CAD tip # 10054:

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Boolean operations on 2D polylines.

AutoCAD offers standard commands for boolean operations (union, subtract, intersection) primarly for 3D solids. But you can use this type of operations also for 2D curves/polylines (outlines) - so you can simplify some drawing and editing workflows.

An example is a cutout of two arcs in a rectangular outline shape. First you need to convert the individual polylines of source objects (a rectangle and two circles) to Region type entities. You can do this with the REGION command. Then you can apply the requested boolean operation on the regions - i.e. UNION, SUBTRACT or INTERSECT. Use SUBTRACT for the example above. The result is again an entity/object of the type Region. You can convert it to individual lines by exploding it with EXPLODE, or convert it directly to a single polyline using the add-on utility Region2Poly.

You can download the Region2Poly utility from Download, load it with _APPLOAD and run/type the command Region2Poly.

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18.10.2014 22717×

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applies to: AutoCAD ·

See also:
Tip 13163:	Blended transitional solid between irregular regions, circle-rectangle transition (3D in AutoCAD)
Tip 9357:	Intersection of a 3D curve with a 3D surface in AutoCAD.
Tip 7093:	How to convert a polygon or a region to 3Dfaces.
Tip 7023:	Section modulus of 2D profiles in AutoCAD.
Tip 6820:	How to draw a center of gravity point?

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