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3. Draftings Settings

301 Using and Adjusting the Grid

To enhance drawing speed and efficiency, you can display a rectangular grid. You can also control
its spacing, angle, and alignment. And just like the grid found on engineering graph paper, the grid
will not appear when you print or plot your drawing. When you first start the program, the grid is
toggled on by default. You can toggle the grid on and off using the Display drawing grid button on
the Status bar. When you move the cursor over this button, you can see that the grid is currently on.
Click the button to toggle it off. The grid disappears from the drawing area, the button changes
color, and the tooltip shows that the grid is now off. Click to toggle the grid on again. The button on
the Status bar to the right of the Display drawing grid button is the Snap mode button. The grid and
snap mode are closely related. To adjust the spacing, angle, and alignment of the grid, click the
arrow to the right of the Snap mode button and choose Snap Settings to display the Snap and
Grid tab of the Drafting Settings dialog box. Here, you can control both the snap and grid settings.
The grid settings are on the right side of the dialog. The Grid On checkbox does the same thing as
the Display drawing grid button on the Status bar; it toggles the grid display on and off. Since the
grid is currently on, the checkbox is selected. If you clear this checkbox, when you close the Drafting
Settings dialog, the grid will be toggled off. You can also toggle the grid display by pressing the F7
key. In the Grid spacing group box, you can see that the grid is currently set to 0.5 units in both the
X- and Y-directions, with a major grid line at every fifth grid line, or every 2.5 units. You can easily
change these values. Select the value in the Grid X spacing field, change it to 1, and press the TAB
key. The value in the Grid Y spacing field automatically updates. This happens because in the Snap
spacing group box, the Equal X and Y spacing checkbox is selected. To set different grid spacing in
the X- and Y-directions, clear this checkbox and then change the grid spacing values. Click OK to
close the Drafting Settings dialog. The grid immediately updates in the drawing area. Now, each
grid line represents 1 drawing unit and there is a major grid line every 5 units. You can also change
the appearance of the grid. Use the tool on the Status bar to open the Drafting Settings dialog
again. The controls in the Grid style group box control the appearance of the grid. When you select
one of these checkboxes, the grid will appear as a series of dotted lines, rather than grid lines. You
can control this separately when working in 2D model space, the block editor, and in a layout.
Select the 2D model space checkbox and then click OK to close the Drafting Settings dialog. The
grid now appears as a series of dots. Most users find the grid lines to be more useful than dots, so
go back to the Drafting Settings dialog and clear the 2D model space checkbox. The controls in the
Grid behavior group box control the area covered by the grid and how the grid behaves when you
zoom in and out within the drawing. When the Display grid beyond Limits checkbox is selected, the
grid always covers the entire drawing window, regardless of how far you zoom out. Clear this
checkbox and then click OK to close the dialog. Now, the grid only covers the area defined as the
drawing limits. Most users do not want to be constrained to specified drawing limits and want the
grid to be visible everywhere in the drawing. So go back to the Drafting Settings dialog and select
the Display grid beyond Limits checkbox. The Adaptive grid settings control the behavior of the grid
when you zoom in and out. When only the Adaptive grid checkbox is selected, the density of the
grid is limited when you zoom out. Clear this checkbox, click OK to close the dialog, and then use
the roller wheel on the mouse to zoom out. Notice that the grid lines become so closely spaced that
the grid may no longer be useful. Go back to the Drafting Settings dialog, select the Adaptive grid
checkbox, close the dialog, and zoom out again. Notice that now, when the grid lines start to
become too closely spaced, the grid spacing automatically adapts. But when you zoom in, you
eventually reach a point at which the grid lines get further and further apart. By default, the grid
does not adapt when you zoom in, but rather it maintains the specified grid spacing. But you can
make the grid adaptive when zooming in as well. Use the tool on the Status bar to open the Drafting
Settings dialog again. When you select the Allow subdivision below grid spacing checkbox, the
program generates additional, more closely spaced grid lines when you zoom in. The frequency of
these grid lines is determined by the frequency of the major grid lines. Select this checkbox and
then close the dialog box. Use the roller wheel on the mouse to zoom in. Notice that now, as you
zoom in, just when the grid lines begin to get quite far apart, they adapt to show more closely
spaced grid lines. Of course, now the grid lines no longer match the grid spacing, which is why this
is turned off by default. As you become more familiar with the program, you should choose
whatever grid behavior works best for you. For now, go back to the Drafting Settings dialog, clear
the Allow subdivision below grid spacing checkbox, and click OK so that you continue to work using
the default grid behavior.

