Drawing Curves - Mastering AutoCAD for Mac - page 479

contour. Try the following exercise to see how the Measure command is used to accomplish
this task:
1. Erase the X-shaped point objects.
2. Click and hold the Multiple Points drop-down in the expanded Open Shapes panel of
the Tool Sets palette and select Measure (refer back to Figure 17.23). You can also choose
Draw  Point  Measure or type ME ↵.
3. At the Select object to measure: prompt, pick the contour at a point closest to its bot-
tom endpoint. You'll learn shortly why this is important.
4. At the Specify length of segment or [Block]: prompt, enter 60 ↵. The X points
appear at the specified distance.
5. Exit without saving this file.
Bear in mind that the point you pick on the object to be measured determines where the
Measure command begins measuring. In the previous exercise, for example, you picked the con-
tour near its bottom endpoint. If you picked the top of the contour, the results would be different
because the measurement would start at the top, not the bottom.
MARKING OFF INTERVALS BY USING BLOCKS INSTEAD OF POINTS
You can also use the Block option under the Divide and Measure commands to place blocks at regular
intervals along a line, a polyline, or an arc. Here's how to use blocks as markers:
1 . Be sure the block you want to use is part of the current drawing file.
2 . Start either the Divide or Measure command.
3 . At the Specify length of segment or [Block]: prompt, enter B ↵.
4 . At the Enter name of block to insert: prompt, enter the name of a block.
5 . At the Align block with object? [Yes/No] <Y>: prompt, press ↵ if you want the blocks
to follow the alignment of the selected object. (Entering N ↵ inserts each block at a 0 angle.)
6 . At the Enter the number of segments: prompt, or the Specify length of segment:
prompt, enter the number or length of the segments. The blocks appear at regular intervals on
the selected object.
One example of using the Block option of Divide or Measure is to place a row of sinks equally spaced
along a wall. Alternatively, you might use this technique to make multiple copies of an object along
an irregular path defined by a polyline. In civil-engineering projects, you can indicate a fence line
by using Divide or Measure to place Xs along a polyline.