations.

Automation
CAD programs are designed to automate the manual drafting process, a demanding, laborintensive task that has seen little automation in its several hundred years of existence. Flip
through a textbook on manual drafting and you will see all the details that must be attended
to before one can draw a single straight line. The right diameter pencil has to be sharpened
in a certain way, the paper must be carefully attached to the drafting table, the T-Square and
the triangle placed correctly, a measurement must be taken, construction points placed, and
then finally a line can be drawn to connect the two points. Now consider drawing the same

The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

line in TurboCAD. You only have to install the program once (the equivalent of setting up
the drafting table and placing the paper). Line color, line type and line width are already set
(or you can change them easily). Select the Line tool, move the cursor to the point where
the line is to begin (perhaps using a Snap command for exact placement). Click the left
mouse button once, move the cursor to the end of the line and click again. The line is drawn,
at the exact length and width, to the exact color and style.
Other graphics software products automate creating graphic images, but only a CAD
program automates drafting.

Real Scale
Real scale means that as you draw, you can use the actual dimensions of the object you are
representing on the screen, without regard to fitting it on the screen. When drawing a house
plan, for example, you draw a 12 wall as a 12 wall, not as a 6 line that represents a 12
wall.
If you have done manual drafting, you can immediately appreciate the advantages of
working with real scale. It is no longer necessary to figure out whether to draw your plans at
1/4 = 1 or 1/2 = 6, or whatever. Using real scale is an easier, less intimidating way of
drafting, because you focus on your ideas, not on how to make the drawing fit the paper.
TurboCAD is flexible, however, and offers the option of drawing at scale, if you prefer to
work that way.
If the concept of real scale gives you trouble, perhaps the following exercise will help. Bring
the tip of your thumb and first finger together to form a circle. Put it up to one eye and use
the circle as a viewing window to look across the room. Can you see anything larger than
the hole youre looking through? Of course you can, and you didnt have to calculate how to
reduce the chair, the door, the window, and so forth, to fit your viewing window. TurboCAD
is a viewing window into your own private universe of design, and that universe can be any
size you choose. If you are drawing a 2,000-square-foot floor plan, for example, it will
easily fit onto your computer screen.
TurboCAD can easily take your real scale drawings and print them either at a scale that fits
the page, or at a user-selected scale. For more information, see Chapter 13: Printing and
Plotting.

Coordinate Geometry
When it comes to TurboCAD 2D, Columbus was wrong: the world is flat. TurboCAD 2D's
world is a simple, flat two-dimensional plane. Everything you draw in TurboCAD 2D will
be placed on this plane. (There is one small exception: Blocks can be optionally rotated into
a third dimension.)
Every possible location on the plane has a unique address, which can be written in
X,Y coordinates. There is only one place (at any one time) in all of TurboCADs world that
can have the address X 1 Y 1. To record both the length of a line and its position on the

Chapter 1 What Is Cad?

plane, the only thing TurboCAD needs to know is the coordinates of each end of the line. A
line with one end exactly at X 5 Y 5 and the other end at X 11 Y 5 must be exactly 6
long, and must exist at one and only one place in the coordinate plane.
When you use TurboCAD for the first time, the coordinate display is set to show distances
in inches, with two decimal places of accuracy. As you move the pointer, the coordinate
display at the bottom of the screen shows the X, Y coordinate position of the cursor as it
moves across the drawing area. If the cursor is at X 10 Y 6, then the cursor is 10 inches
above and six inches right of a location known as the origin point. This location, near the
lower left corner of the drawing area, has the coordinate address of X 0 Y 0. All other
coordinates are determined by how far they are from the origin point. Using the origin point
as a consistent point of reference for coordinate display is known in TurboCAD as Absolute
Coordinates. Take a look at the drawing showing the origin point and some points and
angles near it.

(2,3)

2,2

- 2 ,(-2,-2)
-2 +
Points (+
+ ) defined in Cartesian coordinates

There is more to be learned about coordinate display; this subject will be discussed further
in Chapter Five.

Vector Graphics Display

A computer displays information in pixels, the little dots that make up an image on the
screen. The more pixels, the higher the resolution of the image and the smoother the image.
Paint programs and other types of graphics software are limited by the number of pixels
available. Objects in these programs are defined by dots, so detail work can be no finer than
the number of pixels available. Paint programs store images as a map of dots, and cant
define an image with detail that exceeds the number of available pixels. This is known as
raster graphics, raster referring to the technology that places the pixels on the screen. Paint
programs are sometimes called device-dependent software, because the capability to create
and reproduce a screen image is dependent on the display resolution in effect on the device
in use when the image was created. If you create a drawing on a low-resolution device, then
move it to a computer with higher resolution, the image will look grainy or lumpy. The file
storing the image lacks the information necessary to display the image at the new, higher
resolution. The limited information about resolution also affects printing the image. The
higher the resolution offered by the printer, the lower the quality of the illustration if it was
created at low resolution.

The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

2
Fundamental Elements
Getting Started with TurboCAD 4
This chapter will introduce the basic elements of TurboCAD, including:

Commands and tools

Objects and entities
Launching TurboCAD
The TurboCAD desktop
Units and scale

The chapter concludes with a tutorial, which introduces the most commonly used
commands and tools in TurboCAD.

Commands and Tools

The terms command and tool are used in this guidebook to describe distinct types of
TurboCAD functions.
Command. Commands are functions that start and complete an event. Select All would be an
example of a command, because it immediately selects all the objects on the screen and
returns TurboCAD to its previous state, expecting no further action from you.
Tool. When you select a tool, you access a special set of functions that are available as long
as the tool is active. Some tools remain active until you explicitly switch to another tool. For
example, you can activate the Single Line tool and continue to draw lines until you switch
to another tool. Other tools, such as Zoom Window, become automatically inactive as soon
as you finish using them. As you begin to use the various tools in TurboCAD, notice which

The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

category they fall into. You will soon intuitively know whether a tool stays active or
functions once and returns to an inactive state.
TIP: Think of a command like this: You tell TurboCAD what to do, and TurboCAD does it. Think
of a tool like this: You ask TurboCAD for the means to perform an action, TurboCAD provides
the means, then you perform the action.
NOTE: Occasionally the term "tool" can also be used simply to mean a tool button on the
toolbar, or any function accessible using a tool button.

Commands and tools are accessed either by pressing a button in a toolbar, or by selecting
the command from a menu. When a menu command is being specified in this book, the
instruction will say Menu: followed by the name of the menu and the actual command,
separated by a single line. An example would be Menu: Edit|Select All.
Occasionally the use of a command opens up a dialog box, requiring you to adjust settings,
choose outcomes, etc., before the command can be executed. The use of dialogs in
TurboCAD conforms to contemporary Windows standards. Specific dialogs will be
explained as required throughout the book.

Objects and Entities

TurboCAD provides a way to draw a wide variety of objects and entities; the two terms are
not interchangeable. The term object is a general term used in this guidebook to mean
anything that can be displayed in a TurboCAD drawing. The term entity is used in a much
more narrow sense, to mean a drawing object created with TurboCAD drawing tools.
Entities include single lines, multilines, arcs, circles, polygons, and so forth, as well as
construction lines and circles. TurboCADs entities can be combined together into groups,
which are also classified as objects. Other types of TurboCAD objects include bitmaps,
metafiles, OLE objects, and symbols.
Entities are independent geometric objects. They would be at home in a geometry textbook,
or a manual drafting course. Objects are groups of entities, or other elements of a drawing
not easily defined using geometric definitions.

Launching TurboCAD
If you have not already installed TurboCAD, do so now, following the installation
instructions in the Introduction. When you are ready to use TurboCAD, select the program
using the Start utility in Windows 95 to reach the IMSI folder. Each time you launch
TurboCAD, a usage tip will appear.

Chapter 2 Fundamental Elements

Tip of the day

Note the Show Tips at Startup option in the lower left corner of the dialog box. If you do not
appreciate seeing a usage tip every time you launch TurboCAD, click on the box to deselect
this option.
After the Tip of the Day dialog box, TurboCAD will display the Create from Template
dialog box. For now, choose Normal and click OK to continue.

Create from Template dialog

The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

Templates are a special type of drawing file that provide a basis for a new drawing.
Templates preserve all of the settings in a drawing, such as unit and scale options, angle
conventions, grid settings and colors. If in the future you find yourself using the same
settings over and over, take a minute to save those settings as a new template. Use the Save
As command (Menu: File|Save As), and select TurboCAD Template from the list of file
types.

The TurboCAD Desktop

Once you have chosen the Normal template you will see the TurboCAD desktop with a new,
blank drawing. The next illustration shows the basic components of the TurboCAD desktop
that appears on your screen.
Menu bar

Standard toolbar

Edit bar
World/Paper button

Insert Entity toolbar

Ruler
View toolbar

Snap toolbar

Paper
Scroll Bars

Status bar
message

Coordinate fields

TurboCAD desktop

Here are brief descriptions of the various elements of the screen. The TurboCAD tutorial
and help system contain additional information on the desktop elements. Most of these
elements are standard Windows features.

10

Chapter 2 Fundamental Elements

Menu Bar. Click on the menu names on the menu bar to access TurboCADs commands.
Toolbars. Toolbars provide a convenient alternative to the menu system. Your screen is now
displaying four toolbars: the Standard and Insert Entity toolbars at the top of the screen, and
the Snap and View toolbars on the left and right sides of your screen, respectively. Clicking
on any of the buttons on the toolbars will start a TurboCAD command.

TIP: TurboCAD tools are equipped with tool tips, small yellow rectangles that briefly describe
the tool. To see a tool tip, place the mouse cursor on the tool and leave it there briefly.

Scroll bars. Your drawing can be larger than what you see on the screen. By clicking in the
scroll bars, you can scroll to a different view of your drawing. Click on the arrow to scroll
a small amount. Hold the mouse cursor over the thumb of the scroll bar (the rectangle in
the middle of the bar) and drag it to move through your drawing. Click in the area between
the thumb and the arrow to scroll a larger amount.
Paper. The Paper, the large white rectangle in the middle of the screen, shows you how your
drawing will be laid out on the page when printed. You dont have to draw on the Paper; you
can draw anywhere in the drawing space. The pattern of horizontal and vertical lines on the
Paper is the grid, which marks exact locations in the drawing.
Ruler. The Ruler gives you feedback about the size and position of objects in your drawing.
Notice that the unit of measure on the ruler is inches. This is the Normal templates default
setting for measurement. Default means that if you dont make a choice, the program makes
the choice for you. The ruler must display some sort of measurement, so to start with, it
displays inches.
Edit Bar. Use the Edit Bar to draw and edit using numeric values such as lengths and angles.
For example, you could tell TurboCAD to draw a line exactly two feet long, at a 45 degree
angle.
Coordinate Fields. Use the Coordinate Fields at the bottom of the screen to specify a point
in the drawing space by its exact coordinates.
Status Bar message. This message area provides a brief message describing the currently
active tool, or instructions about how to perform the next step in a drawing or editing
process.
World/Paper Button. This button, in the upper-left corner of the ruler, lets you switch the
ruler between World space units and Paper space units of measurement, explained in the
next section. When using the Normal template there will be no difference. Using another
template, such as dboard.tct, there will be a visible difference in the ruler increments. The
two arrows represent World units, the sheet of paper represents Paper units.

Units and Scale

There are two distinct spaces in TurboCAD : World space and Paper space. The units in
World space apply to the real-world objects you draw. The units in Paper space apply to the
paper on which your drawing will be printed. Scale in TurboCAD refers to the ratio of Paper

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The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

units to World units. A scale of 3/16" = 1', for example, means that an object 3/16" long in
your drawing is modeling a real-world object that is one foot long.
Think of World space as the place where you draw objects at their actual sizes. If you are
drawing a garage door, you draw it 12' wide. Think of Paper space as the place where your
drawings shrink to fit onto a piece of paper. TurboCAD automates this shrinking process, so
you dont have to constantly juggle real-world distances and their printed equivalents.
Normally the coordinate system, the ruler and the grid all show units in World space. You
can switch to Paper space by clicking the World/Paper button. The Units and Scale property
sheet (found in the menu at Tools|Units and Scale) contains options for setting the drawing
scale and for controlling the display of linear units. These features will be discussed in
detail in Chapter Four. Normally you will use TurboCADs built-in templates to set up
drawing space when you start a new project. The Units and Scale property sheet is for cases
when you want to set up your units and scale manually, so we can bypass a detailed
discussion for now.

Cursors and Crosshairs

In addition to the normal cursors provided by Windows (such as text insertion and the
selection arrow), TurboCAD provides a separate cursor that appears in the drawing space
when a draw command is active. By default, it is a small cross. An optional full-screen
crosshairs is also available. To switch between the small cross and the larger crosshairs, use
the Menu: View|Crosshairs command. The larger version is useful for lining up objects and
comparing distances using the ruler.
Selecting the drawing cursor is a matter of personal preference. Some experienced users
prefer the large crosshairs, some prefer the small cross. Try both styles and see if you have a
preference for day-to-day work.

Create a Simple Drawing

Take a minute now to draw a few simple shapes to represent the start of a simple floor plan.
This will provide an opportunity to use several fundamental drawing commands.
1.

Before you start, make sure that all the snap modes are turned off. (Snaps are
explained in the next section.) Check the Snap toolbar on the left side of the screen
and make sure that the No Snap button is highlighted.

No Snap tool

2.

12

Next, choose the Single Line tool from the Insert Entity toolbar. (Or choose
Insert|Line|Single from the menu).

Chapter 2 Fundamental Elements

Single Line tool

3.

Now place the cursor in the bottom left portion of the drawing area and click. By
clicking you have defined the starting point of a line. As you move the mouse around,
you will see a rubber band line connecting your cursor to the starting point.

TIP: Remember, if you are confused about what to do next in a command, read the status line
at the bottom of the screen.

4. Move the cursor to the upper right, and click near the top right edge of the paper, to
finish the line.
Stop and think about what was just accomplished. You drew a line across the top of the
paper, more or less of an arbitrary length. If this were to be one wall in a floor plan, does the
line represent the right length of the wall? Does the line lay at the right angle in the
drawing? Unless you were very careful, have a steady hand and a sharp eye, the answer to
both questions is probably No. Just drawing a single line, without any extra help from the
program, is not the best way to create a precise line to represent an object.

Snaps Ensure Accuracy

TurboCAD features several snap mode commands. Snap commands allow you to draw and
edit with accuracy. Two of the most commonly used snap mode commands are Snap to Grid
and Vertex.

Snap to Grid (left) and Snap Vertex tools

When Snap to Grid is active, the drawing cursor can lock onto (or snap to) any
intersection on the drawing grid (the pattern of intersecting blue lines that you see on the
Paper in the center of the drawing area.) The Vertex snap allows the drawing cursor to lock
onto any endpoint of an existing line.
When a snap command is turned on, it stays active until you either click its icon to shut it
off, or click on the no snap icon at the top of the toolbar. More than one snap can be
active at the same time.
Use Snap to Grid in the following steps to redraw the first lines of the floor plan with greater
accuracy. First delete the existing line, then draw again.

Delete Line
1.
2.

Click the Snap to Grid tool in the Snaps toolbar.

Click the Select tool in the Insert Entity toolbar (above the drawing area).

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The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

Select tool

3.

Click on the line in the drawing. The line should then be enclosed in a selection
rectangle.

Line enclosed inside selection rectangle

4.

Press the <Del> key: The line disappears.

TIP: Once an object has been selected like this, you can delete it, move it, copy it, scale it or
rotate it using a wide variety of techniques.

Using Fly-out Toolbars

You are now going to use a fly-out toolbar to choose the Multiline drawing tool. Fly-out
toolbars are toolbars that fly out when you hold the mouse button down while the cursor is
over a tool button. Tool buttons that contain fly-outs are marked by a small yellow rectangle
in their lower-right corner. In this exercise use a fly-out toolbar from the Insert toolbar.
1. Position the cursor over the Single Line tool.
2. Hold down the left mouse button. Dont let go of the mouse button until the fly-out
toolbar appears. It will look like this:

Fly-out toolbar from the Single Line tool

14

Chapter 2 Fundamental Elements

3. Click on the Multiline tool.

Multiline toolbar icon

The Multiline tool is now activated, so that you can draw with it. It will remain active until
you choose another tool.

NOTE: Notice that the button on the Insert toolbar, where the Single Line tool was, now
displays the Multiline tool.

1.
2.

3.

Select Menu: View|Crosshairs to switch to a full-screen crosshairs.

Move the crosshairs to the upper left corner of the Paper. Click on the lower left
corner of the first grid square inside the margin at this location. The ends of the
crosshairs should line up at 1/2" on the top ruler.
Move the crosshairs straight to the right until the crosshairs line up at 10" on the top
margin. Click once at this location, placing the end of the line on the lower left
corner of the grid square, just inside the top right corner of the margin lines.

First line drawn using Multiline

Using the Coordinate Fields

Draw the next line of the rectangle using the Coordinate Fields. Youll do this by typing the
exact coordinates of the endpoint of the second line. The first endpoint of the line has
already been established, because the Multiline tool assumes you are drawing continuous,
connected lines.
1.
2.
3.
4.

Press <Ctrl>+<R> to activate the Coordinate Fields (bottom right corner of the
desktop).
Type 10 in. into the X box.
Press the <Tab> key to advance to the Y Coordinate Field and type 0.5 in.
Press <Enter> to accepts the contents of the fields. TurboCAD places the next line at
precisely 10" on the X (horizontal) axis and 1/2" on the Y (vertical) axis. A small
diamond marks this point.

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The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

Using the Edit Bar

Draw the next line by specifying the length and angle of the line in the Edit Bar. The line
will be 9 1/2" long, going straight left from the endpoint of the second line.
1.
2.
3.

Press <Ctrl>+<E> (or <Tab>) to activate the Edit Bar (top left portion of the desktop,
just below the Standard toolbar).
Type -9.5 in. into the Length field. Be sure to use the <Minus> key on the keyboard,
not the <Minus> key on the numeric keypad.
Press the <Tab> key to move to the Angle field, then type 0. The Edit bar should now
look like this:

Edit bar showing -9.5 and 0 in fields

4.

Press <Enter> to accept the contents of the Edit Bar fields.

TurboCAD draws a line 9 1/2" long, straight left from the end of the second line. Now draw
one more line to create a rectangle.
1.
2.

Move the crosshairs up to the starting point of the first line. Click on the endpoint to
draw a line and close the rectangle.
Click on the Select tool in the Insert Entity toolbar, to end drawing mode.

You have now drawn a simple rectangle using the Multiline tool (found using a fly-out
toolbar), the Snap to Grid tool, the Coordinate Fields, and the Edit Bar. These different
features represent the basics of entity placement in TurboCAD. These tools and commands
will be used often throughout the rest of the book.

Draw a Rectangle
TurboCAD offers a variety of single line tools, visible when you use the fly-out toolbar. We
will explore all features in upcoming chapters. For now we will draw one more rectangle,
but this time will use the rectangle tool instead of a line tool.
The Rectangle tool enables you to create a rectangle by defining two diagonally opposite
corners. Rectangles created this way are oriented orthogonally (sides are true vertical and
true horizontal), although they can subsequently be rotated using editing tools.
The existing rectangle on screen, drawn from four separate lines, will represent the exterior
of the perimeter walls. The new rectangle will represent the interior of the same walls. To
increase accuracy, increase the number of squares in the grid.
1.

16

Select Menu: Tools|Grid. Click on Advanced Grid tab. The Drawing Setup dialog
appears.

Chapter 2 Fundamental Elements

Drawing Setup/Grid Settings dialog

2.

Look for the Frequency settings. Click the lower selection arrow for both X and Y,
changing each to 1.
The Frequency setting is used to alternate visible with invisible grid lines. By setting
Frequency to 1, every grid line will be visible. If we had left Frequency at 2, every other
grid line would have been visible.

NOTE: Snap to Grid will snap to any grid intersection, visible or invisible.

3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Click the Grid tab. Notice how the grid preview in the dialog changes to a denser
grid.
Click on OK.
Move the cursor to the Multiline tool in the Insert Entity toolbar.
Hold down the left mouse button. Dont let the mouse button up until the fly-out
toolbar appears.
Drag the cursor down the column to the fifth tool, the rectangle, then let up on the
mouse button. The rectangle tool will appear in the toolbar.

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The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

8.

9.

Move the cursor to the top left portion of the Paper, inside the existing rectangle.
Using the Coordinate Fields as a guide, click on the grid intersection at X .75 in. and
Y 7.25 in. to set the top left corner of the rectangle.
Move the cursor toward the bottom right corner of the paper. Click on the grid
intersection at X 9.75 in. and Y .75 in. to complete the rectangle.

Second rectangle completed

Save the Drawing

It is always a good idea to save your work often. The Save function in TurboCAD follows
Windows procedures. The first time you use the Save command in each project, a standard
dialog opens. You can specify the drawing name, as well as the disk and directory for
storage. One logical place to store this drawing would be the TurboCAD drawings folder.
Take the time now to save this drawing if you would like to use it again. It will not be
needed for any other tutorials in this book.

If You Make a Mistake

One of the important things to keep in mind as you begin drawing and editing is that nothing
is written in stone. TurboCAD allows you to undo your previous drawing command, as well
as several of the commands that preceded it. The Undo and Redo buttons are located on the
Standard toolbar.

Undo Button

18

Redo button

Chapter 2 Fundamental Elements

Take a few minutes to experiment with the other single-line drawing options in addition to
Line, Multiline and Rectangle. Feel free to draw, delete, or save as you prefer. If you feel
adventurous, try to use some of the Snap Mode commands not yet introduced.

19

3
The First Law of CAD
Never Draw the Same Object Twice
As described in Chapter 1, CAD programs use the principles and elements of geometry to
create objects. In this chapter youll construct a geometric puzzle that has baffled
generations of math students. Drawing it will familiarize you with more TurboCAD
features, and help you gain an understanding of when to modify existing views and
functions. The exercise will also demonstrate TurboCADs keen accuracy, which will enable
you to solve the puzzle.

The Extra Square Inch

The problem is simple to set up; try it using pencil, paper and scissors before you draw it in
TurboCAD. Draw and cut out two copies of Polygon A and Polygon B, using the dimensions
shown. (Or photocopy the next page twice and cut out the polygons. The figures will be
smaller, but proportionally correct.)

The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

B
8
3

5
Puzzle Polygons A and B with dimensions

Arrange the four polygons into a square, aligning the outside corners of the objects. There is
no need for overlapping.

The four pieces arranged into a square

Next, arrange the same four polygons into a rectangle, as shown. Do not overlap the objects.
Align them using the outside corners, so that the outside boundary is closed.

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Chapter 3 The First Law of CAD

The four pieces arranged into a rectangle

When arranged into a square, the area is 64 square inches (8" x 8" = 64 square inches). But
when these same polygons are arranged into a rectangle, the area is 65 square inches (5" x
13" = 65 square inches.) Why? Where does the extra square inch come from? The solution is
at the end of the chapterno fair jumping ahead! Draw the puzzle in TurboCAD to see the
solution.

New Features in This Exercise

The following new features and procedures will be introduced in this exercise:

Change Paper scale and display

Change the on-screen view
Window selection of objects

Create a group from individual objects

Creating, saving and using symbols
Flipping objects
Moving an objects reference point

Preparation for Drawing

The standard presentation of the desktop and settings in TurboCAD may not always be right
for a particular project. As you become more familiar with TurboCAD and start using it for
your own work, you will need to consider the layout of the screen and the status of some of
the programs basic settings for each project. Many times you can use the default screen
layout and settings, but sometimes you will want to make changes before you draw.
For this exercise, you will modify the TurboCAD defaults for paper size, drawing scale and
groups.
By asking yourself questions about the project you wish to undertake, you will better know
which settings need to be changed, if any. In the case of our puzzle, you may be wondering
when to change the paper space.
Consider what needs to be done. You need enough room to draw the two polygons and then
to place four copies of each polygon (two for the square, two for the rectangle) on-screen at

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The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

the same time. You could draw outside the boundaries of the Paper, but you would lose the
ability to snap to the grid. And, you might find drawing outside the boundaries of the Paper
distracting, even if you used an alternate means of drawing (such as typing coordinates or
distances, as demonstrated in Chapter Two.) A simple solution is to increase the size of the
Paper.
The reasons for modifying the Create Group default settings will be explained below, when
the Create Group command is introduced.

Modify Paper Space

The following steps prepare the drawing area for the project.
1.

Select Menu: Tools|Drawing Setup. A dialog will appear. Select the Units and Scale
tab if it is not already selected.

Drawing Setup dialog

2.
3.
4.

24

In the Scale section, click the selection arrow for Scale. Click on 6 = 1-0 (Half
Size) as displayed above.
Make sure Use Paper Space Coordinates is not selected. Click on OK.
Select Menu: Tools|Program Setup. A dialog will appear. Select the Desktop tab if it
is not already selected.

Chapter 3 The First Law of CAD

Program Setup dialog

5.

Deselect both Paper Display settings (Show Margins and Show Background), as
illustrated above. Click OK.

Draw Polygon A
Draw the first piece of the geometry puzzle.
1.

Click the Zoom Extents tool in the View toolbar (right side of screen).

Zoom Extents tool icon

2.

Click on Grid in the Snaps toolbar (left side of screen).

Grid Snap tool icon

3.

Click on Single Line in the Insert Entity toolbar (top of screen).

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The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

Single Line tool icon

4.
5.

Move the drawing cursor to the top left portion of the paper, and click on a grid
intersection to start a line.
Using the grid and Edit Bar as a reference, draw a 5 line straight down the sheet.
Each thicker blue line of the grid represents a distance of 1.

Drawing the first line

6.
7.

26

Draw the next line by clicking where the first line ended, moving 5 to the right, and
clicking to finish the line.
Move the drawing cursor back to the beginning of the first line. Click to start a new
line. Move the cursor 3 to the right, and click to finish the line.

Chapter 3 The First Law of CAD

Second and third lines drawn

8.

Draw a fourth line to close the polygon.

Selecting Objects
The next step is to identify the four lines as a single group. This will make it possible to
deal with the objects as a single polygon instead of four individual lines.
The first step in creating a group is to select the objects to become members of the group.
The Select tool (in the Insert Entity toolbar) is used to select the objects. The drawing cursor
changes to a selection arrow cursor (similar to the selection cursor used in many other
Windows programs). When you click on the object to be selected, it is highlighted on
screen. The object is now in Select Edit mode.
drag to scale height

reference point

rotation handle

drag to scale width

Elements displayed in Select Edit mode

drag to scale
height
and
width

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The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

In Select Edit mode, the selected objects are bounded by a selection rectangle that has
handles on each corner and at the midpoint of each side. At the center of the selection
rectangle is the reference point, which is connected to the rotation handle, located just
outside of the selection rectangle.

TIP: You can get information about a selected object by choosing Menu: View|Selection Info.

TIP: Dragging by the reference point is technically considered OLE Drag and Drop. OLE is a
Windows term that means Object Linking and Embedding. When you drag by the reference
point, you can not only drag the object across the drawing screen, but to another TurboCAD
drawing or to another Windows program that supports OLE in Client mode.

There are three ways to move a selected object: picking it up by its reference point,
dragging it by its reference point, and simple dragging (dragging by any point within the
selection rectangle other than the reference point).

In most cases, the most convenient and accurate way to move a selected object is to click
on the reference point, then define a new location for the reference point. The object moves
with the reference point. If a Snap command is active, the reference point will snap to an
endpoint (or a grid point, etc.) as required.
An advanced form of this technique is available (and will be used shortly): the reference
point is relocated on the selected object before the object is moved. This feature will come
in handy when you organize the polygons to form the square and the rectangle.
1.

Click on the Select tool in the Insert Entity toolbar.

Select tool icon

2.

Move the cursor to a location above and left of the polygon. Click and drag, creating
a dotted-line selection window. Drag the cursor down and right, drawing the window
completely around the polygon.

A selection window drawn around the polygon

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Chapter 3 The First Law of CAD

Creating Groups
The Menu: Format|Create Group command is used to combine selected objects into a group.
The drawing objects can be entities such as lines and circles, non-geometric objects inserted
into the drawing, or other groups. TurboCAD treats a group as a single object for the
purposes of selecting and editing. Identifying each polygon as a group will make it easier to
rotate, flip, and place the polygons to form the square and rectangle. The procedure will
mimic the way the square and rectangle are created by hand using cutouts.
From the menu, select Tools|Groups and Blocks to access the Groups and Blocks dialog.

Groups and Blocks dialog

Each group you designate in a drawing can be named. This is a handy feature when creating
a complicated drawing with many groups. Each group can be named individually, or the
Group Name Prefix command can generate group names. If, for example, we were creating
12 polygons instead of two, the Group Name Prefix could be set to Poly. The first group to
be named would be Poly 1, the second would be Poly 2, and so on. The @ symbol in the
group name prefix (see Groups and Blocks dialog, above) is the placeholder for the number
to be assigned by TurboCAD.
If you intend to name each group you create, but want to assign the names yourself, check

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The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

the Prompt For Name item in the Groups dialog. When this feature is active, TurboCAD
will prompt you for a name every time you create a group. You can accept the name
TurboCAD provides or change it.
Groups can be named; so can symbols (introduced in the next section) and blocks
(introduced in Chapter Nine). In this exercise we will name the objects only when they are
saved as symbols, to avoid redundancy.
1.
2.

3.

With the polygon selected, summon the Create Group dialog with the Tools|Groups
and Blocks menu command.
Deselect both the Generate Group Names and the Prompt For Name options, as
illustrated in the Program Setup|Groups and Blocks dialog above. Click OK to
finish.
Select Menu: Format|Create Group. The selection rectangle and the objects will
appear to blink. There is no other visible sign that the command has been
performed.

If you want to test that the lines of the polygon are now a group, click anywhere in the
drawing area to deselect the polygon, then click on any line of the polygon. All four lines
will highlight, and one selection rectangle will appear.

Creating and Using Symbols

A symbol is a pre-drawn shape available for repeated use. Symbols are one of the most
important and versatile features of any CAD program. They are also known as blocks or
components in other CAD products. Symbols are used to depict objects that will be used
over and over, from drawing to drawing. Architects, for example, will purchase and/or
create symbols to represent design elements such as doors, windows and furnishings.
Mechanical engineers and machinists use symbols to represent screws, bolts, and other
common items.
Collections of symbols are known as symbol libraries. Symbol libraries make it easy to use
any of the thousands of standard drawing components available for TurboCAD or
TurboCAD Designer. Any Windows folder that contains TurboCAD drawings can be used
as a symbol library.
Symbols help the CAD user obey The First Law of CAD:
Never draw the same object twice. If you find yourself drawing an object (or the same
object at a different scale) more than once, save it as a symbol or a block. The sooner the
better.
There are times when you should save repeated objects as symbols, and times when they
should be saved as blocks. A complete discussion of this topic is found in Chapter Nine.
In most CAD programs, symbols behave as one object, the way a group does. In
TurboCAD, this is also true, with one big if. TurboCAD symbols will behave as a single
object if the entities that make up the symbol were linked as a group before it became a

30

Chapter 3 The First Law of CAD

symbol. If the entities in the symbol were not grouped before being saved as a symbol, then
any copy of that symbol placed into a drawing will be a collection of independent entities.
Since it is possible to explode a group (change it from one object back into components),
it is generally better to group entities before saving them as a symbol.
TurboCAD for Windows and TurboCAD Designer are special among CAD programs in that
any saved drawing can be used as a symbol. In other CAD programs, symbols are created
and saved as a separate type of file. This feature provides extra flexibility, because you can
insert an entire drawing as a symbol if needed.
IMSI, the publisher of TurboCAD, sells collections of symbols for the most common
drafting applications. If you intend to use TurboCAD professionally and wish to save time
and money, you should consider purchasing one or several ready-made symbol libraries.
Why reinvent the wheel? To get you started, some symbols have been included with
TurboCAD.

Saving the First Polygon as a Symbol

Any TurboCAD drawing can be a symbol. To create your own symbol library, all you really
need to do is save all the drawings that comprise the library into a single Windows folder.
When you want to create a new symbol on-the-fly, as we do in the this exercise, you can
drag objects from a drawing into the Symbol palette. This gives you the added flexibility of
saving only part of an existing drawing as a symbol.
Each symbol in the library appears in the palette, with a thumbnail view of each object. If
you have several libraries of symbols (each stored in a separate folder or subdirectory), you
can add or delete them from the symbol library palette with the Menu: Tools|Symbol
Library command.

A typical symbol library palette, with several symbols visible

1.

If the first polygon is not selected, click on it with the Select tool.

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The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

2.

Select the Menu: View|Symbol Library command. The symbol library palette appears
on-screen. Reposition it, if you like, as you would any floating window or palette in
Windows, by dragging its title bar.

An empty symbol library palette next to the selected polygon

3.

4.
5.
6.

Click and hold on the polygons reference point (the circle in the middle of the
selection rectangle) until the cursor changes to a four-directional pointer. Drag the
polygon into the open area of the palette and release the mouse button.
The Save Symbol As dialog appears.
Click on File Name and type Puzl-A.
Click on the Save button. The Summary Info dialog will appear.

The Summary Info dialog, with details filled in

7.

32

Click on the text box for each section, typing the following information:
Title: Puzzle Piece A

Chapter 3 The First Law of CAD

8.
9.

Subject: Four-sided geometry puzzle piece

Author: (Your name)
Keywords: Geometry puzzle tutorial Chapter 3
Comments: Leave blank or fill in as you wish
Under Save Preview Graphics with Drawing, make sure Metafile is selected.
Click the OK button to save. The dialog disappears, and the symbol appears in the
symbol library palette.

Symbol library palette showing Puzzle Piece A symbol

TIP: When moving and rotating objects in TurboCAD, sometimes stray bits of color will stay on
the screen after an object moves. You can press function key <F5> at any time to refresh the
screen and remove these stray pixels. You may also click the redraw button on the Zoom
toolbar.

Creating the Second Puzzle Piece

Follow the steps below to draw, group, and save the second puzzle piece as a symbol.
1.

Click on the Single Line tool in the Insert Entity toolbar.

Single Line tool icon

2.

Make sure the Grid tool is selected in the Snaps toolbar.

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The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

Grid Snap tool icon

3.

In an open area of the drawing screen (move the symbol library pallet and/or use the
scroll bars if necessary), click on a grid intersection and draw a line 3 straight down
(-90 degrees in the Edit Bar).

First line of second puzzle piece is a 3" vertical line

4.
5.

Connecting to the bottom of the first line, draw a horizontal line 8 long.
Draw a third line that closes the polygon, creating a triangle.

Completed triangle next to first polygon

6.
7.

Click on the Select tool icon, and draw a selection window around the triangle.
Select Menu: Format|Create Group. The lines of the triangle are now one group.

8.

