AllyCAD 3.

5
Reference Manual

Copyright 2006

KNOWLEDGE BASE
 Conditions of Sale
The purchaser (further referred to as the Licensee) hereby accepts a
non-exclusive, non-transferable license to use the software, AllyCAD,
on the following conditions.
1. The license fee shall be payable in advance and this agreement
commences on said date of purchase.
2. A separate license fee is payable for each CPU upon which the
Licensee wishes to use the software.
3. The Licensee undertakes not to copy, except for backup
purposes, reproduce, translate, adapt, vary or modify the
software, nor to communicate the software to any third party
other than the Licensee’s employees, without the Licensor’s prior
written consent.
4. The Licensee agrees that it shall not itself or through any
subsidiary, agent or third party, sell, lease, license, sub-license
or otherwise deal with the software.
5. The Licensee acknowledges that any and all of the intellectual
property rights including trademark, trade name, copyright and
other rights used or embodied in or in connection with the
software shall be and remain the sole property of the Licensor
and it’s principals.
6. The Licensee shall not question or dispute the ownership of any
such rights at any time.
7. It is up to the Licensee to insure the program for the full
replacement value. In the event of theft or loss of the program,
security disk, or security module the license must be re-
purchased in full.
8. No warranty of any kind is made with regard to the use or
application of the software or it’s fitness for any particular
purpose. The verification of all results and output is entirely the
responsibility of the purchaser.
9. While every care has been taken in the preparation of the
AllyCAD program and it’s manual, Knowledge Base cc, it’s
employees and agents shall not be liable for any loss or damage
(including in particular, consequential losses, loss of profits and
penalties) suffered by the Licensee arising from any cause
whatsoever in connection with the AllyCAD program or the use
thereof whether such loss or damage results from breach of
contract (including a fundamental breach), negligence or any
other cause and whether or not this contract is at any time
cancelled by the Licensee arising from any cause whatsoever in
connection with the AllyCAD program or the use thereof whether
or not this contract is at any time cancelled.
 Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION
Typefaces in this manual i
How to get support ii
Online Help ii

FILE MENU
Clear All 1-2
New 1-2
Open 1-3
If the New Bitmap Path dialog box is displayed 1-4
Notes about loading DXF and DWG drawings 1-4
Load 1-9
Load Drawing 1-9
Load Layers 1-10
Load Geom 1-12
Load Bitmap 1-12
Batch Load Bitmaps 1-17
Load Menu 1-18
Load Title Block 1-19
Save 1-20
Save As 1-21
Saving an AutoCAD DWG file or a DXF file 1-21
Saving an AllyCAD DRG file 1-24
Drawing Office Manager 1-26
Save AllyCAD DOS 1-29
Save Options 1-30
Save Settings 1-30
Edit Description 1-32
Save Selected 1-33
Save Layer 1-33
Save Visible 1-34
Save Geometry 1-34
Load Symbol File 1-35
Import/Export 1-38
Import HPGL 1-38
Import ASCII 1-39
Import ShapeFile 1-40
Export Macro 1-40
Export Text 1-41
Export ShapeFile 1-42
Print 1-43
Printer Defaults 1-44

i
 Printing to a pen plotter 1-46
Creating an HPGL file 1-46
Zoom Print 1-47
Print Setup 1-49
Exec Macro 1-50
Encode Macro 1-50
Edit Macro 1-50
Repair DRG File 1-51
Purge Redundant Elements 1-52
Security 1-53
Hasp Dongle Overview 1-56
NetHasp 1-56
Exit 1-58

EDIT MENU
Undo 2-2
Redo 2-2
Cut 2-3
Copy 2-3
Paste 2-4
Delete 2-5
Select 2-6
Selecting 2-7
Handles 2-8
Stretching and Scaling 2-9
Rotating 2-11
Dragging 2-12
Copying 2-12
Double Click Editing 2-12
Select Nodes 2-14
Select by Polygon 2-16
Selection Filters 2-17
Objects 2-18
Properties 2-21
Text 2-21
Clear Selection 2-22
Move to Front 2-23
Move to Back 2-23

VIEW MENU
Zoom Window 3-2
Zoom Last 3-4
Zoom Next 3-5
Zoom All 3-5
Zoom Paper 3-6

ii
 Zoom Scaled 3-6
Zoom Selected 3-7
Zoom View 3-7
Define Zoom View 3-8
Toolbars 3-11
Magnify 3-12
Demagnify 3-12
Pan 3-13
Long Pan 3-14
Refresh 3-15

DRAW MENU
Line (Chained) 4-2
Lines (Pt to Pt) 4-3
Point 4-4
Rectangle 4-5
Arc 3 Point 4-6
Arc Radius 4-7
Circle 4-9
Circle Diameter 4-10
Circle 2 Point 4-11
Line Arc Line 4-12
Parallel Line 4-15
1 Parallel Element 4-17
Geometry Trace-Over 4-21
Fill Geom 4-21
Fill Geometry Cir 4-22
Fill Geom Arc 4-23
Ellipses 4-25
Ellipse 4-25
Part Ellipse 4-26
Splines 4-28
Circular Spline 4-28
Cubic Spline 4-29
Polyline 4-31
Bulged Polyline 4-33
Polygon 4-36
Symbol 4-38
Options on the control bar 4-39
Entering Symbols without AutoR checked 4-41
Entering Symbols when AutoR is Checked 4-42
Sketch 4-44

MODIFY MENU
Stretch 5-2

iii
 Move 5-4
Move Point 5-5
Mirror Image 5-6
Mirror Axis 5-7
Keep Original 5-8
Scale 5-9
Scaling by cursor 5-10
Scaling from the keyboard 5-12
Repeat 5-13
Rectangular Repeat 5-14
Polar Repeat 5-15
Drop 5-17
Rotate 5-18
Rotating by angle 5-18
Rotating by cursor 5-19
Trim 5-20
Update 5-20
Use 5-21
Trim Length 5-22
Multi Line Trim 5-23
Fillet 5-23
Update 5-24
Use 5-24
Radius 5-26
Chamfer 5-27
Chamfer by angle and one length 5-28
Chamfer by two lengths 5-28
Divide/Extend 5-29
Splitting a line or arc 5-29
Extending a line or arc 5-29
Divide/Edit 5-30
Join Lines 5-31
Cut and Rub 5-33
Cutting in one place 5-34
Cutting in two places 5-35
Snip 5-36
Snipping inside or outside a box. 5-37
Snipping inside or outside a circle 5-38
Polysnip 5-39
Move Selected->New Layer 5-40
Copy Selected->New Layer 5-41
Ellipse2Arcs 5-42
Transform 5-42
Indicate transformation points 5-43
Type in transformation points 5-44
Clarke->WGS84 (SA Only) 5-44
iv
GEOMETRY MENU
Cross 6-2
Slope Line 6-3
Point-Point Line 6-4
Parallel Line 6-5
Parallel line by distance 6-6
Parallel line through point 6-6
Circle 6-7
Circle Diameter 6-8
Circle Tan LL 6-9
Circle Tan LC 6-11
Circle Tan CC 6-14
Circle Tan 3L 6-19
Circle Tan LPtRad 6-21
Circle Tan CPtRad 6-23
Circle 3 Pt 6-27
Line Tan C 6-28
Tangent line at a fixed angle 6-29
Tangent line through point 6-29
Line Tan CC 6-30
Perp Bisector 6-32
Perpendicular Bisector between two points 6-33
Perpendicular to a line which passes through a point 6-33
Divide Line Equally 6-34
Divide Arc-Circle Equally 6-34
Make Geometry 6-36
Switch Geometry On/Off 6-37
Delete Geometry El 6-38
Delete All Geometry 6-39

ANNOTATE MENU
Add Text 7-2
Adding text around an arc 7-4
Edit Text 7-5
Edit Text 7-5
Move Text 7-5
Scale Text 7-6
Change Text Parameters 7-6
Set Alignment 7-7
Align To Each Other 7-7
Align To Grid 7-9
Alignment 7-9
Distribution 7-15
Align 7-18
Horizontal Dimension 7-20
Mechanical Style 7-21
v
 Architectural Style 7-27
Vertical Dimension 7-29
Slope Dimension 7-30
Parallel sloping dimensions 7-31
Dimensions at fixed angles 7-32
Isometric dimensions 7-34
Angular Dimension 7-36
Dimensioning angles between 2 existing lines 7-37
Dimensioning angles between three points 7-39
Dimensioning an existing arc length 7-41
Dimension an arc between three points 7-42
Radial Dimension 7-45
Ordinate Dimension 7-48
Survey Dimension 7-50
Edit Dimension 7-52
Edit Dimension Properties 7-52
Cut Dimension Line 7-54
Alter Dimension 7-55
Add Arrow 7-61
Add Balloon 7-63
Add/Rem Text Bubble 7-65
Enter Hatch/Solid Fill 7-66
Pattern hatching 7-66
Solid Fill 7-68
Tips for creating interesting hatched effects 7-70
Quick Hatch Polylines 7-72
Alter Existing Hatch 7-72
Draw All Hatch 7-73
Draw Selected Hatch 7-73
Pick Index from Hatch 7-75
Hatch -> Lines 7-76
Label Coord 7-77

TOOLS MENU
Lock Cursor 8-2
Lock to Line 8-3
Lock Geom Line 8-3
Lock Keyboard 8-3
Perpendicular 8-3
120 deg 8-4
Hold 8-4
Unlock 8-6
Jumps 8-7
Grab All 8-7
Geometry Intersection 8-8
Grid 8-8
vi
 Any Intersection 8-9
Point 8-9
Circle Centre 8-10
Near Element 8-10
Last Fixed 8-11
Mid Point 8-11
Ratio 8-12
Move to Coordinates 8-14
Polar Move 8-15
Show Nodes 8-16
Dump Data 8-17
Object Header 8-19
Object Details 8-20
Grid 8-26
Measure 8-28
Polygon Area 8-29
Add Data Item 8-31
Edit Data Item 8-33
Query Entity 8-34
Bill of Materials (BOM) 8-35
Creating a Template for the Bill of Materials 8-35
Creating a Bill of Materials 8-39
Creating objects with attributes (Symbols) 8-40
Tidy Polygons 8-45
Add Nodes 8-46
Tidy Up Boundaries 8-47
Drawingsnaptidy 8-49
DrawingCliptidy 8-51
Line to Polyline 8-52
Arc to Points 8-53
Expand 8-53
Detailed view in a box 8-54
Detailed view in a circle 8-57
General 8-58
Bitmap List 8-60
Locate Text 8-60

OBJECTS MENU
An introduction to objects and symbols 9-2
Properties of objects 9-2
Using an object as a symbol 9-5
Begin New Object 9-6
Group Into Object 9-7
Explode Object 9-8
Show Objects 9-9
List Objects 9-13
vii
 Make Symbol 9-15
Edit Object 9-19
Change Name 9-19
Change Parent 9-21
Change Hook Point 9-21
Update Objects 9-23
Count Named Objects 9-24
Select Current Object 9-25
Blink Current Object 9-25
Create Block 9-27
Insert Block 9-28

SETTINGS MENU
Drawing Settings 10-2
Paper Size 10-2
Scale 10-3
Coordinate System 10-9
Angular Format 10-12
View Settings 10-14
Re-Centre Paper 10-20
Sheet Size and Scale 10-21
Change Magnify Factor 10-22
Line Defaults 10-23
Polyline Defaults 10-25
Parallel Defaults 10-28
New Geometry Colour 10-34
Set Text Defaults 10-35
Set Dim Defaults 10-41
Witness Line and Arrow Style. 10-41
Number Decimals 10-44
Dimension Text 10-44
Set Survey Defaults 10-46
Set Arrow Defaults 10-49
Set Balloon Defaults 10-51
DXF/DWG Conversion Settings 10-54
From DXF/DWG Conversion Settings 10-54
To DXF/DWG Conversion Settings 10-55
AllyCAD DOS Conversion Settings 10-56
Virtual Memory Settings 10-57
Digitizer Settings 10-58
System Settings 10-63
System Settings 10-63
Tiled Bitmaps 10-66
Set Current Layer 10-68
Set Visible Layers 10-69
Layer Settings 10-70
viii
 To Edit a Layer 10-71
To Add a Layer 10-71
To Delete a Layer 10-71
To Set the Current Layer 10-72
Setting Visible Layers 10-72
Layer Highlight 10-72
Operate on 10-73
Pen and Line Type By Layer 10-73

TOOLKIT MENU
General Toolkit 11-2
Calculator 11-3
Batch Print 11-4
File Converter 11-5
Read Excel Table 11-6
Layer Info on Plot 11-7
Divide an Angle 11-8
Divide a Line 11-9
Total Line Length 11-12
Hide Layer 11-14
Line/Pen by Layer 11-15
Draw Centrelines 11-16
Draw Chamfered Rect 11-17
Draw Filleted Rect 11-18
Set Layer from Element 11-19
Architectural Toolkit 11-20
Architectural Toolkit Functions: 11-20
Architectural Setup Dialog 11-21
Draw Walls 11-22
Add Roof Line to Plan 11-28
Place Symbols 11-30
Draw Elevations 11-32
Add Roof to Elevation 11-34
Drawing Cross Sections 11-36
Drawing Stairs 11-44
Civils Toolkit 11-51
Cut and Fill Lines 11-52
Sewer Capture Toolkit 11-54
Mechanical Toolkit 11-57
Setup 11-58
Hex Head Bolts 11-60
Hex Nuts 11-62
Socket Screws 11-64
Rivets 11-67
Drilled Holes 11-70
Draw Slots 11-73
ix
 Concentric Circles with Centre Lines 11-74
Add CL to Circle 11-75
Shafts 11-76
Gears 11-78
Links 11-80
Flanges 11-82
Rect to Round Duct 11-84
Rect to Round Duct 11-84
Coordinate Table 11-86
Parts List Table 11-88
User Table 11-90
Annotate Welds 11-92
Annotate Tolerances 11-94
Annotate Surface Finishes 11-95
Structural Toolkit 11-97
Building Grid 11-98
Survey Toolkit 11-102
Street Numbers 11-103
Coordinate Constant 11-105
Draw North Sign 11-106
Draw Grid Crosses 11-107
Import Points 11-108
Add Points 11-109
Export Points 11-110
Jump to Point 11-111
Auto Join Points 11-112
Connect Points 11-113
Traverse 11-114
Tache Shot 11-115
SG Diagram 11-117
Default Settings 11-117
Trace Figure 11-119
Adjust Drawing 11-121
General Plan 11-122
Default Settings 11-122
Insert Titleblock 11-125
Insert Heading 11-125
Erf Numbering and Area Table 11-126
Dimension Erf 11-127
Point-Point Dimension 11-127
Multiple Dimension 11-128
Outside Figure Table 11-128
Block Corners Table 11-130
Reference Mark Table 11-131
Control Coordinates Table 11-132
Sectional Plan 11-133
x
 Default Settings 11-133
Section Manager 11-135
Trace Section 11-138
Generate Sheet 1 11-139
Generate Block Plan 11-140
Generate Floor Plan 11-141
Generate PQ Sheet 11-142

PERIMETER MENU
Accept Button 12-144
Cancel Button 12-144
Circle 12-144
Rectangle 12-145
Line (Chained) 12-145
Objects 12-146
Intersections 12-146
Auto 12-147

DEFAULTS
Multiple users 13-2
User Home directory 13-2
Adding new users 13-3
CAD.INI 13-5
Paths 13-8
Print 13-9
FromDXFFonts 13-9
ToDXFFonts 13-9
DXFFlags 13-9
Controlbar 13-9
Digitizer 13-10
Logfile 13-10
Drawings 13-10
Vmem 13-10
Colors 13-10
Textedit 13-10
Infowindow 13-11
Coordtable 13-11
BOM 13-11

CAD.MEN
Comments 14-1
Toolbars 14-2
Pull-Down Menus 14-4
Accelerators 14-6
Digitizer 14-6

xi
 Functions 14-7
Transparent Commands 14-7
Short Cuts 14-7
Macros 14-8

HATCH PATTERNS
Hatch Pattern Definitions 15-2
Example 1 - Line 15-5
Example 2 - Dash 15-6
Example 3 - Newbrick 15-7
Example 4 - Triang 15-11

LINE TYPES
Line Type Definitions 16-2
Merging Drawings containing blocks 16-5

MACROS
Writing my first macro 17-2
Some hints and tips 17-5
Description 17-9
Statements 17-9
Special Characters 17-10
Variables 17-11
Maths Functions 17-13
General Purpose Functions 17-16
Flow of Control Commands 17-18
Data Entry Functions 17-21
String Functions 17-23
Coordinate to String Conversion 17-27
Enquire Functions 17-30
ASCII Files 17-44
DDE Commands 17-48
AllyCAD Functions 17-51
File Functions 17-53
Edit Functions 17-59
View Functions 17-63
Draw Functions 17-65
Modify Functions 17-70
Geometry Functions 17-73
Annotate Functions 17-76
Tools Functions 17-84
Objects Functions 17-89
Settings Functions 17-92
Window Functions 17-109
Perimeter Functions 17-110

xii
COMPILED MACROS
Advantages of using compiled macro programs 18-1
The structure of a compiled macro program 18-2
An introductory sample compiled macro program 18-2
Converting old-style macro programs 18-3
Language elements 18-4
Character set 18-4
Special Characters 18-5
Tokens, separators and the use of blanks 18-6
Identifiers and reserved words 18-6
Numeric constants 18-7
Character constants 18-8
String constants 18-8
Coordinate pairs 18-9
Comments 18-10
Variables 18-11
Numeric variables 18-11
String variables 18-11
Arrays 18-12
Numeric expressions 18-13
Operands 18-13
Operators 18-13
Precedence of operators 18-15
Expressions in parentheses 18-15
Built-in numeric functions 18-16
String expressions 18-19
Statements 18-21
Assignment statements 18-21
String assignments 18-21
IF and ELSE statements 18-22
WHILE statement 18-23
BREAK statement 18-24
SWITCH statement 18-24
CALL and RETURN statements 18-25
EXIT statement 18-25
Procedures 18-26
Format of a procedure 18-26
Procedure parameters 18-26
Return value of a procedure 18-28
Ways of activating a procedure 18-28
Passing parameters by reference 18-28
Compiling a compiled macro program 18-30
Error and warning messages 18-30
How does a compiled macro program differ? 18-32
String constants enclosed in quotation marks 18-32
Unintentional combination of numeric arguments 18-32
xiii
 Commands/functions whose syntax has changed 18-32
List of compiled macro reserved words 18-33
Compiled macro limits 18-34

APPENDIX A - FUNCTIONS
Function by Menu Name 19-2
Functions A to Z 19-10

APPENDIX B - BITMAP NAMES

File Menu 20-2
Edit Menu 20-4
ViewMenu 20-5
Draw Menu 20-6
Modify Menu 20-7
Geometry Menu 20-8
Annotate Menu 20-9
Tools Menu 20-10
Objects Menu 20-11
Settings Menu 20-12
Windows Menu 20-15
Cursor Movement 20-16
General 20-18

xiv
Introduction
This manual will help you install AllyCAD and get started. It also
includes easy-to-follow tutorials for hands-on experience with the
program.

Typefaces in this manual

The different typefaces in this manual are used as follows:
Monospace This typeface represents text as it appears in
prompts or output.
Italics Italics are used for emphasis and to introduce new
terms.
[Enter] This indicates a key on your keyboard.
For example:
“Press [Enter] to complete the entry.”
Command This typeface indicates a menu option or a
command.
For example:
“Click on the Open icon to load a drawing.”

 This button on the control bar is used to accept a

setting or function.

 This button in the control bar is used to cancel a

setting or function.
Menu commands appear with the path separated by an arrow. The
instruction Draw ► Ellipses ► Ellipse refers to the command you choose
by opening the Draw menu, the Ellipses sub-menu, and by choosing
the Ellipse option.

Introduction i
How to get support
Technical support is available from 08.00 to 17.00 Mondays to
Fridays excluding public holidays.
South Africa 086 0101 999
International +27 (021) 701-1850
You can also email your support enquiries to our Customer Support
Centre at [email protected]

Online Help
While using the program you can press F1 for context sensitive help
at any time. The help items can be printed if required using the
Windows Help system.

ii AllyCAD Reference Manual

File Menu
The File Menu contains all the functions
to create, load, save, import, export and
print drawings. In addition it also includes
options to set up the security and to
correct faulty drawing files.

File Menu 1-1

Clear All
Clears the drawing in the current window

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right File DelAll

If you have not saved the current drawing, a dialog box asking you
whether you want to save it will appear. To save your drawing, click
on the YES button. To abandon it without saving, click on the NO
button.

New
Creates a new empty window with a blank drawing in it

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left File Ctrl + N FileNew

A new window will be displayed with the defaults stored in

STARTUP.DRG.

1-2 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Open
Load an AllyCAD or AutoCAD drawing or a DXF file

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left File Ctrl + O FileOpen
Ctrl + F12

Loads AllyCAD drawings (DRG files), AutoCAD drawings (DWG files)

and DXF files. DXF files are the normal method for transferring
drawings between different CAD systems.

Procedure
The standard File dialog box is displayed. To choose the type of
drawing file you want to load - DRG, DWG or DXF - set the Files of
Type list box at the bottom left of the dialog box. Select the drawing
you want and click on the Open button.

If you have checked the Open creates a new window option in the
System Settings dialog and you have a drawing on your screen,
AllyCAD will ask you whether you want to save it and will then close
it. The new drawing will be loaded. As it loads, a bar at the bottom of
the screen will show the progress of the load.
The names of the drawings you have worked on most recently are
listed at the bottom of the File menu. To load one of these drawings,
click on its name in the list.

You can also open DRG, DWG and DXF files by dragging them into
AllyCAD from Windows Explorer.

File Menu 1-3

If the New Bitmap Path dialog box is displayed
When you save a drawing that contains bitmaps, the bitmaps are not
stored with the drawing. Only a reference to them is stored. If you
delete a bitmap or move it to another directory, AllyCAD will not be
able to find the bitmap next time the drawing is loaded. A dialog
titled New Bitmap Path will be displayed.
If you have moved the bitmap to another directory, click on [Browse
File Directory] button in the dialog box to locate the bitmap so that
AllyCAD will be able to find it. Then click on the [Try Again] button.
If you click on the [Ignore Reference] button in the dialog box,
AllyCAD will load the drawing minus the bitmap that it cannot find.
If you click on the [Delete Reference] button in the dialog box,
AllyCAD will delete the reference to the bitmap stored in the drawing.

Notes about loading DXF and DWG drawings

DWG/DXF Versions
AllyCAD supports all AutoCAD 12, 13, 14, 2000, 2002 and 2004-
2006 DXF and DWG data except Shapes, 3D Faces. Loading of Model
Space or Paper Space is supported, but not simultaneously. If you
bring 3D information into AllyCAD, the z coordinates will most likely
be dropped.

DWG Import Wizard

AllyCAD If the “Enable DWG Wizard” is checked in the “Defaults” tab
of your “System Settings”.

You don’t have to load the drawing into a new drawing with specially
configured drawing defaults, just open the drawing and select either
the “AutoCAD DWG” or “AutoCAD DXF” and from file type combo box
in the open file dialog.

Click on OK and the DWG Import Wizard will appear as shown

below:

1-4 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 The first page of the
DWG Import Wizard
allows you to set the
paper size, scale, units,
coordinate system
(either Cartesian or
Surveyor, Northern or
Southern Hemisphere),
pen mappings of the
dwg/dxf drawing you
are importing.

The second page of the

DWG Import Wizard
allows you to set the
font mappings of the
dwg/dxf drawing you
are importing.

Click the “Next” button to access the next page of the wizard and the
“Back” button to retrieve the previous page and “Finish” once you
have completed the process.
If the drawing contains layouts (paper spaces) the following message
will appear:

Select “Yes” if you want to load a paperspace else “No” if you want to
load the model space.

File Menu 1-5

If you selected “Yes” and there is more that one paperspace available
the following Layout Selection dialog will appear:

Select the paper space you want by click on it in the list and pressing
OK. The drawing will then load.

Pen colours
AllyCAD pen numbers are identical to the DWG and DXF files. If the
colours are different to AutoCAD click on the [Pen] button in the
Control Bar and then check the AutoCAD colors option.

Fonts
Because AutoCAD does not always use a standard Windows font
system and AllyCAD does, you need to convert DXF and DWG fonts

1-6 AllyCAD Reference Manual

to AllyCAD equivalents. You do this in the DXF/DWG Conversion
Settings dialog box in the Settings Menu.
• If you are using a pen plotter you should use DXF/DWG
Conversion Settings to translate DXF and DWG fonts into the
equivalent Windows pen plotter fonts. These are Modern, Roman,
and Script.
• If the DXF or DWG file you are converting contains an AutoCAD
font you don’t know the name of, use the UNKNOWNNAME
setting in the For DXF Font section of the DXF/DWG Conversion
Settings dialog box. Then select the AllyCAD font you want to
convert it to in the Use AllyCAD section.
• If the fonts you want to convert to or from do not appear in the
list of fonts in the DXF/DWG Conversion Settings dialog box, you
can add further fonts by reading the CAD.INI file in your User
Home directory into a word processor and adding the required
font names to the existing listing.

Line Types
By default, DXF and DWG line types should be displayed correctly in
AllyCAD. However, the LINETYPE.MAC file, which defines the line
styles, may have been changed.

Part of the drawing is missing

If you have loaded a DXF or a DWG file and part of your drawing
seems to be missing, go to Settings ► View Settings and change the
background colour of your drawing. It is likely that the missing parts
of the drawing are simply the same colour as the background.

Drawing Origin
As AutoCAD's origin point (0 0) is at bottom left and AllyCAD's is at
the centre of the paper, you may have to use the Settings ► Re-Centre
Paper function to centre a DXF or DWG drawing on the paper.

Scale
As AutoCAD works mainly at a scale of 1:1 you may want to change
the scale in AllyCAD to a more normal setting, e.g. 1:50, using
Settings ► Drawing Settings.

File Menu 1-7

Attributes
AutoCAD has two types of attributes, Attdef (attribute definition, only
found inside blocks) and Attribute (solidified Attdef, produced when
you insert a block). These are converted to AllyCAD as follows:
• An Attdef has three text strings: prompt, tag and default. These
are stored in a AllyCAD data item as prompt:tag=default.
• An Attribute has two text strings: tag and value. These are stored
in an AllyCAD data item as tag=value.
The AllyCAD data items are converted back to attributes when you
write the drawing out again.

Dimensions
AutoCAD has two ways of putting text into a dimension, either blank
or some text. If the AutoCAD dimension is blank, AllyCAD puts in its
own text based on the current dimension settings. If the AutoCAD
dimension has text in it, AllyCAD copies it across verbatim.

If your DXF or DWG drawing loads and redraws very slowly

DXF and DWG drawings often contain un-referenced blocks that can
slow them down drastically. You can purge these blocks using File ►
Purge Duplicates/ Redundant.
See Also
Defaults, Line Types

1-8 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Load
Merge drawings, load selected layers of a drawing, load geometry, or load a
bitmap.

Load Drawing
Inserts another drawing into the existing drawing

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right File ReadAnyFile

This function operates in the same way as File ► Open. However, if

there is already a drawing on the screen, the new drawing will be
merged into the existing drawing. This is useful if you need to add,
say, a pre-drawn detail to the drawing you are working on.

Procedure
When you load a DWG or DXF file into an existing drawing, the new
drawing will be positioned on the existing drawing according to its
coordinates, i.e. an entity positioned at coordinate "100,100" on the
new drawing will be positioned at coordinate "100,100" on the
existing drawing. This is also true if you load an AllyCAD drawing
into an existing drawing and you are working with Surveyor
coordinates.
However, if you load an AllyCAD drawing into an existing drawing
and you are using Cartesian coordinates, AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter new Reference Point

Position the cursor at that position in the existing drawing where you
want the new drawing to be loaded and press [Enter] or click. The
origin point of the new drawing (coordinate "0 0") will be positioned
at the point you specify and will take on the coordinates of the
existing drawing.

If you saved the drawing you are loading using the File ► Save
Options ► Save Visible option the reference point you specified when
you saved the drawing will be positioned at the point you specify
here.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Drawing scale and rotation

File Menu 1-9

Type a scale and rotation for the drawing you are loading separated
by a space. For example, if you type “1 0” the new drawing will be
loaded at the same scale as the existing drawing and will not be
rotated.
When you have typed the scale and rotation you want, click on OK or
press [Enter].

If you enter a scale of “1” the drawing you are loading will be loaded
at the size at which you drew it, i.e. a dimension that measured
“10” on the drawing will still measure “10”.
If you type another scale, for example “2”, the drawing you are
loading will be twice as big as it was drawn, i.e. a dimension that
measured 10 will now measure 20.

If the New Bitmap Path dialog box is displayed

Refer to the Open section for more details.

Notes about loading DWG and DXF drawings

Refer to the Open section for more details.

Load Layers
Load selected layers of a drawing

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

LoadLay

This function loads a subset of layers from another drawing into the
existing drawing.

Procedure
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter layer names to be loaded, separated by commas.

Type in the names of the layers you want to load, for example WALLS
or CONTOURS. Typing "@" will load all layers. Click on OK or press
[Enter].
The rest of this function operates in exactly the same way as File ►
Load ► Load Drawing.

1-10 AllyCAD Reference Manual

If there is already a drawing on the screen, the layers you have
selected will be merged into it and you will be asked for a reference
point, scale and rotation.

File Menu 1-11

Load Geom
Load geometry lines that have previously been saved

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

LoadGeom

This function loads geometry lines that have previously been saved
using File ► Save Options ► Save Geometry or via an option in the File ►
Save Options ► Save Settings dialog.

Procedure
The standard file dialog box is displayed. Select the geometry file you
want to load.
If the geometry file was stored at a different scale from that currently
set, the message
Warning: geometry file was stored at scale x on paper size y

will be displayed. Click on OK.

Load Bitmap
Load a bitmap as a backdrop to the drawing

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

LoadBitmap

The bitmap could be of a map or aerial photograph; a scanned-in

picture of a component, finished product or building; a manually
produced drawing or simply your company logo. Once in AllyCAD
you can annotate the bitmap, trace over it to build up a drawing or
superimpose your project on top of it.
For example, the illustration below was created by placing solid fills
on top of the bitmap.

1-12 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Procedure
When you choose Load Bitmap, the standard file dialog is displayed. Select
the bitmap you want to load and click on OK. The Set Bitmap Parameters
dialog box is displayed:

Once you have finished editing the Set Bitmap Parameters dialog box, click
on OK. AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter coordinates for upper left corner of bitmap

Position the cursor where you want the upper left corner of the bitmap to
be positioned and press [Enter] or click. The bitmap will be displayed.
Once you have loaded the bitmap, you can select it using Select, drag it,
move it, stretch it, scale it, copy it, rub it out etc. However, you cannot edit
the pixels within it. You can print bitmaps to raster devices such as
printers or inkjet plotters.
• If you need to move the bitmap so it is behind other elements on
the drawing, use Edit ► Move to Back.
• When you save a drawing that contains a bitmap, the bitmap is
not stored in the drawing. Only a reference to the bitmap is stored. It is
therefore important that you do not delete the bitmap. If you delete the
bitmap or move it to another directory, an error message will appear next
time you try to load any drawings containing the bitmap.

Bitmap Tiling
Each Tiling is an indexing system for large bitmaps. Bitmaps larger than
the threshold value set in the edit box labeled “Bitmap threshold size for
tiling (kb)” on the “Tiled Bitmaps” tab of the “System Settings” dialog. If
tiling occurs a <filename>.bbf file is created in the same directory as the
bitmap.

Real World Pixel Size

Each bitmap is made up of little squares called pixels. You need to
type the width and height each pixel should be into the dialog box.
File Menu 1-13
Width and height are measured in the units you have set up in the
Settings ► Drawing Settings dialog box.
For example, if you have scanned in a map that represents an area
measuring 1200m x 1200m on the ground, and in its bitmap form
this map now measures 600 x 600 pixels, then the real world pixel
size is 2m in both width and height. If you need to change the Real
World Pixel Size of a bitmap once you have loaded it into your
drawing, double click on the bitmap. This brings up the Set Bitmap
Parameters dialog box again, which can then be edited.

Placeholder for Bitmap

If you check the Placeholder for bitmap box,
the bitmap will appear on the screen and
print as a placeholder. This is a purple
LOGO cross-hatched rectangle with the name of
the bitmap written across it. Displaying
bitmaps as placeholders speeds up
redraws.

If you do not check the Placeholder for

bitmap box, the bitmap will be displayed in
full detail.

You can change a bitmap from a placeholder to full detail or vice

versa at any stage after loading by double clicking on it, which brings
up the Set Bitmap Parameters dialog box for editing. You can also
view all the bitmaps on your drawing as placeholders, or all of them
in full detail.

Resample Mode
This option affects the way your bitmap appears on the screen, but
not the way it is printed.
The resample mode dictates how your bitmap will be displayed on
the screen when you demagnify the screen or scale the bitmap to
make it smaller. When you do either of these things, AllyCAD needs
to change the way it displays your bitmap.

1-14 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 If you select Preserve Black, AllyCAD will
display fewer pixels than previously. The
black pixels will be displayed at the
expense of other pixels.

If you select Preserve White, AllyCAD will

display fewer pixels than previously. The
white pixels will be displayed at the
expense of other pixels.

If you select Thin Pixels, alternate pixels in

your bitmap will be ignored when you zoom
out.

The default setting, Preserve Black, seems to work best for most
images. However, for scanned maps and photographs you might
want to try the Thin Pixels setting. You should experiment with the
settings to see how they affect your bitmaps as you zoom in and out.
To change the settings double click on the bitmap. This will bring up
the Set Bitmap Parameters dialog box so you can edit it.

Bitmap Angle
The bitmap can be rotated about its top left hand corner by any angle from
0o to 360o (measure in degrees). Double click near one of the edges of the
bitmap to invoke the bitmap dialog and type the angle into the edit box
marked “Angle” and click OK.

File Menu 1-15

Set Clip Region
Double click near one of the edges of the bitmap to invoke the bitmap
dialog. If no clip region has previously been defined, a button
marked “Set Clip Region” can be seen, click on this. The following
prompt will appear:
Enter first point of clip region

Click somewhere on the bitmap where you want the bitmap clipping
to start. AllyCAD will then prompt:
Enter next point of clip region

Continue clicking to add vertices to the bitmap region. Snap to the

first point to close the bitmap region for the last vertex to close the
clip region. Type “s” to refresh the drawing and view the changes
made.

Clear Clip Region

Double click near one of the edges of the bitmap to invoke the bitmap
dialog. If a clip region has previously been defined a button marked
“Clear Clip Region” can be seen, click on this. This will clear the
existing clip region. Type “s” to refresh the drawing and view the
changes made.

1-16 AllyCAD Reference Manual

A clipped bitmap rotated at 35o

Note: Bitmaps saved in version 3.5 of AllyCAD are not backward

compatible with previous versions of the software. A 3.5 drawing
containing a bitmap which is loaded in a previous version will not
display the bitmap.

Batch Load Bitmaps

Load a batch of bitmaps as a backdrop to the drawing.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

BitmapBatch
This is an extension of the normal Load Bitmap function.
This function will load all bitmaps of supported types from a selected
directory. The supported types are JPEG, TIFF, BMP, ECW and
MrSID. However, in order to facilitate the automatic placement of
these bitmaps, a world file of the same name as the bitmap must
exist in the same folder. The standard world files (log, tfw, sdw and

File Menu 1-17

hgr) are supported. For Southern Hemisphere drawings the sign of
the coordinates in the world file are automatically reversed.
See Also: Load Bitmap, Tiled Bitmaps

Procedure
A folder selection dialog is displayed. Select the folder that contains
the bitmaps (and world files) to be loaded and click the OK button.
The procedure is entirely automated from here on and will load (and
tile if required) all supported bitmaps from the selected folder. At the
end of the import a message will display telling you the number of
bitmaps successfully loaded.

Load Menu
Load new menus, toolbars and hot-keys

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

LoadMenu

By default, AllyCAD's menus, icons and accelerator keys are defined

in a file called CAD.MEN. While you can customize CAD.MEN, you
can also create completely separate menu systems. These should
have exactly the same format as CAD.MEN, and be saved as files
with .men extensions.
Load Menu allows you to swap between alternative menu systems.

Procedure
A standard Windows file dialog box headed Menu to load is displayed.
The file list contains the default AllyCAD menu file, CAD.MEN, and
any other menu files you may have created or installed.
Once you have selected the menu to load the menu bar is updated to
display it. This does not affect any drawing you may have on the
screen at the time.
See Also
Menu

1-18 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Load Title Block
Insert a title block or border into your drawing at the correct scale.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

exec ".\macro\loadtitl"

You should create a title block drawing for each paper size you are
likely to use in Cartesian coordinates at a scale of 1:1. You can
include bitmaps of company logos, etc. When you have drawn the
title block, select it by dragging a rectangle around it and group it
into an object. Then save your title block drawing.

Procedure
The standard Windows file dialog box is displayed. Select the title
block drawing you want to use and click on Open.
The title block is placed on your drawing at the correct scale.

File Menu 1-19

Save
Save your drawing

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left File Ctrl + S FileSave
Shift + F12

If you have never saved the drawing you are working on before, Save
will operate in exactly the same way as File ► Save As.
If you have saved the drawing before, this function will save your
drawing under the filename you saved it under previously. In this
case, you will not see anything happening other than that the hard
drive light on your PC will come on while the drawing is being saved.

1-20 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Save As
Save drawing as an AllyCAD DRG file, an AutoCAD DWG or DXF file

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right File F12 FileSaveAs

This function saves drawings as AllyCAD files (DRG files), AutoCAD

release 12, 13, 14, 2000, 2002 or 2004-2006 files (DWG files), or
DXF (Drawing eXchange Format) files.

DXF is the AutoCAD Drawing Exchange File format and AutoCAD's

DXF is the standard. AllyCAD's DXF is designed to read and write
this standard. Success of transfer between AllyCAD and other CAD
programs depends on whether those programs can read and write
standard DXF files correctly.

If you are saving a drawing as a DWG or DXF file, you can control
which version of AutoCAD the DWG or DXF file should be compatible
with in the To DXF/DWG Conversion Settings dialog box. You can
also specify which fonts to use in AutoCAD or in the DXF file in the
same dialog. The line styles are defined in the LINETYPE.MAC file.

Procedure
The standard Windows file dialog box is displayed. Choose the type
of file you want to save (DRG, DWG or DXF) in the Save as type list
and choose the drive and directory that you want to save your
drawing to. Then type a name for the drawing and click on Save.

If a drawing with the file name you have chosen already exists, you
will be warned and will have the option of canceling the save.

Saving an AutoCAD DWG file or a DXF file

If you are saving an AutoCAD DWG file or a DXF file, the following
prompt will be displayed:
Write everything (else just selected)

To save the whole drawing as a DWG or DXF file, click on the YES
button. To just save those items on the drawing that are selected,
click on the NO button.

File Menu 1-21

DWG Export Wizard
AllyCAD If the “Enable DWG Wizard” is checked in the “Defaults” tab
of your “System Settings”.

Go to the File menu select “Save As” and when the Save File Dialog
appears select either the “AutoCAD DWG” or “AutoCAD DXF” from
file type combo box.

Type in a new file name in the “File name:” edit box or leave the
default name which should be <AllyCAD file name>.dwg.

For a Southern Hemisphere you don’t have to negate your drawing

origin coordinates and change your coordinate system setting to
Northern Hemisphere in the drawing defaults as the export wizard
does this automatically for you.

Click on “Save” and the DWG Export Wizard appears:

The first page of the
DWG Export Wizard
allows you to set the
DXF/DWG target
version, and pen
mappings of the
dwg/dxf drawing you
are exporting.

1-22 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 The second page of the
DWG Export Wizard
allows you to set the
font mappings of the
dwg/dxf drawing you
are exporting.

Click the “Next” button to access the next page of the wizard and the
“Back” button to retrieve the previous page and “Finish” once you
have completed the process. The drawing will be written as a dxf/
dwg and when the process is complete the following message will
appear:

Pen colours
AllyCAD pen numbers are identical to AutoCAD pen numbers. If the
colours are different click on the [Pen] button on the Control Bar and
set the AutoCAD Colors option.

Fonts
As AllyCAD uses a standard Windows font system and earlier
versions of AutoCAD do not, you need to convert AllyCAD's fonts to
AutoCAD equivalents. You do this in the DXF/DWG Conversion
Settings dialog box.
If the fonts you want to convert to or from do not appear in the list of
fonts in DXF/DWG Conversion Settings, you can add further fonts
by reading the CAD.INI file in your User Home directory into a word
processor and adding the required font names to the existing listing.

File Menu 1-23

Line Types
By default, AllyCAD line types should appear correctly in DWG and
DXF files. The AllyCAD line types are defined in the LINETYPE.MAC
file.

Bitmaps
Older versions of AutoCAD do not support bitmaps. AllyCAD 3.5
supports clipped and rotated bitmap export to AutoCAD.

Scales
If you have layers at different magnifications on your drawing,
AutoCAD may crash when the DXF or DWG file is loaded into it.

Saving an AllyCAD DRG file

When you save an AllyCAD drawing, a backup copy of the drawing,
with the extension .BAK is automatically made. This copy is stored in
the same directory that the drawing is saved in.
When you save a drawing that contains a bitmap, the bitmap is not
stored in the drawing. Only a reference to the bitmap is stored. It is
therefore important that you do not delete the bitmap. If you delete
the bitmap or move it to another directory, an error message will
appear next time you try to load any drawings containing the bitmap.

Save As does not automatically save geometry unless you have

specified that it should do so in File ► Save Options ► Save Settings.
You can also save your geometry lines using File ► Save Options ►
Save Geometry.

1-24 AllyCAD Reference Manual

The Drawing Description dialog box is only displayed if you have
checked Use Drawing Office Manager in File ► Save Options ► Save
Settings. It only appears the first time you save a drawing.
The information that you type into the box will be added to the
Drawing Office Manager, allowing you to keep track of the number of
hours you work on the drawing, the date you last plotted it etc.
You can type a Drawing Description, and the name and Department
of the Draftsperson.

If you need to change the Drawing Description, Draftsperson or

Department assigned to an existing drawing, use the function File ►
Save Options ► Edit Description.

The date the drawing was started is automatically entered into the
Date Started box in the order year, month, and day. It cannot be
edited. In the dialog box shown, the drawing was started in 1998
(1998), in June (06), on the fifteenth (15).
Similarly, you cannot edit the Last Plotted box. This box will
automatically be updated with the date each time you plot.

File Menu 1-25

Drawing Office Manager
The Drawing Office Manager (DOM for short) is active if you have
checked the Use Drawing Office Manager box in File  Save Options 
Save Settings.
It allows you to keep track of each drawing: its description; the
draftsperson drawing it; the department it is being drawn in; the
paper size, scale and units used; the number of hours spent on it;
the date it was last updated; the date it was last plotted; etc.
All this information is stored in an ASCII file called DOM.TXT every
time you save your drawing. DOM.TXT resides in your AllyCAD
directory and is updated each time you save a drawing. It can be
loaded into any database that reads a comma delimited ASCII file,
and can also be edited in any text editor such as Notepad or the DOS
Editor.
Each record in the file refers to a particular drawing and is stored on
a single line, with fields separated by commas. It looks something
like this (but all on one line):
“CONC2”,“\CHOICE\”,“C:”,“PAULUS”,“CONCRETE
RESERVOIR”,“”,“A1”,100,1000.0,“SOUTH”,2538.093,17971.3
96,“”,“200”,19880929,19880929,,,“”,“”,“”,“”,“”,“”,“EKKE”,,0.12,,,,,,,,,0
.033,,,,

All the fields that are included in the DOM are listed in the table
below, together with:
• The type of field (Type): Text (C); Numbers (N); Date (D).
• The number of characters allocated to the field (Len.).
• The number of decimals allocated to the field (Dec.).
• Whether the field is automatically filled in by AllyCAD.
Fields that are automatically filled in by AllyCAD are marked
with a *. You can fill in the non-automatic fields yourself using
any text editor, provided that each field is separated by commas
and that text character fields are enclosed in double quotes.

1-26 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Field Name Type Len Dec Auto Comments
FILE_NAME C 256 0 * Drawing name.
DIRECTORY C 256 0 * Directory drawing is stored in, e.g.
\Ally\.
DRIVE C 4 0 * Drive directory is on, e.g. C:.
DISK_VOL C 12 0 * Disk volume label.
DESCRIPTN C 40 0 * Drawing description entered
automatically from AllyCAD, e.g.
CONCRETE RESERVOIR.
MORE_DESCR C 40 0 You can type extra descriptive
information into this field if you wish.
PAPER_SIZE C 30 0 * Paper size, e.g. A1.
SCALE N 8 1 * Scale, e.g. 100. This would mean that
the scale was 1:100.
UNITS N 9 2 * Units, represented in mm. If the
drawing units are mm, this figure is 1; if
they are inches, this figure is 25.4; if
they are metres, this figure is 1000 etc.
COORD_SYS C 10 0 * Coordinate system. SOUTH for
Southern Hemisphere; NORTH for
Northern Hemisphere.
DRG_ORIG_Y N 12 3 * Y coordinate of drawing origin.
DRG_ORIG_X N 12 3 * X coordinate of drawing origin. If you
are using Cartesian coordinates, this is
0. If you are using Surveyor coordinates
it is the Surveyor Origin you enter into
the Drawing Settings dialog box in the
Settings Menu.
DEPARTMENT C 10 0 * Department responsible for the
drawing.
CHOI_VERSN C 6 0 * Version of AllyCAD used.
DATE_START D 8 0 * Date the drawing was started.
LASTUPDATE D 8 0 * Date the drawing was last updated.
LASTPLOT D 8 0 * Date the drawing was last plotted.
DATE_DUE D 8 0 Date the drawing is due to be finished.
CUSTOMER C 20 0 Customer.
JOB_NO C 20 0 Job Number.
CATEGORY C 10 0 Drawing category.
DRAWING_NO C 15 0 Drawing number.
DRG_NO_B C 15 0 Another drawing number.
STATUS C 5 0 Drawing Status
DRAUGHTSM1 C 10 0 Another Draughtsman
COST_HOUR N 7 2 Cost charged per hour of drawing.
TOT_TIME N 7 2 * Total time spent on drawing in decimal
hours, e.g. 0.5 is half an hour.
JAN N 6 2 * Time spent on drawing per month.
FEB N 6 2 *

File Menu 1-27

Field Name Type Len Dec Auto Comments
MAR N 6 2 *
APR N 6 2 *
MAY N 6 2 *
JUN N 6 2 *
JUL N 6 2 *
AUG N 6 2 *
SEP N 6 2 *
OCT N 6 2 *
NOV N 6 2 *
DEC N 6 2 *

See Also
Defaults, Line Types, DXF/DWG Conversion Settings, Open

1-28 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Save AllyCAD DOS
Saves a drawing in AllyCAD DOS format

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

WriteDosAlly

This function is included for compatibility with the DOS version of

AllyCAD. The current version includes entities that are not supported
in the DOS version, so not all the primitives may be saved.
For example, you should explode all blocks and polylines before
saving an AllyCAD DOS file.

Procedure
The standard Windows dialog box named Save Drawing As pops up.
Type in a file name and click on the [Save] button.

File Menu 1-29

Save Options
Set the save options, change a drawing description, save selection
set, a specific layer, visible layers only, geometry.

Save Settings
Set options to schedule auto backups as well as what will be saved

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

AutoSaveDlg

The following dialog box is displayed:

Backup drawing every x minutes

If you check this box the drawing will be backed up automatically
after every x minutes. The backup will be stored in a file called
ABACKUP1.DRG after the previous backup has been copied to
ABACKUP2.DRG. This means that you will always have two backups
of your work - an older backup called ABACKUP2.DRG and a newer
backup called ABACKUP1.DRG.

Ask User Before Backing Up

If you check this box AllyCAD will warn you when it is about to
backup. When the warning appears, click on [OK] to backup, or on
[Cancel] to abort the backup.

Backup Path
Allows you to specify where AllyCAD will store the backup files. This
is particularly useful for network users, who may not be allowed to
store files in some parts of the system. When you enter Save Settings

1-30 AllyCAD Reference Manual

for the first time, you MUST enter a backup path otherwise the
message "Invalid Backup Path" will be displayed when you click on
OK.
In the example below the backups will be saved to your drawing
directory:
c:\AllyCAD\drawing

Note there is no backslash at the end of the path.

Get Drawing Reference Point

If you check the "Get Drawing Reference Point" box, you will be
asked for a Drawing Reference Point if you save a drawing with
Cartesian coordinates.
The Drawing Reference Point is used to position the drawing if it is
later loaded into another drawing using Load Drawing in Load in the
File Menu.

Save Geometry with Each Drawing

Geometry lines are not automatically stored when you save a
drawing unless you have checked the "Save Geometry with each
drawing" box. If you check this box a file with the same name as the
drawing but with a .geo extension will be created every time you
save. This file will contain the geometry you have put on the drawing.

If you do not check this box you can save geometry when you want
to, using the File ► Save Options ► Save Geometry function. Also if this
option is not checked the .geo file (if one exists) will not
automatically load with the drawing.

Use Drawing Office Manager

If you check this option, the Drawing Office Manager file will be
updated each time you save.
See Also
Drawing Office Manager

File Menu 1-31

Edit Description
Edit the drawing description, draftsman or department or view the statistics
of the drawing

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Descrip

This description will originally have been determined when you first
saved the drawing as described in Save As. The corresponding fields
in the Drawing Office Manager file will be updated automatically.

Procedure
The Drawing Description dialog box is displayed. Edit the entries you
want to change. You can also view drawing statistics by clicking on
the following buttons:

Entity Statistics
Entity Statistics displays the number of primitives, objects and
layers on your drawing. It also shows the number of blocks
(including unreferenced blocks) and the number of block inserts.
Blocks and block inserts are only relevant to drawings that have
been imported from AutoCAD.

Block Statistics
This button is only relevant to drawings that have been imported
from AutoCAD. It displays statistics about AutoCAD blocks hidden
within the drawing structure. The numbers of different primitives
shown are not the numbers of primitives on the drawing but the
number of primitives contained within the AutoCAD blocks, some or
all of which may be un-referenced. The insert figure shows the
number of blocks inserts. The reason why there may seem to be a lot
of AllyCAD objects among the blocks is that AllyCAD automatically
gives each block an object name.
If you use File ► Purge Redundant Elements the number of blocks shown
will probably decrease dramatically, as will the file size of your
drawing. If you use Objects ► Explode Objects to explode all the block
inserts on the drawing, all the blocks will become de-referenced and
can be removed using Purge Redundant Elements.

1-32 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Save Selected
Saves the selection set to a separate drawing file.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

StoreWS

If you haven't selected anything you will automatically enter the

Select function. Select the primitives you want to save.

Procedure
The standard Windows file dialog box is displayed. Type a name for
the selection set and click on Save.

Save Layer
This function is used to save an individual layer of a drawing.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

StoreLay

Here you can save a specific layer as a separate drawing.

Procedure

File Menu 1-33

Select the layer you want to save by clicking on its name with your
mouse. Then click on OK. The standard Windows file dialog box is
displayed. A default file name will have been assigned to the file. This
name (which can be overtyped) will be a combination of drawing
name - layer - layername.

Save Visible
Saves all the visible layers

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

StoreVis

The visible layers are set in Settings ► Set Visible Layers or Settings ►
Layer Control.

Procedure
The standard Windows file dialog box is displayed. Type a name for
the drawing containing the visible layers then click on the [Save]
button.

Save Geometry
Saves your geometry lines

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

StoreGeom

Unless you have checked the Save Geometry with each drawing box
in the Save Settings dialog box (see earlier in this section), your
geometry lines will not automatically be saved when you save your
drawing.

Procedure
The standard Windows file dialog box is displayed. Type a name for
the geometry file then click on Save. Geometry files are saved with a
".geo" extension.

1-34 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Load Symbol File
Load a symbol file.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right Main NewSymFl

Before you can use a symbol, you must use File ► Load Symbol File to
load the symbol file containing the symbol. A symbol file is just a
drawing - any drawing - that contains a symbol or object that you
want to use again. A symbol library is the same as a symbol file.
The terms symbol file and symbol library are usually used to mean a
drawing that contains only standard parts like doors or nuts or
electrical components.

A symbol is the same as an object, but the term symbol is usually

used to mean a standard part in a symbol library.
See Drawing Structure in the User Guide for full details about
objects, symbols and symbol files.