302 Using Snap Mode

Snap mode restricts cursor movement to specified intervals. Snap mode is initially toggled off by
default. You can toggle snap mode on and off using the Snap mode button on the Status bar. When
you move the cursor over this button, you can see that snap mode is currently off. Click this button
to toggle it on. The button changes color and the tooltip shows that snap mode is now on. With the
snap mode turned on, if no command is active, the cursor still continues to move freely. But this
changes as soon as you start a command. For example, on the Home ribbon, in the Draw panel,
click the Line tool and then click to specify the first point of the line. When the program prompts you
to specify the next point, notice that the cursor continues to move smoothly until you move the
cursor so that the next point is either perfectly horizontal or perfectly vertical from the first point.
When the line you are about to create aligns with the X- or Y-axis, the cursor now snaps to precise
1-unit increments. This is called polar snap. When the snap mode is set to use polar snap, the
cursor snaps to precise snap increments only when the cursor is in an exact polar alignment. Press
ESC to cancel the command. Click the arrow to the right of the Snap mode button on the Status bar.
In the menu, you can see that Polar Snap is selected as the current snap mode. Select Grid Snap
and then start the LINE command again. Notice that now, when you move the cursor, it no longer
moves freely. Instead, it jumps to very precise 1-unit increments. If you create geometry based on
this snap increment, your geometry will be very accurate, and the snap increment makes it very
easy to create additional geometry. For example, you can use the snap increment to draw a line
segment connecting the circle on the left to the middle circle on the right, because those circles
were also created using the same snap increment with grid snap enabled. Press the SPACEBAR to
end the command. Then press the SPACEBAR to repeat the LINE command and draw vertical lines
connecting the other two circles. Again, when all of the geometry is created using the same snap
increment, you can quickly create very accurate geometry. To control the snap increment, click the
arrow adjacent to the Snap mode button on the Status bar and choose Snap Settings to display
the Snap and Grid tab of the Drafting Settings dialog box. Here, you can control both the snap and
grid settings. The snap settings are on the left side of the dialog. The Snap On checkbox does the
same thing as the Snap mode button on the Status bar: it toggles snap mode on and off. Since snap
mode is currently on, the checkbox is selected. If you clear this checkbox, when you close the
Drafting Settings dialog, snap mode will be toggled off. You can also toggle snap mode by pressing
the F9 key. In the Snap spacing group box, you can see that the snap spacing is currently set to 1
unit in both the X- and Y-directions. Select the value in the Snap X spacing field, change it to 0.5,
and press the TAB key. The value in the Snap Y spacing field automatically updates. It does that
because the Equal X and Y spacing checkbox is selected. To set different snap spacing in the X-
and Y-directions, clear this checkbox and then change the snap spacing values. Leave this
checkbox selected and change the snap spacing back to 1 unit. The controls in the Snap type group
box serve much the same purpose as the Polar Snap and Grid Snap options on the Status bar
menu. Since snap mode is currently set to use grid snap, the Grid snap radio button is selected.
The program is also currently set to use rectangular snap, but there is also an isometric snap mode.
Select the PolarSnap radio button to switch to the polar snap mode. Now, in the Polar spacing
group box, the Polar distance field has become active. The program will snap along the polar
alignment angles specified on the Polar Tracking tab. Switch to the Polar Tracking tab. In the Polar
Angle Settings group box, you can see that the Increment angle is currently set to 90 degrees,
which is why when you used the LINE command, the polar snap mode only became active when
you drew lines aligned with the X- or Y-axes. Switch back to the Snap and Grid tab. The Polar
distance value is currently set to 0, yet when using polar snap, the cursor snapped at 1-unit
increments. When the Polar distance value is set to 0, the program uses the value specified in the
Snap X spacing field as the polar snap distance. This is intentional, since you would most likely use
the same distance for both grid snap and polar snap. If you want to use a different snap increment
when using polar snap, enter the Polar distance value. Click OK to close the Drafting Settings
dialog. You can also control snap using the SNAP command. Type SNAP and press ENTER. In the
command line, you can see that there are a number of options. ON and OFF simply toggle snap
mode. The Aspect option lets you specify the snap spacing in the X- and Y-directions. Style lets you
switch between Standard and Isometric snap and then adjust the snap spacing. And Type lets you
switch between Polar and Grid snap. The Legacy option, however, changes the snap behavior.
Click to select the Legacy option. The program asks if you want to maintain the legacy behavior of
always snapping to the grid. By default, this is set to No. Select Yes. Notice that now, the cursor
jumps to grid snap increments even when there is no command active. This was the default prior to
the 2012 version of the program, thus the reason this setting is referred to as legacy behavior.
Press the SPACEBAR to start the SNAP command again, choose the Legacy option, and choose
No when prompted to maintain the legacy behavior.

303 Using Ortho Mode

Ortho mode restricts cursor movement to horizontal and vertical directions for convenience and
precision when creating and modifying objects. Ortho mode is initially toggled off by default. You
can toggle ortho mode on and off using the Restrict cursor orthogonally button on the Status bar.
When you move the cursor over this button, you can see that ortho mode is currently off. Click this
button to toggle it on. The button changes color and the tooltip shows that ortho mode is now on. On
the Home ribbon, in the Draw panel, click the Line tool and then click to specify the first point of the
line. When ortho mode is on, the program will only allow you to draw lines that are perfectly
horizontal or vertical. With dynamic input toggled on, the program displays the length of the line and
also displays a tooltip that shows you that the line is constrained to the orthographic directions of 0,
90, 180, or 270 degrees. Click the button on the Status bar to toggle off ortho mode. Now, when you
draw line segments, the dynamic input tooltip no longer includes the word, "Ortho" and you can
draw lines at whatever angle you choose. Move the cursor over the button on the Status bar again.
In the tooltip, note that you can also toggle ortho mode on and off by pressing the F8 key. Press F8
once to toggle it back on. The button on the Status bar changes color, the cursor is again
constrained to 90-degree angles, and you can see the word, "Ortho" adjacent to the cursor. When
you press the F8 key again, ortho mode is toggled off again. So, when you want to create geometry
that is perfectly horizontal or vertical, you can toggle on ortho mode. And when you want to draw at
any angle, you can toggle off ortho mode by using the button on the Status bar or by pressing the
F8 key.

304 Using Direct Distance Entry and Dynamic Input

When drawing objects, direct distance entry enables you to locate the next point at a specified
distance in the direction of the cursor. Suppose you wanted to create another square measuring 6
units on each side, just like the one on the left. On the Home ribbon, in the Draw panel, click the
Line tool. The program prompts you to specify the first point. Simply click to pick a point. As soon as
you do, the program prompts you to specify the next point, and with dynamic input toggled on, you
can see the length and the angle of the line. You can toggle between those two fields by pressing
the TAB key. With the length field active, type 6. Then press the TAB key to lock that value and
toggle to the angle field. Since you want the line to go straight out to the right, which is the 0-angle,
type 0 and press the TAB key again. Now that both the length and angle are locked, press ENTER
to create the line segment. Now the program prompts you to specify the next point. Again, the
dynamic input fields show the length and angle. Again, specify a length of 6 and press the TAB key
to lock that value and switch to the angle field. Now you can type in the angle of 90 degrees and
press the TAB key. That locks the line segment into the desired vertical direction. Press ENTER to
create that line segment. The order in which you specify the values really does not matter. Press the
TAB key to make the angle field active, specify an angle of 180 degrees, and press the TAB key to
lock in that angle. Now you can type the length. Type 6, and since you know that is the length you
want, you save a step. Instead of pressing the TAB key, you can simply press ENTER to create that
line segment. To create the final side of the square, simply right-click and choose the Close option
to create the final side of the square by drawing a line segment from the end point of the last
segment back to the starting point of the first line segment.