Select the reference point, holding down the mouse button until the four-directional
pointer appears. Drag the triangle/group into the symbol library palette.
The Save Symbol As dialog appears.

9.

34

Chapter 3 The First Law of CAD

Save Symbol As dialog

10. Type Puzl-B as the file name, and click on the save button.
11. The Summary Info dialog will appear.

Summary Info dialog for Puzzle Piece B

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The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

12. Click on the text box for each section, typing the following information:
Title: Puzzle Piece B
Subject: Four-sided geometry puzzle
Author: (Your name)
Keywords: Geometry puzzle tutorial Chapter 3
Comments: Leave blank or fill in as you wish
13. Under Save Preview Graphics with Drawing, make sure Metafile is selected.
14. Click the OK button to save. The dialog disappears, and the symbol appears in the
symbol library palette. Press <F5> to refresh the screen if necessary.

Revised symbol library palette showing both puzzle pieces

Assembling the Puzzle

The pieces have been defined, now it is time to assemble the puzzle and look for the
solution to the mystery of the extra square inch. In the steps below, you will start by erasing
the objects now on screen, then place the symbols as needed to form the complete puzzle.
When a symbol is placed in a drawing, it appears highlighted with a selection rectangle. The
reference point is the symbols handle, and can be used to place the symbol accurately. If
any snap command is active, the reference point will be the part of the symbol that snaps
into position. To simplify accurate placement, the reference point will be moved from the
center to a corner on each piece. The corners will line up with the grid, allowing for a tight,
accurate fitand to make sure theres no cheating!

Place the First Puzzle Piece

1.
2.

36

The Select tool should still be active. If not, click on the Select tool in the Insert
Entity toolbar.
Draw a selection window around both puzzle pieces on the Paper. When selected,
press the <Delete> key.

Chapter 3 The First Law of CAD

3.
4.

5.

Drag and drop a copy of Puzzle Piece A (from the symbol library palette) into the
drawing.
Press the <Ctrl> key and move the selection cursor onto the reference point. When
the selection arrow changes to a hand holding a reference point, click the mouse
button to pick up the reference point.
Move the hand cursor to the upper left corner of the polygon, and click directly on
the corner. The reference point will move to this new location.

Before-and-after example of moving the reference point

<Ctrl>-Click on reference point

6.

7.

reposition reference point

using
snaptomode
Keep the cursor on the reference point, and it
willany
change
the four-directional

pointer. Click to select the reference point, move the cursor to a point on a grid
intersection in the top left portion of the screen and click again to place the reference
point.
Click anywhere on the Paper to deselect the symbol. Press <F5> to refresh the screen
if necessary.

Rotating a Selection
Next a second copy of Puzzle Piece A is placed in the drawing. This second copy needs to
be turned upside down before being placed next to the first piece. A rotation command will
be used in this example.
An object must be selected before it can be rotated. The selected object always rotates
around the reference point. Results of a rotation command will vary depending on the
location of the reference point. If the reference point is in the center of the object, the object
will stay in the same relative location, but spin around the reference point. If the reference
point is on a corner, the entire object will rotate on that corner, in effect moving the object
to a different location.
For a practical example of the importance of the reference point, place a pencil on a desk.
Hold it in the middle with thumb and finger and turn it 90 degrees. Keep thumb and finger

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The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

pressed against the desk as you turn the pencil. Notice how the center of the pencil stays in
the same location. Now hold one end of the pencil and again turn it 90 degrees. Be sure to
keep thumb and finger pressed against the desk. This time the pencil seems to jump to a new
location.

TIP: Because rotation is always in relation to the reference point, some interesting effects are
possible. The reference point can be moved to a location away from the object, and then
rotated. For example, you could use the Snap to Arc Center command to locate a reference
point at the center of a circle, then orbit the selection around that point.
TIP: To restore the reference point to its original location, deselect and reselect the object.

Place and Rotate the Second Puzzle Piece

1.
2.
3.

The Select tool should still be active. If not, click on the Select tool in the Insert
Entity toolbar.
Drag and drop a copy of Puzzle Piece A (from the symbol library palette) into the
drawing, to the right of the first piece.
Highlight 0 in the Rotation field of the Edit Bar by pressing <Tab> twice. Type 180
and press <Enter>.

Edit bar shows 180 degrees in the rotation field

4.

5.

38

Press the <Ctrl> key and move the selection cursor on to the reference point at the
center of the symbol. When the cursor changes to the hand, click on the reference
point.
Move the hand cursor to the upper left corner of the polygon, and click directly on
the corner. The reference point will move to this new location.

Chapter 3 The First Law of CAD

The reference point has been moved to the upper left corner

6.

7.

Keep the cursor on the reference point, and it will change to the four-directional
pointer. Drag and drop the reference point onto the top right corner of the first
symbol.
Click anywhere on the Paper to deselect the symbol. Press <F5> to refresh the screen
if necessary.

Two copies of Puzzle Piece A placed side by side

Place the First Triangle

The first of two triangles (Puzzle Piece B) must now be placed into position. No rotation is
required.
1.
2.
3.
4.

The Select tool should still be active. If not, click on the Select tool in the Insert
Entity toolbar.
Drag and drop a copy of Puzzle Piece B (from the symbol library palette) into the
drawing, below the first two pieces.
Press the <Ctrl> key and move the selection cursor on to the reference point at the center
of the symbol. When the cursor changes to the hand, click on the reference point.
Move the hand cursor to the upper left corner of the symbol, and click directly on the
corner. The reference point will move to this new location.

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The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

The reference point has been moved to the upper left corner of the triangle

5.

6.

Keep the cursor on the reference point, and it will change to the four-directional
pointer. Drag and drop the reference point onto the lower left corner of the first
symbol pair.
Click anywhere on the Paper to deselect the symbol. Press <F5> to refresh the screen
if necessary.

Three pieces of the square version of the puzzle are now in place

Complete the Square

One more triangle, and the square is completed. This fourth piece must be rotated 180
degrees, using the same rotation technique as before.
1.
2.
3.
4.

40

The Select tool should still be active. If not, click on the Select tool in the Insert
Entity toolbar.
Drag and drop a copy of Puzzle Piece B (from the symbol library palette) into the
drawing, to the right of the first three pieces.
Highlight 0 in the Rotation field of the Edit Bar. Type 180 and press <Enter>.
Press the <Ctrl> key and move the selection cursor on to the reference point at the
center of the symbol. When the cursor changes to the hand, click on the reference
point.

Chapter 3 The First Law of CAD

5.

Move the hand cursor to the upper left corner of the triangle (which is also the upper
left corner of the selection rectangle), and click directly on the corner. The reference
point will move to this new location.

Move the reference point to the upper left corner of the triangle

6.

7.

Keep the cursor on the reference point, and it will change to the four-directional
pointer. Drag and drop the reference point onto the same location used to place the
first trianglethe lower left corner of the first symbol pair.
Click anywhere on the Paper to deselect the symbol. Press <F5> to refresh the screen
if necessary. The square puzzle is completed.

The completed square puzzle

Assemble the Rectangle Puzzle

Now comes the interesting part. When the four pieces are organized into a square, they
cover 64 square inches. But when they are organized into a rectangle, they appear to cover
65 square inches. If you dont already know the reason behind this seemingly paradoxical
situation, it will soon become visible.
If you took the time to create this puzzle from pieces of paper, you know that to form the
rectangle you have to turn over the two triangles in addition to rotating them. Since it isnt
possible to pick up and turn over the triangles in our drawing, we need another technique.
The hard way would be to draw another symbol. A slightly easier way would be to Mirror

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The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

Copy the triangle (creating a mirror image), and erase the original. But the easiest way of all
involves tricking TurboCAD into changing the scale of the triangle without changing the
size.

Positive and Negative Scale

Normally the X Scale and Y Scale fields in the Edit Bar are used to change the size of an
object. Scale values of less than one reduce the size of an object; scale values greater than
one increase the size. A scale of .5 reduces an object to one-half its original size; a scale of
2 doubles the size of an object. To change the size of an object proportionally, both the X
and Y scales must be changed equally.
By selecting a scale of negative one (-1) for either the X or Y dimension, the scale command
can flip an object, using either a horizontal (X) or vertical (Y) axis.
To visualize how flipping an object with the scale command works, go back to the pencil on
the desk. Lay the pencil horizontally. Hold the left end against the desk, and lift the right
end up and flip it over, keeping the left end in position. This is the equivalent of setting the
X (horizontal) scale to -1. Changing the orientation from positive to negative points the
object in a reverse direction. Keeping the scale factor at 1 means the object maintains its
original size.
To flip an object right to left, change the X scale to -1. To flip an object bottom to top,
change the Y scale to -1. Both the X and Y scales can be changed to -1 if necessary.

Positive and Negative Rotation

The two copies of the four-sided polygon required to assemble the rectangle need to be
rotated, not flipped. In the exercise above, objects were rotated 180 degrees, one-half the
distance around a circle. It did not matter if the object rotated to the left or the right
(counterclockwise or clockwise). But this time the required rotation is only 90 degrees, so
the direction of rotation becomes important.
By default, rotation in TurboCAD is counterclockwise. To rotate an object clockwise, type a
negative value for the rotation.

TIP: In most CAD programs, positive numbers mean counterclockwise rotation, negative
numbers mean clockwise rotation, and that is that. But it is possible in TurboCAD to change
the positive direction of rotation, in effect swapping clockwise movement for counterclockwise.
Use the Angle property of the Drawing Setup dialog (Menu: Tools|Angle) to make this change.

Place the First Section of the Rectangle Puzzle

1.

42

Use the scroll bars and move the symbol library palette if necessary to gain room to
assemble the rectangle puzzle below the square.

Chapter 3 The First Law of CAD

2.
3.

Drag a copy of Puzzle Piece A onto the Paper, below the square puzzle.
Select the value in the Rotation Field (Edit Bar) and type -90 to rotate the selected
symbol 90 degrees clockwise.

A value of -90 in the Rotation Field of the Edit Bar

4.

Press the <Ctrl> key and move the cursor onto the reference point of the selection
rectangle. When the cursor changes to a hand, click on the reference point.

5.

Move the hand cursor to the lower left corner of the selection rectangle, and click
directly on the corner. The reference point will move to this new location.

Reference point on lower left corner

6.
7.

Keep the cursor on the reference point, and it will change to the four-directional
pointer. Drag and drop the reference point onto a grid intersection.
Click anywhere on the Paper to deselect the symbol. Press <F5> to refresh the screen
if necessary.

Place the Second Section of the Rectangle Puzzle

1.
2.

Drag a copy of Puzzle Piece B (triangle) onto the Paper.

Select the value in the Y Scale Field (Edit Bar) and type -1 to flip the selected symbol
vertically. The hypotenuse is now the bottom of the triangle, not the top.

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The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

Using a value of -1 in the Y Scale field to flip the triangle

3.
4.

Press the <Ctrl> key and move the cursor onto the reference point of the selection
rectangle. When the cursor changes to a hand, click on the reference point.
Move the hand cursor to the upper left corner of the selection rectangle, and click
directly on the corner. The reference point will move to this new location.

Reference point on upper left corner of triangle

5.

6.

Keep the cursor on the reference point, and it will change to the four-directional
pointer. Drag and drop the reference point onto the upper right corner of the
previously placed (Piece A) object.
Click anywhere on the Paper to deselect the symbol. Press <F5> to refresh the screen
if necessary.

The first two pieces of the rectangle puzzle

Place Another Triangle

1.
2.

44

Drag a copy of Puzzle Piece B (triangle) onto the Paper, below the last two objects
placed.
Select the value in the X Scale Field (Edit Bar) and type -1 to flip the selected
symbol horizontally. The hypotenuse now faces to the upper left, not the upper right.

Chapter 3 The First Law of CAD

3.
4.

Press the <Ctrl> key and move the cursor onto the reference point of the selection
rectangle. When the cursor changes to a hand, click on the reference point.
Move the hand cursor to the lower left corner of the selection rectangle, and click
directly on the corner. The reference point will move to this new location.

Reference point on lower left corner

5.

Keep the cursor on the reference point, and it will change to the four-directional
pointer. Drag and drop the reference point onto the lower left corner of the four-sided
polygon.

Correct placement for the latest triangle: notice the gap starting to form

6.

Click anywhere on the Paper to deselect the symbol. Press <F5> to refresh the screen
if necessary.

Place the Final Section of the Rectangle Puzzle

1.
2.

Drag a copy of Puzzle Piece A (polygon) onto the Paper.

Select the value in the Rotation Field (Edit Bar) and type 90 <Enter> to rotate the
selected symbol counterclockwise.

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The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

Rotate the polygon 90 degrees

3.
4.

Press the <Ctrl> key and move the cursor onto the reference point of the selection
rectangle. When the cursor changes to a hand, click on the reference point.
Move the hand cursor to the upper right corner of the selection rectangle, and click
directly on the corner. The reference point will move to this new location.

Reference point on upper right corner of polygon

5.

Keep the cursor on the reference point, and it will change to the four-directional
pointer. Drag and drop the reference point onto the upper right corner of the existing
group of puzzle pieces. This will join the two corners at a grid intersection.

6.

Click anywhere on the Paper to deselect the symbol. Press <F5> to refresh the screen
if necessary.

Correct placement for the final piece

46

Chapter 3 The First Law of CAD

The Solution
Compare the square and the rectangle. Do you see the gap in the middle of the rectangle?
You can measure that space, if you like. Use the multiline tool and Snap Vertex, and draw a
line around the space. Use Local Menu|Close to finish. Then select the multiline and
execute Menu: View|Selection Info. The area will be equal to 1. Multiplying the sides of the
object to calculate square inches yielded 64 square inches for the square, because the
adjoining sides of the objects meet at all points. But the same process yielded a product of
65 square inches for the rectangle, because the adjoining sides do not meet at all points, and
an extra square inch is trapped inside.
Doing this exercise on paper isnt precise enough to notice the 1-square-inch gap. Using a
paint-type program to sketch the problem would have been no better. But in CAD the
solution is obvious.

Moving On
While you may never need to draw this geometric puzzle again, the techniques and
commands used in this chapter are important ones. To review, this chapter covered:
changing Paper scale and display; changing the on-screen view; window selection of
objects; creating groups; creating and using symbols; rotating objects; flipping objects using
negative scale references; and moving an objects reference point.

47

4
Keeping Design Simple
Draw, Trim, Mirror . . . Voila!
The adjective simple can be used in a derogatory sense, but most simple things hold great
promise. Simple directions on how to drive to a friends house will ensure success. Simple
toys allow for greater imaginative input. Simple software products are more likely to be
used than complex ones.
Simplicity in the realm of CAD means finding ways to create designs quickly and easily.
The First Law of CAD (never draw the same thing twice), is a reflection of the need to keep
things simple. The project in this chapter is a simple design. The techniques used to create it
are simple. You only need to draw three circles and six lines. The Trim and Mirror
commands make quick work of completing the design as you leapfrog quickly from a few
lines to a complete project.
In this chapter you will draw a tape reel cartridge. There are three sections: the storage
barrel, the exposure plate, and the take-up reel. Both the storage barrel and the take-up reel
have gear teeth that fit over spindles. The storage barrel and the take-up reel are identical in
size, giving the cartridge a symmetrical look.

Project for this chapter: tape cartridge

The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

The Design Environment

When starting a new project you need to start with two planning steps. The first is an
evaluation of the design, to gain ideas on how to best draw your project. This evaluation
leads to the second step, organizing TurboCAD to suit the requirements of the design.
TurboCAD offers a wide degree of flexibility in setting up the drawing environment. By
drawing environment, we mean all the options and settings available in the program, as well
as the interface (how the program presents itself to the user).
In the last chapter, attention was given to the settings related to groups and Paper space.
This was an example of organizing the CAD program based on the needs of the project. In
this chapter the Paper will again be adjusted, including the grid. The display of distances
and coordinates will also be changed.
Most drawing environment settings are found in the Options menu, in one of two dialogs.
Program Setup and Drawing Setup were both used previously, and will be used again in this
chapter. The drawing environment is not to be confused with properties, which refers to the
characteristics of objects (to be covered in detail in Chapter Nine). A related topic is
customization of the desktop, covered in Chapter 13.
Start this project by adjusting the scale, the units, the grid, and the presentation of the Paper.

Adjust Drawing Settings

1.
2.
3.

50

Launch TurboCAD and start a New drawing. Accept the Normal template.
Select Menu: Options|Units and Scale dialog.
Under Units in Work Space change Format to Fractional, make sure Show All
Units is checked, and set Precision to 4.

Chapter 4 Keeping Design Simple

Grid and Advanced Grid dialogs, with settings as listed in the text

When fractions are used for coordinates and measurements, you must establish the level of
precision. A Precision setting of 4 allows TurboCAD to identify distances as small as
1/16". A Precision setting of 8 would allow the program to display distances and locations
down to 1/256"; a Precision setting of 2 would only display distances in 1/2" increments.
4.
5.
6.

Click on the Grid tab.

Highlight the value for X Spacing and type 1/8 in.
Highlight the value for Y Spacing and type 1/8 in.

7.
8.
9.
10.
11.

Make sure Show Grid is checked.

Click the Advanced Grid tab.
Under Frequency set both X and Y to 1.
Under both Minor X and Minor Y, set Divisions to 8.
Click OK.

Spacing sets the distance between grid lines. Divisions sets how many minor grid spaces (not
the lines that define the spaces) appear between each major line. By setting Spacing at 1/8"
and Divisions at 8, the distance between each minor grid line (the lighter lines) will be 1/8"
and the distance between each major grid line (the heavier lines) will be 1". Frequency
determines how visible grid lines alternate with invisible grid lines. If Spacing were
still 1/8" but frequency was 4, there would be invisible grid lines on the sheet. The Grid
Snap command will snap to any grid point, visible or not.

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The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

Blue is the default color scheme of the grid. You can change the colors of both the major and
minor grid lines using the Colors buttons in the Grid dialog. When you select either option, a
color wheel appears. The scroll bar to the right of the color wheel controls relative color
brightness. To change a color, click the desired shade on the color wheel.

Major color wheel

12. Select Menu: Options|Program Setup. Click on the Desktop tab.

13. In the Paper Display box, make sure both Show Margins and Show Background are
checked.
14. Click OK.

Desktop dialog in Program Settings

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Chapter 4 Keeping Design Simple

Draw Three Circles

Each side of the cartridge consists of three circles. These will be drawn using the grid and
the Coordinate Display as references, to make sure they are the right size.
TurboCAD offers seven ways to make a circle, each available from a button in the fly-out
toolbar. The Ellipse tools are also on this fly-out.
Center and Point
Concentric
Double Point
Tangent to Arc
Tangent to Line
Triple Point
Tangent to Three Arcs
Ellipse
Rotated Ellipse
Fixed Ratio Ellipse

Circle/Ellipse fly-out toolbar

Heres how each tool works:

Tool
Center and Point

Action
Specify a center point and a radius

Concentric

Draw circles that share the same endpoint

Double Point
Tan to Arc

Define two opposite points to establish the diameter

Draw a circle tangent to an arc or another circle

Tan to Line

Draw a circle tangent to a line

Triple Point
Tangent to 3 Arcs

Specify three points to establish the circumference

Draw a circle tangent to three existing arcs or circles

Ellipse

Define a boundary rectangle to set width and height

Rotated Ellipse

Draw an ellipse rotated at any angle

Fixed Ratio Ellipse

Specify the ratio of the major axis length to the minor axis length

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The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

In this exercise only the Concentric circle tool will be used.
1.

Select the Grid Snap tool and the Magnetic Point tool in the Snaps toolbar (left side
of screen).

2.
3.

Select the Zoom Window tool in the Views toolbar.

Drag a selection window around the top left quarter of the paper. The screen will
redraw with a close-up view of this area.

4.

To start the first circle, select the Concentric Circle tool (as shown above). Click on
the intersection of two major grid lines found at X 2" Y 6". Refer to the Coordinate
Display at the bottom of the screen to help you find the right location.
Move the cursor up 1/4" (two grid lines) and click at X 2" Y 6 1/4" to finish the
innermost circle as illustrated below.
Move the cursor up 5/8", to X 2" Y 6 7/8". Click to place a second circle.
Move the cursor up 1/8" (to the next major grid line), and click at X 2" Y 7". Rightclick and choose Finish.

Grid Snap (left) and Magnetic Point

Zoom Window (left) and Concentric Circle

5.
6.
7.

Three circles placed using the on-screen grid and the Concentric Circle tool

Draw Gear Tooth

In the finished drawing there are five gear teeth on each side of the cartridge. Each tooth is
identical, so it is only necessary to draw one tooth; the others will be copied from the
original.

54

Chapter 4 Keeping Design Simple

The gear tooth will be drawn using a construction technique that takes advantage of the grid
to simplify placement of the lines. A new snap, Middle Point, will also be used. When
Middle Point is active, the exact midpoint of a line can be identified for use (to start or end a
line, place a copy, etc.)
A rectangle will be drawn, but only part of it will remain in the drawing. Rectangles and
other polygons are considered to be singular objects in TurboCAD, not a collection of
individual lines. To remove pieces of the rectangle, it will have to be exploded first, or
changed from a single entity to a collection of lines. The Menu: Format|Explode tool is used
for this purpose. Parts of some lines will be trimmed off as excess before the tooth is
finished, using the Menu: Modify|Object Trim tool.
This technique is only one of several approaches that could be used in TurboCAD to create
the desired elements. We use this approach here so that you may experience the integrated
use of drawing and editing tools.
1.

Use Zoom Window to get a close-up view of the innermost circle.

2.
3.

Select the Line tool from the Insert Entity toolbar (top of screen).
Click on the grid at X 1 7/8" Y 6 1/4" to start a line. This location is one minor grid
line left of a major grid line.
Move the cursor one grid line down and right, and click at X 2" Y 6 1/8".

4.

First line of gear tooth intersects inner circle

5.
6.

Start the second line at the end of the first line (X 2" Y 6 1/8").
Move the cursor up and right to X 2 1/8" Y 6 1/4" to finish the line.

Second line drawn

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The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

7.

Select Middle Point from the Snaps toolbar.

Middle Point Snap tool

8.

Click and hold on the Line tool until the fly-out toolbar appears. Select the Rectangle
tool.

Rectangle tool

9.

Click on the middle of the first line (the left line) at approximately X 1 15/16" Y 6 3/
16".

10. Move the cursor down to the Coordinate Fields Display at the bottom of the screen
(you can also press <Ctrl> <R>). Highlight the value in the X field. Type 2 1/16 in.
and press <Tab>.
11. The value in the Y field is now highlighted. Type 6 1/8 in. and press <Enter>. A
rectangle will be drawn.

The Coordinate Display shows the correct values for finishing the rectangle

Explode Rectangle

56

1.

Click on the Select tool.

2.
3.
4.

Click on the rectangle. A selection rectangle will appear.

Select the Menu: Format|Explode command.
Click anywhere on the Paper to deselect the rectangle.

Chapter 4 Keeping Design Simple

Trim and Delete Lines to Finish Tooth

This next section introduces the Object Trim command. It is used to cut off unwanted
portions of lines or other objects. Object Trim cuts one object using an intersecting object as
the cutting edge; the command does not allow you to cut away a portion of a solitary object.
To use the command, you first identify the cutting edge. This is the overlapping object that
will not be changed. Then you identify the object to be trimmed, clicking on the part of the
line (arc, etc.) that will be trimmed away.
You may want to glance back at the finished design to help you understand how lines will be
trimmed and deleted to finish the gear tooth.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

From the menu, select Modify|Object Trim.

The prompt at the bottom of the screen reads Define the cutting edge.
Click on the circle to identify it as the cutting edge. It will be highlighted.
The prompt reads Add cutting edge (Shift) or select object to trim.
Click on the left angled line, outside the circle, to trim it away
Click on the right angled line, outside the circle, to trim it away.

Before and after using Object Trim on the angled lines

7.

Press <Esc> to deselect the circle as the cutting edge. The Object Trim command is
still active, but you must now select a new cutting edge.
8. Click on the left side of the rectangle to select it as the cutting edge.
9. Press <Shift> and click on the right side of the rectangle. Now both sides are selected
as cutting edges.
10. Click on the left angled line inside the rectangle.
11. Click on the right angled line inside the rectangle.
12. Click on the Select tool to end Object Trim.
13. Click on the top line of the rectangle. Press <Delete>.

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The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

The lines inside the rectangle have been trimmed

Copy Tooth Around the Circle

The Fit Radial Copy tool will be used to make four new copies of the tooth, arrayed around
the inside of the small circle. It is one of eight copy commands in TurboCAD. The Mirror
command will be used later in this exercise; the others will be introduced later in the book.
Heres how each copy tool works:
Tool

Action

Linear Copy

Copy objects along a line (real or imagined) by stating the interval

between each copy.
Copy objects along an arc (real or imagined) by stating the angular
spacing between each copy and the rotation of each copy relative to
the previous copy.

Radial Copy

Array Copy

Copy objects in a two-dimensional pattern by stating the vertical

and horizontal spacing between objects.

Fit Linear Copy

Copy objects along a line by stating the total distance into which all
the copies will fit.

Fit Radial Copy

Copy objects along an arc (real or imagined) by stating the total

angular distance in which all the copies must fit and the rotation of
each copy relative to the previous copy.
Copy objects in a two-dimensional pattern by stating the dimension
of the rectangle into which they must fit.

Fit Array Copy

Mirror Copy

Create a mirror image of an object on the opposite side of a line that

you specify.

Vector Copy

Make a single copy of an object, specifying both the angle and

distance of the copy from the original
.

The difference between Radial Copy and Fit Radial Copy is that in Radial Copy you set the
distance (in degrees) between objects; in Fit Radial Copy you specify the total angular
distance (in degrees) for all objects, and TurboCAD will then determine the angular

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Chapter 4 Keeping Design Simple

distance between each copy.
With either command, TurboCAD counts the original as one of the objects. So the number
you want is actually the total number of objects required, not just the new copies required.
1.
2.

3.
4.
5.

Choose the Select tool and then right click (Local Menu) to turn off Open Window
mode. Only objects totally enclosed in a selection window will now be selected.
If necessary, use the Scroll Bars to adjust the view, so that the entire inner circle is
visible. Draw a selection window around the five lines of the gear tooth. The lines
will highlight and a selection rectangle will appear.
From the menu, select Edit|Copy Entities|Fit Radial.
A dotted-line circle appears on-screen. The prompt line reads Define the center of
the copy process.
Click on the grid intersection at the center of the circle (X 2" Y 6").

The rotation path and the angular distance appear as dotted lines when using the Fit Radial Copy command

6.
7.
8.

The prompt reads Define the angle to fit the copies in.
Move the cursor up to the Edit Bar. Highlight the value in Sets and type 5.
Highlight the value in Angle and type 360.

Edit bar with sets and angle fields filled in

9.

Press <Enter>. The tooth will be copied around the inside perimeter of the circle, for
a total of five copies.

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10. Click on the Select tool to end Fit Radial Copy.

New copies of the gear tooth have been placed around the circle using Fit Radial Copy

Draw the Exposure Plate

Two parallel lines extending from the top of the outer circles represent the exposure plate.
The Double Line tool will be used to draw the lines, then the Object Trim command will
graft the lines into the take-up reel.
Double Line is actually one of eight tools that can draw parallel lines as a single entity. The
eight tools are:
Tool

Action

Double Line Segment

Define two endpoints to draw a double line

Double Line Multiline

Double Line Polygon

Draw a series of connected double lines

Draw a double line polygon by providing the number of sides in the
polygon and the distance from the center to one corner.

Dbl. Line Irregular Polygon

Draw a double line irregular polygon a side at a time.

Double Line Rectangle

Dbl. Line Rotated Rectangle

Draw a horizontal double line rectangle.

Draw a double line rotated rectangle to any angle.

Perpendicular Double Line

Draw a double line perpendicular to an existing line.

Parallel Double Line

Draw a double line parallel to an existing line.

Double lines have special properties, or characteristics, that you must choose before use. A
double line dialog is available by right-clicking on a double line tool icon, or by selecting
Menu: Format|Properties.
In the Double Line dialog you can:

60

Set the distance between the two lines.

Decide if the endpoints of the double line are to be open or closed (capped). Each

Chapter 4 Keeping Design Simple

endpoint can be set individually.

Set the alignment of the double line. The options are left, right or center. If you
choose left align, for example, the points you click on to identify the double line will
become the left side. If you wanted a double line to straddle a series of points, you
would choose Center Alignment.

To determine which is the left and which is the right side of a double line, imagine yourself
standing on the starting point of the line, facing the endpoint. No matter which way you
rotate the line, the right side remains on your right. This is similar to the terms port and
starboard which define directions relative to the fore and aft of a ship. The critical thing is
to know the direction in which the double line is drawn.
In the next sequence you will graft a double line to the outer circle. You will set the
properties on the fly using the Local Menu (right click of the mouse on the double line
tool). It is not necessary to explode the double line before using Object Trim to connect the
line to the circle.
1.

Click on Zoom Full View in the View toolbar.

Zoom full view

2.

3.

Click on Zoom Window in the View toolbar. Starting at the margin border in the
upper left corner of the Paper, drag a selection window around the drawing that is six
major grid squares wide and three major grid squares deep.
Click on Double Line in the Insert Entity toolbar.

Double line tool

4.
5.
6.
7.

Right-click on the Double Line tool to summon the Properties dialog. Click on the
Double Line tab.
Highlight the value in the Separation field and type 1/8 in.
In the Reference section, click on the radio button for Left.
Click on OK.

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Double Line properties dialog

8.
9.

Move cursor to the top of the outermost circle. Click on the grid intersection at X 2"
Y 7" to start the double line.
Move the cursor right 1 1/2" and click on the grid intersection at X 3 1/2" Y 7" to
finish the line.

Double line drawn at top of circle

Graft Double Line to Circles

Use Object Trim to integrate the new double line into the top of the take-up reel.
1.
2.
3.
4.

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From the menu, select Modify|Object Trim.

The prompt reads Define the cutting edge. Click on the double line.
Click on the portion of the outer circle that passes between the double lines.
Press <Esc> to deselect the double lines as the cutting edge.

Chapter 4 Keeping Design Simple

The portion of the outer circle in between the two double lines has been trimmed away

5.
6.
7.

Object Trim is still active, awaiting selection of a new cutting edge. Click on the
outer circle to select it as the cutting edge.
Click on the bottom double line inside the outer circle.
Click on the Select tool to end Object Trim.

Trimming of double line and circles is completed

Mirror Copy to Finish Cartridge

One last step remains; to complete the object by creating a mirror image copy of the
existing objects. Use the Mirror Copy tool whenever you need to create a mirror image of an
object. The copy is placed using a line that you identify. If the line is a distance from the
original, the copy will be the same distance away from the line on the opposite side.
Before you can mirror copy you will have to explode the double lines. If not, when you use
Mirror Copy the new double lines will be mirrored both vertically and horizontally, giving
an effect of flipping the double lines above the circle. (This happens because the double line
is recorded as having a left-to-right orientation, which remains true after the Mirror
Copy.) Try the sequence below without exploding first, if you like, to see this for yourself.
Use the Undo tool to undo the wrong effect, and then explode the double lines before using
Mirror Copy again.
1.
2.

Click on the double lines with the Select tool.

Select Menu: Format|Explode. The double lines are now two individual lines.

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3.
4.
5.
6.

Draw a selection window around the entire drawing.

From the menu, select Edit|Copy Entities|Mirror.
The prompt reads Define the first point of the mirror.
Click on the bottom right reference point on the selection rectangle.

7.
8.

The prompt reads Define the second point of the mirror.

Click on the top right reference point on the selection rectangle.

Use the reference points on the right side of the selection rectangle to set the location of the mirror edge

9.

Click anywhere on the sheet to deselect objects and view the results of the mirror
copy command.

The completed cartridge

Looking for Design Technique Clues

It is quite common for experienced CAD users to integrate the use of drawing and editing
commands to quickly create complex objects. There are clues to look for as you consider
your project, clues that point to design shortcuts. Using the cartridge as an example, here are
the design clues and the techniques suggested by each clue.

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Chapter 4 Keeping Design Simple

The width of the tape path between reels, the width of the outer portion of each reel
and the distance between the outer portion and the inner wheels are proportional. The
grid spacing was set to match these proportions.
The circles on each take-up reel have a common center, which means they are
concentric. The use of the Concentric Center tool saved many keystrokes and mouse
clicks when compared to the other circle tools.
Drawing the first tooth at the top of the circle, centered on the (imagined) top-tobottom diameter line, made it easier to visualize the symmetrical nature of each
tooth.
The combination of single lines, a rectangle, and Object Trim to draw the first tooth
was one option; using Single Line Multiline was another. The line/rectangle/trim
sequence required less step-by-step planning, because the intersection of the two
single lines defined the bottom midpoint of the rectangle. In a reversal of an old
cliche, in this situation function followed form.
Once the first tooth was drawn correctly, Fit Radial Copy became the best tool for not
only drawing the rest of the teeth, but for drawing the correct spacing between teeth
without elaborate calculations. You could use Fit Radial Copy and the Undo tool to
test various patterns, in effect using TurboCAD for initial design as well as drafting.
The symmetrical nature of the completed cartridge suggests the use of Mirror Copy to
save steps. An alternative method would have been to save the left side as a block,
and then place the block using the flipping technique described in Chapter Three. But
blocks are best used when there will be repeated placements of an object; in this
drawing you would have only placed the block once. Plus, correctly placing the
flipped block would be more complicated than using Mirror Copy on the original.
Double Line was used to draw the exposure plate because of the way the bottom line
intersected the outer circle (before it was trimmed). Trimming is the generally the
easiest way to precisely connect a line to a circle when the line is not tangent or
perpendicular. If Single Lines were used to draw the exposure plate, it would be been
more complicated to draw the bottom line without using the Trim command.

Practice Makes Perfect

Try to practice the techniques presented in this chapter until they become routine. Object
Trim, Explode, and the various copy commands are the most common non-drawing tools
used in a CAD program. As you gain familiarity with them, they will become simple to use,
and their usefulness will become obvious in a variety of situations.

