Windows Functionality in AutoCAD

There are many advantages to opening several drawings in a session of AutoCAD, including two that relate to blocks. Along with the introduction of the Multiple Design Environment (MDE), AutoCAD 2000 also introduced two new features that take advantage of multiple open drawings. These new features allow you to either cut and paste, or drag and drop objects from one drawing to another. Additionally, you are given the option to insert the objects as a block.

Copying with the Clipboard

To copy using the Clipboard, choose Copy from the Edit pull-down menu. This will copy selected objects to the Clipboard. Choose Copy Link to copy the current view to the Clipboard. Copy Link copies all objects in the drawing and preserves the current view of the drawing. As an alternative, you can use the CUT command to copy objects to the Clipboard and remove them from the drawing.

With the introduction of AutoCAD 2000 came an addition to the Copy options with Copy with Base Point. This option allows you to define a coordinate and save it with the copy stored in the Clipboard. This is then matched with a Paste to Original Coordinates option that allows you to paste this data using the stored base point. This is very useful in transferring data from drawing to drawing while maintaining a specific location (see Figure 11.1).

Cut and Paste Block Insertion

The phrase “cut and paste” refers to the process of selecting an object or group of objects, and cutting (or copying) it to the Windows Clipboard. When selected objects are cut, they are copied to the Clipboard and erased from the original document. In contrast, when you copy objects, they are copied to the Clipboard, and the selected objects are left untouched in the original document.

Cut and paste block insertion is not really new to AutoCAD, but its capabilities are greatly enhanced. For example, AutoCAD now allows you to identify the base point of an object when copying it to the Clipboard. This feature provides you the control to specifically identify the new insertion point of the selected object, and is very powerful.

Another great feature is Paste as Block. This is essentially the same as the original R14 Paste option. When this feature is used, you can later explode the block to remove the arbitrary block name assigned by the PASTE AS BLOCK command.

If you choose Paste from the Edit menu in an AutoCAD drawing, the contents of the Clipboard are inserted as individual objects. This is different from R14, where it would come in as a randomly named block.

You also can paste an entire drawing into the current drawing by dragging the icon of the file from within Windows Explorer into the current drawing.

In the following exercise, you are taken through the steps to use for the Copy with Base Point feature from the EDIT command.

Exercise 11.1 Copying and Pasting Between Drawings

1.	Open a drawing from which to copy existing objects then open another drawing (or a new one) into which you want to paste objects.
2.	When both drawings are open, from the Window menu, choose Tile Vertically. AutoCAD tiles the two open drawing windows side by side.
3.	When in a drawing that contains objects, select the objects to highlight them, then right-click to display the shortcut menu.
4.	From the shortcut menu, choose Copy with Base Point. AutoCAD prompts you to specify the base point.
5.	Select the base point using any AutoCAD pick-point method.
6.	Move the cursor to the other drawing, and click in the drawing window. The drawing window acquires the focus.
7.	Right-click to display the shortcut menu.
8.	From the shortcut menu, choose Paste as Block (see Figure 11.2). The object’s silhouette appears in the drawing, with the selected base point at the center of the cursor’s crosshairs. Figure 11.2. The shortcut menu has many copy/paste options on it available from a simple right-click of the mouse.
9.	Pick the insertion point for the block object. AutoCAD inserts the new object as a block. You may close your drawing.

When you insert the block from the Clipboard, you can either choose to paste it using a selected base point, or you can paste it using the block’s original coordinates. The Paste to Original Coordinates option found on the shortcut menu copies the coordinate location of the objects in the original drawing, and then pastes the objects in the new drawing using those same coordinates. This option is useful for copying objects from one drawing to another when both drawings use the same coordinate system. You must have previously saved a base point and be in MDE to have access to the Paste to Original Coordinates option.

Drag-and-Drop Block Insertion

When you drag and drop objects, you are moving them from one place to another. When you drag and drop objects within the same AutoCAD drawing, the result is the same as using the MOVE command to move the object. When you drag and drop from one drawing to another, the result is similar to copying the object from the original drawing to the target drawing.

Being able to use the drag-and-drop feature takes some getting used to because most editing commands focus on using the available grips. With drag and drop you specifically need to not pick on a grip in order to activate the feature. Picking on the object with the left-click provides a single drop option. Using the right-click to select the object (again, not on a grip though) offers more options when you release in the current drawing or another drawing.

Another variation of the drag-and-drop concept is the new i-drop feature in AutoCAD 2002. Based on XML technology, it allows “dropping” of drawing data from Internet Web pages that you or others develop. Refer to Chapter 25, “Publishing on the Web,” for more information.

The following is a listing of the options available on the shortcut list when right-clicking on a selection set and dragging and dropping into either the same drawing or a different drawing:

• Move Here. This option appears when the selected objects are dragged and dropped within the same drawing.

• Copy Here. This option appears when objects are dragged and dropped within the same drawing or between two drawings.

• Paste as Block. This option appears when objects are dragged and dropped within the same drawing or between two drawings.

• Paste to Orig Coords. This option appears only when objects are dragged and dropped between two drawings.

• Cancel. This option appears when objects are dragged and dropped within the same drawing or between two drawings.

The drag-and-drop feature is useful for quickly moving or copying objects. However, this method does not provide a method for accurately selecting the base point for pasting the objects as a block. Consequently, to select objects in one drawing and paste them as a block in another while controlling the new block’s base point, use the copy and paste feature described in the previous section.