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surface A surface is a 3D object that is a thin shell. Surfaces do not have mass or volume as
3D solids do. There are 3 types of surfaces: analytic, generic, and NURBS.
surface associativity See associative surfaces
surface normal Positive direction perpendicular to the surface of an object.
swept solid/surface A solid or surface created in the shape of the specified profile (the swept
object) swept along the specified path. (SWEEP)
symbol A representation of an item commonly used in drawings. Symbols are inserted in
drawings as blocks.
symbol library A collection of block definitions stored in a single drawing file.
symbol table See definition table and block definition table.
system variable A name that is recognized as a mode, size, or limit. Read-only system
variables, such as DWGNAME, cannot be modified directly by the user.
table A rectangular array of cells that contain annotation, primarily text but also blocks. In
the AEC industry, tables are often referred to as “schedules” and contain information about
the materials needed for the construction of the building being designed. In the
manufacturing industry, they are often referred to as “BOM” (bills of materials). (TABLE)
table break The point at the bottom of a table row where the table will be split into a
supplementary table fragment.
table style A style that contains a specific table format and structure. A table style contains
at least 3 cell styles.
temporary files Data files created during an program session. The files are deleted by the
time you end the session. If the session ends abnormally, such as during a power outage,
temporary files might be left on the disk.
tessellation lines Lines that help you visualize a curved surface.
In a 3D mesh object, tessellations indicate the boundaries of the mesh faces.
text style A named, saved collection of settings that determines the appearance of text
characters—for example, stretched, compressed, oblique, mirrored, or set in a vertical column.
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