CAD tip # 6832:

Question CAD
% platform category

Change your rectangle to a true rectangle.

With a single AutoCAD command you can change rectangles drawn with the command RECTANGLE to true rectangles, which also behave like rectangles.

Compare the following two animations - they illustrate the behaviour of two similar objects. The first one is a normal rectangle created using the standard AutoCAD command. The second one is a true rectangle ("rectangle on steroids" if you want), which also behaves like a rectangle during grip-editing and other AutoCAD editing operations.

Standard rectangle (polyline)

True rectangle (constrained polyline)

So how to get a true rectangle from a standard rectangular polyline (pline)? Just a single "magic" command is enough: AUTOCONSTRAIN. With this command you will add automatic geometric constraints to the selected object - and these constraints will be then kept also during editing.

So you can e.g. add a new command for drawing rectangles to your AutoCAD command set (to the ribbon, toolbars, etc.) - use CUI and the following menu macro:

  
^C^C_RECTANGLE;\\_AUTOCONSTRAIN;_L;;

This new command will directly create the "true" rectangles. Such rectangles will behave like rectangles even in AutoCAD LT 2010 (and higher), which itself cannot create such kind of constrained objects.

You can suppress displaying the constraint bars by setting the CONSTRAINTBARMODE variable to 0.

ACAD2010ADT2010ACADM2010Map2010

* CAD

31.7.2009 37344×

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applies to: AutoCAD 2010 · AutoCAD Architecture 2010 · AutoCAD Mechanical 2010 · AutoCAD Map 3D 2010 ·

See also:
Tip 14098:	How to use arc length parameter in Inventor sketch?
Tip 14088:	3 methods of creating true rectangles in AutoCAD.
Tip 13788:	Green square - mathematical charade and parametric constraints in AutoCAD.
Tip 13185:	Constraining object movement to a specified curve (rail) in AutoCAD.
Tip 12961:	Bolt-nut constraint/joint in Fusion 360.

Selected tip: How to detect DWG files containing AEC objects?

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