Drawing Curves - Mastering AutoCAD for Mac - page 460

Straighten a polyline between two vertices. •u

Change the tangential direction of a vertex. •u

Change the width of the polyline at a vertex. •u

These functions are presented in the form of the following prompt:

[Next/Previous/Break/Insert/Move/Regen/Straighten/Tangent/Width/eXit] <N>:

The following sections examine each of the options in this prompt, starting with Next and
Previous.

The Next and Previous Options
The Next and Previous options let you select a vertex for editing. When you start the Edit Vertex
option, an X appears on the selected polyline to designate its beginning. As you select Next or
Previous, the X moves from vertex to vertex to show which one is being edited. Let's try this:

1. Press ↵ a couple of times to move the X along the polyline. (Because Next is the default
option, you only need to press ↵ to move the X.)

2. Type P ↵ for Previous. The X moves in the opposite direction. The default option becomes
Previous.

WHY REVERSE A POLYLINE

One of the most frequently asked questions I receive from readers is, How can I reverse the direc-
tion of a polyline? It may seem like an odd question to someone new to AutoCAD, but reversing a
polyline has quite a few uses. Perhaps the most common use is to turn a polyline that uses a com-
plex linetype—one that includes text—right side up so that the text can be read more easily. (See
Bonus Chapter 2 at www.sybex.com/go/masteringautocadmac for an example of a linetype that
includes text.) If for some reason you need to reverse the direction of a polyline or spline, you can
do so by using the Reverse option in the Pedit command.

The Break Option
The Break option breaks the polyline between two vertices:

1. Position the X on one end of the segment you want to break.

2. Enter B ↵ at the Command prompt.

3. At the Enter an option [Next/Previous/Go/eXit] <N>: prompt, use Next or Previous
to move the X to the other end of the segment to be broken.

4. When the X is in the proper position, enter G ↵ to break the polyline (Figure 17.10).