2.4 - Modify objects

In this step you will learn the following:
• Properties of Objects
• Select Objects
• Erase Objects
• Cut – Copy - Paste
• Move - Rotate Objects
• Offset Objects
• Mirror Objects
• Fillet - Chamfer
• Extend – Trim – Stretch
• Break – Join - Pedit

2.4.1 - Object Properties

Every AutoCAD object, such as a line or a circle, has properties.
Object properties control the appearance and behavior of objects and are used to organize a drawing.
Some properties such as Color, Linetype, and Layer are common to all objects.
Every object has general properties, including its layer, color, linetype, linetype scale, lineweight, transparency, and plot style.
In addition, some objects have properties that are specific to their type.
For example, the unique properties of a circle include its radius and area.
When you select an object, its properties or quick properties palette is displayed and lists the selected object's properties.  When more than one object is selected, only those properties common to all selected objects are displayed.
When you specify the current properties in a drawing, all newly created objects use those settings automatically. For example, if you set the current layer to Walls, the objects you make will be on the Walls layer.

Use the Properties Palette

The Properties palette (Fig.2.4.1.1) provides a complete list of all property settings.
• If a single object is selected, you can view and change the properties for that object.
• If several objects are selected, you can view and change their common properties.

Quick Properties palette

• On the “Drawing Status Bar” (Fig.2.2.1.1), turn on the icon Quick Properties .
  After this, when you click an object, the Quick Properties palette opens, and you can make changes to its properties (Fig.2.4.1.2).
  To customize the properties displayed on the Quick Properties palette, click the Options wheel at its top-right corner, as shown in Fig.2.4.1.2.

Fig.2.4.1.1 – Properties palette

Fig.2.4.1.2 – Quick Properties – Customize

The dialog box ‘Customize User Interface (CUI)/Customize’ (Fig.2.4.1.3) will open where you can customize the Quick Properties palette.
You will notice that in the upper left window is selected the “Quick Properties field. “
At the right window, on the first panel, the object “Line” is selected, and at the next panel, to the right, the displayed properties on the Quick Properties Palette for the object line are checked (Fig.2.4.1.3).
Here you can check or uncheck the properties you want to display on the Quick Properties Palette.

Fig.2.4.1.3 – Customize User Interface (CUI)

Copy Properties Between Objects

You can copy some or all the properties of an object to other objects using the Match Properties tool or enter MATCHPROP in the Command line.
The usual properties that you can copy are color, layer, linetype, linetype scale, lineweight, transparency, and thickness.

To copy properties from one object to other objects

• Click the Home tab ►Properties panel ► and click the Match Properties icon (Fig.2.4.1.4).
  • Select the source object whose properties you want to copy.
  • If you want to control which properties you want to copy, enter s (Settings).
  • In the Property Setting dialog box that will open (Fig.2.4.1.5), by default, all properties are ON. Uncheck the properties you don’t want to copy, and click Ok.

Fig.2.4.1.4 – Ribbon - Match Properties

Fig.2.4.1.5 – Match Properties – Properties Settings

2.4.2 - Select Objects

Select objects by clicking them or by using a window or crossing method, and do one of the following:
• Select individual objects by clicking them.
• Window selection. Drag your cursor from left to right to select only objects entirely enclosed by the rectangular area.
• Crossing selection. Drag your cursor from right to left to select objects that the rectangular window encloses or crosses.
• Press Enter to end object selection.
• Deselect objects by pressing shift and then clicking individual objects or dragging across multiple objects. Press Esc to deselect all objects.

Select objects by properties

You can select objects based on specified filtering criteria using:
• Quick Select (QSELECT).
• Right-click on your screen, and from the menu that will open, select the Quick Select tab (Fig.2.4.2.2), or alternatively:
• Click Home tab ►Utility panel ► click Quick Select icon  (Fig.2.4.2.1).

Fig.2.4.2.1– Ribbon – Utilities – Quick Select

To select the objects with a specific color, in the dialog box that will open (Fig.2.4.2.3):
• Under Apply To > select Entire Drawing.
• Under Object Type > select Multiple.
• Under Properties > select Color.
• Under Operator > select Equals.
• Under Value > specify the color.
• Under How to Apply > select “Include in New Section Set.”
• Click OK.

Fig.2.4.2.2 –  Quick Select

To exclude objects from a selection set

You can exclude objects from the current selection set using the ‘Exclude from the new selection set.’
Let’s assume that we want to exclude, from a set of objects already selected, all the circles in the drawing which have a radius less than 2.

• Select the objects.
• Click Home tab ►Utility panel ►click Quick Select icon  (Fig.2.4.2.1).
• In the Quick Select dialog box (Fig.2.4.2.3):
• Under Apply To > select Current Selection.
• Under Object Type > select Circle.
• Under Properties > select Radius.
• Under Operator > select ‘Greater than.’
• Under Value > Type 2.
• Under How to Apply > select “Exclude from New Section Set.”
• Click OK.
All circles with a radius greater than 2 are removed from the selection.

Fig.2.4.2.3 – Quick Select - Dialog box

Select Similar option

The option Select Similar is a simple but powerful tool to make quick selections on your drawing.
Let’s assume that we want to select all the circles of a sample drawing.
• Select any one of the drawing’s circles.
• Right-click and select the Select Similar option from the contextual menu (Fig.2.4.2.4).
You can also refine the selection criteria of the selected similar tool by changing its settings.
If you wish to change the Select Similar Settings:
• Type SELECTSIMILAR on the command line and press enter, then select the settings option from the command line.
• In the Select Similar Settings dialog box that will open (Fig.2.4.2.5), check the property boxes you want to include in the selection criteria of the select similar option.
For this example, include the color in the selection criteria too, and click OK.
• Select one or more objects as the selection criteria.

