System variables are settings that control how certain commands work.
Sometimes you use a system variable in order to change a setting. At other times you use a system variable to display the current status.
With system variables, you can
- Turn on or turn off features. For example, the GRIDMODE system variable turns the grid display on and off when you change the value.
- Control the operation of a command. For example, the HPASSOC syatem variable controls whether hatch patterns are associative by default.
- Retrieve stored information about the current drawing and about the program configuration. For example, CDATE is a read-only system variable that stores the current date in decimal format. You can display the values of read-only system variables, but you cannot change them.
Usually system variables are accessible from dialog boxes. You can change their values either in a dialog box, directly in the Command Line, or automatically in a script or custom program.