Grips - Automatic Editing
Sacramento City College
Engineering Design Technology
Grips - Automatic Editing
1
Objectives
 Use
grips to do automatic editing with the
STRETCH, COPY, MOVE, ROTATE, SCALE and
MIRROR commands.
 Identify the system variables for automatic
editing.
 Perform automatic editing with the Properties
window.
 Use the property painter to match object
properties.
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Objectives
 Chapter
11 discussed various editing
commands.
 Move,
copy, break, rotate, trim, extend, etc.
 This
chapter takes editing a further step by
using Grips.
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Grips
 In
AutoCAD, grips are features on an object
that are highlighted with a small box.
 The
grips on a line are the endpoint and the
midpoint.
 When
you select an object, the grips are
automatically activated.
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Grips
 When
grips are activated and no command is
active, a pick box is located at the
intersection of the screen crosshairs.
 Picking
an object activates the grips.
 The
grip box for text is located at the
insertion point.
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Grips
 Grip
settings are accessed by
 the
“Selection” tab of the “Tools” “Options”
dialog box.
 Or
 typing
GR or DDGRIPS at the Command:
prompt.
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Grips
 To
turn grips ON or OFF:
 Pick
“Enable grips” to turn grips on and off
under “Tools” “Options”
 or
 Set
the “GRIPS” system variable at the
Command: prompt.
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Grips
 Pick
“Enable grips within blocks” to have
grips displayed on every sub-object of a
block.
 When
this check box is off, the grip location
for a block is the insertion point of the block.
 Grips
in blocks can also be controlled with
the GRIPBLOCK system variable.
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Grips
 The
color of grips can be changed using the
drop down box.
 Unselected
grips are grips that are displayed
when you first select an object.
A
square with a color outline.
 Sometimes called “warm” grips.
 Are blue by default.
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Grips
 Selected
grips are grips that you have picked.
 Are
a “filled in” square.
 Are sometimes called “hot” grips.
 Are red by default.
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Grips
 If
more than one object is selected,
 and
 Those objects have warm grips,
 then
 They are all affected by what you do with the
hot grips.
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Grips
 Remove
highlighted objects from the
selection set by holding down the [Shift] key
and picking the object to be removed.
 The
highlighting goes away, but the grips
remain.
 These
are called “cold grips”.
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Grips
 Objects
with “cold grips” are not affected by
what you do to objects with “warm grips”.
 The
object can be added to the selection set
again by picking it again.
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Grips
 GRIPCOLOR
system variable controls the
color of “warm grip”
 GRIPHOT
system variable controls the color
of “hot grips”.
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Grips
 Grip
Size
 Grip Size scroll bar in the Selection tab of the
Options dialog box lets you change the size
of the grip box.
 Change
the grip size to whatever works best
for your drawing.
 Very
small grip boxes may be difficult to pick.
 However, the grips may overlap if they are
too large.
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Grips
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Grips
 The
GRIPSIZE system variable sets the size
of the grip.
 The
default is 3.
 Enter GRIPSIZE at the Command: prompt and
then type a desired size in pixels.
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Grips
 The
Pickbox Size scroll bar lets you adjust the
size of the pick box.
 The
PICKBOX system variable controls the
size of the pickbox.
 The
desired size is set in pixels.
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Using Grips
 To
activate grips,
 Move
the pick box to the desired object and
pick.
 The object is highlighted and
 The unselected (warm) grips are displayed.
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Using Grips
 To
select a grip
 Move
the pick box to the desired grip and
 Pick it.
 The crosshairs snap to a grip.
 When
you pick a grip the command line
shows the following prompt:
 **
STRETCH **
 Specify stretch point or [Base
point/Copy/Undo/eXit]:
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Using Grips
 The
STRETCH command is activated.
 Move
the cursor to make the selected object
stretch.
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Using Grips
 The
STRETCH command is activated.
 Move
the cursor to make the selected object
stretch.
 Pick the middle grip of a line or arc, or the
center grip of a circle, to move the object.
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Using Grips
 Other
Options
 Base
point.
 Type
B and press [Enter] to select a new base
point.
 Copy.
 Type
C and press [Enter] if you want to make one
or more copies of the selected object.
 Undo.
 Type
U and press [Enter] to undo the previous
operation.
 eXit.
 Type
X and press [Enter] to exit the command.
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Using Grips
 When
you eXit the menu
 The
selected (hot) grip is gone, but
 The unselected (warm) grips remain.
 You can also use the [Esc] key to cancel the
command.
 Canceling
twice [Esc] [Esc] removes the
selected and the unselected grips and returns
the Command: prompt.
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Using Grips
 You
can
 Pick
objects individually, or
 Use a window or crossing box.