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66

5
The Designer View
The Power of Visual Feedback
Imagine yourself at a football game in a very large stadium. You have mid-field tickets,
about 40 rows up. Good seats, great view, right? Now imagine there are no yard lines, no
boundary lines anywhere on the field. From goal to goal, the field is solid green.
Kickoff time comeswhere does the referee place the ball? If the kick goes into the end
zone and is not returned, where is the 20-yard line? How will you know if a receiver runs
out of bounds? If play is near the end zone, how can you tell if the ball is placed on the oneyard line or the four-yard line? Will the referees have to drag a measuring tape out for every
play? Where would they measure from?
Fortunately, this is an imaginary game. Every real football stadium has yard markers and
boundary lines on the field. These elements provide context known as visual feedback.
Players, officials and fans can see whats going on, they can see where it happens, and they
dont have to constantly measure and compute distances. As the game progresses up and
down the field, a quick glance is enough to analyze and interpret all elements of the game
related to field position.
TurboCAD provides visual feedback, too. You have already been introduced to three
methods of visual feedback: the screen grid, the Paper, and the Coordinate Display. When
the screen grid is active, you have an immediate sense of the size of objects. Using the grid
as a guide, drawing objects on the screen is easier and more intuitive. Combine the visual
feedback of an on-screen grid with the accuracy offered by Grid Snap, and you already have
a drafting tool more useful than pencils and graph paper.
The grid and Grid Snap are only the beginning. TurboCAD provides visual feedback in
other ways. This chapter will explore the various aspects of visual feedback in TurboCAD
and how it relates to all other parts of the program. Concepts, tools and commands to be
covered in this chapter include:

Rubberbanding
Snaps
Magnetic Point

The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

Aperture
Ortho

The coordinate plane

Absolute, Relative, and Polar coordinates
Origin Point and Relocate Origin
Zoom and Redraw

The screen elements common to all Windows programs are also part of visual feedback in
TurboCAD. For help with such elements as scroll bars, menus, toolbars, selection arrows,
etc., refer to your Windows documentation.
The features discussed in this chapter are found in the Modes menu and the View menu.
This is the first of two chapters to cover visual feedback. More advanced features are
discussed in Chapter 13.

Rubberbanding
One of the most helpful visual feedback elements is called Rubberbanding. When you start
to draw a line or any other geometric object, after you place the start of the object, the line
(or circle, etc.) sticks to the cursor until you click to finish drawing the object. The ability to
see a line or other object extend from the cursor makes it easier to see how the object will fit
into the drawing. It may seem like a simple thing, but the lack of it would make drawing in
TurboCAD much less intuitive.

Snaps
Snaps were briefly defined in Chapter Two, and have been mentioned several times since. A
detailed discussion is now appropriate. Snap modes let you connect to exactly the kind of
location you need. If you need to connect to the end (vertex) of a line, use Snap Vertex. If
you need to connect to the midpoint of a line, use Snap Midpoint.
It is important to use snaps whenever possible for two reasons. The first is accuracy. Using
snaps to connect lines and other objects allows you to take full advantage of the accuracy
available in TurboCAD. Some new users, not realizing the importance of snaps, try to draw
by "just coming close" when connecting lines. When they use dimensioning tools, they are
surprised to find that objects in the drawing are not the exact sizes they should be.
The second reason to use snaps whenever possible is for efficiency. Snaps help you locate
the point you need quickly. Consider the difference between finding the midpoint of a line
by using Snap Midpoint, or by using a drafting construction technique. Using the snap, you
immediately connect to the exact midpoint. Using the construction method, you must draw
extra lines to find the exact same point.
You can define snap points that relate to objects, construction lines (covered in Chapter Six),
and the grid. All snap mode functions are similar: You first set the snap mode, then click on

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or near the object that you want to snap to. Rather than placing the object exactly where you
clicked the mouse, TurboCAD will place the object according to the snap mode in use. The
exact location chosen depends on the snap mode in use. You can, for example, snap to the
end of a line, the midpoint of a line, the center of a circle, or a point on the grid.
Here is a list of snaps and their functions in TurboCAD:
Tool

Action

No Snap

Connection is made to the exact location of the mouse click. No

Snap turns off any active snaps.

Snap to Vertex

Connect to the nearest end of a line segment, endpoint of an arc, or

corner of a polygon, multiline or text element.

Snap to Nearest On Graphic

Snap to Midpoint

Connect to the nearest point on any entity.

Connect to the midpoint of a line segment.

Snap to Arc Center

Connect to the center of an arc or circle.

Snap to Quadrant Point

Snap to Intersection

Connect to the nearest quadrant point (at 0, 90, 180, or 270 degrees)
on the circumference of a circle or arc.
Connect to the nearest intersection of two line segments.

Snap to Grid

Connect to the nearest grid point or intersection of grid lines.

Snaps and the Local Menu

You can change snap modes in four different ways. You can use the menu, the Snap toolbar,
the local menu, or with Single Entry Keyboard Equivalents (SEKEs). SEKEs are discussed
in Chapter 14. The local menu is available at any time while using TurboCAD by clicking
the right mouse button. The local menu is context-sensitive: The specific commands and
options available in the local menu change with the current activity. The concept of local
menu is to provide you with suggestions of possible commands appropriate to the current
activity. Not taking advantage of the local menu is like struggling to lift a heavy rock when
a champion weight lifter has offered to do it for you. Timing is everything, and the
programmers of TurboCAD have done a good job of choosing what commands and tools
should be in the local menu at any given time.
When you choose a snap from the menu or the Snap toolbar, the effect is the same: The snap
mode remains active until you reset it. The local menu is different. Use it for one shot
mode changes, or local snaps. This means that when you change snap modes in the local
menu, the snap you choose remains in effect only until you define the next point (finish
drawing the object, etc.). TurboCAD then switches back to the last mode you set in the
main menu or toolbar, or defaults to No Snap mode.
Local snap is useful because it lets you set the snap mode you use most frequently in the

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main menu or toolbar, then switch modes on the fly in the local menu as you draw. Many
users like to set Grid Snap as their default snap mode, for example. But the need may arise
to snap to a corner of a polygon not located on the grid. To do this, change the snap mode
temporarily to Vertex (endpoint) in the local menu and define the point on the polygon
corner. TurboCAD then automatically switches back to Grid Snap.

Combining Snap Modes

Some snap modes can be combined with one another, and some are mutually exclusive.
No Snap turns off all other snap modes. Snap Nearest on Graphic (which snaps to the
nearest point on any object) also turns off all other snap modes. Magnetic Point, defined
later in this chapter (and used in the previous chapter), stays on no matter which snap modes
are active.
The remaining snap modes all connect to a particular node (nodes are key points that define
the object geometrically), and they are not mutually exclusive. For example, Snap to Grid
and Snap Vertex can both be active at the same time. If both are on, and you click the mouse
while a grid point and a line segment are both very close, the point will snap to either an
endpoint of the line segment or to the grid point, whichever is closest to the mouse cursor.
For a more detailed discussion of this kind of situation, see Aperture later in this chapter.
The snap modes that can be used at the same time are all in the same section of the
Modes|Snaps submenu, and are displayed together in the Snaps toolbar. The No Snap tool
will not turn off Ortho Mode (defined later in this chapter). Exercises throughout the rest of
this book will introduce the various snaps not already used.

Magnetic Point
Magnetic Point visually identifies the location of snap points. The feature can be turned on
or off. The menu location is Modes|Snaps|Show Magnetic Point. A check mark appears in
the menu by the title when the feature is active. Its icon is located in the Snaps toolbar (left
side of the screen).

Magnetic Point tool icon

When this Magnetic Point is active, as you move the mouse cursor within a critical distance
from the snap point, the rubberband line will be attracted to the snap point, previewing its
exact location. In other words, Magnetic Point scouts ahead to find potential connections
that match the snap commands you have chosen. Unless you are using a slow computer, or
unless you are working on a very large drawing, it is probably useful to have this mode on
all the time.

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location of mouse
cursor

snap point

Rubber band attracted to a snap point

Aperture
The phrase a critical distance was used in the last paragraph to describe how Magnetic
Point assesses potential snaps. This critical distance between the point of the mouse click
and the snap point is called the snap aperture. You can think of the snap aperture as a circle
centered around the point of the mouse cursor. If a qualifying snap point is located within
the snap aperture at the time of the mouse click, your action will connect to that snap point.
If more than one object is located within the snap aperture, the connection will be made to
the closest snap point.
To display the snap aperture, select Menu: View|Aperture. The aperture appears as a circle
around the cursor. The radius of the snap aperture is controlled in the General property sheet
of the Menu: Tools|Program Setup dialog.

TIP: If you use the Coordinate Fields to define a point, you override any active snap.

Ortho Mode
The word orthogonal comes from the Greek: ortho- means straight and true; -gon refers
to object and angles. (Now if anyone ever says to you CAD is all Greek to me you can
explain why.) Ortho mode in TurboCAD (Menu: Modes|Snaps|Ortho) limits the movement
of the cursor if it is showing rubberband action as you create an object. By default, Ortho
Mode will limit the angle of the rubberband to be parallel to either the X or Y axis. Another
way to define this effect would be to say that an object can only be drawn to either true
horizontal (a heading of either 90 or 270 degrees on the coordinate plane) or true vertical (a
heading of either 0 or 180 degrees on the coordinate plane).

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click
here
to define a point here

Drawing a line with Ortho mode active

Ortho mode can be modified to change both the specific headings (the direction a line
points) and the number of degrees between headings. For example, you could force lines to
be drawn at 30-degree increments starting at a heading of 10 degrees. The menu item to
change the default Ortho setting is Menu: Tools|Drawing Setup|Angle.
The <Shift> key acts as a clutch to temporarily engage or disengage Ortho mode. If Ortho
mode is on, and you need it off temporarily, use the <Shift> key to shut it off for the
moment. Or, if Ortho mode is off, and you want it to help you draw just one line, press the
<Shift> key as you draw the line.

The Coordinate Plane

The nature of the coordinate plane was introduced in Chapter One, but not explained in
depth. The coordinate plane, and the various ways of using it, are fundamental to any CAD
program. The objects you draw are stored in the drawing file by their location on the
coordinate plane. TurboCAD offers three coordinate system modes: Absolute, Relative, and
Polar. Absolute and Relative are based on the Cartesian coordinate system; Polar is
considered as its own coordinate system.

Cartesian Coordinates
The Cartesian coordinate system starts with an origin point, through which two axes pass.
The horizontal axis is X, the vertical axis is Y. You can name the location of any point on the
coordinate plane by describing its distance along each axis from the origin. For example, to
state the location of a point that is 2 units measured horizontally from the Y axis and 3 units
measured vertically from the X axis, you would use the coordinates (2,3). For locations to
the left of the Y axis or below the X axis you need to use negative values. To specify a
location 2 units to the left of the Y axis and 2 units below the X axis, you would use the
coordinates (-2,-2).

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(2,3)

2,2

(-2,-2) +
-2,-2

Points defined in Cartesian coordinates

Absolute Coordinates
The phrase absolute coordinates means you are defining the location of points on the
coordinate plain relative to the origin point (0,0). The origin point never changes location
unless you redefine it using the Page Setup dialog. By default, the origin is in the lower left
corner of the page.

Relative Coordinates
Sometimes it is more important to know how far the cursor is from the last point placed than
to know how far the cursor is from the origin point. The coordinate display can be adjusted
to show that distance. This is known as relative coordinates. It means you are defining the
location of points on the coordinate plain relative to the last point placed. If you are drawing
with the Multiline tool, for example, every time you click to set another line, that particular
endpoint becomes the new (0,0) location.
If the cursor is at (0,0), Absolute Coordinate Mode is active, and you move the cursor 1 up
and 1 right, the coordinate display will show X 1 Y 1. If you start a line at this location
and then move the cursor 1 up and 1 right again, the coordinate display will read X 2 Y
2. But consider the same actions if Relative Coordinate Mode is active. The cursor starts at
(0,0) and moves X 1 Y 1. The relative coordinate display reads X 1 Y 1. But as soon as
you click the mouse to define that point as the start of a line, the coordinate display reverts
back to showing X 0, Y 0. Move the cursor another X 1 Y 1, and the coordinate display
again reads X 1 Y 1, even though thats what it said a second ago. The difference is that
you are now measuring the location of the cursor by its distance from the last point placed,
rather than the origin point.
Another name used for relative coordinates in some CAD programs is Delta Coordinates,
because the delta symbol (D) is the symbol for change in mathematics. When TurboCAD is
displaying Relative coordinates, the plus-or-minus character ( ) precedes the X or Y in the
coordinate display, and the last point placed on the drawing is highlighted with a small solid
red square.
An easy way to remember the difference between absolute and relative coordinate is to use

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the analogy of street addresses. If you say my friend lives at 456 Mulberry Lane, you are
saying a precise address, an absolute location. If you say my friend lives three blocks from
here, the description of your friends home depends on where you stand when you say it:
the description is relative. If you walk one block away and again say where your friend
lives, relative to where you are standing, to be correct you would have to say four blocks
instead of three. To give the absolute address, though, you would still say 456 Mulberry
Lane.
For both absolute and relative coordinates, X is for left and right (horizontal) movement,
and Y is for up and down (vertical) movement.

Polar Coordinates
The polar coordinate system takes the relative method of identifying locations and moves
one step beyond. A polar location is defined by its distance and angle (measured from the
horizontal) from the last point placed. As in the relative coordinate system, the relative
origin follows the cursor as you work.

Points defined in polar coordinates

Drawing with Coordinate Systems

TurboCAD lets you change coordinate systems at any time while you are working. If you
draw the outer wall of a house, for example, you may want to start the first wall at an
absolute location in the drawing space, so you would use absolute coordinates for the first
point. Each successive wall, however, would be defined by its length and angle relative to
the first wall, so you might use polar coordinates for the remaining points.

74

TIP: If you like to draw objects by typing coordinate addresses in the Coordinate Fields, you
can force TurboCAD to use a coordinate system other than the current system. If you
precede a coordinate with the $ sign, it will be interpreted as an absolute coordinate; if you
precede it with an @ sign it will be interpreted as a relative coordinate; if you precede it with a
> sign it will be interpreted as a polar coordinate.

Chapter 5 The Designer View

Views of the Drawing Space

The TurboCAD drawing space is a plane on which you draw or place lines and other
objects. A view is the area of the drawing space that appears on your screen. As your
drawing becomes larger and more complex, it is important to be able to find views that let
you work at the right location in the drawing, at an appropriate level of detail.
TurboCAD offers a variety of options for adjusting the view, known as panning (moving the
view but not changing the resolution) and zooming (changing the resolution).

TIP: Other powerful ways to control your view of the drawing include selectively viewing layers,
(covered in Chapter Nine), Aerial View (Chapter 14), and Viewports (Chapter 14).

Zooming
Zooming means to move in or out of the drawing space, viewing the drawing at a greater or
lesser level of detail. The Zoom Window command was used in the last chapter; it is one of
several zoom commands found in the menu at View|Zooms, or on the Zoom toolbar:
Command

Action

Zoom In

Move one step into the drawing.

Zoom Out

Move one step further from the drawing,

Zoom Window
View Extents

Select a specific area to view.

Zoom to a view that contains all of the objects in the drawing.

Full View

Display the full sheet.

Printed Size

View the drawing at the size it will be when printed.

An additional zoom command, Previous View, is not in the Zooms submenu, but is found at
Menu: View|Previous View. This command is especially handy for switching back and forth
between two views.
One quick and easy way to zoom is to use the plus and minus keys of the numeric keypad:
plus zooms in one step; minus zooms out one step. The amount of each step depends on the
zoom factor, which by default is 2. With the zoom factor at 2, Zoom In cuts the view in half,
Zoom Out doubles the view. The zoom factor can be changed in the Menu:
Options|Program Setup dialog.

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Zooming in on a view

When you zoom in and out using the plus and minus keys, the view centers on the mouse
cursor. If you zoom in using a menu or toolbar command you will zoom in on the center of
the current view, regardless of cursor location. As you zoom out, TurboCAD simplifies
small objects to increase redraw speed.

TIP: To zoom in on a particular point in the drawing and place it at the center of the screen,
place the mouse cursor over the point and press the <+> key on the numeric keypad.

Panning
Panning means to move the view to another location across the drawing. TurboCAD
provides two menu commands for panning, plus the scroll bars and the use of the arrow
keys.
The scroll bars work the same way they do in other Windows programs. You can click the
scrollbar arrow buttons to scroll one step, click in the body of the scrollbar to scroll about
one-third of a screen, or drag the thumb of the scrollbar to move quickly across the
drawing. The arrow keys are also simple and intuitive: press the up, down, left, or right
arrow key to pan a single step.

TIP: To quickly pan to a specific point, place the mouse cursor at the point, then type <Ctrl> +
<End>. The screen will instantly move to a view with the point you chose at the center of the
screen.

The Pan commands are found in the View menu:

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Command

Action

Pan to Point

Scroll the drawing so that the point you choose is at the center of the
screen.

Vector Pan

Choose a point and a destination and scroll the drawing so that the
view moves to the destination.

Construction Technique: Divide the Area of a Triangle

The following tutorial will give you practice using some of the tools and commands covered
in this chapter. The project is to divide the area of a triangle into five equal parts.
1.
2.

Launch TurboCAD, if not already running, and start a new drawing using the
NORMMETR (Normal Metric) template.
Select the Zoom Window tool from the View toolbar along the right side of the
TurboCAD desktop. Move the cursor to the upper left corner of the paper, and click
to start a selection area. Move the cursor down and to the right until the selection
rectangle covers the upper left quadrant of the paper, and click to zoom in.

3.

Select the Grid Snap tool from the Snaps toolbar along the left side of the desktop.

Zoom Window tool icon

Grid Snap tool icon

4.

Move the cursor to the Line tool on the Insert toolbar. Click and hold until the flyout
toolbar appears. Select Irregular Polygon.

5.

Notice how the major grid lines form squares on the paper. To start the triangle, click
once at the intersection of a horizontal major grid line and a vertical minor grid line.
To finish the left side of the triangle, move the cursor straight down to the next
horizontal major grid line, and click to set the line.

Irregular Polygon tool icon

6.

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7.
8.

To draw the bottom line of the triangle, move the cursor three grid spaces to the right
and one grid space up, and click to set the line.
To complete the triangle, right-click and select Finish from the local menu.

Triangle created using Irregular Polygon

9.

Move the cursor into the center of the triangle. Press the plus key on the numeric
keypad to get a close-up view of the triangle.
10. Select the Double Point Circle tool from the circle flyout toolbar.

Double Point tool icon

11. Click on each end of the first line (left line) of the triangle to draw a circle using the
line as the diameter of the circle.

Add a circle to the triangle

12. Select the Single Line tool from the Line flyout toolbar.

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Chapter 5 The Designer View

Single Line tool icon

Next, using the horizontal minor grid lines as a guide, draw four lines perpendicular to the
left side of the triangle.
13. To draw the first line, click on the line one grid intersection below the top. Move the
cursor left so that the line will intersect the circle, and click on a grid point to end the
line.
14. Repeat the process three times at the other intermediate grid points along the left side
of the triangle. These lines divide the left side of the triangle into five equal parts.

Draw four perpendicular lines that intersect the circle on the left

15. Select the Concentric Arc tool from the Arc flyout toolbar of the Insert Entity toolbar.

Concentric Arc tool icon

16. Select the Snap Intersection and Magnetic Point tools from the Snaps toolbar (along
the left side of the TurboCAD desktop).

Snap Intersection (left) and Magnetic Point tool icons

Next draw a series of arcs intersecting the left side of the triangle. Each arc will start at the
intersection of the dividing lines and use the top corner of the triangle as the center.
17. For the first arc, start by clicking at the top corner of the triangle, to set the center of
the arc.
18. Click on the intersection of the top dividing line and the circle, to set the radius.

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19. Click again at this same location to set the start of the arc.
20. Move the cursor to the right and click on a grid point that allows the arc to pass
through the left side of the triangle.
21. The Concentric tool remains active, and has identified the center of the first arc for
use again.
22. Move the cursor to the intersection of the second dividing line and the circle, and
click to set the radius.
23. Click again at this same location to set the start of the arc. Move the cursor to the
right and click on a grid point that allows the arc to pass through the left side of the
triangle.
24. Repeat the steps above to draw two more arcs, to match the illustration.

Draw concentric arcs that intersect the left side of the triangle

25. Select the Parallel Line tool from the Single Line flyout toolbar of the Insert Entity
toolbar.

Parallel Line tool icon

26. The Parallel Line tool draws a straight line parallel to a line you select. Click on the
bottom line of the rectangle. To draw a line parallel to it, click on the nearest
intersection of an arc with the left side of the triangle. Continue the process, drawing
lines that are parallel to the bottom line of the rectangle and have the intersection of
the left side and an arc as one vertex. The regions defined inside the triangle by the
parallel lines are equal in area.

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Parallel lines define equal areas of the triangle

27. Click on the Select tool in the Insert Entity toolbar.

28. Press and hold the <Shift> key, then click on every object in the drawing except the
triangle and the intersecting lines that defines the equal areas. Press the <Delete> key
to delete these objects.

Delete unnecessary lines

29. Save the completed drawing in the IMSI/TCW40/Drawings subdirectory as Divided

Triangle. This drawing will be used in another exercise later in the book.

A Better View of the Action

Not all the features mentioned in this chapter were used in the tutorial. You may need to
refer back to the explanations in this chapter as the other commands are used. Practice
zooming and panning, using various snaps, and explore differences between relative,
absolute and polar coordinates as you draw. Experiment and see if you develop preferences
for any of the many kinds of visual feedback available in TurboCAD.

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6
Introduction to Drawing Techniques
Lines and Angles
This is the first of two chapters devoted to a set of drawing techniques known as
geometric construction. Dont let the phrase intimidate you; it only means taking advantage
of geometric objects and their relationships. This chapter will cover the use of straight lines,
polygons and angles, Chapter Ten will cover the use of circles, arcs, ellipses and curves.
Practicing these techniques will accomplish two goals. One, you will become more familiar
with the capabilities of TurboCAD; and second, you will learn techniques that can be
applied to a variety of drafting situations, no matter how you intend to use TurboCAD.

Basic Definitions
If too many years have passed since high school geometry, a quick review is in order. These
are the common terms to be familiar with:
Point. A point is an exact
. location on a drawing surface. TurboCAD offers a Point tool, for
marking these locations with one of five marks. The four geometric shapes (Star, Square,
Cross, and Circle) can be adjusted for size; Dot cannot. Right-click on the Point tool, then
select the Point tab, to access the Size setting.

TurboCAD offers five point styles, including a tiny dot the size of a period (at left).

Line. A line is the measured distance between two points. A straight line is the shortest distance
between two points. Generally in this book when it says line it means straight line.
Angle. An angle is the shape made by two straight lines meeting at a point. Angles are
measured in degrees. One degree is 1/360 of the distance around a circle.

The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

The angle formed by the meeting of two lines can be measured from both the inside and the outside

Circle: A circle is a closed curved line with all points on the line the same distance from the center
point. A circle has three parts:

Diameter, the straight distance from one point on the circle through the center to the
opposite side.
Radius, the straight distance from the center point to the outside line.
Circumference, the length of the line around the center point.

Parts of a circle

Arc. A portion of the circumference of a circle.

Ellipse. A closed curved surface that looks like a stretched circle. An ellipse is a precisely
constructed object, defined as the path of a moving point so that the sum of its distances
from two fixed points is constant. The Greek root of the word ellipse means to fall short.

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Chapter 6 Introduction to Drawing Techniques

Literally, the Greeks considered an ellipse to be an attempt at a circle that fell short.
Tangent. A line that comes into contact with another, yet the two lines do not intersect if
extended. In general use, arcs and circles are drawn tangent to straight lines (and vice versa)
or to other arcs and circles.
Chord. A chord is a straight line that connects the two endpoints of an arc.

An arc, an ellipse, a tangent line, and a chord

Parallel. When two straight lines do not intersect, and remain the same distance apart at all
points along the length, they are parallel.
Perpendicular. When one straight line meets another at a 90-degree angle (also known as a
right angle), they are perpendicular. If one line is at true vertical, a line perpendicular to it is
at true horizontal.
Bisect. To bisect is to divide something into two equal sections. In this chapter you will
bisect lines and angles.

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Parallel lines, perpendicular lines, and a line bisecting an angle

Polygon. A polygon is an object with three or more straight sides that form a closed figure.
A regular polygon is a polygon with all sides the same length.

Rectangle

Octagon

Equilateral
Triangle

Right
Triangle

Square

A variety of polygons

Triangle. A triangle is a three-sided polygon. It has three straight lines and three interior
angles. An equilateral triangle is one with each side of equal length.
Rectangle. A rectangle is a four-sided polygon in which all angles are right angles and
opposite sides are parallel.
Square. A square is a four-sided polygon in which all angles are right angles and all sides
are the same length. By definition, a square is also a rectangle.

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Construction Techniques
The rest of this chapter covers a variety of construction techniques using lines, angles and
polygons. Chapter Ten will cover arcs, circles, ellipses, curved objects and their
relationships to other objects. As you move from one example to the next, think about how
you can take advantage of these techniques in your own design and drafting work. A few
new commands will be presented along the way.
These construction techniques are presented in a generic fashion, so that you can use the
steps in a real drafting setting as required. To practice them now, start each technique by
drawing the required line or lines.
If you were to enroll in a traditional drafting course using pencil and paper, you would study
the concepts presented below, but the methods used would be much different. The first
technique is a good example of the tremendous difference between manual drafting
techniques and automated drafting using a program like TurboCAD.

Bisect a Line with a Point

The first geometric construction technique taught in a manual drafting class is how to bisect
a line. Using manual methods, bisecting a line requires the use of a straightedge and a
compass. Two arcs and a second line must be drawn to correctly bisect the line. The process
takes several steps. The technique is much easier in TurboCAD:
1.
2.

Given any straight line, select Middle Point from the Snap toolbar (left side of
screen). All other Snap tools should be off.
Click on any point along the line. TurboCAD will calculate the exact center of the
point, bisecting it for you. You may optionally select Middle Point Snap as a local
snap (active one time only) with a right-click when you need it.

If you need to draw from the bisection point, the Line tool should be active before you
select Middle Point Snap. If you need to mark the location, select a point mark from the
Point tool on the Select Entity toolbar before selecting Middle Point.

A straight line marked with a point

Bisect a Line with a Perpendicular Line

1.

Given a single line at any angle, start by making sure all Snaps are off. Click the No
Snap button in the Snaps toolbar.

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No Snap tool icon

2.

Select Parallel Line from the Single Line fly-out toolbar.

Parallel tool icon

3.

Click on the existing line. Press <Tab> twice and type a number to set the distance
between the two parallel lines. End by pressing <Enter>. This distance will become
the length of your perpendicular line. One-half-inch (.5) was used in the illustration.

Draw a line parallel to the existing line

4.
5.

Click and hold on the Parallel Line tool icon, until the fly-out toolbar appears. Select
Single Line.
Select Middle Point Snap from the Snaps toolbar.

Middle point snap tool

6.

Click on each line. A new line will connect the midpoints of each parallel line. This
new line is perpendicular to the original line.

7.

Delete the extra parallel line.

Draw a Line at a Specific Heading

1.
2.
3.

88

Select the Line tool.

Start the line where required, using any snap tool if needed.
Type the length of the line in the Length field on the Edit Bar. Press <Tab> to select
the highlighted field in the Edit Bar or simply type and the figures will appear in the
highlighted field.

Chapter 6 Introduction to Drawing Techniques

Edit bar, showing Length and Angle of a line

4.

Press <Tab> to select the Angle field of the Edit Bar. Type the angle (the required
heading of the line) and press <Enter>.

NOTE: It does not matter whether TurboCAD is in Absolute, Relative or Polar mode. The Edit
Bar will display Length and Angle when the Line tool is selected.

Bisect an Angle
To bisect an angle is to divide an angle equally with a third line. Given any two lines that
meet at a common endpoint to form an angle, use Fit Radial Copy to draw a line that bisects
the angle. This method creates an extra line that must be deleted when the angle has been
bisected.
The line to select for the Fit Radial Copy is the one that must be copied counterclockwise
toward the other line. Depending on the orientation of the lines and the angle to bisect, the
line to copy might be above or below, left or right, of the second line. Use the illustrations
as a guide to see how the procedure works.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Draw two lines as illustrated below. Use No Snap or Grid Snap to draw the first line;
use Vertex Snap (with all other snaps off) to draw the second.
Click on the Select tool.
Make sure Vertex is the only active snap.
Select the line that is on the clockwise side of the angle.
From the menu, select Edit|Copy Entities|Fit Radial.
The prompt reads Define the center of the copy process. Click on the common
endpoint of the two lines.
In the Edit Box, select the value for Sets and type 3.
The prompt reads Define the angle to fit the copies in. Click on the distant endpoint
of the second line.
A new line appears between the first two, which bisects the angle. An extra line has
also been created; it is on top of the second line (the line not copied). Select it and
press <Delete>.

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Bisecting an angle with a line

Divide an Angle Into Any Number of Parts

With only one change, the steps above used to bisect an angle can also be used to divide an
angle into any number of equal parts. Instead of typing 3 in the Sets field of the Edit Bar,
type a number that is one higher than the number of ways you need to divide the angle.
Remember to delete the extra line on top of the line which was not copied.

Draw a Line Parallel to an Existing Line

TurboCAD has a double line command, which you can use when you need to draw two
parallel lines. But when you need to create a line that is parallel to an existing line, use the
Parallel Line tool, as described in Chapter Five, and as used in the technique above to assist
in drawing a perpendicular bisecting line.

Divide a Straight Line into Proportional Parts

Two methods are available to divide a straight line into proportional parts. The first
technique does not break the line into separate pieces, but marks off equal distances along
the line, just as you would on paper with a pencil and a ruler. This technique uses the Menu:
Edit|Copy Entities|Linear command to copy a Point marker along the distance of the line.
Once the points are placed along the line, they can be snapped to with the Vertex Snap tool.
The second technique to divide a straight line into proportional parts used Node Edit, and is
discussed in detail below.

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Chapter 6 Introduction to Drawing Techniques

Divide a Straight Line into Proportional Parts using Linear Copy

1.

Draw a line, using any construction method of snap you prefer.

2.
3.

Click the No Snap tool.

Press and hold on the Point tool until the fly-out toolbar appears. Select the Star
shape (or any other shape you prefer).

4.
5.

Click Vertex Snap. Click on one endpoint of the line to place a star.
Use the Select tool to draw a closed selection window around the star. (To close the
selection window right-click to get the local menu and turn off Open Window mode.)
From the menu select Edit|Copy Entities|Fit Linear.
The prompt reads Select the final position of the reference point.
Press the <Tab> key until Sets is highlighted in the Edit Bar. Type a value that is one
higher than the number of line segments you need to identify.
Click on the opposite end of the line to shift activity back to the drawing screen, and
again to select the end of the line for the copy command. The stars will copy along
the line.

6.
7.
8.
9.

Divide a Straight Line into Proportional Parts using Node Edit

Nodes are hidden markers that identify elements of geometric objects in TurboCAD. A
straight line, for example, has two nodes, one at each end. A triangle drawn using Irregular
Polygon has three nodes, one at each corner.
In Node Edit mode you can reshape entities by directly manipulating nodes. Appendix B of
the TurboCAD 4 for Windows User Manual lists detailed instructions for using Node Edit
for a wide variety of tasks. One of the available options in Node Edit is to divide line
segments into any number of subsegments of equal length.
1.
2.
3.

Draw a line, using any construction method of snap you prefer.

Select the line.
Right-click to summon the Local Menu. Select Node Edit.

The appearance of the selection changes when you shift to Node Edit mode. Instead of a
selection box with handles, you will see highlighted objects with nodes displayed as blue
rectangles.
4.

Place the mouse cursor on the line.

5.

Right-click to open the Local Menu and choose Segment Divide. The Divide
Segment By dialog appears.

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Divide Segment By dialog

6. Enter the number of parts into which you want to divide the line, then press <Enter>.
7. Click anywhere on the Paper to deselect the line.
The line looks no different unless selected for Node Edit. But now the line has nodes that
divide it into proportional segments. You can snap to any of these nodes with Snap Vertex
they do not need to be visible.

Draw the Golden Mean of a Line

The golden mean is a length that represents the golden ratio, a distance used by ancient
philosophers and modern designers. The relationship between a line and its golden mean (as
in drawing the sides of a rectangle or right triangle) is universally appreciated as
aesthetically pleasing. Given any line, the golden mean of that line has a ratio of .618 to 1.
For example, if a given line is 1 unit in length, that line's golden mean will be .618 units in
length.
To draw the golden mean of a line in manual drafting, it is necessary to place three arcs and
an extra line. But in TurboCAD it is much easier. If you know the length of the original line,
use the Windows Calculator (or pencil and paper) to multiply the length by .618. The
product is the length of the line's golden mean. Use the Edit Bar to set the length of the new
line.
Follow the steps below to draw a right triangle; the height will be the golden mean of the
base. The distance of the base line in this example will be 3.65 inches. You can also use this
procedure to draw a rectangle of golden mean proportions.
1.

92

Select Irregular Polygon from the Line fly-out toolbar, and Ortho Mode from the
Snaps tool bar.

Chapter 6 Introduction to Drawing Techniques

Irregular Polygon tool icon (left) and Ortho Mode tool icon

2.

3.
4.

Click on the drawing sheet to start the triangle. Move the cursor to the right, then
press <Tab> to switch to the Edit Bar. Type 3.65 <Enter> to set the length of the
baseline.
Move the cursor up, then press <Tab>. Type 2.557 (the product of 3.65 times .618)
and press <Enter> to set the height of the triangle.
Right-click and select Finish from the Local Menu. TurboCAD will close the triangle.

2.56

3.65

The ratio of the height to the base is the ratio of the golden mean (.618:1)

Construction Lines and Circles

As you draw, there may be times when you would like to use a line or circle for visual
reference, but dont want to add a new entity to the drawing. Use a construction line or
circle for this purpose. From the menu, select Insert|Construction and select one of six
choices : Horizontal, Vertical, Angular, Center and Point Circle, Double Point Circle, and
Triple Point Circle. If you select a line, it will cross the entire desktop. Construction circles
are drawn to the size you specify.
You can place construction lines and circles with snaps, and can snap to them with any
relevant snap command.

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Construction lines appear as dot-dash lines in a drawing

Construction lines exist on their own layer, called $CONSTRUCTION. You can edit their
appearance (line type and color) by editing the $CONSTRUCTION layer (Menu:
Options|Layer). Construction lines are for visual reference only, and cannot be selected like
an entity or an object (with the exception of Nearest Entity Snap). Use the options at Menu:
Edit|Clear to delete construction lines.

Aligning Objects
To create drawings in TurboCAD is to move back and forth between phases of drawing
(when you create) and editing (when you modify). At times, you might realize that some
objects in the drawing need to be rearranged so that they are aligned to each other.
TurboCAD offers seven align commands for this purpose, found in the Format menu.
To use any of these commands, select the objects you wish to align:
Align Bottom will move the selected objects to the bottom of the selections bounding box.
Align Along Line will move the selected objects along a construction line that you place.
Align Middle will center the selected objects vertically in the selections bounding box.

Middle alignment, before (left) and after

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Chapter 6 Introduction to Drawing Techniques

Align Top will move the selected objects to the top of the selections bounding box.
Align Left will align the left edges of the selected objects along the left edge of the
bounding box.
Align Center will center the selected objects horizontally within the bounding box.
Align Right will align the right edges of the selected objects along the right edge of the
bounding box.

