[Search tip detail and code files using keywords, tip number, author name, etc ]
 
Create Multiple Rotated Copies in 2D & 3D
Tip# 4198 By Tawfik Shehata On 30-Sep-2013
5
Rated By 1 users
Categories : 2D Editing
Software type : AutoCAD 2014
Rename File To : No Files to download.
Paste a copy of an AutoCAD object to match the rotation of an object.

Tipster Tawfik Shehata shares a trick that lets you paste a copy of an AutoCAD object to match the rotation of an object.

"If you are familiar with using the User Coordinate System (UCS), then you may have noticed that the Copy (Ctrl+C) and Paste (Ctrl+V) commands reference to the current UCS when launched. This can be handy if you need to copy some objects to multiple locations with different angles.

"For example, if you are working on a site plan where you have some streets and you need to place text for street names aligned to each street, then you can do the following:

  1. Create a default piece of text — e.g., "X STREET" — and set justify to "Middle Center."
  2. Press Ctrl+Shift+C to do a Copy with base point "COPYBASE," select the text insertion point as a base point, then select the text.

Now, to paste and align this text to a street, do the following:

  1. Type UCS, then select two points on a street edge line following the desired text direction, then press Enter. Or type UCS then E (for entity) or OB (for object) — same thing — then select a street edge line.
  2. Press Ctrl+V or Paste, and use "Mid Between 2 Points" snap to center the text; edit it as required.
  3. Repeat the above two steps for every street, one after the other. The same process can be used for blocks, group of objects, etc., and it can also save a lot of time when used in 3D modeling."

Notes from Cadalyst tip reviewer Brian Benton: When working in a Windows environment, users can select objects in AutoCAD and press Ctrl+C to copy those objects to the Windows Clipboard. Pressing Ctrl+V will paste them to the current UCS (User Coordinate System). It’s easy enough to create a temporary UCS that is rotated to match an object in your drawing. Do that, then paste. When you are finished, just go back to the original UCS or to the World Coordinate System, whichever one you were using. It may sound like a lot of work, but it can be easier than trying to match the rotation of an object using the Rotate command.

 

Average Rating:
5


User comments
Comment by cox,kim
Posted on 2013-09-30 16:02:10
torient is a good command to rotate copied text. Copy the text to the new locations, set your snap to nearest then use TORIENT then click two places on the line you want to align the text with.
Comment by Jessup,Allen
Posted on 2013-10-03 08:08:07
This can be a convenient method but users of verticals that use coordinate systems like Civil 3D of Map 3D should be careful. Forgetting to set the UCS back to World can cause serious errors when using commands that rely on a coordinate system. It can come in handy though. If for some reason you get a drawing where the coordinate system that you need to use is an unnamed UCS in a paperspace viewport. You can copy from within the viewport and paste the entities into modelspace set to the WCS and get the entities in the correct system