Oftentimes, we make mistakes or overlook some things when working with objects in a drawing. For example, you may have assigned an incorrect value to an object or created an object on the wrong layer. Or maybe you need to update a drawing that someone else created. Although you can erase and redraw an object, in most cases it's easier to just modify the properties of the existing object.
In this Have You Tried article, we are only going to explore how we can obtain drawing information and edit object properties using the Properties palette.
Every AutoCAD object has its own set of properties. General properties such as color, layer, linetype, linetype scale, lineweight, and some others are common to most objects. Some objects have specific properties for themselves.
Number | Name | Description |
---|---|---|
1 | Object Type Filter | Displays the type of objects that are selected. Use the object type filter drop-down list when you select multiple types of objects, and want to modify the properties of a single object type at a time. |
2 | Toggle Value of PICKADD System Variable | Turns the PICKADD system variable on (1) and off (0). When PICKADD is on (), each object selected, either individually or by windowing, is added to the current selection set. When PICKADD is off (), selected objects replace the current selection set.
Note: When PICKADD is set to 0, you can hold the Shift key to add objects to the current selection set.
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3 | Select Objects | Selects desired objects using any selection method. The properties common to the selected objects are displayed in the Properties palette. You can then modify the properties of the selected objects in the Properties palette, or you can make other changes to the selected objects by entering an editing command. |
4 | Quick Select | Displays the Quick Select dialog box. Use Quick Select to create selection sets based on filtering criteria. |
5 | General | Displays the general properties of the selected object or the settings of the current drawing (when nothing is selected). This section also includes a set of Layer tools. |
6 | 3D Visualization | Displays the 3D visualization properties for the current drawing or selection. |
7 | Plot Style | Displays the plot style settings including the plot style table options that can be assigned to the current drawing or to a selected object. |
8 | View | When no object is selected, displays the current view settings. |
9 | Misc | Displays other drawing settings and viewport properties such as the current annotation scale, UCS icon display settings, and the visual style. |
The Properties palette can be resized, docked to either side of the drawing window, moved to another location, or placed onto a secondary monitor.
In addition to displaying the current settings of the drawing, the Properties palette is a powerful tool for editing object properties. In this exercise, we make some property changes to a simple mechanical part.
You may also open a drawing of your own.
The properties of the selected center mark display in the Properties palette.
For more information about selecting objects, see Have You Tried: Window, Fence, Lasso, and More.
Notice that the properties available for the polyline are different from those of the center mark.
Polylines consist of one or more line or arc segments. A vertex defines the start and endpoint of a segment. The order of the vertices follows how the polyline was created.
Let's say you want to stretch the individual segments of the polyline.
An X marker indicates the vertex of the polyline that you're editing. You can only edit one vertex at a time.
Now, the first and last vertices of the polyline are aligned. This method of editing the vertices is useful when you know the absolute coordinates you want.
When you select multiple objects, only the common properties are displayed in the Properties palette. Some of these properties can be modified, and any change to a property is applied to all objects in the selection set. Use the Properties palette to set a property on multiple objects to the same value.
If all selected objects share the same value for a property, then that value is shown in the Properties palette. Otherwise, if the selected objects have different values for a property, *VARIES* is shown in the Properties palette.
The Object Type Filter drop-down displays the number and types of selected objects. The Properties palette displays both editable and read-only properties. A property can be read-only (grayed out) because its value is automatically calculated or assigned, or it depends on the value of another property.
Changing a property of selected objects to ByLayer inherits the property values of the current layer. Because the Color property of the selected objects is set to ByLayer, the objects now display the color defined for the LINES layer.
The object is displayed with the new color, regardless of the color assigned to the layer.
Sometimes, we need a quick and simple way to filter objects. The Properties palette allows you to filter objects and apply changes to the selected objects by type.
I continue working with the drawing created earlier. If you like, you can open a more complex drawing for this exercise.
Obtaining geometric information can be done in many ways, for example, using dimensioning tools. But depending on the situation or complexity of the geometry, you might find it easier to view the properties of an object and then change the values in the Properties palette.
Let’s assume that you received a drawing with geometry that needs to be updated or converted to your company’s standard.
Although the dimensions are displayed with the same color, you can see that the layer and linetype assigned to the dimensions vary.
You can change other properties to ByLayer, as required by your company.
One key consideration to successfully apply a hatch to an object is that its boundary should be closed. Although, you can specify settings such as the gap tolerance to allow hatching inside an open object, it is recommended to ensure that hatch areas are closed.
Sometimes it's hard to find and fix small boundary gaps specially when working in large or complex drawings. These unwanted gaps may prevent you from creating the desired hatch. With the Properties palette, you can easily close (or open) objects like polylines or splines.
I continue working with the drawing created earlier. If you like, you can open a more complex drawing for this exercise.
When you close the polyline, a line segment is created from the last vertex of the polyline to the first vertex. Closing the polyline using this method does not add a vertex to the object.
In AutoCAD, all 2D geometric objects are created on the XY plane. But sometimes, objects get moved along the Z-axis either by design or by mistake. When objects are not on the same plane, object snaps might not work as expected or you might encounter an error when performing tasks such as creating fillets.
For this exercise, let’s move some objects along the Z-axis. To do this, you can orbit around or rotate the user coordinate system (UCS), and then move some objects along the Z-axis. For more information about the user coordinate system (UCS), see Have You Tried: Using the UCS for 2D Drafting.
If the Z-axis coordinate has values other than zero or *VARIES* as a value, it means that one or more of the selected objects are non-coplanar.
Different objects will have different Z-axis property names. An object may have one or a combination of the following properties: Start Z, End Z, Position Z (mtext), Center Z (circles), or Elevation (polylines).
All your objects are now on the same XY plane.
To undo the changes in the Properties palette one at a time, right-click anywhere on the palette and select Undo. You might not see the Undo option if you right-click on a text box in the palette.
Pressing Ctrl+Z while actively editing on the Properties palette does not undo the recent change.
The Properties palette is an essential tool for editing and obtaining geometric information. Simply select one or more objects and view object property changes in real-time with the palette. You might be surprised to find something in the Properties palette that you were not aware of before.
Here are some frequently used commands and system variables related to Properties palette.
Command | Description |
---|---|
PROPERTIES | Controls properties of existing objects. |
PROPERTIESCLOSE | Closes the Properties palette. |
QSELECT | Creates a selection set based on filtering criteria. |
System Variable | Description | Default Value | Saved in |
---|---|---|---|
PICKADD | Controls whether subsequent selections replace the current selection set or add to it. | 2 | User-settings |
PROPERTYPREVIEW | Controls whether you can preview the changes to currently selected objects when you roll over drop-down lists and galleries that control properties. | 1 | Registry |
PROPOBJLIMIT | Limits the number of objects that can be changed at one time with the Properties and Quick Properties palettes. | 25000 | User-settings |
PROPPREVTIMEOUT | Sets the maximum amount of time available for generating a property preview. | 1 | Registry |