Changing an Object’s Properties
The properties of an object are defined as its layer, color, linetype, and, for most objects, also includes its object linetype scale and/or thickness. You can use the Object Properties toolbar, the Properties tool on the Object Properties toolbar, or the Match Properties tool from the Standard toolbar to change an object’s properties (see Figure 11.14).
Figure 11.14. The Standard and Object Properties toolbars.
Understanding the Object Properties Manager
The Properties dialog box is the next generation of a properties editor (see Figure 11.15). With it comes everything from the power to change a simple layer setting to manipulating individual dimension variables of a selected set of dimensions. The Properties dialog box can either be accessed from within the Tools pull-down menu under Properties, by selecting the Properties toolbar button, or by selecting an object and using the right-click shortcut menu item Properties.
Figure 11.15. The Properties dialog box has controls for all object properties.
Tip
A feature from AutoCAD 2000i is double-click editing of objects. If you quickly double-click on an object, the most typical editing mechanism is opened on that object. In the case of a line and other typical geometry entities, the Properties dialog automatically appears with the object already listed in the dialog. With other objects such as Text, Mtext, and Blocks with attributes, their respective editor appears and is populated with the text values. Even when an image is double-clicked, it will load the IMAGEADJUST dialog, ready to adjust.
The Properties dialog box is structured around two primary tabs: Alphabetic and Categorized. In the Alphabetic tab, all options are listed in an alphabetical order. This is useful if you know the name of the control you want to change. The Categorized option essentially breaks the same information into groups, typically General and Geometry for a single or like objects.
When you select multiple objects, Properties will filter the available options down to those that are shared. For instance, selecting two circles would allow editing of the radius. But selecting a line and circle would limit you to standard appearance settings such as layer and color.
At the top of the Properties dialog box is a drop-down list that provides a listing of the type of object(s) selected. Additionally, it will allow you to modify similar objects from within a multiple selection. For example, if you selected a circle and two lines, this list would allow you to change all general properties but also to choose to modify the circle properties independently from within the circle selection. You could then choose to change the two lines and have the edit values shown accordingly.
Note
In the Properties dialog box, if the text in an edit box is blank, you can simply type in new values. Some edit boxes will expand to a list box for their value options and some edit boxes are unavailable. Lastly, edit boxes that are blank generally indicate that the objects selected do not share identical values for that property.
The Properties dialog box can be docked, which enables the user to place it permanently onscreen. In Figure 11.16, you can see the many different user settings found in the pull-downs and toolbars. Additionally, you have multiple UCS control options that can come in handy.
Figure 11.16. The Properties dialog box in a “no selection” state.
There are a few final items in the Properties dialog box. First is the filter + lightning tool (Quick Select) in the upper-right corner, covered later in this chapter. To the right of that is the Select Objects tool. This allows to you build a selection set just like many other editing commands and when you press Enter, the selection is then added to the Properties dialog box. Next to that button is a toggle button for the PICKADD system variable. This controls whether subsequent selections replace the current selection set or just add to it.
Tip
When first introduced in AutoCAD 2000, the Properties dialog would not keep any collapse or expand settings in the Categorized tab area. In AutoCAD 2000i, it was enhanced to remember your collapse or expand adjustments between Properties sessions.
By using Properties, you can very quickly edit multiple objects to share command settings. In those cases where the editing is more specific, you may find the Match Properties tool more applicable.
The Match Properties Tool
The MATCHPROP command is a great feature in AutoCAD and is very dynamic and customizable. Accessed from the Match Properties tool on the Standard toolbar and in the Modify pull-down menu, this command allows the user to copy the properties of one object (the source), then paste any similar parameters to selected objects (the destination objects). When selecting the destination objects, you can use any of the object selection methods available. Table 11.2 outlines the properties that can be pasted and what objects will accept the change.
In the following exercise, you will experience firsthand the power of the MATCHPROP command.
Exercise 11.3 Using the MATCHPROP Command
1. |
Open the drawing CHAP11-2.dwg from the CD that accompanies this book. This drawing contains a variety of object types that you might use every day (see Figure 11.17). Figure 11.17. The drawing used for the MATCHPROP exercise.
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2. |
Locate and choose the Match Properties tool found on the Standard toolbar. It looks like a paintbrush above a color strip. |
3. |
At the Select objects: prompt, choose the text object in the top left of your drawing. This text uses Arial for its font property. Pause for a moment to examine the Settings options found in the MATCHPROP command. |
4. |
Type S
to display the Property Settings dialog box shown in Figure 11.18. Figure 11.18. The Property Settings dialog box for the MATCHPROP command controls the variety of object types and how their properties can be “painted” to others.
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5. |
The default settings in this dialog box are generally preferred to speed using the MATCHPROP command. In some cases you may need to change one or more of these options. However, for this exercise, click OK to close the dialog box. |
6. |
When the paintbrush pickbox is active, it indicates that you will be “painting” properties to any objects you select. Pick the word Mtext to paint the Dtext properties onto it. After pasting, you can continue to paste properties to any additional objects. For this exercise, however, stop and restart the command. |
7. | |
8. |
Select the dimension DS 2 to establish a dimension as the source object, then choose the dimension DS 1. The DS 2 dimension properties will then be applied to the DS 1 dimension as well as the DS 2 layer setting. |
9. |
Press Enter twice to exit and restart the command. |
10. |
Select the hatching in the top right of the display, then choose the non-associative hatch object at the middle right in the drawing to paste the hatch and layer settings from the top hatch to the bottom. |
11. |
Press Enter twice to exit and restart the command. |
12. |
Select the green-dashed polygon at the bottom of the display as the source object. Properties garnished from this object include color, layer, linetype, linetype scale, and lineweight. |
13. |
Now, instead of choosing one by one, use implied windowing by picking a point to the bottom left of the green polygon, then use the window to enclose all three polygons. The upper two will then inherit the original polygon’s properties, including layer and color. Press Enter to exit the command and then close the drawing without saving changes. |
Using the MATCHPROP command is highly recommended over other methods of general object editing. When you need to select objects on a broader scale, using filters can be very helpful. The following section exposes new AutoCAD tools to help you select objects prior to editing.