Drawing

Everything in a drawing is made by a command. This chapter shows how commands talk to you, then walks through the tools for each kind of shape.

How commands work

Type a command’s name, or its short alias, and press Enter. L starts LINE, C starts CIRCLE, REC starts RECTANG. You don’t need to click in a box first: with Dynamic Input on, what you type appears next to the cursor. The ribbon buttons start the same commands.

The command then asks you questions, one at a time. Each question is a prompt:

Command line

Command: C
Specify center point for circle or [3P/2P/Ttr (tan tan radius)]: 30,40
Specify radius of circle or [Diameter] <10.0000>: Enter

• Square brackets list the options. Type the capital letters of one to choose it: D for Diameter, T for Ttr. Some options have their capital letters in the middle, such as cuTting edges, where you type T.
• Angle brackets show a default. Press Enter to accept it.
• Points can be clicked or typed. Precision and drafting aids explains every way to give an exact point.

A few keys work the same in every command:

Key	What it does
Enter	Accepts what you typed, or the default. At a prompt that repeats, such as LINE’s next point, it ends the command.
Space	The same as Enter, except while you are typing text.
Esc	Cancels the command. What it already drew stays.
Enter with no command running	Starts the last command again.
Right-click during a command	The same as Enter.
Right-click with no command running	A menu with Repeat for the last command, recent input, the clipboard and selection tools.

Undo a whole command with U or Ctrl+Z. To run any command over and over until you press Esc, type MULTIPLE and then the command’s name.

Lines and polylines

A line is a single straight segment. LINE keeps going, so one command can draw many lines, but each segment is its own object.

A polyline is one object made of straight and curved segments. Select it and the whole outline is selected. Polylines can have widths, can be closed, and can be offset, filleted and measured as one shape. Use PLINE for outlines you will treat as one part. RECTANG and POLYGON also make closed polylines.

Command	Type	What it does
LINE	L	Create a series of straight-line segments (Close, Undo; Enter continues the last line or arc).
PLINE	PL	Draw a connected sequence of line and arc segments as one object (Arc, Close, Length, Undo).
RECTANG	REC, RECTANGLE	Draw a rectangle from two opposite corners.
POLYGON	POL	Draw a regular polygon by centre or by one edge.
MLINE	ML	Draw a multiline: parallel lines along a path, in a multiline style ([Justification/Scale/STyle]).
TRACE	TRACE	Draw wide line segments (a polyline with a width).
SKETCH	SKETCH	Draw freehand: press and drag; each stroke becomes lines, a polyline or a spline.
BREAKLINE	BREAKLINE	Draw a break line: a polyline with a zigzag break symbol.
REVCLOUD	REVCLOUD	Draw a revision cloud, or turn an object into one.

Circles, arcs and curves

Command	Type	What it does
CIRCLE	C	Draw a circle by centre and radius or diameter, two or three points, or tangent to objects.
ARC	A	Draw an arc by three points, or from a start, centre or end with an angle, chord, direction or radius.
ELLIPSE	EL	Draw an ellipse or an elliptical arc.
DONUT	DO	Draw a filled ring (or disc) from inside/outside diameters.
SPLINE	SPL	Draw a spline through fit points or by control vertices.
BLEND	BLEND	A spline joining the ends of two objects, tangent (or smooth) to both.

CIRCLE remembers the last radius and offers it as the default next time. ARC has many ways to start: three points, or a start, a centre or an end followed by an angle, a length or a direction. Its page lists them all.

Hatches and fills

A hatch fills an area with a pattern, a solid colour or a gradient. The easiest way is to click inside a closed area: Musa CAD finds the boundary around the point, and leaves holes such as circles inside unfilled. You can also select closed objects as the boundary.

Hatches are drawn as real lines in a plot, so a PDF stays sharp at any zoom.

Command	Type	What it does
HATCH	H, BHATCH	Fill an enclosed area with a pattern or solid color.
GRADIENT	GD	Fill an enclosed area or selected objects with a gradient.
HATCHEDIT	HE	Edit a hatch: its pattern, scale and angle, or a new boundary round it.
BOUNDARY	BO, -BOUNDARY	Closed polylines round the area enclosing a point, and its islands.
SOLID	SO	Draw filled triangles and quadrilaterals.
WIPEOUT	WIPEOUT	Mask what lies beneath a polygon (text still shows through); [Frames] and [Polyline].

Construction lines, points and centre marks

Construction lines run forever in one or both directions. They are useful as guides while you lay out a drawing. Points mark positions, and can be shown as a dot, a cross or other shapes.

Command	Type	What it does
XLINE	XL	Draw an infinite construction line.
RAY	RAY	Draw a semi-infinite construction line.
POINT	PO	Place point objects; Esc ends.
DIVIDE	DIV	Mark a curve into a number of equal segments with points.
MEASURE	ME	Mark a curve at set intervals with points.
CENTERLINE	CL	Draw the centre line between two lines.
CENTERMARK	CM	Mark the centres of circles and arcs, with centre lines.

Next

• Change what you drew in Modifying.
• Place points exactly with Precision and drafting aids.
• Every drawing command, with every option, is in the command reference.