8

Defining Strokes 905
6.
Click OK.
7. Load a scene containing several objects, and
select two or more objects.
8. Drag vertically from top to bottom in the
viewport.
The selected objects are all hidden.
Defini ng S trok es
Hold down CTRL and the middle mouse button and drag
in a viewport to create the shape of an unused stroke. >
Define Strokes dialog
Hold dow n the middle mouse button alo ne or with SHIFT,
ALT, or both, and drag in a viewport to create the shape of
an unused stroke. > Define > Define Strokes dialog
Utilities panel > Utilities rollout > More button > Utilities
dialog > Strokes > D raw Strokes > Hold down the lef t
mouse button alone or with SHIFT, ALT, or both, and drag
in a viewport to create the shape of an unused stroke. >
Define > Define Strokes dialog
Youdefineastrokebycreatingthestrokeina
v iewport, then choosing t he command that the
stroke defines. The next time you perform the
stroke, the command will be executed. You can
define strokes to work in conjunction with the
SHIFTkey,theALTkey,orbothSHIFTandALT.
You can define strokes with either the left or middle
mouse button. If you want to use your middle
mousebuttontodefineandusestrokes,youmust
first turn on Customize menu > Preferences >
Preference Settings dialog >
Viewports tab (page
3–874)
> Mouse Control group > Stroke. To define
and use stroke s with the left mouse button, choose
Utilities panel > Utilities rollout > More button
>Utilitiesdialog>
Strokes (page 3–909) >Draw
Strokes, then draw the strokes.
IntheDefineStrokedialog,youcanseehowthe
strokes are analyzed by examining the grid under
Stroke to Define. When you complete the drawing
of a stroke, a nine-square gr id is centered around
thestrokeandfittoitsextents.Theinnersegments
of the g rid are assigned unique letters. Where t he
stroke crosses a seg ment, the letter associated with
that segment is added to the st roke name. Thus,
thedirectionandtheshapeofthestrokematter,
but the size of the stroke has no effect.
Thestrokeisalwayscenteredwithinthegrid.If
you draw a stroke vertically from top to bottom,
thestrokeisnamedHKbecauseitcrossedthe
segments labeled H and K, in that order. Had you
drawn the stroke from bottom to top, it would
have been named KH.
Tip: You can define more than one stroke for the
same command. For example, you might assign
aU-shapestroketoUndo,butfindthatyou
sometimes draw a J shape when attempting the U.
By assigning both the U and the J strokes to Undo,
you don’t have to worry about missing that stroke.
The Command Should Operate On group of
optionsisimportant.Ifthecommandappliesto
selections, leave this option set to Single Object at
Start of Stroke, or change it to All Objects in the
Selection S et. However, if the command doesn’t
apply to selections, such as Arc Rotate or Activate
GridObject,changeittoNoObjectsJustExecute
the Command.
See also
Reviewing and Editing Strokes (p age 3–907)
Stroke Preferences Dialog (page 3–908)
View port Preferences (page 3–874)
Strokes Ut ilit y (page 3–909)
Procedures
To define a strok e using the CTR L k ey :
1.
HolddowntheCTRLkeywhiledrawinga
stroke.
2. If the st roke already exists, a message asks you
if you want to replace the old stroke. Click Yes.