Hi people, welcome to this video! Let's see quickly the main important 2D
features inside AutoCAD 2016.
Correct us in comments if you find mistakes in our speech.
In the beginner tutorial we have seen the basic 2D tools inside this
software, all included in the Home section. Some of these tools, like the
Circle, the Arc, the Polygon and the Ellipse one draw an object once per
time. To draw another one, you need to enable the tool again, or use Enter
key to do so. Whereas, when you use the Line and the Polyline tools, you
go on drawing segments for each point fixed, on and on. You can stop
drawing using Escape key.
There is a very strong difference between lines and polylines. When you
draw any path with lines, each side remains independent. If you draw the
same with polylines, the whole path is a unique object in one piece. Plus,
while lines remain straight and can be stretched only, each polyline side
can be indeed converted into curves, by hovering the smaller nodes and
going to Convert to Arc.
Plus, you can simply move lines using their central node. Whereas in
polylines, since these compose a unique object, you have to use the Move
command to move it around. Actually the Rectangle and the Polygon tools
do use a polyline to draw such regular shapes. In fact, the blue nodes are
the same ones you can find in a polyline path.
You can also explode the polyline, in order to obtain its single elements
composing the path. Just select the polyline and go to Explode in Modify
section, or type the E letter key from your keyboard and choose EXPLODE
with your Up and Down Arrow keys in the dialog box. Once done, straight
sides become simple lines, while curved sides become simple arcs.
Let's see the main tools for 2D Projects inside the Modify section. Any
tool works just if you have an object selected. You can choose to select
your objects and then enable the tool, or enable the tool first, select
the objects and use Enter key to start using the tool. Use the Move tool
to drag your objects on your workspace. Use Scale to scale them according
to a scaling factor, without deforming them. Use Rotate to rotate them. Use
Mirror to mirror an object. Just select the objects to mirror, use Enter
key and click and drag. If you need to cut a part of an object that meets
another, use the Trim tool. Select the objects that do interfere, use Enter
key and then select the parts to cut. Use Enter again to finish.
Very important is also the Offset command. This creates a new object that
keeps a constant distance from the original one. Simply type the distance
to keep and then select the object to offset.
Fillet and Chamfer are used to meet two sides each other. Just select the
two sides to join and check the preview. You can join with a curve
selecting the first side and then selecting Radius using your Down Arrow
key. Set the radius value and hover the second side to check if it is okay
through the preview. Click on the second side to apply all.
Let's see how to fill 2D closed paths. To do so, you need to use the Hatch
tool in the Draw section. This opens the Hatch Creation panel on top, used
to personalize your filling. To fill an object, simply click inside a
closed path. The filling will cover all the area until its closest
boundaries. Click on and on to fill more areas. If you mistake, use CTRL+Z
or the Undo arrow to undo. When you finish filling objects, use Enter key
to close the Hatch tool and its panel.
The patterns added are objects on their own. You can select them and drag
them outside their boundaries through their central node, or delete them
simply using Delete key.
Mind that, when you move a pattern outside its original boundaries, it
becomes independent, so you can edit its shape as seen for polylines and
polygons. As long as the pattern stays inside its boundaries, it is
associated with it. So if you edit or move its boundaries, also the pattern
inside follows. If the pattern is independent and you want to link it with
its boundaries again, delete the pattern and create another one using the
Hatch tool.
Remember that, if you create more patterns all at once, these will be
always selected, moved and edited the same. If you want full control on
each pattern, you need to enable the Hatch command, create a pattern,
finish all with Enter key, and then enable the tool again to create the
second pattern, and so on. If you have the pattern and you want to get its
associated boundaries again, simply select the pattern and click on
Recreate in Boundaries section on top, choose Polyline and use Enter
to apply.
You can personalize each pattern as you like. Just select it and use the
Hatch Creation panel to change its properties. In Pattern you can choose
the kind of pattern. In Properties you personalize its color, background,
transparency, orientation with Angle and scale. Make sure not to use too
complex patterns, or your computer may slow down.
By default, the fillings are made with patterns, such as shapes
continuously repeated on and on. Besides the hatch icon, you can choose
Solid to use a plain solid color, or Gradient to use a fade of two
different colors, defined below. In Pattern choose the shape and the kind
of the gradient. If you need more further options, simply click on the
white arrow next to Options.
Very important in 2D Projects are also text and annotations, used to
clarify points in your projects. You can find these in the Annotation
section. To type text, click on the A icon, and click and drag on your
workspace to define a text area, that will contain and locate your text.
A down arrow at the bottom indicates where the text will spread, and this
is always directed to the South.
Once the text area is defined, you can type inside and define all text
properties in the Text Editor on top. In Formatting, choose font, color and
style, and in Paragraph all settings to set the correct text distribution.
If you select a part of the text, just this will be affected by your
changes. You can use Mask in Style to add a background color. When you are
done, just click outside the area interested. The text area will become
transparent, showing just its content. If selected, it shows a blue node,
used to move the text where you like, and blue arrows, that set the text
area size. If you make it too small, you may change the text distribution.
To edit text again, double-click inside the text area. In case your text is
too small, change the scaling factor in Style and use Enter to apply.
Any text selected can be edited through the tools in Modify section as well.
If you need text that occupies a short single line, choose Single Line.
This tool is quite fast: decide where the text must start, type the size
of the text, and its inclination respect to the X axis. Then just type.
When you finish, you can click elsewhere to type with the same settings.
Click elsewhere and use Escape key to finish. In this kind of text you just
have a single node to move the text around and no text areas available.
Thanks for watching this video! Check out our guide to discover 3D Projects
and how to render with AutoCAD 2016!