Lesson 1- 5,6

Intro to dimensioning

Creating Selection Sets

Move, Copy, Stretch, Mirror

Introduction for : simple dimensioning and annotation:

Here are some simple techniques for dimensioning. When you use these techniques you will be able to
dimension drawings. If the dimensions you create do not look exactly like the dimensions in the lesson,
that is ok, accept them for now. There will be more on dimensioning later.

Simple dimensioning can be done by clicking the annotate tab, and selecting the dimension drop down
menu as shown. Select Linear, aligned (recommended for most cases), angular etc. and follow the
directions.

The easiest way to dimension lines is by selecting the end points of a feature (this is the default setting)
or selecting an object, by pressing space bar after <select an object> and then clicking on the object and
drag the mouse away a distance of your choosing to display dimension.
To repeat the same dimensioning command for another feature, simply press the space bar again.

To display annotations or text such as this click on the multilieader icon in the

annotate window . Choose default setting and click at the point where your
annotation refers to and drag the still pressed mouse away to a distance. Release the mouse, and you
will see a text box open. Enter your text in the box.

If the dimensioning text gives too many places after the decimal point, Type dimstyle at the command
window or click the little arrow on the bottom right corner of the dimensions menu window

and a dimensioning edit menu opens up. Click on modify then primary units, then precision and choose

the precision you want. Press OK and you are done.

End of brief dimensioning and annotation section

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Beginning of Creating Selection Sets lesson:

A selection set allows you to group objects together and then modify them. For example, if you want to

erase several lines, you could press E <ENTER>, pick on the line, press <ENTER> again and repeat until
you're done. Another way would be to press E <ENTER>, and then pick the lines one by one until they
are all selected, and press <ENTER>. By selecting a group of objects, you have created a selection set.
Whenever you want to modify an object, and are asked by AutoCAD to "select objects" you can
create a selection set and then apply the command.

REMEMBER TO PRESS ENTER WHEN YOU ARE FINISHED SELECTING THE OBJECTS

There are also a few other ways to create a selection set. The most common way is to use a window.
Left mouse click on screen and drag the mouse left or right to make a selection window.

There are two very different types of windows you can use:
One is a 'crossing window' and the other is a box. If you create the window from right to left, you make a
crossing window This means that any object that crosses the border or is surrounded by the window is
added to the selection set. This is shown as a green rectangle with a dotted outline on the screen. If you
create the window from left to right, you create a box. Using this method you'll add only the items that
are completely within the box. This is shown as a blue box on the screen. The difference is very
important.

To summarize:

DIRECTION CALLED DISPLAY EFFECT

GREEN
SECLECTS ANY OBJECT THAT
RIGHT TO CROSSING (with a
EITHER CROSSES THE
LEFT SELECTION dotted
BOUNDARY OR IS INSIDE IT
outline)
SELECTS ON OBJECTS THAT
LEFT TO WINDOW
BLUE ARE COMPLETELY WITHIN THE
RIGHT SELCTION
BOX

There are other ways to select objects and here a few of the more common ways. These can also be
used in combination.

REMOVE - by typing R when asked to select objects, AutoCAD will select change to allow you to Remove
objects from the selection set. You can also remove individual objects by pressing the Shift Key when
selecting (known as a 'shift-select')

LAST - by typing L when asked to select objects, AutoCAD will select the last object that you created.
This is handy if you create something and want to move or modify it right away.

PREVIOUS - by typing P when asked to select objects, AutoCAD will select the previous selection set.
This is used if you select a few objects, modify them and then want to modify them again.

FENCE - by typing F when asked to select objects, AutoCAD allows you to draw a series of lines (called
a fence) to select objects. This is convenient if you want to select a group of lines to be trimmed to a
single cutting edge.

CROSSING POLYGON - typing CP when you are selecting objects give the ability to create a crossing
polygon for object selection. This is similar to a crossing box, but you can pick points on the screen to
create a polygon. By default, this is a crossing polygon, therefore any objects that cross the polygon will
be added to the selection set.

CROSSING WINDOW POLYGON - typing WP (window polygon) when you are selecting objects give the
ability to create a crossing window for object selection. This is similar to a crossing box, but you can pick
points on the screen to create a polygon. This is a crossing window, therefore any objects that are
completely within the polygon will be added to the selection set. Newer versions of AutoCAD allow you to
use your cursor to create a crossing window without typing in the 'CW'.

CYCLING - When are ready to select objects, hold down the Shift key on your keyboard and then press
the Space Bar when your mouse is on top of overlapping objects. Repeatedly press the Space Bar until
the one object you want to modify is highlighted. Then pick with the mouse. This is a good approach if
you have many objects in a small area.
To unselect everything you have selected, you just press the escape key on your keyboard or right-click
and choose "Deselect All" from the menu.

TIP: Zoom in when selecting in tight spaces. Make sure you are 100% sure you are selecting the correct
object. Imagine the difference of offsetting an interior wall instead of the exterior wall - the resulting object
would be off by over 6 inches! Get used to zooming in, then zooming out quickly.

You need to quickly select objects in AutoCAD to be a good operator.

