We’ve got snap and grid in AutoCAD. Let’s talk about

snap and grid. Let’s see how we may use it and why we

would use it.

Snap restricts the cursor movements to specified

intervals. That is handy. Lines will have a specific

length.

Still. If you’re using object snaps than you may pick a

point that is not on an interval that has been

specified. We’ll talk with regards to object snap later.

With grid swapped on dots are displayed in the screen.

The dots aid to visualize distances. Often the grid

interval is the same as the snap interval.

That is important. You may have grid dots displayed in

the screen. Now you want to print your drawing. The

dots are not printed.

OK. We know what snap and grid are. But we want to know

more. We want to know how we may set the intervals and

how we may switch it on and off.

Let’s get started with setting the intervals. There are two

ways for doing that. Whatever way you choose. You do it

over the Drafting Settings dialog box.

Click on Tools in the menu bar. A pull down menu shows

up. In the pull down menu click on Drafting Settings.

The Drafting Settings dialog box is displayed.

There are four tabs in the Drafting Settings dialog

box. The Snap and Grid tab is in front. That’s exactly

what we want.

In the dialog box we see two check boxes and we see

four areas. The checkboxes may be used for switching on

or off snap and grid.

Let’s have a look at the Snap area and the Grid area.

First the Snap area. In that area you may enter values

for the spacing.

You may enter a value for the X spacing and you can

enter a value for the Y pacing. The spacing set the

interval I was talking about.

There is more you may do in that area. You may enter an

angle, an X base, and a Y base. The angle gives the

angle of the snap intervals.

Most of the time you do not alter the angle. You leave

the angle at zero. But the X base and the Y base.

What’s that?

The X base and the Y base gives the starting point of

the snap. As before. Do not change it. Leave it as it

is. At zero.

You now recognise how you may do the settings for the snap.

You do it in the Snap area of the Drafting Settings

dialog box.

But we may likewise do something with the settings of the

grid. That is done in the Grid area of the dialog box.

This time we may do less.

We may only change the X spacing and the Y spacing. We

cannot modify the angle or the X base and Y base of the

grid.

This is what is done most of the time. Most of the time

the spacing for the grid is the same as the spacing for

the snap.

That is what is happening. The grid follows the snap

settings for angle and the X base and Y base. So there

is no need to modify those settings.

This is what we now saw. You may do the settings of the

snap and the grid in the Drafting Settings dialog box.

And you may switch them on and off.

Before I continue. I ought to tell you with regards to the third area

in the Drafting Settings dialog box. It is the Snap

style and type area.

For the snap type we may set Grid snap and we may set

PolarSnap. If we go for a Grid snap type then e can

select a rectangular snap or an isometric snap.

If you’re creating isometric drawings, then you want to

go for an isometric snap. The snap will have the

isometric angles.

I’m not going to talk with regards to PolarSnap now. I will do

that later. I will do that as we’re talking when it comes to Polar

Tracking. In the next article.

But there is another way. Look at your screen. Do you

see the status bar? In the status bar there are two

buttons.

In the status bar there is the Snap button and there is

the Grid button. You may click on the buttons. To have

snap and grid swopped on and off.

Something else you may do with the buttons. You can

right click them. If you do a short cut menu is

displayed.

If you right click the Snap button then you’ll find the

following choices in the shortcut menu:

- PolartSnap On

- Grid Snap On

- Off

- Settings

If you right click on the Grid button then you’ll find

the following choices in the shortcut menu:

- On

- Off

- Settings

You may imagine where the on and off choices stand for.

Those choices may be sued to switch snap and grid on or

off.

But we already saw. There is a more immediate way. We may also

click on the Snap and Grid buttons in the status bar.

In fact. There is another quick way.

You may press the F7 function key to switch grid on or

off. And you may press the F9 function key to switch

snap on or off.

Oh. In the shortcut menu underneath the Snap button you also

see the PolarSnap On option. As I said before. We’ll

talk when it comes to it alter.

But there is the Settings option in the shortcut menus

under the Snap button and the Grid button. Click on

that option.

If you do the Drafting Settings dialog box is opened.

We already have seen what may be done in the Drafting

Settings dialog box.

But this is what we now know. Using the shortcut menu

under the Snap and Grid button. That is a more quickly way

to open the Drafting Settings dialog box.

This is it for today. Now you recognise everything that you

need to know in regards to snap and grid. Tomorrow we’re going

to talk when it comes to polar tracking.

See you tomorrow.

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