Taking Advantage of Construction Techniques

The techniques explained in this chapter have one basic premise in common with manual
drafting techniquesthey must be practiced if you intend to use them regularly. As you
begin to create your own projects, look for opportunities to use the techniques presented in
this chapter. Situations such as the need to bisect an angle, divide a line into equal segments,
or align objects are fairly common.

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7
Editing the CAD Drawing
Freedom to Create a Perfect Design
As you begin to draw with TurboCAD, you will find the ease and speed of drawing
encourages you to make changes as you go along. Instead of using a rubber eraser, you can
use TurboCADs editing and modification commands to quickly rearrange, reshape, copy,
replace or otherwise alter any part of a drawing.
The ability to make changes quickly and easily is part of what makes a CAD program
superior to manual drafting. The experienced manual draftsman can quickly put lines on
paper. But when it comes to making changes, the manual draftsman is left in the eraser dust
by the power and versatility of a good CAD program.
The freedom to make changes is part of what makes TurboCAD a tool for both design (the
creative process of deciding features) and drafting (the graphic representation of a design).

Edit or Modify?
Generally speaking, the phrase used to describe making changes to a CAD drawing is
editing. But the commands in TurboCAD for making changes have been organized in two
categories: Editing and Modifying. There is a menu for each, the Edit menu and the Modify
menu, as well as a toolbar for each. For our purposes, the following definitions apply.
Editing is manipulation of existing objects. If you need to copy an entity, remove it, move it,
or place it in a file created by another program, you are editing. Many editing commands
make use of the Windows clipboard. Under this definition, editing usually means the
original entity is not reshaped, but there are exceptions, to be covered in this chapter.
Modifying is alteration of existing entities. If you need to cut a line, join two lines, or
otherwise change the shape of one or more entities, you are modifying.

The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

There are two practical differences between the tools in the Modify menu and the Edit
menu. The first difference involves selection. When you use the Edit menu tools, you must
first select the object or objects that you want to edit. Then you execute the operation on the
selected object or entity (move, copy, erase, etc.) The Modify menu tools are similar to
drawing tools, in that you first activate the tool, and then follow a series of steps to complete
the edit. The operation is performed on entities that have not been previously selected.
When you finish the operation, the tool remains active so that you can modify another
object. You must switch to another tool to shut off the first tool.
The second distinction concerns the difference between objects and entities. As you will
remember from Chapter Two, object is a general term that means anything that can be
displayed in a TurboCAD drawing. This covers not only classical geometric primitives like
lines, circles and curves, but also text and bit-mapped images. Objects can be groups of
entities, or other elements of a drawing not easily defined using geometric definitions. The
term entity is more specific. It means a drawing element created with TurboCAD drawing
tools. Entities include single lines, multilines, arcs, circles, polygons, and so forth, as well
as construction lines and circles. Entities are independent geometric elements. They would
be at home in a geometry textbook, or a manual drafting course.
Editing tools work on both objects and entities. Modifying tools work only on entities. In
practice, you use the tool or command that gets the job done, no matter its category.
Knowing the difference between editing and modifying is largely a matter of gaining
familiarity with the available tools.

Modify the Divided Triangle

The rest of this chapter is given over to tutorials that explore the use of various editing and
modifying commands. The first exercise will be to make changes to the triangle drawn in
Chapter Five, which was divided into sections of equal area. When the exercise was
completed, the lines which divided the triangle had not been trimmed. You will do so now.
If you have not completed the exercise in Chapter Five, or did not save it, you can quickly
draw a triangle and then draw some single lines over the top of it, to create an approximate
version of the object described below. While the new version won't be divided into areas of
equal size, you can still trim the lines as explained below.

Divided triangle from Chapter Five

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Chapter 7 Editing The CAD Drawing

1.

Launch TurboCAD. When the Create from Template dialog appears, click the Open
button. This allows you to open an existing drawing. In Chapter Five, you were
directed to save the drawing in the IMSI/TCW40/Drawings subdirectory as DIV-TRI
(if using Windows 95). Open the drawing from this subdirectory, or from wherever
you saved it.

2.

Select Object Trim from the Modify menu. (Object Trim was introduced in Chapter
Four.)

3.
4.
5.

The prompt at the bottom of the screen reads Define the cutting edge.
Click on the triangle, which will change color (highlight) to show that it is selected.
One by one, click on each section of line outside the triangle. Each line will be
trimmed to the triangle as you go.
Click on the select tool to end the command.

6.

All intersecting lines have been trimmed to the edges of the triangle

Seeking Out the Details

To explore some of the editing and modifying tools, open a drawing that shipped with your
copy of TurboCAD called WDET.TCW, an excellent wall detail drawing.

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METAL COPING

1'0"

1/A9

BALLASTED MEMBRANE
ROOF OVER 1-1/2"
RIGID INSULATION

5'5-1/2"

METAL ROOF TILE

OVER (1) LAYER 15"
FELT ON 1/2"PLYWOOD

1'0"

12" FIBERGLASS
BATT W/KRAFT
VAPOR BARR.

2'0"

SUSP ACL
TILE CIELING

SEE DET
1/2" GYP BOARD

2 X 6 STUDS
@ 16" OC

4'0"

1'0"

1'0"

2/A9

EXTERIOR FINISH SYSTEM

ON 2" RIGID INSULATION ON
1/2" GYP BOARD SHEATHING

3/8"DIA A-BOLTS
@ 6'0"AC

TREATED 2 X 6 SILL

(2) #4 DIA RODS CONT

3'4"

6" CONC FLOOR

REINF W/6 X 6
#10/10 WWM OVER
6" COMP GRAN FILL

8"

1'0"

CONT 2 X 4 KEYWAY

1'8"

3" CLR

WDET.TCW

Notice that two portions of the drawing are circled. The circles identify portions of the
drawing that were to be available separately as details. Follow the steps below to separate
the circled elements from the rest of the drawing.
Before making any changes to WDET, the first item of business will be to save a second
version of the drawing, so that the original is left intact.
1.
2.

Start TurboCAD, and open the drawing WDET.TCW, in the IMSI/TCD4/Samples

directory.
From the menu, select File|Save As. In File Name, type CH7WDET. Change
directories, selecting the IMSI/TCD4/Drawings directory. Click on the Save button,
and fill in the details in the Summary Info dialog if you desire. Click on the OK
button to end. The name of the file as listed in the Title Bar will change to
CH7WDET.

Explode Groups, Extract Details

1.

100

The entire WDET drawing has been gathered together as one group. Click on the
Select tool, click on any part of the drawing, then select Menu: Format|Explode to
disassemble the group.

Chapter 7 Editing The CAD Drawing

2.

Use Zoom Window to gain a close-up view where the metal coping at the top of the
wall is circled. Click on the Zoom Window tool in the View toolbar (right side of the
screen), or select Menu: View|Zoom|Zoom Windows. Draw a selection rectangle
around the circle at the top of the drawing.

Zoom window tool

1/A9

METAL COPING

BALLASTED MEMBRANE
ROOF OVER 1-1/2"
RIGID INSULATION

MET
OVE
FEL

Close-up of the top of the drawing

3.
4.

From the menu, select Modify|Object Trim. Click on the circle to select it as the
cutting edge for the trim operation.
Starting at any point along the circle, click on every object that intersects any portion
of the circle. Be sure to click on the portion of each object lying outside the circle.
Adjust the view as necessary to get a close-up view each object you trim. The lines
and arcs of the roof membrane that intersect the circle can be trimmed, if you zoom
in close enough to pick them individually. You will not be able to trim the rectangle
that intersects the bottom of the circle. Leave it for the moment.

Results of the first attempt to trim around the circle

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5.
6.

Click on the Select tool to end Object Trim.

Use Zoom Window to get a close-up view of the rectangle (bottom of circle) that did
not trim.

7.

Select the rectangle, then select Format|Explode from the menu. Click on the drawing
area to deselect the rectangle.
From the menu, select Modify|Object Trim. Click on the circle to select is as the
cutting edge.
Click on each line of the rectangle that intersects the circle. Be sure to click on the
portions outside the circle. Select the Select tool to end Object Trim.

8.
9.

Remove Unnecessary Objects

You want every object that is part of the wall to stay in the circle, but the remaining pieces
of the Leaders are not needed. (Leaders are linesusually with arrowsthat are used to
label objects in a drawing. They will be covered in Chapter 11, Dimensioning.) Erase them
now.
1.

2.

Choose the Select tool and <Shift-Click> on each line, arrow, etc., inside the circle
but not a part of the wall detail. They are all found on the right side of the circle.
Note that the line and the arrow near the top will need to be selected separately.
When all the non-wall objects are highlighted, press the <Delete> key to erase them.

The leader lines inside the circle have been deleted

Selection Rectangle Options

The wall elements and the circle are now ready to be moved. But there are many objects
close to the circle that make selecting the circle and its contents a challenge. Fortunately,
there are a variety of selection options in TurboCAD.

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So far in this guidebook, objects have been selected by one of two methods: clicking on
them with the Select tool, or using the Select tool to draw a selection rectangle around the
objects.
The selection rectangle gives different results, depending on whether Open Window mode is
on or off. To change this option, click the right mouse button in the drawing area to open the
local menu, then choose Open Window mode. If the menu item has a check next to it, the
option is on; otherwise the option is off.

Local menu, showing open window mode checked

To use the selection rectangle with the Open Window option on, hold the left mouse button
down and move the cursor, creating a rectangle over an area that contains any part of the
objects that you want to select, then release the mouse button. If any portion of an object is
inside the rectangle, the entire object will be selected. This includes nodes and vertices of
the object.
To use the selection rectangle with the Open Window mode off, hold the left mouse button
down and move the cursor, creating a rectangle over an area that contains the objects you
want to select in their entirety, then release the mouse button. If any portion of an object is
outside the rectangle, it will not be selected.

rectangle selects
both objects
(symbols)
Selection rectangle with Open Window option on

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rectangle selects
only completely
enclosed objects

Selection rectangle with Open Window option off

Other Selection Options

Two additional selection methods are available from the Edit menu, Select All and Select
By. Select All (keyboard shortcut: <Ctrl-A>) will select every object in the drawing. Select
By has six options, Query, Entity Type, Color, Layer, Attribute, and Fence.
Select By Query allows you to approach the entities and objects in a TurboCAD drawing as
elements in a data base. A selection chart appears, and you can enter values based on a
variety of attributes. The method of operation is similar to that used by data base
management software. Select By Query is helpful when searching large drawings for
specific symbols and blocks, since they can be identifed by name.
Select By Entity Type is used when you need to select all objects of a given type, such as
Bezier curves. When the command is chosen, a dialog appears on-screen. Every possible
type of object in TurboCAD is listed. You can use this dialog to select any type of object or
combination of types, using common Windows list box selection techniques. If you wish to
add objects of these types to a current selection, place a check in the Add to the Current
Selection check box. If this box is not checked, then any currently selected items will be
deselected as the new objects are selected. All objects in the drawing meeting the selection
criteria will be highlighted.

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Select by Entity Type dialog

Select by Layer allows you to name one or more layers. When you do so, all objects on
those layers will be selected. If you are organizing your drawings by layers (discussed in
Chapter Nine), this selection option is very helpful. The next illustration shows the Select by
Layer dialog for WDET.TCW.

Select by Layer dialog

Select By Fence lets you select a set of objects by drawing a polygon fence around them.
The Open Window mode affects the action of the fence. If Open Window mode is on, any
object that intersects or is inside the fence will be selected. If Open Window mode is off,
only those objects completely inside the fence will be selected. Creating this fence is
exactly like the using the Irregular Polygon drawing tool. You will use this tool in the steps
below to select the circle and the details inside.

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Select and Move Details

1.

From the menu choose Edit|Select By|Fence.

2.
3.

Click on a point just outside the circle to start the selection fence.
Right-click to open the local menu. Make sure Open Window mode is off (not
checked). If it is checked, click on it to shut it off.
4. Continue around the circle by clicking and moving the mouse. Each point you define
will become a new vertex (corner) of an irregular polygon fence. A rubberband line
will connect back to the origin of the fence as you draw. Make sure that any objects
you wish to select are contained within the fence.
5. The area by the roof will be a tight fit. Use Zoom Window (or Zoom In, <Gray +>)
interactively as you draw the fence if necessary to get a close-up of the right side of
the circle.
6. Use Zoom Out (< Gray + > key on the numeric keypad or the Zoom Out icon in the
View toolbar, right side of the screen) to get a wider view after drawing the fence
through the area between the roof and the circle.
7. When you have worked all the way around the circle, right-click in the drawing area
to access the local menu. Choose Finish to complete the fence and select the objects.
8. Click on Zoom Full View in the View menu to see the entire sheet.
9. Click (not on the reference point, but anywhere inside the selection window) and drag
the selected objects (the circle and the top of the wall) to an open area on the sheet to
the right.
10. Click anywhere in the drawing area (outside the selection window) to deselect the
objects.
11. Use Zoom Window to gain a close-up of the objects.

The circle and wall detail, separated from the rest of the drawing

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Cut and Paste

Save the wall detail as a separate drawing, for use with the exercises in Chapter Twelve. Use
Cut and Paste, two Edit menu commands exactly like their counterparts in many other
Windows programs. Menu: Edit|Cut removes the selection to the Windows clipboard; Menu:
Edit|Paste places a copy of the contents of the Windows clipboard.
Two features of the Windows clipboard should be remembered. First, it only holds one
selection at a time. Second, when you use the Paste command in a Windows program, a
copy of the item in the clipboard is retrieved. You can Paste the item an unlimited number of
times.
If for some reason you dont want the wall detail removed from this drawing, substitute
Copy (<Ctrl-C> or Menu: Edit|Copy) for Cut in the steps below.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Adjust the screen view so that the entire wall detail is visible.
Use any selection method you prefer to select the detail and the circle.
Press <Ctrl-X> or select Menu: Edit|Cut to remove the detail to the Windows
clipboard.
From the menu, choose File|New. Select Normal as the template, and close the Setup
Dialog if necessary.
Press <Ctrl-V> or select Menu: Edit|Paste.
Press <Ctrl-S> or select File|Save from the menu.
Name the new drawing CH12DET, and save it to the DRAWINGS folder or
subdirectory. Fill in the details for the Summary Info dialog if you like.
Close the drawing (<Alt-F> <C> or Menu: File|Close). The original drawing returns
to the screen.
There is no further need for CH7WDET in this exercise. Save and close the drawing.

NOTE: It was not necessary to close the first drawing to create a new drawing. TurboCAD
allows you to open many drawings at once. The limit depends on available memory.

Practice Makes Perfect

Take a few moments now to create a new drawing that looks like the one below. Use the
Line, Double Line and Rectangle tools. Snap to Grid will make it easy to keep the lines
straight.

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Draw this set of lines for the next exercise

After reading the descriptions of the various Modify commands below, take a few minutes to
practice each command on some part of this drawing. Feel free to add or erase elements as
necessary.

Chamfer and Fillet

When lines come together to make corners, you dont always want them to meet at a point.
You may need to design an object with rounded corners, or you may need to create beveled
corners. TurboCAD has a Modify command for each situation. These are Chamfer (for
beveled corners) and Fillet (for rounded corners).

Chamfer
Chamfer joins two line segments or double line segments with a flattened (beveled) corner.
The values used to calculate the chamfer appear in the Edit Bar when the command is
active.

Chamfer before and after

To create a chamfer, you need to specify two distances in the Edit Bar, called Distance A
and Distance B. Distance A is the distance from the point where the chamfer meets the first
line clicked, to the point where the two lines intersect. Distance B is the corresponding
distance on the second line. After specifying these distances in the Edit Bar, click on the two

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lines in the correct order: TurboCAD will draw a beveled corner at the intersection of the
two lines.

Fillet
Fillet inserts an arc at the intersection of two nonparallel lines. These lines may meet at a
common endpoint or they may overlap. The radius of the arc can be modified whenever the
command is active by changing the value in the Edit Bar. By default, the radius is one inch.

Fillet before and after

If the radius specified is too large for the arc to fit between the two lines, TurboCAD will be
unable to perform the fillet and will display an error message.

TIP: If fillet radius is set to 0, the fillet tool can be used to square off two lines that would
intersect if connected. The tool extends each line, then inserts an arc of zero radius, i.e., no
arc at all. This is an alternative to Meet 2 Lines.

Meet 2 Lines
Use the Meet 2 Lines tool to shrink or extend two lines or double lines so that endpoints
meet. This function automatically cleans up the corner formed by two double lines.

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Two before-and-after examples of using Meet 2 Lines; stars identify click locations

To use this tool, simply click on the two lines. When the two lines are crossed, the two parts
of the line that you click on will be preserved; the parts of the lines on the opposite side of
the intersection will be trimmed.

Cleaning Double Line Intersections

Double lines can be handy for a variety of design applications. When two double lines cross,
generally the intersection needs to be modified in some fashion. TurboCAD offers two tools
specifically for cleaning double line intersections, T-Meet 2 Double Lines and Intersect 2
Double Lines.
Use T-Meet to form a T intersection of two double lines. The first line clicked will extend
or shrink to meet the second double line and form the stem of the T.
The steps in using T-Meet are:
1.
2.
3.

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Select the tool (Menu: Modify|T-Meet 2 Double Lines).

Click on the line that will form the stem of the T.
Click on the line that will form the top of the T.

Chapter 7 Editing The CAD Drawing

Two before-and-after examples using T-Meet 2 Double Lines; stars identify clicks

Use the Intersect 2 Double Lines tool to clean up the intersection of two double lines.

Before-and-after using Intersect 2 Double Lines

Both double line intersection tools have a special option available from the local menu
(right mouse button) when the tool is active. The Cleanup option specifies whether or not a
complete editing of the intersection will take place.

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Local menu showing cleanup selected

If Cleanup is active for T-Meet, both sets of double lines will be open. If not, the first double
line selected will be open (clean), the second will be blocked by the first line. If Cleanup is
active for Intersect 2 Double lines, the intersection will be completely open, like two streets
meeting at a four-way stop. If Cleanup is not active, the first double line selected will be
open, blocking the second double line where they intersect.

An Infinite Number of Uses

The tools and commands available in the Edit and Modify menus can be used in an infinite
number of drawing situations. Make a mental note to consider these tools as you start to
create your own drawings.
Not every command in these two menus has been covered in this chapter. Some have
already been used, and some will be used in upcoming chapters, especially Chapter Ten.

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Text in the CAD Drawing
Providing Context for Images
Text plays a key role in design drawings. It provides context, bridging the gap between
verbal and visual communications. Place the word Kitchen in a room of a floor plan, and it
is immediately clear to the reader that all objects in the room are appliances, cupboards, etc.
The one word gives enough context without having to name the objects individually.
Anyone looking at the drawing can read the objects correctly.
The use of text is an important part of creating successful CAD drawings, as important as
any line in the drawing. Placing text in a drawing should not be an afterthought in the
drafting process.

An Extra Benefit for Graphic Designers

Text placement tools are available in TurboCAD because they are essential to CAD.
Whether you draw homes, stage lighting schematics or pistons, you need text. But the
combination of text and CAD tools makes it possible to use TurboCAD as a graphic design
tool. There are ways to manipulate text in TurboCAD to create special effects otherwise
possible only in expensive professional graphic design and publishing software.
The methods of text manipulation discussed in this chapter can be applied to either drafting
or graphic design with equal flexibility. Chapter Twelve will cover the use of other nongeometric objects for visual detailing in TurboCAD drawings.

The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

Text and Professional Drafting Standards

Take a look at the letters that make up the words you are reading right now. Examine their
shape, their width, their height. Look for common elements in the letters. These elements
define these particular letters as part of a font, a complete character set in a distinctive style.
Windows uses a technology called TrueType to generate fonts. The Windows operating
system ships with several TrueType fonts, and hundreds more are available for purchase.
TurboCAD can place any installed TrueType font in a drawing.
What is a TrueType font? In order to understand the differences between TrueType fonts and
other typefaces, lets look briefly at the history of text in CAD software.
The first generation of popular DOS-based CAD programs each used a different method to
represent text. Basically, each letter was a tiny drawing, consisting of lines, arcs and
sometimes curves. The typefaces (fonts) used by these programs were copies of typefaces
used in manual drafting, where every letter had to be created by hand by the draftsman.
Each CAD program had its own technology for generating text. Typefaces created for one
program could not be used by another, unless special conversion software was available.
Before CAD, the various drafting professions (primarily architecture and engineering) had
developed standards for the appearance of text in drawings. As CAD began to replace
manual drafting, the old standards for typefaces remained in place. But the introduction of
Windows (and to a lesser extent, the Macintosh) has caused a revolution in drafting
standards. The ability to use real fonts (as used in publishing) has caused many a drafting
professional to drop the old-style stick fonts for a modern typeset appearance. But not all
drafting professionals have adopted the new look for their drawings. To meet the needs of
traditional draftsmen using modern tools, TrueType fonts are available for purchase that
look like the old-style stick lettering. If you will be creating drawings that must meet
specific professional standards, be sure to find out if you are restricted to the use of certain
approved typefaces, or if you have the freedom to use any legible typeface. If there are
restrictions, try to find out if an appropriate TrueType font is available.
The advantage of TrueType fonts, and the primary reason they have become a standard
element in the Windows environment, is their flexibility. TrueType fonts are scalable to any
size without a loss of resolution. Embedded into the architecture of each letter is the
programming instructions that allow a Windows program to modify the size of the letter as
required. The internal definition of the letter provides the necessary algorithms to shape the
letter correctly at any size required.
Not only do the various drafting professions have standards about the use of fonts, there are
also standards about the size of type in drawings. These standards vary with the profession,
and it is beyond the scope of this book to try to teach the various rules. TurboCAD makes it
easy to adjust text to any height, using the drawing units (English or metric) instead of
points, the text measurement system used in typography and graphic design.

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NOTE: If you are familiar with points as a unit of measurement for type, you can use points
instead of inches (or fractions thereof) by placing your text using Paper Space instead of
World Space. The Text Format toolbar, if active, provides the opportunity to set type size in
points.

If you dont have a specific set of professional guidelines to go by, use these rules of thumb
as you create working drawings:

Use only one font whenever possible. Use two fonts only if there are two distinct
types of objects being labeled.
Avoid novelty fonts for working drawings. If you dont have specialty fonts for
drafting, stick to Ariel, Courier New and Times New Roman.
When printed to an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet, the largest characters should never be more
than 1/4 tall.
If you are familiar with points as a measurement for text, remember that 72 points
equals one inch. When you are working in World Space, TurboCAD uses the current
unit of measurement for text, not points. If you want 18-point text in the drawing, you
would use 1/4 text (18 divided by 72). As explained above, you may want to change
to Paper Space and use points directly.
If both text and dimensions are used, the dimension text should be no taller than 75
percent of the height of text used to label major objects.
Leader text should be the same size as dimension text. (Dimensions and leaders are
covered in Chapter Eleven.)

Placing Text in a Drawing

The basics of text placement in TurboCAD are simple. Before you start with the exercises in
this chapter, add the Text Format toolbar to your desktop. Select Menu: View|Toolbars.
Click on Text Format in the list of available toolbars. When you click the OK button, the
Text Format toolbar will appear on-screen.
Follow these steps whenever you need to place text in a drawing:
1.

Activate the Text tool, in the Insert Entity toolbar.

Text tool icon

2.

3.

If you wish to set the font, size, and attributes of text (such as underlining or italic)
prior to typing, choose settings from the Text Format toolbar. As an alternative, you
can set text properties by right-clicking on the Text tool, then changing the properties
in the Text property sheet that appears.
Click in the drawing area at the point where you want to place your text. Any snap
command may be used to identify this location.

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4.

Type the text that you want to place, using the <Backspace> key to make corrections.
Press <Shift> + <Enter> to add a new line of text. To finish the text, press <Enter>, or
right-click and choose Finish from the local menu.

Using these steps as a guide, place the phrase (include the misspellings) Drawin by
TurbuCAD in a new drawing. Use the Text Format toolbar or the Text property sheet (shown
below) to set text properties as:

Font: Courier New

Height: 0.5 in.
Style: Bold
Justification: Left

Text properties dialog, with settings as described above

Make sure either No Snap or Snap to Grid is active.

Editing Text in a Drawing

Once text has been placed in a drawing, it may be edited for content as necessary.
1.
2.
3.

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Change to the Select tool, and select the line of text. Use either a selection rectangle
or click on the line of text.
Right-click on the drawing area to summon the local menu, or double-click on the
line of text to be edited.
Select Properties. The Properties dialog will appear. The selected text will be
highlighted in the Attribute field.

Chapter 8 Text in the CAD Drawing

Properties dialog, with the text phrase visible in the attributes field

4.

Click somewhere on the line of text to insert a text placement cursor. Use the arrow
keys and <Backspace> (or <Delete>) to change Drawin to Drawn, by to In, and
TurbuCAD to TurboCAD. When finished, click on OK. (The <Enter> key will not
work in this situation as an alternative to clicking the OK button.)

Corrected phrase as it appears on the drawing sheet

Reformatting Text in a Drawing

It is OK to change your mind about the format of the text you have placed in the drawing.
TurboCAD allows you to adjust all text properties after text has been placed in a drawing.
1.
2.
3.

Select the text (if not still selected from the previous exercise).
Right-click to summon the local menu. Select Properties.
Click the Text tab.

4.
5.
6.
7.

Change Style to Italic.

Change Height to 0.67 in.
Select Underline in Effects.
Select Gray in Color. (The complete list of colors available depends on your
computer hardware.)
Click OK to finish.

8.

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Text properties with changes made

Text revisions as they appear on the drawing sheet

Manipulating Text

So far we have edited the text and changed its properties, similar to doing it in a word
processor. TurboCAD sees the text as a TrueType font, and treats it accordingly.
NOTE: The use of text is the first example in this book of placing non-geometric entities in a
drawing. Chapter Twelve covers the use of other objects that do not conform to the rules of
geometry.

TurboCAD 4 for Windows has many options for manipulating text, based on the principle
that you can edit or modify the text as:

a TrueType font
a group of polygons
individual polygons
multilines and fill patterns

Manipulating text as a TrueType font

As a TrueType font, you can edit the text and change its properties. These properties include
not only the font size, style and color, but also three other categories:

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Mode;
Effects;

Justification.

TrueType Text Mode settings

Text Mode controls how a block of text will respond when resize it using a selection
rectangle. Text set to Standard will stay proportional no matter how it is resized. Scalable
text can be resized non-proportionally by resizing the text blocks selection rectangle.
Flexible allows the Obliquity setting to be used. Obliquity sets the text at a specific slant.
While this looks like an alternative to setting the text style to Italic, that is not the purpose.
The Flexible option, along with an Obliquity setting, is used to prepare text in a drawing
that will be converted to a three-dimensional format. If you use Obliquity in a twodimensional drawing, the characters are actually slanting out of the plane of the drawing.

TrueType Text Effects settings

Text Effects controls a variety of settings you might require in a drawing, and are selfexplanatory. The possibilities are:

Strike-through
Underline

Text Box
Hidden
All Caps

TrueType Text Justification settings

In a word processor, text justification refers to how text lines up within the margins of a
document. In TurboCAD, justification refers to how the text lines up inside the selection
rectangle. The three options are Left, Right, and Center.

Manipulating text using Explode

If you want more freedom to manipulate the text graphically, you need to explode the text to
turn the characters into irregular polygons. The first time you do this, you will turn the text
object into a group of polygons. If you explode the text a second time, it will ungroup so
that each individual character can be manipulated as a polygon. You can resize, stretch,
move, flip, or rotate each individual character in either Select Edit or Node Edit mode. You
can change the pen, brush pattern, or other properties of the multiline by double-clicking on
the selection and changing the settings in the Properties dialog.

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Align Text to a Line

It is possible to align text to an existing line in the drawing. It is not necessary to know the
angle of the line before aligning the text.
The next sequence introduces the External Text Alignment command. This feature provides
precise control over how text is aligned relative to the point where it is inserted in the
drawing. To activate these options, select the text tool, right-click in the drawing area, and
then choose Align. The command will be followed by two capital letters that vary,
depending on the current alignment setting.
The star next to each alignment setting shows you graphically how the text is positioned
relative to the insertion point. There are three vertical positions (top, center, bottom), and
three horizontal positions (left, right, middle) for nine total choices (Top Left, Top Right,
etc.).

External Text Alignment dialog

When you reopen the local menu with the Text tool active, the letters next to Align represent
the current setting. TL, for example, means the insertion point will be at the Top Left corner
of the text.
Follow these steps to gain experience with the technique.
1.
2.
3.
4.

5.
6.
7.
8.

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Delete the existing text.

Click No Snap, then select the Line tool and draw a diagonal line from roughly the
lower left corner of the Paper to the upper right.
Click the Text Insertion tool.
Move the cursor to the lower left end of the line. Right-click and select Local
Snap|Vertex. Click near the end of the line, which will set the insertion point for the
text you will place.
Move the cursor to the upper end of the line.
Right-click and select Angle.
Right-click and select Local Snap|Vertex. Click on the upper end of the line, setting
the angle for text insertion.
Right-click and select Align. The External Text Angle dialog will appear.

Chapter 8 Text in the CAD Drawing

9.

From the choices that appear, select the left icon on the bottom row, as shown above,
and click on the OK button. This will place text using the bottom of the first letter as
the point of insertion.

10. Type "Text on a line" and press [Enter].

Text aligned with the line

TIP: Manipulating text in TurboCAD can cause stray pixels to appear on-screen as you work.
Press <F5> to force a screen redraw at any time.

Align Text to an Arc or Circle

If you really want to get fancy, you can align text to an arc or circle, real or imagined. The
sequence below will align to an existing circle. To align text in a radial pattern without
aligning to a specific circle or arc, skip the step that places the text character on the entity.
For this example, use the phrase Love makes the world go around.

NOTE: This technique uses Fit Radial Copy, introduced in Chapter Six.

1.
2.

3.

Erase all existing objects on screen. Draw a large circle.

Count the number of characters in the phrase to be placed in the drawing. Be sure to
count spaces as characters. If you plan to align text around the circumference of a
circle, count two or three extra characters for space at the end. Adding two extra
spaces (and no period) to Love makes the world go around totals 32 characters.
Select the Text tool. Click Quadrant Snap in the Snaps toolbar.

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Quadrant snap tool

4.
5.
6.

Click on the top of the circle and type L, the first letter of the phrase. Press <Enter>.
Click on the Select tool, and select the letter.
From the menu, choose Edit|Copy Entities|Fit Radial Copy.

7.

Click on Arc Center in the Snaps toolbar. Deselect Quadrant Snap.

Arc center snap tool

8.

Click on the circumference of the circle. The Fit Radial Copy will then snap to the
center of the circle.
9. Press the <Tab> key until Sets is highlighted in the Edit Bar. Type the number of
characters you need (32 in this example).
10. Press the <Tab> key again to highlight Angle. Type 360 and press <Enter>. The letter
L will be copied around the circle, making a total of 32 copies.
L

L
L

L
L

32 copies of L around a circle

11. Decide where on the circle you want the phrase to begin. In this example, start on the
upper left side of the circle (where 10 would be on a clock).
12. Select the letter one character clockwise from the starting point of the phrase, then
double-click on the letter to access the Properties dialog. Click on the general tab if
not already active.
13. The letter will be highlighted in the Properties dialog. Type o, the second character of
the phrase. Click OK.

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14. Select the next letter, right-click, select Properties, and type v, the third letter of the
phrase. Click OK.
15. Repeat the process to change every letter in sequence.
e

a
k

o
r

Finished circle with Love makes the world go around on it

TIP: To place spaces between the words, dont bother right-clicking for the Properties dialog.
Just delete the character.

Manipulating Text as Graphic Elements

It was not necessary to explode the text in any of the techniques already given. If you want
to create special graphic effects with text, you must explode the characters first.
1.
2.

Delete all objects on the screen, or save your work and start a new drawing.
Select the Text tool. In the Text Format toolbar, change the font to Ariel, the size to 1
in., and select Bold.

Text toolbar with settings as described

3.
4.
5.
6.

Select Snap to Grid from the Snaps toolbar.

Click to the left of center on the Paper, and type your initials or TCD (for TurboCAD
Designs). Press <Enter>.
Switch to the Select tool. Select the text, then select Menu: Format|Explode.
With the letters still selected, use Explode again. Then click anywhere in the drawing
area.

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7.
8.

Each letter is now a separate object.

Select Node Edit from the Insert Entity menu, and click on the first letter.

In Node Edit mode, you can reshape entities or objects by directly manipulating particular
points, called nodes. Nodes are available on most TurboCAD objects and entities by
selecting the object with the Node Edit cursor. (Node Edit was introduced in Chapter Six,
and will be covered in more detail in both Chapter Ten and Chapter Twelve.) Nodes should
not be confused with the handles on a selection rectangle. Nodes are points found on the
object. Nodes identify locations of geometric significance on an object or entity, and are
used by TurboCAD to define the object mathematically in the drawing database stored on
disk. (Drawing database is the technical term for what you would normally call the drawing
file.)
9.

Experiment by dragging various nodes on each of the letters, to reshape the letters. To
switch back to select edit (the mode with the selection rectangle), click on the Select
tool in the Insert Entity toolbar.

Node Edit was used to modify these characters after they were exploded

Import Text from Other Applications

If you need a large block of text in a drawing, or if the text you need already exists in
another document, you can import the text into a TurboCAD drawing. There are two
methods available:

Menu: Edit|Paste, which pastes any data that has been previously copied or cut to the
Windows clipboard.
Menu: Edit|Paste Special, which also pastes any data that has been previously copied
or cut to the Windows clipboard. Paste Special offers the ability to use OLE, Object
Linking and Embedding, a Windows function. Menu: Edit|Paste Special is covered in
Chapter Twelve.

Using Menu: Edit|Paste, it is possible to bring in text, bitmap images, or metafile graphic
images from other Windows applications.
Use Menu: Edit|Paste in the exercise below to import text from TurboCAD Help into a
drawing.
1.

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Delete all objects on the screen, or save and open a new drawing.

Chapter 8 Text in the CAD Drawing

2.
3.

Select the text tool, so that the Text Format toolbar is active. Change the text size to
.25 in or smaller.
From the menu, select Help|TurboCAD Help Topics.

4.

Select Search. Type Paste and press <Enter>.

TurboCAD help screen for the Paste command

5.
6.
7.
8.

Move the cursor onto the body of the text. Highlight the first three lines (Menu:,
Hotkey:, and Toolbar:)
From the Help screen menu, select Edit|Copy, or press <Ctrl> + <C> to copy the
highlighted text.
Double-click on the Control Menu Box to close the Help screen.
Back in TurboCAD, select Menu: Edit|Paste, or press <Ctrl> + <V>. The text from
the help screen will appear in the drawing with a selection rectangle. Click anywhere
on the drawing area to deselect.