Procedure
Method1:
The standard Windows file dialog box is displayed. Select the symbol
file containing the symbol you need and click on Open.
AllyCAD will then prompt:
Do you want symbols to be absolute (else to scale)

Suppose that the symbol file you are loading was drawn at a scale of
1:1. The symbol you want to use is a square with sides 10mm long. If
you dimension the square in the symbol file, the dimension will read
"10". If you print the square out on paper and measure its sides, they
will measure 10mm long.
Symbol drawn at a scale of 1:1

10

Dimensions read 10mm

Measures 10mm on paper

File Menu 1-35

Suppose that you are now working on a drawing at a scale of 1:10
and you choose Absolute. You load the square into the drawing as a
symbol. If you dimension the square, the dimension will read "100".
However if you print the square out on paper and measure its sides,
they will still measure 10mm long. The absolute size of the square
has not changed.
Symbol loaded into a drawing of scale
1:10 using Absolute
100

Dimensions read 100mm

Measures 10mm on paper

Suppose that you are now working on a drawing at a scale of 1:10

and you choose To Scale. You load the square into the drawing as a
symbol. If you dimension the square, the dimension will read 10.
However if you print the square out on paper and measure its sides,
they will now measure 1mm long. The square has been scaled so
that what measured 10mm when it was drawn at 1:1 in the symbol
library still measures 10mm at 1:10.
Symbol loaded into a drawing of scale
1:10, using To Scale

10

Dimensions read 10mm

Measures 1mm on paper

Click on the YES button to choose absolute or on the NO button to

choose to scale.
Convert attributes to text during load?

If you click on the YES button, any attributes attached to the

symbols you want to insert will be written as text next to the
symbols. If you click on the NO button, the attributes will remain
invisible. If you are going to produce a bill of materials you MUST
answer NO to this question.
Although you will not see anything happening, the symbol file will be
loaded and is now in memory ready for use. Place a symbol on the
drawing using Draw ► Symbol. This provides further scaling options.

1-36 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Method2:

To invoke the symbol tree go to the menu Toolkit ► Architectural ► Setup

as shown below:

In the edit box labeled “Symbol file path” click on the browse button
and browse to the symbol directory (this usually lies in the
AllyCAD root directory).
c:\AllyCAD\Symbols

Then go to the Windows menu and click on the option Toggle Legend
Window if the legend window has not already appeared. The symbol
tree will appear in the legend window (as shown below). To load the
symbol files follow the instructions given below:
Click on the + sign to expand the
directory branch of the symbol
tree otherwise click on the – sign
to contract the directory branch.
To load a symbol file click on the
symbol file in the symbol tree
and the symbol control bar will
appear. Click on the “View”
button to view and select a
symbol. For more information
see the notes in Draw ► Symbol…
section of this document.

The symbol file will always be loaded with the to scale option using
the symbol tree, there is no option to load the symbol absolute
using this method.

File Menu 1-37

Import/Export
Import or export an ASCII file, import an HPGL file, export a drawing
as a macro.

Import HPGL
Convert a HPGL (Hewlett Packard Graphics Language or plot) file into an
AllyCAD drawing.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

ImportExp “H”

Before you import an HPGL file, your drawing must be empty. If

there is already a drawing on your screen, save it and then delete it
using the File ► Clear All function. If your drawing memory is not
empty, the warning message
You are only allowed to import DXF and HPGL into an empty
drawing!

will be displayed on the screen.

HPGL files do not contain scale information so you must set the scale
and paper size before you import the file using the Settings ► Drawing
Settings option.

Procedure
The standard Windows file dialog box is displayed. Select the HPGL
file you want to convert and click on Open. The progress bar is
updated to display progress as the HPGL commands are translated
and the drawing will be displayed on the screen.

Troubleshooting
If you cannot see the drawing after the conversion try the following:
• Use View ► Zoom All to locate the drawing. Change the scale of the
drawing using Settings ► Drawing Settings. If the text and
dimension sizes are now unacceptably large, reconvert the HPGL
file using the new scale.
• Check the All Visible option in Settings ► Layer Control to ensure
that all the layers on the drawing are displayed.
The file comes in at the top right of the screen. This is normal and
occurs on HPGL files written for large (A0 and A1) plotters. Use the

1-38 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Settings ► Re-Centre Paper function to reposition the paper around the
drawing.
The coordinates in an HPGL file are only accurate to plotter units
(0.025mm on the final plot). A drawing at a scale of 1:1000 would
therefore contain inaccuracies in the order of 25mm after being
imported as an HPGL file. If you need accurate coordinate transfers,
you should import drawings as DWG or DXF files.
Before importing the HPGL file, copy it onto your hard disk. You
should also ensure that there is enough space on your hard disk for
the converted file

Import ASCII
Import text from an ASCII file into the current drawing.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

ImportExp “A”

The appearance of the text once it has been imported is determined

by the settings in the Settings ► Set Text Defaults dialog box.

Procedure
The standard Windows file dialog box is displayed. Select the ASCII
file you want to convert, then click on Open. AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter position textblock should start

Position the cursor on the drawing at the position where the text
should appear and press [Enter] or click. The ASCII file will be
imported and the text will appear.
The text label origin will determine where the text will be placed in
relation to the cursor position you specify. For example, if you are
using label origin 1, the text will appear above and to the right of the
cursor position. If you are using label origin 3, the text will appear
below and to the right of the cursor position. If you are using label
origin 7, the text will be displayed above and to the left of the label
origin, etc.

You can also import text by pasting it in from another Windows

application using the Edit ► Paste function.

File Menu 1-39

Import ShapeFile
Import data from an ArcView SHP file

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

ReadShapeFile

This option imports points, lines and polylines from an

ArcInfo/ArcView SHP file.
Each entity type will be in a separate file. The imported entities will
be drawn in the current pen, line type and layer. By changing these
settings before importing the data you can separate the different GIS
themes into layers. Long polylines or polygons will be broken up into
segments of 2100 vertices or less due to memory constraints.

Export Macro
Creates a macro file from a drawing

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

ImportExp “M”

The macro file can be edited, and read back into AllyCAD using
File ► Exec Macro.

Procedure
AllyCAD prompts:
Write all layers? (else just visible layers)

If you want the contents of all the layers of your drawing to be

written to the macro, click on the [Yes] button. If you just want the
contents of the visible layers to be written to the macro, click on the
[No] button.
AllyCAD then prompts:
Names of objects to write to macro file (‘* *’ for all
objects)

If you want your entire drawing to be exported, type "* *". Click on
the [OK] button or press [Enter]. Alternatively, you can select which
objects you want to have written to the macro by typing an object
name into the Control Bar.
You can type the full object name, e.g. BUILDING WINDOW, in which
case all objects with the name BUILDING WINDOW will be written to

1-40 AllyCAD Reference Manual

the macro file. You can also use wildcards. For example, if you type
‘BUILDING *’ all objects with the parent name BUILDING will be
written to the macro, irrespective of their object names. If you type ‘*
WINDOW’ all objects with the name WINDOW will be written to the
macro, irrespective of their parent names. Once you have selected
which objects you want written to the macro file, click on the [OK]
button or press [Enter].
The standard Windows file dialog box is displayed. Enter a name for
the macro file and click on the [OK] button. The message "Writing
Macro File" will appear in the Prompt Area. When the macro file has
been written, an information box telling you that the macro file has
been written appears. Click on [OK].

Export Text
Exports text from the current drawing as an ASCII file

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

ImportExp “T”

If text is not horizontal it will not transfer properly.

You can also export text by using the Edit ► Cut or Edit ► Copy
functions to copy text onto the Clipboard, from where it can be
pasted into other Windows applications.

Procedure
The standard Windows file dialog box is displayed. Type a name for
your ASCII file, then click on OK.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enclose text that should go to file

Draw a polygon around the text you want to export into the ASCII
file. Once you have enclosed the text, AllyCAD will write the ASCII
file. When it has written it, the message
Text File Written

will appear in the prompt area. All text items at the same horizontal
position will be combined in the same line of the ASCII file with
spaces separating the items.
If you have enclosed several pieces of text in the polygon, the order in
which these will appear in the ASCII file is dependent on their
position in the drawing. The topmost text item will be transferred to
the file first, followed by the second top-most item, etc.

File Menu 1-41

Export ShapeFile
Export drawing data in the ArcView SHP file format

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

WriteShapeFile
This function exports the point, line and polyline entities in a
drawing into three SHP files, one for each entity type.

Procedure
The standard Windows File Save dialog is displayed. Specify a file
ame and click on the [OK] button.

The CAD will now prompt:

Transform all, visible or selected (A/V/S)

Type your selection into the edit box and click on the  button. The
drawing entities will be exported as three SHP files:
• ****_Point.SHP
• ****_Lines.SHP
• ****_Poly.SHP
where **** is the specified export file name.

1-42 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Print
Print or plot a drawing, or create an HPGL file

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left File Ctrl + P HardCopy
Ctrl + Shift + F12

Both printers and inkjet plotters are referred to as printers, and

printing refers to both printing and plotting.
If you are outputting to a pen plotter, you should use one of the
plotter fonts, Modern, Roman or Script for your text and dimensions.
If you use any other font on your drawing it will be converted for the
plotter but all your text will be plotted horizontally, regardless of its
orientation on the drawing.
You can only output bitmaps to raster devices such as printers and
inkjet plotters.
The standard Print dialog is displayed. Select the destination printer
and click on OK. The Printer Defaults dialog box is displayed. Set up
the printer profile and click on OK.
The message
Busy printing

is displayed while your drawing is printed or plotted. If you are

printing to a pen plotter and you specified a maximum pen greater
than the number of pens your pen plotter driver provides for, you will
get the message
Change Pens in Plotter

Change the pens and click on OK.

File Menu 1-43

Printer Defaults

X Offset and Y Offset

The X and Y offset boxes allow you to offset the drawing on the
paper. The offset is measured in mm. The X offset box displaces the
drawing to the right if a positive value is input, and to the left if a
negative value is input. The Y offset box displaces the drawing
downwards if a positive value is input and upwards if a negative
value is input.

Minimum and Maximum Pen

This option is only available if you are printing to a pen plotter.
The minimum and maximum pen boxes allow you to specify the
range of colours that will be used when you are outputting to a
plotter. The minimum pen is 1 and the maximum pen is 15.
If you are using a plotter with less than 15 pens, for example if your
plotter has six pens, but you have used more than the first six
colours in the Colour toolbar, you should specify minimum and
maximum pens 1 and 15. If you do not, the parts of your drawing
drawn with other colours will not be plotted.

Use Plotter Arcs / Print Arcs as Lines

If the Use Plotter Arcs option is selected, AllyCAD will use the printer
driver to print arcs.

1-44 AllyCAD Reference Manual

If the Print Arcs as Lines option is selected, AllyCAD will plot arcs
made out of very small lines. This option must be used if no arcs
appear when you try to print, or if arcs are printed as a series of
chords.

All Colours to Black

If your printer prints colours as different shades of gray, or if some
colours are printed very faintly, check this option. All colours will
then be printed as black.

Pen Mappings
This function allows you to map the first 15 colours on the screen to
a different line width and colour on the printer. For example you
could make red lines print at 0.13 mm, green lines print at 0.18 mm
etc.

The pens are listed on the left hand side of the box and are
numbered from 1 to 255. Click on a pen you want to assign a width
to. The pen's number appears in the Edit part of the dialog box. Type
a width into the white part of the dialog box. Widths are measured in
mm.
Click on the [Color] button on the right of the list to map the pen to
another colour
Then click on another pen you want to assign a width to. The width
associated with the first pen you edited appears next to that pen's
number in the dialog box, and the second pen's number appears in
the Edit area. Assign a width to the second pen and repeat until you
have assigned a width to each pen. Then click on OK.

File Menu 1-45

Pen mappings only affect those lines with a width of 0. For example,
if you map the red pen to print at 0.3 mm, and there is a red line on
the drawing that you have given a width of 0.7 mm using the Line
Defaults dialog box, then that red line will print at 0.7 mm even
though you have mapped the red pen to print at 0.3 mm.
This function is very useful for thickening dimension witness lines
that often print very faintly on modern high-resolution inkjet
printers. To thicken witness lines, set aside one colour and draw all
your witness lines in that colour. Then map that colour to the
desired thickness.

Printing to a pen plotter

If you are using a pen plotter and the pen colours have been set in
the plotter driver, the plotter driver tries to map the AllyCAD colours
to the closest pen colour.
We recommend that you draw a line on the screen in each AllyCAD
pen and print it. The way that the screen colours are output on
paper depends on the way that these colours are set up in your
printer driver.

Creating an HPGL file

To create a plotfile or a HPGL (Hewlett Packard Graphics Language)
file do the following:
1. Install a HP plotter driver
2. Connect the plotter to the FILE port
3. Print to the plotter. You will be given the opportunity to specify
the name of the plotfile.

1-46 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Zoom Print
Print a selected part of your drawing at a selected scale.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right File ZoomPlot

Procedure
The standard Print dialog box is displayed. Select the printer, set up
the paper size and click on OK.
The program reads the paper size and orientation of your output
device. This may be different from the paper size and orientation of
your drawing.
For example, you may be doing a rough print of all or part of an A1
drawing on an A4 printer, prior to producing a final plot. A pink
dotted rectangle representing the paper size and orientation of your
output device appears on the screen.
AllyCAD will lead you through the sequence of events illustrated on
the following page. Thereafter you will be able to set the Print
Defaults as described in the previous section.
If you have rotated your print the message
Transforming plot back again

will be displayed. Click on OK.

Your drawing will return to the orientation it was at prior to rotation.

File Menu 1-47

 Plot to fit (else at exact scale)

YES NO

Enter border in mm Enter scale to plot at

Typ e th e wid th of th e b or d er Th e cu r r en t d r awin g scale is
you wa n t ar ou n d you r d isp layed . T yp e a n oth er
d r awin g an d p r ess [E n ter ]. scale if r equ ir ed .

Enter centre of zoom box

A gr ay b ox wh ich r ep r esen t s
th e ar ea of th e d r awin g th at
will b e p r in ted is d isp la yed .
Move th e b ox to th e ar ea you
wan t to p r in t a n d click or
p r ess [E n ter ].

NO Would you like to rotate

plot?

YES

Enter angle from keyboard

(else drag with cursor)

NO YES

Drag till rotate satisfactory Enter rotation angle

Move th e cu r sor to r otate th e Typ e th e exa ct a n gle of
b ox an d th en click or p r ess r otation a n d [E n ter ].
[E n ter ]. Rem em b er th at th e a n gle is
m easu r ed an ti-clockwise.

NO
Satisfied with zoom?

YES

Enter point for compass insertion

[Space bar for no compass]
P r ess th e [S p ace B ar ] if you d o n ot
wan t a n or th p oin tin g com p ass. If you
d o wan t a com p ass click at th e
d esir ed p osition .

Start Printing

1-48 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Print Setup
Change output device or orientation.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

PrintSetup

The standard Windows Print Setup dialog box is displayed.

Select the destination printer and use the Properties button to adjust
the paper orientation and other printer settings.

File Menu 1-49

Exec Macro
Execute an AllyCAD macro.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Exec

Selected a macro and click on Open. The macro is executed. You can
abort a macro at any time by pressing [Esc].

Encode Macro
Encode a macro so the code cannot be seen, edited or copied

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Encode

Select the macro you want to encode and click on OK. AllyCAD then
prompts:
Enter serial number to encode macro for

Macros encoded for "0" will run on any copy of AllyCAD. Macros
encoded for a particular serial number will only run on a copy of
AllyCAD with that serial number. Type in a serial number and press
[Enter] or click on [OK].
You must now save the encoded macro to another file name. The
macro will be encoded and the message "Encoded macro written" will
appear.

Take care not to overwrite the un-encoded version of your macro!

Edit Macro
Open and edit a macro

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

EdMacro

AllyCAD will open the editor that you have selected in

Settings ► System Settings. (The default editor is Notepad).
Edit the macro, then save it. Alternatively, save it to a new file name
if you are unsure that the changes you have made are correct.

1-50 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Repair DRG File
Fix a corrupted drawing

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Repair

Examples of corrupted drawings are those on which you get

messages like:
FP Error
Application Error
This Program has performed an Illegal Operation
Object too long
Object extends off the edge of the world
MainCAD caused a General Protection Fault

or drawings that simply won't load at all. Sometimes AllyCAD will

warn you that it has detected a corrupted drawing.
Before you run Repair, save the drawing if you can and if you have
not already done so. Try to save it under a different name from the
name it was previously saved under.

Procedure
Select File ► Clear All. Then use the File ► Repair DRG File function to
select the drawing that is faulty and click on OK. If the drawing can
be fixed it is eventually displayed on the screen and AllyCAD
prompts:
Repair Successful! Delete temp macro file?

Repair works by taking the corrupted drawing file and converting it

into an AllyCAD macro. During this conversion it detects and
removes any errors. It then executes the macro, causing the drawing
to appear on the screen. If the drawing has been repaired, click on
the YES button.
If Repair was unable to fix the drawing, copy it onto a floppy disk
and send it to:
Knowledge Base
P O Box 610
Constantia 7848
South Africa
or E-mail it to:
[email protected]
with a brief explanation of what has happened.

File Menu 1-51

Purge Redundant Elements
Delete duplicate entities, unreferenced blocks and unused layers

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Purge

Drawings that load and redraw very slowly almost always have one of
the following problems:
• Large numbers of invisible unreferenced AutoCAD blocks
This will only be the case if all or part of a drawing has been
imported as a DXF or DWG file.
• Entities that have been duplicated
Sometimes entities have been duplicated hundreds of times. In
this case you may find other problems with the drawing, for
example deleted entities may seem to reappear!
This function can solve both these problems by removing duplicate
entities, unreferenced blocks and unused layers.

Procedure
AllyCAD prompts:
Remove duplicate entities?

If you want to delete duplicate entities, click on the YES button.

AllyCAD will prompt:
Remove unreferenced blocks?

If you want to delete unreferenced blocks, click on the YES button.

This has the same effect as the Purge command in AutoCAD.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Remove unreferenced layers?

If you want to delete layers with nothing on them, click on the YES
button.
AllyCAD will go through the drawing. It will tell you what it has
removed. Large drawings may take quite a while to purge.

AllyCAD will only remove entities that have been duplicated on the
same layer.

1-52 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Security
Set up the security for AllyCAD.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

cyAuthorize

When you first install your copy of AllyCAD, it will allocate a 7 day
trial license, allowing you to run the full program for 7 days. During
this time you must contact Knowledge Base for a permanent
authorization code.
Your program can be protected in the following ways:

1) Hardware Lock (Dongles)

Two types of hardware lock are supported.
a) Hasp key (white)
b) Net Hasp key (red)

2) Crypkey software protection

(Includes 30 day trial licence issued automatically at install time)

Terminology
Driver A software component required to communicate between the
dongle and AllyCAD
Server A central computer with a Net Hasp dongle attached. The server
is attached to the client’s by a network.
Client A computer that does not need a dongle itself, but must be
networked to a server.
Crypkey driver A software component needed to communicate between the
Crypkey security system and AllyCAD.

How do I tell what type of protection I have

If your dealer supplied you with a dongle (hardware lock about the
size of a box of matches), then you can identify the type from its
colour and the writing on it. The dongles all have a 5-letter code in
the bottom left corner of their label. Hasp dongles will have one of the
codes
OYEEX
AQXWY
OZCCZ
WQEGC

File Menu 1-53

While Net Hasp dongles will have one of these codes
GATWT
AREMB
CYOOO
EMOEC
MGXAD

If your dongle does not have one of these codes then it is NOT an
AllyCAD dongle.

Old Black Dongles

AllyCAD no longer supports these older types of dongles (Unikey and
Activator). If you currently have one of these dongles you will need to
upgrade to a Hasp dongle.

Single user and Network (floating) licensing

Knowledge Base can supply you with either single user licenses (one
per machine) or floating licenses (issued from a central network
server).
Normal Hasp keys (white) are for single user licensing, Net Hasp keys
(red) are for floating licenses.
By default our security system does not check for Network dongles
(as this can take time when the program first starts up). Thus if you
are using a network dongle you need to tell AllyCAD to check it by
selecting File ► Security ► Check Network Dongles, and then giving “1” as
the answer to the question
Enable Network Security?

Do I need to do anything to enable security

We try to automate as much as possible during AllyCAD installation.
However, if you are running on NT, or running a network license (Net
HASP), then you might need to install the network dongle on a
machine on the network, and/or run a network security server
program.

Obtaining Permanent Authorization

After AllyCAD has issued you your 7-day trial license, you must
obtain permanent authorization from Knowledge Base. You must do
this for the Hasp security. Select File ► Security ► Authorize and
AllyCAD will show a dialog box with a site key. Phone, fax or email us
with the site key, and we will reply with an authorization code that
will permanently enable AllyCAD.

1-54 AllyCAD Reference Manual

If you phone us you must keep the dialog box open till we respond
with your site key, as the codes change every time you pop up the
authorize dialog box.
Alternatively you can press the Save Button on the authorize dialog
box which will save a file called AUTHORIZE.TXT into your
\$KBSEC$ directory. Email or fax this file to us and we will then
reply with your site key. Pressing Save allows you to close the dialog
box, and will ensure that authorize keeps the same codes the next
time (and only the next time) it is opened.
Our contact numbers are:
Tel + 27 (21) 701-1850
(between 8h00 and 17h00 CAT GMT + 2h00)
Fax + 27 (21) 701-1822
email [email protected]

Files and Registry settings used by Security

All Knowledge Base products keep encrypted information about
security in a directory called \$KBSEC$, which is usually on your
root drive, or the same drive that you installed AllyCAD on, or on
your windows drive. Do not delete or move these files as this will
destroy your security, and disable AllyCAD and other Knowledge
Base products.
AllyCAD uses the following registry settings for security.
Key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Knowledge Base\Security

Values
CheckNetworkDongles 0 or 1 depending on whether to check the network
dongles or not
SecurityHome c:\$kbsec$ (location of security files)
Program7 110 (last type of security found)

File Menu 1-55

Hasp Dongle Overview
A dongle is a device approximately the size of a box of matches, and
plugs into your parallel (or printer) port at the back of your
computer. The dongle must be plugged in whenever you run
AllyCAD. Without it, the program will refuse to operate. It is
suggested that you plug the dongle into your machine before
beginning the installation process.
As well as the physical hardware dongle, a software driver is required
to communicate with the dongle. The driver is installed automatically
during the AllyCAD installation process.
There are two types of Hasp dongles:
• MemoHasp
Single-user dongle. The colour is white.
• NetHasp
Network dongle enabling multiple users on one dongle. The
colour is red.

NetHasp
The NetHasp dongle need only be plugged into your server when you
run AllyCAD. The server will be licensed to allow a limited number of
copies of AllyCAD to run on different client computers
simultaneously. The server can be a computer running Windows 95,
Windows NT, or Novell NetWare.

Hasp Driver
As well as the physical hardware dongle, a software driver is required
to communicate with the dongle. The driver should be installed
automatically during the AllyCAD installation process.
During installation, you may get the error:
HASP Hardware lock Installation failed.

This indicates that there was a problem installing the driver. You
must then install it manually.

Installing the Hasp Driver Manually

Click on the Windows Start button.
In the group where you installed AllyCAD (by default ALLYCAD32) ,
there is a “Security Tools” section. Click on “Hasp Install”

1-56 AllyCAD Reference Manual

A message should appear indicating that the HASP driver installation
has succeeded. If it reports that the installation failed, then you
should contact your dealer or technical support number. If you are
running Windows 95, then you will need to restart your computer. If
you are running Windows NT, then a restart is not necessary.

Client Installation
From your workstation use Windows Explorer to access the network
server. Find the directory where AllyCAD is installed (by default
ALLYCAD32) and the program NETSET.EXE. Run NetSet.exe. This
will adjust the “program home” setting for AllyCAD in the registry on
your client machine to point to the location of AllyCAD on the server,
and will add a new group to your Start menu called AllyCADNet.

Server Installation
AllyCAD must first be fully installed on the server. Before any clients
can run AllyCAD, the Hasp Security Server must be run on the
server. Go to Start ► ALLYCAD32 ► Security Tools. The Hasp Security
Server contains online help.

File Menu 1-57

Exit
Quit AllyCAD.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Quit

This function quits AllyCAD.

1-58 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Notes:

File Menu 1-59

Edit Menu
The Edit Menu contains functions to select,
delete, cut, paste and move objects from the
back to the front and vice versa.

Edit Menu 2-1

Undo
Undo previous commands.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left File Ctrl + Z Undo
Alt + Backspace

Undo undoes the last thing you did, whether rubbing out, moving
something, or drawing a line etc. For example, suppose you:
1. Draw a line.
2. Draw a circle.
3. Move the line and circle from point a to point b.
4. Rub out the line and circle.
When you click on Undo, the rubbed out line and circle will re-
appear. If you click on Undo again, the line and circle will be moved
back from point b to point a. If you click on Undo a third time, the
circle will disappear. If you click on Undo a fourth time, the line will
disappear.
Undo will undo the last 1000 objects that have been changed. This is
not the same as the last 1000 operations. For example, if you moved
100 objects at once and then undid the move, you would have used
up 100 of the 1000 undoes even though you had only undone one
move.
If you Undo something by accident, you can replace it using the Redo
function.

Undo will not undo geometry or changes made by the

Objects ► Update Objects function. It will partially undo detailed views
created by the Tools ► Expand function.

Redo
Re-instate things that have been undone

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left File Redo

Redo redoes what has been undone using Undo.

2-2 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Cut
Delete selected items and place them on the Clipboard

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left File Ctrl + X Cut
Shift + Delete

Cut deletes selected items, which are placed on the Clipboard in

three formats: AllyCAD, Windows BMP and Windows Metafile. These
items can then be pasted back into AllyCAD or into another Windows
application using that application's Paste command.
Before you use Cut, you must select the items you want to cut using
Select or the Selection Filters. If you have not selected anything, the
Cut command will appear grayed out on the Edit Menu and you will
not be able to use it.

The difference between Cut and Delete is that Cut sends deleted
items to the Clipboard, and Delete does not.

Copy
Copy selected items to the Clipboard

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left File Ctrl + C Copy
Ctrl + Insert

The Copy command is exactly the same as the Cut command, except
that selected items are not deleted. Rather, a copy of them is made
and this copy is placed on the Clipboard, from where it can be pasted
into AllyCAD or into other applications.

Edit Menu 2-3

Paste
Paste text and graphics into the drawing from the Clipboard.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left File Ctrl + V Paste
Shift + Insert

Before you can paste, you must have cut or copied something to the
Clipboard from AllyCAD or another program. If there is nothing in
the Clipboard to be pasted, the Paste command will inactive and be
grayed out on the Edit menu.

Procedure
AllyCAD prompts:
Enter paste position

Position the cursor where you want the contents of the Clipboard to
appear on the screen. If you are pasting graphics, or a mixture of text
and graphics, the top left hand corner of the contents of the
Clipboard will be placed at the cursor position you specify.
If you are pasting text only, where the text appears relative to the
cursor position will depend on the text label origin that is set at the
time of pasting. For example, if the text label origin is 1, the text will
be placed above and to the right of the cursor position.
Once you have positioned the cursor, click or press [Enter]. The
contents of the Clipboard will be pasted into AllyCAD.
• The colour, font, size etc. of text that is pasted into AllyCAD is
determined by the text defaults at the time of pasting. See Set
Text Defaults.
• When pasting in drawings on several layers that have been Cut
or Copied from another AllyCAD drawing, the layers will appear
as follows. If the layers that the items were cut or copied from
exist in the drawing the items are being pasted into, they are
pasted to the correct layers. If the layers that the items were cut
or copied from do not exist in the drawing the items are being
pasted into, they are pasted to the current layer.

Bitmaps cannot be pasted into AllyCAD. To load a bitmap, use

File ► Load Options ► Load Bitmap.

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Delete
Delete selected items but do not place them on the Clipboard.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left File Del DelSelect

Unlike the Cut function, deleted entities are not placed on the
Clipboard. Before you use the Delete command, you must select the
primitives you want to delete using the Select or Selection Filters
commands.
If nothing is selected you will automatically enter the Select function.
Select the primitives you want to delete.
Press the [Space Bar] or click on Done. The selected primitives will be
deleted.

If you delete something by accident, you can replace it using the

Undo function.

Edit Menu 2-5

Select
Select items for editing or modification

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left File SelectNodes 0

The Select function is active whenever the cursor is arrow-shaped.

Selected items are termed the selection set, and may be edited,
moved, mirrored, scaled, copied, rotated, deleted etc, using functions
in the Modify menu and the Edit menu. They can also be nudged by
precise increments using the arrow keys. See Accurate Drawing in
the User Guide.
Once selected using the Select cursor, eight handles and a Rotate
icon appear around the selection set.
Rotate Icon

Handle

This cursor is called the Select cursor and it can be used for the
following.
• To select items.
• To scale or stretch the selection set with the handles.
• To rotate the selection set with the rotate icon.
• To drag and to copy the selection set.
• To edit line style, text, dimensions, arrows and bitmap
parameters.

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Selecting
The Selection Filters and Select Nodes functions offer additional
methods of selection.

Selecting single primitives

Select a single primitive (line, arc, piece of text, dimension, arrow
etc.) by clicking on it with the Select cursor. The primitive will
become highlighted and handles will appear around it.
To add a single primitive to a group of items that have already been
selected, press [SHIFT] and click on the primitive at the same time.

If you are having difficulty selecting a dimension, check that the

selection filters do not exclude dimensions.

Sometimes primitives have been grouped so that when you click on

one primitive, the whole group is selected. To ungroup such
primitives, click on them to select the group, then use Objects ►
Explode Objects. You will then be able to select a single primitive
within the group.

Selecting single objects

Whenever you create an object manually using Objects ► Begin New
Object, Objects ► Group Into Object or Objects ► Make Symbol, the
primitives in the object are grouped. This means that when you click
on the object with the Select cursor all the primitives within it are
selected at once, making selection quicker and easier.
Some AllyCAD functions that automatically create objects also group
the primitives within these objects. For example, when you draw a
rectangle using Draw ► Rectangle, the four lines making up the
rectangle are grouped. Similarly, symbols entered using Draw ►
Symbol are grouped, and sketches produced using Draw ► Sketch are
grouped.
Select a single object by clicking on it with the Select cursor. The
object will become highlighted and handles will appear around it.
To add a single object to a group of items that have already been
selected, press [SHIFT] and click on the object at the same time.

To ungroup an object so that you can select single primitives within

it use Objects ► Explode Object.

Edit Menu 2-7

If you do not know what an object is, see Drawing Structure in the
User Guide.

Selecting everything within a rectangle

To select everything within a rectangle, position the Select cursor at
one corner of the rectangle. Press the left mouse button and hold it
down. Drag your cursor to the diagonally opposite corner of the
rectangle. The outline of the rectangle appears as the cursor is
dragged.
Release the left mouse button. Everything within the rectangle is
selected. If what is selected is not what you expected, check the
filters you have selected. See Filters.

Deselecting
If you have selected a single primitive or object by mistake and want
to deselect it without deselecting anything else, press the [SHIFT] key
and click on the offending primitive or object. This is useful if you
have selected something by accident, especially using a function
such as Edit ► Select by Polygon.
To deselect everything, use Edit ► Clear Selection or simply click on a
blank portion of the drawing.

Handles
When you have selected some primitives eight handles and a Rotate
icon appear around it. The handles can be used to scale or stretch
the selection set. The Rotate icon can be used to rotate the selection
set.
Some users do not like working with the handles. If you do not want
the handles to appear when you select things, you can turn them off
temporarily or as default.

Turning off the handles temporarily

To turn the handles off temporarily, right click on the Eraser icon in
the Files toolbar to deselect everything. Then click in the Command
box on the Control Bar and type:
USEHANDLES 0

Click on Done or press [Enter].

2-8 AllyCAD Reference Manual

To turn the handles on again, right click on the Eraser icon to
deselect everything. Then click in the Command box on the Control
Bar and type:
USEHANDLES 1

Click on Done or press [Enter].

Stretching and Scaling

When you have selected items, eight handles appear around them.
When you pass the Select Cursor over one of the handles the cursor
changes shape:
if it is a left or right handle

if it is a top or bottom handle

or if it is a corner handle.
The arrows show the directions in which you will be able to scale the
selection set if you click on that handle. If you click on the left or
right handles, you can only stretch the selection set horizontally. If
you click on the top or bottom handles, you can only stretch the
selection set vertically.
Pass the Select cursor over the handle you want to use so that the
cursor changes shape, then click.
The cursor changes to one of the Snap mode cursors, e.g. Freehand,
Grab All etc. (see Snap Modes) and the Control Bar changes to look
like this:

Move the cursor around. As you move it, the selection set is scaled
and the contents of the X= and Y= boxes on the Control Bar change.
To scale evenly in the X and Y directions if you have selected one of
the corner handles, hold down the [SHIFT] key while you move the
cursor.
Click when you are satisfied with the scale, or use the Control Bar or
cursor to scale accurately.

Edit Menu 2-9

Scaling accurately
To scale accurately move the cursor into the X= box on the Control
Bar and click. Use your [Delete] or [Backspace] keys to delete the
contents of the box. Type a scale factor. Press the [TAB] key to move
the cursor into the Y= box. Type a scale factor. Then press [Enter].
The selection set will be accurately scaled by the factors you have
typed.

If you have clicked on the left or right handle, only the X scale
factor will have an effect. If you have clicked on the top or bottom
handle, only the Y scale factor will have an effect.

Alternatively, you can stretch the selection set to an accurate

position on the screen using the cursor in conjunction with jumps,
snaps, arrow keys etc.

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Rotating
When you have selected items, eight handles will appear around
them, together with a rotate icon just to the left of the top right
handle.

When you pass the Select cursor over the rotate icon, the cursor
changes to a circular arrow. While the cursor is in the shape of a
circular arrow, click with your left mouse button.
The cursor changes to one of the Snap mode cursors, e.g. Freehand,
Grab All etc. (see Snap Modes) and the Control Bar changes to look
like this:

Move the cursor around. As you move it, the selection set rotates
about its centre, and the Rotate Angle in the Control Bar changes.
Click when you are satisfied with the rotation, or use the Control Bar
or cursor to rotate accurately.

Rotating accurately
To rotate accurately, move the cursor into the Rotate Angle box on
the Control Bar and click. Use your Delete or Backspace keys to
delete the contents of the box. Type a rotation angle. Then press
[Enter]. The selection set will be accurately rotated by the angle you
have typed.

Rotation takes place in an anti-clockwise direction regardless of the

way you have set up the Angular Format in the Drawing Settings.

Alternatively, you can rotate the selection set to an accurate position

on the screen using the cursor in conjunction with jumps, snaps etc.
See Accurate Drawing in the User Guide.

Edit Menu 2-11

Dragging
You can use the Select cursor to drag the selection set from one
place to another. To do this, move the cursor onto the selection set
and press your left mouse button, holding it down. Move your
mouse. The selection set moves with your mouse.
If you hold down the [SHIFT] key while you are dragging, you will
only be able to drag the selection set horizontally or vertically.

Accurate Dragging (Drag and Snap)

To drag accurately, the Select cursor must have a box around the
tip. This box is in fact the Grab All Cursor (see Grab All Mode). This
means that the cursor will accurately snap to any point within the
box.
Place the cursor box around a point on the selection set, such as the
end of a line. The cursor will snap exactly onto this point. Drag the
selection set as described above, but before releasing your left mouse
button place the cursor box around another point that the dragged
selection set must snap to. The cursor will snap exactly onto this
point.
• To change the cursor from the simple arrow to the arrow with
the box, click on the Grab All icon in the Snaps toolbar.
• To change the cursor from the arrow with the box to the simple
arrow, click on the Freehand icon in the Snaps toolbar.

Copying
If you press the [CTRL] key while you drag, the selection set will not
be moved. Instead, a copy of the selection set will be made and the
copy will be dragged.
If the Select cursor has a box around the tip, you will be able to place
the copy accurately, because the cursor will snap exactly onto any
point within the box (see Accurate Dragging).

Double Click Editing

• If you double click on a line or arc with the Select cursor, the
Line Style dialog box is displayed. See Set Line Defaults.
• If you double click on a piece of text, the Text Entry dialog box
appears. See Set Text Defaults.

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• If you double click on a horizontal, vertical, ordinate, angular,
radial or slope dimension, you enter the Annotate ► Edit Dimension
► Edit Dimension Properties function. See Edit Dimension.
• If you double click on an arrow, the Arrow Defaults dialog box
appears. See Set Arrow Defaults.
• If you double click on a polyline or bezier curve, the Polyline
Defaults dialog box appears. See Polyline Defaults.
• If you double click on the edge of a bitmap with the Select cursor,
the Set Bitmap Parameters dialog box appears. See Load Bitmap.

Edit Menu 2-13

Select Nodes
Select items to reshape

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right File SelectNodes 1

The Nodes cursor can be used to select items. Selecting with the
Nodes cursor is exactly the same as selecting with the Select cursor.
See Selecting and Deselecting.

Node

Once selected using the Nodes cursor, all the nodes in the selection
set (points, ends of lines and arcs, arc and circle centres, text and
dimension origins etc.) are marked by a small square. These nodes
can be used to reshape the selection set.
If you click on the Select icon in the Files toolbar while the nodes are
displayed the nodes will be replaced by handles. To return to the
nodes, click on Edit ► Select Nodes.
Like the Select cursor, the Nodes cursor can also be used to drag and
copy the selection set (although it cannot be used for accurate
dragging) and for double click editing.

Nodes
When you have selected items using the Nodes cursor, all the nodes
in the selection set (points, ends of lines and arcs, arc and circle
centres, text and dimension origins etc.) are marked by a small
square.

Highlighted node

2-14 AllyCAD Reference Manual

If you click on one of the small squares marking a node, it will
become solid black. To highlight more than one node, click on the
nodes you want to select while pressing down the [SHIFT] key.
While the cursor is in the shape of four arrows, press your left mouse
button and hold it down. The cursor reverts to the cross shape.

Move the cursor around. As you move it, all the nodes you have
highlighted, together with any lines, arcs etc. attached to them,
move. When you have finished moving the node or nodes, release
your left mouse button.

Moving nodes accurately

To move nodes you can also use the Grab All cursor (a cross with a
box around its centre). See Grab All Mode. This means that the
cursor will accurately snap to any point within the box. If you use
the Nodes cursor with the box around its centre to move a
highlighted node, you can snap the node onto another point such as
the end of a line, an intersection etc.
To change the cursor from the cross with the box to the simple cross,
click on the Freehand icon in the Snaps toolbar.
You can also move a highlighted node or nodes accurately using
Nudge. To do this, press the [Left-Arrow], [Right-Arrow], [Up-Arrow]
or [Down-Arrow] keys to move the node or nodes left, right, up or
down. AllyCAD will prompt how far you want to move left, right, up
or down.
Type the distance(s), click on the Done button or press [Enter]. The
highlighted node or nodes will move.
Similarly you can move up and to the right using the [PgUp] key,
down and to the right using the [PgDn] key, down and to the left
using the [End] key and up and to the left using the [Home] key.
For more details on Nudge, see Accurate Drawing in the User Guide.

Edit Menu 2-15

Select by Polygon
Select everything within a box or irregular polygon

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

SelectPoly

AllyCAD prompts:
Enter polygon around elements to be selected

Draw a polygon around the elements to be selected. If what is

selected is not what you expected, check the filters you have
selected. See the Filters section in Selection Filters.

2-16 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Selection Filters
Select a specific group of primitives, select hatches or clear all selections

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left File SelectDef

Selection filters are a very powerful means of selecting certain

portions of your drawing. You can select by entity type (line, arc text
etc.) or by properties (layer, colour, text font) and even by text string.
The dialog box will remain open until you click on the [Close] button.
You can keep it open for instant access to the Selection Filters
functions while you are doing other things.
The filters control all selection functions. For example, if you have set
up the filters to select only arcs and you [Select All], only arcs and
circles will be selected. If you select everything within a polygon, only
arcs and circles within the polygon will be selected, etc.
Once selected, the group of primitives is called the selection set, and
can be edited, moved, mirrored, scaled, copied, rotated, deleted, etc.
It is highlighted and surrounded by handles.
To change from handles to nodes right click on the Select icon in the
Files toolbar or use Edit ► Select Nodes.
To change from nodes to handles left click on the Select icon in the
Files toolbar or use Edit ► Select Normal.

If what is selected is not what you expected, check the filters you
have selected. If you include part of an object within a selection box
or polygon, the whole object may be selected despite the filter
settings. If you only want to select part of the object, you must first
explode the object, using Objects ► Explode Objects.

The Select Dialog box is divided into three tabbed sections, Objects,
Properties and Text.

Edit Menu 2-17

Objects
This page contains filters for entity types. For example to just select
lines, uncheck the Allow All box and check the Lines box.

The following options are also available:

Clear
This option deselects everything that has been selected.
To deselect just one or a few primitives use the Select function. See
Select.

Close
Closes the dialog box.

Select All
This option selects everything in the drawing as specified by the
Filters. See Filters.

Polygon
This allows you to draw a box or irregular polygon around the things
you want to select. Everything inside this box or polygon that has
been specified by the filters will be selected.
It is often useful to close the dialog box before drawing the polygon to
avoid the dialog box getting in the way.
AllyCAD prompts:
Enter polygon around elements to be selected

2-18 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Draw a polygon around the elements to be selected. You can also
access Polygon using Edit ► Select by Polygon.

Object
This option allows objects, including exploded objects, to be selected
by clicking on them with the cursor.
When you click on the Object button, AllyCAD prompts:
Select whole object (Shift for multiple selection)

Click on an object to select it. To select more than one object, click
on the objects you want to select while holding down the [SHIFT] key.
To cancel object selection, choose another function, press the
[Space Bar] or click on Done.

Name
This option allows objects to be selected by name.

If you do not know the parent or object names of an object, you can
find out using the Tools ► Query Entity option.

AllyCAD prompts:
Enter name of objects to be selected

You must type both the parent name and the object name of the
object you want to select. All names must be in upper case. All
objects with the name you type will be selected.
For example, typing
BATHROOM CLOSET

will select all the objects named CLOSET with the parent name
BATHROOM.
Wildcards may be used. For example, typing
BATHROOM *

will select all objects with the parent name BATHROOM, such as
BATHROOM CLOSET, BATHROOM TOILET, BATHROOM SINK etc.
Typing
* CLOSET

Edit Menu 2-19

will select all objects called CLOSET, whether their parent names
are, for example KITCHEN CLOSET, BATHROOM CLOSET etc.
Typing
* *

will select everything in the drawing as specified by the Filters.

Hatch
This option allows hatches to be selected by clicking on them with
the cursor.
AllyCAD prompts:
Select a hatch perimeter

A cross (#) appears on each hatch perimeter and the hatched objects
are flashing. Click on the cross marking the perimeter of the hatch
you want to select. The perimeter is highlighted.
Select a hatch perimeter

Select another hatch perimeter or cancel hatch selection by choosing

another function, pressing the [Space Bar] or clicking on Done.

Layer
This option selects everything that has been specified using the
Filters and that is on a given layer.
The layer selection box is displayed. Click on the desired layer, then
click on OK. To select items on, for example, a second layer, choose
Layer again.

If you have selected a filter or filters, and elements that should not
be selected are being selected, this may be because all the elements
are linked together as objects.
For example, if you have set the filters so that only arcs should be
selected, and you find that some lines are being selected too, this is
because the lines that are being selected are included in objects
with arcs. To select arcs only, you need to use Objects ► Explode
Object to explode the objects first.

2-20 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Properties
This page allows you to further restrict what entities will be selected.
You can restrict to current layer, current colour, current line type, as
well as attributes like line width, symbol style and polyline fill colour.

Some restrictions obviously apply only to certain entities. For

example if you check Current Polyline Fill the restriction will have no
effect on text items as it will only be applied to polylines.

Hatch/Solid fill
This section determines what objects will be selected based on their
hatch flag.
Hatch and Non Hatch If this is checked then all hatch and non hatch objects
will be selected. If this is unchecked, then the following
checkbox Hatch/Solid Fill only becomes enabled.
Hatch/Solid Fill only If this is checked, then only hatch perimeters will be
selected. If it is unchecked, then only non-hatch objects
will be selected.
Current hatch If this is checked, then only hatch perimeters that match
the current default hatch will be selected. (You can
change the current default hatch, either by selecting
Annotate ► Enter Hatch, and changing the hatch type,
then pressing cancel, or by using Annotate ► Pick
Index from Hatch and taking the index from an existing
hatch perimeter.)

Text
This allows you to restrict what text items will be selected based on
things like font, text size and even a string of text.

Edit Menu 2-21

The text string is not case sensitive and matches if any part of the
text on the drawing contains the match string.

Clear Selection
Clear all selections.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right File ClearSel

This function de-selects everything that has been selected.

2-22 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Move to Front
Move elements to the front of other elements on your drawing.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

MoveToFront

This is especially useful if there is a solid fill or bitmap on your

drawing and you need lines or text to appear on top of the solid fill or
bitmap.
AllyCAD moves all the selected elements to the front. If nothing is
selected AllyCAD will switch into selection mode.

The elements you have moved to the front may not appear to have
been moved to the front until you redraw the screen.
If you can't see the element you want to move to the front because
it's behind something else, select the area containing the element
by dragging a rectangle over it or using Edit ► Select by Polygon.
When it is selected, the hidden element will be visible.

Move to Back
Move elements behind other elements on your drawing.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

MoveToBack

It is especially useful if there is a bitmap on your drawing that you

need to position behind lines or text.
AllyCAD moves all the selected elements to the back. If nothing is
selected AllyCAD will switch into selection mode.

The elements you have moved to the back may not appear to have
been moved to the back until you redraw the screen.

Edit Menu 2-23

Notes:

2-24 AllyCAD Reference Manual

View Menu
The View menu allows you to change what
is displayed on the screen.

View Menu 3-1

Zoom Window
Define area to zoom into by drawing a box around it

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left View Zoom “W”

You will be prompted:

Enter a corner of zoom box

A large cross hair appears on the screen with the cursor at the cross
centre. Position the cursor at one corner of the area you want to
zoom into and press [Enter] or click.

AllyCAD prompts:
Enter second corner of rectangle

3-2 AllyCAD Reference Manual

As you move the cursor, you will see that it is attached to a box.
Position the cursor so that the box surrounds the area you want to
zoom into and press [Enter] or click.

The area within the box will now be enlarged to occupy the whole
drawing area.

To return your drawing to the previous view, use View ► Zoom Last.
To return your drawing to a normal view, use View ► Zoom Paper.

View Menu 3-3

Zoom Last
Move backward through sequence of zooms.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left View Minus “-“ Zoom “L”

Suppose you perform the following sequence of zooms.

Original view

Zoomed View

If you select Zoom Last while you are zoomed in, you will return to
the previous view. You can move backwards through the last ten
zooms or magnifies you have performed in this way.
Your last ten zooms are saved with the drawing, so the next time you
load your drawing the zoom last function will immediately be
available. You can also move forwards through zooms as described in
the next section.

3-4 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Zoom Next
Move forward through sequence of zooms.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right View Divide “/” Zoom “N”

Zoom Next reverses the action of Zoom Last, similar to redoing

actions that have been undone.
You can move forwards through all the zooms that have been
reversed using the Zoom Last function.

Zoom All
Show the whole drawing at the maximum possible size to fit on the screen.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right View ZA Zoom “A”

If your drawing is larger than the paper size, you will be able to see
the paper extents as a pink dotted rectangle.
This function is therefore particularly useful if you have, for example,
changed scale or paper size and your drawing no longer fits onto the
paper, or if you have inadvertently worked off the edge of the sheet.
It will enable you to locate work that is off the edge of the paper. You
can then bring it back into the paper limits using Modify ► Move, or
by changing scale or paper size in the Settings ► Drawing Settings.

To return the drawing to the previous view, use View ► Zoom Last. To
return the drawing to an un-zoomed view, use View ► Zoom Paper.

View Menu 3-5

Zoom Paper
Show the entire sheet of paper and its contents.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right View R Redraw

When you select this function, only that part of the drawing within
the paper extents represented by the pink dotted rectangle is shown.
If part of your drawing is outside the paper extents you can see it
using the Zoom All function.

Zoom Scaled
Show drawing at a specific scale.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left File ZS Zoom “S”
Screen

Click on the Zoom icon in the Files or the Screen toolbar. Select
Zoom Scaled from the popup menu.
You will be prompted:
Enter zoom scale

Type in the scale at which you want to see your drawing. For
example, if you type “25”, your drawing will appear on the screen at
the size it would be at if its scale was 1:25. Click on Done or press
[Enter].
Enter zoom box

A box representing the amount of the drawing that will fit on the
screen after scaling appears.
Fit this box around the part of your drawing you want to zoom into
and press [Enter] or click on Done.

If you specified a scale greater than the scale at which you are
currently viewing your drawing, you will not be able to see the box
as the box will be larger that the screen. The cursor (which you will
be able to see) represents the centre of the box.

3-6 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Zoom Selected
Zoom everything that has been selected to the maximum possible size to fit
on the screen.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right View ZE Zoom “E”

Before using this zoom you must select everything that you want
zoomed using the Edit ► Select or Edit ► Selection Filters functions.

Zoom View
Zoom into a pre-defined view.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left View 1,2,3..9 Zoom “V”

When you choose this option, a sub-menu of numbers

appears. Click on the number corresponding to the view
you want to zoom into, as defined using the Define Zoom
View function.
The program will immediately zoom into the chosen
window.
If you have not defined any views using the Define Zoom
View function, the program will zoom to a default view.

View Menu 3-7

Define Zoom View
Define zoom views.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right View Zoom “V”

This option allows you to define zooms. For example, suppose you
frequently needed to zoom into the two areas on this drawing that
have been enclosed by rectangles:
Edge of Drawing Area

Zoom 0 Zoom 1

You could define one area as Zoom 0 …

3-8 AllyCAD Reference Manual

and the other as Zoom 1.

It is possible to define up to 10 such views.

When you select Define Zoom View, the screen is divided into nine
boxes with numbers inside and a menu with numbers on it appears.
Click on the number in the menu that will correspond to the zoom
you are about to define. This is the number you will use to
implement the zoom later, using the Zoom View option.
A large cross hair appears on the screen with the cursor at the cross
centre. AllyCAD prompts:
Enter a corner of zoom window

Position the cursor at one corner of the area you want to zoom into
and press [Enter] or click.
AllyCAD prompts:
Enter second corner of rectangle

View Menu 3-9

As you move the cursor, you will see that it is attached to a box.
Position the cursor so that the box surrounds the area you want to
define and press [Enter] or click.
The box you enter will be marked by green lines and will be
numbered. Its shape will be updated slightly to reflect the shape of
the screen.
The menu of numbers will re-appear. You can click on another
number to define another zoom, or exit the function by clicking on
the screen somewhere outside the number menu.
Implement the zooms you have defined using the Zoom View
function. The defined zooms are stored with the drawing.

3-10 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Toolbars
Show or hide toolbars

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left File ToolbarPopup

Click on View ► Toolbars to display or hide the different toolbars. A

menu box with available toolbars pops up.
If the specific toolbar is currently displayed it will have a  next to it.
Move the mouse and click on the toolbar that you want to display or
hide. The box will disappear and the chosen toolbar will either be
hidden or displayed.
Repeat the process to display or hide further toolbars.

View Menu 3-11

Magnify
Magnify your drawing at the cursor position

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left View M Magnify
Screen

If you use the shortcut key magnification will take place about the
position of the cursor.
If you use the toolbar button you will be asked:
Enter Screen Point

Position your cursor at the point to be magnified and press [Enter] or

click. Your drawing is magnified by a factor of 3. To change this
magnification factor, use Settings ► Change Magnify Factor.

To return your drawing to the previous view, use View ► Zoom Last.

Demagnify
De-magnify your drawing at the cursor position

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right View D Demag
Screen

If you use the shortcut key de-magnification will take place about the
position of the cursor.
If you use the toolbar button you will be asked:
Enter Screen Point

Position your cursor at the point to be de-magnified and press

[Enter] or click. Your drawing is de-magnified by a factor of 3. To
change this magnification factor, use Settings ► Change Magnify Factor.

3-12 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Pan
Redraw about the cursor position

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left View W Pan

If you use the shortcut key the pan will take place about the position
of the cursor.
If you use the toolbar button you will be asked:
Enter screen point

Position the cursor at the point on your drawing that you want
positioned in the middle of the screen and press [Enter] or click. The
screen is redrawn with the cursor position at the centre.

