Practical: 03

Object: to learn the command of modify tool bar

In this practical, we will learn how to make simple drawings using modify tools available in
AutoCAD. Using these tools, you will be able to modify the simplest kind of drawings in
AutoCAD.
The Move Command
To move drawings in AutoCAD, you can use the Move command from the Modify panel of the
Home tab, or you can use its command, M:

In this case, we will use the Move tool to move the circle from one of the vertices of the triangle
shown in the previous diagram down to the other:
1. Select the Move tool from the Modify panel and then click on the circle from the drawing

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 area and press Enter.
2. Now, click on the center of the circle. This center will become the base point from where
the circle will be picked.
3. Now, click on the lower-right vertex of the triangle. The circle will be moved to its new
location.
The Copy Command
To copy the circle on all three vertices, you can use the Copy tool from the Modify panel of the
Home tab, or you can use its command, CO:
1. Click on the Copy command from the Modify panel and then click on the circle that you
want to copy from the drawing area and press Enter.
2. Now, once again, click on the center of the circle and that will become the base point of
your selection.
3. Click on the other two vertices of the triangle to paste the circle there.

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To end the command, press Enter again. The final drawing after copying the circles on all three
vertices will look like this:

The Rotate Command

As the name suggests, the Rotate command can be used to rotate an object about a point. In this
case, I will use a door symbol to explain the command, which is shown here:

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The Rotate command rotates the selected object from its base point and you can rotate the object
from its original angle or also by using a reference angle. In the following sections, we will
discuss all the methods for using Rotate commands. Let's start with the simple rotate feature.

Simple Rotate :Currently, the door is horizontal and we can rotate it to change its rotation angle
with respect to its current angle, which is 0 degrees, as the door is horizontal:

To rotate this door with respect to its original angle, we will perform the following steps:
1. Select the Rotate command from the Modify panel or use its command, ROTATE.
2. The command line will prompt you to select the objects. Click on the door to select it and
press Enter.
3. Now, the command line will prompt you to specify the base point. Click on the lower-left
corner of the door as the base point. The base point will become the pivot point of the rotation
and it will remain fixed; the door will rotate about that point.
4. Now, the command line will prompt you to specify the angle of rotation.

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Type 30 and press Enter.
The door will rotate to an angle of 30 degrees, with respect to the current angle of 0 degrees, and
the final door should look like this:

In a similar way, you can specify different base points and rotation angles to get different results.
The Copy option, which shows up when you select the base point in the rotate command, will let
you rotate a copy of the original drawing:

Now, if you rotate the door, you will get a copy of the original door and the original door will
also remain in its place. After using the Copy option in the preceding example, and a rotation
angle of 90 degrees, we ended up with two doors that look like this:

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Rotate with Reference
In the previous case, the door symbol was at an angle of 0 degrees (perfectly horizontal) and
hence, its rotation angle can be specified pretty easily. But let’s now take the case of this window
symbol. It is inclined to an unknown angle and so, to rotate this to any specific angle, we will use
the rotate with reference option:

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To do this, I will once again start with the Rotate command:
1) Type RO and press Enter to start the Rotate command or click its icon in the Modify
panel of the Home tab.
2) Select all the objects that make the window and press Enter.
3) Click on the A point to specify the base point.
4) Select the Reference option from the command line, or type R and press Enter to
select the Reference option.

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 5) Now, you need to specify the reference angle and in this case, we will specify it by
clicking on A and then the B point.
6) Now, the command line will prompt you to specify the angle. Type 0 and press Enter.

The Mirror Command

Using the Mirror command, you can make a mirror image of a drawing object in AutoCAD. To
explain this command, I will use the drawing shown here:

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In the following example, we will mirror the existing door about mid-wall to get the second door
using the Mirror command:
1) Select the Mirror command from the Modify panel or use its command alias, MI.

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 2) Now, the command line will prompt you to select the object. Click on the green door
symbol to select it and press enter.
3) Now, the command line will prompt you to specify the mirroring line. This will be a
reference line that the mirror image will be made around. Click on the midpoint of the
wall and then again on another point right above it, as shown:

The default option, in this case, is No, which is shown in the angle bracket. Simply press Enter;
the default value will be selected and you will get a mirror image of the door symbol:

Trim command

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Using the Trim command, you can remove parts of a drawing up to its intersection point or vertex.
To explain this command properly, I will use the diagram shown he

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Here, we have three lines, A, B, and C, intersected by two arcs. We will trim the lines and arcs
with respect to one another in the following examples:
1) Select the Trim command from the Modify panel or use its command, TR.
2) Hover your cursor over the A, B, or C lines on the right side of the red arc. You will
notice that the color of the line will fade up to the red arc, indicating the part that will be
trimmed.
3) Click the line and it will be trimmed up to the red arc.
In this case, if you click another line or arc, it will be trimmed up to the next available
boundaries. This is the default way that the trim command works in the 2021 version of
AutoCAD.
The Extend Command
The Extend command works in a completely opposite way. It extends the drawing up to the
selected boundary. The workflow of the extend command is also the same and in this case, you
also need a boundary that another geometry will extend to:

To explain the extend command, I will use this diagram shown in the preceding figure. Here, we
will extend the lines up to the next boundaries using different extend options:
1) Type EX and press Enter, or click on the Extend tool from the Modify panel to start the
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 extend command.
2) Simply click on the line you want to extend. In this example, click on the A line and it
will extend up to the green arc.
3) Click on the A line again and it will again extend up to the red arc this time. If you click
on the A line a third time, it will have no effect as there is no further boundary to extend
the line.