For practice, open one of your previous drawings and try selecting objects using all of the methods
described above. Notice that as you move your cursor over an object the object will highlight.

Move, Copy, Stretch, Mirror

In this assignment you will be adding some more common commands to your collection. All of these
commands are ones that you will use on a regular basis.
Command Keystroke Icon Menu Result
Moves an object
Move Move / M Modify > Move or objects

Copies object(s)
Copy Copy / CP Modify > Copy once or multiple
times
Stretches an
object after you
Stretch Stretch / S Modify > Stretch
have selected a
portion of it
Creates a mirror
image of an
Mirror Mirror / MI Modify > Mirror
object or
selection set
This is a short assignment to show you how these commands are used. You will recreate the drawing .

Start up AutoCAD and set up your drawing as you have in the previous assignments.
Turn on your Endpoint Osnap by typing osnap in command window and checking the end point option as

in this or you can also

access the osnap menu by right mouse clicking on the osnap icon at the bottom menu and clicking the
end point option.
 For this drawing, this time draw the border first. Draw a 10" wide by 7" high rectangular border using any
method. The bottom left corner must be at 0,0
Draw a 2" wide by 3" high rectangle using the
RECTANGLE command. The bottom left corner must be at 0,0
Notice that the small rectangle and the border are overlapping each other at the bottom left of your
drawing. What you want to do is move the small rectangle over 1" and up 1" so that it is away from the
border.
To do this, start the MOVE command by typing in either m or move <ENTER>. Select all the lines of the
rectangle using one of the selection methods described earlier. Press <ENTER>. Now AutoCAD asks for
a "base point or displacement". What it is needing is a reference point. Click on the bottom left corner of
the rectangle. AutoCAD now asks for a 'second point of displacement'. What it needs to know now is
how far you want to move it. This is a great time to use relative co-ordinates. In this case, you want to
move it 1" over and 1" up. So type @1,1<ENTER> to achieve this. The rectangle will automatically move
to its new location.
Now you want to copy this rectangle 3" over to the right. The copy command is very similar to the move
command. (The only difference is that the copy command leaves an original behind.)
Start the COPY command. You will be asked to select objects. Select the rectangle you just moved.
AutoCAD now needs the "base point or displacement" just like in the move command. Once again,
select the bottom left corner of the rectangle. Once you've done this, you need to tell AutoCAD what the
second point of displacement is. Since you want to move the rectangle over 3" to the right, type in @3,0
<ENTER> The rectangle has now been copied 3" over.
But the rectangle is not as tall as the one in the sample drawing, the sample drawing's rectangle is 1"
taller. To modify this, you'll use the stretch command.
Start the STRETCH command by typing S <ENTER>. AutoCAD now makes you select objects by using
a crossing window or crossing polygon. You're going to use a crossing window. Click and drag the mouse
from right to left as below. You'll see that the objects are highlighted now. Press <ENTER> to accept this.
Next you're asked for that now familiar base point. Pick on the top left corner of the rectangle. Now give
AutoCAD the second point of displacement. In this case, you want to stretch the rectangle 1" up, so type
@0,1 <ENTER> to do this. The rectangle is now 1" taller.

The goal when selecting objects to stretch is to draw the window over the vertices or points that you want
to stretch. If you miss a corner, you will change the shape of the rectangle. So always be aware of which
points need to be stretched.
Next you want to draw the polygon on the right side. To do this, you will draw the three lines on the left
side first and then mirror those lines over to the right side. Draw the 3 lines any way you like (hint: use
absolute co-ordinates).
Once they are drawn, begin the MIRROR command. Select the three lines (press <ENTER>) Now you
are asked for the first point of the mirror line. With your endpoint Osnap turned on, pick the end of the line
at 8,2. Now you are asked for the second point. Select the point on the line at 8,5. Once you've done
this, AutoCAD wants to know if you want to delete the old objects. In this case you don't, so accept the
default by pressing <ENTER>. Note: In general, the mirror line will be half-way between the object the
you are mirroring and where you want it to be.

The assignment is now complete. Review what you have done and practice on these commands. Save
and print your assignment. Copy and Move are very common commands. For example, you might create
a ceiling light, then have to move it into place, and then copy it for every instance in the room.
Fortunately, these commands work very similar, and once you master one, you have mastered both.
Extra Practice: Copy this drawing using the commands you have learned in lessons up to this point –
Extra Practice: This exercise uses an option of the CIRCLE command called "Tangent Tangent
Radius" or TTR. To use it, pick the two tangents of the circle first, then enter the radius. The rest of it uses
previous commands.
Start with a line at 3, 3.5 (center of small circle) and ending @4, 0.25 center of other circle.
Then draw the two circles at the ends of the line. Draw the bottom line as follows:
Start the line command and instead of specifying first point type “tan” for tangent and point close to
bottom edge of one of the circles; you will see the tangent symbol appear. Click there, then when asked
about the second point of the line type tan again and click at the tangent symbol. The last circle can be
done with TTR option. Make sure your Object snap menu include tangent. When done trim all extra lines
and delete the untrimable ones.