 You
can make more than one grip hot at the
same time by holding down the [Shift] key as
you pick the grips.
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Using Grips
 General
Rules and Guidelines for grips:
 Be
sure the GRIPS system variable is on.
 Pick an object or group of objects to activate
grips.
 Objects in the selection set are highlighted.
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Using Grips
 General
Rules and Guidelines for grips:
 Pick
a warm grip to make it hot.
 Make multiple grips hot by holding the [Shift]
key while picking warm grips.
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Using Grips
 If
more than one object has hot grips, they
are all affected by the editing commands.
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Using Grips
 Remove
objects from the selection set
 Hold
down the [Shift] key
 Pick the objects
 Makes the grips cold.
 Return
 Pick
objects to the selection set
them again.
 Remove
 Press
hot grips from the selection set
the [Esc] key to cancel.
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Using Grips
 To
remove all grips from selection set
 Press
[Esc] [Esc] key or
 Right-click and
 Select Deselect All from the shortcut menu to
remove all grips.
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Using Grips
 When
editing with grips, you can enter
coordinates to help improve your accuracy.
 Any
of the coordinate entry methods will
work when using grips.
 Absolute
Cartesian.
 Relative Cartesian.
 Polar Coordinates.
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Using Grips
 You
can also use the MOVE, ROTATE, SCALE,
and MIRROR commands to automatically edit
objects.
 Pick
the object.
 Select one of the grips.
 The Command prompt change to
 **
STRETCH ** .
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Using Grips
 When
you see the ** STRETCH **
command,
 Press
[Enter] to cycle through the command
options:
 ** STRETCH **
 Specify stretch point or [Base
point/Copy/Undo/eXit]: ** MOVE **
 Specify move point or [Base
point/Copy/Undo/eXit]: ** ROTATE **
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Using Grips
 Specify
rotation angle or [Base
point/Copy/Undo/Reference/eXit]: ** SCALE
**
 Specify scale factor or [Base
point/Copy/Undo/Reference/eXit]: ** MIRROR
**
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Using Grips
 You
can also enter the first two characters of
the desired command from the keyboard.
 MO
for MOVE.
 Ml for MIRROR.
 RO for ROTATE.
 SC for SCALE.
 ST for STRETCH.
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Using Grips
 AutoCAD
also allows you to right-click and
access a grips shortcut menu.
 This
menu is only available AFTER a grip has
been turned into a selected (hot) grip.
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Using Grips
 The
shortcut menu allows you to access the
five grip editing options without using the
keyboard.
 Pick from the shortcut menu either
 Move
 Mirror
 Rotate
 Scale
 Stretch
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Using Grips
 Base
Point option in the shortcut menu.
 Allows
you to select another base point other
than the selected (hot) grip.
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Using Grips
 The
shortcut menu also provides direct
access to the Copy option.
 The
Undo option closes the shortcut menu
and returns to the current grip activity.
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Using Grips
 The
Properties... option.
 Selecting
this opens the Properties window.
 You can change properties of the objects
being edited.
 Selecting the Exit option closes the grips
shortcut menu and removes the hot grip.
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Moving Objects with Grips
The MOVE Option
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Moving Objects Automatically
 To
move an object with grips
 Select
the object
 Pick a grip to use as the base point
 Press [Enter] to cycle through the commands
until you get to this prompt:
 ** MOVE **
 Specify move point or [Base
point/Copy/Undo/eXit]:
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Moving Objects Automatically
 The
selected grip becomes the base point.
 Move the object to a new point by picking the
new location.
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Moving Objects Automatically
 If
you
 accidentally
pick the wrong grip
 or
 want
to have a base point other than the
selected grip,
 Type
B
 press
[Enter] for the Base point option
 and
 pick
a new base point.
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Copying Objects With Grips
The COPY Option
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The COPY Option
 The
Copy option is found in each of the
editing commands.
 Stretch
 Move
 Rotate
 Scale
 Mirror
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The COPY Option
 Under
STRETCH, the Copy option allows you
to make multiple copies of the object you are
stretching.
 Hold
down the [Shift] key while performing
the first STRETCH operation to access the
Multiple mode.
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The COPY Option
 The
prompt looks like this:
 **
STRETCH (multiple) **
 Specify stretch point or [Base
point/Copy/Undo/eXit]:.
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The COPY Option
 The
Copy option in the MOVE command is
the true form of the COPY command.
 Activate
 **
the Copy option by typing C:
MOVE **
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The COPY Option
 Specify
move point or [Base
point/Copy/Undo/eXit]: C
 ** MOVE (multiple) **
 Specify move point or [Base
point/Copy/Undo/eXit]: (make as many copies
as desired)
 (enter X, press [Esc], or select Exit-from the
grips shortcut menu to exit)
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The COPY Option
 Holding
down the [Shift] key while
performing the first MOVE operation also
puts you in the Copy mode.
