Draw Tools
Eleven drawing tools with the commands you know: line, polyline, rectangle, circle, arc, spline, polygon, ellipse, donut, point and hatch. Draw on the plan beside the walls, with object snap, ortho and polar tracking.
Every property, and what it does
Each tool, its command and what it asks for; then the rows a drawn shape has.
The tools
In CAD tools, Draw. Type the command or its alias and press Enter or Space.
| Field | What it does | Values |
|---|---|---|
| Line | Straight lines, one after another (LINE, L). | Click each point; Enter to finish |
| Polyline | Connected points on one entity (PLINE, PL). | Click each point |
| Rectangle | A rectangle from two corners (RECTANG, REC). | Two corners, or D for its dimensions |
| Circle | A circle from its centre (CIRCLE, C). | Centre and radius, or D for diameter |
| Arc | An arc through three points (ARC, A). | Start, middle, end |
| Spline | A smooth curve through the points you click (SPLINE, SPL). | Fit points; Enter to finish |
| Polygon | A regular polygon (POLYGON, POL). | Sides, centre, inscribed or circumscribed, radius |
| Ellipse | An ellipse from its centre (ELLIPSE, EL). | Centre and two axis distances |
| Donut | A filled ring (DONUT, DO). | Inside and outside diameters, position |
| Point | A point node (POINT, PO). | One click |
| Hatch | A filled area (HATCH, H). | Click each boundary point; Enter closes it |
Hatch
A hatch's own rows.
| Field | What it does | Values |
|---|---|---|
| Fill | A solid fill, a pattern of lines, or a gradient. | Solid, Pattern, Gradient |
| Pattern | The line pattern, from diagonal lines to brick, tiles and paving. | ANSI31, ANSI37, CROSS, GRID, BRICK, DOTS, TILE, SHINGLE, SEAM, PANTILE, ASPH, CONC, GRVL, PAVE |
| Scale, Angle | How big the pattern is drawn and how far it is turned. | A factor, degrees |
| Style | A gradient's kind, its angle and its second colour. | Linear, Radial |
| Opacity | How solid the fill is. | 0 to 100% |
| Islands | How shapes inside the boundary are treated. | Normal, Outer, Ignore |
Drawing
What every drawn line, shape and hatch has.
| Field | What it does | Values |
|---|---|---|
| Layer | The drawing layer it is on, for showing, hiding and printing. | The project's layers |
| Colour | The colour it is drawn in. | By layer, or its own |
| Lineweight | The pen width it prints at. | By layer, or 0.05 to 2.11 mm |
| Linetype | Solid, dashed or chained. | By layer, Continuous, Dashed, Hidden, Center, Dot, Phantom |
Drawing aids
The status toggles at the top of the plan.
| Field | What it does | Values |
|---|---|---|
| Object snap | Snaps to ends, midpoints, centres, intersections, perpendiculars, tangents, quadrants and nodes (F3). | On or off |
| Ortho | Holds lines horizontal or vertical (F8). | On or off |
| Polar tracking | Holds lines to 15 degree steps (F10). | On or off |
| Grid | Shows the drawing grid (F7). | On or off |
How the Draw tools work
Open Draw
In the editor, open CAD tools, then Draw, or type a command on the command line at the bottom of the plan.
Click the points
The command line says what the tool wants next. Numbers you type are lengths, angles or counts.
Finish
Press Enter, or close the shape on its first point.
Set its pen
Select it for its layer, colour, lineweight and linetype, or a hatch's fill and pattern.
Draw tool questions, answered.
Do the AutoCAD command aliases work?
Most do: L for line, M for move, CO for copy, TR for trim, O for offset, DLI for a linear dimension. Type a few letters and the command line suggests the rest.
Can I draw lines next to the walls?
Yes. Lines, shapes and hatches are drawn on the same plan as the walls, on layers of their own, and print with it.
Do the drawings export to CAD?
Yes. Everything drawn goes out in DXF, DWG, SVG and PDF.
Read on
- Modify Tools: Move, copy, offset, trim and arrays.
- Layers: Colours, lineweights and linetypes by layer.
- Drafting tools docs: Every drafting command and its alias.