View Menu 3-13

Long Pan
Place pan box about part of drawing to zoom into.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right View Semi-colon (;) LongPan
Screen

When you select Long Pan, a small dotted square representing your
sheet of paper appears, with your drawing inside it. AllyCAD
prompts:
Enter pan box (Space Bar for expanded view)

Pan view limits

Existing view limits

If you move your mouse, you will see that the cursor is attached to a
box. Place this box around the part of your drawing you want to
zoom into and press [Enter] or click. Alternatively, press the
[Space Bar].
You will be returned to the view you were working in when you
selected Long Pan. The cursor will still be attached to the box,
although you may not be able to see the box. Move the cursor to the
area of the drawing you want to pan to and press [Enter] or click.

3-14 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Refresh
Refresh your screen after editing or deleting.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left View S Refresh

It is sometimes necessary to refresh your screen after changes or

deletions have taken place. For example, if you delete a line that was
very close to or on top of another line, it will look as if both lines have
disappeared. Redraw will redraw the screen so that the remaining
line reappears.

View Menu 3-15

Notes:

3-16 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Draw Menu
The Draw menu allows you to
access the entity creation
functions. Many of these
functions can also be accessed
from the Main toolbar.

Draw Menu 4-1

Line (Chained)
Draw chained lines (the end of one line automatically marks the start of the
next).

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Main Ctrl + L Line

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter first point of line

Position the cursor where you want the start point of a line to be and
press [Enter] or click. AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter next point of line

As you move the cursor, the line follows it. Position the cursor where
you want the end point of the line to be and press [Enter] or click.
This point will also mark the position of the start of the next line.
AllyCAD will continue to prompt:
Enter next point of line

Enter the end point of another line, or cancel line drawing by

choosing another function, pressing the [Space Bar] or clicking on
Done.

To draw a line of an exact length or at a given angle see Accurate

Drawing in the User Guide.
To change the line colour or the line type while drawing, use the
Settings ► Line Defaults function.

4-2 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Lines (Pt to Pt)
Draw separate lines.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Main PtLine

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter first point of line

Position the cursor where you want the start point of a line to be and
press [Enter] or click. AllyCAD will then prompt:
Enter next point of line

As you move the cursor, the line follows it. Position the cursor where
you want the end point of the line to be and press [Enter] or click.
AllyCAD will again prompt:
Enter first point of line

Enter the first point of another line, or cancel line drawing by

choosing another function, pressing the [Space Bar] or clicking on
Done.

To draw a line of an exact length or at a given angle see Accurate

Drawing in the User Guide.
To change line colour or type while drawing, use the Settings ► Line
Defaults function.

Draw Menu 4-3

Point
Draw a point.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Point

Access this function from the Draw menu. AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter position of point

Position the cursor where you want a point to be and press [Enter] or
click.
AllyCAD will continue to prompt:
Enter position of point

Enter another point, or cancel point drawing by choosing another

function, pressing the [Space Bar] or clicking on Done.

The size of points and how they are displayed, e.g. as crosses, dots
or circles is controlled by the Point Style button in Settings ► View
Settings.

4-4 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Rectangle
Draw a rectangle by two diagonally opposite corners.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Main Rectangle

Original corner

New corner

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter first rectangle corner

Position the cursor where you want one corner of a rectangle to be

and press [Enter] or click.
Enter second corner of rectangle

Move the cursor to a diagonally opposite corner. You can move it

up and to the right;
down and to the right;
up and to the left;
down and to the left.
The cursor is rubber-banded, so you can see the rectangle as you
draw it. When you have positioned the cursor, press [Enter] or click.
Enter first rectangle corner

Enter a corner of another rectangle, or cancel rectangle drawing by

choosing another function, pressing the [Space Bar] or clicking on
Done.

The four lines making up the rectangle are automatically grouped

so that you can select the whole rectangle by clicking on it once
with the Select cursor. To select a single line in the rectangle you
must first explode it using Objects ► Explode Object.

Draw Menu 4-5

Arc 3 Point
Draw an arc by three points.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Main Arc

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter first point of arc

Position the cursor where you want one end of the arc to be (position
a on the diagram above) and press [Enter] or click.
AllyCAD will then prompt:
Enter point on arc

As you move the cursor, you can see the arc being drawn. Position
the cursor at any point on the arc between its two ends (position b
on the diagram above) and press [Enter] or click.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter last point of arc

Position the cursor where you want the other end of the arc to be
(position c on the diagram) and press [Enter] or click.
AllyCAD will continue to prompt:
Enter first point of arc

Enter one end of another arc, or cancel arc drawing by choosing

another function, pressing the [Space Bar] or clicking on Done.

4-6 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Arc Radius
Draw an arc by end points and radius.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right Main ArcR

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter start point of arc

Position the cursor where you want one end of an arc to be and press
[Enter] or click.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter end point of arc

Position the cursor where you want the other end of the arc to be
and press [Enter] or click.
AllyCAD will then prompt:
Enter radius (negative for clockwise arc)

Type the radius of the arc and click on  or press [Enter].

Start point
If you enter a positive radius, the arc will be
drawn in an anti-clockwise direction between
the start and end points you have defined.
End point

Start point

If you enter a negative radius, the arc will be

drawn in a clockwise direction between the
start and end points you have defined.

End point

The radius that you enter must be at least as long as half the
distance between the start and end points of the arc. If you do not
know the radius and need to calculate it, you can type the
necessary arithmetic expression, e.g. (518-212)/3 instead of the
radius.

Draw Menu 4-7

If the radius you enter is too short, the message
Radius too small .. setting it to L/2

will be displayed. AllyCAD will automatically set the radius to L/2

(half the distance between the two points) and draw the arc. If you
want to measure the distance between the two points, use the Tools
► Measure command.
Enter start point of arc

Enter one end of another arc, or cancel arc drawing by choosing

another function, pressing the [Space Bar] or clicking on Done.

4-8 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Circle
Draw a circle by centre point and point on circumference.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Main Cir

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter centre point of circle

Position the cursor where you want the centre point of a circle to be
and press [Enter] or click.
Enter point on circle

As you move the cursor away from the circle centre, the circle will
appear. When it is the correct size, press [Enter] or click.
Enter centre point of circle

Enter the centre point of another circle, or cancel circle drawing by

choosing another function, pressing the [Space Bar] or clicking on
Done.

Regardless of which point on the circle circumference was initially

specified, only the centre point and the point that lies on the
circumference at the 3 o'clock position are stored.
If you need circles for isometric drawings, see Ellipses and
Isometrics.

Draw Menu 4-9

Circle Diameter
Draw up to five concentric circles.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right Main CirDia

20

70
80

You will be prompted:

Circle centre point

Position the cursor where you want the centre point of the circle or
circles to be and press [Enter] or click.
Enter up to 5 diameters separated by spaces

Type in up to five diameters separated by spaces and click on Done

or press [Enter].
For example, to produce these three circles, you would type: “20 70
80”
Circle centre point

Enter the centre point of another circle or circles, or cancel

concentric circle drawing by choosing another function, pressing the
[Space Bar] or clicking on Done.

4-10 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Circle 2 Point
Draw circles by two points on circumference.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right Main Cir2P

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter first point on circle

Position the cursor where you want one point on the circle's
circumference to be and press [Enter] or click.
Enter point on circle

As you move the cursor AllyCAD will

display a rubber-banded circle. Position the
cursor where you want the other point on
the circumference to be and press [Enter]
or click.

The prompts are repeated until you cancel the function by pressing
the [Space Bar] or clicking on Done.

To position the cursor accurately, see Accurate Drawing in the User

Guide. If you want the circle to be tangent to another entity (line,
arc or circle) at the first point, change to Tan Snap mode before
entering the point. See Tan Snap mode.

Draw Menu 4-11

Line Arc Line
Draw a line arc line sequence.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

BentLine

R2
d

R1
a

This function inserts an arc with a specified radius at corners while

you are drawing to create a smooth sequence of lines and arcs.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter first point

Position the cursor where you want the first point of the first line in
the line arc line sequence to be (position a). Press [Enter] or click.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter corner point

Position the cursor at a corner where the arc will be inserted

(position b) and press [Enter] or click. Nothing is drawn yet.
AllyCAD will continue to prompt:
Enter corner radius

Type the radius for the corner (R1) and click on OK or press [Enter].
Ensure the radius value that you type is reasonable, given the lengths
of the lines between positions a, b and c and the angle formed by the
lines a-b and b-c.
Nothing will be drawn until you have entered the first three points.

If you do not know the radius and need to calculate it, you can type
the necessary arithmetic expression, e.g. (518-212)/3 instead of the
radius.

4-12 AllyCAD Reference Manual

AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter next corner point (enter two points the same to end
with a line)

You can either enter another radiused corner at c on the diagram or

you can end the line arc line sequence d on the diagram.

How to enter another radiused corner (c on the diagram) or end the line arc
line sequence with an arc.
Position the cursor at the corner to be radiused (position c) and press
[Enter] or click. A line and an arc are drawn.

If what is drawn is not what you expected, it is probable that the

radius value you entered was too large.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter corner radius

Type the radius for the new corner (R2) and click on  or press
[Enter].
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter next corner point (enter two points the same to end
with a line)

You can either enter another radiused corner or you can end the line
arc line sequence.
To end the line arc line sequence with an arc, press the [Space Bar]
or click on Done.

How to end the Line Arc Line sequence with a line (d on the diagram)
Position the cursor where you want the line arc line sequence to end
(position d) and press [Enter] or click.
A line and an arc are drawn.
Do not move your cursor from point d until you have input a corner
radius and the same point again, otherwise another arc will be added
to the line arc line sequence.

If what is drawn is not what you expected, it is probable that the

radius value you entered was too large.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Draw Menu 4-13

 Enter corner radius

When you are ending the line arc line sequence, the radius value is
irrelevant. Press [Enter] to accept the default, but do not move your
cursor from point d.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter next corner point (enter two points the same to end
with a line)

Press [Enter] to accept position d again. You have now selected

position d twice and the line arc line sequence will be terminated.

To produce a sequence of parallel lines and arcs, see Parallel Line.

For an alternative method of producing a line arc line sequence, see
Circular Spline.
It is sometimes helpful to determine the corner points you will be
using (b and c on the diagram below) before you start by using
Geometry.

4-14 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Parallel Line
Draw parallel lines

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Main ParlLine

The parallel line parameters are set using Settings ► Parallel Defaults.

• If you specify the Draw Fresh option the prompts that you get
will be exactly the same as for Line (Chained).
• If you specify the Around Existing Perimeter option you will enter
the Perimeter Menu.
• If you specify the Line Arc Line option the prompts that you get
will be exactly the same as for Line Arc Line.

Draw Menu 4-15

When specifying radii in a line arc line sequence, ensure that these
are larger than the inside offset defined in the Parallel Defaults. If the
corner points in a line arc line sequence are too close together and
the radii are too large, your parallel lines will cross over and change
sides.
While only one line will appear as you are drawing, all the parallel
lines you specified will appear once you finish line drawing, finish
defining the perimeter, or finish drawing the line arc line sequence. If
your parallel lines are unexpectedly drawn on the wrong side of the
line, perimeter, or line arc line sequence, use Undo to delete them
and check your offsets.

4-16 AllyCAD Reference Manual

1 Parallel Element
Draw a single line, arc or circle parallel to an existing line, arc or circle, or
draw multiple lines parallel to an existing line

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Main ParlL1

You can draw a parallel line at a fixed distance from an existing line
or through a specified point parallel to an existing line.
AllyCAD prompts:
Use a Fixed Distance or a Specified Point

A number of options must be specified on the Control Bar.

Use

Parallel line If you want to place the parallel

Fixed element by specifying a distance
Distance between the existing element and the
parallel one, select Fixed Distance.
Existing line

If you want to place the parallel

Parallel line
element by specifying a point
Point
through which the parallel element
must pass, select the Specified Point
Existing line option.

Spacing
If you have chosen to use a Specified Point, this control will be
disabled and grayed out.

Parallel line If you have chosen to use a Fixed

Distance, type the distance you want
10 between the existing element and the
parallel element, for example "10".
Existing line

Draw Menu 4-17

No. Lines

Five parallel lines

The number you type here
determines the number of parallel
10 lines that will be drawn at once. For
example, if you type "5", AllyCAD will
draw five lines parallel to the existing
10 line. These lines will be evenly
spaced at the distance you type here.
10

Arcs and circles are only copied once

10 regardless of how many lines you
have specified in the Control Bar. To
obtain the required number of arcs,
keep selecting the most recent
parallel arc or circle until you have
the desired number.
Existing line

Trim
If you check the Trim box, each
succeeding line will be trimmed to fit
the previous one. The beginning of
the first line and the end of the last
line selected will not be trimmed. If
you require a closed perimeter, use
the Modify ► Trim command to join
the first and last lines together.

If you leave the Trim box empty,

consecutive lines will not be
trimmed.

Trim only works if you are drawing one parallel line.

4-18 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Parallel Lines by a Fixed Distance
If you have selected the Fixed Distance option AllyCAD will prompt:
Select element to be parallel copied

Parallel element will appear this side

Position the cursor next to the
of the existing line existing line, arc or circle and on that
side of it where you want the parallel
element to appear. Press [Enter] or
click.

The parallel element or elements are drawn. The number of lines,

spacing and trim are determined by the Control Bar settings.
AllyCAD will continue to prompt:
Select element to be parallel copied

Select another element to copy and press [Enter] or click.

Alternatively cancel element copying by choosing another function,
pressing the [Space Bar] or clicking on Done.

Parallel Lines by a Specific Point

If you have selected the Specified Point option AllyCAD will prompt:
Select element to be parallel copied

Parallel element will appear this side

Position the cursor next to the
of the existing line existing line, arc or circle and on that
side of it where you want the parallel
element to appear. Press [Enter] or
click.

AllyCAD will now prompt:

Enter point parallel line should pass through

You need to specify a point through which the parallel line will pass.
Position the cursor and press [Enter] or click.
The position that you choose defines the distance between all the
parallel lines.

Draw Menu 4-19

 Five parallel lines

Existing line Point

AllyCAD will continue to prompt:

Select element to be parallel copied

Select another element to copy and press [Enter] or click.

Alternatively cancel element copying by choosing another function,
pressing the [Space Bar] or clicking on Done.

4-20 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Geometry Trace-Over
You must already have drawn some geometry before you can use
these functions.

Fill Geom
Trace over geometry lines and circles

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Geometry FillGeom

You specify an intersection of geometry elements, followed by the

element you want to trace over, followed by the next intersection.
The cursor will switch to Geometry Intersection snap mode and
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter first geometry intersection point

Position the cursor next to the intersection of geometry lines at one

end of a geometry element you want to trace over and press [Enter]
or click. The cursor snaps exactly onto the intersection.

The cursor will switch to Freehand mode

and AllyCAD will prompt:
Identify next geometry element

Position the cursor on the element you

want to trace and press [Enter] or click.

The cursor will switch back to Geometry

Intersection snap and AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter next intersection point

Position the cursor next to the intersection

of geometry lines at the other end of a
geometry element you want to trace over
and press [Enter] or click.

Draw Menu 4-21

The cursor snaps exactly onto the intersection. AllyCAD will continue
to prompt:
Identify next geometry element

Select another geometry element to turn into a solid line or arc or

cancel the function by choosing another function, pressing the
[Space Bar] or clicking on Done.

To change colour or line type while you are drawing use Settings 
Line Defaults.

Fill Geometry Cir

Traces over geometry circles

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Geometry FillGcir

Geometry circle Solid Circle

AllyCAD will prompt:

Select geometry circle to be filled

Position the cursor close to a circle you want to trace over and press
[Enter] or click.
AllyCAD will continue to prompt:
Select geometry circle to be filled

Select another geometry circle to trace over. Alternatively cancel

geometry circle tracing by choosing another function, pressing the
[Space Bar] or clicking on Done.

4-22 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Fill Geom Arc
Traces over a portion of a geometry circle.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Geometry FillGarc

AllyCAD will prompt:

Fill Geom Arc: Enter first point of arc

First point of arc

will be here

Last point of arc

will be here

Position the cursor where you want one end of the arc to be and
press [Enter] or click. You do not have to position the cursor on the
geometry circle.
AllyCAD will now prompt:
Enter point on arc

Draw Menu 4-23

 First point of arc
will be here

Last point of arc

will be here

Position the cursor at any point on the arc between its two ends and
press [Enter] or click. You do not have to position the cursor on the
circle, just close enough to indicate which portion of the circle you
want to trace over.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter last point of arc

Last point of arc

will be here

Position the cursor where you want the other end of the arc to be
and press [Enter] or click. You do not have to position the cursor on
the geometry circle, as illustrated here.
Fill Geom Arc: Enter first point of arc

Enter one end of another arc, or cancel arc drawing by choosing

another function, pressing the [Space Bar] or clicking on Done.

4-24 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Ellipses
This option allows you to draw full or partial ellipses.

Ellipse
Draw ellipses or circles in Isometric drawings.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Ell

Minor axis

Major axis

Angle

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter ellipse centre point

Position the cursor where you want the centre point of an ellipse to
be and press [Enter] or click.
Enter major axis

Type in the length of the major axis and click on Done or press
[Enter].

If you do not know the length of the major axis and need to
calculate it, you can type an arithmetic expression, e.g. (518-212)/3
instead of the major axis.

Enter aspect ratio and angle

The aspect ratio is the length of the major axis divided by the length
of the minor axis. Thus, to get an ellipse that is twice as long as it is
wide, give an aspect ratio of 2. To get an ellipse three times longer
than it is wide, give an aspect ratio of 3, etc.
The angle is measured anti-clockwise from the 3 o'clock position.

Draw Menu 4-25

If you have checked Isometric Grid in Settings ► Drawing Settings you
will not be asked this question as the aspect ratio will be fixed at
the square root of 3/2 and the angle will be perpendicular to the
angle at which the cursor is locked.

Type the aspect ratio and the angle of the ellipse, separated by a
space. Then click on  or press [Enter].
Enter ellipse centre point

Enter the centre point of another ellipse, or cancel ellipse drawing by

choosing another function, pressing the [Space Bar] or clicking on
Done.

In order to snip, hatch or snap to an ellipse, you must first change

it to a sequence of 12 arcs. To do this, use the Modify ► Ellipse2Arcs
function.

Part Ellipse
This function draws parts of ellipses.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

EllBit

The first three questions that are asked are exactly the same as
those asked by the Ellipse function above.
Thereafter AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter first snip point on ellipse (ellipse goes round
counter clockwise)

Position the cursor at a point on the ellipse boundary where you

want one end of the ellipse part to be and press [Enter] or click.
First snip point

Second snip point

Ellipse before Ellipse after

snipping snipping

4-26 AllyCAD Reference Manual

The ellipse is drawn in an anti-clockwise direction. If you want to
achieve the result illustrated above, you must choose the first snip
point as indicated.
Second snip point

First snip point

Ellipse before Ellipse after

snipping snipping

If you want to achieve the result illustrated above, you must choose
the first snip point as indicated.
Enter 2nd snip point

Position the cursor at a point on the ellipse boundary where you

want the other end of the ellipse part to be and press [Enter] or click.
The unwanted parts of the ellipse are cut away.
AllyCAD continues to prompt:
Enter ellipse centre point

Enter the centre point of another part ellipse, or cancel ellipse

drawing by choosing another function, pressing the [Space Bar] or
clicking on Done.

Part ellipses created using this function cannot be hatched or

snapped to. To do so first change the part ellipse to a series of arcs
using the Modify ► Ellipse2Arcs function.

Draw Menu 4-27

Splines
This option allows you to draw circular and cubic splines.

Circular Spline
Draw a spline composed of arcs.
Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command
Spline

Each new point enters another arc tangent to the previous one and
through the point. This function also allows a line arc line sequence
to be entered. The spline is rubber-banded to enable you to see
exactly what will be drawn.
The first three points that you enter define an arc similar to that in
the Arc 3 Point function.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Circular spline ... enter first point

Position the cursor where you want the first point in the circular
spline to be and press [Enter] or click. This represents the first point
of an arc.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter second point of spline

Position the cursor at another point on the spline and press [Enter]
or click. This represents a point on an arc between its two ends.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter next point of spline

The arc that you are drawing appears, and is rubber-banded so that
you can see exactly what you are drawing.

4-28 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Position the cursor at another point on the spline and press [Enter]
or click. This represents the end point of an arc. The arc is drawn.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter next point of spline - or [Ctrl End] to change arc to
line

From now on each new point will enter an arc tangent to the
previous arc and through the point. Lines may also be entered.
To draw another arc, position your cursor at another point along the
spline. Press [Enter] or click.
To draw a line, press the [Ctrl] and [End] keys together. Then
position your cursor and press [Enter] or click.
AllyCAD continues to prompt:
Enter next point of spline - or [Ctrl End] to change arc to
line

Add another line or arc to your spline or terminate spline drawing by

pressing the [Space Bar] or clicking on Done.

To close a perimeter created using this function the first and second
points of the spline must be entered again as the penultimate and
last points of the spline.

Cubic Spline
Draw a cubic spline composed of small line segments through points.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Curve

Three points are required before a spline can be drawn between the
first two points.
AllyCAD will prompt:

Draw Menu 4-29

 Enter number of divisions per spline segment

The spline is reduced to straight line segments. This number dictates

how many segments are produced between entered points. Numbers
between 5 and 10 are useful. However, while greater numbers will
result in smoother curves, they will consume more memory. Type a
number then click on  or press [Enter].
AllyCAD will prompt:
Cubic spline curve ... enter first point

Position the cursor where you want the first point in the cubic spline
to be and press [Enter] or click.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter second point

Position the cursor at another point on the spline and press [Enter]
or click.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Next spline point

Position the cursor at another point on the spline and press [Enter]
or click. A cubic spline is fitted between the first and second points.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Next spline point

Add another point to the spline or cancel spline drawing by choosing

another function, pressing the [Space Bar] or clicking on Done.

No spline will be drawn to the last point you enter. The spline is
always drawn between the third last and second last points you
entered.

4-30 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Polyline
Draw a polyline or Bezier curve

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Main PLine

Polylines look exactly the same as lines drawn using Draw ► Line
(Chained). The difference is that when you click on a polyline to select
it with the Select cursor, the whole polyline is selected, not just one
line segment.
To select just one line segment in a polyline, you must first explode
the polyline using Objects ► Explode Object.

A polyline is defined by its vertices, i.e. the beginnings and ends of

the line segments within it (marked by squares in the polylines on
the left).
You can also use the Polyline function to draw 3 point and 4 point
Bezier curves.

3 point Bezier curves are drawn

between every three polyline vertices.

Draw Menu 4-31

 4 point Bezier curves are drawn through
every four polyline vertices.

Polylines can also be closed and

hatched or solid filled.

Whether a polyline, 3 point Bezier or 4 point Bezier curve is drawn

by the Polyline function, and whether or not it is closed and hatched
depends on the options you have selected in Settings ► Polyline
Defaults.
Once drawn, a polyline can be converted to a Bezier curve or a Bezier
curve can be converted to a polyline simply by double clicking on it
with the Select cursor. You can also change the hatch status of a
polyline by double clicking on it.
When you select the Polyline function, AllyCAD prompts:
Enter first point of polyline

Position the cursor where you want the first polyline vertex to be and
press [Enter] or click.
Enter next point of polyline

As you move the cursor, a line follows it. Position the cursor where
you want the second polyline vertex to be and press [Enter] or click.
If you are drawing a polyline, the first line segment will be drawn. If
you are drawing a Bezier curve, nothing will be drawn until you have
entered the fourth vertex.
Enter next point of polyline

Enter another polyline vertex, or cancel polyline drawing by choosing

another function, pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on Done or .

Once you have drawn a polyline or Bezier curve, you can use the
Edit ► Select Nodes function to stretch the line or curve by its
vertices.

4-32 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Bulged Polyline
Draw a polyline that includes bulges (arc portions).

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

PolyBulge

This function is identical to the Line Arc Line function except that a
polyline with bulges is created instead of a connected sequence of
lines and arcs.

Procedure
The CAD will prompt:
Enter first point

Position the cursor where you want the first point of the first line in
the line arc line sequence to be (position a). Press [Enter] or click.
The CAD will now prompt:
Enter corner point

Draw Menu 4-33

Position the cursor at a corner where the arc will be inserted
(position b) and press [Enter] or click. Nothing is drawn yet.
The CAD will continue to prompt:
Enter corner radius (0 for bend)

Type the radius for the corner (R1) and click on OK or press [Enter].
Ensure the radius value that you type is reasonable, given the
lengths of the lines between positions a, b and c and the angle
formed by the lines a-b and b-c. Nothing is drawn until you have
entered the first three points.

If you do not know the radius and need to calculate it, you can type
the necessary arithmetic expression, e.g. (518-212)/3 instead of the
radius (see Making Calculations ). Using a radius value of 0 will
cause a sharp bend to be created at the indicated position rather
than an arc.

The CAD will prompt:

Enter next corner point (enter two points the same to end
with a line)

4-34 AllyCAD Reference Manual

You can either enter another radiused corner at c on the diagram or
you can end the line arc line sequence d on the diagram.

How to enter another radiused corner (c on the diagram) or end the line arc
line sequence with an arc.
Position the cursor at the corner to be radiused (position c) and press
[Enter] or click. A line and an arc are drawn. If what is drawn is not
what you expected, it is probable that the radius value you entered
was too large.
The CAD will prompt:
Enter corner radius

Type the radius for the new corner (R2) and click on or press
[Enter].
The CAD will continue to prompt:
Enter next corner point (enter two points the same to end
with a line)

You can either enter another radiused corner or you can end the line
arc line sequence. To end the line arc line sequence with an arc,
press the [Space Bar] or click on Done.

Draw Menu 4-35

How to end the Line Arc Line sequence with a line (d on the diagram)

Position the cursor where you want the line arc line sequence to end
(position d) and press [Enter] or click . A line and an arc are
drawn.
Do not move your cursor from point d until you have input a corner
radius and the same point again, otherwise another arc will be added
to the line arc line sequence.

It is sometimes helpful to determine the corner points you will be

using (b and c on the diagram below) before you start, using, for
example, Geometry. To position the cursor accurately, see Accurate
Drawing.

Polygon
Draw polygons.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right Main, exec ".\macro\polygon"
Screen

4-36 AllyCAD Reference Manual

AllyCAD will prompt:
Number of sides for polygon

Type the number of sides you want the polygon to have, then click on
 or press [Enter].
Enter centre point of polygon

Position the cursor where you want the centre point of the polygon to
be and press [Enter] or click.
Enter polygon enclosing circle

Position the cursor on the circumference of a circle enclosing the

polygon and press [Enter] or click.

When you create a polygon, the lines in it are automatically

grouped so that you can select the whole polygon by clicking on it
once with the Select cursor. To select a single line in the polygon,
you must first explode it using Objects ► Explode Object.

Draw Menu 4-37

Symbol
Enter symbols from a symbol file.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Main Symbol

Before you can use this function you must load the drawing
containing the symbols you want to use (the symbol file) using File ►
Load Symbol File. If you have not loaded a symbol file, AllyCAD will
automatically allow you to do so. Once you have loaded a symbol file,
the Symbol function will begin.
When a symbol is inserted into a drawing, the primitives making up
the symbol are automatically grouped so that you can select the
whole symbol by clicking on it once with the Select cursor. To select
a single primitive in the symbol, you must first explode it using
Objects ► Explode Object.

Selecting the symbol you want to use

Click here to view the symbols in the symbol file

Currently selected
symbol

Click here to see a list of symbols in the symbol file

After you have selected the Symbol function, you will see the grey
outline of a symbol moving with the cursor as you move the cursor
around the screen. This symbol is the currently selected symbol,
whose name is displayed in the left control of the Control Bar.
To select another symbol, click on the arrow to the right of the
currently selected symbol in the Control Bar. A list of the symbols in
the symbol file you have loaded appears on the screen. Click on the
name of the symbol you want to use, then click on OK.
Alternatively, click on the View button. Thumbnail sketches of the
symbols will be displayed on the screen. Click on the symbol you
want.

4-38 AllyCAD Reference Manual

When you move the cursor and the symbol moves with it, the
symbol is attached to the cursor at its hook point. For details on
symbols and how to create them see Drawing Structure in the User
Guide.

Options on the control bar

Snip

Before symbol insertion If you check the snip option, lines

beneath the symbol when it is
entered are snipped away.

After symbol insertion with snip

If you do not check the snip option,
lines beneath the symbol are not
snipped away.

After symbol insertion without snip

The symbol's snip box determines what is snipped away. Refer to

Drawing Structure in the User Guide.

AutoR
If you check this option (autorotate), the symbol will automatically be
rotated onto a line.

Rotate
The symbol will be rotated by the angle measured anti-clockwise
from the 3 o'clock position.

Scale
The symbol will be scaled horizontally by the figure you type into the
first scale box, and vertically by the figure you type into the second
scale box. For example, if you type "2" and "2", the symbol will be
twice as big.

Draw Menu 4-39

For more information on symbols and scale, see Load Symbol File.

4-40 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Mirror vertically

The symbol will be mirrored around a vertical axis.

Mirror horizontally

The symbol will be mirrored around a horizontal

axis.

Entering Symbols without AutoR checked

The symbol will be added to the drawing without rotating to the
nearest line.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter position for symbol

Position the cursor where you want the symbol to appear and press
[Enter] or click.

The symbol's hook point is positioned at the cursor position. If you

do not know what a hook point is, see Drawing Structure.

Attributes
If you are entering a symbol that has had attributes attached to it,
you will be prompted for the value of attribute once you have
specified the position of the symbol. For example, suppose the
symbol you are entering has an attribute called COLOUR attached to
it.
AllyCAD will prompt
COLOUR

and the default value of the attribute COLOUR will appear in the
command line, where you can edit it.
If you want to create a Bill of Materials, the text in the command line
must be in the format attribute=value, e.g. COLOUR=BLUE.
Draw Menu 4-41
Otherwise, the attribute value can be anything you want. When you
are satisfied with the value, press [Enter] or click on .
If you answered YES to the Convert attributes to text during load?
prompt when you loaded the symbol library using File ► Load Symbol
Library the value that you type into the command line will be written
as text next to the symbol. It will be written using the currently
selected text defaults.
If you need to edit this text once it is on the drawing, double click on
it. If you need to move the text, you must first explode the object it is
attached to using Objects ► Explode Objects.
If you answered NO to the Convert attributes to text during load?
prompt when you loaded the symbol library, a diamond will appear
at the attribute position. This diamond will disappear when you
redraw the screen. For details on viewing and editing attributes, see
Bill of Materials.
Once AllyCAD has prompted for the value of each attribute attached
to the symbol, the symbol will be drawn on the screen.
Enter position for symbol

Enter another symbol, or cancel the Symbol function by choosing

another function, pressing the [Space Bar] or clicking on Done.

Entering Symbols when AutoR is Checked

The symbol will be added to the drawing and rotated to align with the
nearest line.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter position for symbol

Position the cursor on or close to the line

you want the symbol to be rotated onto.
Press [Enter] or click.

4-42 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 AllyCAD will prompt:
Indicate symbol direction and line
to rotate to

Position the cursor further along the line.

This position need not be accurate. Its
purpose is to indicate in which direction
along the line the symbol should be
attached. Press [Enter] or click.

The symbol is automatically rotated to fit

the line

The remainder of this function operates exactly as described in the

previous section.
In order for a symbol to rotate onto a line as described here, the
symbol must have been drawn horizontally and its hook point must
be on the left. If the symbol is not inserted into the line as expected,
you should save your drawing and select File ► New. Load the
drawing containing the errant symbol using File ► Open.
Once the symbol drawing has been loaded, select the errant symbol
and rotate it so that it is oriented horizontally using Modify ► Rotate.
Then move its hook point to the left side of the symbol, using Objects
► Edit Object ► Change Hook Point.
Save the symbol drawing and select the File ► New function. Load the
drawing you were working on before and try loading the symbol
again. The symbol should now be inserted into the line as expected.

Draw Menu 4-43

Sketch
Draw freehand

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

FreeHand

The freehand sketch is composed of many small line segments and

finer intervals will result in smoother lines but consume more
memory. It is advisable not to use many sketches on your drawing as
these can seriously slow down AllyCAD's operation.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter minimum distance (in mm) between freehand drawn points

Type an appropriate interval and click on  or press [Enter].

Enter start of freehand drawing

Position the cursor where you want the sketch to begin and press
[Enter] or click. Now as you move the mouse, a continuous line will
be drawn on the screen until you press [Enter] or click.

Because it is difficult to move the mouse smoothly, the usual result

of using Sketch is a wobbly squiggle. Practical use may be to
indicate, for example, the outline of a hedge, but even this is not
easy without some trial and error.

Enter start of freehand drawing

Position the cursor to start another sketch. Alternatively cancel

sketching by choosing another function, pressing the [Space Bar],
clicking on Done or .

When you create a sketch, the small lines making up the sketch are
automatically grouped so that you can select the whole sketch by
clicking on it once with the Select cursor. To select a single line in
the sketch, you must first explode it using Objects ► Explode Object.
Large sketches may contain too many lines to be grouped into one
object. Such sketches will be grouped into several objects.

4-44 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Modify Menu
The Modify menu allows you to
change existing entities. These
changes include stretch, mirror,
scale, move, rotate and repeat.

Modify Menu 5-1

Stretch
Move part of a drawing enclosed within a polygon

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Modify Stretch

In this function you move only that part of a drawing that you
enclose within a polygon. The rest of the drawing remains
unchanged.
Any lines crossing the polygon boundary act like rubber bands. They
enlarge, shrink or rotate depending on the amount and direction of
movement.

21 16 51 16

Before stretching After stretching

If previously dimensioned, linear dimensions will adjust

automatically when Stretch is used, although tolerances will be lost.
Hatching will also be updated automatically.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Stretch everything? (else just selected)

If you want to stretch everything within the user-defined polygon,

click on the YES button. If you click on NO only selected elements
will be moved.

5-2 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter polygon about points to be
moved

Draw a polygon around the elements to be

stretched.
Do not put the polygon around the whole
21 16
shape or it will be moved, not stretched.

AllyCAD will now prompt:

Enter point that must move

The polygon that you drew will disappear.

Position the cursor on a point and press
[Enter] or click. This point is a reference
point that you will use to define the
21 16 movement of the part of the drawing that
you enclosed in the polygon.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter point it must move to

Move the cursor to indicate the position the

point will be stretched to. A square
representing the part of the drawing to be
21 16
stretched is displayed.

Press [Enter] or click to accept the position.

The drawing is stretched.

51 16

It is best to be in Freehand mode. If you are in a snap mode, the

cursor sometimes jumps from the point you select to move to back
to the point you selected as the reference point to move. The result
is no stretch.

Modify Menu 5-3

Move
Move the selection set.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Modify Move

If you haven't selected anything you will automatically enter the

Select function. Select the primitives you want to move.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter point that must move

Position the cursor on a point on the selection set. Press [Enter] or

click. This point is the reference point that you will use to define the
movement.
AllyCAD will now prompt:
Enter point it should move to

Move the cursor to indicate the position the reference point must
move to. You will be able to see the selection set move as you move
the cursor. Press [Enter] or click when you are satisfied. The
selection set is drawn at the new position.

It is best to be in Freehand mode when you use Move.

5-4 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Move Point
Move a point and everything attached to it.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Modify exec ".\macro\movept"

You will be prompted:

Select point to move

The cursor will switch to Point snap mode. Position it close to the
point you want to move and press [Enter] or click. The cursor jumps
exactly onto the point.

AllyCAD will now prompt:

Enter point it should move to

The cursor will switch to Grab All mode. Move the cursor to where
the point should move to and press [Enter] or click.

The point is moved.

Select another point to move or cancel point moving by choosing

another function, pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on Done or .

Modify Menu 5-5

Mirror Image
Mirror the selection set.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Modify Mirror

If you haven't selected anything you will automatically enter the

Select function. Select the primitives you want to mirror.
The mirror options will be displayed on the Control Bar:

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter point about which to mirror

Position the cursor at a point about which to

mirror. The horizontal or vertical axis will pass
through this point.

If you have checked the User Defined option this will be one of two
points defining the mirror axis.
You will then be asked for the second point:
Enter other point on mirror axis

Now position the cursor at the second point defining the axis. Press
[Enter] or click. The selection set is mirrored. Note the following
points:
• When text is mirrored it remains readable. This is because only
the label origin is mirrored (see Set Text Defaults. The label origin
of text that is not centred is changed. For example, if the *
denotes the label origin of the text and the word TEXT denotes a
piece of text, *TEXT mirrors to TEXT* during a vertical mirror.
• When you mirror objects, the mirrored half is a new object with
the same name and parent name as the original. This means that
if you have drawn, for example, half of a bearing and have
mirrored it to get the other half, you will have to combine the two
halves into a single object using Objects ► Group Into Object.

5-6 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Mirror Axis
The mirror axis determines how the selection set will be mirrored.

If you check the Horizontal option,

mirroring will take place about a
horizontal axis.

If you check the Vertical option,

mirroring will take place about a vertical
axis.

Point

If you check the User Defined option,

mirroring will take place about an axis
defined by two points along it. It is
useful to define these two points before
entering the Mirror Image function.

Point

Modify Menu 5-7

Keep Original

If you check the Keep original option,

the original half of the mirrored items
will be retained after mirroring.

Original Mirror
Image

Otherwise, only the new half will be

kept.

Original Mirror
Image

5-8 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Scale
Resize or scale the selection set.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Modify Scale

The reference point remains stationary

Before scaling
After scaling

Different scales can be applied to the selection set in the horizontal

and vertical directions. If you haven't selected anything you will
automatically enter the Select function. Select the primitives you
want to scale.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter point about which to scale

Position the cursor at the point around

which the increase or decrease in scale is
to take place. This point will remain
stationary while the rest of the selection set
is scaled. Press [Enter] or click.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter scale from cursor (else from
keyboard)

You can use the cursor to indicate where

the selection set must be scaled to. For
example, if you indicate that this point ...

must be scaled to here...

Modify Menu 5-9

 ... the selection set will be scaled like this.
If you want to indicate the scaling by
cursor, click on the YES button and follow
the instructions in "Scaling by cursor".

Alternatively you can type specific horizontal and vertical scaling

factors from the keyboard. For example, typing "2 0.5" will scale the
selection set by a factor of 2 in the horizontal direction and by a
factor of 0.5 in the vertical direction. To type the scaling factors, click
on the NO button and follow the instructions in "Scaling from the
Keyboard".

Scaling by cursor
This option allows you to indicate the scaling factors with the cursor
position.

Point about
which to scale AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter point to be scaled

Position the cursor on a point to be moved

during the scale.
If the point to be scaled is vertically in line
Point to scale with the point about which to scale…
(vertically in line)

... you will only be able to scale the selection

set vertically

5-10 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Point about
which to scale

If the point to be scaled is horizontally in line

with the point about which to scale...

Point to scale
(horizontally in line)

... you will only be able to scale the selection

set horizontally

Point about which

to scale

If the point to be scaled is anywhere else...

Point to scale,
neither horizontally
nor vertically in line

... you will be able to scale the selection set in

any direction you want.

Press [Enter] or click to accept the point to be scaled.

Enter point it must scale to

Move your cursor to the position that the point must scale to. As you
move your cursor, you can see the selection set being scaled. To
retain the horizontal and vertical proportions of the selection set as
you scale it, press the [SHIFT] key as you move the cursor.
Press [Enter] or click. The selection set is scaled.

Modify Menu 5-11

Scaling from the keyboard
This option allows you to type in exact scaling factors.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter x and y scale factors

Type in the horizontal and vertical scaling factors separated by a

space. Click on  or press [Enter]. The selection set is scaled.

5-12 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Repeat
Copy selection set in linear or circular fashion.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Modify Repeat

Linear or Circular or
rectangular repeat polar repeat

If you haven't selected anything you will automatically enter the

Select function. Select the primitives you want to repeat.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Repeat how many times

Type in the number of additional copies required and click on  or

press [Enter].
For example, if you type 4 you will end up with five copies of the
selection set: the original and four copies.
Rectangular repeat? (else polar)

To repeat along a line click on the YES button, else click on the NO
button for polar repeat.

Modify Menu 5-13

Rectangular Repeat

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter point on original set

Position the cursor at a point on the selection

set and press [Enter] or click. This point acts
as a reference point.

Original
AllyCAD will then prompt:
Enter point on repeated set

Position the cursor at the place where the first

copy should be positioned. This position
defines the distance between copies.
For example, if you position the cursor here ..

Original

... the first copy will be positioned like this. All

subsequent copies will be positioned at equal
distances from each other as on the diagram
on the previous page.
First Copy
Press [Enter] or click. The selection set is
repeated.

5-14 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Polar Repeat
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter point about which to rotate

Position the cursor at the centre of the circle around which the
copies will be placed and press [Enter] or click. AllyCAD will now
prompt:
Enter rotation angle

The default angle required to copy the selection set evenly around a
circle will appear. Accept this default by clicking on  or pressing
[Enter]. Alternatively, type an angle of your choice and click on  or
press [Enter]. The selection set is repeated.

Centre point

For example, to produce a drawing of a filter (above) from one

element using the polar repeat you would repeat 39 copies (there are
40 in all - one original and 39 copies) around the centre point at a
rotation angle of 9 degrees (40 copies multiplied by 9 degrees is 360
degrees - a complete circle).
Note the following points:
• The angle you type is measured in an anti-clockwise direction. If
you do not know the angle and need to calculate it, you can type
the necessary arithmetic expression, e.g. 360/4 instead of the
angle.
• Each copy produced by Repeat is a new object, with the same
name and parent name as the original (if you are not sure what
an object is, see Drawing Structure in the User Guide). For
example, if you started off with one switch, which you repeated
four times, you would end up with five switches. If you drew one
part of an object and then used Repeat to complete the object,
you would have to unite the repeated copies of the object and the

Modify Menu 5-15

 original into one object using the Objects ► Group Into Object
function.
• Only the last copy remains in the selection set.

5-16 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Drop
Place a copy of the selection set on the drawing at a random position.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Modify Drop

Unlike Repeat, Drop does not assume a regular interval between

copies of the selection set. Copies are positioned individually.
If you haven't selected anything you will automatically enter the
Select function. Select the primitives to copy.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter a point on selection set

Position the cursor on a point and press [Enter] or click. This point is
a reference point that you will use to define where the copy will be
placed.
Enter point where you would like to copy selection set

As you move the cursor, you will see an image of the selection set
moving with it. Position this image and press [Enter] or click.
Continue to place copies or cancel copying by choosing another
function, pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on Done or .

Each copy is a new object, with the same parent and object names
as the original. For example, if you started off with one tree, and
you made two copies, you would end up with three trees. If you
drew one part of an object and then used Drop to complete the
object, you would have to unite the copied parts of the object and
the original into one object using the Objects ► Group Into Object
function.

Modify Menu 5-17

Rotate
Rotate the selection set.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Modify Rotate

If you haven't selected anything you will automatically enter the

Select function. Select the primitives to rotate.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter point about which to rotate

Position the cursor at the pivot point about which the selection set
will be rotated and press [Enter] or click.
Enter angle from keyboard (else from cursor)

If you know the angle of rotation, click on YES or else if you want to
rotate the selection set by dragging it with your cursor, click on NO.

Rotating by angle
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter angle

Type the angle through which the selection set must rotate. Click on
 or press [Enter]. The selection set is rotated.
The rotation angle is measured anti-clockwise from the three o’clock
position regardless of how you have set up the Angular Format in
Settings ► Drawing Settings. If you do not know the angle and need to
calculate it, you can type the necessary arithmetic expression, e.g.
360/4 instead of the angle.
AllyCAD will now prompt:
Enter point that must move

You are now given the option to move the rotated selection set. If you
do not want to do so choose another function, press the [Space Bar],
click on Done or .

5-18 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Rotating by cursor
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter point that must rotate

Position the cursor at the point you want to use to drag the selection
set around with and press [Enter] or click.
Enter point it must rotate to

Position the cursor at a point to indicate the new inclination of the

selection set. You will see the selection set rotating as you move the
cursor. Press [Enter] or click.
Enter point that must move

You are now given the option to move the rotated selection set. If you
do not want to move the rotated set choose another function, press
the [Space Bar], click on Done or .

Modify Menu 5-19

Trim
Trim or extend a line or arc to join another one exactly.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left, Modify Trim
Right

Left-clicking will result in trimming two lines/arcs onto one another.

Right-clicking will result in trimming one line or arc onto another.
The Update and Use options are displayed on the Control Bar and
the cursor switches to Freehand mode.

Update

If you choose First Line, one line or arc will be

trimmed or extended to meet another line or
arc.

Before Trim After Trim

If you choose Both Lines, two lines or arcs will

be trimmed or extended to meet each other.

Before Trim After Trim

The Neither Line option is irrelevant in this function.

5-20 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Use
If you choose One Point, you will be able to select the lines or arcs to
trim with one mouse click.

If you have chosen to update the First Line,

you must click on the element you want to
trim or extend. If you are trimming an element
Click here rather than extending it, ensure that you click
on that part of the element to be retained after
Before Trim After Trim
the trim.

If you have chosen to update Both Lines, you

must click inside the corner made by the two
elements.
Click here If you choose Two Points, you must select the
Before Trim After Trim lines or arcs to trim with two mouse clicks.

If you have chosen to update the First Line,

you must click on the element you want to
trim or extend first.
If you are trimming an element rather than
Click on this
extending it, ensure that you click on that part
line first
of the element to be retained after the trim.

Once you have clicked on the element to trim

or extend, click on the element that it must be
trimmed or extended to.
Then click
on this line

Modify Menu 5-21

 If you have chosen to update Both Lines, you
must click on one of the elements you want to
trim or extend, then on the other.
Click here…

If you are trimming an element rather than

extending it, ensure that you click on that part
of the element to be retained after the trim.
And here…

When you have finished trimming, select another element to trim or

extend or cancel the function by choosing another function, pressing
the [Space Bar], clicking on Done or .

Trim Length
Modify the length of a line entity.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

TrimLineLen
This function allows you to change the length of a line by typing in a
fixed quantity. A line can be lengthened or shortened in this way.

Procedure
Select line to modify near fixed end

Indicate the line to be changed, and do so near the end that must
not change. ie. The opposite end of the line will get lengthened or
shortened.
Enter new line length

The input bar is initialized with the current length giving you the
opportunity to change it. Type in the new value and press [Enter] or
click the tick mark.
The line entity is modified, and the process repeats for subsequent
lines.
5-22 AllyCAD Reference Manual
Multi Line Trim
Perform many trim operations using the same line as the trim line

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

TrimMultiLine

This function allows you to indicate a line to be used as the trim line
(cutting edge) and thereafter indicate any number of subsequent
lines to be trimmed onto the trim line.

Procedure
Select line to be trimmed to

Indicate the line to be used as the trimming line. This line will not get
modified.
Select line to trim (on side to keep)

Indicate the line that will get modified on the side that will remain
after the trimming. This line does not have to intersect with the trim
line as the extended intersection will be calculated. The trim might
actually be an extension in this case.
The program repeats allowing you to trim many lines in turn without
having to indicate the trim line each time.

Fillet
Insert radiused corners between elements or edit elements to join exactly.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Modify Fillet

Before After

Modify Menu 5-23

The elements to be filleted may be arcs or lines. It does not matter
whether they join, cross or do not intersect at all.
The Control Bar will display the Update, Use and Radius options.
The cursor will also switch to Freehand mode.

Update

If you choose Neither Line, a fillet will be

inserted between two elements, but the
Before After elements will not be updated.
Fillet Fillet

If you choose First Line, a fillet will be inserted

between two elements and one of the elements
Before After will be updated.
Fillet Fillet

If you choose Both Lines, a fillet will be

inserted between two elements and both of the
Before After elements will be updated.
Fillet Fillet

Use
If you choose One Point, you will be able to select the elements to
fillet with one mouse click.

If you have chosen to update the First Line,

you must click near the element you want to
Click here update but inside the corner made by the two
Before After elements.
Fillet Fillet

5-24 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 If you have chosen to update Neither Line you
must click inside the corner made by the two
Click here
elements.
Before After
Fillet Fillet

If you have chosen to update Both Lines, you

must click inside the corner made by the two
Click here
elements.
Before After
Fillet Fillet

If you choose Two Points, you must select the elements to fillet with
two mouse clicks.

If you have chosen to update the First Line,

you must click near the element you want to
update first. You must click inside the corner
made by the two elements.
Click here
first

Once you have clicked near the element to

update, click near the other element. Again,
you must click on the inside of the corner
made by the two elements.
Then click here

If you have chosen to update Neither Line or

Both Lines, you must click near to one of the
elements to fillet between, then click near the
other.
Click here…

Modify Menu 5-25

 You must click on the inside of the corner
made by the two elements.
And here…

Radius

Fillet Radius Type the fillet radius. If you type "0", the Fillet
function will operate in exactly the same way
as the Trim function.

If your fillet is “inside out”, you probably clicked outside the corner
made by the elements being filleted, not inside. Undo the fillet and
try again, ensuring that you click on the inside of the corner.

5-26 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Chamfer
Draw a third, sloping line between two existing lines.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Modify Chamfer

It does not matter whether the lines to be chamfered join, cross or do

not intersect at all.
The Control Bar will display the options and the cursor switches to
Freehand mode.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Select first line to be chamfered

Position the cursor on or near the first line to

be chamfered and press [Enter] or click.

AllyCAD prompts:
Second line

Position the cursor on or near the second line

to be chamfered and press [Enter] or click.

The lines are chamfered.

AllyCAD will continue to prompt:

Select first line to be chamfered

Modify Menu 5-27

Position the cursor on or near another line to be chamfered and
press [Enter] or click. Alternatively cancel chamfering by choosing
another function, pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on Done or .

Lengths are measured from the intersection point of the two lines
even if they do not meet, and are applied to the lines in the order in
which they are selected.

Chamfer by angle and one length

Length Angle

Angle

Length
Second line Select the Angle option and type the length
selected
and angle as shown above.
First line
selected

Chamfer by two lengths

First Length Second Length

Second
Length

First
Select "Length 2" and type the first and
Length Second line second lengths.
selected

First line
selected

5-28 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Divide/Extend
Split or extend a line or arc

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Modify Divide

When a line or arc is split, the two split ends form a point that can
be snapped to exactly. Also, once a line or arc has been split, one
part of it can be rubbed out or edited.
A line or arc can also be extended to meet another line.

Splitting a line or arc

AllyCAD will prompt:
Select line or arc to be divided or extended

Position the cursor on the line or arc to be divided or extended and

press [Enter] or click. AllyCAD will then prompt:
Enter point where you want to divide element (or point to
extend it to)

Position the cursor at the point where the split must take place.
Press [Enter] or click. If the point is not exactly on the line or arc, the
split will take place at the nearest position on the line or arc.

Extending a line or arc

AllyCAD will prompt:
Select line or arc to be divided or extended

Position the cursor on the line or arc to be divided or extended and

press [Enter] or click. AllyCAD will then prompt:
Enter point where you want to divide element (or point to
extend it to)

Position the cursor at the point you want to extend it to and press
[Enter] or click. If the point does not lie exactly on the extended line
or arc, the line or arc will be extended to the nearest position.

Modify Menu 5-29

Divide/Edit
Divide and edit part of a line.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Modify exec ".\macro\divedln"

This function divides a line and then allows you to edit the part
between the points of division.
AllyCAD prompts:
Select line to edit (Between divide points)

Click on the line you want to edit.

AllyCAD prompts:
Select first divide point.

Move your mouse and click on the spot that will be the first point of
division.
AllyCAD prompts:
Select second divide point.

Move your mouse and click on the spot that will be the second point
of division.
AllyCAD prompts:
Enter linestyle to change to.

In the Control Bar, type in the number of the linestyle you would
like. Click on .
AllyCAD prompts:
Enter pen to change to.

In the Control Bar, type in the number of the pen you would like.
Click on . The divided and newly edited line will appear.
Cancel the function by choosing another function, pressing the
[Space Bar], clicking on Done or .

5-30 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Join Lines
Join the ends of two lines.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right Modify JoinLine

Some lines may be deleted when you use this function as the
following example will illustrate.

Example 1 Example 2

Line 1 Line 2 Line 1 Line 2

AllyCAD will prompt:

Select first line to be joined

Position your cursor at the end of one of the lines and press [Enter]
or click. The end of the line that you position your cursor close to will
be deleted.

