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Constructing Plastered Walls by Defining MLINE

Post a Comment Nov-13-2008 | Posted by Recep Güdü | Printable Version | Level |

The MLINE command can be used to draw several lines at once. Paralel lines can be easily drawn in a single step.  For example, you can define a special MULTILINE object to draw plastered walls in a plan drawing.

Fig.1 MLSTYLE window.

You can Access the MLSTYLE window with the MLSTYLE command, or fromthe  “multi-line style” option in the Format menu. (Fig.1)

The structure of an MLINE object.

By default, two paralel lines are defined as a MLINE style. Click the “New..” buton to define a new style. If you want to change some properties of the current style click “Modify“. Use “Load” to load a previously created MLINE style. Click “Save” to save the MLINE properties in a file with the “.mli” extension.

Fig.2

New Multiline style window will appear when the “New” button is clicked. After specifying the name you want to use, you can define the properties of the new MLINE. Make sure that the name you enter doesn’t include spaces.

You can include a short description of the multiline style for easier recognition. The distance between the parallel lines is shown under the Offset column. The value here is measured from the central axis. For example, if you want two lines 10 units apart, you should specify their Offset distances as 5 and -5 respectively.

Click “Add” when you need more lines in the MLINE. A line with zero (0) offset will be added. You will see that the line will go to its correct position once you enter the offset value. Change the properties of the line you just added from the “color” and “linetype” menus. This means that you can include different linetypes in a single MLINE object. Use the “delete” button when you wish to remove a line.

From the “Caps” section, you can define how intersecting lines will be handled. The “line” parameter is used when you want the ends to be closed with lines. “Outer arcs” and “Inner arcs” is used when you want the outer/inner lines to be joined with arcs. You have to have at least two lines to be able to use “Inner arcs“.

You can specify whether the spaces between the lines are to be filled and the color to be used using the “Fill” option. If “Display joints” is ticked, the starting and ending points of the lines will be shown.

After you have fully defined the properties for the multiline object, exit by clicking “OK”. In some releases or AutoCAD, you have to make sure that you “Save” into the “acad.mli“before you close this window.

To start using the new multiline style, click “Set current” while the new style is highlighted. You can also specify the style you want to use when you enter “ml” command shortcut from the keyboard.

Fig.3

When the settings as in Fig.3 are applied, you will obtain a multiline as shown in Fig.4

Fig.4

Access the “Multiline Edit Tools” window with the mledit command or by double-clicking a multiline to edit the properties of intersecting Multiline objects. Fig.5

Fig.5

The “Modify” buton in the “Multiline Style” window is not active when you want to edit the properties of a multilne style that is currently in use in your Project.

You can use the “Scale” command to resize a multilne that is of incorrect scale in your drawing.

Fig.6

For drawing the 100×100 box in Fig.6, the multilne properties should be defined as follows:

Fig.7

Note : The sccreenshots were taken while using Autocad 2007. In other versions, the settings are the same but thier placement may vary.

Also note that the “scale” value is set at 20 as default in the Mline command. You should change it to 1 to avoid confusion.