Edit with grips
Grips let you reshape an object without starting a command. Select an object while no command is running and small squares appear on it.
Where the grips are
| Object | Grips |
|---|---|
| Line | Both ends and the midpoint (the midpoint moves the whole line) |
| Polyline | Each vertex and the middle of each segment |
| Circle | Centre and four quadrant points (a quadrant point changes the radius) |
| Arc | Both ends, the midpoint and the centre |
| Ellipse | Centre and the four axis ends |
| Text, multiline text, block, point | Insertion point |
| Dimension | Its definition points and the text position |
| Leader | Each vertex |
| Construction line, ray | Base point and direction grips |
Hatches, splines and solids have no grips. Grips are not shown when more than 300 objects are selected.
Drag a grip
- Select the object.
- Click a grip, or press on it and drag. It becomes hot and the command line shows
** STRETCH **. - Move the cursor and click, or release the drag, to place the point. You can also type coordinates.
The whole edit is one undo step.
Grip modes
With a grip hot, press Space or Enter to cycle through STRETCH, MOVE, ROTATE, SCALE and MIRROR. Right-click for a menu of the same modes. Move, rotate, scale and mirror act on the whole selection about the hot grip.
| Option | Type | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Base point | B |
Pick a new base point instead of the hot grip |
| Copy | C |
Keeps the originals; each pick adds a copy until you press Enter |
| Exit | X |
Ends the grip command |
In ROTATE and SCALE you can type degrees or a factor instead of clicking.
Several grips at once
Hold Shift and click grips to make several hot, then click one of them and move. All the hot grips move by the same amount in STRETCH.
Leaving grip editing
Esc ends the grip command and keeps the selection. Press Esc again to clear the selection.
Tip
A grip edit changes only that object. To change a group of objects precisely, use the commands in Modify objects.