Example 1 Example 2

Line 1 Line 2 Line 1 Line 2

AllyCAD will prompt:

Select second line to be joined

Position your cursor at the end of the other line and press [Enter] or
click. The end of the line that you position your cursor close to will
be deleted.

Example 1 Example 2

Line 1 Line 1

Line 2 Line 2

The two lines are joined. The original lines in Example 1 are deleted.

Modify Menu 5-31

 Example 1 Example 2
These ends have
been deleted

... to give this line Lines 1 and 2 have been joined

AllyCAD will continue to prompt:

Select first line to be joined

Position the cursor near the end of another line and press [Enter] or
click. Alternatively, cancel Join Lines by choosing another function,
pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on Done or .

If the two original lines disappear and no new line is produced, click
on Undo and try again. Ensure that you are in Freehand mode, and
that you click at the ends of the lines that are to be deleted.

5-32 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Cut and Rub
Rub out part of a line.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Modify exec ".\macro\cut&rub”
Right

A Left click on the icon will start a single place Cut & Rub described
in “Cutting in one place”.
A Right click on the icon will start a two place Cut & Rub described
in “Cutting in two places”
If you started this function from the menu, you will be asked if you
want to cut in one or two places with the following prompt:
Do you want to cut one place (else two places

You want to
delete this part of Click on the YES button if you want to rub
the line out the end of a line, and therefore only
have to cut the line in one place.

Click on the NO button if the part of the

You want to
delete this part of
line that you want to rub out means that
the line you must cut the line in two places.

Modify Menu 5-33

Cutting in one place

AllyCAD will prompt

Select line to cut (between cut point and
end)

The cursor switches to Freehand mode.

Position your cursor between the cut point and the
end of the line. Press [Enter] or click.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Select cut point

Position the cursor so that the intersection is within

the cursor box and press [Enter] or click.

The unwanted section of line disappears.

AllyCAD will continue to prompt:

Cut another line (else exit)

If you want to cut another line, click on the YES button. To stop
cutting lines, click on the NO button.

5-34 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Cutting in two places
AllyCAD will prompt:
Select line to cut (between cut points)

The cursor switches to Freehand mode.

Position your cursor between the two intersections.
Press [Enter] or click.

AllyCAD will now prompt:

Enter first cut point

Position the cursor so that one of the intersections

bounding the piece of line you want to rub out is
within the cursor box and press [Enter] or click.

AllyCAD will now prompt:

Enter second cut point

Position the cursor so that the other intersection

bounding the piece of line you want to rub out is
within the cursor box and press [Enter] or click.

The unwanted section of line disappears.

AllyCAD will continue to prompt:

Cut another line (else exit)

If you want to cut another line, click on the YES button. To stop
cutting lines, click on the NO button.

Modify Menu 5-35

Snip
Cut and rub out everything inside or outside a box or circle.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Modify Snip

Snip cuts all lines, arcs and circles passing through the perimeter of
a box or circle drawn around them. It can be used to create openings
in walls before doors are placed, to create a space for text that would
otherwise pass over previously drawn lines or to delete all but a
small part of a drawing etc.
Annotations (text, arrows, dimensions) whose origins do not lie
wholly within the snip box or circle will not be deleted.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Snip out box? (else circle)

If you want to snip everything inside or outside a box, click on the

YES button. If you want to snip everything inside or outside a circle,
click on the NO button.
Remove elements on inside? (else outside)

Everything inside
this box will be
snipped out

Before snip After snip

If you want to delete everything on the inside of a box or circle, click

on YES.

Everything
outside this box
will be deleted

Before snip After snip

If you want to delete everything on the outside, click on NO.

5-36 AllyCAD Reference Manual

AllyCAD will prompt:
Would you like to enter box/circle after snip

If you would like the snip box or circle to be

drawn after the snip, click on the YES button.

Else click on the NO button.

Snipping inside or outside a box.

If you elected to snip inside or outside a box the following prompt is
displayed:
Enter corner of snip box

Position the cursor at one corner of the snip box and press [Enter] or
click.
AllyCAD will now prompt:
Enter second corner of rectangle

Move the cursor diagonally away from the first corner you entered
and press [Enter] or click. The elements inside or outside the box will
be deleted.
AllyCAD will continue to prompt:
Enter new corner of snip box

When you move the cursor the snip box you have just defined moves
with it. Place the snip box at another position and press [Enter] or
click. The elements inside or outside the box will be deleted.
Alternatively, cancel Snip by choosing another function, pressing the
[Space Bar], clicking on Done or right clicking then clicking on .

Modify Menu 5-37

Snipping inside or outside a circle
If you have elected to snip inside or outside a circle the following
prompt is displayed:
Enter centre point of snip circle

Position the cursor at the centre of the snip circle and press [Enter]
or click.
AllyCAD will then prompt:
Enter point on radius

Position the cursor at a point on the snip circle's circumference and

press [Enter] or click. The elements inside or outside the circle will be
deleted.
AllyCAD will continue to prompt:
Enter new centre point of snip circle

When you move the cursor the snip circle you have just defined
moves with it. Place the snip circle at another position and press
[Enter] or click. The elements inside or outside the circle will be
deleted.
Alternatively, cancel Snip by choosing another function, pressing the
[Space Bar], clicking on Done or .

5-38 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Polysnip
Cut and rub out everything inside or outside a polygon.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right Modify PolySnip

Polysnip is similar to the snip function. It cuts all lines, arcs and
circles passing through the perimeter of the polygon drawn around
them. It can be used to create openings in walls before doors are
placed, to create a space for text that would otherwise pass over
previously drawn lines or to delete all but a small part of a drawing.
Annotations (text, arrows, dimensions) whose origins do not lie
wholly within the snip polygon will not be deleted.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Remove elements on inside? (else outside)

If you want to delete everything on the inside of the polygon, click on

YES. If you want to delete everything on the outside, click on NO.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Would you like to enter clip polygon after snip?

If you would like the snip polygon to be drawn after the snip, click on
the YES button, else click on the NO button. AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter clip polygon

Position the cursor at one corner of the snip polygon and press
[Enter] or click.
Enter next point of polygon (Hit Space Bar for a box)

Move the cursor to the next point of the polygon you want and click.
If you hit [Space Bar] you will of course have a box rather than a
polygon area to be snipped. Otherwise AllyCAD will continue to
prompt:
Next point of polygon (Space Bar to close)

Continue moving the cursor to the next point of the polygon you
want and click until you have the enclosed polygon shape. Hit either
the [Space Bar] or Done to finish the function. The elements inside or
outside the polygon will be deleted, and elements crossing the
polygon will be snipped.

Modify Menu 5-39

Move Selected->New Layer
Move the selection set to a specified layer.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Modify WSNewLay

If you haven't selected anything you will automatically enter the

Select function. Select the primitives you want to move to another
layer.
AllyCAD will display the following dialog:

Click on the layer that the selection set must be moved to. The
destination layer will be highlighted.

Before using this function, ensure you have created the layer to
move the selection set to. See Layer Control.

5-40 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Copy Selected->New Layer
Copy the selection set to a specified layer.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Modify CopyToLayer

If you haven't selected anything you will automatically enter the

Select function. Select the primitives you want to copy to another
layer.
AllyCAD will display the following dialog:

Click on the layer that the selection set must be copied to. The
destination layer will be highlighted.

Before using this function, ensure you have created the layer to
copy the selection set to. See Layer Control.

Modify Menu 5-41

Ellipse2Arcs
Convert an ellipse into 12 arcs.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

El2Arc

This function converts ellipses into 12 arcs so that they can be

snipped, hatched or snapped to.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter polygon about ellipses to be converted to arcs

Draw a polygon around the ellipses to be converted. Use the

[Space Bar] to close the polygon.
The enclosed ellipses will be converted.
AllyCAD will continue to prompt:
Enter polygon about ellipses to be converted to arcs

Either draw a polygon around more ellipses to be converted to arcs,

or cancel ellipse conversion by choosing another function, pressing
the [Space Bar], clicking on Done or .

Transform
Applies a Helmert transformation on all or part of the drawing.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Transform

The Helmert transform requires at least common three points

between the old and the new coordinate systems. You may input up
to 100 common coordinates.
All All the points, lines and polylines/polygons in the drawing will be exported.

Only the visible points, lines and polylines/polygons in the drawing will be
Visible
exported.

Only the selected points, lines and polylines/polygons in the drawing will be
Selected
exported.

Procedure
The CAD will prompt:

5-42 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 Transform all, visible or selected (A/V/S)

Select which option you require and click on .

The CAD will prompt:
Indicate transformation points (else supply transform
parameters)

Click on the YES button if you want to indentify the transformation

points graphically. If you would rather type in a list of the
transformation points click on the NO button.

Indicate transformation points

The CAD will prompt:
Indicate point 1 on old system (Spacebar to cancel)

Indicate a known point on the old coordinate system. The CAD will
prompt:
Indicate the same point on the new system

Indicate the position of the point in the new coordinate system.

The CAD will then continue prompting for sets of coordinates until
the spacebar is pressed.

A minimum of three points must be entered for the transformation

to be processed.

The Transform Settings dialog will be displayed.

Click on the YES button to continue or the NO button to terminate

the function. If you have decided to accept the settings the
Transform Parameters will be displayed.

Modify Menu 5-43

These are the actual parameters which will be applied during the
transformation. Click on OK to continue and the drawing will be
transformed.

Type in transformation points

This option allows you to type in a list of old and new coordinates.
The Transform Parameters table will be displayed. Input the
coordinate sets as shown below.

You must input a minimum of 3 sets of coordinates. Click on OK to

complete the transform or on Cancel to terminate the function.

Clarke->WGS84 (SA Only)

Transform CAD entities from the Modified Clarke 1880 datum to the WGS84
datum

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

5-44 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 KNBTransform

Procedure
The CAD prompts:
Transform all, visible or selected (A/V/S)
Enter the letter corresponding to which entities are to be
transformed.
Central LO for drawing (must be positive and odd)
Enter the central longitude (prime meridian) that this survey drawing
references. This is very important as the required KNB file for this
area of South Africa depends on the central longitude.
The Browse Folder dialog is display.

Select the directory in which your KNB files are stored and click the
OK button to continue, or click the Cancel button to cancel the
function.
If the correct KNB files are not found in the selected directory then
the following message is displayed:

Modify Menu 5-45

Contact the KNB file suppliers (see the Note section below for contact
details) and order the correct degree square files.
If the correct degree square files are found then the calculation
continues and the entities are transformed.

Note
This transformation is based on degree squares for which the
required transformation parameters have been pre-calculated. These
parameters are applied to all points within their containing degree
square in order to calculate corrected coordinates.
The transformation is dependant on degree square files (KNB files)
which can be obtained from the following (sole) supplier:
Mark Newling
Tritan Survey cc
PO Box 18597
Wynberg
7824
Tel: 021 797-2081
Fax: 021 797-8195
Email: [email protected]

The supply and use of the KNB files supplied by Mark Newling and Tritan
Survey is a matter between yourself and their company and Knowledge
Base will, other than to the extent of verifying that the internal calculation
used is correct, bear no responsibility for the outcome of any
transformation using these supplied files.

5-46 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Modify Menu 5-47
Geometry Menu
The Geometry Menu options
allow you to define construction
lines that can be used to draw
complex shapes in conjunction
with the Draw ► FillGeom
functions.
Tangent geometry only works on
geometry elements. If you need
to draw tangents to solid
elements, project these to
geometry first using the Geometry
► Make Geometry function, or use
the tangent snap function.

Geometry Menu 6-1

Cross
Draw a geometry cross.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Geometry gcross

This function creates a horizontal and a vertical geometry line

simultaneously. The two lines intersect at the current cursor
position.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter point for geometry cross

Position the cursor where you want the two lines to intersect and
press [Enter] or click.
AllyCAD will continue to prompt:
Enter point for geometry cross

Position the cursor where you want another two lines to intersect
and press [Enter] or click. Alternatively cancel cross drawing by
choosing another function, pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on
Done or .

6-2 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Slope Line
Draw a geometry line through a specified point and at an angle.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Geometry glineslp

Geometry line will pass through this point.

Type in
angle

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter point on geometry line

Position the cursor at a point through which you want a geometry

line to pass and press [Enter] or click.
AllyCAD will now prompt:
Enter slope of line (in degrees)

Type in the angle of the line and click on  or press [Enter].

The angle is measured anti-clockwise from 3 o'clock.

AllyCAD will prompt again:

Enter point on geometry line

Position the cursor at a point through which you want another

geometry line and press [Enter] or click. Alternatively, cancel line
drawing by choosing another function, pressing the [Space Bar] or
clicking on Done.

Geometry Menu 6-3

Point-Point Line
Draw a geometry line passing through two specified points.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right Geometry glinepp

First point Second point

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter first point

Position the cursor at one point through which a geometry line

should pass and press [Enter] or click.
AllyCAD will then prompt:
Enter second point

Position the cursor at the other point through which the geometry
line should pass and press [Enter] or click.
AllyCAD will prompt again:
Enter first point

Position the cursor at one point through which another geometry line
should pass and press [Enter] or click, or cancel geometry line
drawing by choosing another function, pressing the [Space Bar],
clicking on Done or .

6-4 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Parallel Line
Draw a geometry line or circle parallel to an existing line, arc or circle.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right Geometry glineprl

AllyCAD will prompt:

Parallel geometry element by distance? (else through point)

Parallel line If you want to place the parallel element by

specifying a distance between the existing
Distance
element and the parallel one, click on the
Existing line
YES button.

Parallel line Point If you want to place the parallel element by

specifying a point through which the
parallel element must pass, click on the NO
button.
Existing line

AllyCAD will now prompt:

Select original line or circle
Parallel line will appear on
(geometry or solid) on correct side
this side of the existing line
Position the cursor next to the existing
element and on that side of it where you
want the parallel element to appear. Press
[Enter] or click.

Geometry Menu 6-5

Parallel line by distance
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter parallel distance

Type in the distance between the existing element and the parallel
element and click on  or press [Enter].
AllyCAD will now prompt:
Select original line or circle on correct side

Draw another parallel line or cancel parallel line drawing by choosing

another function, pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on Done or .

If you do not know the distance and need to calculate it, you can
type the necessary arithmetic expression, e.g. (518-212)/3 instead
of the distance. See Making Calculations in the User Guide.

Parallel line through point

AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter point new geometry element should pass through

Position the cursor at the point the parallel line must pass through
and press [Enter] or click.
AllyCAD will now prompt:
Select original line or circle on correct side

Draw another parallel line or cancel parallel line drawing by choosing

another function, pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on Done or .

6-6 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Circle
Draw a geometry circle.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Geometry gcir

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter circle centre point

Position the cursor where you want the centre point of a circle to be
and press [Enter] or click.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter point on diameter

Move the cursor away from the circle centre. As

you move the cursor you will see the circle
changing size.
When the desired circle size is obtained, press
[Enter] or click.

AllyCAD will continue to prompt:

Enter circle centre point

Enter the centre point of another circle, or cancel circle drawing by

choosing another function, pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on
Done or .

To position the cursor and to define the position of the circle

circumference accurately, see Accurate Drawing in the User Guide

Geometry Menu 6-7

Circle Diameter
Draw up to five concentric geometry circles.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right Geometry gcirdia

AllyCAD will prompt:

Geometry circle centre point

Position the cursor where you want the centre point of the circle or
circles to be and press [Enter] or click.
AllyCAD will now prompt:
Enter up to 5 diameters separated by spaces

Type in up to five diameters separated by spaces and click on  or

press [Enter].
For example, to produce these three circles, you would type:
20 70 80

AllyCAD will continue to prompt:

Geometry circle centre point

Enter the centre point of another circle or circles, or cancel

concentric circle drawing by choosing another function, pressing the
[Space Bar], clicking on Done or .

6-8 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Circle Tan LL
Draw a geometry circle of known diameter tangent to two intersecting
geometry lines.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Geometry gctanll

The two lines that you select must be geometry lines. If you need to
draw a circle tangent to two solid lines, project these to geometry first
using the Geometry  Make Geometry function.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Circle tangent to two lines enter diameter

Type the diameter of the tangent circle and click on  or press

[Enter].

If you do not know the distance and need to calculate it, you can
type the necessary arithmetic expression, e.g. (518-212)/3 instead
of the diameter.

AllyCAD will now prompt:

Select first line

Position the cursor next to one of the

geometry lines the circle must be
tangent to and on the side where the
circle must be drawn. Press [Enter] or
click.

Geometry Menu 6-9

 AllyCAD will now prompt:
Select second line

Position the cursor next to the other

geometry line the circle must be tangent
to and on the side where the circle must
be drawn. Press [Enter] or click.

The circle is drawn as shown.

If you have selected two lines that are parallel then an error message
will be displayed:
Parallel lines never meet … Euclid.

AllyCAD will continue to prompt:

Circle tangent to two lines enter diameter

Type the diameter of another circle and click on  or press [Enter].

Alternatively, cancel circle drawing by pressing the [Esc] key.

6-10 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Circle Tan LC
Draw a geometry circle of known diameter tangent to a geometry line and a
geometry circle.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

gctanlc

The line and the circle that you select must be a geometry line and
circle. If you need to draw a circle tangent to a solid line and circle,
project these to geometry first using the Geometry ► Make Geometry
function.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Circle tangent to line and circle: enter diameter

Type the diameter of the tangent circle and click on  or press

[Enter].
AllyCAD will prompt:
Select line

Position the cursor near the geometry line that the circle must be
tangent to and press [Enter] or click . The position of the tangent
circle is dependent on the cursor position. For example:

If you position the cursor here ...

Geometry Menu 6-11

 the tangent circle will be drawn on this
side.

If you position the cursor here ...

... the tangent circle will appear on this

side.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Select circle

Position the cursor near the existing geometry circle that the tangent
circle must be tangent to and press [Enter] or click .
Where the tangent circle will appear is dependent on where you
selected the line, and on whether you position the cursor inside or
outside the existing circle when you select it.

If you position the cursor inside the

existing circle...

6-12 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 ... the tangent circle will enclose the
existing circle, or be enclosed by it,
depending on the diameter of the tangent
circle.

If you position the cursor outside the

existing circle...

...the tangent circle will be positioned next

to the existing circle.

If the diameter you specified is too small, the message

Tangent circle not possible

will be displayed. To measure distances use the Tools ► Measure

function.

AllyCAD will continue to prompt:

Circle tangent to line and circle: enter diameter

Type the diameter of another circle and click on  or press [Enter].

Alternatively, cancel circle drawing by pressing the [Esc] key.

If you do not know the diameter and need to calculate it, you can
type the necessary arithmetic expression, e.g. (518-212)/3 instead
of the distance.

Geometry Menu 6-13

Circle Tan CC
Draw a geometry circle of known diameter tangent to two geometry circles.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Geometry gctancc

The two circles that you select must be geometry circles. If you need
to draw a circle tangent to two solid circles, project these to geometry
first using the Geometry ► Make Geometry function.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Circle tangent to two circles: enter diameter

Type the diameter of the tangent circle and click on  or press

[Enter].
AllyCAD will then prompt:
Select first circle (inside or outside)

Position the cursor at a point near the circumference of one of the

existing geometry circles that the circle must be tangent to and press
[Enter] or click.
Where the tangent circle will appear relative to this circle is
dependent on whether you position the cursor inside or outside it.

6-14 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 If you position the cursor inside the first
circle...

... the tangent circle will enclose the first

existing circle or be enclosed by it,
depending on the positions of the two
existing circles and the diameter of the
tangent circle.

If you position the cursor outside the first

existing circle...

...the tangent circle will be positioned next

to the first existing circle.

AllyCAD will then prompt:

Select second circle

Geometry Menu 6-15

Where the tangent circle will appear is also dependent on which side
of the first existing circle the cursor is positioned on.

6-16 AllyCAD Reference Manual

For example:

If you position the cursor here ...

... the tangent circle will appear on this

side.

If you position the cursor here ...

... the tangent circle will appear on this

side.

Geometry Menu 6-17

Position the cursor at a point near the circumference of the second
existing geometry circle and press [Enter] or click .
As with selection of the first existing circle, if you position the cursor
inside the second circle the tangent circle will enclose the second
circle. If you position the cursor outside the second circle, the
tangent circle will be next to the second circle.
If the diameter you specified is too small, the message
Tangent circle not possible

will be displayed. To measure distances use the Tools ► Measure

function.

6-18 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Circle Tan 3L
Draw a geometry circle tangent to three geometry lines.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right Geometry gctan3l

The three lines that you select must be geometry lines. If you need
to draw a circle tangent to three solid lines, project these to geometry
first using the Geometry ► Make Geometry function.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Circle tangent to three lines —
select first geometry line

Position the cursor next to one of the

geometry lines the circle must be tangent
to and on that side of it where you want the
circle to appear. Press [Enter] or click.

AllyCAD will then prompt:

Select next line

Position the cursor close to the second

geometry line and press [Enter] or click.

Geometry Menu 6-19

 Thereafter, AllyCAD will prompt:
Select last line

Position the cursor close to the third

geometry line and press [Enter] or click.

The geometry circle is drawn.

If the circle is accidentally placed inside the triangle formed by the

three lines instead of outside it, try selecting the three lines again,
this time selecting them further away from the triangle.

The centroid of three points determines the tangent circle. If the

three geometry lines are parallel, no circle will be drawn.

AllyCAD will continue to prompt:

Circle tangent to three lines — select first geometry line

Position the cursor close to another line in order to draw another

circle and press [Enter] or click. Alternatively cancel circle drawing
by choosing another function, pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on
Done or .

6-20 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Circle Tan LPtRad
Draw a geometry circle with a known radius passing through a point and
tangent to a geometry line.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Geometry gctanlp

Point

AllyCAD will prompt:

Circle tangent to line through
point .. select geometry line

Position the cursor close to the

geometry line that the circle must be
tangent to and press [Enter] or click.

AllyCAD will then prompt:

Enter radius of circle

Type in the radius of the circle and click

on  or press [Enter].
Thereafter AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter point circle must pass
through

Position the cursor at the point through

which the circle must pass and press
[Enter] or click.
The circle is drawn through the point.

Geometry Menu 6-21

If a circle cannot be drawn tangent to the line and through the point,
the message
Tangent circle not possible

will be displayed. Try again, but enter a different radius or position

the point differently.
AllyCAD will continue to prompt:
Circle tangent to line through point... select geometry line

Position the cursor close to a geometry line to draw another tangent

circle and press [Enter] or click. Alternatively cancel circle drawing
by choosing another function, pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on
Done or .

6-22 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Circle Tan CPtRad
Draw a geometry circle with a known radius through a point and tangent to a
geometry circle.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right Geometry gctancpt

Point

AllyCAD will prompt:

Circle tangent to circle through point ... select geometry
circle

Position the cursor close to the circumference of the existing

geometry circle and press [Enter] or click.

Point

If you select the existing circle on the

inside...

Point
... the tangent circle will enclose the
existing circle or be enclosed by it,
depending on the radii of the two
circles.

Geometry Menu 6-23

 Point

If you select the existing circle on the

outside...

Point

... the tangent circle will be next to the

existing circle.

Generally, two circles are possible, as shown in this diagram. Which

one is drawn is also dependent on the cursor position as shown
below.

Point

6-24 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 Point If you position the cursor on this side of
the existing circle ...

... this tangent circle will be drawn.

Point

Point
If you position the cursor on this side of
the existing circle ...

Point

... this tangent circle will be drawn.

AllyCAD will now prompt:

Enter radius of circle

Geometry Menu 6-25

Type in the radius of the tangent circle and click on  or press
[Enter].

If you do not know the radius and need to calculate it, you can type
the necessary arithmetic expression, e.g. (518-212)/3 instead of the
radius. See Making Calculations in the User Guide.

AllyCAD will now prompt:

Enter point circle must pass through

Position the cursor at the point the tangent circle must pass through
and press [Enter] or click.
If a circle cannot be drawn tangent to the line and through the point,
the message
Tangent circle not possible

will be displayed. Try again, but enter a different radius or position

the point differently.
AllyCAD will continue to prompt:
Circle tangent to circle through point...select geometry
circle

Position the cursor close to the circumference of another existing

circle and press [Enter] or click. Alternatively cancel circle drawing
by choosing another function, pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on
Done or .

6-26 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Circle 3 Pt
Draw a geometry circle through three points.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Geometry gc3point

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter first point on geometry circle.

Position the cursor at the first point the circle must pass through
and press [Enter] or click.
AllyCAD will then prompt:
Enter second point on circle.

Position the cursor at the second point the circle must pass through
and press [Enter] or click.
AllyCAD will then prompt:
Enter third point on circle.

Position the cursor at the third point the circle must pass through
and press [Enter] or click.
If the three points that you have entered are in a straight line, the
error message
Three points in a straight line

will appear.
AllyCAD will continue to prompt:
Enter first point on geometry circle

Position the cursor at the first point another circle must pass
through and press [Enter] or click. Alternatively cancel circle
drawing by choosing another function, pressing the [Space Bar],
clicking on Done or .

Geometry Menu 6-27

Line Tan C
Draw a geometry line tangent to a geometry circle and through a known point
or at a known angle.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Geometry glntanc

AllyCAD will prompt:

Line tangent to geometry circle: select circle

Position the cursor close to the circle that the line must be tangent
to. The line will be tangent to that part of the circle closest to the
cursor position. Press [Enter] or click.
Would you like tangent line at fixed angle (else through
point)

If you would like the tangent line at a

Known known angle, click on the YES button.
angle

If you would like the tangent line to

pass through a point, click on the NO
button.

6-28 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Tangent line at a fixed angle
AllyCAD will now prompt:
Enter angle

Enter the angle of the tangent line and click on  or press [Enter].

The angle is always measured anti-clockwise from the 3 o'clock

position.

AllyCAD will now prompt:

Line tangent to geometry circle: select circle

Position the cursor close to a circle to draw another tangent line and
press [Enter] or click. Alternatively cancel tangent line drawing by
choosing another function, pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on
Done or .

Tangent line through point

AllyCAD will now prompt:
Enter point that line must go through

Position the cursor at the point through which the tangent line must
pass and press [Enter] or click.
AllyCAD will continue to prompt:
Line tangent to geometry circle: select circle

Position the cursor close to a circle to draw another tangent line and
press [Enter] or click. Alternatively cancel tangent line drawing by
choosing another function, pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on
Done or .

Geometry Menu 6-29

Line Tan CC
Draw a geometry line tangent to two geometry circles.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right Geometry gltancc

AllyCAD will prompt:

Line tangent to two circles — select first

Position the cursor close to one circle that the line must be tangent
to. The line will be tangent to that part of the circle closest to the
cursor position. Press [Enter] or click.
AllyCAD will now prompt:
Select second circle

Position the cursor close to another circle and press [Enter] or click.

If you want the line to touch on opposite

sides of the circles …

… click here first …

6-30 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 … then click here.

If you want the line to touch on the

same side of the circles …

… click here …

… then click here.

AllyCAD will continue to prompt:

Line tangent to two circles — select first

Position the cursor close to a circle in order to draw another line and
press [Enter] or click. Alternatively cancel line drawing by choosing
another function, pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on Done or .

Geometry Menu 6-31

Perp Bisector
Draw a geometry line that is a perpendicular bisector of two points or that is
perpendicular to a geometry line and passes through a point.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Geometry glnperpb

Point Point

Point Line

AllyCAD will prompt:

Perpendicular bisector? (else line through point
perpendicular to given line)

Point

If you want to draw a geometry line that is

a perpendicular bisector of two points click
on the YES button.

Point

Point

If you want to draw a geometry line that is

perpendicular to another geometry line and
passes through a given point, click on the
NO button.
Line

6-32 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Perpendicular Bisector between two points
AllyCAD will prompt:
Perpendicular bisector between two points .. enter first
point

Position the cursor at the first point and press [Enter] or click.
AllyCAD will now prompt:
Enter next point

Position the cursor at the second point and press [Enter] or click.
AllyCAD will continue to prompt:
Perpendicular bisector between two points .. enter first
point

Position the cursor at a point in order to draw another perpendicular

bisector and press [Enter] or click. Alternatively cancel line drawing
by choosing another function, pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on
Done or .

Perpendicular to a line which passes through a point

AllyCAD will prompt:
Select geometry line

Position the cursor at the geometry line you want the new geometry
line to be perpendicular to and press [Enter] or click.
AllyCAD will now prompt:
Enter point perpendicular should go through

Position the cursor at the point the perpendicular line should pass
through and press [Enter] or click.
AllyCAD will continue to prompt:
Select geometry line

Position the cursor at a geometry line you want to draw

perpendicular to and press [Enter] or click. Alternatively cancel line
drawing by choosing another function, pressing the [Space Bar],
clicking on Done or .

Geometry Menu 6-33

Divide Line Equally
Divides the indicated line into a user-defined number of equal length sections
by drawing equally-spaced geometry lines perpendicular to the indicated line.
The indicated line is not affected.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Geometry

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter number of sections

Enter the number of sections you want the target line to be divided
into.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Click on the line you want to divide

Position the cursor close to the line you want to “divide” and press
[Enter] or click the left mouse button.

Only geometry lines are created in this function - the target line
itself is not cut into sections.

Divide Arc-Circle Equally

Draw multiple geometry circles along a circle or arc entity such that the circle
or arc is divided into a given number of parts.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Geometry Exec”.\macro\dividearc”

6-34 AllyCAD Reference Manual

By indicating an arc or circle, you can divide it up (without actually
modifying it) into a given number of parts where the divisions are
indicated by small geometry circles.

Procedure
Enter number of sections

Enter the number of parts that the arc or circle is to be divided into.
Click on the circle you want to divide (spacebar to exit)

Indicate the arc or circle entity. Small geometry circles are drawn
accordingly, and the program repeats to allow many lines to be
divided into the same number of parts.

Only geometry lines are created in this function - the target line
itself is not cut into sections.

Geometry Menu 6-35

Make Geometry
Project existing solid lines and arcs to geometry lines and circles.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Geometry makegeom

Existing lines and arc Projected geometry lines and circle

This function is useful for determining line and arc intersection

points, and for projecting existing lines to another part of the
drawing.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Select element to be copied to
geometry

Position the cursor close to a solid line or

arc to be projected to geometry and press
[Enter] or click.

A geometry element is created.

AllyCAD will continue to prompt:

Select element to be copied to geometry

Position the cursor close to another line or arc to be projected to

geometry and press [Enter] or click . Alternatively, cancel element
projection by choosing another function, pressing the [Space Bar],
clicking on Done or .
6-36 AllyCAD Reference Manual
Switch Geometry On/Off
Make geometry lines visible/invisible

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Geometry toggeom

When you select Switch Geometry On/Off, the message

Don't Draw Geometry

or
Draw Geometry

is displayed briefly on the screen, depending on whether you have

just switched the geometry off or on.
When the geometry is switched off, any geometry lines and circles
you have drawn will disappear. Even though you can't see the
geometry you will still be able to jump to it, e.g. using the Geometry
Intersection Jump.
To switch the geometry on again, select Switch Geometry On/Off
again.

Geometry Menu 6-37

Delete Geometry El
Rub out individual geometry elements.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Geometry delgeoel

AllyCAD will prompt:

Select geometry element to be deleted

Position the cursor on the geometry element to be deleted and press

[Enter] or click. The geometry element you have selected is
highlighted.
AllyCAD will now prompt:
Correct element?

If this is the element you want to delete, click on the YES button.
The element will be deleted. If you do not want to delete the
highlighted geometry element, click on the NO button.
AllyCAD will continue to prompt:
Select geometry element to be deleted

Position the cursor on another geometry element to be deleted and

press [Enter] or click. Alternatively, cancel geometry deletion by
choosing another function, pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on
Done or .

Undo will not restore deleted geometry lines.

6-38 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Delete All Geometry
Delete all geometry.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right Geometry delgeom

This function deletes all geometry permanently, unless you have

saved it first using the File ► Save Options ► Save Geometry function.

Undo will not restore deleted geometry lines.

If you might need your geometry lines again later, you can
temporarily switch them off by unchecking the Show Geometry box
in Settings ► View Settings.

When you select this function, a confirmation dialog is displayed. If

you are quite sure that you want to delete all your geometry, click on
the OK button. Otherwise click on the [Cancel] button.

Geometry Menu 6-39

Annotate Menu
The Annotate menu allows you to
add text, dimensions and
hatching or solid fill to drawings.

Annotate Menu 7-1

Add Text
Add new text elements.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Main Text

To set the text parameters, i.e. what the text will look like, use the
Settings ► Set Text Defaults function before adding the text.
You can change the text parameters as you are entering the text in
the Text Entry dialog box, or change the parameters of existing text
using the Settings ► Set Text Defaults function or the Annotate ► Edit Text
function.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter text position

Position the cursor where you want the text to appear and press
[Enter] or click. The text label origin will determine the position of
the text relative to this point. See Set Text Defaults.
The Text Entry dialog box is displayed.

Type the text, which will appear in the white area of the dialog box at
the position of the black vertical cursor.
Press the [CTRL] [Enter] keys at the same time to enter a new line of
text. Alternatively, if you have checked the Accept Return check box,
you can enter a new line of text by pressing the [Enter] key on its
own.
If you want to change the text parameters at this stage, click on the
Text Defaults button. The Set Text Defaults dialog box will be
displayed.

7-2 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Here you can adjust the alignment, font, units, label origin, etc. Click
on the relevant buttons and make the necessary adjustments. Refer
to Settings ► Set Text Defaults for more details. When you have finished
click on OK.
AllyCAD continues to prompt:
Enter text position

Position the cursor where you want another piece of text to appear
and press [Enter] or click. Alternatively, cancel text entry by choosing
another function, pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on Done or .
If you need to edit the text content after you have entered it, for
example because you have made a spelling mistake, double click on
the offending text with the Select cursor (see Select) or use the
Annotate ► Edit Text function.
Once you have entered text into AllyCAD, you can export it as an
ASCII file (see Export Text) or cut or copy it onto the Clipboard for
pasting into another program (see Cut and Copy).
You can also import text from a word-processor as an ASCII file (see
Import ASCII) or paste text into AllyCAD from a Windows word-
processor or desktop publishing program (see Paste).

Annotate Menu 7-3

Adding text around an arc

ar c
an
nd The ToolKit contains a function to
ou
ar allow you to place text around an
t arc in the General section.
x
te

When you run the macro, AllyCAD will prompt:

Select arc to place text on

Position your cursor on the arc you want to place the text around
and press [Enter] or click.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter text

Type the text you want to place around the arc and click on  or
press [Enter].
The text is placed around the arc, and centered between the ends of
the arc.

7-4 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Edit Text
Before you use the Edit Text command, you should select the text
you want to edit using the Select function or the Selection Filters.
The text editing options are displayed on a popup menu.

Edit Text
Edit the text content of all selected text.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

EdText "E"

The text will be displayed inside the Text Entry dialog box. You can
change the text parameters by clicking on the Text Defaults button. If
you just want to change text height, you can type a new text height
into the text height box in the Text Edit dialog box. When you have
finished editing the text, click on OK.

If you have selected several pieces of text to edit, only one will be
displayed at a time. You can also edit text content by double
clicking on the text item with the Select cursor.

Move Text
Moves all selected text.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

EdText "M"

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter point on text that must move

Position the cursor at a point on the text and press [Enter] or click.
This point is a reference point that you will use to define the
movement. AllyCAD will then prompt:
Enter new text position

Position the cursor at the new position of the reference point. Press
[Enter] or click. Text can also be moved by the following methods:
• Using the Modify ► Stretch or Modify ► Move functions.
• Using the Select cursor to select the text and drag it to a new
position with your mouse.

Annotate Menu 7-5

Scale Text
Scales all selected text.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

EdText "S"

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter text scale factor

Type the text scale factor. For example, if you want the text to be
twice as big, type "2". Then click on  or press [Enter].

Scaling takes place about the text label origin.

Change Text Parameters

Change the text parameters of all selected text

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

EdText "C"

The Set Text Defaults dialog box will be displayed.

When you have set the parameters click on the Apply button to make
the changes. Select the text attributes to change as shown below and
click on OK. Click on OK to close the Set Text Defaults dialog.

7-6 AllyCAD Reference Manual

You can also edit text parameters using the Settings ► Set Text
Defaults function. You can edit the text parameters of a single text
item by double clicking on it with the Select cursor.

Set Alignment
Define how the selection set should be aligned, or align the selection set
horizontally and/or vertically.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right Modify SetAlign

The Align dialog box is displayed.

Set the options you require and click on the Apply button to align the
selection set.

Align To Each Other

The elements in the selection set will be aligned with each other. In
the example below, the selection set has been left aligned. The items
in the selection set have been aligned with the left hand edge of the
square, because this was the left most thing in the selection set
before alignment.

Annotate Menu 7-7

 Align Align

Before alignment After alignment

7-8 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Align To Grid
The selection set will be aligned to the nearest grid line. In the
example below, the selection set has been left aligned to the grid.
Each item has been aligned so that it's left hand side touches the
vertical grid line that was nearest to its left hand side before
alignment.

Align Align

Before alignment After alignment

There must be a grid on the screen before you align using this
option or nothing will happen. See Grid.

Alignment
The Vertical group allows the items in the selection set to be aligned
to the Top, Centre or Bottom.
The Horizontal group allows the items in the selection set to be
aligned to the Left, Centre or Right.
Items in the selection set can be aligned both horizontally and
vertically at the same time.

Annotate Menu 7-9

Example 1
The To Grid, Vertical Align and Top options have been checked.

Each item in the selection set is aligned so that its top touches the
horizontal grid line nearest to its top.

Align

Align

Before alignment After alignment

7-10 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Example 2

The To each Other, Vertical Align and Top options of the Vertical
section have been checked.

The items in the selection set are aligned to the top edge of the
square, because this was the highest element in the selection set
before alignment.

Align
Align

Before alignment After alignment

Annotate Menu 7-11

Example 3

The To Each Other, Horizontal Align and the Centre option in the
Horizontal section of the dialog box have been checked.

The items in the selection set are centered between the left hand
edge of the square, because this was the left most thing in the
selection set, and the right hand edge of the larger circle, because
this was the right most thing in the selection set before alignment.

Align Align

Before alignment After alignment

7-12 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Example 4
The To Grid, Align and the Centre option in the Horizontal section of
the dialog box have been checked.

Each item in the selection set is centred about the vertical grid line
that was nearest to its centre before alignment.

Align Align

Before alignment After alignment

Annotate Menu 7-13

Example 5
The To Each Other, Vertical Align, Horizontal Align, and the Centre
option in both the Horizontal and Vertical sections of the dialog box
have been checked.

The items in the selection set are centrally aligned in both the
Vertical and Horizontal directions.

Align

Align

Before alignment After alignment

7-14 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Distribution
Before you distribute items, they must be approximately positioned.
Distribute will not work on randomly placed items.
The To Each Other and To Grid options are ignored.

Vertical Distribution
The Vertical Distribute and Top options have been checked.

The three central boxes are repositioned so that their tops are
equally spread between the top of the top box and the top of the
bottom box.

Before Distribution After Distribution

Annotate Menu 7-15

Horizontal Distribution
The Horizontal Distribute and Left options have been checked.

The central box is repositioned so that its left hand side is exactly in
between the left hand sides of the left and right boxes.

Before Distribution After Distribution

7-16 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Combining Distribution and Alignment
The dialog box has been set up so that the items in the selection set
are distributed Vertically and aligned to the Left.
The To each Other, Vertical Distribute, Top, Horizontal Align and Left
options have been checked.

The three central boxes are repositioned so that their tops are
equally spread between the tops of the top and bottom boxes. The
boxes are aligned with the left most box.

Before Distribution After Distribution

and Alignment and Alignment

In this section, grid lines are referred to and shown in the diagrams.
This is for illustrative purposes only. When you use Tools ► Grid to
create a grid in AllyCAD, only the dots representing the
intersections between the horizontal and vertical grid lines are
displayed.

Annotate Menu 7-17

Align
Align and/or distribute the selection set

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Modify SetAlign

This function aligns everything that has been selected using the
Select or Selection Filters commands (the selection set). The selection
set is aligned and/or distributed according to the settings of the
Align dialog box.
You must select at least two items to align or three to distribute, or
nothing will happen.

Notes specific to aligning text

Text may not look as though it has been aligned with the other
items in the selection set. This is because the text characters are
enclosed in a "cell” with a space above them and below them. If, for
example you are aligning text to the Top, it is not the top of the
character that is aligned, but the top of the “cell”.

The text label origin associated with a piece of text does not affect
the way that text is aligned using Align. Each piece of text is
associated with a text alignment, defined in Settings ► Set Text
Defaults. If you have a piece of text comprising several lines, this
does affect the way that text is aligned using Align.

a piece of right justified

text comprising several
lines and left aligned
with a box
left
aligned

For example, the text alignment of the piece of text has been set to
right in the Set Text Defaults dialog box.

7-18 AllyCAD Reference Manual

When you use Align Text to left align it with another item, the left-
hand edge of the piece of text is aligned, ie. the "cell" around the text
is left aligned, but the lines of text remain right justified within the
"cell".
To align all the text to the left, you must change the text alignment
associated with the piece of text to left. You can do this by double
clicking on the piece of text with the Select cursor to display the Text
Defaults dialog. Click on the [Text Defaults] button. The Set Text
Defaults dialog will be displayed. Change Text Alignment to left, then
click on OK.

Annotate Menu 7-19

Horizontal Dimension
Enter horizontal dimensions.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Dimension HDim

The appearance (text height, arrow size, number of decimals, etc.) of

the dimension is set using Settings ► Set Dim Defaults. These settings
affect all the dimensions on your drawing, including previously
drawn ones. This means that if you are not satisfied with the way
your dimensions look, you can change them at any stage.
The spacing between subsequent dimensions is determined by the
Linefeed option in Settings ► Set Dim Defaults.
You can change the text content, arrow type and witness line colour
of individual dimensions using Annotate ► Edit Dimension ► Edit
Dimension Properties.
Horizontal dimensions are fully associative. This means that if you
change the size of a dimensioned object using, for example, Modify ►
Stretch or Modify ► Scale, the dimensions will automatically update to
reflect the new size.
You can also edit a horizontal dimension so that it will change the
size of object on which it is based. See Alter Dimension.

For example, this object has been dimensioned "x".

50

If you replace the "x" with, say, "50" using the Alter Dimension
function, the object will change size so that it is 50 units long.

7-20 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 a b c

Horizontal dimensions need not dimension horizontally aligned

points, although horizontal distances will be measured. If you do not
want to measure horizontal distances, use Slope Dimension.

Mechanical Style
If you have checked the Mechanical Style option in Settings ► Set Dim
Defaults...
AllyCAD will prompt:
Do you want running, chained or free dimensions (R/C/F)

Type "R" for Running, "C" for Chained or "F" for Free. Click on  or
press [Enter].

18 Dimensions may be running,

34.3

50

chained,

18 16.3 15.7

Annotate Menu 7-21

 or free (just one isolated dimension).

18

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter text position

The cursor will switch to Freehand

mode. Position it and press [Enter] or
click.

The text and dimension line will be

positioned at the cursor position.
18

The text will automatically be centred between the witness lines. If

you do not want the text centred, you can move it to the desired
position after you have drawn the dimension, using the Modify ►
Stretch function.
If you are drawing Running or Chained dimensions and you position
the cursor close to an existing dimension, the new dimension text
and line will be drawn relative to this existing dimension regardless
of the cursor position.

7-22 AllyCAD Reference Manual

For example:

If you position the cursor here ...

34.3

the new dimension text and line will be

positioned here.
18

34.3

If you position the cursor here ...

18

34.3

the new dimension text and line will be

18 positioned here.
34.3

50

Annotate Menu 7-23

 AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter first point

The cursor will switch to Point mode.

Position it close to the first point to be
included in the dimension and press
[Enter] or click. The cursor will jump
onto the point.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter next point

Position the cursor close to the next

point to be included in the dimension
and press [Enter] or click.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter text of dimension

The distance between the two points is measured and is displayed in

the Control Bar. To accept the dimension as it is, click on  or press
[Enter].
Alternatively, you may now:
1. Add Tolerances
To add tolerances to the dimension you must type certain
characters after the measured distance in the Control Bar.

For example, suppose the distance

given in the Control Bar reads
"100". If you overtype this distance
with "100\+.2\-.1" a tolerance will
be added to the dimension, as
shown here.
+.2
100 -.1

The following examples illustrate

the use of the special characters to

7-24 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 produce tolerances:

Typing "\+" and "\-" produce

normal tolerances. The text after
the "\+" is drawn at half size and
+.2 above the text after the "\-", which
100 -.1 is also drawn at half size.

This tolerance was created by

typing: "100\+.2\-.1".
Typing "\+-" creates a tolerance the
same size as the dimension with the
"+" and "-" in between, one above
+
100 - 0.2
the other.
This tolerance was created by
typing "100\+-0.2".

Typing "\ /" gives two tolerances,

one above the other, and both
100.2 above the witness line.
99.8
This tolerance was created by
typing "100.2\/99.8".

Typing "\\" gives a linefeed so that

any text after the \\ is written
below the witness line.
100.2
99.8 This tolerance was created by
typing "100\\99.8".

Typing "!" restores text to its normal

height after \+ or \- has been used.
+.1
100 (TYP) This tolerance was created by
typing "100\+.1 \!(TYP)".

2. Edit the dimension text

For example, if your convention is to show dimensions to the nearest
10 or 50 you might overtype a dimension of "2134" with "2150". This
will not update the positions of the points it refers to and should
thus be entered as "2150 (NTS)" so that someone else taking over the

Annotate Menu 7-25

drawing will know that the exact measured dimension is not in fact
2150.
3. Add notes to the dimension
4. Replace the dimension text
For example, you might be dimensioning a generic object. In this
case, you could overtype the dimension that is displayed with a
variable letter such as "X". You could later use the Alter
Dimension function to assign an exact value to X.
When you are satisfied with the text in the Control Bar, click on  or
press [Enter]. If your text is too large to fit comfortably in the
available space the following list of options is displayed.

Choose one of the options. If you

select Left or Right the text will be
moved in the relevant direction.

Running or Chained dimensions

If you are drawing Running or Chained

dimensions, AllyCAD continues to prompt:
Enter next point

Position the cursor close to the next point

18 to be included in the dimension and press
[Enter] or click.

The next dimension is added.

Alternatively, cancel dimension drawing by
18
choosing another function, pressing the
[Space Bar], clicking on Done or .
34.3

Free dimensions
If you are drawing Free dimensions, AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter text position

7-26 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Enter the text position for another dimension or cancel dimension
drawing by choosing another function, pressing the [Space Bar],
clicking on Done or .

Architectural Style
If you have checked the Architectural Style option in Settings ► Set Dim
Defaults...

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter text position

The cursor will switch to Freehand mode.

Position it and press [Enter] or click.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter position leader lines should
extend to

Position the cursor where you want the

leader lines to extend to and press [Enter] or
18 16.3 15.7 click.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter first point

Position the cursor close to the first point of

the dimension and press [Enter] or click.

Annotate Menu 7-27

 AllyCAD will continue to prompt:
Enter next point

Position the cursor close to the next point to

be included in the dimension and press
[Enter] or click.

Alternatively, cancel dimension drawing by choosing another

function, pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on Done or .

7-28 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Vertical Dimension
Enter vertical dimensions.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Dimension VDim

This function works in the same way as Horizontal Dimension except

that vertical dimensions are produced instead of horizontal ones.
19.0

56.9
18.6 19.3

37.9
18.6

Annotate Menu 7-29

Slope Dimension
Enter sloped dimensions.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Dimension Sdim

The appearance of the dimension (text height, arrow size, number of

decimals, etc.) is set using Settings ► Set Dim Defaults in the Settings
Menu. These settings will affect all the dimensions on your drawing,
including previously drawn ones. This means that if you are not
satisfied with the way your dimensions look, you can change them at
any stage.
Sloped dimensions are associative. This means that if you change the
size of a dimensioned object using, for example, Modify ► Stretch or
Modify ► Scale, the dimensions will automatically update to show the
new size.
There are three sloping dimension options.

These lines are parallel

A dimension parallel to the line being

dimensioned.
.3
20

45°
A dimension at a fixed angle that you
.3

type in. In this example, 45 degrees has

20

been typed.

7-30 AllyCAD Reference Manual

10
An isometric dimension where the
witness lines are angled at 60 or 120° to
20
the line being dimensioned.
10

If you want to enter an isometric dimension, the Isometric Grids

option in the Drawing Settings dialog must be checked.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Do you want dimension at fixed angle, (else take angle from
points)

If you want to draw a dimension parallel to the line being

dimensioned, click on the NO button.
If you want to draw a dimension at a fixed angle that you type in,
click on the YES button.
If the Isometric Grids option in the Drawing Settings dialog is checked
and you want to draw an isometric dimension, click on the YES
button.

Parallel sloping dimensions

AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter first point

The cursor will switch to Point mode.

Position it close to the first point of the
dimension and press [Enter] or click.
The cursor will automatically jump onto
the point.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter next point

Position the cursor close to the next point

to be included in the dimension and press
[Enter] or click.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter dimension text

Annotate Menu 7-31

The distance between the two points is measured and is displayed in
the Control Bar. To accept the dimension as it is, click on  or press
[Enter].
Alternatively, you can add tolerances to the dimension, add notes to
it or edit it as described in the section on Horizontal Dimensions.
When the dimension text is to your satisfaction, click on  or press
[Enter].
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter text position

Place the cursor where you want the text to

appear and press [Enter] or click. Note
that the cursor changes back to Freehand
mode.

The text will be centred between the witness lines. If you do not want
the text centred, you can move it to the desired position after you
have drawn the dimension, using the Modify ► Stretch function.
AllyCAD will continue to prompt:
Enter first point

Enter the first point of another dimension or cancel dimensioning by

choosing another function, pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on
Done or .

Dimensions at fixed angles

AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter bearing

Type in the angle of the dimension. If you are working in decimal

angles, you will be asked to enter the bearing in the form dd.dddd
(e.g. 45.5 degrees). If you are working in degrees, minutes and
seconds, you will be asked to enter the bearing in degrees, minutes
and seconds, ie. "dd.mm.ss". When you have entered the angle click
on  or press [Enter].

Angles are measured according to the Angular Format in Drawing

Settings in the Settings Menu.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Do you want running, chained or free dimensions (R/C/F)

7-32 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Follow the instructions in the Horizontal Dimension section.

Annotate Menu 7-33

Isometric dimensions

The Isometric Grids option in the Drawing Settings dialog must be

checked.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter bearing

Type in the angle of the dimension. This will be the same as the line
you are dimensioning, ie. 30, -30 or 90 degrees if you have set up the
Angular Format to measure anti-clockwise from the 3 o'clock
position.
Click on  or press [Enter].

Angles are measured according to the Angular Format in Drawing

Settings in the Settings Menu.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Do you want witness lines to be at angle +60 (else at angle
+120)

Click on the YES button if you want the witness lines to be angled at
60 degrees to the line being dimensioned, and on the NO button if
you want the witness lines to be angled at 120 degrees (see diagram
on the next page).
AllyCAD will prompt:
Do you want running, chained or free dimensions (R/C/F)

Follow the instructions in the Horizontal Dimension section.

You can change the text content, arrow type and witness line colour
of individual dimensions using Annotate ► Edit Dimension ► Edit
Dimension Properties.

7-34 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 Witness lines at Witness lines at
60 degrees 120 degrees

°
60

0°
12
12

12
Line being
dimensioned is

12

12
at 90 degrees

60 120°
12 °

12
Line being
dimensioned is
at 30 degrees 12
12

12
12
12

Line being
0°

dimensioned is 12
at 330 degrees 60°
12

Annotate Menu 7-35

Angular Dimension
Dimension angles or arc lengths.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Dimension ADim

The appearance of the dimension (text height, arrow size, number of

decimals, etc.) is set using Settings ► Set Dim Defaults in the Settings
Menu. These settings will affect all the dimensions on your drawing,
including previously drawn ones. This means that if you are not
satisfied with the way your dimensions look, you can change them at
any stage.
• Angular dimensions are not affected by the Witness Gap and
Witness Overshoot options in Set Dim Defaults.
• You cannot change angular dimension witness line or dimension
arrow colours once you have drawn the dimension.
• You can change the text content of individual angular
dimensions using Annotate ► Edit Dimension ► Edit Dimension
Properties.
Angular Dimension has four options:
• Dimensioning an angle between two existing lines;
• Dimensioning an angle between three points;
• Dimensioning an existing arc length; and
• Dimensioning an arc length between three points.

