Construction Line Command

This is one of the newer commands. This command has been introduced with AutoCAD 14. AutoCAD 2000 still has it. It’s there to stay.The command is used for drawing construction lines. Butwatch out. The drawn construction lines are plotted or printed. And that’s not what we want.

Construction lines are drawn to help with making a technical drawing in AutoCAD. We don’t need them in the drawing. This is a suggestion to AutoCAD. Keep the command for drawing construction lines. But prevent construction lines from being printed or plotted. Now let’s have a look at the command for drawing construction lines. These are the prompts:

• - _xline
• - Specify a point or [Hor/Ver/Ang/Bisect/Offset]:
• - Specify through point:

At the first prompt a point is entered. The second prompt is repeated all the time until the ENTER key or the right mouse button is pressed. At the second prompt another point is entered. After entering a point a construction line is drawn through the first entered point and the second point. Construction lines have an indefinite length. The command has five options. At the second prompt can be chosen for an option. The five options are:

• - Hor
• – Ver
• – Ang
• – Bisect
• – Offset

Hor

No line is drawn through the point entered at the second prompt and the point entered at the third prompt. A horizontal line is drawn through the point entered at the third prompt.

Ver

As above. But now a vertical line is drawn through the point entered at the third prompt.

Ang

Now a construction line under an angle is drawn. These prompts show up:

• - Reference/:
• - Through point:

At the first prompt an angle can be entered. The second prompt is repeated all the time. Through the point entered at the second prompt a construction line under the entered angle is drawn.

Bisect

This option can be used when drawing in 3D. It’s a little bit complicated to explain. But the prompts are:

• - Angle vertex point:
• - Angle start point:
• - Angle end point:

The vertex point and the start point are entered at the first and the second prompt. A construction line is drawn through the start point and the end point. The third prompt is repeated all the time

Offset

This option acts as the OFFSET command. A construction line in offset is drawn. The prompts are the same as those of the OFFSET command: Offset distance or Through <10.0000>: Select a line object: Side to offset? At the first prompt an offset distance can be entered. At the second prompt a line or a construction line be selected. A point is entered at the second prompt. A construction line is drawn with an offset from the selected line or selected at the side given at the third prompt. The second and the third prompt is repeated all the time. The line object that can be selected at the second prompt can be a construction line, a line, a polyline, a rectangle or a polygon. A construction line is drawn in offset of the selected line. But remember. The construction line has an indefinite length. If a polyline, a rectangle of a polygon is selected the drawn construction line is parallel to the segment that was picked. Here’s a good tip. Draw construction lines on a specific layer. You could call that layer Construction lines. If you want to print or plot the drawing then switch that layer off or freeze it. That way the construction lines will not be printed or plotted.