Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
interface, those tools have moved to the Block panel, which can be found on both the In-
sert and Home tabs. Similarly, the text commands (whose classic interface home was
also on the Draw menu and Draw toolbar) are on the Ribbon's Annotate and Home tabs.
Going full circle
AutoCAD offers an easy and intuitive way to draw circles, and it also offers . . .
other
ways. The easy way is to define the center point of the circle and then to specify the ra-
dius (the default option) or the diameter. You can also define a circle by choosing one of
the following options of the command (for those other ways):
2-Point (2P):
Draws a circle where the distance between two specified points is
equal to the diameter of the circle. If you're keyboarding, enter
2P
at the command
prompt to choose this option; it's spelled out as 2-Point on tooltips.
3-Point (3P):
Draws a circle through any three specified points.
Tangent-Tangent-Radius (Ttr):
Draws a circle tangent to two existing drawing ob-
jects and a specified radius.
Tangent-Tangent-Tangent:
Draws a circle tangent to three
valid
existing drawing
objects. (By
valid,
I mean it's mathematically possible to construct a circle tangent
to the three selected objects.) Note that you can't create this kind of circle by typ-
ing a command option at the command line because there
is
no such command
option. This method is actually a macro and you run it by choosing Tan, Tan, Tan
from the Circle button menu on the Home tab's Draw panel.
Figure 9-1 illustrates these six different ways of drawing circles. Whether these addition-
al methods are useful or not depends on the kinds of drawings that you make and how
geometry is defined in your industry. Get familiar with the default center point/radius
method and then try the other methods to see whether they may be helpful to you. If
you find yourself going around in circles, you can always draw them the default way and
move them into position with other geometry.
