Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
1. Repeat Steps 1 through 5 of the previous procedure.
2. When you're ready to add one or more arc segments, type
A
and press Enter to
select the Arc option.
The prompt changes to show arc segment options. Most of these options corres-
pond to the many ways of drawing circular arcs in AutoCAD; see the section on arcs
in Chapter 9. The command line shows
Specify endpoint of arc or [Angle/CEnter/CLose/
Direction/Halfwidth/Line/Radius/Second
pt/Undo/Width]:
3. Specify the endpoint of the arc by clicking a point or typing coordinates.
AutoCAD draws the curved segment of the polyline. The prompts continue to show
arc segment options.
Your options at this point include
• Specifying additional points to draw more arc segments.
• Choosing another arc-drawing method (such as Center or Second pt).
• Returning to drawing straight-line segments with the Line option.
In this example, you return to drawing straight-line segments.
Perhaps the most useful of the alternative arc-drawing methods is Se-
cond pt. That gives you more control over the direction of the arc, but at the cost of
losing tangency of adjacent segments. Sometimes it's best not to go off on a tan-
gent, anyway.
4. Type
L
and press Enter to select the Line option.
Specify endpoint of arc or [Angle/CEnter/CLose/Direction/Halfwidth/Line/Radi-
us/Second pt/Undo/Width]: L
The prompt changes back to showing straight-line segment options.
Specify next point or [Arc/Close/Halfwidth/Length/Undo/Width]:
5. Specify additional points by clicking or typing.
6. After you're finished drawing segments, either press Enter or type
C
and press
Enter.
Figure 8-5 shows some of the things that you can draw with the PLINE command by us-
ing straight segments, arc segments, or a combination of both.
