Select objects: (place the pickbox over the second circle circumference and left-click) Select objects: (place the pickbox over a circle circumference and left-click) Specify radius of circle or : (pick another point to define the circle circumference) Erase the Two CirclesĮrase the two circles using the ERASE command, Modify Erase from the pull-down or from the Modify toolbar. Specify center point for circle or : (pick the center point of the second circle) Specify radius of circle or : (pick another point to define the circle circumference) Specify center point for circle or : (pick a point in the middle of the drawing window) The size and position of the circles does not matter. Draw Two Circlesĭraw two circles using the CIRCLE command, Draw Circle Center, Radius from the pull-down menu or from the Draw toolbar. Selection sets are an important concept in AutoCAD because they can be used to great effect, especially when drawings become large or complicated.įollow the example below to get an idea how a selection set can be created by picking objects. When you pick one or more objects in response to the "Select objects" prompt, you are effectively creating a selection set.
At this point you can continue adding more objects to the current selection by picking them or you can press or the Space Bar to complete the selection. You will now see the "Select objects" prompt on the command line again. When the object has been picked it is highlighted in a dashed line to show that it is part of the current selection and the command line reports "1 found". To select an object, place the pickbox over a part of the object and left-click the mouse. Both of these cues are to let you know that AutoCAD is expecting you to select one or more objects. First, the cursor changes from the usual crosshairs to the pickbox and second, you will the the "Select objects" prompt on the command line. When you start a Modify command such as ERASE, two things happen. In this respect AutoCAD is no different from any other graphics utility. Generally all you have to do is place your cursor over an object, click the mouse button and the object will be selected. Those of you who have used other graphics based utilities will be familiar with this concept.
Perhaps the most obvious way to select an object in AutoCAD is simply to pick it. As with so many aspects of AutoCAD, developing a good working knowledge of these options can drastically improve your drawing speed and efficiency. This tutorial is designed to demonstrate the use of many of the selection options. AutoCAD has a whole range of tools which are designed to help you select just the objects you need. All of the Modify commands require that you make one or more object selections. Before you start to use the AutoCAD Modify commands, you need to know something about selecting objects.