All Objects in the Pickfirst Set Were Filtered Out Please Select Again
Modifying Object Properties with AutoCAD 2000
31 Oct, 1999
By: Lynn Allen
I doubt that likewise many of yous will disagree with me when I say we spend more of our time editing in AutoCAD than we do really drawing in information technology. Hence, editing functions are critical to our success every bit AutoCAD operators, and then we desire them ameliorate, faster and easier to utilise with each new release. The new Properties dialog in AutoCAD 2000 has been a big hit with those who have already jumped on the upgrade bandwagon. This month, let'southward take a thorough await at it to ensure y'all're getting the most out of this new powerful feature.
I'll exist the commencement to admit that I loved the Properties push button in AutoCAD Release 14. I used to joke that the paint was partially rubbed off of my Backdrop toolbar button I used information technology so often. As a quick refresher, the Properties button in AutoCAD Release fourteen executed a LISP routine chosen AI_Propchk. If one object was selected, AI_Propchk would execute the DDMODIFY control. If more than than one object was selected, it would execute DDCHPROP. DDMODIFY allowed you to change just virtually annihilation you wanted to change in an object–superlative, rotation bending, location and and so forth. DDCHPROP only allowed you lot to change the object properties such equally layer, colour and linetype. This functionality was somewhat limiting in that even though you lot selected similar type objects, you could only edit their properties. For instance, you couldn't use this command to change the size of four circles in your drawing to a specific radius unless y'all executed the command four times.
The New Property Dialog
Enter the new Belongings dialog in AutoCAD 2000. This modeless, sizeable dialog can come and get at the affect of a few keys. In that location are several different ways to grab information technology (my personal favorite is hitting Ctrl+1). By default this places the new Properties dialog on the left side of the screen. You lot tin besides select the new Properties tool from the Standard toolbar. It's located in two pulldown menus: Tools=>Properties or Modify=>Backdrop. For those of you lot who prefer using the command line, the Backdrop command besides gets y'all there. You lot can likewise select the objects desired, right click and pick Properties from the shortcut menu.
If no objects are selected, you'll find the dialog displays. An indicator at the top tells you lot there are no selected objects. The general properties of the current drawing and viewport are displayed–the current layer, colour, linetype, plotstyle, UCS and then on. You tin can too use this mode to change anything that isn't grayed out. So technically, you could use this dialog to alter the electric current layer, plow off the UCSICON and then forth. You'll also notice there are two tabs on this dialog. You lot can choose to have the information displayed by category or alphabetized, whichever works better for you.
Of course, the true power of the command is demonstrated when objects are selected. Follow forth with me by randomly drawing some circles, lines, polylines and and so on. Exist sure to include a few different layers to work with every bit well. Now, let's change the radius of multiple circles to .5.
I start by selecting the circles (practise yourself a favor and piece of work with PICKFIRST set to 1). You lot'll notice that at the summit of the dialog it tells you lot how many circles you've selected. Unlike the Properties command in AutoCAD Release fourteen, I can alter whatever properties these four objects accept in common. Since they're all the same type of object, I tin can modify the radius, diameter (in case you can't multiply by 2), centre point, the total area of each circumvolve along with the standard object properties (layer, color, linetype). I can double click over the existing radius value and input a new one. An Enter or activeness taken in whatsoever other box forces the selected objects to update. You lot'll note that at the summit of the dialog it indicates that there are four circles in the choice set.
Now it gets even meliorate. Put a crossing window around all of the objects in your drawing. Notice that the options available for editing are dramatically reduced to just the general properties. The top of the dialog indicates that the entire selection set (All) consists of X number of objects. But here'due south my favorite part. Pick the dropdown listing, and you'll run into that all of the objects are broken down by object blazon. Yous can now select simply the text, only the circles or just the polylines.
Accept y'all figured out the possibilities here even so? Suppose y'all're handed someone else's cartoon. Allow's also say that this person has never heard of CAD standards, and objects are sprinkled all over the place on random layers. Your goal is to put the proper objects on the proper layer. Ugh! Well now it's much easier with the Object Properties dialog. Put a window around the entire drawing, select Text from the dropdown list and put all the text on the text layer. Continue by putting the dimensions on the dimension layer and and so on. Or, maybe you lot adopt to exist lazy while drawing (I can relate). Now it's piece of cake, after the fact, to put the objects where they belong though you'll probably give your CAD Manager a heart attack.
You lot'll discover that you tin change the text height, obliquing angle or the actual text using this method. Y'all can modify any dimension variable for a particular dimension besides.
Right click on the dialog, and you'll get the shortcut bill of fare. If you don't want the dialog to dock, plow the Allow Docking off. Y'all can turn off the dialog by choosing the Hibernate selection, selecting the X in the upper right-hand corner of the dialog, hitting another Ctrl+1 or executing the PROPERTIESCLOSE command. The Description pick in the shortcut menu controls whether or not the Clarification department at the bottom of the dialog displays. If y'all are adequately familiar with all the different properties of an object, you may adopt to hide the description and use the extra room to display more backdrop (thus having to do less scrolling). The final option in the shortcut carte du jour, Undo, is self-explanatory–information technology undoes the last event performed within the dialog.
To Be Improved
One of the simply drawbacks with this control is its inability to pass a selection set to the command. This means you lot can't employ the standard option options such as previous, all, fence, crossing polygon, remove and so forth. You can merely apply pick, crossing window (right to left) regular window (left to right) as well as just using the Shift key to remove objects from the selection gear up.
Another betoken of defoliation that I've seen is the lack of arrows in the dialog indicating a dropdown list. For example, to modify objects from one layer to another you pick once in the layer box to display the arrow indicating at that place's a dropdown list. Information technology takes another choice to go the dropdown list and one last pick to select the desired layer. That's one more click than the object properties toolbar requires (and every click counts!). I've too found that many users believe that since there are no arrows displayed in the box, there must not even be a dropdown list associated with that item. My gauge is that if the box was filled with the dropdown list arrows, information technology would await too complex or confusing, and hence they were left out.
There are a few tricks to navigating through the dialog using keyboard keys. The Home primal always takes you to the top of the properties list, and the Terminate key takes you lot to the terminate of the properties list. For those of you who are extremely coordinated, y'all can besides navigate to a specific property past striking Control+Shift+ (the start grapheme of the property you lot want to bound to). For case, Control+Shift+H would jump to the Hyperlink belongings. You may decide it's not worth the extra work and just stick to using your cursor.
Y'all'll also find the new QUICK SELECT command icon in the upper-correct corner of the dialog. This sends y'all to a light version of the FILTER command. This dialog makes information technology easy to further define a specialized pick set up. For case, if you need to select all of the circles that take a radius larger than ii.5, QSELECT is the perfect path to take. Here you tin select a specific filter, such as radius, and apply information technology to the current option ready.
If you want all the bluish circles and the red lines, employ the Quick Select filter twice. The first time you use information technology, indicate that you lot want all the blue circles, exit QSELECT and then reenter Quick Select. At present, specify that you want the filter to exist cherry-red lines and then selection the option at the bottom of the dialog that says "Suspend to current selection set". This gives you a option gear up that consists of blue circles and red lines. For those of you comfortable with the more robust FILTER command, you'll notice this dialog a breeze to effigy out.
I think you'll find the features in the new Properties dialog outweigh the comfy dialog we've been using for the past couple of releases. Be certain to give it a good try, and you'll soon wonder how y'all made it without it! Until next fourth dimension.
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Source: https://www.cadalyst.com/cad/autocad/modifying-object-properties-with-autocad-2000-4724
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