305 Using Polar Tracking with Absolute Angles

Polar tracking enables you to restrict cursor movement to specified angles. You can toggle polar
tracking on and off using the Restrict cursor to specified angles button on the Status bar. When you
move the cursor over this button, you can see that polar tracking is currently off. Click this button to
toggle it on. The button changes color and the tooltip shows that polar tracking is now on. On the
Home ribbon, in the Draw panel, click the Line tool and then click to specify the first point of the line.
With polar tracking on, when the cursor gets close to one of the polar tracking angles, the program
locks the cursor to the polar tracking angle. You can also tell that the cursor is locked to this angle
by the appearance of a dotted polar tracking line and the appearance of a polar tracking tooltip that
shows you both the current angle and the word, "Polar." When the cursor is aligned to the right
along the X-axis, the tooltip shows that the cursor is tracking along a polar alignment of 0 degrees.
Suppose you wanted to create a square like the one on the left, measuring 6 units on each side.
With the cursor aligned at 0 degrees, in the dynamic input length field, type 6 and press ENTER to
draw the first line segment. Then, move the cursor up. When it aligns with the polar tracking angle of
90 degrees, it snaps into alignment. You can see the polar tracking angle alignment path and the
word, "Polar" appears as part of the tooltip to let you know that the cursor is locked in at an angle of
90 degrees. Again, type 6 into the dynamic input field and press ENTER. Now, move the cursor to
the left and watch for it to lock in at a polar tracking angle of 180 degrees. In the Distance field, type
6 and press ENTER. To create the final side of the square, simply right-click and choose Close from
the shortcut menu to complete the square. Repeat these steps to create a similar square, but this
time, with the square aligned at a 45-degee angle. Although you could use dynamic input to specify
the angle of each side, that requires additional steps. You can create the square much faster if you
first set the polar tracking angle to increments of 45 degrees. On the Status bar, click the arrow
adjacent to the polar tracking button. In the shortcut menu, you can see that polar tracking is
currently set to increments of 90 degrees. Choose Tracking Settings to display the Polar
Tracking tab of the Drafting Settings dialog box. In the Polar Angle Settings group box, expand the
Increment angle drop-down list and choose 45 to set the angle to increments of 45 degrees. Then,
click OK to close the dialog. Click the arrow on the Status bar again. Notice that now, polar tracking
is set to increments of 45 degrees. You did not have to open the Drafting Settings dialog. You could
have selected one of the standard angle increments from this shortcut menu. Start the LINE
command again. When the program prompts you to specify the first point, click to select a point.
Now, when you move the cursor close to a 45-degree angle, the program locks the cursor to the 45-
degree polar tracking angle increment you just selected. You can see the polar tracking alignment
path, and the word, "Polar" appears in the tooltip. When you move the cursor away from this polar
tracking alignment, the alignment goes away. Move the cursor so that the 45-degree alignment
becomes active again. Then, in the distance field, type 6 and then press ENTER. Next, move the
cursor until it locks into a polar tracking alignment of 135 degrees. Then type 6 and press ENTER.
Move the cursor again until you see the polar tracking lock in at an angle of 225 degrees. Again,
type a distance of 6 and press ENTER. Finally, to complete the square, right-click and choose Close
from the shortcut menu.

306 Using Polar Tracking with Relative Angles

When using polar tracking to restrict cursor movement to specified angles, in addition to specifying
absolute angles, you can measure angles relative to the angle of the previous object. In order to use
relative polar tracking, you must switch from the default method of absolute polar tracking to relative
polar tracking. To do this, on the Status bar, click the arrow adjacent to the polar tracking button and
choose Tracking Settings to display the Polar Tracking tab of the Drafting Settings dialog box. In
the Polar Angle measurement group box, the program is currently set to Absolute, which means that
all angles are measured from the 0-degree angle direction of east. Although you will need to change
this, for now, simply click OK to close the Drafting Settings dialog. On the Status bar, check to make
sure that polar tracking is on. Click the adjacent arrow and switch to 45-degree increment angles.
Now you will begin to draw a square measuring 6 units on each side, with the square tilted at a 45-
degree angle. On the Home ribbon, in the Draw panel, click the Line tool and then click to specify
the first point of the line. Since polar tracking is on, when the cursor gets close to a 45-degree
angle, the program locks the cursor to the polar tracking angle. You can also tell that the cursor is
locked to this angle by the appearance of a dotted polar tracking line and the appearance of a polar
tracking tooltip that shows you both the current angle and the word, "Polar." With the cursor locked
to the 45-degree angle, type 6 and press ENTER. Since you are drawing a square, you know that
the next segment should form a 90-degree angle relative to the line you just created. But when you
move the cursor so that it snaps to the polar tracking line, the tooltip indicates that it is snapped to
the absolute angle of 135 degrees, because the program is currently still set to absolute polar
angles. You can switch to relative polar angles even while the LINE command is active. On the
Status bar, expand the polar tracking menu and choose Tracking Settings to open the Drafting
Settings dialog. In the Polar Angle measurement group box, select Relative to last segment and
then click OK to close the dialog. Then, move the cursor so that it again snaps to the polar tracking
line. Now the tooltip states, "Relative Polar" and shows an angle of 90 degrees. You can also see
an arc showing that the relative angle also represents an absolute angle of 135 degrees, measured
counter-clockwise from the east or 0-direction. Type the distance of 6 units and press ENTER to
create that line segment. Then move the cursor down and to the left until it snaps to a new relative
polar angle of 90 degrees, which also happens to be an absolute polar angle of 135 degrees,
measured clockwise from the east or 0-direction. Again, type 6 and press ENTER. To create the
final side of the square, simply right-click and choose Close from the shortcut menu.

