Datasheet

In Figure 1.15, it took 25 seconds to get the total area of the object with all internal
shapes removed. Here are the steps:
1. Create regions from the existing geometry using the BOUNDARY command.
2. Use the SUBTRACT command to remove the holes from the large object by selecting
them all with a window.
3. Use the Object option of the AREA command, and select the resulting region. You
can also find the area as a property of the region in the Properties palette.
DIST
The DIST command gives you an accurate distance if you use object snaps to pick the
points. It’s also the quickest way to get an angle in the X-Y plane. Pick the points in the
proper order, or the angle will be off by 180°. To get the angle between two lines, use
DIMANGULAR (DAN). The lines don’t have to exist; you can select three points
with DIMANGULAR and get the angle between the segments defined by the points.
PROPERTIES and LIST
Both these commands give you information that varies by entity selected, including the
arc length of an arc. PROPERTIES can be used to change the properties of multiple
objects as well as individual objects. For example, you can change the height of all text
in the drawing without changing the locations.
Figure 1.15
Using regions
to calculate a
complex area
One piece of information that you can get from the LIST command that you can’t get from
the Properties palette is an object’s handle. This may seem meaningless to you now, but the
handle can be useful because it’s the unique identifier of an object and never changes.
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