topic Re: What does Varies mean in View-Properties? in AutoCAD Forum

What does Varies mean in View-Properties?

Anonymous — Fri, 26 Oct 2018 19:53:00 GMT

When I create a drawing for cnc laser cutting I highlight the drawing then I go to View-Properties-Misc-Closed to make sure where it says closed on the drop down box it says yes. On the drawing that I am working on it says Varies. What does it mean by Varies?

I then use the drop down box and click on yes to close the lines that I have drawn for laser cutting.

When I have nearly finished the drawing I would use the Overkill function so I don't have any overlapping lines for laser cutting, but when I would go back to view-properties just to make sure the closed part say yes it goes back to Varies.

Why is the happening?

I am new to Autocad so any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Re: What does Varies mean in View-Properties?

john.vellek — Fri, 26 Oct 2018 20:17:59 GMT

Hi @Anonymous,

Varies, in the object type means that you likely of a mixture of objects such as lines, arc, plines, text etc.

You can use Qselect to find all the entities of one type.

Please select the Accept as Solution button if my post solves your issue or answers your question.

Re: What does Varies mean in View-Properties?

leeminardi — Fri, 26 Oct 2018 20:48:42 GMT

If you have more than one object selected and a particular property of the objects selected is not the same you will see *VARIES* as the value for that property. For example, in the following an open and closed polyline are selected so the Closed property is noted as *VARIES*.

Re: What does Varies mean in View-Properties?

Anonymous — Fri, 26 Oct 2018 20:51:40 GMT

Thanks for the reply.

If in properties I leave it as Varies closed rather than Yes closed would the drawing that I have drawn still cut on a CNC Laser cutting machine?

If I select Yes I have a duplicated line somewhere and I am not sure if it will cut on a CNC laser cutter.

Thanks

Re: What does Varies mean in View-Properties?

Ed__Jobe — Fri, 26 Oct 2018 20:58:34 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
If I select Yes I have a duplicated line somewhere

IIn Lee's picture, the bottom pline is OPEN. If you change it to CLOSED, instead of an "L" shape, you will have a triangle. So, you didn't duplicate a line, you added a segment to the pline.

Re: What does Varies mean in View-Properties?

leeminardi — Fri, 26 Oct 2018 21:47:54 GMT

"If I select Yes I have a duplicated line somewhere ..."

How are you selecting the geometry? Rather then using a window or cross-window selection poke each polyline that you want only once. Evaluate your geometry with move and move the polyline(s) a bit to see if there is a duplicate line. You can undo to get the lines back where you want them. YOu can also use move and a window select to count how many objects were selected. Does the count make sense to you? It sounds like you are selecting muliple objects and some are open and some are not. BTW you can have a polyline that defines a closed shape but is not "closed". For example, a 5 vertex polyline can define a rectantange that is "open" ( the 1st and 5th vertices are coincident) whereas a 4 vertex polyline can be "closed" as its "closed" property is yes.

Here's a 5 vertex polyline where the first and last vertex are coincident. Notice that its "closed" property is no. Can your CNC post processor handle an "open" polyline with a first and last vertex coincident as well as a polyline where the first and last vertex are not coincident but the value of the "closed" property is Yes?

Re: What does Varies mean in View-Properties?

Kent1Cooper — Sat, 27 Oct 2018 03:14:48 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

....

If in properties I leave it as Varies closed rather than Yes closed would the drawing that I have drawn still cut on a CNC Laser cutting machine?

If I select Yes I have a duplicated line somewhere ….

I couldn't say whether this will affect CNC laser cutting, but:

If you have drawn what you think are all closed Polylines, but when they're selected the Properties box doesn't say they're all closed, it probably means you drew at least one of them back to its beginning without using the Close option. That means it looks closed, but it isn't in AutoCAD's definition -- it just has its end at the same place as its start. For example, a rectangle drawn that way would have 5 vertices instead of 4, with the first and last at the same place. If you pick in Properties to have it be closed, it will not turn it into a "proper" 4-vertex closed one, but will add a zero-length segment to "close" it across the zero-length "opening" between the end and the start. That's where I don't know the effect on CNC operations, but it should be quick and easy to try it and see. If it still works right, and if you are indeed talking about closed shapes so you won't be changing their geometry, then go ahead and just force them all to be closed.

Because that condition can cause difficulties or unexpected results in certain operations and AutoLisp routines [whether or not for a CNC machine], there are routines out there [mostly in the Customization Forum, but also on other sites entirely] to take such an only-visually-closed Polyline and properly close it without a zero-length segment, usually by removing the last segment and then closing it. If CNC operations don't like coincident vertices, do a little Searching for those routines.

By the way, QSELECT can isolate all not-closed Polylines for you [if you want to find them and deal with them more purposefully than just forcing them closed in Properties] -- this image is not from the Properties palette, but the QSELECT dialog box:

Re: What does Varies mean in View-Properties?

Anonymous — Sat, 27 Oct 2018 11:46:30 GMT

Does that mean if it says Varies it will still be alright for CNC laser
cutting?

Thanks.

Re: What does Varies mean in View-Properties?

leeminardi — Sat, 27 Oct 2018 13:10:20 GMT

"Does that mean if it says Varies it will still be alright for CNC laser
cutting?"

"Varies" means that some of the polylines have the "closed" property set and some do not although all of the polylines may appear to be closed. I cannot say how the postprocessor for your laser cutter handles polylines that do, or do not, have the first and last vertex coincident. I think your best bet is to set the close property for all of them to Yes (which is easy to do) and see what happens. Can you do a small test case with a file that has a "C" shape polyline that you then set the close property to Yes and a 5 vertex rectangle with the first and last vertex coincident?