307 Using Polar Tracking and Polar Snaps

Polar snap restricts cursor movement to specified increments along a polar angle. This enables you
to use polar tracking in combination with snap mode to create geometry quickly and accurately. In
order to combine polar tracking and polar snaps, you must enable the proper snap mode. On the
Status bar, click the arrow to the right of the polar tracking button and choose Tracking Settings
to open the Drafting Settings dialog box. Switch to the Snap and Grid tab. In the Snap type group
box, enable the PolarSnap option. Note that in the Polar Spacing group box, the Polar distance field
has become active. Although you could set a specific snap distance if you wish, when this value is
0, the program uses the Snap X spacing value as the default polar snap distance. Switch to the
Polar Tracking tab. In the Polar Angle Settings group box, expand the Incremental angle drop-down
and choose 45 degrees if it is not already selected. In the Polar Angle measurement group box,
select Relative to last segment so that the program measures angles relative to the previous
segment, rather than using absolute angles. Then, click OK to close the dialog. On the Status bar,
toggle on snap mode. Now you are ready to draw a square measuring 6 units on each side, with the
square tilted at a 45-degree angle. On the Home ribbon, in the Draw panel, click the Line tool and
then click to specify the first point of the line. As you move the cursor, it moves freely. But when you
move it to the right and it snaps to the 45-degree polar tracking angle, the cursor also snaps to
points along that polar tracking alignment in 1-unit increments. Polar snap only becomes active
when the cursor is locked to a polar tracking alignment angle. Knowing this, you can quickly create
a square aligned at a 45-degree angle, without using any keyboard entry. With the cursor locked to
a polar tracking alignment angle of 45 degrees, move it until you see that it has snapped to a
distance of 6 units, and then click to specify that point. Then, move the cursor until it locks to a
relative polar alignment of 90 degrees from the previous line and move the cursor until it has
snapped to a distance of 6 units, and then click to specify that point. Repeat this again with another
relative polar tracking angle of 90 degrees and a distance of 6 units. And finally, right-click and
choose Close from the shortcut menu to complete the square and end the LINE command. As you
can see, combining polar tracking and polar snap makes it very easy to quickly create geometry
very accurately without any typing.
 308 Using Polar Tracking with Incremental and Additional Angles
Polar tracking restricts cursor movement to specified angles. Typically, you use incremental angles,
such as 45, 90, 135, 180, and so on. But you can also add specific angles. To control the polar
angle settings, on the Status bar, click the arrow to the right of the polar tracking button and choose
Tracking Settings to open the Drafting Settings dialog. In the Polar Angle Settings group box, you
can expand the Incremental angle drop-down list and select one of the standard values. When you
select one of these angles, the program will lock the polar alignment to increments of the angle you
select. For example, if you select 45, the polar alignment will snap to increments of 45 degrees,
including 0, 45, 90, 135, 180 degrees, and so on. If you want to use an incremental angle other than
one of the angles shown in the list, you can simply type the incremental angle value into the field at
the top of the drop-down. For example, to use an incremental angle of 25 degrees, type 25 into the
field. Then, click OK to close the dialog. Make sure that polar tracking is on and then start the LINE
command. Click to specify the first point of the line. When the program prompts you to specify the
next point and you move the cursor, it now snaps to polar tracking alignment angles of 0, 25
degrees, 50 degrees, and 75 degrees. Then it skips 90 degrees, because 90 is not an increment of
25 degrees, and then snaps to the next alignment angle of 100 degrees, and to each successive
increment of 25 degrees. Press ESC to cancel the command. Then click the arrow on the Status bar
to view the polar tracking menu. Notice that the angle of 25 degrees was not added to the shortcut
menu. This menu only shows the standard angle increments. Also note that 23 actually represents
the 22.5-degree increment. Click Tracking Settings to go back to the Drafting Settings dialog.
Expand the Increment angle drop-down. The 25-degree increment angle you added does appear in
this list. In most cases, you will probably use one of the standard incremental angles, because those
are the most common angles. Choose 45 degrees. There may be times, however, when you do
want to snap to a very specific angle. Perhaps in addition to the standard 45-degree angle
increments, you want to be able to snap to an angle of 25 degrees. You can add additional angles.
Click the New button, then type 25, and press ENTER to add 25 degrees as an additional angle.
Click New again, type 75 and press ENTER. Then, click OK to close the dialog. Now, start the LINE
command, click to specify the first point of the line, and then move the cursor. Notice that now, you
can select polar alignments of 0, the additional angle of 25 degrees, the incremental angle of 45
degrees, the additional angle of 75 degrees, and the incremental angle of 90 degrees. Then it
continues to snap at incremental angles of 135 degrees, 180 degrees, and so on. So not only can
you change the incremental angle and even add your own incremental angle values, you can also
add specific angles so that you can use polar tracking to align with the angles you specify.

309 Understanding Object Snap Concepts

Object snap causes the cursor to snap to precise locations on objects and is essential to creating
accurate drawings. For example, you can use object snaps to create a line to the center of a circle
or to the midpoint of another line. For example, when it is zoomed out so that you can see this entire
floor plan, this drawing looks pretty good. But when you zoom in to get a closer look at the lower-left
corner of the drawing, you can see that the lines were not created accurately. Some lines are too
short and some lines overlap. Whoever created this drawing did not use object snaps. And if you do
not use object snap, your drawing is likely to contain inaccuracies such as these. Using object snap
is actually quite easy. You can specify an object snap whenever you are prompted for a point. For
example, start the LINE command and then move the cursor near the left end of the line. A marker
and tooltip are displayed to let you know that the program has found the endpoint of the line. This
feature, called AutoSnap, provides visual confirmation that indicates which object snap is in effect.
For example, the marker for an endpoint object snap is a square. There are several ways you can
specify an object snap. In this example, the object snap was activated automatically as soon as you
started the command. This is called a running object snap. When you need to use one or more
object snaps repeatedly, you can turn on running object snaps so that they are active whenever you
use a command. To toggle running object snap on and off, click the Object Snap button on the
Status bar. You can also toggle this on and off by pressing the F3 key. To control which object snap
modes are active when running object snap is toggled on, click the adjacent arrow to display a
menu showing all of the available object snaps and choose the ones you want to be active. For
example, right now, only the endpoint object snap is active. You can also specify an object snap any
time the program prompts you to specify a point. This is called an object snap override. As its name
implies, an object snap override takes precedence over any running object snap and stays in effect
only for the next point that you specify. You can specify an object snap override by choosing from a
shortcut menu or by typing the name of the object snap. For example, start the LINE command
again, then press SHIFT and right-click to display the Object Snap shortcut menu, and then choose
Midpoint. Now, move the cursor over the upper line. Even though endpoint is still active as a
running object snap, the program ignores that and instead finds the midpoint of the line. Click to
select the midpoint of the line and then move the cursor over the lower line. Since the midpoint was
a one-time object snap override, the program reverts back to the running object snap mode and
finds the endpoint of the line.

