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Create polylines with line and arc segments using polar tracking and dynamic input.
Type:
Tutorial
Length:
5 min.
Transcript
00:04
A polyline,
00:05
simply a connected sequence of line segments created as
00:09
a single object can be used for various reasons.
00:12
In your drawings.
00:13
Poly lines have several benefits.
00:16
For example,
00:17
you can assign absolute line width that can be either constant or tapered.
00:23
There is also an option for adding arcs next to lines.
00:27
Poly lines can be one object that contains a lot of geometry,
00:32
making it easier to select and modify
00:35
than if it were individual lines.
00:38
Additionally, poly lines can have elevations assigned to them,
00:42
making them ideal for things such as topographical contour lines.
00:48
Poly lines also have streamlined editing options that we will cover later.
00:55
Let's make a poly line.
00:57
You can start the poly line by going to the home tab
01:01
and either clicking on the polyline button
01:04
or
01:06
I prefer to type in PL
01:09
and then enter
01:13
when you start the polyline command, you're first prompted for a start point.
01:18
This can be a point on the screen that
01:20
you simply select or you can type in coordinates.
01:25
Once you have the first point
01:27
selected,
01:29
you will then have command line options to choose from.
01:34
The first thing to consider
01:35
is the overall shape that you want the geometry to be.
01:39
Will it consist of straight lines only
01:42
or will there be lines and curves or just curves? In
01:46
this example,
01:47
we'll create a polyline with curves that runs around this entire site,
01:51
which then could be used to depict a pavement area that has curved edges.
01:57
When you have a poly line to use as a boundary,
02:01
you can then associate things such as a hatch to that boundary
02:05
and any changes made to the boundary will automatically update the hatch.
02:10
This cannot be done with individual line segments and autocad.
02:14
So it's really helpful to include poly lines in your workflow.
02:20
A polyline starts with a straight segment. By default,
02:24
if you want to start out with a curve,
02:26
you can immediately select the arc option.
02:30
However, in this example, I'll create a line segment first
02:34
and then add a curve.
02:36
So I click on my screen and with the first point created,
02:41
I will now move my cursor in the direction that I want
02:45
the poly line to be drawn.
02:47
Polar tracking and dynamic input can be particularly helpful during this task
02:53
with polar tracking turned on a green dash line appears
02:57
and serves as a guideline to keep the geometry straight.
03:00
Dynamic input shows values on the screen for length and angle.
03:05
If you know the length of the line you want to create,
03:07
you can type it in the first value on the screen.
03:11
In this example,
03:13
the straight line segments will be 320 ft
03:16
and 250 ft in length.
03:19
Arc segments will be added to each end.
03:22
So for this first one, I will type in 320
03:28
and then enter
03:30
now with my first line segment drawn,
03:33
I will type in an A to go into the arc. Option.
03:40
Notice as I move my cursor over
03:43
polar tracking helps me achieve the angle that I want for this arc,
03:48
which is 45 degrees
03:50
for the length
03:52
I will type in 60
03:54
and then enter
03:56
now a line segment
03:59
by typing in L
04:03
and this segment will be
04:10
next an arc segment by typing in A.
04:17
And for this,
04:18
I need my angle to be 135
04:23
and my arc length
04:30
L for line segment.
04:34
And as with the previous at the top of the drawing, this will be 320.
04:42
Once that segment is drawn,
04:46
A for a
04:49
notice my polar tracking for the 135 angle
04:54
and I'll enter 60
04:56
for the arc length
05:01
L for another line segment,
05:04
this one will be 250.
05:09
And finally,
05:11
we'll type in a for the last arc segment
05:14
and I will use my end 0.0 snap
05:22
to end the poly line.
Video transcript
00:04
A polyline,
00:05
simply a connected sequence of line segments created as
00:09
a single object can be used for various reasons.
00:12
In your drawings.
00:13
Poly lines have several benefits.
00:16
For example,
00:17
you can assign absolute line width that can be either constant or tapered.
00:23
There is also an option for adding arcs next to lines.
00:27
Poly lines can be one object that contains a lot of geometry,
00:32
making it easier to select and modify
00:35
than if it were individual lines.
00:38
Additionally, poly lines can have elevations assigned to them,
00:42
making them ideal for things such as topographical contour lines.
00:48
Poly lines also have streamlined editing options that we will cover later.
00:55
Let's make a poly line.
00:57
You can start the poly line by going to the home tab
01:01
and either clicking on the polyline button
01:04
or
01:06
I prefer to type in PL
01:09
and then enter
01:13
when you start the polyline command, you're first prompted for a start point.
01:18
This can be a point on the screen that
01:20
you simply select or you can type in coordinates.
01:25
Once you have the first point
01:27
selected,
01:29
you will then have command line options to choose from.
01:34
The first thing to consider
01:35
is the overall shape that you want the geometry to be.
01:39
Will it consist of straight lines only
01:42
or will there be lines and curves or just curves? In
01:46
this example,
01:47
we'll create a polyline with curves that runs around this entire site,
01:51
which then could be used to depict a pavement area that has curved edges.
01:57
When you have a poly line to use as a boundary,
02:01
you can then associate things such as a hatch to that boundary
02:05
and any changes made to the boundary will automatically update the hatch.
02:10
This cannot be done with individual line segments and autocad.
02:14
So it's really helpful to include poly lines in your workflow.
02:20
A polyline starts with a straight segment. By default,
02:24
if you want to start out with a curve,
02:26
you can immediately select the arc option.
02:30
However, in this example, I'll create a line segment first
02:34
and then add a curve.
02:36
So I click on my screen and with the first point created,
02:41
I will now move my cursor in the direction that I want
02:45
the poly line to be drawn.
02:47
Polar tracking and dynamic input can be particularly helpful during this task
02:53
with polar tracking turned on a green dash line appears
02:57
and serves as a guideline to keep the geometry straight.
03:00
Dynamic input shows values on the screen for length and angle.
03:05
If you know the length of the line you want to create,
03:07
you can type it in the first value on the screen.
03:11
In this example,
03:13
the straight line segments will be 320 ft
03:16
and 250 ft in length.
03:19
Arc segments will be added to each end.
03:22
So for this first one, I will type in 320
03:28
and then enter
03:30
now with my first line segment drawn,
03:33
I will type in an A to go into the arc. Option.
03:40
Notice as I move my cursor over
03:43
polar tracking helps me achieve the angle that I want for this arc,
03:48
which is 45 degrees
03:50
for the length
03:52
I will type in 60
03:54
and then enter
03:56
now a line segment
03:59
by typing in L
04:03
and this segment will be
04:10
next an arc segment by typing in A.
04:17
And for this,
04:18
I need my angle to be 135
04:23
and my arc length
04:30
L for line segment.
04:34
And as with the previous at the top of the drawing, this will be 320.
04:42
Once that segment is drawn,
04:46
A for a
04:49
notice my polar tracking for the 135 angle
04:54
and I'll enter 60
04:56
for the arc length
05:01
L for another line segment,
05:04
this one will be 250.
05:09
And finally,
05:11
we'll type in a for the last arc segment
05:14
and I will use my end 0.0 snap
05:22
to end the poly line.
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