PROPERTIES

PROPERTIES shows the Properties palette. The palette lists the settings of the objects you have selected, such as their layer, colour, linetype, size and text, and lets you change them by typing or picking a new value.

How it works

Type PR and press Enter. The Properties palette opens on the right of the window, and the command ends at once. PROPS and CH do the same. Type PR again to close the palette.

Command line

Command: PR
Properties palette toggled.

Now select objects in the drawing. The palette fills with their settings and follows the selection as it changes. Click in a field, change the value, and the selected objects change with it.

The palette

The top line names what is selected: one object type such as Line, a count such as 3 Lines, or Mixed (5) for different types. With nothing selected it says No selection and names the current layer.

Below that, the settings come in groups. A field appears only when it applies to every selected object, so a mixed selection shows little more than the General group.

Group	Fields
General	Layer, Color, Linetype, Linetype scale, Lineweight and Transparency. Every object has these.
Geometry	A line shows its Length, Start and End, and Start X, Start Y, End X and End Y to type new ends. A circle or arc shows Center and Radius, with Center X and Center Y. An ellipse shows its centre the same way. Text shows its Position, with Position X and Position Y. A polyline shows Global width, Elevation and Thickness.
Text	For text, multiline text and leader labels: Contents, Height, Rotation (deg), Justify, Font, Style, Width factor, Line spacing, Defined width, Attachment and, on leaders, Text color. Not every field shows for every kind.
Dimension	Arrowhead, Arrow size, Line color, Ext line color, Text height, Text color, Text fit, Text override, Text moved, Text prefix, Text suffix, Tolerance, Upper deviation, Lower deviation and Precision.
Hatch	Pattern, Scale, Angle (deg) and Origin.
Tolerance	For geometric tolerances: Cells, or the Datum letter of a datum.

Changing a value

Field	How to change it
A number	Type the new value and press Enter, or click away. Length, Start, End, Center, Position and Origin are shown only; change them with the X and Y fields below them.
A list, such as Layer or Linetype	Pick a new entry. Linetype offers ByLayer, ByBlock, Continuous, Dashed, Center, Hidden and the drawing’s loaded linetypes. Lineweight offers ByLayer, ByBlock and 0.00 mm to 2.00 mm.
Transparency	Pick ByLayer, ByBlock or a percentage, or type a whole number from 0 to 90. Anything else is ignored.
Color	Click the colour button to choose a colour in the Select color window. Click ByLayer to take the layer’s colour again, or ByBlock to take the colour of the block it sits in.
Contents	Click Edit text…, change the text in the Edit contents window, and click OK.
A dimension setting	Type or pick an override for this dimension. Click ByStyle next to it to go back to the dimension style’s value.

*VARIES* in a field means the selected objects have different values there. Type or pick a value to give them all the same one.

Good to know

• Each change you make in the palette is one undo step. U takes it back.
• A Radius of 0 or less is ignored.
• ByLayer means the object takes that setting from its layer. Set objects to ByLayer and control them from LAYER, so one change there updates them all.
• The palette is a panel of the main window. Drag its title bar to float it or to dock it on another side, and use its close button or PR to hide it.
• To copy all the settings of one object onto others, MATCHPROP is quicker than the palette.

Compared with AutoCAD

The palette works like AutoCAD’s: it follows the selection, shows *VARIES* where selected objects differ, and gives coordinates one row per axis, such as Start X and Start Y. It has no Quick Select button; use QSELECT to select objects by their properties.

Next

• Copy properties from one object to others with MATCHPROP.
• Set up the layers your objects take their settings from with LAYER.
• Read about layers, colours and linetypes in Organising a drawing.