AllyCAD will prompt:

57.39°

Do you want angle (else arc length)

If you want to dimension an angle, click on

the YES button.

7-36 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 23.3
If you want to dimension an arc length,
click on the NO button.

Dimensioning angles between 2 existing lines

Witness line start

57.39°

Position of arrow

AllyCAD will prompt:

Is this dimension between two existing lines?

If there are two intersecting lines you want to dimension, click on the
YES button.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Select first line

Position the cursor near one of the two lines to be dimensioned and
press [Enter] or click. AllyCAD will prompt:
Select second line

Position the cursor near the other line and press [Enter] or click.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter witness line start

Position the cursor where you want the witness lines to start and
press [Enter] or click. AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter witness line end

Position the cursor at the place where you want the dimension arrow
to be and press [Enter] or click.

Annotate Menu 7-37

AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter text part of angular dimension

The angle between the two lines is measured and is displayed in the
Control Bar. To accept the dimension as it is, click on  or press
[Enter].
Alternatively, you can add tolerances to the dimension, add notes to
it or edit it as described in the section on Horizontal Dimensions.
When the dimension text is to your satisfaction, click on  or press
[Enter].

To obtain a degree symbol (°), type "Alt" + "0176". To do this hold

down the [Alt] key while you type in the four numbers "0176" on the
numeric keypad.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Satisfied with arc radius?

If you are satisfied with the position of the arc indicating the
measurement (the position of the dimension arrow), click on the YES
button. Otherwise, click on the NO button and AllyCAD will prompt:
Drag till satisfied with arc radius

As you move the cursor, you will see a circle expanding and
shrinking. This circle represents the position of the dimension
arrow. Once the position of the arrow is satisfactory, press [Enter] or
click.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Satisfied with text position?

If you are satisfied with the position of the text, click on the YES
button. Otherwise click on the NO button and AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter new dimension text position

When you reposition text, it will always be horizontal and not at an

angle around the arc.

Use the cursor to drag the dimension text (represented by a box) to a

new position and press [Enter] or click.

7-38 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Dimensioning angles between three points
Witness line start

57.39°
Position of arrow

AllyCAD will prompt:

Is this dimension between two existing lines?

If you want a dimension between three points, click on the NO

button.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter centre point

Position the cursor at the centre point of the

three points and press [Enter] or click.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter first angular point (defines
witness line start)

Position the cursor at one of the other points

and press [Enter] or click. This first angular
point will also define the witness line start.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter second angular point (defines text
radius)

Position the cursor on the last point and press

[Enter] or click. This point also defines the
position of the dimension arrow.

Annotate Menu 7-39

AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter text part of angular dimension

The angle between the two lines is measured and is displayed in the
Control Bar. To accept the dimension as it is, click on  or press
[Enter].
Alternatively, you can add tolerances to the dimension, add notes to
it or edit it as described in the section on Horizontal Dimensions.
When the dimension text is to your satisfaction, click on  or press
[Enter].

To obtain a degree symbol (°), type "Alt" + "0176". To do this hold

down the [Alt] key while you type in the four numbers "0176" on the
numeric keypad.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Satisfied with arc radius?

If you are satisfied with the position of the arc indicating the
measurement (the position of the dimension arrow), click on the YES
button. Otherwise, click on the NO button and AllyCAD will prompt:
Drag till satisfied with arc radius

As you move the cursor, you will see a circle expanding and
shrinking. This circle represents the position of the dimension
arrow. Once the position of the arrow is satisfactory, press [Enter] or
click.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Satisfied with text position?

If you are satisfied with the position of the text, click on the YES
button. Otherwise click on the NO button and AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter new dimension text position

Use the cursor to drag the dimension text (represented by a box) to a

new position and press [Enter] or click.

7-40 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Dimensioning an existing arc length

23.3
AllyCAD will prompt:
Is this dimension of an existing arc?

If you want to dimension an existing arc click on the YES button.

AllyCAD will prompt:
Select arc

Position the cursor on the arc you want to dimension and press
[Enter] or click. AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter text part of angular dimension

The length of the arc is measured and is displayed in the Control

Bar. To accept the dimension as it is, click on  or press [Enter].
Alternatively, you can add tolerances to the dimension, add notes to
it or edit it as described in the section on Horizontal Dimensions.
When the dimension text is to your satisfaction, click on  or press
[Enter]. AllyCAD will prompt:
Satisfied with arc radius?

If you are satisfied with the position of the arc indicating the
measurement (the position of the dimension arrow), click on the YES
button. Otherwise, click on the NO button and AllyCAD will prompt:
Drag till satisfied with arc radius

As you move the cursor, you will see a circle expanding and
shrinking. This circle represents the position of the dimension arrow.
Once the position of the arrow is satisfactory, press [Enter] or click.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Satisfied with text position?

If you are satisfied with the position of the text, click on the YES
button. Otherwise click on the NO button and AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter new dimension text position

Use the cursor to drag the dimension text (represented by a box) to a

new position and press [Enter] or click.

Annotate Menu 7-41

Dimension an arc between three points
Second point defines
position of arrow

Arc centre

First point defines

arc radius

AllyCAD will prompt:

Is this dimension of an existing arc?

If you want to dimension an arc defined by three points - the arc

centre and two points on the radius - click on the NO button.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter centre point

Position the cursor at the arc centre and

press [Enter] or click.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter first point (arc goes
ccw)(defines arc radius)

Position the cursor at the first point and

press [Enter] or click. Bear in mind that the
arc will be measured in an anti-clockwise
direction between the two points you enter.
The point you enter here also defines the
actual arc radius that will be measured.

7-42 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter second angular point (defines
text radius)

Position the cursor at the second point and

press [Enter] or click. The point you enter
here also defines the position of the
dimension arrow.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter text part of angular dimension

The arc distance between the two points is displayed in the Control
Bar. To accept the dimension as it is, click on  or press [Enter].
Alternatively, you can add tolerances to the dimension, add notes to
it or edit it as described in the section on Horizontal Dimensions.
When the dimension text is to your satisfaction, click on  or press
[Enter].
AllyCAD will prompt:
Satisfied with arc radius?

If you are satisfied with the position of the arc indicating the
measurement (the position of the dimension arrow), click on the YES
button. Otherwise, click on the NO button and AllyCAD will prompt:
Drag till satisfied with arc radius

As you move the cursor, you will see a circle expanding and
shrinking. This circle represents the position of the dimension
arrow. Once the position of the arrow is satisfactory, press [Enter] or
click.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Satisfied with text position?

If you are satisfied with the position of the text, click on the YES
button. Otherwise click on the NO button and AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter new dimension text position

Use the cursor to drag the dimension text (represented by a box) to a

new position and press [Enter] or click.

Annotate Menu 7-43

7-44 AllyCAD Reference Manual
Radial Dimension
Dimension arcs or circles.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Dimension rdim

R 15 Ø 20

Ø 20
R 15

This function enters a radial dimension onto an arc or circle. In the

case of arcs, the radius is measured and is indicated by an R. In the
case of circles, the diameter is measured and is indicated by a Ø (the
diameter sign).
Dimension appearance (text height, arrow size, number of decimals,
etc.) is set using Settings ► Set Dim Defaults. These settings will affect
all the dimensions on your drawing, including previously drawn
ones. This means that if you are not satisfied with the way your
dimensions look, you can change them at any stage.

You can change the text content of individual radial dimensions

using Annotate ► Edit Dimension ► Edit Dimension Properties.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Radial dimension... select arc or circle

Position the cursor close to the arc or circle you want to dimension
and press [Enter] or click.

This cursor position affects the way that the dimension will be
drawn. This is described fully on the next page.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter text of radial dimension

The radius of an arc or the diameter of a circle is measured and is

displayed on the screen as text in the Control Bar. To accept the
dimension as it is, click on  or press [Enter].
Alternatively, you can add tolerances to the dimension, add notes to
it or edit it (for examples refer to the section on Horizontal

Annotate Menu 7-45

Dimensions). When the dimension text is to your satisfaction, click
on  or press [Enter].

To obtain a diameter symbol (Ø), type "Alt" + "0216". To do this,

hold down the [Alt] key while you type in the four numbers on the
numeric keypad.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Do you want text on radius arrow?

If you want the dimension text to be

drawn on the arrow as shown on the left,
click on the YES button.

Ø 20 The radius or diameter arrow will be

R 15 drawn through the point where you
positioned the cursor and through the
arc or circle centre. Thus, for a
horizontal arrow you must position the
cursor at the extreme left or right edge of
the arc or circle.

R 15
If you do not want the dimension text on
the arrow, but on a leader line as shown
on the left, click on the NO button.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter text position

Position the cursor where the text

Ø 20 should appear and press [Enter] or click.
The radius or diameter arrow will be
drawn. It will be drawn through the text
position you have specified and through
the arc or circle centre.

7-46 AllyCAD Reference Manual

When you reposition text, it will always be horizontal and not
aligned along the dimension line.

AllyCAD will continue to prompt:

Radial dimension...select arc or circle

Position the cursor close to the arc or circle you want to dimension
and press [Enter] or click. Alternatively cancel dimensioning by
choosing another function, pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on
Done or .

Annotate Menu 7-47

Ordinate Dimension
Enter ordinate dimensions.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Dimension odim

Dimension appearance (text height, arrow size, number of decimals,

etc.) is set using Settings ► Set Dim Defaults. These settings will affect
all the dimensions on your drawing, including previously drawn
ones. This means that if you are not satisfied with the way your
dimensions look, you can change them at any stage.
You can change the text content and witness line colour of individual
dimensions using Annotate ► Edit Dimension ► Edit Dimension Properties.
Ordinate dimensions are fully associative. This means that if you
change the size of a dimensioned object using, for example,
Modify ► Stretch or Modify ► Scale, the dimensions will automatically
update to reflect the new size. You can also change ordinate
dimensions to cause a change in the size of the dimensioned object.
AllyCAD will prompt:
X Ordinate (Else Y Ordinate)

Click on the YES button if you want

ordinate dimensions along the x axis.
37.4

67.5

95.9

Click on the NO button if you want

31.9 ordinate dimensions along the y axis.
41.2
51.9

7-48 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter first (base) point

This is the point from which the ordinate

dimensions will be measured. The cursor
switches to Point mode.
Position it close to the base point and click
or press [Enter]. The cursor will
automatically jump onto the point.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter text position

The cursor switches to Freehand mode.

Position the cursor where you want the
dimension text to be and click or press
[Enter]. The dimension text will appear in
line with the position you enter.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter next point

The cursor switches back to Point mode.

Position it close to a point to be
dimensioned and click or press [Enter]. The
cursor will automatically jump onto the
point.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter dimension text

The distance between the base point and

the point you have just entered is
measured and is displayed in the Control
Bar. To accept the dimension as it is, click
on  or press [Enter].
37.4

Alternatively, you can edit the text. See

Horizontal Dimensions for examples. The
dimension is added to the drawing.
Cancel the function by pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on Done or
.

Annotate Menu 7-49

Survey Dimension
Enter survey dimensions.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Dimension SurveyDm

26.9
20
10°.02.

This function allows the length and the bearing of a line to be written
onto that line. Length is measured in the units selected in Settings ►
Drawing Settings. The bearing is measured according to the Angular
Format in Drawing Settings.
Dimension appearance (text height, number of decimals, etc.) is set
using Settings ► Set Dim Defaults. However, you cannot change the
appearance of a survey dimension once you have placed it.
The way that the dimension is presented (whether text is written
along the bearings or is written upright, whether the bearing is on
top and the length at the bottom or vice versa, etc.) is set using
Settings ► Set Survey Defaults. You cannot change the way you have
presented a survey dimension once you have placed it.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter first point

Position the cursor at one end of a line

to be dimensioned and press [Enter] or
click.

Line being dimensioned

AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter next point

Position the cursor at the other end of

the line being dimensioned and press
[Enter] or click. This point also defines
the start of the next line to be
dimensioned, if there is one.
Next line to be dimensioned
The dimension is placed on the drawing.

7-50 AllyCAD Reference Manual

The direction of the first to the second point is calculated in that
order. There will be a 180 degree difference if points are entered in
the reverse order.

AllyCAD will continue to prompt:

Enter next point

Enter the next point defining a line to be dimensioned or cancel

dimensioning by choosing another function, pressing the
[Space Bar], clicking on Done or .

Annotate Menu 7-51

Edit Dimension
Edit the text content, arrow heads or colours of an individual
dimension, cut a dimension witness line or “draw by number”.

Edit Dimension Properties

To edit the dimension properties of individual dimensions.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

EdDim

If the dimension is a horizontal, vertical or slope dimension you can

simply double click on the dimension with the Select cursor.
+.2
50 50 -.1

Before editing After editing

This function does three things:

• Edits the text of an individual dimension. For example, you can
add tolerances, add notes or change the text.
• Changes a dimension arrow head into a blob (horizontal, vertical
and slope dimensions only).
• Edits the colour of the witness lines and dimension arrows for
non- survey dimensions.

You cannot edit survey dimensions with this function.

To change dimension parameters such as text size, number of
decimals, etc., use Settings ► Set Dim Defaults.
To move dimension text, use the Modify ► Stretch function.
To cut out portions of witness lines, use the Annotate ► Edit Dimension
► Cut Dimension Line function.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Select dimension to be edited

Position the cursor anywhere on the dimension to be edited and

press [Enter] or click.
You may only edit the text and pen of an angular or radial
dimension.

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 If you are editing a horizontal, vertical or slope
dimension the following option list is displayed.

Editing Text
This option allows you to edit the dimension text, or add tolerances
or notes to the dimension text.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter new text

The existing dimension text is displayed in the Control Bar. Edit it,
then click on  or press [Enter].
AllyCAD will continue to prompt:
Select dimension to be edited

Select another dimension to edit and press [Enter] or click.

Alternatively, cancel dimension editing by choosing another function,
pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on Done or .

Editing Arrowheads
This option changes the arrowhead type.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Place cursor near arrowhead to change

Position the cursor near the arrowhead you wish to change and
press [Enter] or click. The arrowhead is changed into a blob.
AllyCAD will continue to prompt:
Select dimension to be edited

Select another dimension to edit and press [Enter] or click.

Alternatively cancel dimension editing by choosing another function,
pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on Done or .

Editing Pen
This option allows you to change the colour of the witness lines and
dimension arrows.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter new witness line pen

Annotate Menu 7-53

The pen palette is displayed. Click on the colour you want to use
and press [Enter]. AllyCAD will continue to prompt:
Select dimension to be edited

Select another dimension to edit and press [Enter] or click.

Alternatively cancel dimension editing by choosing another function,
pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on Done or .

Cut Dimension Line

To cut the witness lines of horizontal or vertical dimensions

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

CutDimLn

AllyCAD will prompt:

Select dimension whose line must be cut

Position the cursor on the dimension text of the dimension whose

witness line you are going to cut and press [Enter] or click.

43.4

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter snip box for cutting line

Position the cursor at one corner of the

snip box and press [Enter] or click.

43.4

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter second corner of rectangle

Move the cursor diagonally away from

the first corner you entered and press
[Enter] or click.

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 43.4

The portion of the witness line inside

the snip box is deleted.

AllyCAD will continue to prompt:

Select dimension whose line must be cut

Position the cursor on another dimension and press [Enter] or click

.
Alternatively cancel witness line cutting by choosing another
function, pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on Done or .

Alter Dimension
To change the size of part of a drawing when the dimension text is changed

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

DimAlter

This function only works on horizontal and vertical dimensions.

For example, if you change the

dimension text shown here from 17.3
to 40 ...
17.3

Annotate Menu 7-55

 The dimensioned object will lengthen
(or shorten) to fit the new dimension
text.

This enables “Drawing by Number”, where you draw the generic

outline of a part and dimension it with variables such as A, B, C, X
etc.

You can enter these variables as you dimension the object when
AllyCAD prompts Enter text of dimension. See Horizontal
Dimensions. You can also enter these variables using Annotate ► Edit
Dimension ► Edit Dimension Properties ► Text.

You can then use Alter Dimension to

change the dimension text. For
example, if you change the dimension
text shown here from "x" to "40" ...

The dimensioned object will lengthen

(or shorten) to fit the new dimension
text.

Each dimension should be assigned a different variable name.

AllyCAD will not know which dimension you wish to change if there
are more than one with the same name.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Select dimension to be altered with cursor (else search for
text)

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If you want to select the dimension text to be altered by clicking on it
with your mouse, click on the YES button and AllyCAD will prompt:
Select dimension to be altered with cursor

Click on the dimension you want to alter.

If you want to type the dimension text to be altered, click on the NO
button.

Annotate Menu 7-57

AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter dimension text to search for (Esc to quit)

Type the text you want to alter ("17.3" or "x" in the example above).
It is important that you type the dimension text exactly as it appears
on the drawing, including decimal points or commas and any trailing
spaces or zeros. Click on  or press [Enter].
AllyCAD will now prompt:
Enter new dimension text (will cause dimension to alter)

Type in the numeric value that the dimension text must change to
("40" in the example above) and click on  or press [Enter]. The
dimension and dimensioned part will be adjusted to match the new
value.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Alter a whole area, along witness line, or at witness point
(A/L/P)

The answer you type here determines what will be affected by the
new dimension. Type "A" for Area, "L" for along the witness Line, or
"P" for Point. Then click on  or press [Enter].
If you choose the Area option, the whole drawing will be updated
relative to the new dimension.

x 20.6 28 20.6

14.3 14.3

Before Alter Dimension. After Alter Dimension. X has been

dimensioned 28. The whole area is
altered.

If you choose the Line option, all points that lie on a witness line will
be altered, but the rest of the drawing will not change.

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 x 20.6 28 5.2

14.3 14.3

Before Alter Dimension. After Alter Dimension.

All points that lie along the X has been dimensioned
relevant witness lines are "28". The points along the
arrowed. witness lines are altered.

If you choose the Point option, only the dimensioned line will be
altered. The rest of the drawing will not change.

x 20.6 28 5.2

14.3 14.3

Before Alter Dimension. After Alter Dimension.

X has been dimensioned 28.
Only the dimensioned line has
been altered.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Keep left/lower point fixed? (else right/upper)

If you click on the YES button, the left most point of a horizontal
dimension will be fixed, and similarly, the lowest point of a vertical
dimension will be fixed. Alterations will take place about this point.
If you click on the NO button, the right most point of a horizontal
dimension will be fixed, and similarly, the highest point of a vertical
dimension will be fixed. Alterations will take place about this point.

Annotate Menu 7-59

AllyCAD will continue to prompt:
Select dimension to be altered with cursor (else search for
text)

Alter another dimension or cancel dimension altering by pressing the

[Esc] button on your keyboard.

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Add Arrow
Draw arrows.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Main Arrow

These segments are lines

Only this segment is an arrow

This function draws chained lines terminated by an arrowhead. The

arrow colour, size of the head, and whether the arrowhead is a blob
or slash is determined in Settings ► Set Arrow Defaults.
Only the last line segment with the arrowhead is considered an
arrow. The preceding line segments are regarded as normal lines.
This may lead to some confusion when using functions that
discriminate between arrows and other elements.
For example, if you use Settings ► Set Arrow Defaults to change the
colour of an arrow, only the colour of the last segment with the
arrowhead will be changed. You must use Settings ► Line Defaults to
change the colour of the other arrow segments.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter arrow tail

Position the cursor where you want an arrow tail to be and press
[Enter] or click.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter next point of arrow (exit = [Space Bar] to enter arrow
head)

Position the cursor where you want the arrowhead or a bend in the
arrow tail to be and press [Enter] or click.

Annotate Menu 7-61

AllyCAD will now prompt:
Enter next point of arrow (exit = [Space Bar] to enter arrow
head)

If you want the arrow head to be at the end of the line you have just
drawn, press the [Space Bar], click on Done or .
If you want to add another line to the arrow before adding the head,
position the cursor where you want the arrow head or a bend in the
arrow tail to be and press [Enter] or click. You may add additional
lines until you press the [Space Bar] to enter the arrowhead.
AllyCAD will continue to prompt:
Enter arrow tail

Enter the position of another arrow tail or cancel arrow drawing by

choosing another function, pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on
Done or .

7-62 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Add Balloon
Draw balloons.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Main Balloon

MH
A 1

This function will draw a maximum of two lines of text with a circle
around it, with an arrow from the circle if desired.
You define the number of text lines that appear in each balloon and
whether the balloon has an arrow or not using the Settings ► Set
Balloon Defaults function.
If you choose to attach an arrow to the balloon, the parameters of
this arrow (for example its colour and whether it is a blob or a slash)
are defined using the Settings ► Set Arrow Defaults function.
The text parameters used are those set in Settings ► Set Text Defaults
option. The label origin is, however, always ignored as the text is
always centered. The colour of the balloon circle is defined in the
Settings ► Line Defaults option.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter text position for balloon

Position the cursor where you want the balloon text to appear. This
will be the centre of the text (i.e. as though the label origin was set to
15). Press [Enter] or click.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter first text for balloon

Type the text for the balloon and click on  or press [Enter].

For each new balloon that you enter, this text item will be
incremented. So if the first text in the first balloon was "DWA", the
text in the second balloon will be "DWB", then "DWC" and so on. If
the text in the first was "MH1", the second will be "MH2", then
"MH3" and so on.

Annotate Menu 7-63

If you have specified two lines of text AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter second text for balloon

Type the second line of text for the balloon and click on  or press
[Enter]. If you leave this line blank, only the first piece of text will be
written and will be placed in the centre of the balloon. If you enter
text, the balloon will be divided into two equal portions by a straight
line.
If you have specified arrows AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter next point for arrow (press [Space Bar] to produce
arrow head)

Position the cursor where you want the arrowhead or a bend in the
arrow tail to be and press [Enter] or click.
The prompt above will be repeated until you press the [Space Bar],
click on Done or  to add an arrowhead to the line you have just
drawn.
AllyCAD will now prompt:
Enter text position for balloon

Position the cursor where you want balloon text to appear and press
[Enter] or click. Alternatively cancel balloon drawing by choosing
another function, pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on Done or .

7-64 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Add/Rem Text Bubble
Add or remove text bubble to or from existing text.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Main AddRBaln

TEXT WITH A BUBBLE

AllyCAD will prompt:

Select text that you want to add/remove balloon to

Position the cursor close to text that you want to add a balloon to or
remove a balloon from. Press [Enter] or click.

The balloon becomes part of the text parameters. This means that
if you use the Settings ► Set Text Defaults ► Take From option to set
text parameters and pick on the text with the balloon, subsequent
text will also have a balloon.

AllyCAD will continue to prompt:

Select text that you want to add/remove balloon to

Position the cursor close to other text that you want to add a balloon
to or remove a balloon from and press [Enter] or click. Alternatively
cancel bubble drawing by choosing another function, pressing the
[Space Bar], clicking on Done or .

Annotate Menu 7-65

Enter Hatch/Solid Fill
To hatch or solid fill an area

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Main Hatch

Pattern Hatch Solid Fill

Pattern hatching
Select the Hatch option. A list of hatch patterns is displayed.

Hatch List
Choose an appropriate pattern from the list of hatch pattern names.
If you are not sure what the hatch patterns look like, click on the
PreView button. A sample of each hatch pattern will be displayed.
Click on the one you want to use.

7-66 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Scale
This option will determine the size of the hatch pattern.

If you specify a scale of 1, hatches are

drawn at the size defined in the
HATCH.PAT file.

If you specify a scale of 2, hatches are

drawn at twice the size defined in the
HATCH.PAT file, etc.

Override default pen

This option allows you to specify that the hatch must be drawn in a
specific pen and not the current default pen. Click on the With Pen
button and select the desired colour in the palette.
The default pen is red and is set in the HATCH.PAT file. You can
override this on a per hatch basis. If you override the default pen the
colour of the first line of the perimeter is set to the selected colour.
You can use this knowledge later to change the colours of existing
hatches.

Operation
Select the hatch pattern you want to use from the list, set the other
options and then click on OK.
The Perimeter Menu is displayed in the Control Bar.

The options on the Perimeter menu are used to define the area to be
hatched. Refer to the Appendix A - Perimeter Menu chapter for
details.
To alter existing hatch patterns, including the colour of the hatches,
or to make your own hatch patterns, refer to Appendix B - Hatch
Patterns.
Hatches and solid fills can significantly slow down redraws. It is a
good idea to go to Settings ► View Settings and to set the Hatch to Draw

Annotate Menu 7-67

option to "None". This means that hatches will not be drawn on
redraws. If you then want to see your hatches, you can display them
when you want to with Annotate ► Draw All Hatch function.

Solid Fill
Select the Solid Fill option and the fill colour is displayed.

To change the fill colour, click on the Set Color… button. The colour
palette will be displayed. Select a colour and click on OK.
The Perimeter Menu is displayed in the Control Bar.

The options on the Perimeter menu are used to define the area to be
hatched. Refer to the Appendix A - Perimeter Menu chapter for
details.

Solid Filling Areas with Islands

It is easy to cross hatch an area with an island in

AllyCAD.

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 However, if you try to solid fill an area with an island
you can end up with fills that look like this.

To prevent this happening, you can divide the area to be filled into
sub-areas without islands.

For example, this is the original area to be filled.

By extending the left hand vertical line of the D so it

touches the top and the bottom of the box, the area
can be divided into three sub-areas without islands:
the area to the left of the D, the area to the right of
the D, and the area in the middle.

These three areas can then be filled to achieve the

desired effect.

You can also create solid fills with islands as follows:

Solid fill an area.

Then solid fill another area on top of it in white, to

make the island.

Annotate Menu 7-69

Tips for creating interesting hatched effects

Combine solid fills with cross hatches

If you have a colour printer, you can create some very interesting
effects by combining cross hatching with solid fills.

For example, to create a wall, solid fill the

area using a brick-coloured solid fill. Then
hatch the area again using a brick style
cross hatch pattern such as the pattern
called Brick.

The effect is even better if you edit the brick hatch pattern so that
the bricks are white. To do this, exit the CAD and load the
HATCH.PAT file in your user directory into a text editor such as
Windows Notepad.
Scroll down the file until you come to the Brick section, which looks
like this:
*brick,Brick or masonry-type surface
10, 0
1, 0, 0, 0,0, 0,.25
1, 0, 90, 0,0, 0,.5, .25,-.25
1, 0, 90, .25,0, 0,.5, -.25,.25

Edit it so that it looks like this:

*brick,Brick or masonry-type surface
10, 0
12, 0, 0, 0,0, 0,.25
12, 0, 90, 0,0, 0,.5, .25,-.25
12, 0, 90, .25,0, 0,.5, -.25,.25

7-70 AllyCAD Reference Manual

The number 12 at the beginning of the last three lines changes the
hatch colour from red to white. You might also want to make the
hatch lines thicker. In this case edit the hatch definition so that it
looks like this:
*brick,Brick or masonry-type surface
10, 0
12, 2, 0, 0,0, 0,.25
12, 2, 90, 0,0, 0,.5, .25,-.25
12, 2, 90, .25,0, 0,.5, -.25,.25

The 2 to the right of the 12 means that the lines making up the
hatch will now be 0.2mm thick. Save the HATCH.PAT file and restart
the CAD for the change to take effect.

Combine solid fills with bitmaps

The illustration below was created by drawing solid fills over a
bitmap.

Experiment with solid fills

If you have a colour printer, you can achieve interesting colours and
textures using solid fills. To test the various fills, create a drawing
containing squares filled with different solid fills that look useful or
that you have defined yourself.
Print out the drawing.
If any of the printed hatches look as though you might want to use
them, type PICKHATX into the command line, press [Enter] and click
on a hatch. This has the effect of making the hatch you clicked on
the “current hatch”, i.e. if you were to fill another area, this is the fill
that would be used.
Go to Annotate ► Enter Hatch/Solid Fill, click on the Set Colour button,
then on the Define Custom Colour button. Write down the numbers
relating to the amounts of red, blue and green in the fill next to the
fill on your print out. Now, when you want to use the hatch again,
you will know exactly which colour it was.

Annotate Menu 7-71

Quick Hatch Polylines
To quickly hatch a closed polyline change the Fill Settings of the
polyline using Settings ► Polyline Defaults as shown below.

Alter Existing Hatch

Alter an existing hatch

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right Main AddHatch

This function allows you to alter the hatch pattern of a hatch, the
hatch scale and/or the hatch perimeter.
For example:

Alter Existing Hatch will allow you to

alter a hatch such as this one ...

... in order to create a hatch such as

this one.

When you select Alter Existing Hatch, all existing hatch perimeters
will flash and a cross corresponding to each hatch is displayed.
AllyCAD will prompt:

7-72 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 Select hatch to change

Position the cursor on the cross corresponding to the hatch you want
to alter and press [Enter] or click.
If you do not want to change the hatch pattern or scale of the hatch
but want to change the perimeter, for example by adding an island
as in the diagram above, click on OK.
Otherwise, select a new hatch pattern or scale and click on OK. The
Perimeter Menu is displayed. If you don't want to alter the hatch
perimeter, click on the [Accept] option of the Perimeter Menu.
If you want to alter the perimeter, as in the example illustrated where
a circle has been added to the perimeter, draw the additional
perimeter. See the Perimeter Menu for details on how to do this.
Then click on the [Done Perim] option.
The updated hatch is drawn.

Draw All Hatch

Display hatches on screen.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left View PlotHat
Screen

Hatches can significantly slow down redraws. It is therefore a good

idea to switch them off, and to display them only when you want to
see them. To switch off hatch display, you must set the Hatches to
Draw option of the View Settings to "None".
Use this function to display the hatches. They will disappear next
time you redraw the screen.

Draw Selected Hatch

Display selected hatches on screen.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

PlotWHat

Hatches can significantly slow down redraws. It is therefore a good

idea to switch them off, and to display them only when you want to
see them. To switch off hatch display, you must set the Hatches to
Draw option of the View Settings to "None".

Annotate Menu 7-73

Use this function to display hatches that have been selected using
the Hatch option in Edit ► Selection Filters.

7-74 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Pick Index from Hatch
Takes the current default hatch style from an existing hatch on the drawing.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right Screen PickHatX

AllyCAD will flash all the existing perimeters on the drawing and will
prompt:
Select Hatch Perim whose index you want to use

Click near the hatch you want, and that will become the default
hatch style.
AllyCAD will pop up an information box telling you the hatch style
that it found. Any new hatches you create will now have this style.

Annotate Menu 7-75

Hatch -> Lines
Convert a hatch to lines.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

HatchTol

To keep memory requirements for hatching minimal, AllyCAD stores

only the hatch perimeter, not the lines that make up the hatch.
These are recalculated each time the hatch is displayed.
This function converts a hatch pattern to the lines it consists of.
After conversion the hatch will no longer respond to hatch functions
but will be treated like any other lines.
The disadvantage of converting hatches to lines is that the lines take
up more memory than a hatch perimeter and, because each line
must be drawn on each redraw, redraws take longer.
A large crosshair is displayed on the screen and each hatch is
marked with a cross.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter box about hatch perimeters to be converted to lines

Draw a polygon around the white crosses marking the hatches to be

converted to lines. The hatches are converted to lines.

7-76 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Label Coord
Label coordinates

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

LabCoord

This function writes the coordinates of a point either at the point or

in a coordinate table. The appearance of the text is defined in
Settings  Set Text Defaults.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Do you want a coordinate table, (else place each coordinate
at point)

96.5 199.4
114.2 207.3
129.7 196.0
146.5 203.3
If you want the coordinates to
appear in a coordinate table, click on
the YES button.

114.2 207.3
146.5 203.3
If you want each point to be labelled
96.5 199.4
with its coordinate position, click on
the NO button.
129.7 196.0

Coordinate table
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter point where coordinate table should start

Position the cursor at the position where you want the coordinate
table to be and press [Enter] or click.
This point will represent the top left corner of the table. If you place
the cursor near the last line of an existing table AllyCAD will display
the following prompt:
Text found nearby: locked onto existing text

and add new text items onto the end of the existing table.

Annotate Menu 7-77

AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter format for coordinate string

The number of decimals and separator characters for the coordinates

are set in Settings ► Set Dim Defaults. The format string is used to enter
point numbers, if required, and spacing between coordinates.
For example, a format string of:
Pt1 %s %s

would result in three columns in the table. The first would be the
point name "Pt1", and the second and third would contain the
coordinates.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter field to increment (0 to increment none)

If you specify "1" as the field to increment AllyCAD will increment the
point name, thus the first point will be Pt1, the second “Pt2”, and so
on. If the columns are too close together stop entering points and re-
define the format string with more spaces between the fields.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter point

Position the cursor onto the point that you want labelled and press
[Enter] or click.
Enter text of label

The coordinates are displayed in the Control Bar before they are
placed on the drawing. At this stage they can be edited, for example
to reflect the peg or station name. To accept the coordinates, click
on  or press [Enter].
The coordinates will either be written into a table or onto the points,
as specified.

The order in which coordinates displayed depends on the way you

have set up Northings and Eastings in Drawing Settings in the
Settings Menu.

AllyCAD will continue to prompt:

Enter point

Position the cursor onto another point that you want labelled or
cancel coordinate labelling by choosing another function, pressing
the [Space Bar], clicking on Done or .

7-78 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Tools Menu
The Tools menu includes a
number of utility functions
including jumps, snaps and
query functions.

Tools Menu 8-1

Lock Cursor
Lock the cursor to move at a particular angle and it's orthogonal.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right Snaps K LockAng

A list of options is displayed.

Lock Cursor allows the cursor to be locked so that it will only move
at a particular angle and at 90 degrees to that angle, rather as
though you were using a set square.
The first four functions Line, Jumpline, Geomline and Keyboard, are
different ways of choosing the angle that the cursor will move along.
Once the angle of movement has been set, a message displaying the
chosen angle preceded by the word “LOCK” is displayed on the status
bar.
The Perpendicular function moves the cursor at 90 degrees to the
locked angle. The 120deg function switches the cursor between
angles suitable for isometric drawing.
The Arc option restricts cursor movement to around a given arc or
circle. The up and down arrow keys give radial movement, and the
left and right arrow keys give movement along the arc. The word
"LOKARC" will be displayed on the status bar.
The GeomCir option restricts cursor movement to around a geometry
circle. The up and down arrow keys give radial movement, and the
left and right arrow keys give movement along the circle. The word
LOKARC will be displayed on the status bar.
The Hold function switches the cursor lock on and off, while the
Unlock function cancels the locked angle and removes the LOCK
message.

8-2 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Lock to Line
This option locks cursor movement to the angle of a line on the
drawing.
AllyCAD prompts:
Select line to lock onto

Position the cursor on or close to the

line you want to take the angle from and
press [Enter] or click.

Lock Geom Line

This locks cursor movement to the angle of a geometry line.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Select geometry line to lock onto

Position the cursor on or close to the geometry line you want to take
the angle from and press [Enter] or click.

Lock Keyboard
This option locks the cursor movement to an angle that is typed into
the Control Bar.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter cursor angle

Type the angle you want the cursor to be locked at, for example 45
degrees. Press [Enter].

The angle is measured anti-clockwise from the 3 o'clock position.

Perpendicular
This option changes the locked angle by 90 degrees.
If the cursor had not previously been locked to an angle before you
applied the Perpendicular function the message LOCK 90 will be
displayed, and if you select Hold, the cursor will move at 90 degrees.

The [Y] key is a shortcut for Perpendicular.

Tools Menu 8-3

120 deg
This option switches the locked angle between three angles suitable
for isometric drawing.

These angles are 30, 330 and 90

degrees measured anti-clockwise
from zero at the three o'clock
position.

To use the 120 deg function, first lock the cursor to one of the three
angles, for example 30 degrees. You can do this using any of the
methods for locking the cursor described previously.
If you select the 120 deg function or press the [.] key (Full Stop) the
locked angle will cycle from 30 to 330 degrees, then from 330 to 90
degrees, and then from 90 to 30 degrees. The LOCK display at the
bottom right of the CAD window will be updated to reflect the locked
angle.

Even though the LOCK message is displayed, the cursor will not be
locked unless you have selected Hold.

Hold
Sets/frees the cursor to the locked angle

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Snaps + CursorHold

This function locks the cursor to the locked angle displayed at the
bottom right of the CAD window, and at 90 degrees to it. If no cursor
lock has been set, the cursor will be locked to move at 0 and 90
degrees. Selecting Hold again unlocks the cursor.
When Hold is active a diamond is displayed on the screen with the
cursor. When you move the cursor, the diamond will only move at
the locked angle and it's orthogonal. The cursor itself is free to move
anywhere. This is best explained by means of an example in which a
rectangle is drawn.

8-4 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Suppose you select Draw ► Line (Chained) and enter the first point of
the line. You then select Hold by pressing the [+] key, in order to
draw the line at the locked angle, say 45 degrees.

The line you are drawing is immediately

aligned at the locked angle and a
diamond appears at its end.
As you move the cursor up and down,
so the line follows it along the 45 degree
axis.
Press [Enter] or click in order to draw a
line at 45 degrees.

Once you have entered this point, note

that the next segment of the line can be
drawn either at 45 degrees or at its
orthogonal, 315 degrees.
Draw a line at 315 degrees and press
[Enter] or click. Then start to draw
another line at 45 degrees.

As you draw, move the cursor away

from the diamond and the line you are
drawing, and jump onto the first point
of the first line you drew.
Press [Enter] or click.
The third side of the rectangle is
terminated perpendicular to the first
point of the first line you drew.

Tools Menu 8-5

 You can now draw the last line of the
rectangle.

To draw lines of exact lengths while your cursor is locked, use the
Arrow Keys. See Accurate Drawing in the User Guide.

If you select text after you have locked the cursor, the LOCK message
will disappear. Text will be written at the angle specified in Settings ►
Set Text Defaults.
If you want to use Lock Cursor to specify the text angle, you must
select Lock Cursor after you have selected the Add Text function,
when AllyCAD is prompting:
Enter text position.

Unlock
This function removes the cursor lock and the LOCK message from
the bottom right of the CAD window.

8-6 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Jumps
Jumps are used to position the cursor exactly on a specific point.
With the exception of Move to Coordinates and Polar Move, once you
have jumped, you have simply moved the cursor to a specified
location. If you wish to accept this location, for example as the end
point of a line, you must press [Enter] or click.

See Snap Modes and Accurate Drawing in the User Guide.

Grab All
Moves the cursor to the closest point, intersection, or grid point enclosed
within the cursor box.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

A JumpAll

This function searches within the cursor box in the following order:
• If a point (e.g. a point, the end of a line, the end of an arc, an arc
or circle centre) is found in the box, the cursor jumps to the
nearest one.
• If a geometry intersection is found in the box, the cursor will
jump to the nearest one.
• If any other intersection is found in the box, the cursor will jump
to the nearest one.
• If a grid point is found in the box, the cursor will jump to the
nearest one.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter point to jump to

Move your cursor so that the cursor box surrounds the point,
intersection or grid point you want to jump to.
Press [Enter] or click. The cursor jumps exactly onto the point,
intersection or grid point.

If you use the Shortcut key AllyCAD will not prompt you for a point
but will immediately move the cursor. Grab All jump will only work
if you are in the Grab All mode.

Tools Menu 8-7

Geometry Intersection
Moves the cursor to the nearest intersection of geometry lines or circles.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

I JumpGeom

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter point to jump to

Move your cursor close to the geometry intersection you want to

jump to and press [Enter] or click. The cursor jumps exactly onto the
geometry intersection.

If you use the Shortcut key AllyCAD will not prompt you for a point
but will immediately move the cursor.

Grid
This function moves the cursor to the nearest grid point set up by Tools
Grid.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

G JumpGd

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter point to jump to

Move your cursor close to the grid point you want to jump to and
press [Enter] or click. The cursor jumps exactly onto the grid point.

If you use the Shortcut key AllyCAD will not prompt you for a point
but will immediately move the cursor.
If Grid jump does not appear to be working it is probable that it is
snapping to invisible grid points. To see these grid points zoom into
your drawing or increase the maximum number of grid dots across
screen.

8-8 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Any Intersection
Moves the cursor to the nearest intersection of lines, arcs, geometry lines and
circles.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

0 (zero) JumpInt

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter point to jump to

Move your cursor close to the intersection you want to jump to and
press [Enter] or click. The cursor jumps exactly onto the intersection.

If you use the Shortcut key AllyCAD will not prompt you for a point
but will immediately move the cursor.

Point
Moves the cursor to the nearest reference point.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

J JumpPt

The reference point may be a point, the end of a line or arc, an arc or
circle centre point, the label origin of an item of text, the label origin
of an item of dimension text or an arrow end point.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter point to jump to

Move your cursor close to the point you want to jump to and press
[Enter] or click. The cursor jumps exactly onto the point.

If you use the Shortcut key AllyCAD will not prompt you for a point
but will immediately move the cursor.

Tools Menu 8-9

Circle Centre
Moves the cursor to the nearest arc or circle centre.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

* JumpCen

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter point to jump to

Move your cursor close to the circle centre you want to jump to and
press [Enter] or click. The cursor jumps exactly onto the circle
centre.

The cursor will not jump to the centers of geometry circles - use the
Geometry Intersection jump instead.
If you use the Shortcut key AllyCAD will not prompt you for a point
but will immediately move the cursor.

Near Element
Moves the cursor to the nearest element.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

N JumpNear

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter point to jump to

Move your cursor close to the line or arc you want to jump to and
press [Enter] or click. The cursor jumps exactly onto the line or arc.

If you use the Shortcut key AllyCAD will not prompt you for a point
but will immediately move the cursor.

8-10 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Last Fixed
Moves the cursor onto the last fixed point.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

X JumpFixed

The last fixed point is the last point you selected by pressing [Enter]
or by clicking. For example, this may be the end point of the last line
you drew, and is always marked by a small cross: X. If the cursor is
accidentally moved off this point, it can be returned to it using the
Last Fixed jump.

Mid Point
Moves the cursor to the mid-point of the nearest line.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

C JumpRatio .5 "Y"

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter point to jump to

Move your cursor close to the line that you want the mid-point of
and press [Enter] or click. The cursor jumps exactly onto the middle
of the line.

If you use the Shortcut key AllyCAD will not prompt you for a point
but will immediately move the cursor.

Tools Menu 8-11

Ratio
Moves the cursor a specified distance along a line or between two points.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

O JumpRatio

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter point to jump to

Move your cursor close to the line or one of the points and press
[Enter] or click.
AllyCAD will then prompt:
Enter division ratio for jump

Type a number here, for example if you type "0.5" or "1/2", the
cursor will jump to half way along the line or between the two points.
If you type "1/3", the cursor will jump to a third of the way along the
line or between the two points. Press [Enter].
AllyCAD will prompt:
Would you like to jump to ratio point on line (else between
two points)

If you click on YES, the cursor will move to the point along the
nearest line. Where the cursor moves depends on the position of the
cursor before the jump was made.

Suppose the ratio was 1/3. If the cursor

was positioned at this end of the line ...

... it will jump to here.

If it was positioned at this end of the line

... it will jump to here.

If you click on NO, AllyCAD will prompt you for the first and second
points. Where the cursor moves depends on the order in which the
points are selected.

8-12 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 Suppose the ratio was 1/3. If two
First point Second point points are entered like this ...

... the cursor will jump here.

First point Second point

Tools Menu 8-13

Move to Coordinates
Moves the cursor to a specific coordinate location

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right Snaps U CurToCoordEnter

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter coordinates cursor should move to

Type the x and y coordinates that the cursor should move to,
separated by a space. Click on  or press [Enter].
The order of the coordinates, ie. Northing Easting or Easting Northing,
depends on the coordinate settings in Settings ► Drawing Settings.
‘0 0’ is the centre of the sheet of paper in Cartesian coordinate mode.

Unlike the other jumps in this section, you do not have to press
[Enter] to accept the new cursor position after using Move to
Coordinates.

8-14 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Polar Move
Moves the cursor a specified distance in a specified direction

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Snaps P PolarEnter

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter distance to move

Type the distance you want the cursor to move then click on  or
press [Enter].
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter bearing

Type the angle you want the cursor to move at then click on  or
press [Enter]. The cursor moves.

The Angular Format setting in Settings ► Drawing Settings determines

how the angle is measured. Unlike the other jumps in this section,
you do not have to press [Enter] to accept the new cursor position
after using Polar Move.

Tools Menu 8-15

Show Nodes
Show all the nodes on the drawing.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

ShowNode

0.8

text

When you select this function, all nodes on the drawing are marked.
• Points, the ends of lines and the ends of arcs are shown as
diamonds.
• Arc and circle centres are shown as squares.
• Text and dimension text origins are shown as stars.

8-16 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Dump Data
Output a detailed list about the objects in your drawing to file

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

DumpData

Dump Data creates a file that gives the following information about
each or specific objects in your drawing:
• Parent and object names.
• The coordinates of the object's snip box.
• The layer the object is on.
• The coordinates of the object's hook point.
• Whether the object is selected.
• Whether the object is a hatch perimeter.
• The coordinates, line type, pen and width of each primitive in the
object, and whether this primitive is selected.
Refer to the Drawing Structure in the User Guide if you do not
understand any of the terminology in this section.
AllyCAD will prompt:
What layers do you want to dump data from (enter '*' for all
layers)

Type the name of the layer that you want to dump information from.
To dump information from all layers, type "*" and click on  or press
[Enter].
AllyCAD will prompt:
What object names do you want data from ('* *' for all
objects)

Type the name of the object or objects you want information about
and click on  or press [Enter]. For example, if you type:
YELLOW CIRC1

information about objects with the name "CIRC1" and with the
parent name "YELLOW" will be dumped. Wildcards may be used. For
example, if you type:
* CIRC1

Tools Menu 8-17

information about all objects with the name "CIRC1" will be dumped,
regardless of parent names. If you type:
YELLOW *

information about all objects with the parent name "YELLOW" will be
dumped, regardless of object names. If you type :
* *

information about all the objects on the specified layers will be

dumped.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Do you want data from all elements (else just object
headers)

If you click on the YES button, the information that is dumped to the
file will include both Object Header information and Object Details. If
you click on the NO button, only Object Header information will be
dumped.
A sample data file produced by Dump Data is shown below.
parent A object P128
objectbox -410.455 -125.775 -258.850 -19.091 objectscale 1.000 1.000 objectrot 0.000
objectlength 506 visibility 1 layer 0 object hook 0.000 0.000
selected 0 clip 0 hatch 0 type 0 patnumber 128 lib 0 key 0 Flags: grp=0 sym=0 contdel=0 chk=0
polyline linet= 1 pen=14 used=0 selection=0 nvertex=11 spline=0 swid= 0 ewid= 0 closed=0
key=0, SNode=0, ENode=0
vertex -386.87 -57.273 type=0 swidth= 0 ewidth= 0
vertex -350.94 -19.091 type=0 swidth= 0 ewidth= 0
vertex -323.98 -53.904 type=0 swidth= 0 ewidth= 0
vertex -301.52 -25.829 type=0 swidth= 0 ewidth= 0
vertex -258.85 -68.503 type=0 swidth= 0 ewidth= 0
vertex -282.43 -116.79 type=0 swidth= 0 ewidth= 0
vertex -308.26 -92.086 type=0 swidth= 0 ewidth= 0
vertex -326.23 -125.78 type=0 swidth= 0 ewidth= 0
vertex -347.57 -98.824 type=0 swidth= 0 ewidth= 0
vertex -396.98 -122.41 type=0 swidth= 0 ewidth= 0
vertex -410.45 -98.824 type=0 swidth= 0 ewidth= 0
*************************************************
parent A object P128
objectbox -264.465 -125.775 -112.861 -19.091 objectscale 1.000 1.000 objectrot 0.000
objectlength 506 visibility 1 layer 0 object hook 145.989 0.000
selected 0 clip 0 hatch 0 type 0 patnumber 129 lib 0 key 0 Flags: grp=0 sym=0 contdel=0 chk=0
polyline linet= 1 pen=14 used=0 selection=0 nvertex=11 spline=1 swid= 0 ewid= 0 closed=0
key=0, SNode=0, ENode=0
vertex -240.88 -57.273 type=0 swidth= 0 ewidth= 0
vertex -204.95 -19.091 type=0 swidth= 0 ewidth= 0
vertex -177.99 -53.904 type=0 swidth= 0 ewidth= 0
vertex -155.53 -25.829 type=0 swidth= 0 ewidth= 0

8-18 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Object Header
Information about each object comprises an Object Header followed
by Object Details. The Object Header looks like this:
parent YELLOW object CIRC1
objectbox 39.962 -15.016 88.891 33.914 objectscale 1.000 1.000 objectrot 0.000
objectlength 208 visibility 1 layer BEE object hook 88.891 9.449
selected 0 clip 0 hatch 0 type 0 patnumber 79 lib 0 key 0

It contains the following information.

parent parent name.
object object name.
objectbox coordinates of rectangle that encloses object.
objectscale information used by AllyCAD.
objectrot information used by AllyCAD.
objectlength length of object data structure in bytes.
visibility information used by AllyCAD.
layer the layer the object is on.
object hook coordinates of the object's hook point.
selected this figure is 1 if the object is selected.
clip information used by AllyCAD.
hatch this figure is 0 if the object is not a hatch perimeter.
type information used by AllyCAD.
patnumber information used by AllyCAD.
lib information used by AllyCAD.
key information used by AllyCAD.

Blocks
Drawings that have been imported as DXF or DWG files are likely to
contain AutoCAD blocks. These will be represented in Dump Data
files in the same way as AllyCAD objects, except that they will have a
STARTBLOCK line above the object description and an ENDBLOCK
line beneath it:
===========================================
STARTBLOCK SOP [0.000000,0.000000] storescale=1.000000 flags=64 purgedflag=0
*************************************************
parent A object P121
objectbox -10.000 -10.000 10.000 10.000 objectscale 1.000 1.000
objectrot 0.000
objectlength 328 visibility 0 layer 0 object hook 10.000 0.000
selected 0 clip 0 hatch 0 type 0 patnumber 121 lib 0 key 0
arc 10.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 10.000 0.000
radius 10.000 cw 0 line, pen, width 255 11 0 0 0 0 aspect 1 angle 0
line -7.071 7.071 7.071 -7.071 255 11 0 0 0 0
line 7.071 7.071 -7.071 -7.071 255 11 0 0 0 0
ENDBLOCK

Tools Menu 8-19

The first item after the word STARTBLOCK is the block's name. The
other parameters are not relevant in AllyCAD but are necessary if the
drawing is later exported back to AutoCAD.

Object Details
After the Object Header, details about each primitive in the object are
given. These details vary depending on the nature of the primitive.

Pens (colors) are numbered from 1 to 255 in the Color toolbar. A

pen of 256 indicates that the pen is being set By Layer. Line types
are numbered from 1 downwards in the Line Type Menu so that
continuous is 1, dashed is 2, etc. A line type of 256 indicates that
the line type is being set By Layer.

Points and Lines

Coordinates of one end of the line Line type Width in tenths of a mm

line -87.268 87.616 -1.043 109.172 1 1 0 0 0 0

Coordinates of other end Pen This figure is 1 if the

of the line line is selected

Points are represented as lines whose start and end coordinates are
the same.

Polylines

polyline linet= 1 pen=1 used=0 selection=0 nvertex=4 spline=0

swid= 0, ewid= 0, closed=0, key=0, SNode=0, ENode=0
vertex -148.75 -3.4421 type=0 swidth= 0 ewidth= 0
vertex -119.73 35.404 type=0 swidth= 0 ewidth= 0
vertex -76.954 -16.719 type=0 swidth= 0 ewidth= 0
vertex -42.042 49.172 type=0 swidth= 0 ewidth= 0

Coordinates of polyline's vertices

Vertex type (straight line or arc)

Start width and end width of vertex

8-20 AllyCAD Reference Manual

linet line type.
pen colour.
used information used by AllyCAD.
selection 1 if polyline is selected, else 0.
nvertex number of vertices in the polyline.
spline spline type: 0 = no spline, 1 = 3 pt Bezier, 4 = 4 pt Bezier.
swid start width of polyline.
ewid end width of polyline.
closed 1 if polyline is closed, else 0.
key ID field for GIS type applications.
SNode ID field for start point of polyline.
ENode ID field of end node.

