Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 2.22
The highlighted
door and the base
point just to the left
of the door. Note
that the base point
doesn't need to be
on the object that
you're moving.
Base point
6.
Move the cursor around slowly and notice that the door moves as if the base point you
selected were attached to it. The door moves with the cursor, at a fixed distance from it.
This demonstrates how the base point relates to the objects you select.
7.
Type
@1<45
↵. (Metric users should type
@3<45
↵.) The door moves to a new location on
the screen at a distance of 1 unit (3 for metric users) from its previous location and at an
angle of 45°.
If AutoCAD is idle and waiting for a command, you can repeat the last command used by
pressing the spacebar or pressing ↵. You can also right-click in the drawing area and select the
option at the top of the list. If you right-click the Command Line palette, a shortcut menu offers
the commands most recently used.
This exercise illustrates that the base point doesn't have to be on the object you're manipu-
lating; it can be virtually anywhere on your drawing. You also saw how to reselect a group of
objects that were selected previously without having to duplicate the selection process.
Using Noun/Verb Selection
Nearly all graphics programs today allow the Noun/Verb method for selecting objects. This
method requires you to select objects before you issue a command to edit them—that is, you
identify the “noun” (the object you want to work on) before you identify the “verb” (the action
you want to perform on it). The following exercises show you how to use the Noun/Verb
method in AutoCAD.
You've seen that when AutoCAD is waiting for a command, it displays the crosshair cursor
with the small square. As mentioned, this square is an Object Selection cursor superimposed
on the Point Selection cursor. It indicates that you can select objects even while the Command
prompt appears at the bottom of the screen and no command is currently active. The square
momentarily disappears when you're in a command that asks you to select points.