 The
Copy option works similarly in each of
the editing commands. (!)
 Try
it with each to see what happens.
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The COPY Option
 When
in the STRETCH or MOVE commands,
you can also access the Copy option directly
by picking the right mouse button to open
the grips shortcut menu.
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The COPY Option
 When
in the Copy option of the MOVE
command, if you make the first copy followed
by holding the [Shift] key, the distance of the
first copy automatically becomes the snap
spacing for additional copies.
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Rotating Objects With Grips
The ROTATE Option
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Rotating an Object Automatically
 To
automatically rotate an object:
 Select
the object
 Pick a grip to use as the base point
 Press [Enter] until you see this prompt:
 ** ROTATE **
 Specify rotation angle or [Base
point/Copy/Undo/Reference/eXit]:
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Rotating an Object Automatically
 Move
the pointing device to rotate the object.
 Pick the desired rotation point,
 OR
 Enter
a rotation angle at the Command:
prompt.
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Rotating an Object Automatically
 Type
R and press [Enter] if you want to use
the Reference option.
 The Reference option may be used when
the object is already rotated at a known
angle and you want to rotate it to a new
angle.
 The
reference angle is the current angle
 The new angle is the desired angle.
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Scaling Objects With Grips
The SCALE Option
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Scaling an Object Automatically
 If
you want to scale an object with grips,
cycle through the editing options until you
get this prompt:
 **
SCALE **
 Specify scale factor or [Base
point/Copy/Undo/Reference/eXit]:
 Move
the screen cursor and pick when the
object is dragged to the desired size.
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Scaling an Object Automatically
 You
can also enter a scale factor to
automatically increase or decrease the scale
of the original object.
 You can use the Reference option if you know
a current length and a desired length.
 The
selected base point remains in the same
place when the object is scaled.
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Mirroring Objects With Grips
The MIRROR Option
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Mirroring an Object Automatically
 To
mirror an object using grips,
 the
selected grip becomes the first point of
the mirror line.
 Press [Enter] to cycle through the editing
commands until you get this prompt:
 ** MIRROR **
 Specify second point or [Base
point/Copy/Undo/eXit]:
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Mirroring an Object Automatically
 Use
the Base point option to reselect the first
point of the mirror line.
 Pick another grip or any point on the screen
as the second point of the mirror line.
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Mirroring an Object Automatically
 Unlike
the standard MIRROR command, the
automatic MIRROR command does not give
you the option to delete the old objects.
 The old objects are deleted automatically.
 If you want to keep the original object while
mirroring, use the Copy option in the
MIRROR command.
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Basic Editing vs. Automatic Editing
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Basic Editing
 Basic
editing allows you to first enter a
command and then select the desired object
to be edited.
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Basic Editing
 The
Selection modes are of the Selection tab
in the Options dialog box allow you to control
the way that you use editing commands.
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Basic Editing
 Noun/verb
selection
 Normally,
you type the edit command, and
then select the object.
 When noun/verb selection check box is
activated, you pick the object first and then
enter a command.
 The pickbox is displayed at the screen cross
hairs.
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Basic Editing
 Noun/verb
selection
 The
PICKFIRST system variable can also be
used to set the noun/verb selection.
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Basic Editing
 Use
Shift to add to selection.
 This
box changes the way AutoCAD selects
objects.
 When this check box is off, every object or
group of objects you select is highlighted and
added to the selection set.
 When this check box is on, to add additional
items to the selection, hold down the [Shift]
key.
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Basic Editing
 Use
Shift to add to selection.
 Turning
on the PICKADD system variable does
the same thing as turning on this feature.
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Basic Editing
 Press
and Drag
 Same
functionality as turning on the
PICKDRAG system variable.
 With Press and Drag on, you create a
selection window by picking the first corner,
then moving the cursor while holding down
the pick button.
 Release the pick button when you have the
desired selection window.
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Basic Editing
 Press
and Drag
 By
default, this option is off.
 You must pick both the first and second
corner of the desired selection window.
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Basic Editing
 Implied
windowing
 By
default, this option is on.
 You can automatically create a window by
picking the first point and moving the cursor
to the right to pick the second point.
 A crossing box can also be made by picking
the first point and moving the cursor to the
left to pick the second point.
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Basic Editing
 Implied
windowing
 The
PICKAUTO system variable provides the
same functionality.
 The windowing will not work if PICKDRAG is
on.
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Basic Editing
 Object
Grouping
 Option
controls whether or not AutoCAD
recognizes grouped objects as singular
objects.
 When off, the individual elements of a group
can be selected for separate editing without
having to first explode the group. (!)
