2004

322 | Chapter 16 Draw Geometric Objects
Change the Base Point of Drawings to Be Used as Blocks
By default, AutoCAD uses the WCS (World Coordinate System) origin (0,0,0)
as the base point for drawing files inserted as blocks. You can change the base
point by opening the original drawing and using
BASE to specify a different
base point for insertion. The next time you insert the block, AutoCAD uses
the new base point.
Update Changes in the Original Drawing
If you change the original drawing after inserting it, the changes have no
effect on the current drawing. If you expect the original drawing to change,
and you want the changes to be reflected in the current drawing, you may
want to attach it as an external reference instead of inserting it as a block. For
more information about external references, see “Reference Other Drawing
Files (Xrefs)” on page 665.
Use Paper Space Objects in Blocks
Objects in paper space are not included when you insert a drawing as a block.
To transfer paper space objects to another drawing, make the objects into a
block or save them in a separate drawing file, and then insert the block or
drawing file into the other drawing.
To create a new drawing file from selected objects
1 Open an existing drawing or create a new drawing.
2 At the Command prompt, enter wblock.
3 In the Write Block dialog box, select Objects.
If you want the original objects used to create the new drawing to remain
in your drawing, make sure the Delete From Drawing option is not
selected. If this option is selected, the original objects are erased from the
drawing. If necessary, you can use
OOPS to restore them.
4 Click Select Objects.
5 Use your pointing device to select the objects to be included in the new
drawing. Press ENTER to complete object selection.
6 In the Write Block dialog box under Base Point, specify the point to be the
origin point (0,0,0) for the new drawing using one of these methods:
■ Click Specify Point to specify a point using the pointing device.
■ Enter the X,Y,Z coordinate of the point.
7 Under Destination, enter a file name and path for the new drawing, or
click the [...] button to display a standard file selection dialog box.
8 Click OK.
A new drawing is created with the selected objects.