310 Understanding Running Object Snaps

Running object snap ensure object snap is activated automatically whenever you start a command.
When you need to use one or more object snaps repeatedly, you can turn on running object snaps.
To toggle running object snap on and off, click the Object Snap button on the Status bar. When you
move the cursor over this button, the tooltip indicates whether this mode is on or off. The tooltip
currently states, "Snap cursor to 2D reference points - Off." Click to toggle it on. The button changes
color and the tooltip shows that object snap is now on. You can also toggle this on and off by
pressing the F3 key. To control which object snap modes are active when running object snap is
toggled on, click the adjacent arrow to display a menu showing all of the available object snaps.
Choose the ones you want to be active. Any object snap that appears in this list with an adjacent
check mark will be active when object snap is toggled on. For example, Endpoint, Midpoint, and
Parallel are currently selected. Click Parallel to turn that mode off and click Center to turn that mode
on. The menu remains visible so that you can make multiple selections. When you are finished, click
anywhere away from the menu to close it. You can also use tools in the Drafting Settings dialog box
to control running object snaps. Expand the Status bar menu again and choose Object Snap
Settings to display the Object Snap tab of the Drafting Settings dialog. The Object Snap On
checkbox serves the same purpose as the Object Snap button on the Status bar; it toggles running
object snap on and off. The checkboxes in the Object Snap modes group box let you choose which
object snap modes will be active when running object snap is toggled on. The AutoSnap marker for
each object snap mode appears to the left of each checkbox. Notice that you can also click the
Select All button to select all of the object snap modes or click the Clear All button to deselect all of
the object snap modes. You may sometimes find it easier to toggle off all of the running object
snaps and then select just those that you want toggled on. You may be tempted to select all of the
object snaps modes, but this is generally not a good idea because it can cause conflicts. For
example, if you select Center, Quadrant, and Tangent, the program will find many different object
snap points on arcs and circles, making it very difficult to snap to the desired point. It is much better
to select only the object snap modes you use most frequently. Select the Endpoint and Midpoint
object snaps and then click OK to close the Drafting Settings dialog. On the Home ribbon, in the
Draw panel, click the Line tool. The program prompts you to specify the first point. Move the cursor
over the left end of the upper line. An AutoSnap marker and tooltip are displayed to let you know
that the program has found the endpoint of the line. You do not need to place the cursor exactly at
the end of the line. In fact, you may want to intentionally not place the cursor exactly at the end of
the line. It is sometimes easier to see that the program has found the proper location by positioning
the cursor slightly away from where you actually want to snap. Once you see the AutoSnap marker
and tooltip, click to select that point. Then, move the cursor near the left end of the lower line. Again,
when the program finds the endpoint of the line, you see an AutoSnap marker and tooltip. Click to
select that point. Then press ENTER to end the LINE command. Press the SPACEBAR to start the
LINE command again. Then, move the cursor near the midpoint of the upper line. As the cursor
approaches the midpoint, the program displays an AutoSnap marker and tooltip to let you know that
it has found the midpoint. If you move the cursor toward the end of the line, the marker and tooltip
change to indicate that you would now snap to the endpoint. Since both endpoint and midpoint
object snap modes are active, the program finds whichever point is closest. Draw four lines
snapped to the midpoints of each line and then end the LINE command.

311 Understanding Parallel Object Snap

The parallel object snap mode enables you to create an object parallel to an existing object. This
mode works a bit differently than most of the other object snaps. With most object snap modes,
when the program prompts you to specify a point, you click to use object snap to snap to specific
points. For example, to draw a line from the midpoint of the line on the left to the midpoint of the
upper line, start the LINE command. Use the tool on the Status bar to make sure that midpoint is
one of the active object snap modes, and make sure that running object snap is toggled on. Then,
move the cursor near the midpoint of the line. When the AutoSnap marker and tooltip indicate that
the program has found the midpoint of the line, click to select that point. Repeat this to draw several
diagonal lines and then end the command. The parallel object snap works a bit differently. To draw
a line parallel to the line you just created, start the LINE command again. Click the arrow on the
Status bar to display the object snap menu, select Parallel, and then click anywhere away from the
menu to close the menu. Click to specify the first point of the line. The program prompts you to
specify the next point. Move the cursor over the diagonal line until you see the parallel AutoSnap
marker and tooltip, which let you know that the program has found the object. Then, move the
cursor away from the diagonal line. You can see a preview of the line you are about to create. When
that line gets within a few degrees of being parallel to the diagonal line, it snaps into alignment. You
can see a dotted alignment path, and the tooltip tells you that the line is locked into a parallel
alignment and shows the angle of the line. Now, you can either type in a distance or simply click to
select the endpoint of the line. Type 15 and press ENTER. Move the cursor over the other diagonal
line until you see the parallel AutoSnap marker and tooltip. Then, move the cursor until it snaps into
a parallel alignment with the second line. Again, you can see the dotted alignment path and tooltip.
If you look carefully, you can also see a parallel AutoSnap marker on the diagonal line. Click to
specify the endpoint of the line and then end the LINE command.

312 Understanding Extension Object Snap

The extension object snap mode enables you to specify a point on an imaginary line that extends
out from an existing object. This mode works a bit differently than most of the other object snaps.
With most object snap modes, when the program prompts you to specify a point, you click to use
object snap to snap to specific points. The extension object snap works a bit differently. Instead of
clicking, you move the cursor over the object you want to extend from until the program indicates
that it has found the object and displays a temporary extension line or arc extending away from the
object. For example, suppose you want to draw a line starting a specified distance away from an
existing line measured along the extension of that line. On the Status bar, click the arrow adjacent
to the Object Snap button, select the Extension object snap, and make sure that object snap mode
is toggled on. Then, start the LINE command. When the program prompts you to specify the first
point, move the cursor over the object you want to extend from, but do not click on the object.
Simply hover the cursor until you see the AutoSnap marker and tooltip. Then, move the cursor away
from the object along the direction of the object. Notice that the tooltip adjacent to the cursor now
states, "Extension," and you can see a dotted alignment path. You have not yet specified the first
point of the line. You can either move the cursor along the extension, or specify the distance. For
example, to start the line 10 units away from the endpoint of the existing line, type 10 and press
ENTER. Now the program prompts you to specify the next point. To draw the new line so that it
remains aligned with the existing line, hover the cursor over the end of the existing line again so that
the program can acquire its extension, then move the cursor until you see the dotted alignment path
and the tooltip states, "Extension" and displays the angle of the line. Then, click to specify the other
endpoint of the line. Then, press ENTER to end the LINE command. The extension object snap also
works with arcs. To draw a line starting from a point on the extension of an arc, start the LINE
command, move the cursor over the end of the arc until you see the AutoSnap marker and tooltip,
and then move the cursor away from the end of the arc. Now you can see a dotted extension arc
and a tooltip indicating that the program has found the extension. Click to specify the starting first
point of the line anywhere along the extension of the arc. You can even use the extension object
snap to snap to the point where two extension lines intersect. The program is prompting you to
specify the next point. Move the cursor over the end of the diagonal line until you see the marker
and tooltip, but do not click. Then, move the cursor over the end of the horizontal line until you see
the marker and tooltip. Then, move the cursor to the right along the extension of the horizontal line.
When you reach the point at which the extension of the diagonal line would intersect the extension
of the horizontal line, the tooltip shows you that the program has found two extensions. Click to
specify that point as the next point of the line.

