Part 5. Object Properties

Transcription

1 Part 5 Object Properties We see now the description of the properties of objects. For object properties is mean the color, linetype, thickness of lines drawn on AutoCAD, and ending with the Layers. You can operate the controls on these factors through the drop-down menu, on the Ribbon, the properties toolbar and layer toolbar, or via the properties tool and its window. Layer toolbar: Properties toolbar: Color / Linetype / Line thickness We will see these functions individually: Color control Autocad has a palette of 255 colors that can be assigned individually to each line we create. Draw a random line on the screen and select it with the mouse clicking on them, the line will be highlighted. Once selected, click on the first area of the properties toolbar to open the Color-control drop-down menu. 1

2 In this menu, there are several options: - ByLayer - ByBlock Plus the first seven main colors that AutoCAD provides us, finally, the last item which when clicked will open the full palette of colors available... but we will see shortly. If you now select one of the colors on this drop-down, such as the red, line that we selected will change color. If we still click the drop-down and select thecolorgreen, the line will turn this color. We can change its color until it is selected. Pressing the Esc key on the keyboard, the line is clear and colors of the menu returns the BYLAYER. This means that the next line you create will have the color setting BYLAYER. If you act now on the pop colors, while no line is selected, and choose yellow, we will ensure that the objects we designs from here on, will be this color. We can then set a base color of our choice with which to draw and if necessary, we can change color to one or more objects at once, as we have just seen, after being select. Color management through the Ribbon, is similar to that described above, with a greater choice of colors, here the "index colors" are the main. 2

3 Selecting the last entry in the drop-down, Select color... or More colors... on the ribbon, opens the following window: 3

4 In this window, we find the full colors palette of AutoCAD, that we can select with the mouse and then click OK to assign to objects. As you will see on this window, each color corresponds to a number, except the first seven of which also gives AutoCAD the color name. (Red, yellow, green, cyan, blue, magenta, white). 4

5 LineType control With the same operating principle that we have seen for the color, we can also use different types of line, which can be set through the second* dropdown menu on the properties toolbar. *The third further down, if you use the ribbon tool. But there is a little variation, the types of line that we want to use, will have to be "loaded", as we see: In a new design by opening the drop-down list of linetypes will find the following items: -ByLayer -ByBlock -Continuous -Other... Selecting this last item, other the following window opens with the default lines of AutoCAD: 5

6 In this window, we still see the lines already on the drop down, that is, those that are currently loaded. Now click on the button Load on this window, we will open another one: 6

7 This second window refers to a system file of AutoCAD (acadltiso.lin) on which are planned the various types of line. Using the scroll bar, or mouse wheel, can scroll through the available line types, hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard and select a few to load, (usually using the Hidden and Center ); then press OK and the lines are loaded into our design choices. They should then appear in the first window of lines available, and then you still click OK to close the first window. Now after selecting one or more lines and objects we can change the linetype trough the drop-down menu, in the same way that we change the color, that is, selecting the type of line you want. By choosing the linetype "HIDDEN", selected lines become dashed, but the size of the dash will be dependent from two variables or scaling factors. 7

8 Lineweight On the third drop-down of properties toolbar, you can set a thickness for the selected lines. The thickness set, will be seen on the screen or not, if you press the Lineweight, among those placed on the bottom bar bar under the Command line. 8

9 Layers" On AutoCAD, Layers are like levels or sheets, of which we can assign certain parts of a drawing. Through the appropriate command window, we can create at will and can set a name, a base color, and a kind of linetype. The base Linetype and color however it isn't binding, in fact within the same layer you can draw with any color or line available, using the function seen previously. Let's see the layer toolbar : Clicking the first button on the left of the toolbar: will open the window "layer manager", here below: On the "Layer Manager", we see at present, only the layer "0". 9

10 Above are the fourkeys ;except the second, they mean: -New-layer (to create new layer) -Delete layer [ note: you can not delete layers that are not empty] -Set current (set as the current layer) We can create multiple layers, but will draw always on one at a time, the current layer. If we click new layer, will create a new layer called Layer1, which will appear in the window. Right now if necessary, we can just rename it at will. The following image, I created two new layers, the first, layer1 I left as the default, the second I renamed as Pavimento, I assigned the color red and I changed the line type in HIDDEN, as base settings. To rename a layer, we have to select it in the layer manager and press the F2 key on your keyboard. The layer name will edit it and we can rename it at will. 10