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Basic Editing
 Associative
Hatch
 The
default is off
 When off, if an associative hatch is moved,
the hatch boundary does not move with it.
 To move the boundary with the hatch, turn
the associative hatch on.
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Basic Editing
 The
Properties Window
 An
object or several objects can be edited
automatically using the Properties window.
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Basic Editing
 The
Properties Window
 Pick
the Properties button form the Standard
toolbar
 OR
 Pick
Properties from the Modify pull-down
menu
 OR
 Type
MO, CH, PROPS, or PROPERTIES at the
Command: prompt.
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Basic Editing
 The
Properties Window
 You
can also toggle the Properties window on
and off using the [Ctrl] + [1] key
combination.
 After selecting the objects, you can also
access the Properties window by right-clicking
and selecting Properties from the shortcut
menu.
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Basic Editing
 The
Properties Window
 To
close the Properties window, click on the
small “x”.
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Editing Between Multiple Drawings
 AutoCAD
2000 allows you to edit more than
one drawing at a time.
 You can copy objects from one drawing into
another drawing.
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Editing Between Multiple Drawings
Windows functions copy and paste can
be used to copy objects from one drawing to
another.
 To use this feature, the object that you
intend to copy must be selected with grips.
 Once selected, right-click to access the
shortcut menu.
 The
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Editing Between Multiple Drawings
 The
short cut menu has two options:
 Copy
 Copy
with Base Point
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Editing Between Multiple Drawings
 Copy
 Takes
selected objects from AutoCAD and
places them on the Windows Clipboard to be
sued in another application or another
AutoCAD drawing.
 Copy
with Base Point
 Also
copies objects to the Clipboard, but
allows you to specify a base point to position
the copied object when it is pasted.
 Select a logical base point (corner or center).
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Editing Between Multiple Drawings
 Once
you have copied the object, make the
second drawing active by clicking on it.
 Right-click to display the shortcut menu.
 Three paste options exist:
 Paste
 Paste
as block
 Paste to Original Coordinates
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Editing Between Multiple Drawings
 Paste
 Pastes
any Clipboard information into the
current drawing.
 If the Copy with Base Point option was used
to place objects in the Clipboard, then the
objects being pasted are attached to the cross
hairs at the specified basepoint.
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Editing Between Multiple Drawings
 Paste
as block
 This
option “joins” all objects in the Clipboard
when they are pasted into the drawing.
 The pasted objects act like a block in that
they are single objects joined together to
form one object.
 EXPLODE to break apart.
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Editing Between Multiple Drawings
 Paste
to Original Coordinates
 This
option pastes the objects from the
Clipboard to the same coordinates at which
they were located in the original drawing.
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Editing Between Multiple Drawings
 You
can also drag and drop objects between
drawings.
 Make
both drawings visible on the screen.
 Select the object and press and hold the pick
button
 Move the cursor into the other drawing and
release the pick button.
 The object is automatically copied into the
second drawing.
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Matching Properties
 The
MATCHPROP command
 allows
you to copy properties from one object
to one or more objects.
 It can be done in the same drawing or
between drawings.
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Matching Properties
 To
access the MATCHPROP command
 Select
the Match Properties button in the
Standard toolbar
 OR
 Select
down
Match Properties from the Modify pull-
 OR
 Type
MA, MATCHPROP or PAINTER at the
Command: prompt.
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Matching Properties
 AutoCAD
prompts you for the source object.
 The
source object is the one that has all the
properties you would like to copy to another
object.
 Once
selected, AutoCAD displays the
properties it will paint to the destination
object.
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Matching Properties
 The
prompt reads:
 Current
active settings: Color Layer Ltype
Ltscale Lineweight Thickness PlotStyle Text
Dim Hatch.
 Select destination object(s) or [Settings]:
 This
allows you to pick the object you want
to receive the properties of the source object.
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Matching Properties
 The
prompt reads:
 Current
active settings: Color Layer Ltype
Ltscale Lineweight Thickness PlotStyle Text
Dim Hatch.
 Select destination object(s) or [Settings]:
 This
allows you to pick the object you want
to receive the properties of the source object.
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Matching Properties
 If
you want the properties painted to all
objects
 Type
ALL at this prompt.
 To
change the properties to be painted,
access the Settings option by typing “S”.
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Matching Properties
 The
Property Settings dialog box now
appears, showing the types of properties that
can be painted.
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Matching Properties
 Basic
Properties
 Lists
the general properties of the selected
object.
 Deselect a property for it NOT to be copied.
 All active properties are transferred.
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Matching Properties
 Special
Properties
 You
can paint over dimension styles, text
styles, and hatch patterns.
 These properties are replaced in the
destination object if the check boxes are
active.
Grips - Automatic Editing
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