Fig.2.4.2.4 – Select the Similar option

Fig.2.4.2.5 – Select Similar Settings

• Press Enter to select similar objects (For this example, select a circle).
  It will select all the circles which have the same color as the color of the chosen circle.

Selection Cycling

When you try to select an object, you can notice that you can’t pick it because it overlaps with other objects, and the icon  is displayed.
Use the Selection Cycling button  (on the status bar Fig.2.3.4.1), which controls the display behavior when you hover over or select an object that overlaps other objects.
This button controls whether a badge or the Selection dialog box displays when you hover over your mouse or select an overlapping object.
You can choose between overlapping objects by pressing Shift + Space or using the Selection dialog box. Make sure that the Selection Cycling button is on.
If you don’t see this button icon on the status bar, then in the command line, type DSETTINGS. On the top of the Drafting Settings dialog box, select the tab “Selection Cycling” and tick the box “Allow selection cycling”.

2.4.3 - Erase Objects

You can erase selected objects from the drawing. This method does not move objects to the Clipboard, from where you can paste them to another location.
Instead of selecting objects to erase, you can enter an option, such as:
L to erase the last object drawn,
p to erase the previous selection set, or
ALL to erase all objects. You can also enter ”?” to get a list of all options.

Erase objects

• On Ribbon ► Click Home tab ►Modify panel ► click icon Erase (Fig.2.4.3.1).
  AutoCAD displays at the command line the prompt Erase Select objects: and if the ‘dynamic input’ on the status bar is enabled, it shows it in the Dynamic Input tooltip.
  Use a selection method to select the objects to erase:
  • Select one or more individual objects by clicking each one.
  AutoCAD adds each object to the selection set. All the objects you select remain highlighted, and AutoCAD continues to display the prompt ‘Select objects.’
  • Specify a window selection box that completely encloses several objects.
  Move the crosshair to a point down-left of the objects, click and release the mouse button, move the crosshair right above the objects, and click again. All objects that are entirely within the box are selected (Fig.2.4.3.2).

Fig.2.4.3.1 – Ribbon – Modify panel - Erase

• Specify a crossing selection box that completely encloses a few objects and cuts through several others.
  Move the crosshairs to point (1) upward and right of the objects, click and release the mouse button, move the crosshairs down left of the objects to point (2), and click and rerelease the mouse button (Fig.2.4.3.2).

Fig.2.4.3.2 – Erase objects

All objects that are entirely within crossing through or touching the box are selected. AutoCAD continues to display the ‘Select objects prompt’ (Fig.2.4.3.2).
After selecting using one of the methods:
• Press Enter to end object selection. The selected objects have been erased.
The Erase command isn’t the only way to remove unwanted objects from the drawing. The easiest method in any workspace is to simply select an item and press the Delete key on the keyboard.

To restore erased objects

• At the Command prompt, enter oops.
  The last object created by ERASE is restored, even if you’ve run other commands after Erase.

3.2.4 - Ground floor - Exterior Walls

After you have drawn the outline (e i j k m b c d e f g h a) of the Ground floor Plan, the next step will be the drawing of the exterior walls.
The wall consists of two lines, each defining one side of the wall.
As you can see in the Floor Plan (Fig.3.2.4.3), the thickness of the exterior wall is 0.30.

Create new Layers

Open the drawing h20221_gf_outline, and save it under the name h20221_gf_walls.
Now you have to create a new layer to use during the drawing of the walls.
• Create a new layer, with Name A-Wall, Color magenta, LineWeight 0.30, and make it current (Fig.3.2.4.1).

Fig.3.2.4.1 - Layer - Properties manager

You will copy at the same position the “Ground floor Outline” (e i j k m b c d e f g h a) that you just have drawn to create the outside polyline of the exterior walls.
Then you will offset it inside this polyline and at a distance of 0.30 to create the second polyline of the walls.
To copy at the same position, the polyline (e i j k m b c d e f g h a), as shown in Fig.3.2.4.3:
• On Ribbon  ► Click Home tab ►Modify panel ►click the icon Copy  (Fig.2.4.4.1).
• Command Line prompt says > Select object: Select with your mouse the polyline (e i j k m b c d e f g h a), and press ENTER.

Fig.3.2.4.2 – Ribbon – Offset

• Command Line prompt says > Specify based point: Using the mouse, select point a.
  • Command line prompt says > Specify second point or []: Using the mouse select the point a to specify the second point of the movement and press ENTER.
  Now you have two polylines (e i j k m b c d e f g h a) at the same position on layer A-GroundFloor-Outl.
  • Click the Home tab ►Modify panel ►click Offset (Fig 3.2.4.2).
  • Select polyline (e i j k m b c d e f g h a),
  Select one of them, set its layer to A-Wall, and turn off the layer A-GroundFloor-Outline.
  • OFFSET polyline (e i j k m b c d e f g h a) to the inside to create the inner polyline of the walls, as shown in Fig.3.2.4.3.
  • On the Command prompt: Offset Specify offset distance or: type 0.30, and press ENTER, where 0.30 is the offset distance.
  • On the Command prompt: Offset Select object for offset: select polyline (e i j k m b c d e f g h a), and press ENTER.
  • On the Command prompt: Offset Specify point on side to: > select any point inside the polyline (e i j k m b c d e f g h a), and press ENTER.
  The result is shown in Fig.3.2.4.3.(without dimensions).

Fig.3.2.4.3 - Draw the Exterior Walls