Text from TurboCAD Help pasted into a drawing

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The Best of Both Worlds

Some people relate better to graphic images and visual communications. Others relate better
to words. TurboCAD bridges the gap by offering a robust set of text tools. Not only can you
annotate technical drawings to provide context and complete explanation, but you can use
TurboCAD as a graphic design sketchpad.
Some of the features and concepts introduced in this chapter will be revisited later. Text is a
non-geometric object in TurboCAD, and has aspects in common with other objects such as
hatches, color fills, bitmaps, and metafiles.

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9
File and Data Management
Organizing the Information You Create
First and foremost, CAD programs are not about pictures. They are about data. A design is
the visual representation of information data. The CAD program helps you organize this
information into a recognizable visual form. Using drafting and editing tools, you create
specific images that convey specific meaning.
In addition to the geometric entities and other objects you draw, TurboCAD offers other
ways of organizing and displaying the information in a drawing. This chapter covers the
fundamentals of organizing and managing the varieties of data generated by a designer or
drafter.

Comparing Drawings to Documents

To understand how a drawing conveys information, compare a TurboCAD drawing to a
typical document made with a word processor.
In the document, the basic element is the character. In English, characters are the 26 letters,
capital and lower case, plus punctuation and math symbols. In the drawing, the basic
element is the point, a geometric element that has position but no size.
In a document, we combine groups of characters to create a word. By itself, each character
has no inherent meaning. But when combined to make words (or equations, if dealing with
math), each grouping carries an idea. Therefore, we must be careful when we put characters
together. For example, unite and untie use exactly the same letters, in almost the same order,
but their definitions are opposites.
In a TurboCAD drawing, the counterpart of a word is the entity. As defined in Chapter Two,
lines, arcs, circles, and the other primitive objects in TurboCAD are all entities. They are

The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

carefully arranged groups of points, and this arrangement determines their geometric
definition. For example, a circle is defined by the location of its center and its radius. All the
points on the circle then line up so that they are exactly the same distance from the center.
Words and equations in a document may be given emphasis. In this book, for example, we
make use of Capitalization, bold type, italic type, and changing fonts to give
emphasis. Other forms of emphasis in a document may be variations of font styles, the use
of small capital letters, changes in type size, and if available, color. Each of these variations
in emphasis is an attribute, not of the word itself, but of how the word appears in print.
It is also possible to emphasize entities in TurboCAD, with the use of such attributes as
color, line pattern, pen width, and the layer the object resides on. Each of these elements
will be defined in this chapter, and suggestions for use offered.
Words combine, with or without emphasis, to form a sentence. Sentences combine to form a
paragraph, and paragraphs to form the document. Each level imparts information, and as the
parts become a whole the author presents the message.
In TurboCAD, entities combine to form objects, objects may be formed into groups, and
both are presented together to form a total concept, the design message. In both the
document and the drawing, the full intent of the designer comes through when the entities
are seen as a unified, single work.
A reader may analyze some parts of a document separately. For example, a memorandum
from a company CEO may outline five steps to be taken by various departments. Readers
from each of these departments will read the entire memo, but will pay especially close
attention to steps involving their particular department.
Most CAD drawings will also be analyzed on a piece-by-piece basis. Consider how the
drawings for a new house will be used. The appliance delivery crew will look to see where
appliances are to be installed, plumbers will look at the plans for the plumbing, and
electricians, carpet installers and other subcontractors will focus on the parts of the drawing
requiring their attention. All will look at how their part of the job fits into the complete
design. This detailed analysis of a CAD drawing can be made easier by organizing and
highlighting information in the drawing.

CAD Management Systems

For each entity you draw in TurboCAD, you can define:

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Pen color
Pen width
Line pattern
Dash Scale
Alignment
Layer
Width scaling

Chapter 9 File and Data Management

In addition, each object can be given its own label or explanation, known as an attribute.
There can be a virtually infinite number of colors, widths, patterns, dash scales and layers.
If you have only been thinking of CAD drawings in terms of thin solid black lines, this
sudden availability of infinite variety may be a little overwhelming.
Most experienced drafters and designers rely on a CAD management system to guide them
in the selection of these variables. The system is either the result of personal decisions,
company standards, the advice of a professional organization, or tradition. You should seek
out examples of standards that are relevant to your situation, and begin to use them in your
design projects. Lacking the availability of such standards, you can still organize your
drawings using color, line type, and the other options. In a construction plan, for example,
you could use color to identify various raw materials such as wood, masonry, and sheet
rock. Wiring could be in one color (or 120v in one color, 220v in another), as could
plumbing.
Various elements of information management and presentation discussed below will be
accompanied by a brief hands-on section. Instead of taking the time to draw a variety of
objects, and then modify their color, layer data, etc., the drawing TECHNIC1.TCW,
included with your copy of TurboCAD, will be used for exploring some of these options.

Properties of Entities
TurboCAD provides a variety of ways to display and record entities in a drawing. The
available settings are controlled in the Properties dialog, available from the menu at
Format|Properties. This menu item is not available unless an entity in the drawing is
selected; the settings you see in the Properties dialog belong to the selected entity.
For all entities, the Properties dialog has three sections, each called a Properties sheet:

General
Pen
Brush

Additional property sheets for Double Line, Curve, Point, Text and the various dimensions
styles, appear in the Properties Dialog only if one of these entities is selected.

General Properties
The General properties sheet lets you select a layer and add an attribute to the entity. A
complete discussion of layers follows shortly. A text attribute is a brief explanation that you
can link to the entity. For example, if a polygon represents a bolt, you can select the
polygon and list a part number or size as the text attribute for the polygon. If a specific text
attribute is not created by the user, the name of the entity (line, polygon, curve, etc.) will
appear.
The Selection Info palette, introduced in Chapter Six, will display the text attribute of a

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selected entity. By clicking the Copy button in the Selection Info palette, the text attribute
(and all the other data associated with the entity) is copied to the Windows clipboard.
1.
2.

Start TurboCAD and open the drawing TECHNIC1.TCW, in the \SAMPLES folder or
subdirectory.
Select the bottom line from the side view (the side view is the object in the top left
quadrant of the drawing).

The line to select is circled

3.
4.

Right-click to summon the local menu. Click on Properties.

The General Properties sheet appears, with a text cursor blinking in the Attribute
field. Type Baseline, side view. Do not press <Enter> or click on OK yet.

General property sheet with attribute phrase

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Pen Properties
The Pen properties sheet controls the look of lines in the drawing. In this context, lines
means all geometric entities, not just objects created by the Line tools. The main elements
are pattern, color, and thickness.
Twenty-six line patterns are available in TurboCAD. The ten most commonly used in all the
various drafting professions are shown below. The others 16 patterns represent variations on
these ten basic patterns. These line patterns are common to most CAD programs:
Line Pattern name
Continuous
Border
Center
Dashdot
Dashed
Divide
Dot
Hidden

Representation

Phantom
$Auxiliary
Check the Alignment box if you want the line pattern to align itself so that the corners of
rectangles and polygons are always solid, no matter how the line pattern is used.
The number of colors available in your copy of TurboCAD depends on the capabilities of
your computer hardware. The software receives information on the number of available
colors from the Windows operating system.

NOTE: You can create new colors using the Color Palette property sheet, Meni: Options|Color
Palette.

The Dash Scale setting is used to modify the scale of a pens dot-dash pattern. For example,
if you set the scale at .5 (instead of the default, 1), the dots and dashes will be half the
default scale, and the dot-dash pattern will be repeated twice as often. This is an essential
feature for creating complicate site plans, which require a wide variety of line types that are
essentially the same two or three line patterns at various scales.
Width Scaling determines whether the width of the line will be scaled, or remain the same
size, when you zoom in and out of the drawing. If you select Device, the width will be
scaled relative to your computer screen and printer, and will remain the same size at any
magnification. If you choose World, then the width will be scaled with your drawing and
will change size as soon as you zoom in and out. This setting also applies to the size of the
elements in the pens dot-dash pattern.
The Width box controls the pen width. You can choose a listed size, or type in a value.

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Continuing on with the tutorial:
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Click on the Pen tab.

Use the selection arrow for the Color field to select blue as the new color.
Use the selection arrow for the Width field to select 0.05 in as the new width.
Click the OK button to close the Properties dialog.
Click anywhere in the drawing area to deselect the line. Notice how it changes to
match the new settings in the Properties dialog.

Brush Properties
The Brush property sheet is used to control solid color fills and hatch patterns in closed
entities such as circles and polygons. Solid color fills and hatch patterns are discussed in
Chapter Twelve.

Using Layers in a Drawing

TurboCAD drawings can be organized into layers. They are virtual levels in a drawing,
analogous to acetate sheets (overlays) in traditional drafting. Each layer is a separate
drawing surface. When printed, a drawing may display all layers, or any combination
chosen by the designer.
Layers give you the advantage of sorting objects in your drawing. You can use layers to
organize by the type of object, by order of creation, or by any other method that suits the
way you work. You can then place each category of object on a separate layer of the
drawing, so that you can work on one layer of objects at a time. Layers can be visible or not
visible, editable or not editable. If you want to view only a subset of the objects in your
drawing, set the layers you want to see as visible, and set all other layers to invisible.
Setting layers to non-editable makes it possible to protect objects on those layers from
unintended change while working on another layer of the drawing.
Consider the possibilities you have in using layers. You can:

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Arrange levels of detail layer-by-layer, so that one layer shows basic elements
(exterior walls), another layer reveals an additional level of detail (interior partitions),
a third layer holds yet a smaller level of detail (furnishings for a room), and so on.
Divide phases of construction into separate layers, by trade or subcontractor.
Place object dimensions on a layer separate from the object, allowing you to print a
version of the design without size and scale specifications. A sales representative for
an office workstation manufacturer could use this feature to hide the measurements in
a bid drawing, so competitors cant benefit from his measurements if he leaves a
printed copy of the drawing with a customer.
If you develop a scheme for the organization of a drawing using layers, you may be

Chapter 9 File and Data Management

able to print many types of drawings from the same file. For example, you could print
a floor plan as a foundation plan, a dimensioned floor plan, a furniture plan, or a
presentation floor plan, depending on which layers you turn on and off.
Several professional societies have published layer organization plans for their membership,
the most notable being American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the Army Corps of
Engineers.

Using Layers to Force Standards

TurboCAD allows you to set a default line color and line style for a layer. While it isnt
mandatory, setting line color and/or line style by layer forces a plan of organization into the
drawing. To take best advantage of assigning line settings to layers, you would need to
create (or adopt an existing) line type and color plan for your work.
Follow the steps below to assign line and color standards to a new layer.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Start a new drawing. When the Template dialog appears, click Cancel.
A second dialog appears, informing you that TurboCAD will use the defaults used in
the programs INI file to establish defaults. Click OK.
From the menu, select Options|Layer.
Type 001 in the Name field. Click on New to make 001 the name of a new layer.
Select Red from the Color field.
Click on the Selection arrow for Line Style, and select the second line style shown
(Border).
Click on the Name field, and type 002. Click on New to make 002 the name of a new
layer.
Select Green from the color field.
Click on OK.

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Setting standards for new layers

Tool-based Property Selection

The first set of hands-on steps made changes to the properties of an existing entity.
Modifying the properties of every object after it has been drawn would be a slow way to
work. TurboCAD allows you to set the properties of objects before they are drawn, by
linking properties to a specific tool. This way you can draw objects to your CAD
management standards from the start, eliminating the need to re-edit according to your
standards. This can be a great time-saver, especially if you create a template to store your
property standards. Creating new templates is covered in Chapter Thirteen.
If you want to use layers to organize your drawing standards, set the tool to the layer. If you
want to draw on any layer with specific properties, set the tool to the properties before you
draw. Right-click on a tool button to establish properties. If the color and line-style
properties of objects on a layer are set to By Layer, they will have the color and line style
assigned to the layer.
Tool-based property selection is not unique to TurboCAD, but the majority of CAD
programs on the market do not use this method. Instead, layers, colors, line types, etc. are
all set independently, and must be kept track of separately. Tool-based property selection
allows for a quick integration of all aspects of CAD management.
The Layers property sheet allows you to create new layers, set the properties of layers, and
delete layers. To create a new layer, type a name for the layer in the Name text box, then
click the New button. The new layer name will appear in the Layers dialog list box.

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The current drawing layer is the layer on which any new objects that you create or insert
will reside. To set the current drawing layer, use the Property Toolbar. (Use Menu:
View|Toolbars to add the Property Toolbar to your TurboCAD desktop.)

Property Toolbar

You can set the properties of a layer using the controls in the Properties area of the Layers
dialog. Any changes you make apply to the layer that is currently selected in the Layers
dialog list box.
1.

Right-click on the line tool. Click on the Pen tab to access the Pen properties sheet.

The pen properties sheet for the line tool

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Use the scroll bars to select By Layer in the Pattern field.

Use the Selection Arrow to select By Layer in the Color field.
Click on the General tab.
In the Layer field, select 001.
Click the OK button to close the Properties dialog.
Click on the line tool, then draw two separate lines anywhere on screen. The lines
should appear red and in the border line pattern style.

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7
i

Two new lines in BORDER style have been added to the drawing

8. Right-click on the Line tool. Select the General tab, and set the layer to 002.
9. In the Attribute field, type Sample Green Lines. Click on the OK button.
10. Draw two more lines anywhere on screen. The lines should appear green.

Setting the Default Properties of a Tool

When you set the default properties of a tool, all subsequent entities drawn with that tool
will have the settings you specified, until you explicitly change them. To access the default
properties, either right-click on the tool icon as mentioned above, or activate the tool and
then choose Menu: Format|Properties.

Setting the Properties of Selected Objects

The Properties dialog is context-sensitive when you open it, the dialog will show the set
of property sheets appropriate to the objects selected. If you select a double line, then bring
up the Properties dialog, the dialog will contain the Double Line property sheet.
You can use this dialog to set the default properties for a drawing tool; or to set the
individual properties of a particular object or set of objects.

The Property Toolbar

In addition to using the Properties dialog, the Properties toolbar is available to set and
change properties. The Property Toolbar does not appear on screen when you launch
TurboCAD, you must select it from either Menu: View|Toolbars, or Menu:
Options|Desktop. Check Property in the list of available toolbars, and it will appear on
the desktop.
If no objects are currently selected, the settings on the Property toolbar apply to the active
drawing tool. If you activate any single line tool and then change the settings on the
Property toolbar, the settings will apply to all objects drawn with any single line tool.

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NOTE: You should always remove the Properties toolbar from the desktop if you are going to
run a TurboCAD script. If the Properties toolbar is visible when a script is running, the screen
redraws to display the property of every item affected by the script. This slows the script
down considerably.

Choosing Among Symbols, Blocks, and Groups

Chapter Three introduced The First Law of CAD: Only draw an object once. In subsequent
tutorials symbols and groups have been introduced as ways to organize related entities that
together form an object in your drawing. There is a third way to link entities, by saving
them as a block. Blocks are similar to groups in that they consist of a collection of entities
unified into a single object. When a block is created, the data that defines the block is stored
in a block library. The block library is part of the drawing file. When more than one copy of
any particular block is used in a drawing, TurboCAD refers back to the original definition of
the block to draw each additional insertion.
The obvious questions are, which ones do you use, and when do you use them? Here are
some guidelines:

If you will be drawing an object, and using that object repeatedly in the drawing, save
the object as a block. An example would be a bolt. Only one definition of the object
needs to be stored in RAM memory as you work, saving time during redraw. This
also helps keep the file size smaller.
If the object will be used on a long-term basis, in project after project, save it as a
symbol. An example would be a sofa in plan view. It will reside on the hard drive as a
separate file. Related symbols can be saved in common file folders.
If you draw an object unique to your current drawing, link the entities that define the
object as a group. This will make it easier to move the object. Groups are easier to
manipulate than separate entities if you use the Align command.
If you aren't sure whether to use a block or a group in a given situation, go with
blocks. Blocks offer a rotation field option when selected.

Organized Details Are Useful Details

This chapter provides an overview of the tools and procedures available in TurboCAD to
organize and manage the information you generate as you draw. In essence, TurboCAD is a
visual database, since it provides tools and procedures to create, organize and retrieve
specific kinds of visual information. As you continue to practice and use TurboCAD, take
the time to add an organizing plan to your work. Consider how to use various colors, layers,
line types and other aspects of CAD management to your work. If you can, get a copy of the
CAD management guidelines from a professional organization.

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10
Drawing Techniques Part Two
Arcs, Circles and Curves
This chapter continues the discussion of geometric construction introduced in Chapter Six.
In Chapter Six we emphasized straight lines; now we will concern ourselves with the use of
arcs, circles, curves and related objects. The techniques and ideas presented in this chapter
apply in a wide variety of situations, and are useful in all professional applications.
This chapter features a mix of short tutorials that focus on the use of one particular tool with
a slightly longer tutorial that provides an opportunity to use several commands and tools
together.
Basic definitions for geometric objects were provided in Chapter Six. If you are not familiar
with any of the terms used in this chapter, refer back for the definitions.

Arc Placement Guidelines

TurboCAD offers eleven ways to draw an arc including three elliptical arc tools. These
tools, and their functions, are:
Tool

Action

Arc Center and Radius

Specify a radius point (center point) and a point on the

circumference.

Concentric Arc
Double Point

Draw arcs that share a common center

Define the endpoints of the arcs diameter

Arc Tangent to Arc

Draw a circular arc tangent to a circle or to another arc.

The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

Arc Tangent to Line

Draw a circular arc tangent to a line.

Tool

Action

Arc Tangent to 3 Arcs

Draw a circular arc tangent to three other arcs or circles.

Start/Included/End (1-2-3)

Define an arc by its starting point (1),

a point on its perimeter (2), and its ending point (3).

Start/End/Included (1-3-2)

Define an arc by starting point (1), ending point, and then by

Elliptical Arc

a point on its perimeter (2).

Draw an elliptical arc by defining its bounding rectangle.

Rotated Elliptical Arc

Draw an elliptical arc rotated at any angle.

Fixed Ratio

Draw an elliptical arc with the axis set at a fixed ratio.

When faced with so many choices, the beginners obvious question is Which one should I
use? There are some clues available in the names of the various tools. Three arc tools are
reserved for creating ellipses, three more are limited to situations requiring tangency. These
situations will be dealt with in separate sections as the chapter continues. That leaves five
tools for general-purpose drafting of arcs.
Work through the following exercise before reading the guidelines for placement later in the
chapter. Draw three regular polygons, and try to place an arc along each as indicated. Use
the information in the status bar to help you attempt to place each arc. You may not be
successful each time. Doing this will help you understand how arc commands work, and
better able to appreciate the arc-placement guidelines to follow.

NOTE: Arcs are always drawn in a counterclockwise direction in TurboCAD.

Place an Arc Along a Regular Polygon

1.
2.
3.

Start TurboCAD. Select the Normal template and click OK.

Adjust the screen grid (Menu: Options|Grid and the Advance Grid tab) to Spacing of
.125, Divisions of 4, and Frequency of 1 for both X and Y.
Click and hold on the Line tool until the flyout toolbar appears. Select Polygon.

Polygon tool

4.
5.

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Select Snap to Grid from the Snaps toolbar, left side of the screen.
Toward the left side of the sheet, click on the intersection of two major grid lines.

Chapter 10 Drawing Techniques Part Two

6.

Move the cursor up to the next major grid line (1) and click again to finish the
regular polygon.
Repeat the process two more times to the right, creating three identical regular
polygons as illustrated.

Three regular polygons in a line

7.
8.

Turn on the Vertex snap tool.

Select Arc Center and Radius from the arc flyout toolbar.

Arc center and radius tool

9.

By following the prompts at the bottom of the screen, attempt to construct an arc on
the first polygon that starts exactly at point 1, passes precisely through point 2 and
ends exactly on point 3. Click on the grid at the center of the polygon to start the arc
using this tool.

10. Select Double Point from the Arc flyout toolbar, and again attempt to place an arc
that connects the same three points.

Double Point arc tool

11. Select Start/Included/End (1-2-3) from the Arc flyout toolbar, and attempt the same
procedure on the third polygon.

Start/Included/End arc (1-2-3) tool

If all went well, two of the commands were able to draw the specified arc. Arc Center and
Radius, and Start/Included/End both worked, but Double Point didnt come close.

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Attempts to place arcs on three regular polygons

Each arc command is designed for specific situations. There is some overlap in their
capabilities, but sometimes there is only one tool that makes sense. Here are some
guidelines:

If you know the exact midpoint of the arc (the point midway along the length of the
arc, not the center of the radius), use Start/Included/End.
If you know the center point (radius) and the start of the arc, use Arc Center and
Radius.
If you know the start, end and center of the arc, use Arc Center and Radius.
If you dont know the radius of the arc, use Start/Included/End.
If you need to create two or more arcs that share a common center point, use
Concentric.

Arc Placement Techniques

Each arc tool has a standard placement technique. Follow the instructions below to practice
using each arc tool as part of completing a geometric construction project. Before each
project is a general description of the tools use. Be sure to erase each previous drawing
before starting the next project.

TIP: Remember, 0 degrees on a circle is the equivalent of 3 oclock; 90 degrees is 12 oclock;

180 degrees is 9 oclock; 270 degrees is 6 oclock.

Arc Center and Radius

Use Arc Center and Radius tool to create an arc by defining its center, a point on its
circumference, and the two end points (starting and ending angles of the arc). The
construction problem is to create a wave pattern using arcs inside a circle.

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First construction problem, waves in a circle

1.
2.

Make sure Snap Grid is on. Use Zoom Window (View toolbar, right side of screen) to
get a close-up of one quadrant of the paper.
Click and hold on the circle tool until the flyout toolbar appears. Select Circle Center
and Point.

Circle Center and Point tool

3.
4.
5.

Move the cursor to a major grid intersection. Click to set the center of a circle.
Move the cursor orthogonally two major grid lines, to set a radius of 1. Click to
finish the circle.
Select the Arc Center and Radius tool from the Arc flyout toolbar.

Arc center and radius tool

6.
7.

The prompt line reads Define the center point of the arc ...
From the location at 180 degrees (9 oclock) on the circle, move the cursor two minor
grid lines right (1/4). Click to set the center of an arc.
8. The prompt line reads Define a second point on the arc ...
9. Move the cursor right two minor grid lines (1/4) and click.
10. Click again in the same location to Define the start angle of the arc. (The first end
point of the arc.)
11. Move the cursor straight left to the location at 180 degrees (9 oclock) on the circle,
and click to Define the end angle of the arc.

First arc placed inside circle

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12. The arc command is still active.
13. Click on the right end point of the first arc to set the center of the next arc.
14. Move the cursor right 1/2 (4 minor grid lines) and click to Define a second point on
the arc.
15. Click at the same location a second time to Define the start angle of the arc.
16. Move the cursor to the left end point of the first arc and click to finish.

Two arcs inside circle

17. The arc command is still active.

18. Click on the grid intersection halfway between the right endpoints of the first two
arcs.
19. Move the cursor right 6 grid lines (3/4) and click to set the radius of the new arc.
20. Click again at the same location to start the arc.
21. Move the cursor to the common left endpoints of the first two arcs and click to finish.

Three arcs inside circle

22. Click on the Select tool, and select the three arcs. This is easily done with one
selection rectangle if Open Window Mode is off in the local menu. Or, you may
select the arcs with Menu: Edit|Select By|Entity Type and choose Arc.
23. From the menu, select Edit|Copy Entities|Radial.
24. Click on the right endpoint of the second arc (which is also the center point of the
circle) to define the center of the radial copy process.
25. The prompt says Define the step angle.
26. Press <Tab> repeatedly until the value in Sets is highlighted in the Edit Bar. Type 2.
27. Press <Tab> once to highlight the value in Angle. Type 180 and press <Enter>.
28. Click anywhere on screen to deselect the arcs.

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Arcs copied using Radial copy

Concentric Arc
Use the Concentric Arc tool when you need to draw a series of arcs that share a common
center point. Remember that arcs are always drawn counterclockwise in TurboCAD.

Second construction problem, braided arcs

1.

Select the Single Line tool.

2.

Using the intersection of two major grid lines as a center point, draw a symmetrical
cross with each line extending 3/8" from the center.

Draw a symmetrical cross

3.

In each quadrant formed by the lines of the cross, draw three lines each 3/8" long, as
illustrated.

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NOTE: The Parallel Line tool or a copy tool could have been used in this part of the exercise,
but the lines are so short and easy to draw with Snap to Grid that there is no time saved by
switching to another tool.

Draw three parallel lines in each quadrant

4.
5.
6.

Select the Concentric Arc tool from the arc flyout toolbar.
The prompt reads Define the center point of the arc ...
Click on the right end point of the right line which formed the original cross, to
choose it as the center point for the arcs to be drawn.
7. The prompt reads Define a second point ...
8. Move the cursor one grid line down and click to set a point on the arc's
circumference.
9. The prompt reads Define the start angle of the arc ...
10. Click at the same location used to set the circumference.
11. Move the cursor straight up to draw an arc that ends on the line directly above the
center point of the arc.

Use Concentric Arc to draw first arc

12. The Concentric Arc tool is still active, and will use the center previously defined to
draw other arcs.
13. The prompt reads Define a second point on the arc ... Move the cursor 1/8" (one
grid line) below the start of the first arc. Click twice. The first click will set the radius
of the arc; the second click will start the arc.
14. Move the cursor 1/8" above the top end of the first arc, and click to set a second arc.
15. Move the cursor 1/8" below the start of the second arc and click twice.
16. Move the cursor 1/8" above the top end of the second arc and click to finish a third
arc.

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Draw two more arcs

17. Click on the Select tool and select the three arcs.
18. From the Menu, select Edit|Copy Entities|Radial.
19. The prompt reads Define the center of the copy process. Click at the center of the
original cross.
20. Press the <Tab> key until Sets is highlighted in the Edit Bar. Type 4.
21. Press the <Tab> key to highlight Angle. Type 90, and press <Enter>.

Use Copy Radial to finish the drawing

Double Point Arc

The Double Point Arc tool lets you draw an arc by defining the endpoints of its diameter.

Third construction problem, camera lens shutter

1.
2.

Make sure Snap to Grid is on.

Select the Concentric Circle tool from the circle flyout toolbar.

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3.
4.

Move the cursor to the intersection of two major grid lines and click to set the center
of a circle.
Move left one minor grid line (1/8) and click to finish a circle.

5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Move left one minor grid line (1/8) and click to finish a second circle.
The circle tool is still active.
Move left to the second major grid line and click to create a third circle.
Click the Select tool.
Click on the Double Point Arc tool from the arc flyout toolbar.

Start by drawing three circles using the same center point

10. Move the cursor to the location at 180 degrees (9 oclock) on the larger of the two
interior circles. Click to start an arc.
11. The prompt reads Define a second point... Move the cursor to the location at 0
degrees (3 oclock) on the largest circle and click to set the angle of the arc.
12. Define the start angle of the arc. Click again at the same location.
13. The prompt reads Define the end angle of the arc. Move the cursor right to the
location at 180 degrees (9 oclock) on the larger interior circle and click to finish the
arc.

An arc has been added to the circles

14.
15.
16.
17.
18.

Click on the Select tool and select the arc.

From the menu, select Edit|Copy Entities|Fit Radial Copy.
Click on the center of the three circles to Define the center of the copy process.
Press <Tab> repeatedly until the value in Sets is highlighted in the Edit Bar. Type 8.
Press <Tab> to highlight Angle in the Edit Bar. Type 360 and press <Enter>.

19. Click anywhere in the drawing area to deselect the original arc.

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Use Fit Radial Copy to complete the construction problem

Start/Included/End (1-2-3) Arc

Fourth construction problem, flower pattern

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Make sure Snap to Grid is active.

Select the Concentric Circle tool from the circle flyout toolbar.
Move the cursor to the intersection of two major grid lines and click to set the center
of a circle.
Move left two minor grid lines (1/4) and click to finish the circle.
Move left two major grid lines (1) and click to finish a second circle.

Start third construction problem by drawing two circles

6.

Select Start/Included/End (1-2-3) from the arc flyout toolbar.

Start/Included/End (1-2-3) arc tool

7.

Move the cursor to the location at 180 degrees on the larger circle. Click to start the
arc.

8.

Define the middle point of the arc. Locate the grid intersection four lines down
from the top of the circle (90 degrees or 12 oclock) and click to set the second point
of the arc.

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9.

Define the end point of the arc. Move the cursor to the location at 0 degrees (3
oclock) on the larger circle and click to finish the arc.

An arc has been added to the circles

10. Select the arc.

11. From the menu, select Edit|Copy Entities|Mirror.
12. Define the first point of the mirror. Move the cursor to the location at 180 degrees
(9 oclock) on the larger circle and click to start the mirror axis line.
13. Move the cursor right to the location at 0 degrees (3 oclock) and click to finish the
mirror, copying the arc.

Use Copy Entities|Mirror to copy the arc

14.
15.
16.
17.
18.

Select both arcs.

From the menu, select Edit|Copy Entities|Fit Radial Copy.
Click on the center of the circle to set the center for the copying.
Press <Tab> until Sets is highlighted in the Edit Bar. Type 4.
Press <Tab> to highlight Angle in the Edit Bar. Type 360 and press <Enter>.

Fit Radial Copy is used to finish the construction problem

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Drawing Arcs with the Edit Bar

Snaps and mouse entry were used to draw all the arcs so far. It is also possible to use the
Edit Bar in various combinations with the mouse to draw arcs. To do so requires using the
Lock feature of the Edit bar. The small boxes to the left of the Radius and Circumf. fields
are the Lock boxes. If a value is entered in one of the fields, and you activate the lock for
that field (by clicking on the boxan X appears), that value is set even if you move the
cursor on screen. If you know specific values for the arc you need to draw, such as the
radius, the circumference, or a starting or ending angle, you can enter the appropriate value
in the Edit Bar as part of drawing the arc. To avoid moving the mouse unnecessarily, press
the <Tab> key to engage the Edit Bar. Each press of the <Tab> key moves one step through
the Edit Bar fields. In the illustration below, the Edit Bar has been moved into the drawing
area, and a 2" radius has been specified by typing 2 in. in the Radius field and clicking the
Lock Box. When the Edit Bar is floating in the drawing area, the name of the command
being used appears as the title of the box instead of Edit Bar.

Edit bar settings for drawing a 2" arc

Drawing Tangent Arcs, Lines and Circles

Lines, arcs and circles may all be drawn tangent to arcs and circles. To draw a entity tangent
to an arc or circle is to draw it so that the lines of the two objects come into contact but do
not intersect. The two tools used to draw arcs tangent to other objects have already been
listed. The other tangent tools are:

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Tool

Action

Circle Tangent to Arc

Circle Tangent to Line

Draw a circle tangent to another circle or arc.

Draw a circle tangent to a line.

Tangent Arc Point

Draw a line tangent to an arc or circle, touching the arc at the lines
midpoint.

Tangent To Arc

Draw a line tangent to an arc or circle, with the lines second end
point touching the arc.

Tangent From Arc

Draw a line tangent to an arc, with the lines first endpoint touching
the arc.
Draw a line tangent to two arcs, with each endpoint of the line
touching one of the arcs.

Tangent to 2 Arcs

Complete the following construction problem to gain experience with some of the tangent
commands available in TurboCAD. The completed diagram is a cam assembly, a typical
mechanical engineering drawing. For this exercise you will shut off the screen grid and use
a variety of snap commands.

Next construction problem, cam assembly

154

1.
2.

Click on No Snap in the Snaps Toolbar.

From the menu, select Tools|Grid and click the Show Grid box to shut off the grid.
Click OK.

3.

Select Circle Center and Point from the Circle flyout toolbar.

4.

Click anywhere on the paper to start a circle.

5.

Press <Tab> and type .295 for radius. Press <Enter>.

6.

The circle command is still active. Right-click to summon the local menu. Click on
local snap and select Arc Center.

Chapter 10 Drawing Techniques Part Two

7.
8.

Click on the circle.

Press <Tab> and type .64 for radius. Press <Enter>.

First two circles drawn using the Edit Bar

9. Select the Line tool.

10. Right-click to access the local menu. Click on local snap and select Arc Center. Click
on the larger circle.
11. Press <Tab>, type 2.45 for length; press <Tab>, type 340 (for angle) <Enter>.
12. Select the Circle Center and Point tool.
13. Right-click, local snap, Vertex.
14. Click on the right end of the line.
15. Press <Tab>, type .36 for radius. Press <Enter>.

A third circle has been placed

16. Click on Tangent to 2 Arcs in the Line flyout toolbar.

17. The prompt reads Pick an arc. Click on the top side of the larger left circle.
18. Choose the tangent. Click on the top side of the circle on the right.

The second line is tangent to two circles

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19. The Tangent to 2 Arcs command is still active.
20. Click on the bottom side of the larger left circle.
21. Click on the bottom side of the circle on the right.

A second tangent line is added to the bottom

22.
23.
24.
25.
26.

Click on the Line tool.

Select Vertex Snap from the Snap toolbar.
Click on the left endpoint of the bottom tangent line.
Click on the left endpoint of the top tangent line.
Repeat the process for the circle on the right side of the diagram.

Lines connect the ends of the tangent lines

27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.

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Click on the Select tool.

From the menu, select Modify|Object Trim.
Click on the left (nearly vertical) line to select it as the cutting edge.
Move the cursor right and click on the larger circle.
Press <Esc> to deselect the cutting edge. The Object Trim tool is still active.
Click on the right (nearly vertical) line to select it as the cutting edge.
Move the cursor a little to the left and click on the circle.
Click on the Select tool.

Chapter 10 Drawing Techniques Part Two

Object Trim was used to remove a half circle from each side

35. Use the Select tool and the <Delete> key to delete the two cutting edges and the line
running through the center of the diagram.

Three interior straight lines removed

36. Select the Tangent to Arc tool from the Circle flyout toolbar.
37. Click on the top of the largest arc, left side of the diagram.
38. Press <Tab> and set the Radius as .31. Press <Enter>.

The new circle is tangent to the left side of the existing arc

39.
40.
41.
42.

Click on Snap Arc Center in the Snaps toolbar.

Select Circle Center and Point from the Circle flyout toolbar.
Click on the last circle placed.
Press <Tab>, type .14, press <Enter>.

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A new circle, placed inside the previous one

43. Click on Quadrant Snap in the Snaps toolbar. Deselect any other active snap.
44. Select the Line tool. Click on the larger of the two upper circles at 180 degrees (9
oclock) and at 0 degrees (3 oclock).

Use Quadrant Snap to add the new line

45.
46.
47.
48.

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Click on the intersection of the left bisecting line and the small circle.
Click on Ortho Mode in the Snaps toolbar. All other snaps will be shut off.
Move the cursor straight up. Press <Tab>, type .45 <Enter>.
Repeat the process on the right side (Quadrant Snap, start line, Ortho mode, set
distance).

Chapter 10 Drawing Techniques Part Two

Use Quadrant Snap and Ortho Mode to draw two new lines

49.
50.
51.
52.

