Modifying with Grips Part 1

Topics covered in this AutoCAD tutorial:

Stretching with grips, Accessing modify tools with grips

Stretching with Grips

As explained in Section 1, if you select objects when not in a command, grips will appear at the endpoints, midpoints, and center points of circles and arcs. If the object is a block, there will only be one grip, and by default moving the grip will move the whole block. If you click in a grip it will turn dark red, which is sometimes referred to as making it hot. While the grip is hot, you can move the grip and whatever line segments are arcs will be stretched. You can stretch or shorten to specific distances along tracking lines with grips if you pull in a direction to get a tracking line and type the distance in. Once the grips are visible after selecting the objects, you can select multiple grips across multiple objects by holding down the Shift key and clicking on the grips. You must hold the Shift key before clicking, once the grip or grips are hot, you can’t add to the selection of grips. If you click and move a midpoint grip of a line segment, the entire segment will be moved.

• Stretching a midpoint:

  

• Stretching an endpoint:

  

• Stretching multiple items:

  

Accessing Modify Tools with Grips

If you click on a grip and make it hot, the default action for that grip is to stretch. However, there are deferent menus you can access through a grip depending on how it’s selected as explained in the screenshots below. If the grip is selected by snapping without Left–clicking, the grip will turn light red.

• Snapping without clicking or Right–clicking on a midpoint grip:

  

• Snapping without clicking or Right–clicking on an endpoint grip:

  

• Snapping and Right–clicking without Left–clicking to select the grip first:

  

• Snapping without clicking or Right–clicking on an endpoint grip:

  

The Right–click menus are different depending on whether or not the grip was made hot by Left–clicking first. In both cases you can access some of the Modify tools, but they will behave differently. If you snap and Right–click on a grip that isn’t hot (no Left–clicking) and choose a Modify command, the command will behave normally. If you Right–click after making the grip hot (Left–clicking), Modify tools selected from the menu will behave differently.

Differences in Modify Tools Selected in the Hot (Red) Grip Right–click Menu

• By default, the grip itself will act as the base point, so you won’t need to specify one. There is a Base Point option in the menu if you’d like to specify a different base point.

• If you select the Scale command , you will be able to more precisely scale with your mouse than if you had entered the Scale command normally.

• The Copy tool will only work in conjunction with other tools. So if you want it to behave like the Copy tool regularly does, you must select both Move and Copy from the Right–click menu. You can also select Copy from the Right–click menu instead of the Command Line for Move, Rotate, Scale, or Mirror.

• When you use Copy with the other Modify tool from the menu, you can make multiple copies, as opposed to only being able to make one copy if you start the command normally. This is one of the primary reasons you might start a Modify command through a Grip.

• You can make evenly distributed copies by holding down the Ctrl key when using the Copy with another tool from the menu. Make one copy normally to establish and distance an angle from the original, and then hold down Ctrl and click to make more copies at the same distance and angle from each other. This can only be done by using the copy option in the hot grip Right–click menu.

• Holding the Ctrl key when using Copy and Rotate:

  

• Holding the Ctrl key when using Copy and Move: