Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
3.
Click the Polyline tool on the Tool Sets palette. Using the Center osnap, draw a polyline
that connects the points labeled 254.00. Your drawing should look like the bottom image
in Figure 17.9.
4.
Press ↵.
5.
Next you'll convert the polyline you just drew into a smooth contour line. Double-click
the contour line you just drew.
6.
At the prompt
Enter an option
[Close/Join/Width/Edit vertex/Fit/Spline/Decurve/Ltype gen/Reverse/Undo]:
type
F
↵ to select the Fit option. The polyline smoothes out into a series of connected arcs
that pass through the data points.
7.
Press ↵ to end the command.
Your contour is now complete. The Fit option under the Pedit command causes AutoCAD
to convert the straight-line segments of the polyline into arcs. The endpoints of the arcs pass
through the endpoints of the line segments, and the curve of each arc depends on the direction
of the adjacent arc. This gives the effect of a smooth curve. Next you'll use this polyline curve to
experiment with some of the editing options unique to the Pedit command.
Editing Vertices
One of the Pedit options that I haven't yet discussed, Edit Vertex, is like a command within a
command. Edit Vertex has numerous suboptions that enable you to fi ne-tune your polyline by
giving you control over individual vertices.
To access the Edit Vertex options, follow these steps:
1.
Turn off the Data and Border layers to hide the data points and border.
2.
Double-click the polyline you just drew.
3.
Type
E
↵ to enter Edit Vertex mode. An X appears at the beginning of the polyline, indi-
cating the vertex that will be affected by the Edit Vertex options.
When using Edit Vertex, you must be careful about selecting the correct vertex to be edited.
Edit Vertex has 10 options. You often have to exit the Edit Vertex operation and use Pedit's Fit
option to see the effect of several Edit Vertex options on a curved polyline.
E
D I T
V
E R T E X
S
U B O P T I O N S
After you enter the Edit Vertex mode of the Pedit command, you can perform the following
functions:
Break the polyline between two vertices.
•u
Insert a new vertex.
•u
•u
Move an existing vertex.
Regen the drawing to view the current shape of the polyline.
•u