Click
From
Click
Click

on the Select tool.

the menu select Modify|Object Trim.
on the line bisecting the top circle as the cutting edge.
on the top side of the inner circle.

Use Object Trim to remove the top of the upper inner circle

53.
54.
55.
56.

Click on the Select tool.

Select and delete the bisecting line used as the cutting edge.
Select the Line tool and the Vertex Snap.
Click on the endpoints of the two lines extending vertically, to close the gap.

Close the gap on top with a single line

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Using Ellipses
The ellipse is a common feature in both architectural and engineering applications.
TurboCAD offers six elliptical tools, three for complete ellipses, and three for elliptical arcs.
To draw a true ellipse on paper, you need a string tied at the ends to form a loop, and two
pins. Stick the two pins into the paper and lay the loop around them. Draw with the pencil,
using the string as a guide. Keep the string taut, so that every point on the line you draw is
the same distance from both pins. The finished product is an ellipse. The definition of an
ellipse is the path of a point that moves so that the sum of its distances from two fixed
points is constant.
The various ellipse tools define a bounding rectangle. The length and width of the rectangle
correspond to the length and width of the ellipse. If you know the length values for the two
axis that define the ellipse, type them in the Edit Bar.
When you need to be exact, placing an ellipse correctly is much easier if you draw lines or
place points beforehand, then snap to these locations to place the axis points of the ellipse.
Or, snap to existing objects in the drawing.
Tool

Action

Elliptical Arc

Draw an elliptical arc by defining its bounding rectangle.

Rotated Elliptical Arc

Fixed Ratio El. Arc

Draw an elliptical arc rotated at any angle.

Draw an elliptical arc by defining a ratio and identifying either axis.

Ellipse

Draw an ellipse by defining its bounding rectangle.

Rotated Ellipse

Draw an ellipse rotated at any angle.

Fixed Ratio Ellipse

Draw an ellipse by defining a ratio and identifying either axis.

Draw a Standard Ellipse

1.

Activate the Ellipse tool from the circle flyout toolbar.

Ellipse tool

2.

160

Define the first point or corner of the bounding rectangle, then do one of the
following:
Move the cursor and click to define the diagonally opposed corner of the bounding
rectangle;
Specify the lengths of the ellipses major and minor axes in the Edit Bar, then press
<Enter>.

Chapter 10 Drawing Techniques Part Two

Draw a Rotated Ellipse

1.

Activate the Rotated Ellipse tool from the circle flyout toolbar.

Rotated ellipse tool

2.
3.

4.

Click to define the center point of the ellipse.

Click to define a point, specifying an angle and distance from the center point. This
creates an axis from the defined point, through the center point, to an opposite point
the same distance from the center point. You can view this axis on the screen as you
adjust the position of the point using the mouse or Coordinate Fields.
Define a second point to specify the length of the opposite axis. This axis will be
perpendicular to the first axis.

Alternatively, you can define the center point of the ellipse, specify the length and angle of
the major axis and the length of the minor axis in the Edit Bar, then press <Enter>.

Draw an Elliptical Arc

The lengths of the major and minor axis of the elliptical arc are determined by the lengths
of the sides of the bounding rectangle. The axes of the arc will be orthogonal; however, you
can rotate the arc after you have created it using the editing tools.
1.

Activate the Elliptical Arc tool from the arc flyout toolbar.

Elliptical arc tool

2.
3.

4.
5.

Define a point for the first corner of the bounding rectangle.

Define a point for the diagonally opposite corner of the bounding rectangle.
TurboCAD draws an ellipse bounded by the rectangle that you have defined. A dotted
line appears, extending from the center point of the ellipse to the cursor.
Move the cursor to change the dotted line to the angle at which you want the arc to
start, then click to set the arcs starting angle.
Move the cursor counterclockwise to draw the arc, then click the mouse button to
define the ending angle.

Alternatively, you can define the starting point of the elliptical arc, then specify its major
and minor axes and starting and ending angles in the Edit Bar. You can also combine use of
the mouse and Edit Bar.

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Draw an Elliptical Rotated Arc

1.

Activate the Rotated Elliptical Arc tool in the Arc flyout toolbar.

Rotated elliptical tool

2.
3.

4.

5.
6.

Define the center point of the arc.

Define a point to specify an angle and distance from the center point. This creates an
axis from the defined point, through the center point, to an opposite point the same
distance from the center point. This is the major axis of the elliptical arc.
Define a third point to specify the length of the minor axis (perpendicular to the
major axis). TurboCAD draws an ellipse with the specified major and minor axes. A
dotted line appears, extending from the center point of the ellipse to the cursor.
Move the cursor to change the dotted line to the angle at which you want the arc to
start, then click to set the arcs starting angle.
Move the cursor counterclockwise to draw the arc, then click the mouse button to
define the ending angle.

Curve Tools
TurboCAD offers three curve tools, each with special properties.
The Spline is a continuous curve that connects from point to point as placed in the drawing.
The Spline in manual drafting is a long, flat pliable strip of wood, metal or plastic used to
draw curves. The advantage of the spline in manual drafting (and which carries over in the
technology of the Spline command in TurboCAD) is that by tracing along the spline the
curve is created as one continuous line, not a series of curved segments with awkward
changes of direction connecting each curve. The final product is a smooth, continuous
curve, not a series of fitted arcs or clipped circles.
While the Spline curve is best for smooth, regular curved lines, the Bezier curve tool is
better for drawing irregularly shaped curved lines. Bezier curves are named for French
engineer Pierre Bezier, who developed a curve-generation algorithm for car designers at
Renault. Bezier curves have become standard in CAD programs in recent years because they
are fast and the procedures used in drawing them become fairly predictable after one works
with them for a while.
Bezier curves are defined by a set of control points, intermediate points placed in the
drawing in addition to the curve and the points that define the position of the curved line.
The control points act as magnets, affecting the shape of the curve depending on their
location.
The Sketch tool is used for freehand drawing. Whether the lines drawn are elegant or ugly is
completely up to the artist.

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Tool

Action

Spline
Bezier

Draw a continuous curve that connects a series of points.

Draw a curve that connects two endpoints; the curve gravitates
toward control points along its path.

Sketch

Freehand multiline drawn with mouse.

Curve Properties
Curves have special properties that can be set in the Curve property sheet of the Properties
dialog. This property sheet lets you show or hide the frame of a Bezier or Spline curve,
transform a Bezier curve into a Spline curve or vice versa. You can access the properties of a
curve by double-clicking on it with the Select tool, or by selecting the curve and then
choosing Menu: Format|Properties. The properties for curves are accessed via right-clicking
the curve's button on the toolbar.
To close a Bezier or Spline curve, right-click on the local menu and select Close. To end
either curve without forming a closed loop, right-click on the local menu and select Finish.

Using Curves to Create Parabolas and Spirals

Certain curves have special properties in engineering, architecture and in nature. The
parabola, for example, defines a comets path around the sun, and is used to design
reflecting surfaces, road sections and arches. The spiral is found throughout nature in such
things as DNA, the chambered nautilus, the abalone, the spider web, and the shape of some
galaxies.
Follow the steps below to construct a parabola and a logarithmic spiral. Both objects require
that you draw construction aids to identify points along each curve. Instead of detailed
steps, the instructions for these two exercises give you guidelines to follow, along with
illustrations showing the details.

Construct a Parabola
1.

Using Snap to Grid, construct a rectangle four units wide and eight units deep. Use
Points to mark the units along the top, left and bottom as illustrated.

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Use the grid to construct a rectangle and place points

2.

3.

Use straight lines to connect the points along the top and the bottom with the
midpoint of the right side of the rectangle. Draw straight lines from the points along
the right side, forming intersections as illustrated.
Use the Bezier curve to draw a shape connecting the points as identified. Shut off
Grid Snap, and select Intersection Snap from the Snap Toolbar. To finish the curve,
right-click and select Finish from the local menu. The finished shape is a parabola.

Construction lines added to rectangle; squares mark points to place curve

4.

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Erase the construction aids.

Chapter 10 Drawing Techniques Part Two

Parabola after all construction aids removed

Construct a Logarithmic Spiral

1.

From the menu, select Options|Grid. Change the grid type to Polar. Set Angular to 15
and Radial to .125 in.

Settings for Grid tab

2.

Click the Advanced Grid tab. Set the origin for both X and Y to 5 in.; set the
Divisions for both Minor A and Minor R to 1. Click OK.

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Settings for the Advanced Grid tab

3.

Click on Snap to Grid in the Snaps toolbar. Select the Spline curve from the Curve
flyout toolbar.

4.

Use Zoom Window to get a close-up view of the center section of the polar grid.
Click on the center point to start the spiral. Move the cursor up along the Angle Grid
line pointing straight up (12 clock or 90 degrees) until you reach the first intersection
with a Radial grid line. Then move along the first Radial grid line until you intersect
the next Angular grid line. Click to set a point on the spiral. Continue to set point
using this one-out, one-over pattern. Use the scroll bars and/or the zoom commands
to adjust the view as you place the curve. To finish, right-click and select Finish from
the local menu.

The first few segments of a spiral

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Node Editing
TurboCAD offers a special set of editing capabilities for entities called Node Edit mode. In
Node Edit mode you can reshape entities by directly manipulating particular points called
nodes.

Add, delete, and move nodes on entities composed of line segments (including lines,
double lines, polygons).
Divide line segments into any number of subsegments of equal length.
Break polygons, making them into multilines.
Close multilines, making them into polygons.
Close the endpoints of double lines.
Reshape Bezier and spline curves by adding, deleting, and moving nodes on the line
segments that form the curves frame.
Change the radius of circles and circular arcs.
Change the major and minor axes of ellipses and elliptical arcs.
Change the start and end angles of circles, ellipses, and arcs.
Close arcs, making them into circles.
Divide circles, arcs, and ellipses into arc segments of equal angular length.

To activate Node Edit mode, click on the Node Edit tool in the Insert Entity toolbar, at the
top of the screen. When you select an object with the Node Edit tool, the appearance of the
selection is different than when the Select tool is used. Instead of a selection box with
handles, you will see highlighted objects with nodes displayed as blue rectangles. The
number and placement of the nodes depends on the type of object selected.

Selected objects in Node Edit mode

You can only edit one entity at a time in Node Edit mode. You cannot use this mode to work
with multiple selected entities or groups. To edit the nodes of an entity that is in a group,
first select the group, then break it into its component entities using the Menu:
Format|Explode command. If the entity is part of a nested group, you may have to use
Explode more than once.

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On Your Own
Experiment with Node Edit on your own. Draw a variety of entities, then use Node Edit on
each entity to reshape or break entities. If you have not already encountered the other
exercises in this book that use Node Edit, check the Index to find them.
To delete a node, select the entity and enter Node Edit mode. Hold down the <Ctrl> key
while placing the mouse cursor over the node you wish to delete. When you are in the
correct position, the cursor will change to an icon showing a node being thrown into a trash
can. Click to delete the node. If you delete a node on a rectangle, for example, it
immediately becomes a triangle. It is not possible to use node delete to remove a node from
a single line segment or to convert a polygon to a single line.

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11
Dimensioning
Placing Exact Measurements
As explained in Chapter Eight, text in a CAD drawing bridges the worlds of verbal and
visual expression. Labeling a TurboCAD drawing gives the reader a frame of reference to
help interpret drawings.
Often CAD drawings are created only to express a design idea, so informally labeling parts
of the drawing is enough. But many CAD drawings are used as the primary construction
plans. These drawings need more than simple labels. Whoever uses the drawing needs to
know the exact dimensions of objects in the drawing.
TurboCAD supports automatic dimensioning, a series of commands that let you measure the
distance between two points, draw reference lines, measure lengths and angles, and print
measurements on the drawing near the measured objects. By dimensioning, we refer to the
act of placing the measurements or other important information about an object into the
drawing.
By default, dimensions in TurboCAD are associative. This means that if a dimensioned
object changes in size, the dimensioning already on the screen will automatically update to
accurately display the new length, angle, etc. If you dont want associativity to
automatically update dimensions, this feature can be turned off in the Dimensioning
Property Sheet. To check if a dimension line is associated with an entity, select the entity.
Any dimensions associated with it will be colored blue.
Using dimensions in your designs makes the drawings easy to interpret. But the process of
placing dimensions in a drawing can be confusing to the new user because of the large
number of variations available in the dimensioning commands. But once you know a few
rules of thumb, the number of decisions quickly dwindle down. This chapter will provide
reference material on dimensions, exercises to guide you through using dimensions for the

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first time, and will offer a few guidelines for knowing when and how to place dimensions in
your drawings.

Elements of Dimensioning
When TurboCAD dimensions an object, it calculates the objects length, angle, diameter, or
radius (as requested), draws two lines to show the distance, draws a line or arc with arrows
on each end between these two lines, and displays the measurement. These pieces can be
divided into three basic components:

The dimension lines, with arrows pointing to either end of the dimension.
Extension lines, which connect the dimension line to the object being measured.
Dimension text, normally displaying the distance being measured in World units.

Dimension line
Dimension text

1.5 in
Extension line

Parts of a dimension

Extension lines have optional line segments that continue the extension outward beyond the
dimension line (extensions to the extension). Extension lines are also called witness lines by
some professions.
A dimension can have interior dimension lines, as shown in the preceding figure, or two
exterior dimension lines. Exterior dimension lines can be supplemented with an optional
interior line.

Format Property Sheets

Three Format Property Sheets control the shape of dimension arrows and the position of text
relative to the dimension line. You can summon the dimension format property sheets in one
of two ways: Either Right-Click the dimension tool on the Insert Entity toolbar; or, if the
dimension tool is active, select Menu: Format|Properties.

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Dimension format properties sheet

Dimension Format Property Sheet

The Format Properties sheet provides controls for basic dimensioning features, including the
shape of arrowheads, the size and appearance of text, and the positioning of dimensioning
lines.

Arrowheads
1st and 2nd. Click in these drop-down boxes to choose dimension arrow shapes. The
arrowheads can have angles of 15, 30 or 45 degrees; they can be filled, open, or closed. If
you like, you can choose None (no arrowhead at all), Tick (a simple angled line), Hollow
Dot or Solid Dot.
Size. Click the Size field to choose a size for the length of the arrowhead, or type in a
custom size. (How to determine the correct size for an arrowhead is discussed later in the
chapter.)
Tick Extension. If you set the arrowhead to Tick in the 1st and 2nd boxes, use this field to
specify the length of each ticks extension line.
2

Dimension arrow shapes

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Text Position
Font. Use the Font text box to choose a TrueType font for the dimension text. All TrueType
fonts installed on your computer will be available.
Height. Click this text box to choose a text height, or type in a custom height. You can set
the height in either World or Paper units, to match your current working mode.
Position. Choose Outside if you want the text placed outside of the dimension line; choose
Above if you want the text above the dimension line (above is relative to the orientation
of the text, not relative to your screen); or choose On Line if you want to place the text
directly on the dimension line. The position can be manually adjusted (see the next control).
On Line Adjustment. Type a number into this text box to specify the distance of the text
above or below the dimension line. A value of zero (the default value) will place the text on
the same level as the dimension line. Higher values move the text above the line (above is
relative to the orientation of the text); lower (negative) values move the text below the line.
Force Text Horizontal. Check this box if you want the dimension text to be horizontal no
matter how the dimension is rotated.
Force Dimension Text Inside Extension Lines. Click this box if you want to keep dimension
text between the extension lines, regardless of the distance between the extension lines. If
you leave this box unchecked, TurboCAD will decide whether to place dimension text
inside or outside the extension lines.
1
1.5
0.5

2.24

Various positions for dimension text

Advanced Format Property Sheet

The Advanced Format Property Sheet controls a variety of more specialized options for the
positioning of dimension lines. If you are overwhelmed by the number of options and details
available, you can bypass this property sheet and the next one (Advanced Text) until you are
more comfortable with basic dimensioning operations.

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Advanced Format Property Sheet

Dimension Lines
Force Interior Line: Sometimes you will dimension an object so small that TurboCAD must
place the text outside the extension lines. Check this box if you want such dimension lines
to still have a line running between the extension lines. If unchecked, TurboCAD will only
draw an interior dimension line if the text fits between the two extensions.
Do Not Draw: This set of check boxes lets you choose whether or not to draw the first,
second, and outside extension lines. (Check the view in the preview box to see each effect.)
To check one of these boxes is to say that you don't want the object to appear.
Baseline Increment: If you are creating baseline dimensions (also know as continuous
dimensions), you may control the distance between each dimension here.
Color: This box modified only the color of the dimension line. Extension lines and
dimension text have their own settings boxes.

Extension Lines
Extension lines are the small lines that extend out from dimension arrows. They link a
dimension with the object being measured. This section of the Advanced Format Property
Sheet controls the appearance of these lines. The upcoming section of this chapter entitled
The Secret to Simple Dimension Formats provides ideas on using these controls.
Extension: The number in this box is the length of each extension line. Refer to the
guidelines later in this chapter for advice on setting this length.
Offset: Offset is the gap between an extension line and the object being measured. If you
want the extension line to abut the object being measured, set this value to zero. Otherwise,
use the guidelines later in this chapter to set this value.
Do Not Draw: As with dimension lines, you have the choice of independently setting the
appearance of extension lines in the drawing.
Color: You may set extension lines to any available color.

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Dimension Size Scale

In a large and detailed drawing, you may want some dimensions to stand out more than
others. The best way to do this is to use two sizes of dimension lines. But changing all the
settings that control the size of a dimension line would be a tedious task. Instead, use the
Dimension Size Scale text box to set the scale size of dimensions. For your most important
dimensions lines, set this value to 1. For other dimensions, set this value to something
smaller, like .75, which would cause subsequent dimensions to be place at 75% of the sizes
listed in the various dimension settings.

Dimensioning Tools
Eleven dimensioning tools are available in the flyout toolbar from the Insert Entity toolbar,
or from the menu (Insert|Dimension|tool). The tools, and their actions, are:
Tool
Horizontal Dimension

Action
Measure and display the horizontal distance between two points or
the horizontal length of a specific object.

Vertical Dimension

Measure and display the vertical distance between two points or the
vertical length of a specific object.

Parallel Dimension

Measure and display the absolute distance between two points or the
absolute distance of a specific object.

Rotated Dimension

Measure and display the absolute distance of an object, but rotate

the display to the same angle as the object being measured.
Display a progression of measurements connected to angled leader
lines, generally along a horizontal or vertical axis.

Datum Dimension
Baseline Dimension

Display a progression of parallel measurements that share a

common baseline (starting point).

Continuous Dimension
Angular Dimension

Display a progression of parallel measurements, each new

measurement starting where the previous measurement ended.
Measure the angle formed by two lines, by points on the perimeter
of a circle or arc, or the angle formed by any two points relative to a
defined vertex.

Radius Dimension

Measure and display the radius of an arc or circle.

Diameter Dimension

Measure and display the diameter of an arc or circle.

Leader Dimension

Draw an arrow and a line and add text as a label.

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Linear Dimensioning Methods

The first seven dimension methods listed above are collectively known as linear dimensions.
They measure distances along a line (real or imagined). But to understand how these
methods differ, we need to consider only three for the moment: Horizontal, Vertical and
Parallel Dimensioning . How these three measure lengths is very different one from the
other.
Horizontal Dimension will display only the horizontal distance of an entity, or the
horizontal distance between two points that you identify. If the object is not parallel to the
horizon, the distance being measured is not the same as the actual length of the object.
Complete the following exercise to gain experience with this.

Practice Horizontal Dimensioning

1.
2.

Launch TurboCAD; accept the Normal template.

Use Snap to Grid and Irregular Polygon (in the Single Line flyout toolbar) to draw
the eight-sided irregular polygon shown below. The exact length of each side is not
crucial.

#3
#4
#1
#2

Draw an eight-sided polygon to start the exercise

3.

Select the Horizontal Dimensioning tool from the Dimensioning flyout toolbar in the
Entity Insert toolbar.

Horizontal dimensioning tool

4.

Deselect Snap to Grid; select Vertex Snap.

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5.
6.

Click on the upper end of line Number 1.

Click on the lower end of the same line.

7.
8.

Right-click for the local menu. Select Local Snap|No Snap.

Click anywhere to place the dimension line.

Horizontal dimension of a vertical distance

TurboCAD shows 0 in. because the Horizontal Dimensioning tool can only calculate
horizontal distances. This line has no horizontal distance, it only has vertical distance.
Go ahead now and use Horizontal Dimensioning the way it was intended.
1.

The Horizontal Dimensioning tool is still active. Click on the left endpoint of line
Number 2.

2.
3.

Click on the right endpoint of the same line.

Right-click, and select Local Snap|No Snap. Move the dimension line where you
please, and click to place it in the drawing.

0
1.5

New dimension line also measures a horizontal distance

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While there are times when a length to be dimensioned is either the horizontal or vertical
run of an entity, more often the absolute length of an item is needed. The Parallel
dimensioning tool will calculate and display the exact (absolute) length of an item no matter
at what angle it sits in the drawing. For general purpose linear dimensioning, it is the tool to
use first.
1.

Select Parallel Dimensioning from the Dimensioning flyout toolbar.

Parallel dimensioning tool

2.
3.
4.

Click on the upper endpoint of the polygons top left line.

Click on the lower endpoint of the same line.
Right-click, and select Local Snap|No Snap. Move the dimension line where you
please, and click to place it in the drawing.

1.41

0
1.5

Top left line dimensioned using Parallel dimensioning

Rotated, Datum, Baseline and Continuous Dimensioning all work like Parallel they
measure an absolute linear distance, not a vertical or horizontal distance.

Manual, Segment and Entity Dimensioning

The linear dimensioning tools are equipped with three methods to locate entities and
distances. The method used in the exercise above was manual dimensioning. You used a
snap tool to locate endpoints, and you had to identify both ends of the entity before it could
be dimensioned.
TurboCAD can automate the process of identifying entities for linear dimensioning.
Segment dimensioning allows you to click once to associate the dimension with a line

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segment. Entity dimensioning allows you to click once to associate the dimension with an
entire entity (such as a multiline, or a group). Segment and Entity are available as options in
the local menu when a linear dimensioning command is active. Complete the exercise below
to gain experience using both methods.

Segment Dimensioning
1.
2.

Change to the Select tool and delete the previous dimension lines.
Select Parallel Dimensioning.

Parallel Dimensioning tool button

3.
4.

Right-click and select Segment Dimensioning. Set snaps to No Snap using the Snap
toolbar.
Click anywhere on line Number 4 and place the dimension line nearby. Click to
finish.

0.71

Parallel dimensioning using the Segment dimensioning option

Entity Dimensioning
1.

The Parallel Dimensioning tool should still be active.

2.

Right-click and select Entity Dimensioning (this will automatically deselect Segment
Dimensioning).
Click anywhere on the same line (line Number 4) as selected just above.

3.

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4.

5.
6.

Move the cursor up and to the left from the line. Notice the readout on the dimension
line (even though it has not be placed in the drawing, the dimensioning text should be
visible).
Now move the cursor down and to the right from the line. Notice how the readout
changes.
Move the cursor down and to the right to the location you choose for the dimension line.

2.92
0.71

Entity dimensioning shows the width of the entire object

When Entity Dimensioning is active, selecting any individual line in a polygon or group
only shows the tool at what angle it is dimensioning the entire object. As you moved the
cursor around the screen before placing the dimension line, the angle changed, so the linear
readout changed as well.
Used appropriately, Segment and Entity Dimensioning can make quick work of complex
dimensioning jobs.

NOTE: When Segment or Entity Dimensioning is turned on, the dimensioning method stays
active either until the other method is selected, or until you click on the name of the method in
the local menu to deselect it.

Angular Dimensioning
The Angular Dimensioning tool is used to measure angles. With it you can dimension:

The angle formed by any two lines.

The angle of an arc.
The angle formed by any two points on the perimeter of a circle.
A freeform angle that you create by defining a vertex node and two points.

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Angular dimensions

Follow the exercise below to gain experience using Angular Dimensioning.

Dimensioning an Angle Formed by Two Lines

1.

Save or delete the existing drawing.

2.

Use the Line tool, and any circle and arc tools to draw the entities shown below. The
exact lengths and sizes are not crucial, but try to maintain the relationships between
objects as illustrated.

Objects for next dimensioning exercise

3.

Select the Angular Dimensioning tool from the Dimensioning flyout toolbar.

Angular dimensioning tool

180

4.

Click anywhere along the upper line of the pair of lines that meet to form an angle.

5.

Click anywhere along the lower line of the pair.

Chapter 11 Dimensioning
6.
7.

Move the cursor inside the angle, then outside. Notice how the dimension changes
between measuring the inside angle and the outside angle.
Move the cursor inside the angle, select No Snap from the local menu, and place the
dimension where you please.

Dimensioning the angle of two lines

Dimensioning Angles on Circles

In the next exercise you will use other entities in the drawing to identify the portion of the
circle to be dimensioned.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

The Angular Dimension tool is still active.

Click anywhere on the circle. A rubberband line will appear, extending from the
center of the circle to the mouse cursor.
The prompt line reads Define first angle endpoint.
Select Snap Vertex from the Snaps menu.
Click where the two lines at the top of the drawing meet to form an angle.
The prompt now reads Define second angle endpoint.
Move the cursor to the lower right portion of the screen and click on the lower
endpoint of the single line.
Move the cursor inside the circle, then outside. Notice how the angular measurement
changes as a result.
Select No Snap (from either the local menu or the Snaps toolbar), and place the
dimension inside the circle.

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Dimensioning the circle

Dimensioning Angles on Arcs

1.
2.
3.

The Angular Dimensioning tool is still active. Click on the arc located just above the
circle. Adjust the snaps as necessary.
Move the cursor above and below the arc. Move the cursor all the way below the
circle and watch the changes in the measurement.
Move the cursor above the arc and place the dimension.

Dimensioning the arc

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When you use the Angular Dimension tool on an arc, TurboCAD automatically dimensions
the angle formed by the endpoints of the arc (the angle that would be formed by lines
extending from the ends of the arc to the center). If you want to dimension the angle formed
by any other two points on the perimeter of the arc, you can employ the Angle Node
technique described in the next section, using snap modes to define points at the center and
on the perimeter of the arc.

Dimensioning Freeform Angles

You can dimension the angle formed by any two points in the drawing space relative to a
defined endpoint (vertex), using the Angle Node option in the local menu.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Select and delete each of the existing dimension lines. Be careful to leave the entities.
Select the Angular Dimensioning tool.
Right-click for local menu and select Angle Node.
Select Snap Vertex from the Snaps toolbar (if not already active).
Click on the upper endpoint of the single line, to identify it as the first of three points
to define an angle.
The prompt reads Define first angle endpoint.
Click on the lower end of the single line.
The prompt reads Define second angle endpoint.

9. Click on the lower endpoint of the nearby arc.

10. Move the cursor above and below the single line, and notice how the dimension
readout changes.
11. Place the dimension near the bottom of the single line by the arc, adjusting snaps as
necessary.

The angle framed by the line and the arc have been dimensioned

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Radius and Diameter Dimensioning

The Radius and Diameter Dimensioning tools work on both arcs and circles. The technique
for use is identical:

Activate the tool.

Click on the arc or circle.
Click again to place the dimension.

Follow the steps below to practice using each tool.

Dimensioning the Radius of an Arc

1.
2.

Save your previous work and start a new drawing or delete all entities and dimension
lines, to clear the screen.
Draw a circle and an arc, as illustrated below.

Arc and circle for Radial dimension exercise

3.

Select the Radius Dimensioning tool from the Dimensioning flyout toolbar.

Radius dimensioning tool

4.
5.

184

Click No Snap in the Snaps toolbar, then click anywhere along the arc.
Move the cursor until the dimension line is in a position you like, then click to place
the dimension.

Chapter 11 Dimensioning

R1.8

Radial dimension of arc

Dimension the Diameter of a Circle

1.

Select Diameter Dimension from the Dimensioning flyout toolbar.

Diameter dimensioning tool

2.
3.

Click anywhere along the circumference of the circle.

Move the cursor until the dimension line is in a position you like, then click to place
the dimension.

R1.8

Diameter dimension placed on circle

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Leader Dimensions
Use Leaders to place a note about an object into the drawing. Each Leader has an arrow and
a line pointing from the note to the object. The Leader tool is similar to the Multiline tools
in that it can contain an arbitrary number of connected line segments, oriented to any angle.

Leader dimension

The Leader has four parts:

The arrow, which points to the object.

The line, which can be more than one segment if necessary
The shoulder, which serves as a base for the text.

The text.

Follow the exercise below to become familiar with the Leader tool.

Label the Circle with a Leader

1. Select Leader from the Dimensioning flyout toolbar.

Leader tool

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

186

Make sure No Snap is active.

Click along the top edge of the circle.
The prompt reads Define the next point of the string.
Press <Tab> to highlight the Text field in the Edit Toolbar.
Type Circle #1
Click to return control to the cursor. Move the cursor until you find a position you
like for the leader line.
Right-click and select Finish from the local menu.

Chapter 11 Dimensioning

Circle #1

R1.8

Leader used to label circle

In addition to placing the leader using the Finish command in the local menu, you can
double-click in the drawing. A single-click causes a new section of the leader line to be
drawn.

Professional Standards
Architecture and engineering, the two professions most commonly associated with drafting,
have each developed guidelines for the appearance of drawings. If you need to have your
drawings conform to either set of professional guidelines, you will have fewer decisions to
make about dimension settings.
The guidelines that follow are generalizations on how professionals in these two fields
practice dimensioning. There may well be alternative standards that are equally valid. If as
part of your professional training you learned a method for dimensioning, use that as your
standard. If you have no such background or training, you may want to consider the
guidelines that follow for use in your work. To create your own template to reflect your
particular standards, set up the dimensioning tools as you require in a blank file, then save
the file as a template instead of a drawing.
Architectural drawings generally:

Align dimensions to the object (TurboCAD tool: Parallel).

Align dimension text to the object (Property Sheet: Force Text Horizontal Off).
Have text placement above the dimension line (Property Sheet: Position|Above).
Use tick marks, not arrows (Property Sheet: Arrowheads|1st and 2nd|Tick).
Use closed arrow heads set at a 30-degree angle for leaders (Property Sheet:
Arrowheads|1st and 2nd|Closed 30).

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Engineering drawings generally:

Place dimensions horizontally (TurboCAD tool: Horizontal).

Place dimension text horizontal (Property Sheet: Force Text Horizontal On).
Have text placement on the dimension line (Property Sheet: Position|On Line).
Use closed arrow heads set at a 30-degree angle for both dimensions and leaders
(Property Sheet: Arrowheads|1st and 2nd|Closed 30).

The Secret to Simple Dimension Formats

With so many variables available in formatting dimensions, how does one know the best
style? The key is to eliminate the variables, and only make one decision. How? The secret is
to set the size of the drawing text used for general labeling in a drawing. Surprised? It
makes sense when you know the logic behind it.
In manual drafting there is a standard understanding of style which dictates dimension text
should be smaller than text used to label parts of the drawing. The most common ratio is
that dimension text is 75 percent as tall as regular text. If the text in a drawing is 1 tall,
dimension text should be .75. Dimension text and the size of the arrowheads should be the
same. So, once you know the size of label text in your drawing, you can quickly calculate
the size of dimension text and arrowheads. If you regularly use the same size of text in your
drawings, you can create a template to reflect this ratio. Incorporate it as part of your
dimensions template, if you choose to make one.

The Seven Laws of Dimensioning

The beginning of this chapter mentioned that a few rules would be given to help you choose
dimensioning variables. These guidelines will help you in designing how your dimensions
should look, and how to use dimensions to their best advantage in your drawings.
I.

Most CAD drawings dont require dimensioning. The primary purpose of most
drawings is to convey a design idea. Only a few are used to actually carry out the
design. The use of dimensions is a choice to be made, not an assumption to carry out.
II. Use professional standards if available and relevant. Following the conventional
dimensioning standards established by architects, engineers, or other professionals
who use drafting will eliminate the need to decide which of the many dimensioning
variables to use.
III. Dimensioning lines should not be the focal point of a drawing. Dimensioning text
should generally be 75 percent as tall as the average display text in a drawing.
IV. Put dimensioning lines on a layer by themselves and draw them in a color not
otherwise used in the drawing.

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V. If you are going to use the printed version of the drawing as an actual diagram for
construction, set Force Text Horizontal Off (unless this conflicts with Rule II).
VI. If a drawing requires extensive dimensioning, and you are going to use it for
construction, print the design in several parts instead of all on one sheet of paper.
VII. If you are going to print the drawing at a common scale (such as 1/4 = 1), allow the
scale of the drawing to speak for itself: State the scale in a legend box. To keep the
drawing neat and readable, include only necessary dimensions. The user can measure
others manually.

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12
Drawing Enrichment
Patterns, Color, and Linked Files
The drawings created so far have consisted of geometric entities, dimensions, and text.
Using these elements you can create accurate and detailed drawings, but they probably
wont win any awards. This chapter covers several TurboCAD features that can help bring
life to your drawings. Some features provide visual enrichment and detailing, such as the
use of hatch patterns, solid color fills, and drawings from other CAD programs. It is also
possible to import graphic images created in non-CAD programs. You can also enhance your
drawings by linking them to information files created with word processors, spreadsheets
and other applications. It is even possible to add sound and video to your TurboCAD
drawings, if your computer supports multimedia. In effect, TurboCAD can become a
multimedia design presentation tool.
After these new features are introduced, there will be an exercise to help you become
familiar with these capabilities. At the end of the chapter there will be a project that
integrates several of the features introduced in this chapter, as well as commands and tools
from earlier chapters.

Hatch Patterns and Solid Color Fills

Hatching is defined as the drawing of fine lines of repetitive detail. Hatch patterns are used
for shading, to create a special design effect, or to identify an object as being made of a
specific material. To hatch manually is a tedious time-consuming task, one that CAD
virtually eliminates.
Forty hatch patterns ship with TurboCAD. As shown below, many of the hatches represent
specific materials or elements commonly illustrated in various design professions. By name,
the patterns are:

The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

L45

GOSTAK

IUS

STARS

EARTH

FIREBRICK

B816

B816C

ARB88

BRELM

HONEYCOMB

LINES

BRSTD

CONC

HBONE

PARQ1

SPANISHTILE

SQUARES

ASTERISKS

BATTLEMENT

VBRICK

CEILINGGRID

TRIANGLEGRID

ZIGZAG

CONCRETE

CROSSES

CHECKERPLATE CHICKENWIRE

GRATE

OCTAGONS

SQUAREGRID

HERRINGBONE

SOLIDFILL

STEEL

WH_BDIAGONAL WH_CROSS

WH_DIAGCROSS WH_FDIAGONAL WH_HORIZONTAL

WH_VERTICAL

Forty hatch patterns available in TurboCAD

Solid color fills can also be placed in drawings. Use the Brush setting to place both hatch
patterns and solid color fills. The Brush is not a separate tool, but a setting that affects
existing drawing tools, similar to the way Pen sets the line style, width and color. The Brush
property sheet is used to format the characteristics of both hatches and solid color fills.

