Have you ever tried entering a coordinate value only to get an unexpected result? Chances are, you have worked with coordinates as they are one of the fundamental pieces of information required by most commands in AutoCAD to create or modify objects. This article looks at entering coordinates and the impact Dynamic Input has on coordinate entry.
AutoCAD accepts the following coordinate value types:
How you enter those coordinate value types depends on two factors:
Before we talk about coordinate entry, we need to talk about Dynamic Input. Dynamic Input is a feature that allows you to enter coordinate, length, and angular values near the crosshairs along with text strings and command options.
When a command is started, and if Dynamic Input is enabled, the main prompt of the current command is repeated near the crosshairs along with several tooltips that accept input. For example, if you start the CIRCLE command, AutoCAD prompts for a coordinate value to define the center point of the circle.
Here are the steps you would follow to draw a circle with a center point of 3.5,5 and a radius of 1.25 using Dynamic Input:
Steps | Results |
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AutoCAD prompts you for a coordinate value that represents the center point of the circle. Three tooltips are displayed with focus set to the second tooltip which represents the X coordinate value. |
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The focus moves to the third tooltip which represents the Y coordinate value. |
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The absolute coordinate value of 3.5,5 is used as the center point of the circle and the next prompt of the CIRCLE command is displayed in the Dynamic Input tooltip. Note: Instead of pressing Enter to specify a 2D coordinate value, you could have typed a comma and then entered a number for the
Z coordinate value.
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A circle with a center point of 3.5,5 is drawn with a radius of 1.25. |
In the previous example, you could have done one of three things at the Specify radius of circle prompt:
When you were prompted for the radius of the circle, did you notice the icon with the downward arrow at the end of the tooltip?
This icon indicates there are other options available. When prompted for a radius, clicking the downward arrow or pressing the Down Arrow key, displays a menu with the Diameter option. Choosing Diameter allows you to specify a diameter for the circle instead of a radius value. When the menu is displayed, you can move through the available options by pressing the Down and Up Arrow keys or the pointing device.
Dynamic Input is turned on by default and can be toggled on or off by clicking the Dynamic Input icon () on the status bar or pressing F12. When on, the Dynamic Input icon should appear with a blue background ( Find).
When using Dynamic Input, the first coordinate value you specify for a command is assumed to be absolute unless specified otherwise.
The following explains how to enter coordinate values in Dynamic Input tooltips:
Examples: #3.5,5 or #3.5,5,-1
Examples: @3.5,5 or @3.5,5,-1
Examples: 3.5<45 or -1.25<60
Examples: @3.5<45 or @-1.25<60
In this exercise, you draw a rectangle with line segments by entering absolute, relative, and polar coordinates using Dynamic Input.
Steps | Results |
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The LINE command is started. |
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This defines the first point of the line at an absolute coordinate of 22.5,30 on the current working plane. |
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This defines a point 22 units along the X axis and 0 units along the Y axis relative to the first point, resulting in a horizontal line that is 22 units long. Note: If a horizontal line isn’t drawn, enter
u to undo the previous line segment and enter
@22,0. See the Control Dynamic Input section for information.
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This defines a point 6 units away from the previous point at an angle of 90 degrees from the X axis, resulting in a vertical line that is 6 units long. Note: If you had typed -6, the vertical line would have been drawn downward at an angle of 90 degrees from the
X axis.
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This defines an absolute coordinate of 22.5,36 which is 6 units above the original point on the Y axis, resulting in a horizontal line that is 22 units long. |
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The resulting rectangle should start at 22.5,30 and have a length of 22 units and a width of 6 units. |
By default, the coordinate entry for the second or next point is relative to the previous point specified and the Dynamic Input tooltips are only displayed when a command is active. You can change the settings of Dynamic Input to control:
The settings for Dynamic Input can be found on the Dynamic Input tab of the Drafting Settings dialog box (DSETTINGS command). You can display the Dynamic Input tab of the Drafting Settings dialog box, by doing one of the following:
The following provides an overview of the settings on the Dynamic Input tab of the Drafting Settings dialog box:
The settings under Pointer Input impact how you enter coordinate values while Dynamic Input is active. Click Settings to open the Pointer Input Settings dialog box.
In the Pointer Input Settings dialog box, you can control the format in which the second or next point needs to be entered while using Dynamic Input. The default format settings are: Polar Format and Relative Coordinates. Setting it to Relative coordinates saves you from having to enter the @ symbol before entering the second or next coordinate value for a command.
The Visibility setting controls when the Dynamic Input tooltips are displayed. By default, they are only displayed when a command is active.
Command | Description |
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DSETTINGS | Sets grid and snap, polar and object snap tracking, object snap modes, Dynamic Input, and Quick Properties. |
System Variable | Description | Default Value | Saved In |
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DYNDIGRIP | Controls which dynamic dimensions are displayed during grip stretch editing. | 31 | Registry |
DYNDIVIS | Controls how many dynamic dimensions are displayed during grip stretch editing. | 1 | Registry |
DYNINFOTIPS | Controls whether tips are displayed for using Shift and Ctrl when editing with grips. | 1 | Registry |
DYNMODE | Turns Dynamic Input features on and off. | 3 | Registry |
DYNPICOORDS | Controls whether pointer input uses relative or absolute format for coordinates. | 0 | Registry |
DYNPIFORMAT | Controls whether pointer input uses polar or Cartesian format for coordinates. | 0 | Registry |
DYNPIVIS | Controls when pointer input is displayed. | 1 | Registry |
DYNPROMPT | Controls display of prompts in Dynamic Input tooltips. | 1 | Registry |
DYNTOOLTIPS | Controls which tooltips are affected by tooltip appearance settings. | 1 | Registry |
Coordinate values are required to accurately position objects within a design. Hopefully, the next time you need to enter a coordinate value, you will be able to avoid past problems you might have had based on what you learned in this article.