Arcs, Circles and Ellipses

Coordinates of arc centre

Coordinates of one end of arc Coordinates of other end of arc

arc -40.679 79.272 -45.172 53.595 -49.023 27.815

radius 26.067 cw 0 line, pen, width 1 1 0 0 0 0 aspect 1 angle 0
Line type
Pen This figure is 1 if the arc
Width in tenths of a mm is selected
Internal use

radius radius, measured in the units selected in Drawing Settings in

the Settings Menu.
Cw if the arc has been drawn in a clockwise direction, else 0.
aspect ellipse aspect ratio if the arc is an ellipse (see Ellipses).
angle ellipse angle if the arc is an ellipse (see Ellipses).

Tools Menu 8-21

Text

text item: posn 14.950 -29.205 pen 8 font 'Arial'

lorg 1 , ang (10th deg) 0 , height (10th mm) 40 , width 0
italic 0 bold 0,balloon 0 0
andrea

Text content, i.e. what the This figure is 1 if the text is

text says selected

posn coordinate position of text.

pen colour.
font font.
lorg text label origin.
ang angle, in tenths of a degree.
height height in tenths of a mm.
width width, in tenths of a mm.
italic this figure is 1 if text is italic.
bold this figure is 1 if text is bold.
balloon this figure is 1 if a balloon has been placed around the text
using Add/Rem Text Bubble in the Annotate Menu.

For further information on the above text properties, see Settings ►

Set Text Defaults.

Horizontal, Vertical, Slope and Ordinate Dimensions

Coordinates of dimension text

Coordinates of other dimensioned point
Coordinates of one dimensioned point
dim -87.268 87.616 -1.043 109.172 -51.500 127.770
pen 5 ar1 ar2 0 0 ang 140 0
dim text :88.9:
This figure is 1 if the dimension is selected

pen color.
ar1 ar2 arrow heads. The two figures following ar1 ar2 are
normally both 0. If an arrow head has been updated using
Edit Dimension Properties in Edit Dimension in the
Annotate Menu it will be represented by the number 10.
ang angle of dimension in tenths of a degree.
dim text the contents of the dimension text, i.e. the measurement.

8-22 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Angular Dimensions

53.42° 53.42°

Coordinates of intersection point if this Coordinates of the tip of Coordinates of the end of the
is a dimensioned angle, or arc centre the arrow head that points witness line closest to the
point if this is a dimensioned arclength. in the anticlockwise dimension, at the clockwise
direction. end of the dimension.

adim 18.427 83.444 75.266 72.513 71.715 135.573

pen 5 ar1 ar2 0 0 0
text posn 71.715 135.573 text :55.26°:

This figure is 1 if the dimension is selected

pen colour.
ar1 ar2 the two figures following this are not relevant to angular
dimensions
text posn coordinates of dimension text position.
text the contents of the dimension text, i.e. the measurement.

Radial Dimensions

Coordinates of the point where the arrow head touches the Coordinates of the dimension
arc or circle circumference. In the case of a circle, where text if this is not on the
two arrow heads touch the circumference, it is the arrow dimension arrow. If the text is
head nearest to the text. If the text is in between the two on the dimension arrow, these
arrow heads, it is the arrow head nearest the position you coordinates are the same as
indicated when adding the Radial Dimension. the previous ones.

Coordinates of arc or circle centre

rdim -45.172 53.595 -69.196 43.482 -7.301 69.536

pen 5 ar1 textar 0 0 0
rad dim text :R 26.1:
This figure is 1 if the dimension is selected

pen colour.
ar1 textar the two figures following this are not relevant to radial
dimensions.
raddim text the contents of the dimension text, i.e. the measurement.

Tools Menu 8-23

Arrows

Coordinates of arrow tail Arrow head width in tenths of a mm Pen

arrow -82.401 -5.563 21.209 2.781 30 10 5 0

Coordinates of arrow head

This figure is 1 if the
Arrow head length in tenths of a mm arrow is selected

Data Items

data item: posn -58.758 118.907 type 0 link 0 0

paint=green

The text content of the data item This figure is 1 if the

data item is selected
posn: Coordinate position of data
type:
link:

posn coordinate position of data item.

type normally 0. Other types of data item are used internally by
the program.
link information used by AllyCAD.

Bitmaps

bitmap: filename = "C:\MANDRAW\CCAD.BMP" pixel size = 1 1

visible = "Y" position = 138.725166 84.834437

filename the full path and filename of the bitmap.

pixel size real world pixel size.
visible this is “Y” if the bitmap is visible and “N” if it is displayed as
a placeholder.
position the coordinates of the top left hand corner of the bitmap.

For further information on the above bitmap properties, see Load

Bitmap.

8-24 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Block Inserts
Drawings that have been imported from DXF or DWG files are likely
to contain AutoCAD block inserts. These are represented as follows:

Name of block being inserted Coordinates of inserted block's hook point

INSERT "SOP" index=0 [240.307714,262.241572] xscl=3 yscl=3 ang=0

Number of block being inserted. X and Y scale of inserted block

0 is the first block defined in the drawing
1 is the next block etc.
angle of inserted block

Tools Menu 8-25

Grid
Draw a grid to aid drawing.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

GridDef

Grid allows you to draw a user-defined grid onto the screen.

The grid points can be snapped to using the Grid

Snap mode or the Grid Jump. The grid can be
turned on and off.

If you have ticked the Isometric Grids box in

Settings ► Drawing Settings you will get an isometric
grid.

When you select the Grid function the following dialog box is
displayed:

X Grid Spacing
This is the distance between grid points in the X direction.

Y Grid Spacing
This is the distance between grid points in the Y direction

Grid Display Density

If the X and Y grid spacing is small there will be so many dots on the
screen that it will be both confusing and slow on redraws. This is
especially true as you zoom out, which will cause even more grid
dots to appear on the screen.

8-26 AllyCAD Reference Manual

The figure typed here is the maximum number of dots that will be
displayed on the screen at any time, regardless of X and Y spacing
and magnification.
For example, if you have chosen X and Y spacing that result in 80
rows and 80 columns of dots on the screen at a particular time, only
40 rows and 40 columns (i.e. every second dot) will be displayed if 40
has been typed as the maximum.
The dots that are not displayed still exist and can be snapped to. You
just can't see them.

Grid On
This option turns the grid on or off.

If the Grid Snap mode or the Grid Jump do not appear to be

snapping to grid points, it is probable that they are snapping to
invisible grid points. In order to see these invisible points, zoom into
your drawing or increase the maximum number of grid dots across
screen.

Tools Menu 8-27

Measure
Measure the distance and angle between two points.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left File QueryDist

Second
point

Slope
distance

Y distance
Angle
First
point

X distance

This function measures the slope distance, the x and the y distances
and the angle between any two points.

Distances, arc lengths, angles, diameters and radii may also be

measured using the various dimensioning functions in the Annotate
Menu. If you just want to measure but do not want to add the
dimension, cancel the dimensioning function immediately after the
measurement has been displayed in the Control Bar.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Distance ... enter first point ([Space Bar] to exit)

Position the cursor at the first point and press [Enter] or click.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Second point

Position the cursor at the second point and press [Enter] or click.
The measurements are displayed. Click on OK to return to AllyCAD.
AllyCAD will continue to prompt:
Distance ... enter first point ([Space Bar] to exit)

To measure something else, position the cursor at the first point and
press [Enter] or click. Alternatively, cancel measuring by choosing
another function, pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on Done.

8-28 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Polygon Area
Measure the area and perimeter of polygons.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left File QryArea

This function measures the area and perimeter of polygons. When

you select this function, you will enter the Perimeter Menu.
Once you have defined the perimeter you wish to measure, an
information box will appear displaying its length, the area inside it
and the centroid of the points used to calculate the area. These
measurements will be presented in the currently selected linear and
area units.

Incorrect areas
If you select the yellow Object Icon in the Perimeter Menu on the
Control Bar to identify a boundary, the area calculated may be
incorrect. For this method of boundary identification to produce the
correct result, all the elements in the object must have been drawn
sequentially.

Incorrect perimeters
Line width affects perimeter calculations, which may therefore
appear incorrect. For example:
If you draw a rectangle of 100x100mm with a line width of 0mm, the
perimeter will be measured as 400mm.
If you draw a rectangle of 100x100mm with a line width of 0.2mm,
the perimeter will be measured as 800mm.
If you draw a rectangle of 100x100mm with a line width of 2mm, the
perimeter will be measured as 8000mm.
This only occurs if you use the Rectangle, Line or Object methods of
defining the perimeter to measure. This is intentional for certain
types of costing.
To switch off this effect temporarily, click in the Command box on
the Control Bar and type:
SETUSEWIDTHPERIM 0

Tools Menu 8-29

To switch off this effect as default you must edit your "linetype.mac"
file. This file resides in the "macro" directory in the User directory.
You can edit it using any text editor, such as Windows Notepad.
Insert a line into the "linetype.mac" file that reads
SETUSEWIDTHPERIM 0

To turn the effect on again, use the command

SETUSEWIDTHPERIM 1.

Refer to the ENQUIRE “LASTAREA” macro functions for more

details.

8-30 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Add Data Item
Link text to coordinates.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Data

This function allows text to be linked to a specific coordinate

location. This information can later be queried by a macro, using the
function Enquire Data. See Enquire in Macros.
For example, if you were designing base plates for different pump
and motor combinations, you could place data items on the bolt
holes. A macro could then query the positions of these bolt holes and
design the base plate accordingly.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter location for data point

Position the cursor at a coordinate location that you want text to be

linked to and press [Enter] or click.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter text for data point

Type text to be associated with the coordinate location.

For example, if you type "BOLTHOLE", you can later query the data
item called "BOLTHOLE" and discover its x and y coordinate location.
Alternatively, you could type "BATHROOM PAINT=BLUE". A macro
could then query the colour of the bathroom by searching for the
data item "BATHROOM PAINT".

When you query a data item, the macro function Enquire Data will
only read the coordinates of the first occurrence of the data item it
encounters. So if you need to query the locations of several bolt
holes, for example, you should distinguish between them by
assigning different text to them, for example BOLTHOLE 1,
BOLTHOLE 2 etc.

When you have typed the text, click on  or press [Enter].

AllyCAD will prompt:
Should the data item be visible

If you click on the YES button, the data item text will be displayed on
the screen. The text format is determined by Set Text Defaults in the

Tools Menu 8-31

Settings Menu. If you click on the NO button, the text will be
invisible.

You can make all data item text visible, or all data item text
invisible using Show Data Items in View Settings in the Settings
Menu.

A diamond shape appears at the coordinate position but disappears

when you redraw the screen. It will re-appear if you want to change
the text of a data item using the function Edit Data Item in the Tools
menu.
AllyCAD will continue to prompt:
Enter location for data point

Enter the location for another data item. Alternatively cancel linking
text to coordinates by choosing another function, pressing the
[Space Bar], clicking on Done or .

8-32 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Edit Data Item
Change the information in a data item.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

EditData

When you choose this function, a diamond shape appears wherever a

data item has been entered.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Select data item to edit

Position the cursor on the diamond marking the data item you want
to edit and press [Enter] or click. The data appears in the Control
Bar.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter new data

Type in the new data and click on  or press [Enter]. AllyCAD will
prompt:
Should the data item be visible

If you click on the YES button, the data item text will be displayed on
the screen. The text style is set in Settings ► Set Text Defaults. If you
click on the NO button, the text will be invisible.

You can make all data item text visible, or all data item text
invisible using Show Data Items in Settings ► View Settings.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Select data item to edit

Position the cursor on another data item to edit and press [Enter] or
click. Alternatively cancel data item editing by choosing another
function, pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on Done or .

Tools Menu 8-33

Query Entity
Query details of an entity.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right File QueryEl

AllyCAD will prompt:

Select element to query

Position the cursor on the entity you want to query. Press [Enter] or
click. A box showing information about the entity appears.
The following conventions are used:
• Pens (colors) are numbered from 1 to 255. A pen of "256"
indicates that the pen is being set By Layer.
• Line types are numbered from 1 downwards in the Line Type
menu so that continuous is 1, dashed is 2, etc. A line type of
"256" indicates that the line type is being set By Layer.
• Width is measured in tenths of a mm.
• Angles are measured anti-clockwise from the 3 o'clock position.
• The figure in brackets "(0)" is information used internally.
• The letter or name in single quotes after the word Layer is the
layer the entity is on.

8-34 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Bill of Materials (BOM)
Create a Bill of Materials

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Bom

Bill of Materials (BOM for short) extracts information from attributes

attached to objects on your drawing. It places this information into a
fixed width, comma delimited, or tab delimited ASCII file.
OBJ_NAME MANUFACTURER PART_NO COLOUR OBJ_LAYER OBJ_XREF OBJ_YREF
BATH SCOVER 123 CREAM FURNITURE -2736.238 -1897.376
BATH SCOVER 123 YELLOW FURNITURE 63.762 -1897.376
BASIN SCOVER 67 CREAM FURNITURE -2736.238 -181.661
BASIN SCOVER 67 YELLOW FURNITURE 63.762 -181.661

The top line of the file is optional and describes the attributes that
have been extracted. In the example above, data has been extracted
about each object's name, its manufacturer, part number, colour,
layer and the coordinate position on the drawing.
Every line that follows refers to an object on the drawing. In the list
there is a bath on the drawing manufactured by SCOVER, with a
part number of 123, in cream. On the drawing it is on the
FURNITURE layer and is located at coordinate position "-2736.238, -
1897.376".
Once you have extracted the bill of materials, you can read the ASCII
file into a database or spreadsheet to manipulate the information.

Creating a Template for the Bill of Materials

You first need to create a template file for the bill. The template
defines what will be included in the bill. You can use any text editor,
such as Windows Notepad, to create the file, which must have a
".BTM" extension. The template used to create the BOM shown above
looks like this:
OBJ_NAME C 10 0
MANUFACTURER C 14 0
PART_NO N 10 0
COLOUR C 12 0 "unspecified"
OBJ_LAYER C 10 0
OBJ_XREF N 12 3
OBJ_YREF N 12 3

Tools Menu 8-35

System Attributes
The first column of the template lists the attributes to be extracted in
the BOM. All the attributes whose names begin with OBJ_ are
automatically calculated for every object on the drawing.
In the example above, four system attributes have been used:
OBJ_NAME, OBJ_LAYER, OBJ_XREF and OBJ_YREF. Here is a list of all
the available system attributes:

Name Description
OBJ_NAME the object's name.
OBJ_PARENT the object's parent name.
OBJ_LAYER the layer the object is on.
OBJ_XREF the x coordinate position of the object's hook point.
OBJ_YREF the y coordinate position of the object's hook point.
OBJ_XSCALE the scale of the object in the x direction. This is 1 unless you
have scaled the object, either when you added it to the drawing
using Symbol, or using Scale in the Modify Menu.
OBJ_YSCALE the scale of the object in the y direction. This is 1 unless you
have scaled the object, either when you added it to the drawing
using Symbol, or using Scale in the Modify Menu.
OBJ_ROT the rotation of the object, measured in degrees and anti-
clockwise from the 3 o'clock position. This is 0 unless you have
rotated the object, either when you added it to the drawing using
Symbol, or using Rotate in the Modify Menu.
OBJ_AREA the area of the object, measured in the currently set area units
(see Drawing Settings). Be aware that the areas calculated
for complex objects are not always accurate. See List Objects
for an explanation.
OBJ_PERIM is the perimeter of the object, measured in the currently set linear
units (see Drawing Settings).

If you don't know what an object name, a parent name or a hook

point is, see Drawing Structure in the User Guide.

User-defined Attributes
Three user-defined attributes have been used in the template:
MANUFACTURER, PART_NO and COLOUR.
A template file must contain at least one user-defined attribute, and
you can define as many as you want. User-defined attribute names

8-36 AllyCAD Reference Manual

are case-insensitive and may not contain spaces i.e. COLOUR =
Colour = colour.
Only objects that have at least one of the user-defined attributes
specified in the template file will be included in the BOM.

Attribute Type
The second column in the template specifies whether the attribute is
a text item or a number.
"C" is specifies that the attribute is a text item. Text attributes will
have double quotes placed around them if the bill is output as a
comma or tab delimited file.
"N" specifies that the attribute is a number.

Attribute width
The third column in the template defines the maximum width, in
characters, that the attribute will take up in the file.
If you choose to output the bill as fixed columns, then this width will
be used to define the fixed column spacing.

Decimal places
You can specify the number of decimal places in the fourth column
for the following attributes:
OBJ_AREA
OBJ_PERIM
OBJ_XREF
OBJ_YREF
OBJ_XSCALE
OBJ_YSCALE
OBJ_ROT

For example, the OBJ_XREF and OBJ_YREF attributes are given a

width of 12 characters, of which three are for decimal places:

OBJ_XREF N 12 3
OBJ_YREF N 12 3

Tools Menu 8-37

This means that the x and y coordinates of the object are rounded to
three decimal places: -2398.842 and -84.934. The coordinates fit into
their width allocation of 12 characters in the file as follows:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
- 2 3 9 8 . 8 4 2

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
- 8 4 . 9 3 4

The numeric attributes are right justified in the file.

Default attribute values

In the fifth column of the template you can specify a default value
that must be given to a user-defined attribute if an object does not
include that attribute or if the attribute has no value.
So, for example, the COLOUR attribute has been given a default
value of “unspecified”. If there is an object on the drawing that has
not had a colour assigned to it, the object will be given the colour
“unspecified” in the bill.

Sample Template File

SAMPLE.BTM is a template file that contains all the system OBJ_
attributes. You can use this template file as a basis for creating your
own by loading it into Windows Notepad, editing it, then saving it
under a new name. Edit it by removing any OBJ_ attributes you
don't want and by adding your own user-defined attributes.

8-38 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Creating a Bill of Materials
Before you can create a bill of materials:
• Your drawing must contain objects with attributes. These will
have been created initially using Objects ► Make Symbol and will
have been placed on the drawing using Draw ► Symbol.
• You must have created a Template file for the bill.
Follow the steps outlined below:
1. Select the Tools ► Bill of Materials option.
2. Select the Template file you want to use from the standard File
Open dialog.
3. Specify the BOM Output file name using the standard File Save
dialog. By default, the file will have a .BOM extension, but you
can change that if you want to.
4. The Bill of Materials dialog box is displayed.

The BOM will be saved in a plain ASCII file. The Field Separators
option allows you to specify that the file must be:
Comma Delimited
items separated by commas with text items enclosed in quotation
marks.
Tab Delimited
items separated by tabs with text items enclosed in quotation
marks.
Fixed Width Columns
the width of each column specified in the template file.
If you check the Field Names on First Line option the first line of
the file will include the names of the attributes. This is useful if
you plan to import the BOM into a program like Microsoft Access,
which can interpret the first line of the file as field names.

Tools Menu 8-39

 Click on OK to generate the BOM. A message will be displayed
telling you how many objects are included in the BOM.
You can look at the BOM in any text editor such as Windows
Notepad or import it into any spreadsheet or database that accepts
ASCII files. Once in the spreadsheet or database, you can manipulate
the information in the BOM.

Creating objects with attributes (Symbols)

You must create a symbol library or libraries containing all the
objects you want to include in your bill of materials as follows:
1. Start a new drawing.
Draw the objects.
Use Objects ► Make Symbol to group the objects and add attributes to
them.
For full details refer to Objects ► Make Symbol. However, the
important parts of the Make Symbol function for BOMs are the
following prompts:
Enter prompt for symbol attribute 1 (Blank for no
attributes)

Type a name for an attribute. For example, if the object is a bath

and one of the bath's attributes is colour, type COLOUR. Then
press [Enter] or click on .
AllyCAD prompts:
Enter attribute default value

You must now type one of the following:

COLOUR=CREAM
or
COLOUR

then press [Enter] or click on .

COLOUR is the attribute name. This is the user-defined attribute
name that you type into your BOM template file.
If you type COLOUR=CREAM, then CREAM is the default value of
the attribute COLOUR. You can give any default value, e.g.
COLOUR= PEACH, COLOUR=GREEN, COLOUR=BLUE etc.
You can change this value when you insert the object into a
drawing with Draw ► Symbol.

8-40 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 If you just type COLOUR, then the attribute has no default value.
You can add a value when you insert the object into a drawing
with Draw ► Symbol.
AllyCAD prompts:
Enter attribute position

Click where you want the attribute to be positioned. This position

isn't important, as the attribute won't be visible.
AllyCAD prompts:
Enter prompt for symbol attribute 2 (Blank for no
attributes)

Type a name for another attribute, or stop adding attributes by

leaving the command line blank, then pressing [Enter] or clicking
on .
Save the library using File ► Save As.
It's best if you save the library into the Symbol sub-directory
otherwise you may have difficulty finding the library again later if
you are not familiar with Windows.

Refer to Objects ► Make Symbol and Settings ► View Settings for more
details.

Viewing and Editing attributes in a symbol library

Load the symbol library drawing. To see the attributes go to
Settings ► View Settings and set Show Data Items to "All".
If you need to change an attribute in a symbol library use Tools ► Edit
Data Item. The format of the data item after editing must be
prompt:attribute=value

as is shown in the example with

COLOUR:COLOUR=CREAM.

Adding attributes to an object in a symbol library

If you need to add an attribute to an object in a symbol library,
simply use Objects ► Make Symbol to create the object again. When
you get to the prompt:
Enter prompt for symbol attribute 1

Tools Menu 8-41

do not enter the existing attributes again. Just add the new attribute
or attributes.
To check that the attributes are correct once you have finished go to
Settings ► View Settings and set Show Data Items to "All".

Deleting attributes from an object in a symbol library

If you need to delete an attribute from an object in a symbol library
use Object ► Explode Object to explode the object.
Go to Settings ► View Settings and set Show Data Items to "All". Delete
the unwanted attributes. If you can't select them for deletion, set the
Selection Filters to Data Item and try again.
Select the object and its remaining attributes and use Objects ► Group
Into Object to recreate the object.

Refer to the Object Menu for more details.

Adding objects with attributes to a drawing

If you want to add an object with an attribute to a drawing:
1. Use File ► Load Symbol File to load the symbol library.
AllyCAD prompts:
Do you want symbols to be absolute (else to scale)
Click on the NO button to accept the to scale option. AllyCAD
prompts:
Convert attributes to text during load?
You MUST answer NO to this question if you plan to create a Bill
of Materials.
Use Draw ► Symbol to add the object to the drawing.
AllyCAD prompts:
Enter position for symbol
Select the object you want and position it on the drawing. Click
or press [Enter]. Suppose the object has an attribute called
Colour. AllyCAD now prompts:
COLOUR

8-42 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 On the Command Line COLOUR or COLOUR=CREAM is
displayed where CREAM is the default value you attached to the
attribute when it was created.
You can change this value by typing COLOUR=GREEN or
COLOUR=BLUE. The value, i.e. CREAM or GREEN or BLUE etc.
is what will appear in the BOM.
You can also edit the command line to just read COLOUR so that the
COLOUR attribute has no value. If you have typed a default value for
the COLOUR attribute into your template file the attribute will be
given this default value in the BOM.
When you are satisfied with the attribute's value, press [Enter] or
click on . You will be prompted to enter a value for any other
attribute attached to the object.
Once you have allocated values to all of the object's attributes, the
object will be displayed on the drawing. A diamond will be displayed
at the position of each attribute. This diamond will disappear next
time you redraw.

Viewing and Editing attributes in a drawing

To see the attributes in a drawing go to Settings ► View Settings and set
Show Data Items to "All". If you need to change an attribute in the
drawing use Tools ► Edit Data Item. The format of the data item after
editing should be:
attribute=value

ie. COLOUR=CREAM in the example.

Adding attributes to an object in a drawing

If you need to add an attribute to an object once it is part of the
drawing, use Tools ► Add Data Item. The data item you add should be
in the following format:
attribute=value

ie. COLOUR=CREAM in the example.

Use Objects ► Group Into Object to group the object and the new data
item into one object.

Deleting attributes from an object in a drawing

If you need to delete an attribute from an object once it is on a
drawing, use Object ► Explode Object. Go to Settings ► View Settings and
set Show Data Items to "All". Delete the data item and use

Tools Menu 8-43

Objects ► Group Into Object to regroup the object and its remaining
attributes.

Troubleshooting
If you are having difficulty creating a Bill of Materials check the
following:
• Ensure there is no carriage return after the last line in your BOM
template file.
• Have you attached the attributes to the objects correctly?
• For an object to be included in the BOM, it must have at least
one of the attributes listed in the BOM template file.
See Also
Explode Object, Group Into Object, Make Symbol, Edit Data Item,
View Settings, Selection Filters.

8-44 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Tidy Polygons
Tidies up polygon segments entered from an “untidy” source such as a
digitizer or raster to vector conversion program.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

TidyPoly

Tidy Polygons does the following:

• Removes redundant line segments.

Before Tidy Up Boundaries After Tidy Up Boundaries

• Removes duplicate lines.

• Joins line end points to give a neat junction.

Before After
Drawingsnaptidy Drawingsnaptidy

• Removes very short lines.

• Tidies up over- and under-shoots.

Before After
drawingCliptidy drawingCliptidy

The following options are available.

Tools Menu 8-45

Add Nodes
This option adds nodes at segment intersection points and is
required before you can use the Tidy Up Boundaries option.

Nodes
Segments made up
of many small lines

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter node radius in mm on paper

Enter the radius of the nodes to be added. A value of between one

and two millimeters is reasonable. Press [Enter] or .
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter next node position

The cursor changes to Point mode. Position it close to the segment

intersection you want to add a node to and press [Enter] or click.
A circle is displayed around the intersection, and this node is
automatically added to a layer called "__NODES__" so that you can
easily switch off or delete the nodes when you no longer need them.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter next node position

Add another node or cancel node adding by pressing the [Space Bar],
clicking on Done or .

8-46 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Tidy Up Boundaries
This option removes redundant lines. For example, when you
digitize, you commonly enter many more line segments than are
necessary, especially along straight segments.
The redundant segments are replaced with a single line, often
resulting in a large memory saving - usually a factor of two to ten.

You should change to a clean layer before tidying. In this way you
can easily get rid of any old fragments that have been missed in the
cleaning process.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter tolerance on each side of line for straightening(in mm
on paper)

Type a number, usually between 0.3 and 0.7 and press [Enter] or
click .
The number defines a “corridor” of a certain width, and any line
segments falling within this corridor will be replaced with a single
line segment.

Boundary tidied up using a smaller tolerance

Boundary tidied up using a larger tolerance

Tools Menu 8-47

The larger the envelope the more line segments will be joined.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Select node for start of next boundary segment

Position the cursor on the node marking one end of the

boundary segment to be tidied and press [Enter] or
click.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Show first line of segment (Pick first line at
its mid point)

Position the cursor half way along the first line making
up the boundary segment to be tidied. You may have to
magnify into the drawing in order to identify this
segment. Press [Enter] or click.

The program will now track along the segment until it reaches
another node. You will see its progress as it tracks. If tracking is lost
before another node is reached or if there is ambiguity at a point the
following prompt is displayed:
Tracking lost... enter next segment

Position the cursor on the next line in the boundary segment to be

tracked and press [Enter] or click.

Once another node has been reached a list of

options will be displayed.

If you are satisfied with the tidied boundary and want to discard the
old boundary, choose the Satisfied discard old option. If you are
satisfied with the tidied boundary but want to keep the old one,
choose the satisfied Keep old option.
If you are not satisfied with the tidied boundary, choose the Restart
segment option. Finally, if you have finished tidying boundaries,
choose Quit. You will be returned to the Tidy Polygons Menu.

8-48 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Do not cancel segment tracking by pressing [Esc], or the tidied
segment that has been created so far will not be deleted. Wait for
tracking to stop, then choose Restart segment from the list of
options.

AllyCAD will continue to prompt:

Select node for start of next boundary segment

Click on the first node of another boundary segment to tidy or cancel

boundary tidying by pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on Done or .

Drawingsnaptidy
This option tidies up end of line connections, deletes very short lines,
and removes duplicate lines.

If you are using this function in conjunction with DrawingCliptidy,

then you must use Drawingsnaptidy first. This is because
Drawingsnaptidy might move line end points, and this may cause
overshoots and undershoots already tidied by DrawingCliptidy to
become untidy again.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter snap tolerance in current units

If two or more line end points lie within the snap tolerance, then the
function will try to move these end points onto the intersection
points of the lines.
All the line ends within this circle
lie within the snap tolerance

Before After
Drawingsnaptidy Drawingsnaptidy

Type in the tolerance and press [Enter] or click on . The tolerance

should normally be about 50% higher than the maximum gap to be
closed. You can use the Tools ► Measure function to query gap sizes.

If you simply want to use Drawingsnaptidy for removing duplicate

lines, you can set the tolerance to "0".

AllyCAD will prompt:

Tools Menu 8-49

 Enter minimum line length allowed (in current units)

The function will delete all lines shorter than a given length. Type a
minimum line length and press [Enter] or click on . If you do not
want to delete any very short lines, give a length of zero.
If you simply want to use Drawingsnaptidy for removing duplicate
lines, you can set the minimum line length to "0".
AllyCAD will prompt:
Remove overlapping lines?

Click on the YES button if you want to remove overlapping lines. Else
click on the NO button. Overlapping lines will be removed as follows:
• Exactly overlapping - one line will be deleted.
• Partially overlapping - one line will be trimmed to meet the other.
• Long line completely overlapping short line - the short line will be
deleted.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter polygon within which to Snaptidy

Draw a polygon around the area within which the snap tidy
operation is to be applied.
In some cases, for example where there are three or more lines that
do not intersect at the same point, the function may not be able to
join the lines. In such cases you may have to use the Modify ► Trim,
Modify ► Divide/Extend or Modify ► Move Point functions to join them.
AllyCAD will continue prompt:
Enter polygon within which to Snaptidy

Define another polygon or cancel the function by pressing the

[Space Bar], clicking on Done or .

8-50 AllyCAD Reference Manual

DrawingCliptidy
This function tidies up line over and under-shoots.
If you are using this function in conjunction with Drawingsnaptidy,
then you must use Drawingsnaptidy first. This is because
Drawingsnaptidy might move line end points, and this may mean
that overshoots and undershoots already tidied using
DrawingCliptidy might become untidy again.
DrawingCliptidy will not tidy overshoots and undershoots where two
line ends meet (circled in the diagram below). This is the function of
Drawingsnaptidy.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter dangle tolerance in current units

Type in a tolerance for the maximum length of an over or undershoot

to be tidied and press [Enter] or click on .
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter polygon within which to Cliptidy

Draw a polygon around the area within which the function is to be

applied.
In some cases DrawingCliptidy may not be able to resolve the over
and undershoots. In such cases you may have to use the
Modify ► Divide/Extend or Modify ► Trim functions to tidy them.
AllyCAD will continue to prompt:
Enter polygon within which to Cliptidy

Draw another polygon or cancel the function by pressing the

[Space Bar], clicking on Done or .

Tools Menu 8-51

Line to Polyline
Convert linked line segments to polylines.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

LineToPolyLine
This functions converts a series of linked lines, ie. lines where the
the end of one line is the same as the start of the next line, into one
polyline entity. You have the option to retain the original lines or
delete them.

Procedure
The CAD will prompt:
Delete line segments after adding to polyline (else retain)

If you want to delete the converted line segments click on the YES
button, else click on the NO button to retain the line segments.
The CAD will prompt:
Indicate start of polyline

The cursor will switch into point snap mode. Position the cursor near
to the start of a series of lines and click. The program will track along
the series of lines and convert each segment into a polyline vertex. If
it is unable to pick up the lines the following error message will be
displayed:

The CAD will again prompt:

Indicate start of polyline

Indicate the start of another series of lines or else press [ESC] to

terminate the function

The polyline is created in the current layer using the current pen
and line type.

8-52 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Arc to Points
Draw a sequence of short lines over an arc entity

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

ArcToPnts
The original arc remains unaffected, while lines are drawn coinciding
with the arc.

Procedure
Select arc to convert

Indicate an arc to have it drawn over with lines on the current layer
and with pen 1. The number of lines drawn is determined by the
CAD.
The program repeats for multiple arcs.

Expand
Automatically produce a detailed view.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Expand

Expand automatically produces a detailed view within a box or circle.

It can also be used as a “cut and paste” function if the magnification
is set to 1.
The function will give you the option to save the detailed view onto a
separate layer. We advise that you do this, because otherwise it is
easy to accidentally change the magnification of your drawing.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Expand inside a box? (else circle)

If you want the detailed view to appear

inside a box, click on the YES button

Tools Menu 8-53

 If you want the detailed view to appear
inside a circle, click on the NO button

AllyCAD will prompt:

Would you like to enter box/circle after expand

If you would like the box or circle to be drawn around the detailed
view as shown above click on the YES button.

Otherwise, click on the NO button.

Detailed view in a box

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter corner of expand box

Position the cursor at one corner of the

expand box and press [Enter] or click.

8-54 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter another corner of box
Position the cursor at a diagonally
opposite corner of the expand box and
press [Enter] or click.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter magnification factor

Type the magnification of the detailed view and click on  or press

[Enter].
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter position of expanded detail

A box representing the size of the detailed view appears. Move this to
a suitable position on the screen and press [Enter] or click. The
detailed view is drawn.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Magnified Layer

The Magnified Layer dialog box is displayed.

Tools Menu 8-55

Choose a layer for the detailed view to be copied into by clicking on
the appropriate layer in the list.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter new magnification for layer ‘newlayer’

Anything that you subsequently draw onto the layer that the detailed
view is on will have the magnification that you give here. For
example, if the drawing scale is 1:1, and you give a magnification of
2, anything else that you draw on this layer will be drawn at a scale
of 1:0.5.

8-56 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Detailed view in a circle

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter centre point of expand circle

Position the cursor at the centre of the

expand circle is to be and press [Enter] or
click.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter point on radius

Position the cursor at a position on the

expand circle’s circumference and press
[Enter] or click.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter magnification factor

Type the magnification of the detailed view and click on  or press

[Enter].
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter position of expanded detail

A box representing the size of the detailed view appears. Move this to
a suitable position on the screen and press [Enter] or click. The
detailed view is drawn.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Do you want an arrow joining the two circles

This question is only asked if you have chosen to draw an expand

circle around the detailed view.

If you want to join the two circles with an arrow, click on the YES
button, otherwise click on the NO button.
AllyCAD will prompt:

Tools Menu 8-57

 Magnified Layer

The Magnified Layer dialog box is displayed.

Choose a layer for the detailed view to be copied into by clicking on

the appropriate layer in the list.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter new magnification for layer ‘newlayer’

Anything that you subsequently draw onto the layer that the detailed
view is on will have the magnification that you give here. For
example, if the drawing scale is 1:1, and you give a magnification of
2, anything else that you draw on this layer will be drawn at a scale
of 1:0.5.

General
If you have placed the detailed view onto the same layer as the rest of
your drawing, it is important that you type a magnification of "1" so
that anything else you draw on the layer is not drawn at the wrong
scale.
If you want to add dimensions to the detailed view, you should
accept the default magnification, which is the magnification of the
detailed view. This will ensure that the dimensions are correct.
Accept the magnification you type by clicking on  or pressing
[Enter].

8-58 AllyCAD Reference Manual

If you had already dimensioned the drawing before creating the
detailed view and the dimensions in the detailed view are now
incorrect, you must do the following after you have completed the
Expand function.
Select the detailed view using the Edit ► Select or Edit ► Selection Filters
commands. Then use the Modify ► Scale function to scale the detailed
view by "0.5 0.5" and then by "2 2". The dimensions will then read
correctly.
Once you have changed the magnification of the layer, you will see
that this magnification is reflected in the Layer Control.

Tools Menu 8-59

Bitmap List
Lists the bitmaps and paths in a drawing.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

bitmaplist

Bitmap List, lists all the bitmaps currently loaded in the drawing as
well as their drawing paths, as shown below:

Locate Text
Locates text in a drawing.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

findtxt

Locate text, allows you to search for text in a drawing using

wildcards “*” and “?”.

Procedure
Select the option Locate Text in the Tools menu. AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter text to search for (Wildcards * and ? are accepted.
Search is case insensitive)

Enter the text you are looking for using wild cards if necessary e.g. to
search for the text “Bend Angles”, type “Bend*” (quotation marks are
not needed) and click the tick. AllyCAD will then zoom to the
selected text and prompt:
Text located! Continue with search ?

8-60 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Select “Yes” to find another piece of text and “No” to end this function.

Tools Menu 8-61

Objects Menu
The Objects menu allows you to
group elements into symbols or
objects that structure your
drawing and can be used to
produce a Bill of Materials.

Objects Menu 9-1

An introduction to objects and symbols

Primitives are grouped together to form object.

For example this object, an electrical socket, is
made up of five primitives (two arcs and three
lines).

Objects are further grouped into PARENTS.

For example, these two objects, an electrical
socket and an earth position, might be
grouped into a parent called POWER on a
building services-type drawing.

A symbol is a specialized object that has been drawn as a standard

part and will be used over and over again.
For example, an architect may need to draw doors or windows, a
mechanical engineer may need to draw nuts and bolts, etc. Each
type of door, window, nut or bolt can be referred to as a symbol, and
all the different types of doors, windows, nuts or bolts can be drawn
onto one drawing from where they can be copied when they are
needed. This kind of drawing can be referred to as a Symbol Library.

Properties of objects
Each object has a name, a parent name, a hook point and a snip box
associated with it. Some objects may also have attributes associated
with them.
Object and parent names can be up to 15 characters in length.

This object might have the name FUSE

and have a parent name of PLUG.

This object might have the name

WINDOW, and have a parent name of
BUILDING.

9-2 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Parent Name
If you do not choose a parent name before creating an object it will
be given the default parent name. This will usually be "A".
There are two ways to give the object a specific parent name.
• Before you create the object using Objects ► Edit Object ► Change
Parent. This defines the default parent name that will be given to
all the objects you subsequently create.
• After you have created the object using Objects ► Edit Object ►
Change Name.

Object Name
To change the object and/or parent names of an existing object, use
the Objects ► Edit Object ► Change Name function.

Hook Point
The object's hook point acts as a reference point. For example, if you
import an object from one drawing into another drawing as a symbol,
the object will appear in the second drawing with its hook point at
the cursor position.
Because of the way that the CAD can automatically rotate and snip
around symbols when they are inserted into drawings, you should
position the hook point on the left of the symbol.

The hook point of this fuse, normally invisible,

but indicated here by a star, has been
positioned at the left.
Hook point

The hook point of this window, normally

invisible, but indicated here as a star, has
been positioned at a corner.
Hook point

Use the function Objects ► Edit Object ► Change Hook Point to change
the position of the hook point.

Objects Menu 9-3

Snip Box
The snip box is an invisible box that fits exactly around the extreme
edges of the object. It is used if the object is imported into another
drawing as a symbol.
When you insert the object into another drawing, the program will
automatically snip out everything inside the snip box, if you want it
to. For example, in the example below, the window has been inserted
into a wall and the wall has been snipped away to accommodate the
window. In the other example, the fuse has been inserted into a
circuit, and the circuit has also been snipped away.

Wall before symbol insertion Circuit before symbol insertion

Wall after symbol insertion Circuit after symbol insertion

Attributes
Attributes are pieces of information that can be attached to an object
if the object is created using the Make Symbol method (see Grouping
Primitives into Objects).
An attribute for the window might be that it is to be manufactured
from aluminium. An attribute for the fuse might be that its current
rating is 5 Amps.
Attributes are only used if the object is imported into another
drawing as a symbol. As the object is imported, you will be asked if
you want to change the attribute value associated with the symbol.
For example, you may be importing a fuse whose rating is 2 Amps
rather than 5 Amps.

Once the object has been imported, the

2 AMP attribute can either be displayed with the
object as text, or can remain invisible for use
in a bill of materials.

9-4 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Using an object as a symbol
If you are going to use the object as a symbol, you should draw it
horizontally. For example, if you are drawing a fuse...

you should draw it this way round ...

... not this way round.

This is because of the way that AllyCAD can automatically rotate and
snip around symbols when they are inserted into drawings.
Note the following points:
• AllyCAD positions the object's hook point automatically. When
you have finished creating the object, you may want to position
its hook point manually. To do this, use the Objects ► Edit
Object ► Change Hook Point function.
• If you are going to use the object as a symbol, you should
position the hook point at the left hand end of the symbol
because of the way that AllyCAD can automatically rotate and
snip around symbols when they are inserted into drawings.
• When you use Begin New Object to create an object, the object's
snip box will fit exactly around the extreme edges of the object.
No attributes will have been assigned to the object.
When you have created the object, you will be able to select the
entire object at once by clicking on it with the Select cursor. If you
want to select a single primitive within the object, you must explode
it first using Objects ► Explode Object.

Objects Menu 9-5

Begin New Object
Create an object by naming it and then drawing it.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

BeginObj

Using the Begin New Object function requires an organised

approach, as it involves naming the object first, then drawing it.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter new object name

Type a name for the object and click on  or press [Enter]. You only
need to type the object's name. Do not type a parent name. From
now on, all the primitives that you draw will be grouped into an
object with this name until:
• You create another object using Begin New Object, Group Into
Object or Make Symbol.
• You use a function that automatically starts a new object or you
make the object too big (65000 bytes - roughly 1070 lines or 750
arcs). In either of these cases, AllyCAD will automatically start a
new object.
• You change the current object (the object you are currently
drawing) using the Select Current Object function.
• You change layers.

9-6 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Group Into Object
Create an object by selecting primitives you have already drawn, then
grouping them.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

LinkSel

This function groups drawing primitives into objects after they have
been drawn. You must select the drawing entities using the
Edit ► Select or Edit ► Selection Filters commands. If you have not
selected any entities AllyCAD will change into selection mode. Select
the entities.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter name for new object

Type a name for the object and click on  or press [Enter]. You only
need to type the object's name. Do not type a parent name. The
selected primitives will be highlighted, and will be grouped under the
name you have typed.

Objects Menu 9-7

Explode Object
Explode objects and blocks so that individual primitives within them can be
selected.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Explode

If you have created an object using Objects ► Begin New Object,

Objects ► Group Into Object or Objects ► Make Symbol the entire object
will be selected when you click on an element of the object with the
Select cursor.
Some functions also group the elements into objects, for example,
when you draw a rectangle using Draw ► Rectangle the four lines
making up the rectangle are grouped. When you create a polyline
using Draw ► Polyline all the lines making up the polyline are
grouped. Similarly, symbols entered using Draw ► Symbol are
grouped, and sketches produced using Draw ► Sketch are grouped.
All the elements in a block that has been imported from a DXF or
DWG file are also grouped together. If you do not want to select the
entire object or block when you click on it, but only want to select
one primitive within it, you must first explode the object or block.
To do this, select the object or block using Select or the Selection
Filters. Then select Objects ► Explode. Clear all selections using
Edit ► Clear Selection. You will now be able to select single primitives.

Exploded polylines can be restored one at a time using Edit ► Undo.

9-8 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Show Objects
Display objects on the screen one by one.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

AllPats

Suppose you have three objects in a drawing, one of them hatched.

When you select Show Objects, each object will be shown on the
screen in turn. Its hook point will be displayed as a star, and the
snip box will be displayed.
It's parent name, object name and layer will be displayed in the
prompt area. If the object is a hatch perimeter, the perimeter’s
reference point will be shown as a cross, and the hatch index used to
hatch the perimeter will also be displayed in the prompt area.
AllyCAD prompts:
What layer do you want to show objects from (enter “*” for
all layers)

Type the name of the layer you want to display the objects from and
click on  or press [Enter]. To show objects from all layers type * and
click on  or press [Enter].
AllyCAD will prompt:
What object names do you want to show (‘*’ for all objects)

You must type both the parent name and the object name of the
objects you want to show. Names are case-insensitive. Wildcards
may be used.

Objects Menu 9-9

For example, typing
SHAPES *

will select all objects with the parent name SHAPES, such as
SHAPES CIRCLE, SHAPES TRIANGLE, etc.
Typing:
* CIRCLE

will select all objects called CIRCLE, whatever their parent names
are.
Typing:
* *

will select all the objects in the drawing regardless of name.

Click on  or press [Enter]. The objects are then displayed, one by
one, either until all the specified objects have been shown or until
you press the [Esc] key and redraw the screen.
In the above example, the following will be displayed in the prompt
area:
SHAPES CIRCLE layer A hatch index 0

where SHAPES is the parent name, CIRCLE is the object name and
the layer is A. Hatch index 0 indicates that the object is not a hatch
perimeter.

The object will be displayed like this in the

drawing area. The star represents the hook
point, while the box around the circle
represents the object's snip box.

The prompt area displays for the next object:

SHAPES TRIANGLE layer A hatch index 0

where SHAPES is the parent name, TRIANGLE is the object name

and the layer is A. Hatch index 0 indicates that the object is not a
hatch perimeter.

9-10 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 The object will be displayed like this in the
drawing area. The star represents the object's
hook point, and the square represents its snip
box.

The next object will display the following on the prompt area:
SHAPES RECTANGLE layer A hatch index 0

where SHAPES is the parent name, RECTANGLE is the object name

and the layer is A. Hatch index 0 indicates that the object is not a
hatch perimeter.

The object will be displayed like this in the

drawing area. The star in the diagram
represents the object's hook point.
The snip box corresponds exactly to the
rectangle, so you cannot see it.

Thereafter the following will be displayed on the prompt area:

A P5 layer A hatch index 1

where A is the parent name, P5 is the object name and the layer is A.
Hatch index 1 indicates that the object is a hatch perimeter and that
the hatch pattern it contains is number 1, i.e. the first in the list of
hatch patterns.

The cross in the diagram represents the

object's hook point, and you cannot see the
snip box because it corresponds exactly to the
rectangle.

When the current object is displayed, the words “current object” are
shown.

Objects Menu 9-11

When all your objects have been displayed, an extra object,
comprising just a hook point at the screen centre will appear. This is
normal.

9-12 AllyCAD Reference Manual

List Objects
List, count and measure objects in the drawing.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

ListPat

This function creates an ASCII file that lists the objects in your
drawing.

A typical file extracted from the drawing above would look like this:

Parent name object name Quantity Area Perimeter

BUILDING EXTWALLS 1 8.706215e+07 109939.5
BUILDING INTWALLS 1 5647791 71410.93
fittings door 8 8790306 27965.14
fittings extdoor 1 3026734 3629.442
fittings window 2 1.9203e+07 14844
furniture chair 7 955833.1 8881.744
furniture desk 7 4619122 23064.69

There are 27 objects selected

Objects Menu 9-13

For each type of object on the drawing the following is displayed:
• the parent name
• the object name
• the number of objects with that name
• the total area taken up by objects with that name
• the total perimeter of objects with that name
For example, in the listing shown on the previous page, there are
seven desks in the drawing, grouped under the parent name
"furniture". The total area taken up by the seven desks is
4619122 mm2. The total perimeter of the desks is 23064.69 mm.
The perimeters and areas are measured in the units you have
selected in Settings ► Drawing Settings.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Do you want data from all layers (else just displayed
layers)

If you want to list all the objects in your drawing, click on the YES
button. If you only want to list the objects in the visible layers, click
on the NO button.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Do you want areas and perimeters calculated automatically

If you click on the YES button, AllyCAD will calculate areas and
perimeters. If you click on the NO button, perimeters and areas will
not be calculated.

Calculated areas may be incorrect unless the elements in each

object have been drawn sequentially.
You can select the units you want areas measured in, e.g. square
mm, square m etc. These units can be different from the units you
are drawing in. For example, you can draw in mm and measure
areas in square meters.

The object listing is saved to an ASCII file that can be viewed using
any text editor such as the Windows Notepad.

9-14 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Make Symbol
Create an object from primitives you have already drawn by following a series
of prompts.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

MakeSym

This function groups drawing primitives into a symbol after they

have been drawn.
Make Symbol has three advantages over the other methods of object
creation:
1. It asks you a series of questions allowing you to place the
object's hook point at a position of your choice. The position of
the hook point is very important if you are going to import an
object from one drawing into another as a symbol, because the
object will appear in the second drawing with its hook point at
the cursor position.
If you were to use Begin New Object or Group Into Object to create
the object, you would have to position the hook point separately
using the Objects ► Edit Object ► Change Hook Point function.
It allows you to attach attributes to objects. For example, if you draw
a fuse, you might want to attach an attribute to it stating that its
current rating is 2 amps. Attributes can be extracted in a bill of
materials. Refer to Bill of Materials in the Tools Menu for more details.
It allows you to define your own snip box around the object. This can
automatically erase any part of the drawing over which the symbol is
placed.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter name for new symbol (blank to stop making symbols)

Type the object name of the object you are about to create and click
on  or press [Enter]. Do not type a parent name.
Enter symbol hook point

The hook point is the insertion or reference point of the object that
you will use to position the object when you place it on another
drawing. You should choose it carefully and position it accurately for
the best results.
AllyCAD can automatically rotate a symbol and snip around it when
it is inserted into drawings. It is therefore preferable that you
position the hook point on the left of the symbol.

Objects Menu 9-15

 This diagram shows two examples of objects -
a window and a fuse. Position the cursor at
the position to be used as the hook point and
press [Enter] or click.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter lower left corner of snip box
(for snipping out lines)

You can only define a linear, square or

rectangular snip box. When you insert the
symbol into a drawing, the program can
automatically snip out everything inside the
box you define here, if you want it to.
Position the cursor at the lower left corner of
the snip box and press [Enter] or click.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter upper right corner of snip box
(for snipping out lines)

Position the cursor at the upper right corner of

the snip box and press [Enter] or click.

In the following examples, a window symbol has been inserted into a

wall and the wall has been snipped away to accommodate the
window, and a fuse has been inserted into a circuit and the circuit
has also been snipped away.

Wall before symbol insertion Circuit before symbol insertion

Wall after symbol insertion Circuit after symbol insertion

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enclose everything that you want included in symbol

9-16 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Draw a box or polygon around the primitives that you want to
include in the object. Two diamonds marking the extents of the snip
box will appear.

If you enclose any hatches within the polygon, these will be

converted to lines.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter prompt for symbol attribute 1 (Blank for no
attributes)

The attribute prompt is the name or description for the information,

for example "RESISTANCE" for a resistor, "WEIGHT" for a piece of
steel, "MATERIAL" for what a window is to be manufactured from or
"CURRENT" for the current rating of a fuse.
If you want to attach attribute information to the object type in the
name and click on  or press [Enter].
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter attribute default value

This will be the default value of the attribute. For example, you might
type "WOOD" as the material a window is made out of, or "3 AMP" for
the current rating of a fuse.
If you are going to create a bill of materials, the attribute default
value must be in a particular format:
attribute=default value

e.g. COLOUR =CREAM.

Type in the value and click on  or press [Enter].

When you insert the object into another drawing using

Draw ► Symbol the attributes can be displayed as text or extracted in
a bill of materials.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter attribute position

Position the cursor where you want the attribute to be placed and
press [Enter] or click. A diamond is displayed.
If the attribute is displayed as text when you place the symbol into
another drawing the attribute position defines where the text will be
placed.

Objects Menu 9-17

AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter prompt for symbol attribute 2

Type a prompt for another attribute and click on  or press [Enter].

You may add other attributes or stop adding attributes by leaving the
Control Bar blank and clicking on  or pressing [Enter].
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter name for new symbol (blank to stop making symbols)

Type the name for a new object and click on  or press [Enter]. To
stop making symbols leave the Control Bar blank and click on  or
press [Enter].

Refer to Tools ► Bill of Materials for details on how to edit and delete
attributes once you have attached them to a symbol.

When you have created the object using Make Symbol, you will be
able to select the entire object at once by clicking on it with the
Select cursor. If you want to select a single primitive within the
object, you must explode it using Objects ► Explode Object.

9-18 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Edit Object
This option allows you to change object names,
parent names and hook points. The Edit Objects
sub-menu will be displayed. Select one of the
options and follow the instructions set out
below.
Objects with the parent name "__LABEL__" are not displayed in the
list of symbols that appears when you use the Draw ► Symbol
function. If you are creating objects for use as symbols, use
"__LABEL__" as the parent name for text descriptions or other items
that must not be displayed.

Change Name
Change the object name

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

RenamePat

This option allows you to rename an object or objects. Both the

object and parent names may be changed.
You can select the object whose name must be changed by clicking
on it with your cursor. Alternatively, you can select one or several
objects whose names must be changed by specifying the name of
those objects.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter object name to be changed or select object with cursor

To select the object whose name must be changed by clicking on it

with your cursor, click on  or press [Enter] to accept the default
answer (cursor) to this question.