Brush property sheet

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The Brush property sheet contains the following controls:
Pattern. Scroll through the Brush Style list box to select a hatch pattern. The name of the
pattern is displayed just above the Brush Style list box.
Color. Click on the Color drop-down list box to select or change the color of a fill or hatch
pattern. Choose the By Pen option if you want the Brush color to match the Pen color.
Choose By Layer if you want the color to match the default color of the objects layer (set in
the Layers property sheet).
Hatch. Scale, Angle, and the Crossed option are available in this section of the property
sheet. Scale controls the repetition of the pattern. The default setting is 1, which means the
pattern appears once in a 1" x 1" area. If you are hatching small objects, or want a dense
pattern, set the scale value to less than 1. In the illustration below, each square was drawn 2
on a side and hatched. The scale for the square on the left is 1, the scale for the square on
the right is .125.

Hatch pattern IUS at a scale of 1 (left) and .125

The Angle field is used to change the angle at which hatch patterns are placed in the
drawing. The default value is 0 degrees. If the Crossed option is active, the hatch pattern
will be drawn a second time perpendicular to the first pass.

Hatch pattern IUS at 0 degrees (left) and 45 degrees

You can hatch or fill objects as you draw them, or add hatch/fill to selected objects. Hatches
and fills only appear on closed entities.

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The complete list of objects that may hold a hatch pattern or a solid color fill is:

Circle
Polygon
Rectangle
Double line (all modes)
Closed multiline (single or double)
Closed spline

Closed bezier

If using double line to draw a polygon or other closed object, the space between the two
lines is hatched or filled, not the interior of the object.

Only the space between the double lines is hatched

To set hatch and fill options before drawing, right-click on the drawing tool you are about to
use, select the Brush tab and make your adjustments. To add a hatch or fill to an existing
entity, select the entity and select Properties from the local menu (right-click). Click on the
Brush tab and adjust the settings as required. A toolbar icon is available for hatch and fill
settings; select View|Toolbars|Entity Format from the menu. The settings selected using this
tool are used only when the Menu: Format|Create Hatch command is used to hatch selected
objects.

Draw with Hatching

Follow the exercise below to gain experience with hatching. You will draw a doubleline
polygon with the doubleline hatched one style, and then fill the interior with a second hatch
style. To hatch or fill the interior boundary of a doubleline polygon, you will need to trace
the interior boundary of the doubleline polygon with the single multiline tool, set with the
appropriate hatch details. Finish by drawing an entity without hatching, then select the
entity and add hatching.

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1.
2.

Launch TurboCAD and select the Normal template.

Select Double Multiline from the Doubleline fly-out toolbar.

Double Multiline tool icon

3.
4.

Right-click on the Double Multiline tool to summon the Property Sheet. Click the
Brush tab.
Set the Pattern to Stars (the sixth item in the list), the color to green and the scale to
.5.

NOTE: You can only set the color in the Brush Property Sheet after you select a hatch pattern.
A Hatch setting of None causes the Brush color to revert to the By Pen setting.

5.

Use the Double Multiline tool to draw a closed polygon that fills most of the sheet,
similar to the entity shown below. An exact size or shape is not necessary. Before
clicking on the point of beginning, right-click and select Close from the local menu.

Use Double Multiline to draw a closed polygon

6.
7.
8.

Select Multiline from the Line fly-out toolbar, then right-click on the tool to summon
the Property Sheet. Click on the Brush tab.
Set the pattern to L45 (third pattern in the list). Leave the other settings at their
defaults.
Starting at any interior corner, draw a closed polygon by snapping to each interior
corner. Place the cursor near each corner and press V for Snap Vertex. Before
snapping to the point of beginning to finish the polygon, right-click and select Close
from the local menu. The new hatch pattern will appear inside the original polygon.

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Add hatch pattern L45 to the interior

9. Delete the drawing or save it and start a new drawing.

10. Select Bezier from the Curves fly-out toolbar and draw a closed curved that fills most
of the sheet, similar to the one shown below. The exact size and shape is not
necessary.

Use Bezier to draw a closed curve

11. Click on the Select tool and select the curve. Right-click and select Properties from
the local menu.
12. Click on the Brush tab. Choose any pattern you like; SPANISHTILE is used in the
illustration below. Leave scale at 1; color is your choice.

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Hatch pattern SPANISHTILE inside the curve

NOTE: If a hatch pattern is placed when an entity is originally drawn, TurboCAD considers the
hatch to be part of the entity. If a hatch pattern is added later, the hatch is considered a
separate entity. In this case you can select the hatch and manipulate it separate from the
entity.

Menu: Format|Create Hatch

An additional option is available to apply hatching or solid fills to entities. From the menu,
select Format|Create Hatch to apply a hatch or fill to a selected object. Why use this
command instead of just selecting the object and using right-click to adjust the settings in
the Brush Property Sheet? If you need to hatch several objects, select all of them, then use
the Create Hatch command to hatch them all at once.
The hatch setting you provide when you right-click on a tool is different than the Create
Hatch setting. If you need two hatch styles in a drawing, set the tool to one, and Create
Hatch to the other. As mentioned above, use the Hatch tool in the Format Entity toolbar to
adjust the Create Hatch settings.

Insert a Picture or Object

Hatches and fills are used to embellish geometric entities in TurboCAD drawings, and are
useful tools. TurboCAD also allows you to add a wide variety of non-geometric objects to
your drawings, using the Insert Picture and Insert Object commands, both found in the Insert
menu and the Insert Entity toolbar.

Insert Picture (left) and Insert Object tool icons

Insert Picture is used to place a non-CAD graphic image into a drawing. The command
recognizes three graphics formats:

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WMF, Windows Metafile

BMP, Windows Bitmap

DIB, Device-Independent Bitmap

To insert a picture into a TurboCAD drawing:

1.
2.
3.
4.

Choose Menu: Insert|Picture to display the Insert Picture dialog.

Choose the type of graphic file you want to import from the Files of Type drop-down
list.
If necessary, navigate to the directory or folder where the graphic file you need is
stored on disk.
Choose the file you want and click the OK button.

TurboCAD uses Windows OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) technology to insert the
picture; the picture is an OLE object. You can double-click on the picture and then edit it
using Windows Paint (or whatever bitmap editor is registered in your Windows system).
Close Paint, and the changes can be seen in the imported image.
Menu: Insert|Picture does not establish an OLE link to the original copy of the file you
import. If at a later time you use Paint to modify the bitmap picture, those changes will not
be reflected in your TurboCAD drawing. You can only modify the picture by doubleclicking on it from within TurboCAD, or by selecting Edit|Object from the menu. If the
picture is selected, you can also access Edit Object from the local menu. The Edit Object
command is discussed in the section Picture and Object edit options later in this chapter.

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TIP: To select a picture, click along an edge.

Menu: Insert|Object lets you insert a wide variety of file types into a TurboCAD drawing.
The exact list will depend on the software installed on your computer. Insert Object will
display every file type listed in your Windows system as capable of OLE actions. Your list
should include all these file types:

AutoCAD drawing (DXF through Version 12, used by most CAD applications).
Bitmap Image
Media Clip
Microsoft ClipArt Gallery
Microsoft Equation 2.0
Microsoft Excel 5.0 Chart

Microsoft Excel 5.0 Worksheet

Microsoft Excel Chart
Microsoft Excel Macrosheet
Microsoft Excel Worksheet
Microsoft Graph 5.0

Chapter 12 Drawing Enrichment

Microsoft Imager 1.0 Picture

Microsoft Organization Chart 1.0

Microsoft Word 6.0 Document

Microsoft Word 6.0 Picture
Microsoft WordArt 2.0
MIDI Sequence (sound)
Microsoft PowerPoint 4.0 Presentation
Microsoft PowerPoint 4.0 Slide
Package
Paintbrush
TurboCAD 3 (including TurboCAD Designer)
Video Clip
WordPad Document (Windows 95)
Netscape Hypertext Document (HTML)

Consult your application or Windows documentation for descriptions of these file formats
and the applications that create them.
Any file added to a TurboCAD drawing using Menu: Insert|Object can be edited from within
TurboCAD using the features and commands of the application in which the object was
created (called the source application). For example, you can insert a Microsoft Excel chart
into a drawing and later edit it using Microsoft Excel. Double-click on the chart to establish
a link to Excel.
To insert an OLE object into your drawing, select Insert|Object from the menu to display the
Insert Object dialog. You can then choose one of two basic options, Create New (the default)
or Create From File.
The Create New option lets you embed a new OLE object from another application into
your drawing. An example would be if you want to add a spreadsheet chart to your drawing,
but have not yet created it. Select the application from the scrolling list and either doubleclick on the application name or press <Enter>. A selection rectangle will appear as a
placeholder for the object, and the source application will run. You can then create the file
you need. Exit the source application (you do not need to use the applications Save
command), and the object will appear in the drawing. If you select the Display As Icon
option, the Windows icon for the application will appear in your drawing instead of the
actual bitmap, document, etc. The only way to see the actual file is to double-click on the
icon.

TIP: Use Display As Icon when you want to add information or other graphics in your drawing,
but dont want to clutter the drawing with extra information.

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The Create New Version option of the Insert Object dialog

The Create From File option lets you either embed or link an existing OLE object into your
drawing. The differences between linking and embedding are important:

Embedded objects become an integral part of your TurboCAD drawing, and take up
more space when saved as a file than a linked object. Embedded objects will move
with the file if you transfer it to another computer. If you make subsequent changes to
the file on which the embedded OLE object was based, these changes will not affect
the embedded OLE object in your drawing.
Linked objects are references to the file on which they were based, and they retain
their connection to that file. If you make changes to the file on which a linked OLE
object is based, the changes will affect the linked OLE object in your drawing.

If you want the object to be displayed only as an icon in your drawing, click the Display As
Icon check box.

The Create From File version of the Insert Object dialog

As long as an application program is OLE compliant, a file from it can be linked to your
TurboCAD drawings. Let your imagination and creativity run free as you consider possible
uses for the Insert Object command:

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An office floor plan could contain a spreadsheet showing the names and serial
numbers of every object in the drawing.
Construction project drawings could contain a video clip showing a 3D fly-through.
Mechanical designs could contain charts or statistics showing stress factors,
tolerances, etc.
A series of TurboCAD drawings could be linked to each other.
A TurboCAD drawing could be linked to a site on the World Wide Web.
A Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation could be launched from a drawing.

Picture and Object Edit Options

Two commands in the Edit menu can affect pictures and objects you place with Insert
Picture and Insert Object. Menu: Edit|Links will display a dialog in which you can make
changes to any linked OLE objects in the current drawing. Menu: Edit|Object will allow you
to edit a selected OLE object in the objects source application.

NOTE: The name of Menu: Edit|Object will change depending on the type of object selected in
the drawing.

The Menu: Edit|Links dialog contains information on every linked object in the drawing.
You can use this command to edit the path of a link (if you rearrange your directories and
move an application), to force an immediate update of any linked object, or to control when
a linked object is updated.

Edit Links dialog

The following functions are available in Menu: Edit|Links:

Update Option. Select either Automatic or Manual to set whether the selected links are
updated automatically or only when you request it.
Update Now. This button updates the current link immediately. This is how you update a
link if it is set to Manual Update.
Open Source. This button opens the source file in the application that created it. You can

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compare the linked object to the source file, and make corrections if necessary.
Change Source. This button allows you to change the source application for a linked file.
Break Link. Use this button to change an object from linked to embedded. As explained
above, an embedded object will stay with the TurboCAD drawing, but will cause the
drawing to be much larger in size when stored on disk.

OLE Drag and Drop

Selected entities or objects can be dragged to a new location in the drawing using the
standard Windows drag technique (click and hold the mouse button; move the mouse; let
up on the button to place the object in the new location). But if you have another
application open side-by-side with TurboCAD, you can drag any selected objects into the
other program. This is known as OLE drag and drop.
Windows 95 offers an additional drag and drop method. You can drag an object onto an
application's icon in the taskbar. The application will open and accept the object.

Paste Commands
Two commands in the Edit menu, Paste and Paste Special, will insert any data that has
been previously copied to the Windows Clipboard. The information could be objects from
another TurboCAD drawing, or data from other programs.
Paste is limited to TurboCAD objects, text, bitmaps, and Windows Metafiles.
Paste Special imports any kind of information created by an OLE-compliant application.
The list of available file types in the Paste Special dialog depends on the nature of the data
in the clipboard. You can choose to have the object link or embed. Once pasted into your
drawing, the data behaves as an object placed into the drawing with one of the Insert
commands discussed previously.

Paste Special dialog

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Practice Exercise
Follow the steps below to practice using some of the commands and tools discussed in this
chapter. Open the file CH12DET, created in Chapter Seven.

CH12DET.TCW before adding hatch and fill (left) and after

The steps below will guide you through:

Adding a solid color fill to the rectangle in the lower part of the wall.
Adding a hatch pattern to the interior of the wall.
Placing a bit image file in the drawing

This drawing presents an interesting challenge, one that you are ready for if you have
worked through the exercises in this book. Because of the various objects used to define the
wall, it is not possible to hatch the interior of the wall by simply selecting the boundaries. It
will be necessary to trace along the interior. But there are both straight lines and a circle
defining the boundaries of the area to be hatched. You will trace using first Multiline, then
Arc Center and Radius.
It that werent enough, once you trace the interior of the wall, you will find it difficult if not
impossible to select only the tracings and not the elements of the wall when you try to place
the hatch pattern. To get around this problem, you will draw the trace lines on a newly
created layer. Then to select the trace lines, you will set all layers to invisible except the
layer holding the trace lines. Place the hatch, then restore all invisible layers.

Place Solid Color Fill

1.

Select Menu: View|Toolbars, and click on Entity Format, to add the Entity Format
toolbar to the desktop

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Entity Format toolbar

2.

Right-click on the hatch tool in the Entity Format toolbar.

Hatch tool icon

3.

Click on the Brush tab.

4.
5.

Select SOLID as the pattern, black as the color. Click OK to end.

Select the small rectangle near the bottom of the wall. Click on the Hatch tool in the
Entity Format toolbar to fill the rectangle.

Place a black solid fill in the rectangle

Place Concrete Hatch

6.
7.

Right-click on the Hatch tool.

Set CONCRETE as the pattern (number 21 in the list), color to gray. Click the
Crossed option to select it. Click OK.
8. From the menu, select Options|Layer. Type Details in the name field, and click on
New to create an new layer called Details. Click OK.
9. Select the Multiline tool from the Insert Entity toolbar, then right-click on the
Multiline tool to summon the Properties dialog. In the General property sheet, select
Details as the new layer. Click OK.
10. Select Snap Vertex in the Snaps menu.
11. Use Multiline to trace the interior of the wall, starting at the bottom left where the
wall meets the circle. Click on the endpoints that define each corner of the interior,

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including the intersection of the wall and the circle on the right. Right-click and
select Finish from the local menu.
12. Select Arc Center and Radius from the Arc tool in the Insert Entity toolbar. Rightclick and set the layer to Details.
13. To define the center of the arcs radius, right-click and select Local Snap|Arc Center
from the local menu. Click on the circle.
14. Move the cursor to the lower left corner of the wall, where you started the multiline
tracing. Click there to establish the radius, and again to start the arc.
15. Move the cursor to the right and click to finish the arc and close the tracing of the
wall.
16. From the menu, select Options|Layer. Select Details.
17. In Properties, deselect Visible. The eyes icon representing a visible layer is
removed from Details.
18. Click the Toggle All button. Now Details is set to visible, and all other layers are set
to invisible. Click OK.

Now only the tracing is visible

19. Use the Select tool to draw a selection rectangle around the tracing. Click on Hatch in
the Entity Format toolbar. You will not see any results yet.
20. Select Menu: Options|Layer again. Select Details, and click the Toggle All button. All
other layers will be set to visible again. Click the Visible button to set Details as
visible, too.
21. The complete drawing returns to the screen, including a concrete hatch pattern in the
wall.

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Hatching completed

Insert Bitmap Image

22. Click on Zoom Extents in the View menu.
23. From the menu, select Insert|Object.
24. Leave the default Create New selected. Click on Bitmap Image and click the OK
button.
25. A selection rectangle will appear in the drawing, and the Paint program will open.
Scratch out a quick doodle, then double-click on the Control Menu box to exit Paint
and return to TurboCAD. It is not necessary to save the doodle as a Paint file.
26. Press function key <F5> to redraw the screen. The doodle you created in Paint is now
visible in the drawing.
27. Drag the bitmap to any part of the drawing.
28. Save the drawing and exit TurboCAD.

A Wealth of Interconnective Opportunities

The popularity of the Windows operating environment has made it easier for software
publishers to allow the import of files created by other programs. TurboCAD takes good
advantage of such Windows features as OLE and the Clipboard, allowing you the
opportunity to add content created in other programs to your TurboCAD drawings. Data
calculated in a spreadsheet, bit-map images from an illustration program, or even video
clips are all possible additions to your drawings. The creative possibilities of such links to
other documents are unlimited.

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Printing and Plotting
Putting Your Designs on Paper
TurboCAD follows standard Windows protocols for printing, with additional commands in
the Page Setup dialog to match the needs of draftsmen and designers.

NOTE: In Windows, plotters are treated as printers. If you have a plotter, you need to install
special Windows software known as a driver to use it with TurboCAD. If you dont have a
driver for your printer or plotter, contact the manufacturer of the device, not Microsoft.

Printer Paper and the Drawing Sheet

As you draw in TurboCAD, you generally see the feature known as the drawing sheet. As
explained in Chapter Two, the drawing sheet represents Paper Space. The unit of measure in
Paper Space matches the units on the sheet you will print to. The drawing sheet can be
visible on-screen, yet you can be drawing in World Space (the place where objects are
drawn at their real-world size or any scale of it that you prefer).
The drawing sheet is not necessarily the same size as a single sheet of paper that comes out
of your printer or plotter. The Drawing Sheet is the total surface area on which your drawing
can be printed. The Drawing Sheet can correspond to a single sheet of paper in the printer,
or it can span multiple sheets of printer paper.
Both the printer paper and the drawing sheet have adjustable sizes, as well as landscape
(wide) and portrait (tall) orientations. This provides a great deal of flexibility when you
want to print a large drawing on multiple sheets. You could, for example, print a poster in
landscape orientation three feet wide and two feet tall. You could print this virtual sheet out
on 32 sheets of 8.5 x 11 paper oriented in portrait, or on 30 sheets of the same size paper
oriented in landscape.

The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

5' x 3' landscape drawing sheet on 8.5" x 11" portrait printer paper

5' x 3' landscape drawing sheet on 8.5" x 11" landscape printer paper

Simple Printing
TurboCAD makes it easy to print in a few simple steps. If you have a drawing created in
World Space, and want to print it to one sheet of paper without regard to scale, follow these
steps:
1.

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Choose Menu: File|Print. The Print dialog will appear.

Chapter 13 Printing and Plotting

Print Dialog

2.
3.

In the Print Range control group, click the All option to print your entire drawing.
Check the Fit on One Page option.

4.

Click the Page Setup button to bring up the Page Setup Dialog. Choose your printer,
paper size, and paper orientation, then click OK to return to the Print dialog.
Click the OK button to print your drawing.

5.

Your drawing will be centered and printed on a single sheet of paper.

Tiled Printing
TurboCAD gives you two different approaches to printing a drawing on multiple tiled sheets
of paper, using the Paper and Layout property pages of the Page Setup dialog. The two
following sections describe these two options.

TIP: When printing on multiple tiled sheets, it is usually best to have the Print Crop Marks
option on, unless you can set your margins to zero. (Not all printing devices can accept zero
margins.) Crop marks will enable you to easily trim the edges of the paper so that the sheets
can be pasted onto a backing for display.

Tiled Printing by Setting Sheet Size

If you want to create a printout of a specific size tiled on multiple sheets, you can specify
the size of the printout in the Paper property sheet. TurboCAD will determine the number
and arrangement of the sheets of printer paper.

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1.

Choose Menu: File|Page Setup. The Paper property sheet will be visible in front.

2.

In the Printer Paper control group, specify the size of the sheets of paper that you
want to print on and whether you want to print in landscape (wide) or portrait (tall).
In the Sheet Size control group, specify the size of the area on which you want to print
the drawing and its orientation. You can do this in any units listed in the Menu:
Tools|Units and Scale property sheet. For example, if you want a printout 2 feet tall
and 3 feet wide, you would type 2 ft. x 3 ft. in the list box, and choose the Landscape
option.
Click the Fit button to place your drawing on the tiled sheets.
Click the Print button to print your drawing immediately, or click OK and then
choose Menu: File|Print if you want to go through the Print dialog.

Paper property sheet of Page Setup dialog

3.

4.
5.

NOTE: You can also set the sheet size in either World or Page units by specifying values in the
Height and Width fields on the Layout property sheet.

Tiled Printing by Setting Rows and Columns

In the Layout property sheet of the Page Setup dialog, you can specify the number of rows
(the number of sheets of printed paper from top to bottom) and columns (the number of
sheets of printed paper from left to right). You can then return to the Paper property sheet to

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fit your drawing onto the tiled printer paper. TurboCAD will automatically adjust the
dimensions of the drawing sheet to accommodate changes in the number of rows and
columns.

Layout property sheet of Page Setup dialog

Print Commands in the File menu

The following sections discuss each feature available in the File menu for printing and
plotting.

Page Setup Dialog

The Page Setup dialog provides a rich set of features that let you determine exactly how
drawings will be printed. It consists of a minimum of two property sheets: Paper and
Layout. For some printers, additional property sheets are required for advanced features.

TIP: After you have selected options in these property sheets, you can either make the
changes in your drawing by clicking the OK button at the bottom of the dialog, or print the
drawing from the dialog without making changes in your drawing by clicking the Print button. If
you click the OK button, you can then print the drawing by choosing Menu: File|Print or
clicking the Print button on the Standard toolbar.

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Paper Property Sheet

The Paper property sheet lets you determine the size and orientation of the printer paper and
the drawing sheet.

Paper property sheet

Printer Paper
The printer paper is the physical paper that goes through the printer; the drawing sheet is the
area on which your drawing will be printed, which can span multiple sheets of printer paper.
This property sheet also contains a variety of option controls and a function for viewing or
setting the scale of the drawing.
The Printer Paper control group lets you set the size and orientation of the printer paper.
These are the same settings you can control through the Print Setup dialog, so changes that
you make in this dialog will be reflected in Print Setup, and vice versa. To set the paper size
and orientation:
1.
2.

Click in the Size list box and choose a standard paper size.
Choose either portrait or landscape orientation by clicking one of the option buttons.
The icon to the left of the option buttons will change to reflect your choice.
Clicking the Setup button in this control group brings up the Print Setup dialog, in which
you can choose another printer or access functions that directly control your printer. This

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dialog is specific to your printer driver. Check your printer or printer driver documentation
for details.

Drawing Sheet Size

The Drawing Sheet Size control group lets you control the size and orientation of the area
on which your drawing will be printed. This area can be imposed on a single sheet of printer
paper, or it can span multiple sheets of printer paper. Its orientation can also be set
separately from the orientation of the printer paper. To set the size and orientation of the
drawing sheet:
1.

Click in the Size list box and choose a standard paper size, or type in a custom size
using standard measurements (for example, 2 ft. x 2 ft.).
2. Choose either portrait or landscape orientation by clicking one of the option buttons.
The icon to the left of the option buttons will change to reflect your choice.
The page display on the right side of the dialog will change to reflect the relationship
between printer paper and drawing sheet size and orientation.

Options (Printing Only)

The buttons in the Options (Printing Only) control group let you determine what elements
are printed. These options affect only the printing of the drawing and are not reflected in the
appearance of the drawing on-screen.
Print margins. Check this button to print a border on the margin of the printer sheets. This is
useful for framing the drawing if it is printed on a single sheet.
Print crop marks. Check this option button to print crop marks on the printer sheets. This is
useful if you want to print across multiple printer sheets and crop the sheets so that they can
be pasted against a backing.
Print grid. Check this option if you want to print grid marks. The grid will be printed if it is
currently displayed.
Print construction. Check this option if you want to print construction lines.

Page Layout Scale

The controls in the Scale control group let you scale the drawing so that it fits within the
drawing sheet, or lets you choose a custom scale.
To scale the drawing so that it fits into the drawing sheet, click the Fit button. The drawing
will be centered as it is fit onto the drawing sheet.
To choose a custom scale, click in the list box and choose a preset scale, or type a scale
directly into the list box in the form 1 in = 1 ft. When typing custom scales, you can use any
measurement available in the Units and Scale property sheet of the Drawing Setup dialog
(from the menu select Tools|Drawing Setup). You can click the Reset button at any time to

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return to the scale that was set when you entered the Page Layout dialog. Drawing Setup is
also discussed in Chapter 3, under the heading Preparation For Drawing.

Keep Centered
Check the Keep Centered option to keep the drawing centered over the drawing sheet.

Layout Property Sheet

The Layout property sheet gives you direct control of the number of rows and columns of
printer paper. It also has functions for setting the printer paper margins, setting the height
and width of the drawing sheet in either World or Paper units, and relocating the paper in
the drawing area.

Layout property sheet of Page Setup dialog

Margins
Margins, the dotted rectangle inside the edges of the paper, let you know whether you are
drawing inside or outside the printable area of your drawing.
The margins control group contains four text boxes in which you can specify the top,
bottom, left, and right margins of the printer paper in Paper units. By default, the margins
are displayed in units set in the Units and Scale property sheet (Menu: Tools|Drawing
Setup), but you can enter values in other units as well.

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NOTE: You cannot set the margins of the drawing sheet independently of the margins of the
printer paper.

TIP: If you set all the margins to zero, TurboCAD will offer to set them back to give you the
biggest possible printable area on the current printer.

Rows and Columns

The Rows and Columns controls let you set the number of rows and columns of the printer
sheet paper, for tiled printing. As you increase the number of rows and columns, the size of
the drawing sheet the area on which your drawing will be printed increases
correspondingly. The Paper Height and Paper Width controls let you directly set the height
and width of the drawing sheet. As you increase these values, TurboCAD will automatically
increase the number of rows and columns to accommodate the change in the drawing sheet
size.

Origin
The Origin boxes let you move the paper to a different location in the drawing. You do this
by specifying the location of the lower-left corner of the paper in absolute coordinates: Type
the horizontal coordinates into the X box and the vertical coordinates into the Y box.

TIP: This feature is useful if you want to print a particular area of a large drawing by relocating
the paper to the area that you want to print.

Print Dialog

Print dialog in Windows 95

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The Print dialog (Menu: File|Print or <Ctrl> + <P>) provides a set of functions which
include printing a single view of a drawing, or printing specific sheets in a drawing that
spans multiple sheets of printer paper.

Print Source
The Print Source control group lets you choose whether to print all of the drawing objects,
or only those that are currently selected.

Print Range
There are times when you will only need to print a portion of a drawing that would span
several pages when printed in its entirety. Use the features of the Print Range group to set a
specific view of the drawing to print, and to select a range of pages when printing a drawing
that spans multiple printed sheets.
All. Select this option if you want to print all of the current drawing. If you have chosen
Selection in the Print Source control group, only objects that are selected will be printed. (If
your drawing spans multiple printer sheets, the total number of sheets will be shown in this
option label.
View. This option allows you to select a Named View, if one exists in the drawing.
Fit on 1 page. Check this box if you want to print everything on a single page.

Copies
Type the number of copies of the drawing that you want to print in the copies text box.

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14
Drawing Import and Export
Using Design Files in a Mixed Environment
Sooner or later, you will need to share a TurboCAD drawing with a non-TurboCAD user.
The drawing may be headed for desktop publishing, a plotter service, or even another CAD
program. Almost every graphics program has its own file format, and translation from one
format to another can often become complicated and frustrating. The more you know about
the major graphic file formats, the better chance of success you will have when you need to
translate your TurboCAD drawings.
This chapter discusses the variety of file formats that you are likely to encounter as a
TurboCAD user. The list includes formats used by previous versions of TurboCAD, and file
formats used by other CAD programs.
File formats created by bit-image (raster) software is not included in this chapter. For details
on using bit-image graphics as objects in a TurboCAD drawing, refer back to Chapter
Twelve.

TurboCAD proprietary formats

TurboCAD is no different from every other drawing program on the market, it uses a
proprietary format to store the images you create. If you Save a drawing without specifying
an alternative file format, the drawing is saved in the .TCW format, short for TurboCAD
Windows.
Every new release of a software program offers new features. Some features are obvious to
the user, others are buried beneath the surface. It is common practice for software
companies to revise the internal workings of how programs store information in files, for a
variety of reasons. The publisher may wish to improve the speed at which drawings are

The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

saved to disk, to decrease the space required to store a drawing, or to accommodate a new
type of data structure in the program (such as moving beyond using only single lines to
using multilines).
As TurboCAD has matured over the years, the publishers have found it necessary to make
changes to the proprietary file format the program uses to store drawings on disk. To
accommodate loyal users who have upgraded from previous versions of TurboCAD, the
current version can import the following file formats created by previous versions of
TurboCAD:
File Extension
TCD

TurboCAD Version or Special Format

TurboCAD for DOS

TCW

TurboCAD for Windows Version 2

SLW

TurboCAD for Windows Version 2 Symbol Library

To open a drawing saved in one of these earlier TurboCAD file formats, select the correct
file format from the Files of Type list box in the Open dialog.

Open dialog showing file format options

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Drawing Exchange Format -- DXF

DXF is a file format created by Autodesk, Inc., makers of AutoCAD. This format has
become the standard file exchange type for CAD drawings. Virtually every CAD program on
the market can read this format. It is usually your best bet if you need to share drawings
with the user of another CAD program. DXF will generally preserve your layer definitions,
line types and line colors as you created them.
To save a TurboCAD drawing in DXF format, select Menu: File|Save As, then select DXF
from the Save As Type: list box.

Improving the Readability of DXF files

DXF is widely accepted, but has its limitations. The format does not support the use of solid
color fills and hatch patterns. Also, DXF does not support the use of TrueType fonts, which
spells trouble for any Windows-based CAD program, including TurboCAD.
There are steps you can take to improve the readability of your drawings when converting
them to DXF. Make sure you completely finish the drawing before you create a DXF
version. Always keep an original version of the completed drawing in TurboCADs TCW
format. Use the Menu: File|Save As command to create a second copy of the drawing (with
a different name), which you will modify before translating to DXF.
Use Menu: Format|Explode to reduce complex elements to basic entities. Your goal is to
create a drawing of simple lines, with no complex elements. You should explode all hatch
patterns, color fills and lines of text until they are polylines. Explode all groups and blocks
to their original constituent parts. Depending on the complexity of the drawing, you may
have to explode some elements three or four times before you reduce these elements to
simple entities. TurboCAD can explode any number of objects one level deep each time you
use the command.

DWG: AutoCAD native file format

In addition to DXF, TurboCAD can save drawings in AutoCADs native DWG format.
TurboCAD supports the DWG format as used by AutoCAD Release 12. Most earlier version
of AutoCAD as far back as Release 9 should also be able to import DWG files created by
TurboCAD.
The guidelines provided above for creating reliable DXF files also apply to DWG files.

HP-GL and HP-GL/2: Hewlett Packard Graphics Language

The DXF and DWG formats are best used when sharing your drawings with another CAD
user. If you need to send drawings to a plotting service, you will most likely need to
translate your drawing to either HP-GL or HP-GL/2, the most common plotter file formats.
Before you start the translation, find out if there is a plotter driver for your version of

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Windows that is an exact match for the plotting device. If so, install it into your version of
Windows.
HP-GL is a popular graphics format that is used by both vector and raster graphics
programs. HP-GL/2 is an updated version. The language was originally created as a set of
codes to send graphics images to Hewlett Packard pen plotters.
TurboCAD 4 for Windows can both open an HP-GL file from the Open menu, and directly
save a file in either HP-GL format. This is a change from TurboCAD Version 3, which
required you to print to disk to create an HP-GL file from a TurboCAD drawing.
Given the same original drawing, HP-GL files are usually smaller than DXF files. Solid
color fills and hatch patterns should translate successfully, but you will still need to explode
any text in the drawing.

Third-party program for file conversion

Many CAD users have found a shareware program called PrintGL to be of benefit when
translating files. PrintGL is a pen plotter emulator package for DOS and Windows. It reads
and displays HP-GL and HP-GL/2 data from CAD and graphing packages. It supports a
wide variety of 9- and 24-pin printers, ink jet and laser printers. It can export PLT files to
PostScript (EPS or device files), and to PCX (Paintbrush) format. You may modify some
elements of the PLT file in PrintGL, such as specifying colors or adjusting line types.
Another good use of PrintGL is to view PLT files you have created from your TurboCAD
drawing, before you pass them along. Some CAD users prefer to use PrintGL as a printer
driver, instead of relying on the drivers provided with Windows. This is especially true if
you must rely on the HP7475A driver, which has documented problems. PrintGL is
available for download on the Internet at http://www.shareware.com, on CompuServe in the
Graphics Support Forum Library, and on the Ravitz Software BBS at 606-268-0577. IMSI
does not endorse PrintGL, and can provide no support if you use it.

Exporting TurboCAD Drawings Using OLE Drag and Drop

Any Windows program that supports standard Windows Object Linking and Embedding
(OLE) can accept a TurboCAD drawing. Open both programs side-by-side. Click on the
drawings reference handle and drag the drawing into the second program. A second method
is to Cut or Copy the drawing or selected elements to the Windows clipboard, then use the
Paste command in the second program. OLE is described in more detail in Chapter Twelve.

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222

15
Customizing the Desktop
Reshaping TurboCAD to match your work style
As a worker becomes more skilled, there is a natural tendency to personalize the tools of
ones craft. TurboCADs customization features make it possible for users to reshape the
TurboCAD desktop to match personal work style.
The reference manual that ships with TurboCAD for Windows Version 4 includes a complete
discussion on all forms of program customization; that information will not be duplicated in
this chapter. Instead, this chapter provides a brief tutorial introducing the customization
process.

Why change the desktop?

