Using the Temporary Tracking Point Feature


The osnap tracking feature described in the previous section automatically selects tracking points for you when you momentarily hold the cursor on a location. Osnaps must be turned on for this feature to work. But what if you want to use osnap tracking "on the fly" when osnaps are turned off?

The temporary tracking point feature lets you specify tracking points even if osnaps are turned off or if your current osnap settings do not include an osnap that you want to use as a tracking point. For example, what if you want to use the Endpoint osnap for a tracking point but you have only Midpoint turned on for your running osnaps?

The following exercise demonstrates how you can use temporary tracking points to use any osnap option you need "on the fly":

  1. If you haven't done so already, draw a rectangle large enough to fill most of the drawing area with some margin around the outside, as shown in Figure 2.20 earlier in this chapter.

  2. If you did the exercise in the previous section, erase the circle you drew in the center of the rectangle by clicking it and pressing Delete.

  3. Turn off Osnap mode by clicking the Osnap button in the status bar. It should be in the off, or "up," position.

image from book
USING OSNAP TRACKING AND POLAR TRACKING TOGETHER

In addition to selecting as many tracking points as you need, you can also use angles other than the basic orthogonal angles of 0°, 90°, 180°, and 270°. For example, you can locate a point that is aligned vertically to the top edge of the rectangle and at a 45° angle from a corner.

image from book

To do so, use the settings on the Polar Tracking tab of the Drafting Settings dialog box. (See the "Modifying Polar Tracking's Behavior" section earlier in this chapter.) If you set the increment angle to 45° and turn on the Track Using All Polar Angle Settings option, you will be able to use 45° in addition to the orthogonal directions.

image from book

Now you're ready to try the temporary tracking point feature:

  1. Click the Circle tool in the 2D Draw control panel, or enter C.

  2. At the Specify center point for circle or [3P/2P/Ttr (tan tan radius)]: prompt, Shift+right-click, and choose Temporary Track Point.

  3. Shift+right-click again, and choose Midpoint.

  4. Move your cursor to the top, horizontal edge of the rectangle, until you see the Midpoint ToolTip, and click that point.

  5. Shift+right-click, and choose Temporary Track Point again.

  6. Shift+right-click, and choose Midpoint.

  7. Move the cursor to the midpoint of the left vertical side of the rectangle, and click that point.

  8. Move the cursor to the center of the rectangle. The two dotted lines or tracking vectors appear simultaneously, and a small x appears at their intersection.

    image from book

  9. With the two dotted lines crossing and the x at their intersection, click to select the exact center of the rectangle.

  10. At the Specify radius of circle or [Diameter]: prompt, click a point anywhere to finish the circle. The radius doesn't really matter here.

When a drawing gets crowded, running osnaps might get in the way of your work. The temporary tracking point feature lets you access the osnap tracking vector without having to turn on running osnaps.

The temporary tracking point feature and the other tools that use tracking vectors take a little practice to use, but once you understand how they work, they are indispensable in your drawing.




Introducing AutoCAD 2008
Introducing AutoCAD 2008
ISBN: 0470121505
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2007
Pages: 147
Authors: George Omura

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