Autodesk AutoCAD 2010: Basic 2D Concepts Tutorials
Drawing in Modelspace / POLYGON Command
Visitors to VTC.com will be able to view all introductory videos for each training course.
Free Trial Members will gain access to first three chapters for each training course.
Full Access Members have full access to VTC.com�s entire library of video tutorials.
Learn More
Subtitles of the Movie (Autodesk AutoCAD 2010: Basic 2D Concepts / Drawing in Modelspace / POLYGON Command)
In the previous exercise what we did was we placed a Circle here to represent our Reception Table. Now, I've left the Point in there, the AutoCAD Point, the reason being is I'm going to demonstrate now how to use the Polygon Command. I'm going to actually zoom in on this Table now. Now, a Circle is an object in AutoCAD. A Polygon is also an object in AutoCAD. A Polygon in AutoCAD can have anything between three sides, obviously a triangle, up to 1024 sides. Now I don't know what a 1024-sided polygon is actually called. That's what Wikipedia or Google are for. But what I do know is, when you use the Polygon Command you can place any number of sides up to 1024 sides on the drawing. As long as you've got a Center Point you can do that, and you specify the number of sides. Now, the reason I've left the Circle there is I want to demonstrate the two types of Polygon. So, our Point here is going to be our Center of our Polygon. Polygons follow an imaginary circle. They utilize the Radius in a Circle to form the Polygon. So, the Polygon Command, you'll notice, is not on the Draw Panel there. Where is it? Well, we need to pin out our Draw Panel, so we click on the fly-out, click on the pin, and there's Polygon just there. So we'll leave it pinned open for now while we work with the Polygon Command. I click on the Polygon Command here and I come into the Drawing Area. Now, what have you noticed that I've done deliberately wrong here to make you think? Have a look at your Layers Panel. We need to be in our Furniture Layer. Now, the good thing is mid-Command I can now just go in and select Furniture, and look at that, I'm in the middle of a Command and I can change my Layer. Isn't that cool? Even if I forget and then suddenly remember half way through I can hop in and change it. It's a lovely feature of AutoCAD 2010. So, the number of sides now, I want an 8-sided reception table, so that means it's an octagon. So, I type in 8 as the Number of Sides, but notice the default there is always 4. Press Enter. Now it asks me for the Center of my Polygon. Now, we've already utilized that particular point and the Node Snap as the center of the circle, so we know that our Node Snap is on. But just check. I'm not going to check. I'm going to leave you to do it this time. Check your Object Snaps; make sure that your Node Snap is on. The center of the Polygon is the Node Snap here, or it might even highlight the center of the circle; you've got a circle there now, too. So, I left-click and I'm immediately prompted for either an Inscribed Polygon or a Circumscribed Polygon. An Inscribed Polygon goes inside the circle; a Circumscribed Polygon goes about the circle. Now what I'm going to do here is I'm going to select an Inscribed Polygon. Now as I come out, look, can you see? Look. I can utilize my Object Snap Tracking and my Polar Tracking here and when I get to there, there is my Intersection. As soon as I click there it places the Polygon to form the octagonal table. Can you see that there? I've deliberately left the circle there so that you can see that an Inscribed Polygon goes inside the circle. Now what I'm going to do now is I'm just going to undo that, so up to the Quick Access Toolbar here, click on Undo once, and the Polygon disappears. Let's go back to the Polygon Command now, come into the Drawing Area, the process is exactly the same. Eight sides and Enter. Center is the Node Snap here, left-click, and now I'm going to select a Circumscribed. So, I select Circumscribed here, and as I come out now, look. It's a different shape. Now notice, wrong Layer. So, I go up to the Layer Pull-down, go to Furniture Ð doesn't do it. It will, hopefully, change when we place our octagonal table. So, I click there, same intersection with the Object Snap Tracking, but it's outside the circle, and lo and behold, look. It's on the right Layer. That is such a cool function in AutoCAD 2010. The middle of Command, change the Layer. As you can see, I've left the circle there, and I'm proving to you there that the Circumscribed Polygon is outside of the circle even though I've used the same point here, the same Polar Tracking, Object Snap Tracking intersection there. So, what I'm going to do now is I'm going to erase the circle, like so; so I'll go to Erase there, I'll unpin my Draw Panel, and I've now got an octagonal reception table in my office. So there you can see the usage of the Polygon Command, but also that really cool trick of changing the Layer as well.
Tutorial Information
| Course: | Autodesk AutoCAD 2010: Basic 2D Concepts |
| Author: | Shaun Bryant |
| SKU: | 34013 |
| ISBN: | 1-935320-56-4 |
| Release Date: | 2009-07-03 |
| Duration: | 7.5 hrs / 107 lessons |
| Work Files: |
Yes |
| Captions: | No |
| Compatibility: |
Vista/XP/2000, OS X, Linux QuickTime 7, Flash 8 |
VTC Sign up & Benefits
- Unlimited Access
- 81,350 Video Tutorials (14,200 free)
- Video Available as Flash or QuickTime
- Over 715 Courses
- $30 for One Month Access
- Multi-User Discounts Available