When the topic of customization comes up, some people say Why bother? Just learn to use
the program the way it comes out of the box. Consider the three scenarios that follow, each
offering a valid reason to customize the TurboCAD desktop.
Limited need. A set designer uses TurboCAD to create diagrams for outdoor stage shows.
The tools and commands she needs most are a relatively small subset of the programs
features. She only uses two line tools and one circle tool, and generally ignores the other
entity tools. After a while, the designer realizes she can remove all the existing toolbars on
the desktop, replacing them with one toolbar along the top, making more room available for
viewing the drawing. The two line tools and one circle tool she uses can be combined into
one fly-out toolbar; three important tools now occupy one icon width on her new toolbar.
Preference for the keyboard. In this era of Windows icons and toolbars, a facilities manager
who misses DOS still prefers to use keyboard shortcuts as much as possible. He uses [Alt]-

The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

[F4] to close the program, and knows that the [Alt]-I, L, S keystroke sequence will select the
Single Line command. To him, to remove your hand from the keyboard and not draw a line
is a waste of time. The ability to link TurboCAD commands to keystrokes will not only save
this user time, but decrease interruptions in the creative process.
Training new users. A network support manager for a Fortune 500 company manages a
group of 25 network technicians. Each technician must maintain accurate diagrams for their
areas of responsibility. The manager creates custom menus and toolbars for each
technicians copy of TurboCAD, increasing staff productivity and shorten learning time.

Create a personal workspace

The following tutorial will introduce the process of customization. After you become
familiar with the process, take the time to review your work style and see if you can come
up with ideas for creating a custom TurboCAD workspace.

Create a new toolbar

New toolbars may be created using the Tools|Customize|Toolbars dialog. After providing a
name for the new toolbar, use the Categories list to find the specific tools or commands you
wish to assemble into a toolbar. The toolbar icons for each command will appear in the
Buttons field. Select a category, then click on a button to see its description at the bottom of
the dialog. If you want to add the button to your new toolbar, drag it into the toolbar.
Follow the steps below to practice creating a new toolbar.
1.
2.
3.

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Launch TurboCAD. Accept the default template to start a new drawing.

From the menu, select Tools|Customize
Click on the Toolbar tab at the top of the dialog.

Chapter 15 Customizing The Desktop

Customize dialog

4.
5.

Drag the New button out of the Customization dialog and onto the desktop.
The New Toolbar dialog will appear. Type Lines and click on OK.

Name the new toolbar

6.
7.
8.

In the Categories list, click on the small plus sign to the left of Insert.
In the list of items under Insert, click on Line.
In the Buttons display, click on the Single Line tool icon (first icon, top row). A
description of the tool appears in the lower left corner of the dialog.

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Adding the Single line tool to the new toolbar

9.

Drag the Single Line icon onto the new toolbar, which can be found in the same spot
where you dragged the New button.
10. Click on the Perpendicular Line icon (last icon, top row), and drag it into the new
toolbar.
11. Click on the Double Line icon (first icon, bottom row). Drag it into the new toolbar.

Three tools added to new toolbar (to the right of the dialog)

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Add fly-out tools to the toolbar

In this next section, you will add one more tool to the Lines toolbar. This new tool will
function as a fly-out it will only appear when you click and hold on the top tool in the
group of fly-outs. While the new tool appears as a fly-out on the Lines toolbar, TurboCAD
saves the information about this new tool icon as if it were a separate toolbar.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

In Categories, click on Double Line

Under Style, click Fly-out.
In Buttons, click the Single Double Line tool icon (first icon, top row).
Drag the icon and place it directly on top of the Double Line icon in the new toolbar.
A New Toolbar dialog appears. Type Dbl and click the OK button.

6.

The two double line tools should appear as fly-outs, as illustrated below.

Fly-out tools extend from new toolbar

Create a new menu

Custom menus may be created using the Tools|Customize|Menus dialog. To create a new
menu, first open the Customize Menus dialog. Then select the item labeled [Menu Bar]
from the Change What Menu list. Click on the Add Submenu button, name the new menu
and click OK.
Follow the steps below to place a command in a new menu.
1.

Click on the Menus tab at the top of the Customization dialog.

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2.
3.

In the Change What Tab field, click on [Menu Bar], the top item in the list. (You
may have to scroll to find the item.)
Click the Add Submenu button.

4.

In the Name the new menu dialog, type Lines and click the OK button.

Name the new menu

5.
6.
7.
8.

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In the Categories list, select Insert.

In the Commands list, select InsertLineSingle.
In the Change What Menu list, click on Lines. You may need to scroll to the bottom
of the list to find Lines.
Click the Add button.

Chapter 15 Customizing The Desktop

The new menu name appears in the list of menus

Create a keyboard shortcut

For pure efficiency, keyboard shortcuts beat mouse clicks every time. But not everyone is
willing to take the time to learn keyboard shortcuts when commands are visible as tool icons
or menu items.
Keyboard shortcuts may be created from;

Any single alphanumeric keystroke

The combination of CTRL, SHIFT, or ALT and an alphanumeric keystroke
A Function Key
The combination of CTRL, SHIFT, or ALT and a Function Key.

NOTE: While it is technically possible to assign keyboard shortcuts to keys such as Page Up,
Home, or Delete, it is not recommended.

The steps below demonstrate how to assign a keyboard shortcut to a command not currently
assigned a shortcut. A false start is included, so you can see what happens if you try to
assign a keyboard shortcut already in use.
1.
2.
3.
4.

Click on the Keyboard tab at the top of the Customization dialog.

In the Categories list, click on Insert.
In the Commands list, use the scroll bar to find and click on InsertLineSingle.
Click in the text box labeled Press New Shortcut Key and type the letter l .

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5.

A message appears below the letter, saying Currently Assigned to

ModesSnapRelocate.

Message indicates keystroke is already assigned to a command

6.
7.

Press [Alt]-L. Now the message reads Currently assigned to [unassigned].

Click the Assign button to accept [Alt]-L as the new keyboard shortcut for the Insert
Single Line tool.

Saving customization changes

When you have finished your desktop and keyboard customization, you will want to save
the changes you have made so they become a permanent part of TurboCAD. Do not follow
the steps below unless you wish to save the changes made in this tutorial as a part of your
TurboCAD desktop.
A button called Save In appears on each of the three dialog used in this tutorial. To save
changes, click on the text box below the Save In button and type a file name. All the
customization changes will be saved in this file. If you want the changes to be a permanent
part of the TurboCAD desktop, and you dont care about preserving the original desktop and
settings, you may leave Default as the file name listed in the Save In text box.
When you click the Save In button, a dialog will appear, asking Are you sure you want to
update the existing file? Click the Yes button. To finish, click Close.

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16
Increasing productivity
Tools and tips for efficiency
If you have worked through each chapter, by now you have gained experience with most
elements of the program. You have probably taken your new skills and started to work on
one or more projects of your own. As well you should you didnt buy TurboCAD just to
work a few tutorials.
Previous chapters have explored how to draw and edit in TurboCAD. This last chapter will
introduce a few features that do not directly draw or edit, but do increase your overall
efficiency. These features fall into three categories:

Views of the drawing

Measurements
Keyboard shortcuts

Creating and using additional views

As a drawing becomes larger and more complicated, there are times when it is easy to
become lost in the details. If you need to zoom in and work on a small portion of the
drawing, you can lose your perspective of how the small details relate to the whole of the
project. Wouldnt it be nice if you could have your cake (see the entire drawing) and eat
your cake (see a close-up view) at the same time? You can.
In addition to the zoom, pan, and view commands introduced in Chapter Five, TurboCAD
offers three tools that can increase your efficiency by giving you two or more views of your
drawing at the same time.
Aerial View. This tool opens a second view of the drawing in a special window. Navigation

The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

tools included in the window make it easy to adjust the view in the main drawing window.
Viewport. Take advantage of a previously Named View without dedicating the entire screen
to it. The named view becomes an object in the drawing. Not only is this tool useful for
viewing parts of the drawing, it may be used to create call-outs or details.
Multiple Windows. Open more than one window on the drawing, and draw or edit in any of
them.
Of the three, only Multiple Windows allows you the ability to draw and edit Aerial View
and Viewport are for reference and navigation. Follow the steps below to gain experience
with each of these features.

Using Aerial View

Aerial View gives you the option of a second view of the drawing. The view may be partial,
at any zoom factor, or it may be a miniature view of the full drawing. Once you have
created an Aerial View, you may use it to quickly change the zoom factor of the main
drawing window.
To create an aerial view, click the Aerial View icon (the airplane) in the View toolbar. Then
use the cursor to draw a selection rectangle around the part of the drawing you want to
appear in the Aerial View. An Aerial View window will open in the area of the screen where
you drew the selection rectangle. You may drag the Aerial View by the title bar to move it
to any other part of the screen, or resize it as you would any window.
Grarchfl.TCW is a large, detailed drawing that ships with TurboCAD. Follow the steps
below to use Aerial View in this drawing.
1.
2.

Launch TurboCAD and open IMSI\TCW40\Samples\Grarchfl.TCW.

Click the Aerial View tool (the airplane) in the View toolbar, along the right side of
the desktop.

Aerial View tool icon

3.

232

A dotted-line rectangle appears on the cursor. Draw a selection rectangle around the
set of objects in the top left corner of the drawing. When you finish the rectangle, an
Aerial View window will appear.

Chapter 16 Increasing Productivity

Aerial View floats above the drawing

Aerial View tools

Six tools are available in Aerial View. Five have icons inside the Aerial View window; the
sixth is activated by cursor position. Note that the five tool icons are in two groups. The first
three affect the view inside the Aerial View window; the last two are used inside the aerial
view window, but affect the drawing. The standard window tools Reduce/Restore and Close
are also provided in the top left corner.
TIP: Use the Aerial View Reduce/Restore tool to temporarily roll up the Aerial View as if it
were a curtain; the title bar will remain. Click the tool again to restore the Aerial View.

From left to right along the Aerial View title bar, the tools are:
Aerial Zoom In. Reduce the current aerial view by 50 percent.
Aerial Zoom Out. Increase the current aerial view by 50 percent.
Aerial Zoom Extents. Display the entire active drawing in the Aerial View window.
Aerial Zoom Window. Select a new view for the drawing with a red selection rectangle in the
aerial view.
Aerial Pan View. Select a new zoom view for the main drawing window by moving the
Aerial Zoom Window rectangle to a new location in the Aerial View.
Aerial Cursor Pan. (No tool icon) Pan the main drawing window view using the Aerial
View. To use, place the cursor just inside a border of the aerial view window. After a pause,
the cursor will change to a small solid arrow and start panning the drawing in the direction
the arrow points. Move the cursor away from the edge to end panning.

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Follow the steps below to gain experience using Aerial View tools.
1.

Click Aerial Zoom Extents The entire drawing will appear in the Aerial View.

Aerial Zoom Extents tool icon

2.

Click Aerial Zoom Window.

Aerial Zoom Window tool icon

3.

Click and drag to draw a selection rectangle inside the Aerial View window. The
drawing in the main window will zoom to match the borders of the selection
rectangle.

Aerial zoom view with selection rectangle

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The red rectangle that appears when you use Aerial Zoom Window remains inside the Aerial
View until you use either Aerial Zoom In, Aerial Zoom Out, or Aerial Zoom Extents. When
the red rectangle appears inside an Aerial View, Aerial Pan Window may be used to select a
new view for the active drawing.
1.

Click on the Aerial Pan Window tool.

Aerial Pan Window tool icon

2.

Move the cursor into the Aerial View. A rectangle the size of the previous selection
rectangle is attached. Click anywhere inside the Aerial View to zoom the active
drawing to match the view inside the rectangle.

The new view set by using Pan Window

3.
4.

Click on the Aerial Pan Window tool to end the function and remove the rectangle
from the cursor.
Experiment with Aerial Cursor Pan. From inside the Aerial View, move the cursor
toward any border of the window. The cursor will change to a small solid black arrow,
and the view inside the Aerial View will pan in the direction the cursor points.

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Using Viewports
If you have previously saved specific views of the drawing using the Named View
command, you may use the Viewports command to insert a Named View into the drawing.
The inserted view become an object in the drawing.
The Named View inside the viewport is linked to the original objects in the drawing. You
should think of anything that appears inside a Viewport as a reflection of the original. If you
edit or delete any object reflected in the Viewport, the image in the viewport will change to
match.

The Viewports command is useful for adding a second view on the screen, but you must
realize that in using the command you are adding a new object to the drawing.
TIP: To delete a viewport, click on the border, not on any object inside.

Follow the steps below to gain experience using Viewports. First, a named view will be
created, then inserted into the drawing using the Viewports command.
1.
2.
3.
4.

Click the Close button on the Aerial View.

Click on Zoom Window in the View toolbar.
Draw a selection rectangle around any small portion of the drawing. The screen will
redraw to match.
From the menu, select View|Named View. In the Name text box, type Insertion 1.

Naming a view

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5.
6.

Click on Zoom Full View in the View toolbar.

Select Menu: Insert|Viewport.

7.
8.

Draw a selection rectangle in the blank area of the drawing (lower right quadrant).
The Named View dialog will appear. Click on Insertion 1 from the list. Click the Go
To button, then the Close button. A rectangle will be inserted into the drawing, and
the objects visible in the previously named view will appear inside it.

New viewport inserted into drawing

Using Multiple Windows

A third way to gain an additional view of your drawing is to open a second (or third, etc.)
drawing window. You can set the view in each drawing to match your needs, and can draw
in either window. Only one window will be active at any one time.

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Using Multiple Windows to view a drawing

To add a second window to the desktop, select Window|New Window. If the first window
was maximized, the second window will also be maximized, and initially you will only see
one window, the new one. To see both windows, select Window|Cascade from the menu.

Measuring objects
The objects you draw are representations of real-world objects. You draw them at their true
size. If a drawing contains a number of items (such as an office layout, a kitchen design, or
a site plan), then the distances between items must also be represented accurately.
As you draw, it is sometimes necessary to know the exact size of an object, or the distance
between two objects in the drawing. New in TurboCAD 4 are four measurement commands.
They are:
Coordinates of the Point. Determine the exact X, Y address of an endpoint, a node, or any
object or location in the drawing.
Distance. Measure the distance of a line, or the distance between any two specified points.
Angle. Measure the angular distance, in degrees, between two lines.
Area. Automatically calculate the area of any closed object, or of any perimeter you
identify.
Create a new drawing, then use it to practice the four measurement commands.

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1.
2.

If Grarchfl.TCW (the previous drawing) is still open, close it (Menu: File|Close).

Select Menu: File|New to start a new drawing. Select the Normal template.

3.

Click and hold on the Single Line icon in the Insert Entity toolbar, to open the Single
Line fly-out toolbar.
Select the Rectangle tool.
Draw a rectangle in the middle of the sheet that covers approximately a third of the
sheet, as illustrated below.
Again open the Single Line fly-out toolbar (click and hold on the Rectangle icon).
Select the Multiline tool.
Draw two lines to form an angle, as illustrated below. Right-click and select Finish to
end.

4.
5.
6.
7.

Rectangle and lines for the next exercises

Measure coordinate locations

The results calculated by the various measurement commands are displayed in the
Measurement palette. It must be visible before you use any of the commands.
1.

From the menu, select View|Measurement Info. The Measurement Info docking
palette will appear on the desktop.

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TIP: Docking palettes can float on the desktop, or they can be attached (docked) to the sides
of the desktop. To dock a floating palette, drag it to one side or toward the top of the screen.
To float a docked palette, double click on the thin margin that separates the information
screen from the palette border. Double-clicking on this same margin when the palette is
floating will also cause it to dock.

2.
3.

From the menu, select Tools|Measurement|Coordinates of the Point.

Move the cursor toward any corner of the rectangle. When very close, press V on the
keyboard.

NOTE: Pressing V is a keyboard shortcut for the Snap Vertex command. It is an example of a
Single Entry Keyboard Equivalent or SEKE. A list of SEKEs is provided in the last section of
this chapter.

4.

The X, Y coordinates of the location just selected will appear in the Measurement
Info palette. Both World Coordinates and Paper Coordinates will be shown.

Measuring coordinates of the point

Measure distance
1.
2.
3.

240

From the menu, select Tools|Measurement|Distance.

Move the cursor toward the far end of the top line defining the angle.
When very close, press V on the keyboard.

Chapter 16 Increasing Productivity

Measuring distance

The Measurement Info palette now displays three distinct data types, for both World
Coordinates and Paper Coordinates:
Distance. Dist= in the palette is the distance between the two points selected.
Absolute Coordinate Distance. Correspond to the first and last points: has two parts,
Delta X: and Delta Y:. This is a measurement of the absolute horizontal (X) and vertical (Y)
distance from the first point to the second.
Angle. This is a measurement of the angle or ray defined by the two points, as it sits on
the coordinate plane. A line pointing true horizontal (three oclock) would have an angle of
0 degrees.
4.

Right-click to summon the local menu, and notice the measurement display options.
Click on one, and notice the change in the Measurement Info palette.

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Options for measurement units in the local menu.

When using Measure Distance, the local menu provides unit display options. Selecting one
of these options will cause the display in the Measurement Info palette to update, expressing
the value in the selected unit of measurement.
NOTE: Changing the unit of measurement in the Measurement Info palette does not change
any other setting in TurboCAD.

Measure angle
1.
2.
3.

242

From the menu, select Tools|Measurement|Angle.

Using V as a keyboard shortcut for Snap Vertex, select each of the three points that
define the angle inside the rectangle.
When finished, view the results in the Measurement Info palette.

Chapter 16 Increasing Productivity

Measuring an angle

The angle shown is the angular distance in degrees between the two lines. Now try a
different method of selecting the lines that form the angle.
4.
5.
6.

Press ESC to remove the previous measurement.

Right-click, and select By entity from the local menu.
Click anywhere on each line. It is not necessary to use a snap command to identify
the lines.

Selecting the By entity option in the local menu

By Entity allows you to select any part of an object for a measurement command. While
useful, it is not always the best way to select points in a measurement command.

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Measure Area
1.
2.
3.

From the menu, select Tools|Measurement|Area.

Make sure Select By Entity is not active. If necessary, deselect it in the local menu.
Move the cursor to any corner of the rectangle. When very close, press V on the
keyboard for Snap Vertex.

4.

Continue around the rectangle, selecting each corner. When you select the fourth
corner, the rectangle will be filled and the area of the rectangle will be displayed in
the Measurement Info palette.

Measuring the area of an object

244

As with Measure Distance, you can change the units of measurement on display in the
palette with the local menu.
Note: To measure the perimeter of a rectangle, use Measure Distance, selecting the entire
boundary as you did above with Measure Area.

Chapter 16 Increasing Productivity

Using Keyboard Shortcuts

The old clich save the best for last is hereby invoked. New to TurboCAD 4 are Single
Entry Keyboard Equivalents SEKEs for short. They provide quick, one-key access to many
of the most commonly used commands and tools in TurboCAD.
Most SEKEs are snap commands. But a few perform other functions. Here is a complete
list of SEKEs, in alphabetical order.
A Set Absolute Coordinates. All coordinate references will be in Absolute Distances.
C Snap Arc Center. Connect to the center of an arc or circle.
G Snap Grid. Connect to the nearest grid point or intersection.
H Snap Opposite. Continue line same distance from object as from first point to object.
I Snap Intersection. Connect to the intersection of two entities.
J Snap Single Projection. ?????????????????????????
M Snap Middle Point. Connect to the midpoint of an entity.
N Snap Nearest on Graphic. Connect to the location the cursor touches.
P Set Polar Coordinates. All coordinate references will be Polar (distance and angle).
Q Snap Quadrant Point. Connect to the nearest quadrant point on a circle or arc (0, 90,
180, 270).
R Set Relative Coordinates. All coordinate references will be in Relative Distances.
S No Snap. Enter the location of the point.
V Snap Vertex. Connect to the end of the line or other object.
X Lock X. Lock the current X position as displayed in the Edit Bar.
Y Lock Y. Lock the current Y position as displayed in the Edit Bar.

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246

Index
Symbols
$CONSTRUCTION 94
*.TCW 220
+ 76
.TCW format 217
<Shift> 72
@ symbol
in group names 29

A
absolute coordinates 5, 73
Advanced Grid 51
Align Along Line 94
Align Bottom 94
Align Center 95
Align Left 95
Align Middle 94
Align Right 95
Align Top 95
Aligning Objects 94
Alignment 130
alignment box 133
American Institute of Architects 135
angle
bisecting 89
definition of 83
dividing 90
using 83
Angle Node
command 183
Angular Dimension
tool 174
Angular Dimension 174
Angular Dimensioning
tool 180

angular dimensioning 179

aperture 71
Appropriate computer hardware iii
arc
aligning text to 121
center and radius tool 141
circumference of 153
definition of 84
Double Point tool 141
drawing 153
elliptical 142, 160
entities tangent to 153
placement 144
placing 142
radius of 153
rotated elliptical 142
Start/Included/End (1-2-3) 142
tangent to arc 141
tangent to line 142
tool 141
Arc Center and Radius
tool 143, 144, 145
Arc Tangent to 3 Arcs 142
architectural drawing
standards in 187
Area 77
area 47
Array Copy
tool 58
Arrowheads 171
attribute 131
attributes 131
AutoCAD 198
automatic dimensioning 169
automation
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B
Baseline Dimension 174
Bezier 196
Bezier curve 162
bisecting
a line 85, 87
angle 89
bit-image 217
bitmaps 8
Blocks 139
blocks 30, 219
BMP 198
brush properties 134
Brush setting 192

C
CAD, DOS-based 114
CAD management system 131
cam assembly 154
Cartesian coordinates 72
Cartesian coordinates 5
CD-ROM iii
Center and Point
tool 53
Chamfer 108
tool 108
using Edit bar 108
chord
definition of 85
circle 53
aligning text to 121
definition of 84
Circle tools 53
Circle Center and Point 145, 155
Circle Tangent to Arc 154
Circle Tangent to Line 154
Tangent Arc Point 154
Tangent From Arc 154
Tangent to 2 Arcs 154
Tangent To Arc 154
Circumference 84
Cleanup option 111

i i

Clipboard 206
clockwise rotation 42
closing multilines 167
color
creating new 133
number of 133
of grid 52
colors 133
columns and rows
printing in 215
command
definition of 7
Computer Aided Design 1
Concentric 53
Concentric Arc 79, 141
construction
points 163
techniques 87
Construction Lines 93
context-sensitivity
and local menu 69
Continuous Dimension 174
control points
Bezier curve 162
coordinate fields 11, 15, 56, 161
and snap aperture 71
coordinates
absolute 73
Cartesian 72
coordinate plane 72
Delta 73
display 5
drawing with 74
geometry 4
polar 74
relative 73
coordinates, polar 74
Copy
command 107
Mirror Copy tool 63
objects 58
radial 146
tools 58
Copy Entities 91

Index
counterclockwise rotation 42
CPU iii
Create from Template dialog 9
Create Group command 29
Crop marks 209
crosshairs 12
cursors 12
curve
reshape 167
tools 162
Custom menus 227
customization 223
Customize Menus 227
Cut
command 107

D
Dash Scale 130
dash scale setting 133
data 129
data management 129
Datum Dimension 174
Default 11
definitions 83
command 7
entity 8
object 8
tool 7
Delete 102
deleting
line 13, 57
delta coordinates 73
Demystifying CAD 1
Design 49
design 130
Design Environment 50
Design Technique Clues 64
Desktop 223
desktop
dialog 52
using 10
device-dependent 5
dialogs

Create from Template 9

Desktop 52
Double Line 60, 61
Drawing Setup 16
Grid 52
Group 29
Page Setup 211
Print 208, 215
Program Setup 75
Summary Info 32, 35
Units and Scale 50
Diameter 84
Diameter Dimension
tool 174
Diameter Dimensioning
tool 184
DIB 198
dimenisioning
entity 178
Dimension Format Property Sheet 171
dimensioning 169
angular 179
diameter 184
entity 177
horizontal 175
laws of 188
leader 186
manual 177
Parallel 177
radial 184
segment 177
text 115
vertical 175
Dimensioning, Parallel 178
Dimensioning, Segment 178
dimensioning tools 174
dimensions
formatting 188
linear 175
Dimensions Property sheet 170
dividing
angle 90
line 90
Double Line

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The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

cleaning up 109
closing 167
dialog 60, 61
grafting 62
double line irregular polygon 60
Double Line Polygon 60
double line rotated rectangle 60
Double Line tools
Double Line Multiline 60
Double Line Perpendicular 60
Double Line Rectangle 60
Double Line Segment 60
Double Point 53
tool 53, 141
Double Point Arc
tool 143, 147
drafting 97
dragging 28
Draw with Hatching 194
drawing
adjusting settings 50
circle 53
editing 97
environment 50
parallel line 90
plotting 207
printing 207
rectangle 16
saving 18
scaling 213
sheet size 213
standards in 187
techniques 83
tools 83
with coordinate systems 74
Drawing database 124
Drawing Exchange Format 219
Drawing Setup 24
Drawing Setup dialog 16
Drawing Space 75
Drawing Techniques 141
DWG 219
DXF 219

i v

E
Edit
bar 11, 16, 59, 108, 153, 160
menu 97
Edit Bar 122
editing
definition of 97
drawing 97
drawing settings 50
node 167
nodes 124
text 116, 118
efficiency 231
Ellipse 160
definition of 84
drawing 160
tool 53, 160
Ellipse, Fixed Ratio 160
Elliptical Arc
tool 160, 161
engineering drawing
standards in 188
engineering, mechanical 154
Enrichment 191
entity 129
definition of 98
defintion of 8
editing 98
properties of 131
Entity dimensioning 178
entity dimensioning 178
Entity Type
command 104
dialog 104
EPS 220
Explode 56, 219
exploding
entity 167
groups 31, 100
objects 55, 63
text 119
Extension Lines 173
extension lines 170

Index

F
file, drawing 124
file management 129
Fillet 109
radius of 109
tool 108
Fit Array Copy
tool 58
Fit Linear 91
Fit Linear Copy
tool 58
Fit Radial Copy
command 89, 122
tool 58
Fit Radial Copy 121, 151
Fixed Ratio 142, 160
Fixed Ratio Ellipse 53
Fly-out tools 227
flyout toolbar 14
font
in dimensions 172
TrueType 114
fonts 115
formatting dimensions 188
Freeform Angles, Dimensioning 183
frequency setting 17
Full View
tool 75

G
gap
closing 159
general properties 131
geometric construction 83, 141
golden mean 92
golden ratio 92
grafting
Double Lines 62
graphic design 113
graphics software 3
Grid tab 17
Grid tab, Advanced 51

grids
adjusting 16, 142
changing color 52
dialog 52
using 51, 55
group 23
creating 29
editing nodes in 167
exploding 31, 100
name prefixes in 29
naming 30
Groups 29
groups 219
guidelines 115, 139, 144, 187

H
Handle-Based Editing. See Select Edit
hatch patterns 192
Hatching 191
Hewlett Packard Graphics Language (HP-GL)
exporting to 219
Horizontal Dimension
tool 174
HP-GL 219
HTML 199
Hypertext 199

I
importing
text 124
IMSI 220
IMSI, Inc. ii
insert a picture 198
Insert Object 197
Insert Picture 197
Insert toolbar 15
interface 50
Internet 220
Intersect 2 Double Lines
command 110
intersections
cleaning up 110
Irregular Polygon 77

The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

K
keyboard shortcuts 229

L
Launching TurboCAD 8
Layer 130
layer
creating new 136
setting the current drawing 137
setting tool to 136
using 134
Layout Property sheet 210, 214
Leader 102
text 115
tool 186
Leader Dimension
tool 174
Leader dimension 186
leader dimensions 186
Line
definition of 83
deleting 13, 57
dividing into proportional parts 90
style 135
tool 155
tools 60
trimming 57
using 83
Line pattern 130
Linear Copy
tool 58
Linear Copy 91
linear dimensions 175
local menu 69
local snaps 69
lock boxes 153

M
Magnetic Point 54, 70, 79
Magnetic Point feature 70
managing data 129
margins 214

v i

mathematical precision
and CAD 3
Media Clip 198
Meet 2 Lines
tool 109
menu
Edit 97
Local 69
Modify 97
Snap 69
Menu bar 11
Metafile 36
Metafiles 202
metafiles 8
Microsoft ClipArt Gallery 198
Microsoft Equation 2.0 198
Microsoft Excel 5.0 Chart 198
Microsoft Excel 5.0 Worksheet 198
Microsoft Graph 198
Microsoft Office ii
Microsoft Word 199
Middle Point
tool 87
Middle Point Snap 55
MIDI 199
mirror 152
Mirror Copy
tool 58, 63
Modify
menu 97
objects 136
modifying
definition of 97
moving objects 28, 106
Multiline 15
multimedia 191

N
naming
groups 30
symbols 30
Netscape 199
New toolbars 224

Index
No Snap
tool 69
No Snap 70
No Snap tool 12
node
deleting 168
editing 167
Node Edit 91
Node Edit mode 124, 167
Nodes 91

O
Object Trim
command 57, 101
tool 55, 156
Object Trim 57
objects
copying 58
definition of 8, 98
editing 98, 136
exploding 63
geometric 141
moving 28
placing 39
rotating 37, 42
scaling 42
selecting 27
setting properties of 138
OLE 8, 28, 198, 220
OLE drag and drop 28, 220
OLE Drag and Drop 202
Open Window option 103
options
printing 213
origin 5
of drawing 215
Ortho Mode 71
tool 158, 159
Ortho mode 72

P
page layout scale 213

Page Setup dialog 211

palette
color property sheet 133
Selection Info 131
Pan 76
Pan tools
Pan to Point 77
Vector Pan 77
panning 76
paper
display options 25
size and printing 207
space 24
units 11
Paper scale 23
Paper Space 115
Paper space 11
parabola 163
Parallel Dimensioning 177
tool 174
Parallel Double Line 60
Parallel Line 80
parallel lines 85
drawing 90
Paste 125, 202
command 107, 124
Special command 124
Paste Special 202
pattern
dash scale setting 133
line 133
PCX 220
Pen color 130
pen properties 133
Pen width 130
perpendicular lines 85
pixels 5
placing objects 39
plotters 207
plotting drawings 207
point
definition of 83
tool 83
points 114

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The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

font size 115
Polar coordinates 74
Polar Coordinates 74
Polygon
break 167
definition of 86
placing arc along 142
tool 142
Polygon, Irregular 77
PostScript 220
PowerPoint, Microsoft 199
Precision 3
Previous View
command 75
Print
crop marks option 209
dialog 208, 215
Printed Size
tool 75
PrintGL 220
printing 207
copies 216
in rows and columns 215
options 213
paper size 207
range 216
tiled 209
productivity 231
Program Setup
dialog 75
Program Setup 24
properties 131
brush 134
curve 163
default 138
default of tool 138
dialog 131, 138
dimension 170
general 131
layers 136
modifying 136
of text 115
pen 133
setting of selected objects 138

viii

sheet 131
toolbar 138
Properties toolbar 139

Q
Quadrant Snap
tool 158
Quadrant Snap 121

R
Radial Copy
tool 58
Radius 84
radius 167
field 153
of fillet 109
Radius Dimensioning
tool 174, 184
RAM iii
raster 217
raster graphics 5
Real Scale 3
real scale 4
rectangle
constructing 163
definition of 86
tool 16
redo 18
redraw button 33
redrawing the screen 33
reference point 28
reformatting text 117
Relative coordinates 73
Release 12, AutoCAD 219
Rotated Dimension 174
Rotated Ellipse
tool 53, 160, 161
Rotated Elliptical Arc
tool 160
rotating objects 37, 42
rotation
direction of 42
handle 28

Index
rows and columns
printing in 215
rubberbanding 68
ruler 11

S
Save 18
saving the drawing 18
scale 11
a drawing 213
objects 42
positive and negative 42
property sheet 12
scroll bars 11
Segment dimensioning 177
segments
editing 167
Select By Fence 105
Select by Layer 105
selecting objects 27, 106
Selection Info 28
selection options 102
selection rectangle 28
selection rectangle 36
Seven Laws of Dimensioning 188
shareware 220
Shift-Click 102
Single Line tool 13
Sketch
tool 162
SLW 218
Snap Arc Center
tool 157
Snap Intersection 79
snap modes 68, 69
Magnetic Point feature 70
Ortho Mode 71
snap aperture 71
Snap Nearest on Graphic 70
Snap to Grid 13
snap tools 69
accuracy and 13
Grid Snap 51

Snap to Arc Center 69

Snap to Grid 13, 69
Snap to Intersection 69
Snap to Midpoint 69
Snap to Nearest on Graphic 69
Snap to Quadrant Point 69
Snap to Vertex 69
Snap Vertex 13
toolbar 69
Snap Vertex 13
Snaps 3
Solid color fills 192
sound 191
Spiral 163
constructing 165
Spline
tool 162
square
definition of 86
standards 135
in dimensioning 187
text and 114
Start/End/Included (1-3-2) 142
Start/Included/End (1-2-3) Arc
tool 143, 151
Status bar 11
using the status line 13
style
line 135
Summary Info dialog 32, 35
Symbol
saving object as 31
symbol
collections 31
creating and using 30
libraries 30
naming 30
symbol library palette 31
Symbols 30
symbols 23, 30

T
T-Meet 2 Double Lines

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The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

command 110
Tan to Arc
tool 53
Tan to Line
tool 53
tangent
definition of 85
entities 153
Tangent Arc Point
tool 154
Tangent From Arc
tool 154
Tangent to 2 Arcs
tool 154
Tangent to 3 Arcs 53
Tangent To Arc
tool 154
TCD 218
techniques
construction 87
drawing 83
text 113
dimensioning 169
editing 116, 118
editing as graphic elements 123
exploding 119
height of 172
importing 124
in dimensions 115
leaders 115
line adjustment in dimensioning 172
placement of 115
postition of 172
properties 115
reformatting 117
Text Format toolbar 115
tick extension
in dimensioning 171
Tiled Printing 209
tiled printing 209
tip of the day 9
tool
definition of 7
toolbar

description of 11
dimensioning tools 174
Edit bar 16
flyout 14
Insert 15
Property 138
Snap 69
Text Format 115
toolbar, Properties 139
Triangle 77
triangle
definition of 86
trimming lines 57
Triple Point
tool 53
TrueType 219
TrueType font 114
TurboCAD Designer
learning 2
TurboCAD Designer 31, 199
TurboCAD Designer desktop 10
TurboCAD desktop 230
TurboCAD for DOS 218
typography 114

U
undo 18, 63
units 11
Paper 11
Property sheet 12
World 11
Units and Scale property sheet 24, 50

V
Vector Copy
tool 58
Vector Graphics Display 5
Vector Pan
command 77
Vertex Snap
tool 156
Vertical Dimensioning
tool 174, 175

Index
video 191
Video Clip 199
View Extents
tool 75
Visual Feedback 67

W
Width scaling 130
width scaling 133
Windows 3.1 iii
Windows 95 199, 202, 215
Windows Calculator 92
Windows Paint 198
witness lines 170
WMF 198
word processor 1
WordPad 199
World Space 115
World space 11
world units 11
World/Paper button 11

X
X axis 72
X,Y coordinates 4

Y
Y axis 72

Z
Zoom Extents 25
zoom factor 75
zoom tools
Full View 75
Previous View 75
Printed Size 75
View Extents 75
Zoom In 75
Zoom Out 75
Zoom Window 75
Zoom Window 54
zooming 75

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The Complete Guide to TurboCAD for Windows V4

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