Using Autoselect

Using Autoselect
Next, you’ll move the rest of the door in the same direction by using the Autoselect feature:
1. Pick a point just above and to the left of the rectangle representing the door. Be sure not to pick
the door itself. A selection window appears that you can drag across the screen as you move the
cursor. If you move the cursor to the left of the last point selected, the window appears dotted
with a green tint (see the first image in Figure 2.16). If you move the cursor to the right of that
point, it appears solid with a blue tint (see the second image in Figure 2.16).
2. Pick a point below and to the right of the door so that the door is completely enclosed by the
window but not the arc, as shown in the bottom image in Figure 2.16. The door is highlighted
(and again, you may see grips appear at the lines’ endpoints and midpoints).



3. Click the Move tool again. Just as in the preceding exercise, the Specify base point or
[Displacement] : prompt appears.
4. Pick any point on the screen; then, enter @1<0↵. Metric users should enter @3<0↵. The door joins with the arc. The two selection windows you’ve just seen—the blue solid one and the dotted green one— represent a standard window and a crossing window. If you use a standard window, anything completely within the window is selected. If you use a crossing window, anything that crosses through the window is selected. These two types of windows start automatically when you click any blank portion of the drawing area with a Standard cursor or a Point Selection cursor; hence the name Autoselect. Next, you’ll select objects with an automatic crossing window:
1. Pick a point below and to the right of the door. As you move the cursor left, the crossing (dotted) window appears.
2. Select the next point so that the window encloses the door and part of the arc (see Figure 2.17). The entire door, including the arc, is highlighted.
3. Click the Move tool.
4. Pick any point on the screen; then, enter @1<180↵. Metric users should type @3<180↵. The door moves back to its original location.



You’ll find that in most cases, the Autoselect standard and crossing windows are all you need when selecting objects. They really save you time, so you’ll want to become familiar with these features. Before continuing, choose File  Save to save the Door file. You won’t want to save the changes you make in the next section, so saving now stores the current condition of the file on your hard disk for safekeeping. Restrictions on Noun/Verb Object Selection For many of the modifying or construction-oriented commands, the Noun/Verb selection method is inappropriate because for those commands, you must select more than one set of objects. You’ll know whether a command accepts the Noun/Verb selection method right away. Commands that don’t accept the Noun/Verb selection method clear the selection and then ask you to select an object or set of objects.
If you’d like to take a break, now is a good time to do it. If you want, exit AutoCAD, and return to this point in the tutorial later. When you return, start AutoCAD and open the Door file.