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The Scale Command
This command lets you scale a drawing up or down or, in other words, you can use the Scale
command to make a drawing larger or smaller. You can select the Scale command from the
Modify panel, as in the following screenshot, or you can also use its command alias, SC

For the Scale command, I will use this window symbol, where the length of the AB line is 10
units:

The Stretch Command

Using this command, you can stretch the drawing in any direction without changing the rest of
the drawing. You can start this command from the Modify panel of the Home tab or you can also
use its command alias, STRETCH:

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This drawing is made with a simple line and arc tool, but you can also make it with a polyline and
it won't affect the workflow in any way

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Using Object Snaps
Making precise drawings in AutoCAD is not possible without Object Snaps, also called
OSNAPS. Object Snap is an option on the status bar with a bunch of control points. These
control points are the geometric points, such as the endpoint, center, midpoint, intersection, and
so on, which if activated become available for selection in the drawing.
The Object Snap status bar option looks like a box with a tiny box in the top left of it, as in the
following screenshot:

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When you click on the tiny arrow pointing downward next to the Object Snap icon, you will see
a list of snap points that AutoCAD will recognize when the Object Snap option is activated. The
snap point menu is shown in the following screenshot:

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The Fillet Command
The Fillet command can be used to add round corners to the sharp edges of the drawing. For
example, in this case, the fillets are added to the vertices of the A diagram, shown here, to make
it look rounded in the corners, as shown in the B diagram.

To use the Fillet command, select it from the Modify panel in the Home tab, as in the following
screenshot, or use its command, F:

The Chamfer Command

Using the Chamfer command, you can add chamfers or slant lines along the edges of intersecting
lines. An example of a chamfer is shown in the following figure. Here, a chamfer is applied to
the C vertex of the rectangle:
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You can start the Chamfer command from the expanded Chamfer flyout in the Modify panel of
the Home tab, as in the following screenshot, or you can also use its command alias, CHA:

The Offset Command

The Offset command lets you make an offset copy of an object at the distance you specify:

Now, the command line will prompt you to specify the offset distance. Type the distance that you
want and press Enter. In this case, I am using an offset distance of 2 units.

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The Array command helps us make patterns along a path. In AutoCAD,

you can make an Array along a circular path (called a Polar Array), a rectangular path (called a
Rectangular Array), and along any open path (called a Path Array).
We will start the next section with the Rectangular Array and then move on to the other Array
tools.
The Rectangular Array
We have a drawing of a window on a simple wall and we want to make two rows and five
columns of windows on this wall, separated at an equal distance. For this, we can use the
Rectangular Array:

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The Polar Array
Using the Polar Array tool, you can make an Array along a circular path. To explain the Polar
Array tool, I will use this drawing

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The Explode Command
The Explode command is, in a way, the opposite of the join command and using this command,
you can convert a polyline into separate lines and arcs. To explain this command, I will use this
drawing made with the Polyline command:

If you select any one of the segments of this drawing, the complete drawing will be selected
because it is made with a polyline. Now, to break this drawing into separate lines and arcs, we
will use the explode command:

The drawing is now exploded and if you select it now, all its lines and arcs will be selected
separately:

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 Multiple Choice Questions

1) A Polyline can be broken into individual lines and arcs using which of the
following command?
A. Break
B. Trim
C. Explode
D. Overkill
2) A fillet command is used to produce
A. Sharp corners
B. Round corners
C. Both of the above
D. None of the above
3) The function of a polar array is to create object,
A. In a grid pattern
B. In a circular pattern
C. In a straight line
D. All the above
4) The command used to convert separate entities into a polyline,
A. Union
B. Subtract
C. Join
D. Polyline
5) Scale command can be access
A. S
B. C
C. Ss
D. Sc
6) A fillet surface is used to
A. Reshape a bicubic Coons patch with smooth curves.
B. Round the edges of a planar surface.

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 C. Blend two surfaces together.
D. Convert facets into smooth curves.
7) Shortcut for Trim command is,
A. T
B. TR
C. TI
D. X
8) Fillet in various corners can be created simultaneously using which command,
A. Loop
B. Chain
C. Multiple
D. Edge
9) AutoCAD commands can be accessed in,
A. Drawing area
B. Status bar
C. Tool bars
D. Command window
10) Various methods to access PAN command,
A. Right click and select PAN from contextual menu
B. PAN command
C. Press and hold middle mouse button
D. All of the above

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