Select by cursor
AllyCAD will prompt:
Select object for name change

Position the cursor on the object whose name is to be changed and

press [Enter] or click. The object's current parent and object names
are displayed in the Control Bar.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter new parent and object names (separated by a space)

Objects Menu 9-19

Type the new parent and/or object name for the object you have
selected and click on  or press [Enter].
AllyCAD will prompt:
Select object for name change

Position the cursor on the object whose name is to be changed and

press [Enter] or click. Alternatively cancel the function by choosing
another function, pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on Done or .

Select by Name
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter object name to be changed or select object with cursor

Type over the word "Cursor" with the name of the objects whose
names you want to change. All object names are written in upper-
case letters. For example, suppose you have ten objects with the
parent name ASSEMBLY and the object name BOLTM6. If you type:
ASSEMBLY BOLTM6

the names of all ten objects will be updated at once to the new name.
Wildcards may be used. For example, if you type
ASSEMBLY *

all objects with the parent name ASSEMBLY will be updated to the
new name, regardless of their object names. If you type
* BOLTM6

all objects with the name BOLTM6 will be updated to the new name,
regardless of their parent names. If you type
* *

all objects, regardless of their parent or object names, will be

updated to the new name.
If AllyCAD cannot find an object with the name you typed, the
function will be terminated. If it can find the object it will prompt:
Enter new parent and object names (separated by a space)

Type the new parent and object names and click on  or press
[Enter].

Wildcards cannot be used.

9-20 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Change Parent
Change the object's parent name

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Parent

This function changes the default parent name. When you create a
new object it is given the default parent name until you change it
again.
To change a parent name that has already been assigned to an
object, use the Objects ► Edit Object ► Change Name function.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter new parent name

Type the new default parent name and click on  or press [Enter].

Change Hook Point

Change the object's hook point (reference point)

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

ChPatHook

When an object is created it is automatically given a hook point.

However, this hook point may not be in a suitable position, especially
if the object is to be used as a symbol.
This function allows you to change the hook point of an object. When
it is active stars are displayed on the drawing to represent the
current position of the hook points.
You may find that some objects do not appear to have a hook point.
This is because some of the hook points are positioned on top of each
other. This is likely to happen if one object was drawn originally and
was later split into several objects.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Select object for hook change

Position the cursor near the object that needs a new hook point and
press [Enter] or click. The cursor jumps onto the object's current
hook point.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter new hook point

Objects Menu 9-21

Position the cursor where you want the object’s new hook point to be
and press [Enter] or click.

If you are going to use the object as a symbol, you should position
the hook point at the left hand end of the symbol because of the
way that AllyCAD can automatically rotate a symbol and snip
around it when it is inserted into a drawing.

A star is displayed at the new hook point position.

AllyCAD will continue to prompt:
Select object for hook change

Position the cursor near another object that needs a new hook point
and press [Enter] or click. Alternatively cancel the function by
choosing another function, pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on
Done or .

9-22 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Update Objects
Replace all the examples of a particular object.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Renew

This function allows all the examples of a particular object to be

updated at once. A typical example would be the need to replace all
the square columns shown on an existing floor plan with differently
shaped columns in one easy operation.

Before Update Objects After Update Objects

Note the following points before using this function:

• Update Objects assumes that all the objects have the same
parent and object name as the selected object.
If you used Repeat or Drop to create multiple copies of the
selected object the parent and object names would automatically
be the same.
If you are not sure what the parent and object names of the other
objects are use Tools ► Query Entity to check. If the parent and
object names are not the same use Objects ► Edit Object ► Change
Name to change them.
• It is a good idea to establish the hook point position of the
objects you are going to replace before you apply this function.
• To do this use Objects ► Edit Object ► Change Hook Point. A star will
appear on each object. Terminate the function without changing
any hook points by pressing the [Space Bar], clicking on Done or
. The hook points will remain marked by green stars.
Follow the steps below:
1. Select one of the original objects (one of the square columns in
the example) as the current object using the Objects ► Select
Current Object option.

Objects Menu 9-23

Edit the selected object to the desired shape.
Apply the Update Objects function.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Sure you want to update all objects with same name as
current object

This is a safety measure. Click on the YES button if you are quite
sure you want to update the objects, or on the NO button if you want
to abort.
Enter point on current object where reference points on old
objects must be

If you want the objects to retain their current positions, it is

important that you choose the original hook point of the selected
object, otherwise all the objects except the current object will be
moved and the positions of their hook points will be altered. Once
you have selected the point, press [Enter] or click. The objects are
replaced.
Update Objects will also work on objects that have been scaled or
rotated. However it will not work if the selected object has been
scaled or rotated after creation.

It is a good idea to store your drawing before performing this

operation, just in case things go wrong!

Count Named Objects

Return the number of objects in the drawing with a certain name.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

exec ".\macro\countobjects"

9-24 AllyCAD Reference Manual

This function searches through the drawing and counts all objects
with a certain name. AllyCAD will prompt:
Click on object to count (spacebar to exit)

Click on the object you wish to search for and AllyCAD will count
objects with the same name and respond with a message similar to
this:

Select Current Object

Select an object to be the current object.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

SetCurObj

All newly drawn primitives are added to the current object. If you
want to add to an object that already exists, you should first choose
that object as the current object.
Another use is in Objects ► Update Objects. Here the current object is
used as the template for the other objects with the same name.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Select object to become current object

Position your cursor onto the object that must become the current
object and press [Enter] or click.

Blink Current Object

Highlight the current object.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

BlinkCurObj

Objects Menu 9-25

This function toggles the highlighting of the current object. In this
way the current pattern can be made to “blink” which is a useful
method of determining what the current object is.

9-26 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Create Block
Group selected entities into a block.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Block

You can create a block from any selected entities on a drawing. When
you create a block, the selected entities are grouped into a named
block, and moved to the invisible block part of drawing memory.
To see the entities in the block again you need to insert it with
Objects ► Insert Block.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter name for new block.

Type in a name and click on .

AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter block hook point.

Move your mouse to the position where you want the hook point to
be. Click.
If you have not selected any entities AllyCAD will prompt:
Select single entity ([SHIFT] for multiple selection)

Select the entity or entities to include and click. The selected entities
are highlighted. Click on Done.
The selected entities are highlighted. Click on DONE. The selected
entities will be made invisible and moved to the block part of drawing
memory.

Objects Menu 9-27

Insert Block
Insert a block into the drawing.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

InsertInt

This function creates a reference to an already created block. The

block itself is not copied into the drawing as just a reference to the
block is inserted into the drawing. This can save a lot of memory if
you have a large block that is repeated many times across a drawing.
The block gets scaled, rotated and drawn at the insertion point.
Click on the name of the block that you want to insert and click OK.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter block insertion point.

Position your mouse to the position where you want the insertion
point to be. Click.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter point to be scaled

Choose a point away from the insertion point.

AllyCAD will prompt:
Move mouse and click or type in new X and Y scale factors

You can now scale the block dynamically or type in exact scaling
factors in the Control bar.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter point that must rotate

Select a point away from the insertion point.

AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter point to rotate to or type in rotation angle

Rotate the block dynamically or type in the exact rotation angle on

the Control bar.
You can abort the scaling and rotation by pressing the {Esc] key or
the [Space Bar].

9-28 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Settings Menu
The Settings Menu allows you to
set up the drawing as well as pen
and line styles.
The default paper size, scale,
units etc. that are loaded each
time you enter AllyCAD or select
File ► New are stored in a
drawing called STARTUP.DRG.

Settings Menu 10-1

Drawing Settings
Set or change paper size, scale, units, coordinate system, angular format and
isometric grid, circles and dimensions.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

DrawDef

The drawing settings can be set before you start drawing or changed
at any time during drawing. The following dialog box is displayed.

Paper Size
This allows you to set the paper size and orientation.

Size
Select the paper size you require from the list.
The paper border is represented on the drawing area as a purple box.
The centre of this box will always correspond to the coordinate "0,0"
if you are using Cartesian coordinates, or to the coordinate you have
specified as the screen centre if you are using Surveyor coordinates.
Refer to Coordinate System for more details.
If you change to a larger paper size in mid-drawing (e.g. from A4 to
A3), the objects you have drawn will take up a smaller proportion of

10-2 AllyCAD Reference Manual

the paper. You can see this if you do a Zoom Paper, which displays
your entire sheet of paper on the screen.
Similarly, if you change to a smaller paper size in mid-drawing (e.g.
from A3 to A4), the objects you have drawn will take up a larger
proportion of the paper, and may even overlap the edges. If this is
the case, do a Zoom All to see the whole drawing in relation to the
paper size (represented by a purple box).
In either case, you may want to change the scale to rescale your
drawing so that it fits the new paper size appropriately.

Orientation
Click on Portrait if you want your drawing to be oriented so that the
sheet is tall, or on Landscape if you want it wide.

Scale
The current scale is displayed. There are three scale types:
• Architectural
• Engineering
• Metric/Custom
Select the option you want from the Type list box.

Metric/Custom
Setting your drawing scale and units using the Metric/Custom
option is best described using the following three examples.
Example 1:
To draw at a scale of 1:1 in millimeters set up the drawing scale as
shown below:

Settings Menu 10-3

You can do this in one of two ways:
• Set the Paper Units to "1 mm" and the Drawing Units to "1 mm".
This means that 1mm on the paper will equal 1mm in real life. If
you now press the [TAB] key, you will see that the Scale Ratio
automatically updates to "1:1".
• Type "1" into the Scale Ratio box, which will then specify a scale
of 1:1. Set the Drawing Units to "mm".
Example 2:
To draw at a scale of 1:50 in meters set up the drawing scale as
shown below:

You can do this in one of two ways:

• Set the Paper Units to "1 metre" and the Drawing Units to "50
metres". This means that 1 metre on the paper will equal 50
metres in real life. If you now press the [TAB] key, you will see
that the Scale Ratio box automatically updates to "1:50".
• Type "50" into the Scale Ratio box, which will then specify a scale
of 1:50. Set the Drawing Units to "metres".
Example 3:
To draw at a scale of one inch to one foot, set up the scale part of the
Drawing Settings dialog box so that it looks like this:

You can do this in one of two ways:

• Set the Paper Units to "1 inches" and the Drawing Units to "1
feet". This means that 1 inch on the paper will equal 1 foot in
real life. If you now press the [TAB] key, you will see that the
Scale Ratio box automatically updates to "1:12".

10-4 AllyCAD Reference Manual

• Type "12" into the Scale Ratio box, which will then specify a scale
of 1:12. Set the Drawing Units to "feet" or "feet and inches".

Architectural
If you select this scale type the Drawing Settings dialog box changes
to look like this:

You can select a standard scale from the list of scales that appears,
e.g. 1” = 1’. The first number (1”) is a length on paper. The second
number (1’) is the equivalent length in real life. When you select a
standard scale from the list box, the Scale Ratio box automatically
updates. For example, if you have chosen a standard scale of 1” = 1’,
the scale ratio will automatically update to 1:12.
Alternatively you can type a scale ratio directly into the Scale Ratio
box. For example, if you type “1”, the scale will be 1:1. If you type
“12”, the scale will be 1:12, etc.
In the Architectural option drawing units are automatically set to feet
and inches. However, you can determine the denominator you want,
or set the inches to decimal by selecting the Metric/Custom option,
clicking on the Drawing Units button, selecting feet inches as the
unit, selecting the denominator, then reselecting the Architectural
option.

Engineering
This scale option is similar to the Architectural option with the
following differences:
• The standard scales listed in the standard scales list box are
different.
• It allows you to use decimal feet and decimal inches as well as
feet and inches. You can swap between units by selecting the
Metric/Custom option, clicking on the Drawing Units button,
selecting the units you want, then reselecting the Engineering
option.

Settings Menu 10-5

Changing Scale
If you change scale in mid-drawing, your drawing will be re-scaled
about the coordinate 0,0 if you are using Cartesian coordinates or
about the coordinate you have specified for the screen centre if you
are using Surveyor coordinates (see Coordinate System).

Changing scale does not change dimensions. For example, if a line

has a dimension of 100mm, and the scale is changed, then that line
will still have a dimension of 100mm. It will merely look smaller or
larger in relation to the paper size.

If you change to a smaller scale (e.g. from 1:1 to 1:10), the objects
you have drawn will take up a smaller proportion of the paper. You
can see the appearance of the re-scaled drawing if you do a Zoom
Paper. This zoom displays your entire sheet of paper on the screen.
Similarly, if you change to a larger scale (e.g. from 1:10 to 1:1), the
objects you have drawn will take up a larger proportion of the paper,
and may even overlap the edges. If this is the case, do a Zoom All to
see the whole drawing in relation to the paper size represented by a
purple box.
In either case, you may want to change the paper size so that your
drawing fits the paper appropriately.

Drawing Units
To change units, set the scale type to "Metric/Custom". The currently
selected linear unit is displayed on the Drawing Units button. To
change linear or area units, click on this button, and the Change
Units dialog box appears.

Click here to change linear units

Some units have a default symbol that

appears in this box. You can type any
symbol to represent any unit here

Click here to change area units

10-6 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Linear Units
You can change the linear units using the list box at the top of the
Change Units dialog box. The choices are as follows:
• mm
• meter
• inches
These are decimal inches, i.e. one and a half inches would be
represented as 1.5.
• user-defined
If you check this option, the prompt mm per user unit will
appear. Type the length of the user defined unit in mm.
• feet inches
If you check this option, dimensions will be displayed in the
format 5+7/12 (five inches and seven twelfths of an inch),
1'3+5/16 (one foot, three inches and five sixteenths of an inch),
etc. Another option will be displayed to specify the largest
denominator. For example, if you type 12, the denominators used
will be 2, 3, 4, 6 and 12. If you type 16, the denominators used
will be 2, 4, 8 and 16, etc.
• feet
These are decimal feet, i.e. one and a half feet would be
represented as 1.5'.
• yard
• km
• mile

Unit Symbol
The default symbol for the selected unit is displayed. You can type
any symbol to represent any unit here.

Area Units
These are the units of area measurements in the Tools ► Polygon Area,
Tools ► Bill of Materials and Objects ► List Objects functions. The choices
are as follows:
• User defined
• Square inches
• Square feet
• Square yards
• Acres
• Square miles
• Square mm
• Square cm
• Square m

Settings Menu 10-7

• Hectares
• Square km

Changing Units
If you change linear units in the middle of a drawing, existing
dimensions will not be automatically updated to the new units. All
subsequent dimensions, however, will be displayed in the new units.
This is an advantage to some people who want to display both
imperial and metric units on the same drawing.
If you change units in the middle of a drawing and you want to
update the dimensions you have already drawn to the new units, you
must do the following once you have changed units. First select your
entire drawing using Edit ► Selection Filters with the "Select All" option.
Then use the Modify ► Scale to scale the drawing by "0.5 0.5". Finally,
use the Modify ► Scale function again to scale the drawing by "2 2".
The dimensions will have been updated.

10-8 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Coordinate System
AllyCAD supports the following coordinate systems:

+y

-x +x Cartesian

Typically architectural and

mechanical drawings
Zero rotation is to the right and
increases in the anti-clockwise
-y
direction

-x

Surveyor Southern Hemisphere

+y -y Typically used by surveyors and
civil engineers.
Zero rotation is south and
increases in the clockwise
direction
+x

+x

Northern Hemisphere Surveyor

-y +y Typically used by surveyors and
civil engineers.
Zero rotation is north and
increases in the anti-clockwise
direction
-x

Settings Menu 10-9

Surveyor Setup
If you click on this button the following dialog is displayed.

Surveyor Origin The survey coordinates of the centre of the drawing or of a

known point on the drawing
Set origin at known Check this option if the reference coordinates are of a known
point point and not the drawing centre
Northing Easting Specify the order in which coordinates will be read and
Easting Northing displayed
Northern Hemisphere Specify which hemisphere you are working in
Southern Hemisphere

If you are working in the Surveyor coordinate system, drawings that

have been drawn using the same coordinate system will
automatically be aligned with respect to each other if you use
File  Open to load more than one drawing at once.
If you want to specify the coordinates of a known point check the Set
origin at known point option. When you exit Drawing Settings the
message box
Click on point with coordinates x y

will be displayed. Click on OK to close the message box.

AllyCAD will prompt:
Click on point with coordinates x y

Place the cursor at the position on the drawing corresponding to the

reference coordinates. Press [Enter] or click.
You can use this function to change the origin point from the screen
centre to the bottom left. To do this, type "0 0" into the Surveyor
Origin box and check Set origin at known point. When you are

10-10 AllyCAD Reference Manual

prompted to specify a point whose coordinates you know, click on a
point at the bottom left of the screen.

Number of Decimals
Here you define the number of decimal places required for the
coordinate display. The maximum number is 15.
You can also set a negative number of decimals, so that AllyCAD will
only be accurate to the nearest 10 (-1 decimals), 100 (-2 decimals)
etc.

Isometric Grids
If the Isometric Grids box is checked, certain functions will behave in
a particular way.

Tools ► Grid will produce an Isometric

grid, where the grid points are angled at
30, -30 and 90 degrees to each other.

Cursor locked at 90 degrees;

Draw ► Ellipses will create ellipses that
major axis of ellipse aligned at 0 are the right shape for use as circles on
degrees.
an isometric drawing, and that are
angled at 90 degrees to the angle at
which the cursor is locked.
Annotate ► Slope Dimensions will allow you
30
to angle witness lines to produce
dimensions appropriate for isometrics.

Settings Menu 10-11

Angular Format
When you click on this button (labeled "dd.dddd" by default), the
following dialog box is displayed.

Angular Units Click on the arrow to change the units. You have a choice of:
• grads
• radians
• decimal angles
• degrees minutes and seconds
Degrees, minutes and seconds can be displayed in three ways:
• degrees.minutes.seconds
• degrees°minutes'seconds"
• Ndegrees°minutes'seconds"W
Number of Specify the number of decimals to be displayed.
Decimals
Zero Point Specify the position from which angles will be measured during
the Polar Move and survey dimension functions
Measure specify the direction in which angles will be measured
ClockWise /
CounterClockWise

Typing in degrees, minutes, seconds and quadrants

You can type in the angle 12°34’56.78” as
12 34 56.78
12.34.56.78

or as
12.345678

10-12 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Using the last method, the first two characters after the decimal
point are taken as minutes, the next two as seconds, and anything
after that as decimal seconds.
You can type in quadrants as "N45 23 12E". Alternatively, you can
use a quadrant number instead of N45W. Use the / or * characters
to separate the angle from the quadrant number, which must come
after the angle. For example, the angle N12°3456E can be entered as
12.3456*1

or as
12.3456/1

The four quadrants are:

NE 1
SE 2
SW 3
NW 4

Zero Point and Clockwise/Anti-Clockwise Settings

The zero point and clockwise/anti-clockwise settings you define in
the angular format apply only to Polar Move and to surveyor
functions.
Other functions, such as Modify  Rotate are not affected by the
angular format. Angles are measured anti-clockwise from the 3
o'clock position.
The description of each individual function states whether that
function is dependant on the angular format or whether angles are
measured anti-clockwise from 3 o'clock.

Settings Menu 10-13

View Settings
Control what is displayed on the screen.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left View ViewDef

The default view settings that are loaded each time you enter
AllyCAD or select File ► New are stored in a drawing called
STARTUP.DRG.
The following dialog box is displayed:

Show Coordinates
If checked coordinates are displayed at the bottom right of the
screen. Either absolute or polar coordinates can be displayed.
By default, absolute coordinates are displayed. These show the x, y
location of the cursor on the screen. The order and decimals of the
coordinate display are set in Drawing Settings.

Polar Coordinates
This option works in conjunction with the Show Coordinates option.
If this is checked the coordinates that are displayed will be polar, ie.
the distance and angle from the last fixed point. The format of the
angle display is determined by the Drawing Settings.

10-14 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Show Geometry
This option controls the display of geometry elements. Even though
you can't see the geometry, you can still jump to it, e.g. using the
Geom Intersection jump.

Show Arc Centres

If this option is checked circle centre points are

displayed as dots. If the option is not checked
just the perimeter of the arc or circle is displayed.
Circle and arc centres are never printed.

Control Bar Font

This option allows you to change the font used on the Control Bar. If,
when you install AllyCAD, the fonts used in the Prompt Area and
Layer Display are too big, use Control Bar Font to select a different
font and/or smaller font size.

Background Colour
This option allows you to change the background colour of the
drawing area. When you click on the button, a colour palette is
displayed. Select the colour you want.

Annotation to Draw
This allows you to select which annotations will be displayed on the
screen. This can result in faster screen redraws. All annotations will
be printed regardless of this setting.

None
No annotations will be displayed.

Settings Menu 10-15

 74.44°
A All
More Text
All annotations will be displayed,
Text 25.6 in full detail.

A Text Only
More Text
Dimensions will be switched off.
Text

74.44° Dimensions Only

Text, including text in balloons as
well as entire text bubbles, will be
25.6 switched off.

All Text as Boxes

All text, including balloon and
dimension text, will be displayed
as boxes.

10-16 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Point Style
This controls point size and how points will be displayed. Points can
be displayed as follows:
Point
None
Cross
X Cross
Blip

Additionally, you can choose to display points with circles, boxes

and/or diamonds around them.
If you type a negative point size, it is interpreted as a percentage of
the screen size. For example, a point size of -2 means that points will
always be drawn at 2% of screen size regardless of magnification.

Big Cursor

Edge of drawing area

If you check this option, the cursor will

be attached to a cross hair extending all
the way across the drawing area in the
horizontal and vertical directions.

Ruler
If this option is checked, the Ruler Bar will be displayed across the
bottom of the drawing area.

Settings Menu 10-17

Hatch to Draw
This option allows you to control how hatching is displayed. You can
speed up the redraws significantly if hatching is not displayed. This
setting does not affect the printed output.
There are three options:
None No hatches will be displayed when you redraw. To display
the hatches use Annotate ► Draw All Hatch. This will display
all the hatches. The next time you redraw the hatches be
switched off again.
All All the hatches will be displayed each time you redraw
Selected Only the hatches that have been selected using the
Edit ► Selection Filters Hatch option will be displayed each
time you redraw

Bitmaps to Draw
When you load a bitmap you can specify that it must be displayed as
a placeholder or in full detail. If you specify a placeholder it will be
displayed as a cross-hatched rectangle. This speeds up redraws.
This option allows you to display all the bitmaps in your drawing as
placeholders or in full detail, regardless of how you loaded them.
None All bitmaps will be displayed as placeholders
All All bitmaps will be displayed in full detail
Normal The bitmaps will be displayed as you specified when you
loaded them

Show Data Items

When you enter or edit a data item, you can specify whether the text
is to be visible or not. This option allows you to control the display of
data items
None No data item text will be displayed
All All data item text will be displayed
Normal Each data item's visibility will be determined by the setting
when you added it

Display Scroll Bars

If this option is checked scroll bars will be displayed on the screen.
The scroll interval determines the sensitivity i.e. the smaller the
interval the smaller the distance you will be able to pan using the
scroll bars.

10-18 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Text to Boxes at ... % of Screen
This option specifies a percentage of the screen size below which text
is not drawn in full detail. This can speed up redraws significantly.
For example, if the value is "1.5%", any text that is smaller than
1.5% of the screen size is drawn as a box, speeding up screen
redraws.

Text to Dots at ... % of Screen

This is the same as the previous option except that text is drawn as a
dot instead of as a box.

Objects Drawn at ... % of Screen

This option allows you to control the display of objects that are below
a certain size expressed as a percentage of the screen. If the object is
below the threshold size it is not drawn in full detail.
For example, if the value is 1.5%, any object smaller than 1.5% of the
screen size is drawn as a box, speeding up screen redraws.

Settings Menu 10-19

Re-Centre Paper
Move the paper so it fits your drawing better

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

CenterPaper

This function is especially useful for centering drawings that have

been imported via DXF or DWG on the paper. The edges of your
sheet of paper are marked by purple dotted lines. Sometimes you
may need to centre your drawing on the paper.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter new paper centre

Position the cursor where you want the new centre of the paper to
be. Press [Enter] or click.
If you are using Cartesian coordinates, this position will be at
coordinate position "0 0" after re-centering. If you are using Surveyor
coordinates, it will retain its current coordinates, although it will be
moved to the centre of the paper.

10-20 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Sheet Size and Scale
Sets the size and scale of your paper.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

exec .\macro\newscale

This is a convenient alternative to change the sheet size and drawing

scale.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter paper size (0-4)

Type the correct size (0 for A0, 1 for A1 etc.) and click on . A list of
all the paper sizes can be found under the NEWSCALE function in
the Macro chapter.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter scale 10 for 1:10, .1 for 10:1 etc.

Type the correct scale and click on .

AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter Centre point of new scale (ESC to alter scale without
resizing)

A freehand cursor with a small cross appears within a box that

represents the paper. Drag your mouse to whatever position you
want the cross (paper centre) to be, and click.
If you press the [ESC] key at this point, then you will alter the scale
of the whole drawing without triggering a resize. This can be useful if
you import a drawing from some other system, such as DXF or HPGL
files that come in at the wrong scale.

In the USA, the sheet size numbers correspond to the numbers

given in the macro description. In South Africa and Europe, this
function is executed from the menu via a macro, which subtracts
10 from each sheet number (I.e. A0 was 10 and becomes 0, A1 was
11 and becomes 1 etc.) This is for compatibility with older versions
of the CAD.

Settings Menu 10-21

Change Magnify Factor
Change magnification factor.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right View ChMag

This option changes the magnification factor used in the Magnify and
Demagnify functions.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter new magnification factor

Type the magnification factor you want to use, then click on  or

press [Enter].

10-22 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Line Defaults
Determine or change the line style of lines and arcs drawn using the Draw
Menu.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right Main LineType

This option allows you to change the current line style of lines, arcs,
including ellipses, circles, splines etc. You can specify an actual line
colour and line type, or can choose to set the line colour and line
type "By Layer", i.e. all the entities in a particular layer will be drawn
in a specified color and line type for that layer.
When you change the line style the Polyline defaults are also
automatically changed. You can also use this function to change the
line style of existing entities.
When you select Line Defaults, the following dialog box is displayed.

Line Type
Click on the arrow to display a list of available line types.

Pen
Click on the button to display the color palette to change the line
color.

Width
Type the width of the line. If you set line width to "0", you can assign
each pen a width when you print.

Units
Specify the units used to measure the line width. The units may be
in mm, inches or points.

Settings Menu 10-23

Take From
This option allows you to match the line style of an existing entity.
The entity must be selected before you activate this function.

You can also match the line style of an existing line by placing the
cursor on it then pressing [T] on your keyboard. The dialog box will
automatically be updated so that subsequently drawn lines and
arcs will have the line style of the existing line.

Apply
This option allows you to change the style of all the selected entities.
You may select one or more entities to be changed. Once you have
clicked on the Apply button you can specify which attributes must be
updated as shown below.

All subsequently drawn lines will also be drawn using the newly
selected defaults.

10-24 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Polyline Defaults
To change the style of polylines and Bezier curves

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right Main PLineDef

This option allows you to change the line style of polylines (including
Bezier curves). You can also change the style of existing polylines
and Bezier curves.
When you change the polyline defaults the line defaults are
automatically changed accordingly.
The following dialog box is displayed:

Line Type
Click on the arrow to display a list of available line types.

Pen
Click on the button to display the color palette to change the polyline
color.

Polyline Type
Polylines may be straightforward (without a spline), a 3 point Bezier
curve or a 4 point Bezier curve.

Polylines look exactly the same as lines

drawn using Draw ► Line (Chained).

Settings Menu 10-25

 A 3 point Bezier curve is drawn between
every three polyline vertices.

A 4 point Bezier curves is drawn

through every four polyline vertices

Width
Type the width of the line. If you set line width to "0", you can assign
each pen a width when you print.

Units
Specify the units used to measure the line width. The units may be
in mm, inches or points.

Closed
If this option is checked the last vertex will be joined to the first
vertex to form a closed polygon.

Fill Settings
This option allows you to hatch the polyline.

If you select Empty the polyline will not be

hatched.

Hatch lets you fill the polygon with a pattern

that you select from a list box.

10-26 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 Solid Fill lets you fill the polygon with a solid
color.

Take From
This option allows you to match the line style of an existing polyline
or Bezier curve. The polyline must be selected before you activate the
polyline defaults.

Apply
This option allows you to change the style of all the selected entities.
You may select one or more entities to be changed. Once you have
clicked on the Apply button you can specify which attributes must be
updated as shown below.

All subsequently drawn polylines will also be drawn using the newly
selected defaults.

Settings Menu 10-27

Parallel Defaults
Set the parameters for parallel lines

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right Main ParllDef

This option allows you to specify the number and style of parallel
lines.
The following dialog box is displayed.

Draw Fresh
Check this option if you want to draw parallel lines from scratch, i.e.
not around an existing perimeter, by defining the reference line.

Before parallel lines After parallel lines

When you draw fresh lines, only one line is displayed as you draw
using Draw ► Parallel Line. This line is called the setting out or
reference line. The other parallel lines are drawn relative to it once it
is complete.

10-28 AllyCAD Reference Manual

The line style of the setting out line is defined by the Line Defaults.

Around Existing Perimeter

Check this option if you want to draw parallel lines around an
existing perimeter as shown below.

Before parallel lines After parallel lines

When you select the Draw ► Parallel Line option you will enter the
Perimeter Menu on the Control Bar. Define the existing perimeter to
use and click on .

Line-arc-line
This option allows you to draw a fresh sequence of parallel lines and
arcs as shown below.

Before parallel lines After parallel lines

Select Draw ► Parallel Line and define the line arc line sequence that
makes up the setting out or reference line. When you stop the
function the parallel lines and arcs will be drawn.

Number of parallel lines

Specify the number of parallel lines excluding the setting out line or
the perimeter. You can have a maximum of 9 parallel lines.

Parallel lines
In this diagram there are two parallel
Setting out line or lines.
perimeter

Parallel Line Styles

You specify the style of the parallel lines in the table.

Settings Menu 10-29

Pen
Right click on the pen cell to display the color palette to change the
line color.

Line Type
Click on the arrow to display a list of available line types.

Width
Type the width of the line in millimeters. If you set line width to "0",
you can assign each pen a width when you print.

Offset
The parallel lines are offset relative to the setting out or reference
line. It is measured in the units specified in the Drawing Settings.

Parallel line
If you type a positive offset (e.g. 5), the
Offset parallel line will be drawn to the right of
the setting out line in the direction you
Setting out line are drawing…

Setting out line

while with a negative offset (e.g. -5) the
parallel line will be drawn to the left of
Offset
the setting out line in the direction you
Parallel line
are drawing.

If you track an existing perimeter using

Perimeter the Auto option, parallel lines with a
positive offset will appear on the
Parallel line opposite side of the perimeter to the
selection point…

10-30 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 Perimeter
while parallel lines with a negative offset
Parallel line will appear on the same side.

Suppose you have chosen to draw 3 parallel lines.

1. Set the Number of Parallel Lines to 3.
2. The first 3 lines of the line style grid will now be active. Simply
specify the pen, line type, line width and offset for each of the 3
lines. Remember that a negative offset is to the left of the defining
line while a positive offset is to the right.
3. You can change the defaults of a particular parallel line at any
time.

Closing Off Ends.

This option closes off the ends of the parallel lines as shown below.

If this option is not checked the ends

are left open.

Settings Menu 10-31

 If this option is checked the ends of the
parallel lines are closed off.

Closed off ends

Starting and Ending Angles.

Start and end angles are measured anti-clockwise from the setting
out line, in the direction of drawing or perimeter definition.

End

45°
Start In this example, the starting and ending
angles for the parallel lines were 135
degrees for the start angle and 45
Di r
ect degrees for the end angle.
io 135°
no
fd
raw
ing

Filleting Corners
This option allows you to automatically fillet parallel lines on the
outside of corners less than 90 degrees.

10-32 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 In the diagram the solid line represents
the setting out line or perimeter. The
dashed lines represent the parallel
lines.

The parallel defaults that are loaded each time you enter AllyCAD or
select File ► New are stored in a drawing called STARTUP.DRG. See
Defaults for more details.

Settings Menu 10-33

New Geometry Colour
Determine the colour and line style of subsequent geometry lines.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right Geometry GeomLinePen

The line type dialog box will be displayed. Select a line type and pen
for geometry lines.

Each geometry line can have its own colour but the geometry line
style is global to all geometry. It is not possible to change the colour
of geometry that has already been entered.

10-34 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Set Text Defaults
Determine or change the style in which text is drawn.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right Main TextDef

This function can be used to:

• set the style of subsequently entered text
• set the style of text as you are writing it
• set the style of text that you are importing
• change the style of existing text.
The Text Defaults dialog box is displayed.

All subsequently entered text will be drawn using the text style.

Settings Menu 10-35

Font
The current font is displayed on the button at the top left-hand
corner of the dialog box. If you click on this button the standard
Windows Font dialog box will be displayed.

Select the font and style you want to use.

Windows is supplied with three types of font:
• True Type fonts
• screen fonts
• plotter (or stroke) fonts
If you are going to print to a printer or inkjet plotter you should use
True Type fonts. This will produce excellent results that closely
resemble the display.
If you are going to print to a pen plotter you should use plotter or
stroke fonts. If you use True Type fonts on a pen plotter the True
Type fonts will be converted to plotter fonts. However, depending on
the plotter and plotter driver you are using, all vertical or angled text
may be plotted horizontally.
True Type fonts are preceded by a “TT” icon in the list of fonts in the
Font dialog box. They look the same on your screen as they do when
they are output to your printer. They scale smoothly to any size on
almost any Windows-supported screen and printer (excluding daisy-
wheel printers or plotters).

10-36 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Screen fonts are preceded by an icon representing a screen and
usually have the suffix (WN) on the list of fonts in the Font dialog
box. These are the fonts that Windows uses for the text that appears
in dialog boxes on the screen, among other things. A screen font will
be approximated by your printer with the result that text drawn
using screen fonts may look slightly different when printed.
Plotter fonts are vector fonts (i.e. they are made up of lines - the
other font types are composed of dots) and are the fonts you should
choose if you are going to output to a pen plotter.

Windows is supplied with three plotter fonts:

• Modern
• Roman
• Script
The font called Plotter is a screen font, not a plotter font.

Text Height
You can specify the text height in the Set Text Defaults dialog box in
mm, points or inches. To change the units of measurement simply
click on the arrow.

The actual character occupies approximately two thirds of the text

height. For example, if text height is set to 6mm, the characters will
be 4mm high:

Character Width
This option allows you to change the character width. If it is set to
zero, the default width of the Windows fonts will be used.

Settings Menu 10-37

Line Spacing
The line spacing is multiplied by the text height and then by 1.1 to
determine the distance between two lines of text.

For example, suppose you give a line spacing of 3 and the text height
is 6 mm. The distance between two lines of text will be 3 x 6 x 1.1 =
19.8 mm.
The 1.1 factor is used because it creates an aesthetic line spacing for
almost all fonts, whereas a factor of 1 causes some fonts to look
squashed.

Angle
This option determines the angle at which text will be placed on the
drawing. Angles are measured in an anti-clockwise direction from
the 3 o'clock position.

Pen
Click on the button to display the color palette to change the text
color. The standard Color Dialog will be displayed.

Text Alignment
This option determines the justification of several lines of text.

Text Frame
Check the Frame option to draw a frame around the text in the same
pen as the text itself.
Check the Background Fill option to fill behind the text item in the
background colour.

10-38 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Text Label Origin
This option determines where text will be placed relative to the
cursor position.

Label origins 1 to 9 are positioned

around the text in a cell that is slightly
larger than the text cell.

Label origins 11 to 19 are positioned

closely around the character.

Label origin 0 puts the text origin on the decimal point of the text.
This is typically used for displaying levels.

Take From
This option allows you to match the style of an existing text entity.
The entity must be selected before you use this function.
You can also match the style of an existing text entity by pressing
[SHIFT] T on your keyboard. AllyCAD will prompt you for the text
entity you want to take the parameters from. Click on the piece of
text and the current text settings will be updated to match the
indicated text item.

Apply
This option allows you to change the style of existing text entities.
You must first select the text entities using Edit ► Select or
Edit ► Selection Filters. Then use Settings ► Set Text Defaults to set the
text style you require. Click on OK.

Settings Menu 10-39

 The Attributes to Apply dialog box is displayed.
This allows you to select which text style attributes
you wish to change.

For example, you may just want to change the text

height. In this case, uncheck all the options in the
dialog except Height.

Click on the OK button. The change will be

applied.

You can also edit the style of a single text entity by double clicking
on it. The Text Entry dialog box will be displayed. Click on the Text
Defaults button to display the Set Text Defaults dialog box. Edit the
text as required.

The text defaults that are loaded each time you enter AllyCAD or
select File ► New are stored in a drawing called STARTUP.DRG. See
Defaults for more details.

10-40 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Set Dim Defaults
Set default dimension parameters

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right Main DimDef

This function allows you to set the style of new dimensions. The text
font and pen settings are applied to all dimensions in the drawing.

Witness Line and Arrow Style.

This section allows you to define the characteristics of the witness
lines and arrows.

Witness and Arrow Units (on paper)

This option determines the units of measurement of the witness gap,
witness overshoot, arrowhead length, arrowhead width, and text
height settings. You can choose between mm, inches and points.
The sizes are absolute, i.e. they are the actual size that will be
printed regardless of the drawing's scale.

Settings Menu 10-41

Witness Gap
This is the gap between the item being dimensioned and the start of
the witness lines, as shown by the illustration in the dialog box.

This option does not affect angular or radial dimensions.

Witness Overshoot
This is the extension of the witness lines beyond the dimension
arrowhead, as shown by the illustration in the dialog box.

This does not affect angular or radial dimensions.

Witness Pen
This button allows you to set the pen (colour) of new witness lines
and arrows. Select a colour from the colour palette that is displayed.
The colour of existing witness lines and arrows will not be updated,
but subsequently drawn witness lines and arrows will be in the new
colour.
To change the pen of existing horizontal, vertical and slope
dimensions use Annotate ► Edit Dimension ► Edit Dimension Properties.

It is possible to change the pen of an existing angular or radial

dimension.

Arrowhead Length
length

This defines the length of the arrowhead.

Arrowhead Width
width

This defines the width of the arrowhead.

10-42 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Arrow
This option allows you to specify the style of the arrowhead to one of
the following:

length Arrow
The arrowhead is drawn in the
width
conventional manner.

length
Blob
The arrowhead width is set to zero and
the arrowhead is drawn as a blob with
the diameter equal to arrowhead length.

Slash
The arrowhead length is set to zero and
width the arrowhead is drawn as a slash with
the length equal to the arrowhead
width.

Witness lines often print very faintly on high resolution inkjet

printers. To overcome this set aside one pen (colour) for the witness
lines. When you print map that pen to the desired thickness. See
Print.

Dimension Style
This section allows you to set the dimension style to one of the
following:

Mechanical Style
The dimensions are drawn in running,
chained or free mode with variable
18.0 witness line lengths depending on the
34.2 position of the dimension text.
49.9

Settings Menu 10-43

 Architectural Style
Dimensions have constant witness line
lengths and are always drawn in
chained mode.
18 16.2 15.7

Number Decimals
Here you specify the number of decimals that will be displayed on a
dimension. The maximum number is 16.
If you set the number of decimals to 2, then 12.3456 will be
displayed as 12.35 (rounding to the nearest number). However, an
exact number will be displayed without trailing decimals, for
example, 12.000 will be displayed as 12.
You can also set the number of decimals to a negative number to get
rounding to tens or hundreds. For example, if you set the number of
decimals to -2, then 1234.45 will be displayed as 1200 (rounding to
the nearest 100). If you set the number of decimals to -1 then the
number will be displayed as 1230.

Dimension Text
This section allows you to specify the text parameters of the
dimension. These settings will be applied to all dimensions in the
drawing, both existing and new. Refer to Set Text Defaults for details.

Text Height
Here you can specify the size of the dimension text.

Linefeed
Specify the distance between subsequent dimension lines in running
dimensions.

Text Pen
This option allows you to specify the dimension text pen or colour.

10-44 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Font
This option allows you to specify the font and font attributes for the
dimension text.

The dimension defaults loaded each time you enter AllyCAD or

select File ► New are stored in a drawing called STARTUP.DRG.

Settings Menu 10-45

Set Survey Defaults
Set default survey dimension parameters

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right Main SurveyDimSetup

This function allows you to set the parameters of new and existing
survey dimensions.
The following dialog box is displayed:

Survey Dimension Orientation

This section allows you to specify how the survey dimension will be
calculated and placed on the drawing.

10-46 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 " 338
° 23 Text follows bearing direction
'40 25.1 '40"
°41
33 24.6
The dimension text will always follow

24
25. 0'40"
the bearing direction, even if this means

0
1

°
36. 3'20"

5
2
15 0°5 that it is sometimes upside down.

338
0" °23 Text is always upright
1'4 25.1 '40"
°4
33 24.6
The dimension text will always be the
25. 0' 40"

150
°5 right way up, regardless of the bearing
2
°5

36. 3' 20" direction.

240

Survey Dimension Format

The following options are available. Check the one you want to use.

0"
10°25'2 Bearing on top, Distance on bottom.
40.9

40.9 m Distance on top, Bearing on bottom.

0
10.25.2

0 40.9 m Both bearing and distance on top.

10.25.2

40.9 m Distance only.

Bearing direction is measured counter-clockwise

Check this option if the bearing direction must be measured counter-
clockwise.

Round to ... seconds

This option allows you to specify the rounding off in seconds of the
bearing angle. If you specify a value of 0 angular decimals will be
used as shown below.

8.55"
10°25'1 Round to 0 seconds.
40.9 m

Settings Menu 10-47

 9"
10°25'1 Round to 1 second.
40.9

0"
10°25'2 Round to 10 seconds.
40.9

The number of decimal places is set in the Angular Format option of

the Drawing Settings.

10-48 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Set Arrow Defaults
Determine or change the way in which arrows are drawn

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right Main ArrowDef

This function allows you to set the style of new arrows or change the
style of existing arrows created by Annotate ► Add Arrow and
Annotate ► Add Balloon. Double-click on an arrow to change it’s style.
All subsequently drawn arrows will also be drawn using the newly
selected defaults. It does not change the style of dimension arrows.
The following dialog box is displayed:

Arrow Style
This option allows you to set the style of the arrowhead to one of the
following:

length Arrow
The arrowhead is drawn in the
width
conventional manner.

length
Blob
The arrowhead width is set to zero and
the arrowhead is drawn as a blob with
the diameter equal to arrowhead length.

Settings Menu 10-49

 Slash
The arrowhead length is set to zero and
width
the arrowhead is drawn as a slash with
the length equal to the arrowhead
width.

Arrowhead Length

length
This defines the length of the arrowhead
in the specified units.

Arrowhead Width

width This defines the width of the arrowhead.

Pen
This button allows you to set the pen (colour) of new arrows. Select a
colour from the colour palette that is displayed.

The arrow defaults loaded when you enter AllyCAD or select the File
► New option are stored in the STARTUP.DRG.

10-50 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Set Balloon Defaults
Set default balloon parameters

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right Main FitBalln

This function allows you to specify the default balloon size, the
number of text lines, and whether an arrow is to be added or not. All
balloons drawn subsequently will use these settings.
The line style of the circle enclosing the balloon text is defined by the
Line defaults.
The text style of the text inside the balloon is determined by the Text
defaults.
The arrow style is determined by the Arrow defaults.

Add Arrows to Balloons

A If this box is checked, arrows will be added to

balloons.

If the box is not checked, arrows will not be

B added to balloons.

Settings Menu 10-51

Two Rows of Text on Balloon

Check this option if you want two rows of text

C in the balloon. You will still be able to create
D balloons with one row of text by entering a
blank instead of text for the second row.

E If you want one row of text in the balloon,

don't check the box.

Balloon Fixed Size

Specify the number of characters that the balloon will accommodate.

If you select "1", the balloon will

F accommodate 1 character in
width.

If you select "2", the balloon will

accommodate 2 characters in
G1 G width, even if you only type one
character.

If you select "3", the balloon will

accommodate 3 characters in
H10 H width, even if you only type 1 or 2
characters.

10-52 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 If you select "4", the balloon will
accommodate 4 characters in
I100 I width, even if you type less than
4 characters.

If you type "0" the balloon will

accommodate whatever you type
VARIABLE in, up to a maximum of 69
characters.

The balloon defaults that are loaded each time you enter AllyCAD or
select the File ► New option are stored in the STARTUP.DRG.

Settings Menu 10-53

DXF/DWG Conversion Settings
Define how DXF and AutoCAD DWG files will be converted to AllyCAD
drawings, and vice versa

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

DXFSettings

This function allows you to specify translation parameters for the

DXF/DWG import and export functions.

From DXF/DWG Conversion Settings

This dialog box defines how AutoCAD fonts and pens will be
converted to AllyCAD fonts and pens when you load a DXF or DWG
file using Open in the File Menu.

This section defines how DXF/DWG stroke fonts must be converted

into AllyCAD fonts.
The list of fonts is stored in the FromDXFFonts section of the CAD.INI
file in your user directory. You can add further fonts by opening the
CAD.INI file in your user directory into a word processor and adding
the required font names to the existing listing.
If the DXF/DWG file contains an unknown AutoCAD font add
"UNKNOWNNAME" as the font name in the For DXF Font section of
the dialog box. Then select the AllyCAD font you want to convert it to
in the Use AllyCAD Font section.

10-54 AllyCAD Reference Manual

If you are using a pen plotter you should translate DXF and DWG
fonts into the equivalent Windows pen plotter fonts, i.e. Modern,
Roman, and Script.
Refer to the Defaults chapter for more details.

To DXF/DWG Conversion Settings

This dialog box defines how AllyCAD fonts will be converted to
AutoCAD fonts when you create a DXF/DWG file with File ► Save As.
It also allows you to specify the version of the AutoCAD DXF/DWG
file.

The list of fonts is stored in the ToDXFFonts section of the CAD.INI

file in your user directory. You can add further fonts by opening the
CAD.INI file in your user directory into a word processor and adding
the required font names to the existing listing.
The pens and line types are mapped across exactly.

Settings Menu 10-55

AllyCAD DOS Conversion Settings
This function defines how linetypes and pens are converted in going to and
from AllyCAD for DOS files

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

DosCadSettings

This option allows you to map the 16 pens in AllyCAD for DOS to the
255 pens in AllyCAD. Similarly you can map the DOS line styles to
AllyCAD.

10-56 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Virtual Memory Settings
Specify at what point AllyCAD starts to use virtual memory

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

SetVMem

You can configure AllyCAD to use Windows virtual memory or to use

it's own virtual disk swapping technology.

Temp Path
Specify the where temporary drawing files must be stored. If you are
working on a network be sure to specify a local hard drive for
optimum performance.

Allocate
AllyCAD will ask the operating system for the specified amount of
memory and then start to save its temporary files to disk. This can
be more efficient than the Windows swap file for large drawings.
If you experience a lot of disk thrashing, i.e. AllyCAD seems to be
accessing the hard disk continuously, reduce the allocated memory.

Settings Menu 10-57

Digitizer Settings
Set up a digitizer

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

SetDigitizer

AllyCAD can use a digitizer to accurately digitize existing drawings

such as maps and plans.
The digitizer is not meant to replace normal menu selection,
accelerators and icons.

Setting up standard digitizers

AllyCAD has built-in support for the following digitizers:

Digitizer Type Default Format String

None
Summa Graphics MM Binary Binary
Summa Graphics Large ASCII XXXXXX,YYYYYY,FP,TCL
DigiPad 5 PXXXXX YYYYYCL
Calcomp 2200 XXXXX,YYYYY,PCL
Calcomp 9000 AsPXXXXXYYYYYCL
Houston Instruments 8000 XXXXX,YYYYY,PCL
Old Summa graphics TPXXXXXXXYYYYYCL
Altek P XXXXX YYYYYCL
Generic ASCII XXXXX,YYYYY,PCL

10-58 AllyCAD Reference Manual

If your digitizer is not included on the list, look in your digitizer
manual to see what standard tablet it emulates. This will probably be
one of the Summa Graphics range.
When you select a digitizer from the list, the corresponding default
format string is automatically placed in the Format String box. Leave
the Init String box blank.
Select the Com Port your digitizer is connected to, as well as the
Baud Rate, Data Bits, Parity and Stop Bits. You will find the correct
values for Baud Rate etc. in your digitizer manual.

Setting up non-standard digitizers

If your digitizer doesn't emulate any of the ones on the list, select the
"Generic ASCII" digitizer type and consult your digitizer manual for
the ASCII string that the tablet sends to your computer.
Enter this string in Format String box. Note that when AllyCAD reads
the format string, it only recognizes the following characters:
XXXXX The X coordinate (can be positive or negative). Be
sure to put in the correct number of Xs for the number
of digits the tablet sends you.
YYYYY The Y coordinate, as above.
P The Pen byte (which button was pressed).
C Carriage Return.
L Line Feed.

If your digitizer is non-standard, you might also need to send it an

initialization string (Init String) just after the com port is opened.
AllyCAD expects the digitizer to be in Switched Stream mode (i.e.
coordinates are transmitted continuously when a digitizer button is
held down, but no coordinates are transmitted when no button is
pressed). Refer to your digitizer manual for the correct initialization
codes.
Select the Com Port your digitizer is connected to, as well as the
Baud Rate, Data Bits, Parity and Stop Bits. You will find the correct
values for Baud Rate etc. in your digitizer manual.

Digitizer Test
This option allows you to test the digitizer settings. When you click
on Test, the message
Move Puck/Pen over tablet for 5 seconds without pressing a
button

Settings Menu 10-59

is displayed. Click on OK.
The Digitizer Test dialog is displayed. Move the puck or pen over the
digitizer without pressing any buttons. Nothing may appear to
happen, but after a short while the message
Now you can press digitizer buttons to check the pen signals

is displayed. Click on OK. The Digitizer Test dialog box is displayed

again. When you click a button, coordinates are displayed in the
Raw Data section.
If no coordinates appear, or if unintelligible coordinates appear, the
digitizer has been set up incorrectly. Ensure you have selected the
correct type of digitizer, parity, data bits etc.
Once you are getting sensible coordinates, note that as you press
each button, a number appears next to the word Pen in the Raw
Data section of the dialog box.
On a four button Summa Graphics puck the numbers of the four
buttons will be 1, 2, 3 and 4. However, some digitizers use other
numbers, for example 1, 2, 4 and 8. Check which numbers your
digitizer uses, as you will need this information to assign CAD
commands to the digitizer buttons.
When you have finished testing, click on OK.

Setting the Scale

To link the scale of the drawing or map you are digitizing to the CAD
drawing, you need to enter three distinct points on the digitizer, then
enter three corresponding points on the drawing.
Suppose you are going to digitize a map drawn at a scale of 1:50. If
you measure the map with a ruler it measures 200mm x 100mm.
Before you start setting up your digitizer, set AllyCAD's scale to 1:50
and draw a rectangle measuring (200mm x 50) x (100mm x 50) on
the screen.
Then go to Digitizer Settings. You will have to do the Test (see above),
then click on the Scale button.
1. AllyCAD prompts for the first scale point on the tablet. Click with
your puck on the bottom left corner of the map on the digitizer.
2. AllyCAD prompts for the second scale point on the tablet. Click
with your puck on the top right corner of the map on the
digitizer.

10-60 AllyCAD Reference Manual

3. AllyCAD prompts for the third scale point on the tablet. Click
with your puck on the bottom right corner of the map on the
digitizer.
4. AllyCAD prompts for the first scale point on the screen. Click
with your mouse on the bottom left corner of the rectangle you
drew in AllyCAD.
5. AllyCAD prompts for the second scale point on the screen. Click
with your mouse on the top right corner of the rectangle you
drew in AllyCAD.
6. AllyCAD prompts for the third scale point on the screen. Click
with your mouse on the bottom right corner of the rectangle you
drew in AllyCAD.
The scale of the map on the digitizer will now correspond to the scale
in AllyCAD. Further, if you have placed the map on the digitizer at a
slight angle, this will not matter as the angle will be correct in
AllyCAD.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter min distance between digitized points

Type a distance and press [Enter] or click on . Any point within this
minimum distance will be ignored. The minimum distance you
choose will depend on the drawing or map you are digitizing.
Depending on your scale, it could be anything from a millimetre to
kilometres.

This minimum distance affects all commands, even the Done

command. If you have drawn the last point of a line and you are
going to use the Done button on the puck to finish the line, you
must move the puck away from the last point of the line before
pressing Done.