313 Using the Object Snap Overrides

An object snap override is simply an object snap that overrides, or supersedes, any running object
snap and stays in effect only for the next point that you specify. You can activate an object snap
override by choosing it from a right-click menu or by typing the name of the object snap. For
example, suppose you wanted to reproduce the lines shown here that extend from the center of the
circle on the left to various points on the circles on the right. Use a crossing window to erase those
lines. On the Status bar, click the arrow adjacent to the Object Snap button to display the running
object snap modes. Since you know that you are going to need to snap to the centers of circles,
toggle on the Center object snap mode. The endpoint and midpoint object snaps will not affect
anything that deals with circles, so you can leave those turned on. There is no need to turn off
object snap modes if they will not affect the geometry you are working with. Click away from the
menu to close it. On the Home ribbon, in the Draw panel, click the Line tool. The program prompts
you to specify the first point of the line. Move the cursor near the circle on the left. As soon as the
cursor touches the circle, the program displays an AutoSnap marker and tooltip indicating that it has
found the center of the circle. When you move the cursor away from the circle, the marker and
tooltip disappear. Move the cursor near the center of the circle. Again, you see a marker and tooltip.
The program will snap to the center of the circle when you move the cursor over the circle itself or
near the center of the circle. When you see the AutoSnap marker and tooltip, click to select that
point as the first point of the line. Then move the cursor over the circle on the right, snap to its
center to specify the next point of the line, and then press ENTER to end the LINE command. Press
the SPACEBAR or ENTER key to start the LINE command again. This time, draw a line that goes
from the center of the circle on the left to a point tangent to the circle in the upper-right. When the
program prompts you to specify the first point, you can either snap to the center of the circle or to
the endpoint of the line, since it is already located at the center of the circle. Then, move the cursor
over the circle in the upper-right. The program locates the center of the circle. In this case, you want
the line to be tangent to the circle, but the only active object snap related to circles is the center
running object snap. To create a line tangent to the circle, you can use a tangent object snap
override. Right-click to display a shortcut menu. Notice that in the middle of this menu is a selection
labeled Snap Overrides. Expand this selection to see a submenu containing all of the object snap
modes and choose Tangent. In the command line, in addition to the prompt to specify the next
point, you can see the words, "tan to." You have activated tangent as an object snap override that
will stay in effect only for the next point you specify. Move the cursor over the upper-right circle
again. Now the program is only looking for a tangent point. It no longer finds the center of the circle.
Notice that there are actually two different points of tangency: one near the lower-right edge of the
circle and one near the upper-left. When you see the AutoSnap marker and tooltip near the tangent
location near the upper-left edge of the circle, click to select that point. The program immediately
draws the line so that it is tangent to the circle. Move the cursor near the edge of the circle. The
program is once again finding the center of the circle. It is no longer looking for a tangent point.
Tangent was a one-time object snap override. It was in effect only for one selection and now the
running object snap modes have become active again. Press ENTER to end the LINE command
and then press ENTER to start it again. Start a new line from the center of the circle on the left. This
time, draw a line snapped to the 12 o'clock quadrant at the top of the lower-right circle. But again,
since quadrant is not one of the active running object snaps, the program only finds the center of
the circle. So you will need to specify another object snap override. In addition to right-clicking and
then displaying the Snap Overrides flyout, you can press the SHIFT key and right-click to display an
object snap overrides shortcut menu. There may be times when simply right-clicking does not
display a shortcut menu, but pressing the SHIFT key while simultaneously right-clicking will always
display the object snap override shortcut menu. In the shortcut menu, choose Quadrant. In the
command line, in addition to the prompt to specify the next point, you can see the quadrant object
snap override. Now the program will only look for quadrant points on circles and arcs. Move the
cursor near the circle in the lower-right. There are actually four quadrant points on the circle: one at
3 o'clock, one at 12 o'clock, one at 9 o'clock, and one at 6 o'clock. The program will snap to
whichever one is closest to the cursor. Move the cursor near the top of the circle. When you see the
marker and tooltip, click to specify that quadrant point as the endpoint of the line. Then, press the
ENTER key or SPACEBAR, or right-click and choose Enter from the shortcut menu to end the LINE
command.

314 Using Object Snap Tracking from One Point Orthogonally

You can use object snap tracking in conjunction with object snaps to place geometry precisely,
without having to first draw construction geometry. For example, the circle was created with its
center point located exactly 6 units to the right of the midpoint of the left side of the rectangle. If
someone wanted to create this circle without using object snap tracking, they might use the LINE
command to draw a line from the midpoint of the line on the left extending 6 units to the right. Then,
they might start the CIRCLE command, snap to the endpoint of the line to specify the center of the
circle, and create the circle with a radius of 1 unit. Finally, they would have to erase the line. While
there is nothing wrong with this, it is the type of thing you would do if you were still using a drafting
board. But it requires too many steps. You do not need to create construction lines. There is a much
faster and easier way to do this using object snap tracking. Erase the circle and then create it again,
but this time use object snap tracking. But first, in order to use object snap tracking, you must set
the object snaps you want to use before you can track from an object's snap point. On the Status
bar, click the arrow adjacent to the Object Snap button and choose Object Snap Settings to
display the Object Snap tab of the Drafting Settings dialog box. Since you will be tracking from the
midpoint of the line, make sure that Midpoint is selected as one of the object snap modes. Also
make sure that both the Object Snap On and Object Snap Tracking On checkboxes are selected.
Note that you can toggle these on and off by pressing the F3 and F11 keys, respectively. Click OK
to close the dialog box. Notice that you can also toggle Object Snap Tracking on and off by clicking
the Object Snap Tracking button on the Status bar. When you toggle this setting, the appearance of
the button changes, and the tooltip indicates whether object snap tracking is on or off. Make sure
that both object snap tracking and object snap are toggled on. On the Home ribbon, in the Draw
panel, click the Circle, Radius tool. The program prompts you to specify the center point for the
circle. Move the cursor over the left side of the rectangle until you see the midpoint AutoSnap
marker and tooltip, but do not click. To use object snap tracking, you do not click to pick the
geometry you want to track from. If you were to click, the program would use that point as the center
of the circle. Instead, when you see the marker and tooltip, move the cursor to the right. Notice that
the marker remains visible at the midpoint of the line and you can see a dotted alignment path. In
addition, the tooltip shows you that you are tracking from the midpoint and shows you the current
distance and 0-degree alignment angle. By default, object snap tracking automatically aligns to
orthogonal angles of 0, 90, 180, and 270 degrees. Track to the right along the 0-degree angle, type
6, and press ENTER. The program immediately uses that point as the center of the circle. Then,
specify the radius. Type 1 and press ENTER. The program immediately draws the circle, positioned
exactly 6 units from the midpoint of the left side of the rectangle.

