Combining Objects into Blocks - AutoCAD 2011 and AutoCAD LT 2011: No Experience Required - page 329

The line is offset 12 ″ (305 mm) to the right. Press ↵ to end the
OFFSET command.
8. Start the LINE command again to draw a line between the midpoint
of the line your first drew, and the midpoint or perpendicular to the
line that was just offset.
After pressing ↵ to end the LINE command, your drawing should
look like Figure 7.27.
FiGuRE 7.27 Completed lines for the window block
The three lines you've drawn will make up a window block. They represent the
two jamb lines and the glass (usually called glazing ). By varying the X scale fac-
tor from 2 to 6, you can create windows 2 ′ (610 mm), 3 ′ (915 mm), 4 ′ (1220 mm),
5 ′ (1525 mm), and 6 ′ (1830 mm) wide. This is a single-line representation, with
no double lines to indicate the frames, so for scaling the blocks there is no thick-
ness issue as there was with the doors.
Before you create the block, you need to decide the best place for the insertion
point. For the doors, you chose the hinge point because you always know where
it will be in the drawing. Locating a similar strategic point for the window is a
little more difficult but certainly possible.
You know the insertion point shouldn't be on the horizontal line representing the
glazing, because it will always rest in the middle of the wall. There is no guideline
in the drawing for the middle of the wall, and this would require a temporary track-
ing point every time a window is inserted. Windows are usually dimensioned to the
midpoint of the glazing line rather than to either jamb line, so you don't want the
insertion point to be at the endpoint of a jamb line. The insertion point needs to be
positioned on a wall line but also lined up with the midpoint of the glazing line.
To locate this point, you'll use an object snap called Mid Between 2 Points.
As the name suggests, the M2P osnap, as it's commonly called, snaps to a point
midway between two other points you select. Follow these steps to set the base
point for the window block along the outside wall line and midway between the
window's edges:
1. Start the BLOCK command by clicking the Create button on the Home
tab ➢ Block panel.
2. In the Block Definition dialog box, enter A-GLAZ for the block name,
and then click the Pick Point button.