Draw Polyline Arcs

A polyline is a connected sequence of line segments created as a single object. You can create straight line segments, arc segments, or a combination of the two.

Multisegmented lines provide editing capabilities unavailable for single lines. For example, you can adjust their width and curvature. After you've created a polyline, you can edit it with PEDIT or use EXPLODE to convert it to individual line and arc segments. You can

Convert a spline-fit polyline into a true spline with SPLINE
Use closed polylines to create a polygon
Create a polyline from the boundaries of overlapping objects

Create Arc Polylines

When you draw arc segments in a polyline, the first point of the arc is the endpoint of the previous segment. You can specify the angle, center point, direction, or radius of the arc. You can also complete the arc by specifying a second point and an endpoint.

Create Closed Polylines

You can draw a closed polyline to create a polygon. To close a polyline, specify the starting point of the last side of the object, enter c (Close), and press Enter.

Create Wide Polylines

You can draw polylines of various widths by using the Width and Halfwidth options. You can set the width of individual segments and make them taper gradually from one width to another. These options become available after you specify a starting point for the polyline.

The Width and Halfwidth options set the width of the next polyline segments you draw. Zero (0) width produces a thin line. Widths greater than zero produce wide lines, which are filled if Fill mode is on and outlined if Fill mode is off. The Halfwidth option sets width by specifying the distance from the center of the wide polyline to an outside edge.

Taper

When you use the Width option, you are prompted for both a starting and an ending width. By entering different values, you can taper the polyline. The starting and ending points of wide polyline segments are in the center of the line. Intersections of adjacent wide segments are usually beveled. However, nontangent arc segments, acute angles, or segments that use a dash-dot linetype are not beveled.

Create Polylines from the Boundaries of Objects

You can create a polyline from the boundaries of overlapping objects that form a closed area. A polyline created using the boundary method is a separate object, distinct from the objects used to create it. You can edit it using the same methods used to edit other polylines.

To expedite the boundary selection process in large or complex drawings, you can specify a group of boundary candidates, called a boundary set. You create this set by selecting the objects you want to use to define the boundary.

See Also

Procedure

To draw a polyline with straight segments

To draw a line and arc combination polyline

To create a wide polyline

To create a boundary polyline

Click Home tabDraw panelBoundary. At the Command prompt, enter boundary.
In the Boundary Creation dialog box, in the Object Type list, select Polyline.
Under Boundary Set, do one of the following:
- To create a boundary set from all objects visible in the current viewport, select Current Viewport in the list. Avoid this option for large, complex drawings.
- To specify which objects to include in the boundary set, click New. Select the objects that you want to use to create the boundary. Choosing this option automatically selects the Existing Set option.
Click Pick Points.
Specify points within each area that you want to form a boundary polyline.
This area must be totally enclosed; that is, there can be no gaps between enclosing objects. You can select more than one area.
Press Enter to create the boundary polyline and end the command.
The command creates a polyline in the shape of the boundary. Because this polyline overlaps the objects used to create it, it may not be visible. However, you can move, copy, or modify it just as you can any other polyline.

Quick Reference

Commands

System Variables