11 To close the window of the layers we have to click the X in the top left of the window. The current layer is stayed 0, as we see written in the small window of the layer toolbar This means that the lines we draw will be part of this layer. Clicking on the window of the layers toolbar opens a drop-down list where we see the layers in the drawing, then 0, layer1 and Pavimento. Selecting one of the layers present, such as Pavimento, will set it as current layer, from then on the lines or objects that we are going to draw belong to this layer, and hence will have the characteristics we have set, red color and line type HIDDEN. 11

12 This at least, if we leave the setting BYLAYER for the color and linetype on the properties toolbar ; if we assign a different color or line type, different from those set for the layer, these will take precedence and will be used to draw. The hidden line display, depends on the variable LTSCALE. Attention now: Doing the same operation, by selecting a layer in the drop-down window, but after select one or more objects in the drawing, we will change the layer of these objects, but in this case, when press Esc to deselect it, we see that the current layer remains 0. Then we assigned the layer Pavimento to selected objects, but we continue to draw in the layer 0. In summary, we can create different layers and assign color name and linetype. We can set object colors as desired, or leave them as layer setting "BYLAYER". We can assign to objects different linetype, or leave them as layer setting "BYLAYER". As you may have noticed, both on the layer drop-down menu and in the layer-manager window, there are other symbols for each layer: a light bulb, a kind of sun, and a padlock. Are the controls, ON / OFF, FREEZE, LOCK. Both from the drop-down list of layers and from the layer-manager window, can act on these functions. The first, ON / OFF, allows you to set visible or not, the various layers present, then if you open the drop-down menu and you click the bulb of layer Pavimento you set it off, so objects that are part of the design of this layer will disappear. Repeating the operation reactivate the layer, the design reappears on the screen. The FREEZE function is equivalent to say that first described, at least as regards this course. You have to keep in mind that a layer set to off can remain as the current layer, then we can draw with it. If we draw a line using a layer off, it will not appear on the screen, since the layer is disabled, but will be drawn and we will turn it visible, resetting the layer to ON. Otherwise, a layer set to off with the FREEZE function, can not be used as the current layer, thus preventing you can continue drawing in it. 12

13 The LOCK function instead, when enabled, will lock the layer concerned, which remain visible on the screen, but should prevent edit or delete the parts that are already draw on this layer. Also in this case, It will be maintain the current layer locked, but we can continue to draw objects inside which, however, once created it will be immediately blocked and no longer editable until we turn off the lock. In practice the layer is used to subdividing drawings to some parts, such as plant design of a room can be divided into several layers of walls, floors, furniture, false ceiling...; and if necessary, turning off or locking, the layer on which we must not work or that we do not want to see. Although you can create a vast amount of layers.... And many do so, (you will realize if you happen to work on drawings made by others), you should not overdo it and kept to the minimum necessary, to maintain order in the design as much as possible and not lose control of what you're doing. It will be very easy indeed if not, end up with parts of the design scattered to many layers where they should not be, and have to wasting time to fix it up. You will see that this happens even working with only two layers, if you are not careful. A good technical design, could also be on a single layer, limiting itself to use different colors for different kinds of objects, such as walls, floors, furniture, etc. 13

14 Properties The "Properties" is on the "standard toolbar": Alternatively, on the Ribbon by clicking the arrow indicated below: Clicking one of these buttons will activate a kind of vertical toolbar that contains a window, where they are lot of information. These vertical bars are called Palettes. They are part of the Palettes even the Ribbon and Layer manager window. We see it in the following image: 14

15 This window can be moved to either side of the screen, and clicking on the arrow on the board (under the X item), open and close the side window with information about objects. If we select an object and then we go on this window, we will show a whole range of information, which are in fact the properties of the object that we have selected. As you see, above are the entries for the color, layer, and linetype. Clicking on the value of these items, can also be change here in the same way that we had already seen in the previous chapter. 15

16 The fourth item are Linetype scale, where we can put a numerical scale factor for the type of line used. The scale value entered here, however, is relative to each selected object and is independent of the value set in the variable "LTSCALE", or rather acts in addition to this. To close the Properties window, just click again on the command or the X at the top of the proprties palette. 16

17 Match Properties" The "match properties" is on the "standard toolbar": Or on the Ribbon bar with the following icon: With this tool, you can copy the properties of an object, such as layer, color and linetype, to others. By activating the tool, we are asked to select the source object. Then select a line of our design. We have now to select one or more target objects; we can do that by clicking on individual objects, or even making a selection window that include the elements that concern us. At the time of their selection, at the target objects are applied the properties of the source, then change color, but also the layer of belonging and the linetype. If we copy the properties from one text to another, is also affected the height of the text. 17