315 Using Object Snap Tracking from Two Points Orthogonally

You can use object snap tracking in conjunction with object snaps to place geometry precisely,
based on two existing locations without having to first draw construction geometry. For example, the
circle was created in the middle of the rectangle, halfway between the left and right sides and the
top and bottom sides. If someone wanted to create this circle without using object snap tracking,
they might use the LINE command to draw a line from the midpoint of the left side of the rectangle
to the midpoint of the right side of the rectangle. Then, they might even draw a second line from the
midpoint of the top side of the rectangle to the midpoint of the bottom side. Then, they might start
the CIRCLE command, use an object snap override to snap to the intersection of the two lines to
specify the center of the circle, and create the circle with a radius of 1 unit. Finally, they would have
to erase the two lines. While there is certainly nothing wrong with this, it is the type of thing you
would do if you were still using a drafting board. But it requires too many steps. You do not need to
create construction lines. There is a much faster and easier way to do this using object snap
tracking. Erase the circle and then create it again, but this time use object snap tracking. But first, in
order to use object snap tracking, you must set the object snaps you want to use. On the Status bar,
click the arrow adjacent to the Object Snap button and make sure that Midpoint is selected as one
of the active object snap modes. Also make sure that both Object Snap Tracking and Object Snap
are toggled on. On the Home ribbon, in the Draw panel, click the Circle, Radius tool. The program
prompts you to specify the center point for the circle. Move the cursor over the top side of the
rectangle until you see the midpoint AutoSnap marker and tooltip, but do not click. To use object
snap tracking, you do not pick the geometry you want to track from. You just move the cursor over
the geometry until you see the AutoSnap marker. Notice that the marker remains visible at the
midpoint of the line, and when you move the cursor downward, you can see a dotted alignment
path. In addition, the tooltip shows you that you are tracking from the midpoint and shows you the
current distance and the 270-degree alignment angle. When you move the cursor back over the
midpoint, the marker disappears and you are no longer tracking from that midpoint. When you move
the cursor back over the midpoint, the marker appears again. So you can easily acquire or release
object snap tracking points by simply moving the cursor. Do the same thing with the left side of the
rectangle. Move the cursor over the line until you see the midpoint AutoSnap marker and tooltip.
Then move the cursor to the right. Notice that now you can see markers on both the left and top
sides of the rectangle. When you move the cursor near the very center of the rectangle, the
program displays two dotted alignment paths and an X where they intersect. The tooltip also shows
that you are tracking along two midpoint object snap tracks. When you see that tooltip, click to
specify the center of the circle at the intersection of the two alignment paths. Then, specify the
radius. Type 1 and press ENTER. The program immediately draws the circle, positioned in the exact
center of the rectangle.

316 Using Object Snap Tracking from One Point with Polar Angles
You can use object snap tracking to track along alignment paths based on object snap points to
place geometry precisely, without having to first draw construction geometry. By default, object snap
tracking tracks orthogonally from object snap tracking points. But you can change this behavior so
that you can track along any polar tracking angle. For example, the circle was created with its center
located 6 units from the corner, at an angle of 45 degrees from the bottom side of the rectangle. If
someone wanted to create this circle without using object snap tracking, they might use the LINE
command to draw a line from the endpoint of the lower-left corner of the rectangle to a point 6 units
away at a 45-degree angle. Then, they might start the CIRCLE command, snap to the endpoint of
the line, and draw a circle with a radius of 1 unit. Finally, they would have to erase the line. While
there is nothing wrong with this, it is the type of thing you would do if you were still using a drafting
board. But it requires too many steps. You do not need to create construction lines. There is a much
faster and easier way to do this using object snap tracking. Erase the circle and then create it again,
but this time use object snap tracking. But first, in order to use object snap tracking, you must set
the object snaps you want to use. On the Status bar, click the arrow adjacent to the Object Snap
button and make sure that Endpoint is selected as one of the active object snap modes. Also make
sure that both object snap tracking and object snap are toggled on. On the Home ribbon, in the
Draw panel, click the Circle, Radius tool. The program prompts you to specify the center point for
the circle. Move the cursor over the lower-left corner of the rectangle until you see the endpoint
AutoSnap marker and tooltip, but do not click. To use object snap tracking, you do not pick the
geometry you want to track from. You just move the cursor over the geometry until you see the
AutoSnap marker. Move the cursor to the right. By default, the program only tracks along orthogonal
angles of 0, 90, 180, and 270 degrees. But in this case, you need to track along a 45-degree angle.
On the Status bar, click the arrow adjacent to the Polar Tracking button and choose Tracking
Settings from the menu to open the Polar Tracking tab of the Drafting Settings dialog. In the
Polar Angle Settings group box, make sure that the Increment angle is set to 45 degrees. The
controls in the Object Snap Tracking Settings group box determine whether the program tracks only
along orthogonal angles or uses all of the polar angles. By default, the program tracks only along
orthogonal angles. Select Track using all polar angle settings and then click OK to close the dialog.
The CIRCLE command is still active and the program is prompting you to specify the center point for
the circle. Now you can track along any polar angle. Move the cursor until you see the alignment
path indicating that you are tracking from the lower-left corner at a 45-degree angle. Then, using
direct distance entry, type 6 and press ENTER. The program immediately uses that point as the
center of the circle. Then, specify the radius. Type 1 and press ENTER. The program immediately
draws the circle, positioned exactly where you want it.

317 Using Object Snap Tracking from Two Points with Polar Angles
You can use object snap tracking in conjunction with object snaps to place geometry precisely,
based on two existing locations and along two different alignment paths without having to first draw
construction geometry. For example, the circle was created with its center located at the intersection
of a line extending to the right of the midpoint of the left side of the rectangle and a line projected at
a 45-degree angle from the lower-left corner of the rectangle. If someone wanted to create this
circle without using object snap tracking, they might first use the LINE command to draw a line from
the midpoint of the left side of the rectangle and extending to the right. Then they might use object
snap to start a line from the lower-left corner of the rectangle and extending up at a 45-degree
angle. Then, they might start the CIRCLE command, use an object snap override to snap to the
intersection of the two lines, and draw a circle with a radius of 1 unit. Finally, they would have to
erase the two construction lines. While there is nothing wrong with this, it is the type of thing you
would do if you were still using a drafting board. But it requires too many steps. You do not need to
create construction lines. There is a much faster and easier way to do this using object snap
tracking. Erase the circle and then create it again, but this time use object snap tracking. But first, in
order to use object snap tracking, you must set the object snaps you want to use. On the Status bar,
click the arrow adjacent to the Object Snap button and make sure that both Endpoint and Midpoint
are selected as active object snap modes. Also make sure that both object snap tracking and object
snap are toggled on. By default, the program only tracks along orthogonal angles. Since you know
that you need to track along a 45-degree angle, click the arrow adjacent to the Polar Tracking
button and choose Tracking Settings to display the Polar Tracking tab of the Drafting Settings
dialog box. In the Polar Angle Settings group box, make sure that the Increment angle is set to 45
degrees. In the Object Snap Tracking Settings group box, select Track using all polar angle settings
and then click OK to close the dialog. On the Home ribbon, in the Draw panel, click the Circle,
Radius tool. The program prompts you to specify the center point for the circle. Move the cursor
toward the middle of the left side of the rectangle until you see the midpoint AutoSnap marker and
tooltip, but do not click. To use object snap tracking, you do not pick the geometry you want to track
from. You just move the cursor over the geometry until you see the AutoSnap marker. If you move
the cursor back over that point, the marker disappears and you are no longer tracking from that
point. Move the cursor back over the midpoint again and the marker reappears. When you move the
cursor to the right, you can see the 0-degree alignment path. Next, move the cursor over the lower-
left corner of the rectangle until you see the endpoint marker and tooltip. Then, move the cursor until
you see the 45-degree alignment path. Notice that you can also still see a marker at the midpoint of
the left side of the rectangle. As you move the cursor along the 45-degree alignment path, when it
reaches the point at which the two alignment paths intersect, you see a tooltip indicating that the
program has found the intersection of those two paths. When you see this, click to select that point
as the center of the circle. Then, specify the radius. Type 1 and press ENTER. The program
immediately draws the circle positioned exactly where you want it.

