Whatever you create in AutoCAD (regardless of your application) has specific properties. These properties will vary by entity type and will always be linked to said entity. Graphic entities will have different properties than text entities, yet both are quickly reviewed or edited via the “PROPERTIES” dialog box.
The “PROPERTIES” dialog box is not usually displayed in the AutoCAD drawing window. It will open when a user selects an entity either by direct selection or by windowing a selection of items, then right-clicking. I chose only the horizontal Line below and right-clicked it to bring up the options shown.
After selecting the “Properties” option, the dialog box below will be displayed.
In the screenshot above, I have already selected the Line which is highlighted. Note the “PROPERTIES” dialog box to the left. The data shown is relevant to only the entity (Line) selected. Any data displayed in the included fields may be edited by selecting within the dialog box and revising it.
What if I were to desire to change a property of more than one of the lines? If I needed to change multiple lines using the same settings, I could still do so using the “PROPERTIES” dialog box.
In the screenshot above, I have (using a reverse-crossing window) selected the additional lines which I wish to change. When, however, I review the properties dialog box, I find more than I expected. By selecting the items with a crossing window, I got additional items; blocks, a circle, and a text string. There is no reason to cancel the command and start over. Despite several unintended items being selected, this is easily remedied.
As the screenshot above shows, eleven items are selected. The CAD operator can filter this selection of items easily, enabling the editing of only the desired wires. By clicking on the down arrow in the top dialog box, you will see more detail about the selection, as shown in the screenshot below.
The only thing I need to edit is the Line (4) item. Note that I have not yet changed the selected field from the “All (11)” selection. Any changes made to the data within any fields contained in the dialog box will, therefore, to the extent that the entity properties apply will, affect all entities. This can be remedied by selecting the appropriate field (in this case, “Line (4)).
As the above screenshot shows, I have selected the desired field for my editing choice. When I review the dialog box, I see only the data for the desired lines.
I can easily change any property tied to the lines by editing the desired field. Caution – all lines in the selected items will be changed by revising these fields!
The “PROPERTIES” dialog box, when effectively paired with available filters, is a commonly overlooked editing tool. Many hours have been saved by AutoCAD users with this method of editing drawing entities.
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