Using Dynamic Input

Using Dynamic Input
Earlier in this chapter, you turned off the Dynamic Input display so you could get an uncluttered
view of what was going on in AutoCAD’s display. In this section, you’ll get a chance to explore the
Dynamic Input display through grip editing.
You’ll start by going back to the original version of the Door.dwg drawing that you saved earlier:
1. Choose File  Close.
2. When you’re asked if you want to save changes, click No.
3. Choose File  Open, and then locate and select the door.dwg file you saved earlier. You can
also open the doorsample.dwg file from the sample files you installed from this book’s companion
website.
4. The door appears in the condition you left it when you last saved the file.
5. Turn on Dynamic Input display by clicking the DYN button in the status bar. It should look
like it’s in the down position.



6. Click the arc to expose its grips.
7. Place the cursor on the outward-pointing arrow grip at the middle of the arc, but don’t click
it. (This is called hovering over a grip.) You see the dimensions of the arc appear. This feature
is useful when you need to check the size of objects you’ve drawn.


8. Click the arrow you’re hovering over. The Command prompt appears at the cursor, and the
radius dimension changes to a text box.
9. Move the cursor toward the upper-right corner of the drawing area. The radius dimension
changes as you move the cursor.
10. Enter 4↵. Metric users enter 130↵. As you type, the new value appears in the radius dimension.
When you press ↵, the arc changes to the new radius.
11. Click the Undo button to revert to the original arc size.
Here you saw the basic methods for using the Dynamic Input display. You can hover over an
object’s grip to display its dimensions. Click the grip, and, if available, those dimensions can be
edited directly through the keyboard. In this example, you were able to change the radius of the arc
to an exact value. Depending on the grip you click, you can change a dimension through direct keyboard
input. For example, if you want to change the degrees the arc covers instead of its radius, you
can click the arrow grip at either end of the arc.
Next, try Dynamic Input display on a line:
1. Click the bottommost line of the door, as shown in Figure 2.20; hover over the rightmost grip
on the selected line. Just as with the arc, you can see the dimensions of the line, including its
length and directional angle.



2. Click the grip you’re hovering over, and then move the cursor upward and to the right. You
see two dimensions: One indicates the overall length, and the other shows the change in
length of the line. You also see the Command prompt at the cursor. Notice that the dimension
indicating the change in length is highlighted.


3. Enter 1 and press the Tab key to increase the length of the line by 1 unit. Metric users should
enter 30 and press the Tab key. Now, as you move the cursor, the line is locked at a new
length that is 1 or 30 units longer than its original length. Also notice that the overall dimension
is highlighted. You also see a lock icon on the length dimension.


4. Press the Tab key again. The angle value is highlighted.
5. Enter 45 and press the Tab key to lock the angle of the line at 45°.
6. Make sure the cursor isn’t too close to the locked endpoint of the line, and then click the left
mouse button. The line is now in its new orientation with a length of 4 (130 for metric users)
and an angle of 45°, as shown in Figure 2.21.



You can see that the Dynamic Input display lets you enter specific dimensions for the selected
object, making possible precise changes in an object’s size.
You can also use the Dynamic Input display while using other grip-editing features. Try the following
exercise to see how the Dynamic Input display works while moving objects:
1. Click above and to the right of the door drawing to start a crossing selection window.
2. Click below and to the left to select the entire door drawing.
3. Click the middle grip of the arc.
4. Right-click, and choose Move. You see the Command prompt at the cursor with the distance
value highlighted. As you move the cursor, you can see the distance and angle values in the
Dynamic Input display change.


5. Enter 4, and then press the Tab key. As you move the cursor, the distance from the original
location of the arc’s midpoint is locked at 4 units. The angle value is now highlighted and
available for editing.
6. Enter 225, and then press the Tab key to lock the angle at 225°.
7. Click a location away from the door drawing. The door moves to its new location exactly
4 units from its original location.
As you can see from these exercises, the Dynamic Input display adds some helpful methods for
editing objects. To summarize, here is a rundown of the basic Dynamic Input display features:
◆ You can easily turn the Dynamic Input display on or off by clicking the DYN button in the
status bar.
◆ You can quickly check the dimensions of an object by selecting it and then hovering over
a grip.
◆ You can alter an object’s dimensions by entering values into the highlighted dimensions of
the Dynamic Input display.
◆ To highlight a different dimension, press the Tab key.
◆ To accept any changes you’ve made using Dynamic Input display, click the mouse at a
location away from the grip you’re editing. You can also press ↵ or the spacebar.
Not all grips offer dimensions that can be edited. If you click the midpoint grip on the line, for
example, you won’t see the dimensions of the line, although you’ll see the Command prompt and
you’ll be able to enter a new coordinate for the midpoint.
As you’ve seen in the arc and line examples, each object offers a different set of dimensions. If
you like the way the Dynamic Input display works, you can experiment on other types of objects.
AutoCAD offers a number of settings that let you control the behavior of the Dynamic Input display.
You’ll learn about those settings later in Appendix A.