318 Using Object Snap Tracking with a Temporary Track Point

You can use object snap tracking in conjunction with a temporary track point to place an object
precisely, based on two different dimensions rather than first having to draw construction geometry.
For example, the circle was located using two different distances measured from the upper-left
corner of the rectangle. If someone wanted to create this circle without using object snap tracking,
they might first create construction geometry, then create the circle, and then erase the construction
geometry. Or perhaps they would create the circle at the corner and then move it. But using a
temporary tracking point eliminates all of those extra steps. To draw this circle without using
construction geometry, on the Home ribbon, in the Draw panel, click the Circle, Radius tool. When
the program prompts you to specify the center point for the circle, press the SHIFT key and right-
click to display the object snap override shortcut menu and choose Temporary track point. The
temporary track point enables you to string together multiple tracking points. The program prompts
you to Specify temporary OTRACK point. Move the cursor over the upper-left corner, but do not
click. Simply move the cursor over the point until you see the AutoSnap marker and tooltip. Now that
you have acquired that tracking point, move the cursor down along the 270-degree alignment path,
type 3 to specify the distance in that direction, and press ENTER. Now the program is tracking from
that temporary track point. Move the cursor to the right, track along the 0-degree alignment path,
type 5 to specify the distance in that direction, and press ENTER. The program now uses that point
as the center of the circle. Now you can specify the radius. Type 1 and press ENTER. The program
immediately creates the circle positioned exactly 3 units down and 5 units to the right of the upper-
left corner.

319 Using Object Snap Overrides with Mid Between 2 Points

You can locate geometry using a special object snap override called Mid Between 2 Points. In this
example, the circle has been created in the center of the rectangle. This is quite easy to do using
object snap tracking, but it may be even easier using the Mid Between 2 Points object snap
override. On the Home ribbon, in the Draw panel, click the Circle, Radius tool. When the program
prompts you to specify the center point for the circle, press the SHIFT key and right-click to display
the object snap override shortcut menu, and then choose Mid Between 2 Points. Next, with midpoint
set as an active running object snap, click on the midpoint of one side of the rectangle and then
click on the midpoint of the opposite side. The program immediately locates the point midway
between those two points and uses that as the center of the circle. Now you can specify the radius.
Type 1 and press ENTER. The program immediately draws the circle positioned exactly where you
want it, in the center of the rectangle. You could also do this by finding the midpoint between the
opposite corners of the rectangle. Erase the circle and then start the CIRCLE command again.
When the program prompts you to specify the center point for the circle, right-click and choose Snap
Overrides > Mid Between 2 Points. Then click to select the endpoint at the upper-left corner and
then click to select the endpoint at the lower-right corner. Again, the program immediately places
the center of the circle at the point at the center of the rectangle. Press ENTER to accept the default
radius value of 1 unit. And again, the program creates the circle in the exact center of the rectangle.

320 Using Options to Control Object Snap System Variables

You can control the appearance and behavior of object snap, object snap tracking, and polar
tracking using settings in the Options dialog box. To display the Options dialog, either right-click and
choose Options from the shortcut menu, or expand the Application menu and select Options.
Either of these methods displays the Options dialog. Switch to the Drafting tab. The controls in the
AutoSnap Settings group box determine the AutoSnap behavior. When you move the cursor over
one of the controls, you see a tooltip that explains that control, as well as the name of the system
variable affected by that particular control. The Marker checkbox controls the display of the
AutoSnap marker. The Magnet causes the cursor to lock onto the nearest snap point. And the
Display AutoSnap tooltip, as its name implies, controls the display of the AutoSnap tooltip. You
should leave these three checkboxes selected. You can also control the color of the AutoSnap
marker. In the AutoSnap Marker Size group box, you can click and drag the slider to change the
size of the AutoSnap marker. The preview image updates to reflect your changes. The controls in
the AutoTrack Settings group box determine the AutoTrack behavior. For example, Display polar
tracking vector controls whether the program displays a vector along specified angles when polar
tracking is on. Display full-screen tracking vector determines whether vector lines display as infinite
lines. And as its name implies, Display AutoTrack tooltip controls the display of the AutoTrack
tooltip. Again, you should leave these three checkboxes selected. In the Alignment Point Acquisition
group box, you can choose whether you want the program to display tracking vectors automatically
when the aperture moves over an object snap or only when you press the SHIFT key and then
move the aperture over an object snap. Typically, you should leave this set to Automatic. In the
Aperture Size group box, you can click and drag the slider to change the size for the object snap
target box. Object snap finds any geometry that falls within the area of the box, so that the larger the
box, the further from actual geometry the cursor can be and still find and snap to the geometry. The
smaller the aperture, the closer the cursor has to be to the object. You do not actually see this
aperture box, however, unless you select Display AutoSnap aperture box in the AutoSnap Settings
group box. Typically, you will not select this checkbox. Although the aperture box may not be visible,
the aperture size still determines the size of the area searched to locate geometry. In the Object
Snap Options group box, you can have the program ignore certain types of objects when evaluating
object snaps. For example, the program will typically ignore dimension extension lines so that you
do not inadvertently snap to an extension line rather than actual drawing geometry. In most cases,
you should not change any of these settings, but if the program stops behaving as expected, you
can use the controls you see here to restore the program to its default behavior. When you are
finished making changes, click the Apply button to accept those changes and remain in the Options
dialog, or click OK to close the dialog. If you click Cancel, the dialog closes and any changes you
made will be discarded.