Mapping CAD commands to digitizer puck buttons

Each button on the digitizer puck can have a command associated
with it. By default the commands are:
• [Enter] on button 1
• Line (Chained) on button 2
• Done on button 3
• Jump Point on button 4
Commands are defined at the end of the CAD.MEN file, as follows:
DIGITIZER

Settings Menu 10-61

 BEGIN
BUTTON "1" {#enterpt;}
BUTTON "2" {line;}
BUTTON "3" {done;}
BUTTON "4" {#jumppt;}
END

The example above assumes that your digitizer numbers its puck
buttons 1, 2, 3 and 4. If it doesn't, substitute the appropriate
numbers (see Digitizer Test).
Refer to Functions in the CAD.MEN section for more details.

Using the digitizer

After you have selected a digitizer in the Digitizer Setup dialog box,
AllyCAD will attempt to open the digitizer COM port on startup. If
this port open fails (for example if you have disconnected the
digitizer), then AllyCAD will display the Digitizer Settings dialog box
on startup.
You can cancel this, or, if you have disconnected your digitizer
permanently or semi-permanently, change the digitizer type to None.
Now you are ready to use your digitizer. You can use the digitizer and
the mouse at the same time and enter commands from either.

Refer to the Tools ► Tidy Polygons and Tools ► Line To PolyLine

functions as this can help tidy up digitized input.

10-62 AllyCAD Reference Manual

System Settings
Set the system settings

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

SystemDef

This function allows you to set a number of options that control the
operation of AllyCAD.

System Settings
Here you toggle the following options:

Ask Logon Name at Startup

This can be useful if several users are using AllyCAD from the same
machine, and you want to ask the logon name each time. If just one
user is using the system, then switch this option off.

Settings Menu 10-63

Write a Log file
This can be useful for diagnostic purposes, as it records each
function executed into a log file. If you are having inexplicable
problems with AllyCAD, switch this option on, and send your dealer
a copy of the log file. Writing a log file can slow down your system
slightly.

Open Creates a new window

If this option is switched off the File  Open function will reuse old
windows and clear out existing drawings before loading new ones.

Compile Macro Automatically

AllyCAD now includes a compiled macro language with arrays and
subroutines. This is very similar to the old compiled macro language
issued with the DOS version. The advantages of compiled macros are
security for the macro issuer, and of course the subroutines.
If this button is on, then AllyCAD will attempt to compile the macro
before running it. If a compiled macro already exists, and its date is
later than the date of the macro file, then it will not be recompiled,
but the compiled version will be run.

Create 16 Bit compatible drawings

This restricts the maximum object size to 8000 bytes to create
drawings that can be read by the DOS version of AllyCAD. It only
affects objects created after this switch is turned on, it will not affect
objects in a drawing that have already been created.
You could make all the objects in a drawing smaller by switching on
this option then running File ► Repair Drg File on the drawing in
question.

Pop up Done button

The red Done button pops up whenever the cursor is waiting for a
point from the user. Some users do not like this, so you can switch it
off here.

Mouse cursor to default dialog button

If this option is checked the mouse cursor will always appear on the
default dialog button, which is usually the OK button.

10-64 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Open copy if drawing already in use
If you try to open a drawing that is already being used by someone
else the following warning message will appear if this option is
checked:
“File <filename> was opened by <username> on machine
<machine name> at <date>. Do you want to open a copy of the
drawing?”

Select “Yes” to load a copy of the drawing you wish to open.

Redraw in layer order

Select this option if you want the redraw to occur in layer order as
opposed to the redraw to occurer in pattern order (which usually
happens). This may hide patterns which were previously previously
seen (and visa versa) with the usual redraw pattern order.

Verify drawings on save

Select this option if you want the drawing verified when you save it to
disk. This does a CRC check (Cylic Redundancy Check) of the
drawing data before saving it to disk and then compares this value
with the one the disk to check for corruption.

Enable DWG Wizard

Select this option if you want the AutoCAD export/import wizard to
appear when you are saving the drawing as *.dwg or *.dxf. The DWG
Wizard automatically corrects the coordinates when saving Southern
Hemisphere drawings to AutoCAD and allows you to open a *.dwg or
*.dxf drawing without having to

Zoom out factor for long pan

In this box you can also set a different default factor for zooming out
by typing in a new number. Numbers between 10 and 20 prove
useful for most drawing types.

Default Editor
In this box you can set a different editor by typing the new name.
This editor is used for the edit macro function

Settings Menu 10-65

Tiled Bitmaps
AllyCAD can handle very large bitmaps (we have successfully loaded
600 Mb TIFF files) and after tiling can load, zoom and pan within a
few seconds.
The tiling can take a while, but is only done the first time you load a
new bitmap. The tiling process produces a new file with the same
name as the bitmap file, but with an extension of ".BBF".
AllyCAD can load any of the following types of bitmaps:

Bitmap Type Extension

LEAD *.cmp
CALS *.cal
GEM Image *.img
GIF *.gif
IBM IOCA *.ica
JPEG *.jpg;*.jff;*.jtf
Macintosh PICTURE *.pct
MacPaint *.mac
Microsoft Paint *.msp
Photo CD *.pcd
PCX *.pcx
PostScript Raster *.eps
SUN Raster *.ras
TGA *.tga
TIF *.tif
Windows Metafile *.wmf
Windows & OS/2 *.bmp
Winfax *.fxs
WordPerfect *.wpg

This page allows you to set parameters affecting the bitmap tiling.

Bitmap threshold size for tiling (kb)

Any bitmap that is smaller than this size will be handled as a single
entity and not tiled.

10-66 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Use Tile Compression
This compresses each tile during preprocessing which results in a
smaller BBF file. The redraws will be slower as each tile has to be
decompressed at run time.

Path for tiled file

This specifies the directory where the BBF file will be placed. If you
give a "." (period) as the path, then the BBF file will be placed in the
same directory as the original bitmap.

Tips for Tiling

Use the largest fastest machine in your office with as much RAM as
you can find - 64 or 128 MB ram does not hurt. You will require disk
space equal to twice the size of the bitmap file you are tiling.

Settings Menu 10-67

Set Current Layer
Change the current layer

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

NewLayer

Whatever you draw is placed on the current layer. Use this function
to make another layer current.

Click on the layer that must become the current layer. The new
current layer will be highlighted. Click on OK to exit.
When you start a new drawing with AllyCAD, only one layer, "0", will
exist. To add further layers or to rename layers refer to Layer
Control.

You can save default layers in STARTUP.DRG.

10-68 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Set Visible Layers
Select which layers should be displayed on the screen

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left File ShowLayer

The current layer (the layer you are working on) is marked by an
asterisk. If you only want to display the current layer, click on the
[Current Only] button.

If you want all layers to be displayed on the screen, click on the [All]
button.
You can change the current layer by clicking on the [Set Current
Layer] button.
If you only want to display a few layers, ensure that the layers you
want to display are highlighted. To highlight a layer, click on it. To
highlight more than one layer, press [CTRL] while you click on the
layers you want to display. If a layer that you do not want to see on
the screen is highlighted, press [CTRL] and click on it. The highlight
will disappear.

The current layer is always displayed, whether you highlight it or

not.

Settings Menu 10-69

Layer Settings
Add layers, edit layer names and magnifications, lock layers, highlight layers

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left File EditLay

The Layer Settings dialog lists the layers defined on your drawing in
a table as shown below. For each layer, it shows the layer's name,
whether it is visible, whether it is locked, the layer magnification
factor, the pen, line type and line width associated with the layer if
you are using the ByLayer line style.
The current layer text is displayed in blue. Everything you draw is
drawn onto the current layer.

Layer Name
The layer name will automatically appear in upper case. It can be up
to 31 characters long.

Visible Layers
Visible layers are the layers that are actually displayed on the screen.
They are marked by the word "Yes". To toggle the layer visibility
simply right click in the Vis column.

10-70 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Locked Layers
AllyCAD's functions will not work on locked layers. For example, you
cannot select or accidentally move entities on a locked layer. Locked
layers are marked by the word "Yes" in the Lock column. To toggle
the layer lock status simply right click in the Lock column.

Layer Magnification
Normally, layer magnification is 1. However, each layer can be
assigned a different magnification with respect to the scale of the
drawing. For example, suppose the drawing is at a scale of 1:10. If
you assign a magnification of 2 to a layer, anything drawn on that
layer subsequently will be twice the size, i.e. at a scale of 1:5. If you
assign a magnification of 0.5 to a layer, anything drawn on that layer
subsequently will be half the size, i.e. at a scale of 1:20. This allows
you to have several scales on one drawing.

Pen, Line Type, and Width

This is the pen, line type and line width that will be used if you draw
By Layer.

To Edit a Layer
Simply type in a new layer name and change any of the other layer
settings in the table.

To Add a Layer
By default, AllyCAD has just one layer, "0". You can add up to a total
of 65,000 layers.
To add a layer, simply scroll to an empty row below the currently
displayed layers, right click and fill in the new layer details.

To Delete a Layer
Position the cursor on the layer to be deleted and right click with
your mouse. A menu list will be displayed. Select the Delete layer
option. The layer data will be displayed in a faded gray colour to
show that it is marked for deletion. The layer and all its contents will
only be deleted when you close the Layer Settings dialog with the OK
button. If don’t want your changes to be click the Cancel button.

Settings Menu 10-71

You cannot undo a layer delete once the OK button is clicked. To
delete layers with nothing on them, you can also use the
File ► Purge Redundant Elements function.

To Set the Current Layer

Position the cursor on the layer to be active and right click with your
mouse. A menu list will be displayed. Select the Make Current layer
option. The layer data will be displayed in a blue colour to show that
it is the current layer.
The current layer is also displayed above the top right of the Drawing
Area.

Setting Visible Layers

Visible layers are the layers that are actually displayed on the screen
and are marked by a "Yes" in the Vis column of the layer list. If you
want all layers to be displayed on the screen, click on the All Layers
button.
If you only want to display the current layer (the layer you are
working on), click on the Current Only button.
To turn an individual layer or a specific group of layers on or off
simply right click in the Vis column of the relevant layer.

The current layer cannot be switched off and is always visible.

Layer Highlight
This section controls how layers will be highlighted on the screen.

None
If you check this option, no layer will be highlighted.

Pen 8
If you check this option, all the layers except the current layer (the
one you are working on) are drawn in a dotted line type. This option
is useful for drawing in the current layer with reference to the other
layers, but without these other layers being intrusive.

10-72 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Rainbow
If you check this option, each layer except the current layer is drawn
in a different colour. The colours used are the colours assigned to
each layer in the Layer Settings dialog. Rainbow is useful for
isolating items that have been drawn in an incorrect layer.

Operate on
This option determines whether you can work on all the layers or
only on a subset of layers.
All Unlocked Functions will operate on all layers that have not been locked
Current only Functions will only operate on the current layer

Pen and Line Type By Layer

You can optionally set pens and line types By Layer. This means that
you assign a particular colour and line type to each layer. Entities
are displayed using the pen and line type associated with the layer
you are drawing on.
To set pens By Layer, click on the Pen button in the following
functions.

Line Defaults set line color by layer

Parallel Defaults set parallel line color by layer
Polyline Defaults set polyline color by layer
Set Text Defaults set text color by layer
Set Dim Defaults set dimension witness line and text color by layer
Set Arrow Defaults set arrow color by layer

The colour palette will be displayed. At the bottom of the palette is a

By Layer button. Click on this button to make AllyCAD draw the
relevant element according to the pen, line type and width specified
in the Layer Settings dialog.
To set line types By Layer, click on the Line Type display in the
following functions:

Line Defaults set line type by layer

Parallel Defaults set parallel line type by layer
Polyline Defaults set polyline line type by layer

Settings Menu 10-73

Scroll right to the bottom of the list of line types, where you will find
the By Layer option. Click on this to make AllyCAD draw the relevant
element By Layer
You can also use the Line Type Display at the top right of the screen
to set line type By Layer.

10-74 AllyCAD Reference Manual

ToolKit Menu
The ToolKit contains a collection of functions that
automate and expedite common tasks for a variety of
disciplines.
The functions are grouped into the following
categories:
• General
• Architectural
• Civil
• Mechanical
• Structural
• Survey

Perimeter Menu 11-1

General Toolkit
This section contains general purpose toolkit
functions.

11-2 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Calculator
This tool opens the standard windows calculator

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

General

For convenience the standard windows calculator is launched when

the "Calculator" option in the above menu is selected.

Perimeter Menu 11-3

Batch Print
This tool is for batch printing of AllyCAD drawings

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

General

Before batch printing uncheck the Open Creates a new window

option in the System Settings.

Procedure

AllyCAD will display the standard Windows File Open dialog. Select
any drawing from the directory containing the AllyCAD drawings and
click Open.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Would you like to edit list file?

Select Yes if you would like to add or remove drawings from the
drawing list. Select No if you would like all of the AllyCAD drawings
printed in the specified directory.
If you selected Yes AllyCAD will display the following prompt:
Save & Close notepad when finished editing before clicking
OK

Ensure that you have saved any editing changes first as the AllyCAD
will start printing as soon as you click on OK.

11-4 AllyCAD Reference Manual

File Converter
Convert files between DRG, DWG, DXF and CEX formats

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

General

Before batch printing uncheck the Open Creates a new window

option in the System Settings.

Procedure
AllyCAD will display a list of files that can be
converted. Select the file type you wish to convert.

The standard File open dialog will be displayed.

Select any drawing from the directory containing
the required files and click Open.
Select the destination file type or select the Edit
List File option if you would like edit the list of
conversion drawings. If you edit the drawing list
the following message will be displayed:
Save & Close Notepad when finished editing
before clicking OK.

As soon as you click OK the program will start

batch converting.
AllyCAD will load every drawing in the file list and save it in the
specified format.

Perimeter Menu 11-5

Read Excel Table
Read a table from MS Excel and write the data into AllyCAD

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

General

The default column width is calculated based on the drawing scale,

layer magnification and units.

Procedure
AllyCAD will prompt:
Set text defaults?

Select Yes to change the existing text defaults and No to use the
current default settings.
The standard File Open dialog will be displayed. Browse to select the
Excel file you want to copy to the drawing. A message box will be
displayed with:
"<filename>.xls

Allow enough time for the Excel spreadsheet to open before clicking
OK. AllyCAd will prompt:
Enter row for first cell number to read from (eg 6)

Enter the number of the first row you want data copied from.
AllyCAD will then prompt:
Enter column for first cell number to read from (eg A)

Enter the number of the first column you want data copied from.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter row for last cell number to read from (eg 20)

Enter the number of the last row you want data copied from. AllyCAd
will prompt:
Enter column for last cell number to read from (eg AB)

Enter the number of the last column you want data copied from. Now
AllyCAD will prompt:
Indicate position for table

Indicate the position on the drawing where you would like the Excel
data to be placed. AllyCAD will prompt:

11-6 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 Enter column width (all columns will be same width)

Enter the width of the data column. The data will be placed in the
drawing as text items using the current text defaults.

Layer Info on Plot

Write date of plot and visible layers onto drawings

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

General

Select the visible layers using Settings ► Layer Settings.

Procedure
AllyCAD will prompt:
Indicate position for the plots drawing status

Indicate the position you want the date/layer information placed on

the drawing. A list similar to that below will be placed on the drawing
using the current text defaults.
SURV_PHOTO_CONTROL
SURV_TREE_SYMB
SURV_CADAST_BOUND
SURV_STORMWATER
SURV_WATER
SURV_FENCES
SURV_PATHS
SURV_FLUVIAL
SURV_FLOODLINES
SURV_WALLS
SURV_TREES
SURV_SUB_STRUCTURES
SURV_BUSH_SYMB
SURV_SIGNS
SURV_BANKS
SURV_STRUCTURES
SURV_BUILDING_HATCH
SURV_BUILDINGS
SURV_SERVICE
SURV_ROADS
SURV_SPOT_HEIGHTS
SURV_CONTOURS_INDEX
SURV_CONTOURS_INTER
SURV_TEXT
SURV_CADAST_POINTS
SURV_CONSTR_CLASS
0
Visible layers on this plot are
Drawing plotted on 2002-06-13 at 15:18

Perimeter Menu 11-7

Divide an Angle
Equally divide an angle into multiple parts

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

General

This function divides an angle formed by two lines into a specified

number of equal angles. In the example below the angle between the
outer two lines has been divided into 4 equal sections.

Procedure
AllyCAD will prompt:
Select first line (Space to exit)

Click next to the first line.

Select second line (Space to cancel)

Click next to the second line.

Enter required number of divisions

Enter the number of divisions.

AllyCAD will prompt:
Divide the obtuse angle ? (Press No to divide the included
angle)

Click No to divide the included angle and Yes to divide the obtuse
angle.

11-8 AllyCAD Reference Manual

If the error message
Indicated lines do not intersect

Is displayed check that the lines subtending the angle are two
separate lines and not one polyline.

Divide a Line
Divide a line into equal segments

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

General

This function divides or marks a line into equal segments with or

without a tick or a circle indicating the segments.

Procedure
AllyCAD will display the following options list:

Divide Only Divide the selected line into equal segments only.
Divide+Circle Divide the selected line into equal segments marked with
a circle.
Divide+Tick Divide the selected line into equal segments marked with
a tick.
Circle No Divide Mark the selected line with a circle into equal segments.
Tick No Divide Mark the selected line with a tick into equal segments.

Select the divide option you require. AllyCAD will prompt:

Select line to be divided

Select a line you wish to divide into segments. AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter number of divisions

Enter the number of division you would like. The line will be divided
according to the submenu option selected:

Perimeter Menu 11-9

Divide Only
This option divides the line into equal segments without marking it.

Divide + Circle
This option divides the line into equal segments and marks it with
circles.

AllyCAD will ask:

Enter circle diameter

Enter the diameter of the circle in drawing units.

Divide + Tick
This option divides the line into equal segments and marks it with
ticks.

AllyCAD will ask:

Enter tick size

Enter the length of the tick in drawing units.

Circle No Divide
This option marks the line with circles in equal segments without
dividing it.

AllyCAD will ask:

Enter circle diameter

Enter the diameter of the circle in drawing units.

Tick No Divide
This option marks the line with ticks in equal segments without
dividing it.

11-10 AllyCAD Reference Manual

AllyCAD will ask:
Enter tick size

Enter the length of the tick in drawing units.

Perimeter Menu 11-11

Total Line Length
Add the lengths of lines in a layer

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

General

This function totals the lengths of all the lines in a specified layer.
This is extremely useful to determine the total length of say,
electrical cable or sewer pipe.

Procedure
AllyCAD will display the following option list.

Total Length of Lines in a Select this option to display the total line length in a
Layer particular layer.
Write as ASCII File Select this option to write the total line length to an
ASCII file.
View ASCII File Select this option to view the above ASCII file.

Select the option you require. AllyCAD will prompt:

Select new layer or use existing layer ?

If you select Yes the Layer Settings dialog will be displayed so that
you can select a new layer. If you select No the total length of the
lines in the current layer will be calculated.
A message box is displayed with:

If you would like to write the results to an ASCII file select the Write
as ASCII File option.
Select the View ASCII File option if you would like to view the ASCII
file created by the previous option.

11-12 AllyCAD Reference Manual

The following data will be written to the ASCII file:
Total Line length for layer BLOCK_BOUNDARY is

No. Y_Start X_Start Y_End X_End Length

1 75674.781 21367.937 75610.267 21443.570 99.410
2 75946.649 21067.680 75982.848 21162.821 101.795
3 75982.848 21162.821 75980.369 21168.327 6.038
4 75980.369 21168.327 75895.344 21200.683 90.973
5 75780.053 21318.219 75727.053 21464.725 155.798
6 75727.053 21464.725 75721.426 21467.824 6.424
7 75721.426 21467.824 75666.578 21455.851 56.140
8 75666.578 21455.851 75663.305 21449.932 6.764
9 75663.305 21449.932 75706.361 21330.926 126.555
10 75674.777 21367.949 75646.156 21447.059 84.128
11 75646.156 21447.059 75640.523 21450.173 6.436
12 75640.523 21450.173 75610.265 21443.569 30.970
13 75633.824 21466.214 75614.170 21461.920 20.118
14 75614.170 21461.920 75607.227 21464.263 7.328
15 75607.227 21464.263 75508.974 21579.433 151.386
16 75508.974 21579.433 75511.773 21587.766 8.791
17 75511.773 21587.766 75584.975 21603.738 74.924
18 75584.975 21603.738 75590.608 21600.629 6.434
19 75590.608 21600.629 75637.092 21472.132 136.646
20 75637.092 21472.132 75633.824 21466.214 6.760
21 75454.511 21654.926 75451.699 21646.568 8.818
22 75451.699 21646.568 75492.459 21598.782 62.808
23 75492.459 21598.782 75499.411 21596.442 7.335
24 75499.411 21596.442 75580.321 21614.102 82.815
25 75580.321 21614.102 75583.588 21620.021 6.761
26 75583.588 21620.021 75563.900 21674.436 57.867
27 75563.900 21674.436 75558.277 21677.545 6.425
28 75584.313 21683.229 75581.050 21677.303 6.765
29 75581.050 21677.303 75654.241 21475.001 215.135
30 75654.241 21475.001 75659.879 21471.894 6.437
31 75659.879 21471.894 75714.727 21483.865 56.139
32 75714.727 21483.865 75717.994 21489.780 6.757
33 75717.994 21489.780 75665.169 21635.786 155.268
34 75665.169 21635.786 75652.520 21693.741 59.319
35 75652.520 21693.741 75647.432 21697.007 6.046
36 75672.495 21702.471 75669.230 21697.385 6.044
37 75669.230 21697.385 75681.641 21640.541 58.183
38 75681.641 21640.541 75687.268 21637.437 6.426
39 75687.268 21637.437 75811.676 21664.585 127.336
40 75811.676 21664.585 75876.011 21598.166 92.469
41 75876.011 21598.166 75861.560 21584.169 20.118
42 75861.560 21584.169 75718.714 21553.000 146.207
43 75718.714 21553.000 75715.452 21547.073 6.765
44 75715.452 21547.073 75735.139 21492.658 57.867
45 75735.139 21492.658 75740.773 21489.551 6.434
46 75740.773 21489.551 75887.792 21521.640 150.480
47 75887.792 21521.640 75938.909 21571.192 71.192
48 75938.909 21571.192 75939.016 21578.455 7.264
49 75939.016 21578.455 75793.365 21728.850 209.363

TOTAL LENGTH 10361.319 m

Perimeter Menu 11-13

Hide Layer
Switch off a layer by indicating an object in that layer

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

General

This function allows you to switch off a layer in a drawing by simply

clicking on an entity. The layer containing the entity will then be
switched off.
This is very handy when you receive a complex drawing and only
want to view certain sub-sets of the data. You could for instance
switch off the title block and annotations by simply clicking on those
elements.

Procedure
AllyCAD will prompt:
Hidden layer information?

Answer Yes to display information about which layer you have just
hidden. Answer No to hide the layer with no prompt.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Select object in layer to hide

Select an object in the layer which you wish to hide or else press the
[Space Bar].

11-14 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Line/Pen by Layer
Convert line and/or pen from ByLayer to standard

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

General

This tool converts all line types and pens that have been drawn
ByLayer to normal line and pen numbers. This is mainly used on
imported AutoCAD drawings.

Procedure
AllyCAD will prompt:
Convert all linetypes(255) and pens(256) by layer to normal
line and pen number?

If "Yes" is selected all pens with linetype 255 will be converted to the
linetype in the layer settings dialog and all pen with colour 256 will
be converted to the pen colour in the layer settings dialog (see Layer
Control).

Perimeter Menu 11-15

Draw Centrelines
Draw two intersecting lines (“+” Lines)

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

General

This function draws two perpendicular lines of variable length.

Procedure
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter lengths of horizontal and vertical lines

Enter the length of the horizontal line and the length of the vertical
line, separated by a space. Then press [Enter].
AllyCAD will prompt:
Click to place CL (spacebar to exit)

Place the CL on the drawing using the mouse. The CL will be drawn
on the current layer using the current pen colour and linetype.
You will be prompted to place the CL repeatedly until you press the
[Space Bar].

11-16 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Draw Chamfered Rect
Draws a rectangle with all four corners chamfered by a user-defined amount

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

General

Procedure
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter chamfer value

Enter the value for the chamfer that you wish to apply to the
rectangle’s corners. Then press [Enter].
AllyCAD will prompt:
Indicate position of rectangle 1st corner (spacebar to exit)

Use the mouse to indicate the position of the first corner of the
rectangle.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Indicate position of rectangle 2nd corner

Use the mouse to indicate the position of the opposite corner of the
rectangle.
A chamfered rectangle will be drawn in the current pen colour and
linetype, on the current layer. The chamfered rectangle will be
grouped into an object called “CHAMFERECT”.
This function will repeat until you press the [Space Bar] or [Esc].

Perimeter Menu 11-17

Draw Filleted Rect
Draws a rectangle with all four corners filleted by a user-defined radius

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

General

Procedure
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter fillet radius

Enter the radius of the fillet that you wish to apply to the rectangle’s
corners. Then press [Enter].
AllyCAD will prompt:
Indicate position of rectangle 1st corner (spacebar to exit)

Use the mouse to indicate the position of the first corner of the
rectangle.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Indicate position of rectangle 2nd corner

Use the mouse to indicate the position of the opposite corner of the
rectangle.
A filleted rectangle will be drawn in the current pen colour and
linetype, on the current layer. The filleted rectangle will be grouped
into an object called “FILLETRECT”.
This function will repeat until you press the [Space Bar] or [Esc].

11-18 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Set Layer from Element
Switches the current layer to that of the indicated drawing element

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

General Shift-L

Procedure
AllyCAD will prompt:
Indicate an element in the layer you want to change to

Use the mouse to click on a drawing element (line, arc, object etc)
that is on the layer you wish to switch to.
The current layer will be set to the indicated element’s layer.

Perimeter Menu 11-19

Architectural Toolkit
The Architectural ToolKit facilitates the drawing of building plans and
elevations

Architectural Toolkit Functions:

1. Architectural Toolkit Setup

2. Draw Walls

3. Add Roof Line to Plan

4. Place Symbols

5. Draw Elevations

6. Add Roof Line to Plan

7. Draw Cross Sections

8. Draw Stairs

Please make sure that the drawing units are set to "mm"
(millimeters) before using the architectural toolkit functions. In
order to draw house plans the functions must be followed from left
to right on the architectural toolbar or top to bottom in the
architectural menu.

11-20 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Architectural Setup Dialog
The Architectural Toolkit Setup dialog is used to setup the path for your
Architectural Specification file (Archspecs.ini) as well as the root of the
Symbol File (e.g. C:\AllyCAD 34\Symbols).

Initialization file path This tells the Architectural Toolkit where to store it's
settings data. The architectural toolkit will not work
correctly if this file has not been specified. AllyCAD is
supplied with a standard file "ArchSpecs.ini" situated in
your CAD user directory.
If you wish to switch to an alternate initialization file, you
can browse for it by clicking on the browse button […].
Symbol file path This tells the Architectural Toolkit where the symbol
libraries are stored. The architectural toolkit will not work
correctly if this file has not been specified. AllyCAD is
supplied with a standard symbol libraries in the directory
"C:\AllyCAD34\Symbols" situated in your CAD user
directory.
If you wish to switch to an alternate symbol root
directory, you can browse for it by clicking on the browse
button […]. However the architectural toolkit requires a
"Symbol" root directory as well as "Doors" and
"Windows" child directories otherwise it will not work
properly.
Set building standards... Press this button to display the Building Standards Setup
Dialog.

Perimeter Menu 11-21

Draw Walls
Draw plan views internal (consists of only one wall and no cavity)and external
(two walls separated by a cavity) walls

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Architectural

Procedure
When you select the draw wall function from the toolbar or menu,
the Wall Setup dialog will be displayed:

The wall setup dialog with external wall selected

11-22 AllyCAD Reference Manual

The wall setup dialog with internal wall selected
Select the wall from the drop-down list, or fill in the relevant data.
Select the drawing method, justification drawing, drawing direction,
wall type and wall end finish. These options are explained below.
Press OK to draw the specified wall.

Drawing method:
The "Draw fresh" is used to draws walls where no track or perimeter
line exists, whereas the "Track line or perimeter" drawing method is
used to track an existing line or perimeter.

Justification:
Selecting "Outside" justification will draw walls outside of the setting
out, tracking or perimeter line whereas "Inside" justification will draw
walls inside of the setting out, tracking or perimeter line. An example
of this is shown below:

Perimeter Menu 11-23

 The figure on the left shows a line drawn with outside
justification.

The figure on the left shows a line drawn with inside

justification.

Note: The justification is influenced by the drawing direction i.e. if

you specify outside justifcation and a clockwise drawing direction
but then draw the line anticlockwise the justification will be inside.
Hence stick to the drawing direction you have specified in the
dialog.

Drawing direction:
An "anticlockwise or clockwise" is used to specify the direction in
which you draw your walls. This is used to determine whether the
line is inside or outside justified as mentioned above. The drawing
direction is illustrated in the figures below:

A wall drawn using an anticlockwise drawing direction.

11-24 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 A wall drawn using an clockwise drawing direction.

Adding and Deleting Walls

You may add your own wall definitions by clicking on the "Add"
button, and then entering the relevant data. The wall definition will
then be saved when you click on OK, or select another wall definition
from the list.

If you modify an existing wall definition, you will be asked to save it.
Select "No" to avoid changing the original wall definition.

Drawing a Wall Using the Draw Fresh Drawing Method

If the "Draw fresh" radio button was checked then AllyCAD will
prompt:
Indicate starting position of wall (else spacebar to exit)

Indicate the position where you want start drawing the wall,
remembering to take into account your drawing direction.
Enter next point of line

Indicate the position of the corner of the next wall moving in a

clockwise direction or anticlockwise direction depending on the
drawing direction that you have selected in the dialog. AllyCAD will
continue with this prompt until you press the space bar and then the
first promp will appear again. Press the spacebar to exit the function
or start drawing another wall repeating the above steps.

Note: If you don't stick to the drawing direction you have specified
in the dialog then the wall justification will be incorrect.

Drawing a Wall Using the Track Line or Perimeter Method

If the "Track line or perimeter" radio button was checked then
AllyCAD will prompt:
Indicate position outside perimeter (else spacebar to exit)

Perimeter Menu 11-25

Click outside the perimeter. If you have selected outside justification
the wall will be drawn outside the perimeter otherwise if you are
tracking a line the wall will appear on the same side of the tracking
line. If you have selected inside justification the wall will be drawn
inside the perimeter otherwise the wall will be drawn on the
opposite side of the tracking line. The following perimeter menu will
now appear on the control bar.

Select the auto button and then click on the Accept button in the
perimeter menu. The first prompt will appear again click outside
another perimeter or near another tracking line or press the
spacebar to exit the function.

If you don't click outside the perimeter or on the correct side of the
tracking line the wall justification will be incorrect.

The following figure illustrates the options available for drawing a

wall around a perimeter:

This figure shows

perimeter tracking
with outside
justifcation.

11-26 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 This figure shows
perimeter tracking
with inside
justifcation.

The following figure illustrates the options available for tracking a

line:

This figure shows line tracking with outside justifcation.

Here the wall is drawn on the same side as the indicated
with the mouse.

This figure shows line tracking with inside justifcation.

Here the wall is drawn on the opposite side as the
indicated with the mouse.

Perimeter Menu 11-27

Add Roof Line to Plan
Add a roof line to the plan

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Architectural

This function is used to add a roof line to a plan. The roof line is
used to draw the roof elevation and cross-sections.

Procedure
When you select the add roof line function from the toolbar or menu,
the Roofline Setup Dialog will be displayed:

Select the drawing pen colour, linetype, layer name and eaves
overhang.
Press OK to draw the specified roof line.

Add roof line (black dashed line) to

plan

Once the OK button on the Roof Line Setup Dialog is clicked the
perimeter menu will be displayed.

11-28 AllyCAD Reference Manual

This is shown below:

Click on the autoperimeter button

and then click outside the drawing
plan as shown on the left.

Perimeter Menu 11-29

Place Symbols
Insert door and window symbols

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Architectural

This architectural submenu is used to place symbols on the plan

view.

Procedure

By clicking on the place symbols icon the

legend window will be launched which
contains the symbol library tree shown on
the left.

By clicking on the + sign the directory in the

symbol tree will be expanded to show a list of
related symbol libraries <symbol
library>.DRG. Select the symbol library you
require.

AllyCAD will then load the symbol and update the control bar to
show the following:

11-30 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Select one of the window symbols from the drop down list on the left
or click the [View] button to view a window containing the window
symbols. Simply find the symbol you want and click on it.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter position for symbol

The cursor will now display the symbol. Position the symbol and
click or press [Enter].

Refer to the Symbol section for additional information about

snipping, rotating and mirroring the symbol before placing it.

Perimeter Menu 11-31

Draw Elevations
Draw north, east, south and west elevations.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Architectural

This function is used to draw elevations from the existing plan view.

Procedure
When you select the draw elevation function from the toolbar or
menu, the Elevation Setup Dialog will be displayed:

The elevation setup dialog

Select the drawing pen colour, linetype, layers, eaves height and
window to door height
Press OK to draw the specified roof line.
Once the OK button on the dialog has been clicked the following
prompt will appear:
Indicate face on plan for adding elevation (else spacebar to
exit)

Click near the wall on the plan from which the elevation is to be
drawn or press the spacebar to exit this function. AllyCAD will then
prompt:
Enter roofline position of elevation (else spacebar to exit)

11-32 AllyCAD Reference Manual

The cursor will be in ortho hold mode. Select a position opposite the
face on the plan you have selected where you would like the elevation
drawn or press the spacebar to exit the function. Now AllyCAD will
prompt:
Select window/door to go to elevation (spacebar to end
selection)

Click on the windows and door symbols in the selected face on the
plan and they will be inserted into the elevation. When you have
finished selecting doors and windows press the spacebar. AllyCAD
will prompt:
Select outside walls for elevation (spacebar to end
selection)

Click near the walls in the corresponding plan view and they will
appear in the elevation. When you have finished selecting the walls
press the spacebar to end the selection. AllyCAD will then return to
the original prompt (step 3). Click on the drawing and repeat steps 3
to 7 or press the [Spacebar] to exit the function.

Perimeter Menu 11-33

Add Roof to Elevation
Add a roof to an elevation

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Architectural

This architectural submenu is used to draw a roof on an elevation.

Procedure

Before selecting the draw roof function from the toolbar or menu
first make sure that the roof line is switched on as shown in the
figure below:

Figure showing the Layer Settings Dialog with the roof line layer
switched on.

11-34 AllyCAD Reference Manual

When you select the draw roof function from the toolbar or menu,
the following Roof Setup Dialog will be displayed:

Select the drawing pen colour, linetype, layer names and roof pitch.
Press OK to draw the specified elevation line.
Once the OK button on the dialog has been clicked the following
prompt will appear:
Indicate face on plan for adding roof (else spacebar to
exit)

Click near the wall on the plan from which the elevation is to be
drawn. AllyCAD will then prompt:
Select roof line on elevation (else spacebar to exit)

The cursor will be in ortho hold mode. Select a roof line on an existing
elevation opposite the face on the plan you have selected. AllyCAD
will now prompt:
Select roof lines for this view (else spacebar to exit)

Select any of the roof lines on the plan which will appear in the
elevation. AllyCAD will then prompt:
Select height of side gable (else spacebar for facing gable)

Select a roof line perpendicular to the roof line which you have just
selected which can be used to calculate the height of the roof gable, if
none is selected a facing gable will be drawn.
AllyCAD then return to the first prompt again. If there is more than
one gable repeat steps 6 and 7 otherwise press the spacebar to exit
the function.

Perimeter Menu 11-35

Drawing Cross Sections
Draw a cross section

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Architectural

This function draws horizontal and vertical cross sections from the
existing plan view.

Procedure
When you select the draw cross section function from the toolbar or
menu, the Cross Section Setup Dialog will be displayed:

11-36 AllyCAD Reference Manual

1. Select the drawing pen colour, linetype, layers. Either accept the
current values or enter new values for the cross section.
2. Press OK to draw the specified cross section.
3. Once the OK button on the dialog has been clicked the following
prompt will appear:
Indicate position of cross section (else spacebar to exit)

4. Indicate the position on the drawing you want the cross section
drawn (shown in the figure above) otherwise press the spacebar
to exit the function. After specifying the cross section position the
following prompt will appear:

Drawing Wall Cross Sections:

Indicate inside face of close external wall (else spacebar
to exit)

The cross indicates the place the user must click to indicate the
inside face of the external wall.

Perimeter Menu 11-37

5. Click near the external wall closest to the start of the cross
section on the plan view (shown in the figure above) otherwise
press the spacebar to exit the function. After specifying the
external wall position the following prompt will appear:
Indicate face of internal wall (else spacebar for far
external wall)

6. Click near the internal wall on the plan view otherwise press the
spacebar if you have no internal walls or have finished selecting
internal walls. The prompt will keep on appearing as long as you

11-38 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 click near an internal wall. Once you press the spacebar to select
an external wall the following prompt will appear:
Indicate inside face of far external wall (else spacebar to
exit)

The cursor in the figure below indicates the place where the user
must click to indicate inside face of the far external wall

7. Click near the external wall furtherest from the start of the cross
section on the plan view otherwise press the spacebar to exit the
function. After specifying the external wall position the following
prompt will appear:
Indicate side of line you would like arrow heads placed
(else spacebar to exit)

The cursor in the figure below indicates the place where the user
must click to indicate the side of the section line the arrow heads
need to be placed.

Perimeter Menu 11-39

8. Click near the side of the section line on the plan view where you
want the arrow heads drawn on the section line otherwise press
the spacebar to exit the function.

Drawing Truss Cross Sections

After specifying the arrow head position the following prompt will
appear:
Select side truss height for truss only (else spacebar for
facing and/or side truss)

9. Click near the line perpendicular to the truss you want drawn on
the plan so that the height of the truss can be calculated else
press the spacebar if you want a facing truss or a facing and side
truss drawn. If you specify the truss height AllyCAD will return
to the start of the function and you can start another cross
section or exit the function otherwise AllyCAD will prompt:
Select facing truss for facing and side truss (else spacebar
for facing truss only)

10. Click on the plan view near the roof line which represents the
facing truss in the cross secion or press the spacebar if your

11-40 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 cross section contains a facing gable only. If you pressed the
spacebar AllyCAD will draw a facing gable over the entire cross
section and return to the original prompt (step 3).
If you clicked near the facing gable roof line AllyCAD will
calculate whether you have a side gable on the side closest to the
start of the cross section on the and give the prompt shown in
step 11.
If AllyCAD calculates that you have a side gable furtherest from
the start of the cross section it will give the prompt shown in step
12.
Select close side truss height (else spacebar for
default(facing) height)

The cursor in the figure below indicates the place where the user
must click to indicate the close side truss height

11. Click near the line perpendicular to the truss you have selected
closest to the start of the cross section on the plan so that side
truss height can be calculated otherwise if you press the
spacebar the side truss will have the same height as facing gable.

Perimeter Menu 11-41

 AllyCAD will draw the truss and return to original prompt (step
3) and you can start another cross section or exit the function.
Select far side truss height (else spacebar for
default(facing) height)

The cursor in the figure below indicates the place where the user
must click to indicate the far side truss height.

12. Click near the line perpendicular to the truss you have selected
furtherest from the start of the cross section on the plan so that
side truss height can be calculated otherwise if you press the
spacebar the side truss will have the same height as facing gable.
AllyCAD will draw the truss and return to original prompt (step
3) and you can start another cross section or exit the function.

11-42 AllyCAD Reference Manual

The figure below shows the different options available when drawing
truss cross sections. The trusses were created drawing a horizontal
cross section from left to right.
They are (starting clockwise from the top left):
• A truss with a facing and far side gable,
• A truss with facing , close side and far side gable,
• A truss with a side gable only,
• A truss with a facing gable only
• A truss with a facing and close side gable.

The terms close and far refer points closer or farther from the cross
section starting point on the plan view.

Perimeter Menu 11-43

Drawing Stairs
Draw elevations

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Architectural

This function is used to add plan and elevations of staircase to the

existing drawing.

Procedure

When you select the draw stairs function from the toolbar or menu,
the Stairs Setup Dialog will be displayed:

The stairs setup dialog consists of three tabbed pages: general,

railings and treads. These are discussed in detail in Stairs Setup
Dialog
Select the drawing pen colour, linetype, layers and arrow head
dimension on the general page. Select a railing from the drop-down
list, or fill in the relevant data on the railings page and select a tread
from the drop-down list, or fill in the relevant data on the treads
page.

11-44 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Before closing the dialog select the stair type. If you want straight
stair section drawn select the straight section button or if you want
landings drawn select the landing button. These choices are
discussed in detail below:

Drawing Straight Stair Sections:

To draw stair straight sections select the straight section stair type on
the general setup page. On the railing setup page select a railing from
the drop-down list or fill in the relevant data. On the treads setup
page select a tread from the drop-down list or fill in the relevant
data. The treads setup page is only used when drawing straight
sections and is shown below:

Firstly measure length needed for staircase in the plan view and the
height needed for the straight section in the elevation which you are
going to place the stair section. Make the necessary adjustments in
the treads setup page by adjusting the number of treads, rise, going
and tread width and checking that the staircase length and height
correspond to the length and height you have just measure in the
plan and elevation views.
Once you click the OK button on the Stairs Setup Dialog. AllyCAD
will give the following prompt:
Indicate base of staircase on plan (else spacebar to exit)

Perimeter Menu 11-45

If you are drawing a plan view of a straight section, indicate the
position of the base of the staircase on the plan view. If you are
drawing a elevation indicate the position of the base of the staircase
on the existing straight section plan view. Press the spacebar if you
want to exit the function. Once you have indicated the base of the
staircase AllyCAD will prompt:
Indicate direction of top of staircase on plan (else
spacebar to exit)

The cursor will now locked in ortho hold mode. Indicate the direction
you want the staircase drawn by moving in this direction away from
the staircase base point and click on the drawing otherwise press the
spacebar if you want to exit the function. Once you have indicated
the direction you want the staircase drawn AllyCAD will give the
following prompt:
Indicate base of staircase on elevation (else spacebar for
plan)

The cursor will jump to the base of the staircase on the plan and will
still be locked in ortho hold mode. If you want to draw a plan view
press the spacebar and a plan view of the straight section will be
drawn. If you want to draw an elevation indicate the place in the
elevation where you want the base of the staircase placed and an
elevation view of the straight section will be drawn. A plan and
elevation view of the straight section is shown in the figure below.
Once the elevation and plan views have been drawn AllyCAD will
return to original prompt (step 4) and you can start another staircase
view or exit the function.
The figure on the left shows a
plan view of a straight section.
The blue arrow indicates the
base of the staircase on the
plan and the black arrow
shows the direction of the
staircase.

11-46 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 The figure on the left shows an
elevation view of a straight
section.
The elevation is drawn upside
down so that it has the correct
orientation in the existing
elevations of the drawing.

AllyCAD automatically inserts the staircase into the correct layer

(specified in the dialog).

Drawing Landings:

There are 3 types of landing dimensions and shapes are specified on

the drawing plan view, viz. U-shaped, L-shaped and Z-shaped
landings.
To draw stair straight sections select the landing stair type on the
general setup page. On the railing setup page select a railing from the
drop-down list or fill in the relevant data. Only the tread width on the
tread setup page is used to draw landings.

The landing dimensions are specified by clicking on the plan view of

the drawing not on the dialog as for the straight sections.

Once you click the OK button on the Stairs Setup Dialog. AllyCAD
will give the following prompt:
Indicate start of landing on plan (else spacebar to exit)

Indicate the start of the landing on the plan otherwise press the
spacebar to exit the function. If you click on the drawing to indicate
the start of the landing AllyCAD will give the following prompt:
Indicate corner of the landing on plan (else spacebar to
exit)

Perimeter Menu 11-47

Indicate the corner of the landing on the plan otherwise press the
spacebar to exit the function. If you click on the drawing to indicate
the corner of the landing AllyCAD will give the following prompt:
Indicate end of landing on plan (else spacebar to exit)

Indicate the end of the landing on the plan otherwise press the
spacebar to exit the function. Depending on where you click in
relation to the start and end points of the landing AllyCAD will draw
either U-shaped, L-shaped and Z-shaped plan view of the landing. If
you click on the drawing to indicate the end of the landing AllyCAD
will give the following prompt:
Indicate base of landing on elevation (else spacebar for
plan)

The cursor will jump to the base of the staircase on the plan and will
still be locked in ortho hold mode. If you want to draw a plan view
press the spacebar and a plan view of the landing will be drawn. If
you want to draw an elevation view, indicate the place in the
elevation where you want the base of the staircase placed and an
elevation view of the landing will be drawn. Once the elevation and
plan views have been drawn AllyCAD will return to the original
prompt (step 4) and you can start another staircase view or exit the
function.

AllyCAD automatically inserts the staircase into the correct layer

(specified in the dialog).

11-48 AllyCAD Reference Manual

The figures below show the U, L and Z-shaped landing plan views
with their corresponding south elevations.

The elevation is drawn upside down so that it has the correct

orientation in the existing views of the drawing.

U-shape landing
The figure on the left shows a U-
shape landing with its corresponding
elevation in the south view.
The labels s,c and e indicate the
points in the plan view where the
user specified the start, corner and
end points respectively.

L-shape landing
The figure on the left shows a L-shape
landing with its corresponding
elevation in the south view.
The labels s,c and e indicate the
points in the plan view where the
user specified the start, corner and
end points respectively.

Perimeter Menu 11-49

 Z-shaped landing
The figure on the left shows and Z-
shape landing with its corresponding
elevation in the south view.
The labels s,c and e indicate the
points in the plan view where the
user specified the start, corner and
end points respectively.

11-50 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Civils Toolkit
The Civils ToolKit lets you draw cut and fill bank
lines between two lines or arcs with a couple of
clicks, and can be used to draw a pipe network
layout very quickly.

Perimeter Menu 11-51

Cut and Fill Lines
Draw cut and fill bank lines

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Civil

This tool draws cut and fill lines between two straight lines or two
arcs.

Between Lines Between Arcs

Procedure
AllyCAD will display the following list of options:

Lines Add cut/fill lines between an existing shoulder line and an

existing toe line.
Arcs Add cut/fill lines between an existing shoulder arc and an existing
toe arc.
Set Defaults Set the layer, pens, line spacing and ratio of short bank line to
long bank line.
Exit Terminate the funcion.

Lines
AllyCAD will prompt:
Indicate shoulder line (Spacebar to cancel)

Select the shoulder line with the cursor. AllyCAD will then prompt:
Indicate toe line (Spacebar to cancel)

Select the toe line with the cursor. The bank lines will be drawn
according to the current cut and fill settings.

Arcs
AllyCAD will prompt:

11-52 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 Indicate shoulder arc (Spacebar to cancel)

Select the shoulder arc with the cursor. AllyCAD will then prompt:
Indicate toe arc (Spacebar to cancel)

Select the toe arc with the cursor. The bank lines will be drawn
according to the current cut and fill settings.

Perimeter Menu 11-53

Sewer Capture Toolkit
Draw sewer manholes and pipes

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Civil

This function is a tool to draw manholes with connecting pipes with

labels for the manholes. You are able to offset the manholes from
existing lines in the drawing.

Procedure
AllyCAD will ask:
Use current defaults? (else set defaults)

Select Yes to set the defaults or No to use the existing settings. Refer
to the Set Defaults section for more details.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Pick or add a layer for the manholes and pipes

Select or create a layer from the Layer Settings dialog. Set the layer
to be the Current Layer.
AllyCAD will prompt:

11-54 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 Indicate position for first manhole on correct side of
boundary

Click on the correct side of the boundary line where you would like
the manhole to be placed. The cursor will snap to the boundary line
at this point.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Press left or right arrow key - enter offset - enter manhole
position

The left or right arrow indicates the direction of offset. Enter the
distance for the offset and press [Enter]. Press [Enter] again to fix the
point where the manhole will be placed.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter name for first manhole

Enter a name for the first manhole e.g. a typical manhole name will
be “MH 123”.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Indicate position for manhole label (spaceber for no label)

If you would like a label and arrow pointing to the manhole, indicate
the cursor position with you would like the manhole label to be
placed. Otherwise press the [Spacebar] if you don't want annotation.
If you place a label proceed AllyCAD will ask:
Add an arrow?

If you want to add an arrow pointing from the label to the manhole
select Yes. AllyCAD will ask you to indicate the tail and then the
head of the arrow in the following two prompts:
Indicate position for tail of arrow

Indicate the position of the tail of the arrow.

Indicate position for arrow head

Indicate the arrowhead position.

Now AllyCAD will ask you to define the position of the next manhole
with the prompt:
Indicate next manhole position on correct side of boundary
(spacebar to exit)

Indicate the position of the next manhole and repeat the previous
steps. As you insert the next manhole a pipe will be inserted between
the two manholes. The pattern naming convention is as follows:

Perimeter Menu 11-55

"PIPE 123_124", where "123" is the suffix for the first manhole and
"124" is the suffix for the second manhole.
Press [Spacebar] to terminate the function.

Set Defaults
AllyCAD will ask for the following information:
Enter manhole diameter

Enter the diameter of the manhole in current units.

Enter manhole pen

Enter manhole pen color.

Enter pipe line type

Enter line type for pipe.

Enter pipe pen

Enter pen for pipe.

Enter manhole parent name

Enter parent name of manhole.

Enter pipe parent name

Enter parent name for pipe.

Enter manhole label text height (in mm)

Enter text height for the manhole label.

Enter manhole label text pen

Enter pen color for manhole label.

Add manhole label text bubble?

Select Yes to add a text bubble (circle) to the manhole label. Select
No to just add the manhole label.

11-56 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Mechanical Toolkit
The Mechanical Toolkit speeds up the drawing
of common mechanical components (such as
bolts, nuts and screws), and provides
functions for annotating welds, tolerances and
surface finishes. It also provides functions for
generating tables of coordinate, part, and
general information.

Please make sure that the drawing units are set to “mm”
(millimeters) before using the mechanical toolkit functions.

Perimeter Menu 11-57

Setup
Set up the common settings for the Mechanical Toolkit

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Mechanical

This option allows the user to customize the appearance of bolts,

nuts and other mechanical toolkit components. This is especially
useful where industry or project standards must be followed.

Procedure
Select Setup from the Mechanical Toolkit menu. AllyCAD will display
the Mechanical Toolkit Setup dialog:

You can set the line colours and styles with which the mechanical
toolkit components will be drawn. The colours and styles for Solid
lines (outlines), Hidden lines and Center lines are specified
separately.
All configuration data for the Mechanical Toolkit is stored in a
“configuration file”. This is usually “ISO Mechspecs.ini” in your
AllyCAD user directory. The Mechanical Toolkit will not function if
this file is missing or incorrectly specified. It is advisable to make a
backup copy of this file before changing any Mechanical Toolkit
settings.
Should you have an alternative configuration file that you wish to
use with the Mechanical Toolkit, then click on the browse button […]
to specify it.
You can also set defaults for the mechanical toolkit annotation
functions (welding, tolerance and surface finish), by clicking on the
Annotation Setup button, which will display the Annotation Setup
dialog:

11-58 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Use this dialog to set the relative size of weld, tolerance and surface
finish annotations to your preferences.
The names of layers that the annotations will be drawn on are also
specified here. The layers will be created as needed when you draw
annotations. The annotations will be drawn using ByLayer colour, so
to change the colour of, for instance, your surface finish annotations,
you must change the colour of the surface finish layer using the
Layer Settings dialog.
The length and width of the leader arrowhead used by the weld
annotation is also configurable here.

Perimeter Menu 11-59

Hex Head Bolts
Draw Hex head bolts in side or plan view

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Mechanical

Draw side or plan views of hexagonal bolts of a specified diameter

and length. You may define your own bolts and save them for later
re-use. You may also draw multiple equispaced copies of the bolt in
one operation, spaced linearly or radially.

Side View Plan View

Procedure
Select Fasteners ► Hex Bolts in the Mechanical Toolkit menu.
The Hex Bolts dialog will be displayed:

Select a predefined bolt from the drop-down list at the top-left of the
dialog, or change the bolt dimensions to your needs.

11-60 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Select which view of the bolt you wish to draw (top view, side view, or
both views), and which linetype to use for the head and shaft of the
bolt.
If you wish to draw multiple copies of the bolt, then specify a Repeat
Number greater than 1 (but less than 1000). Choose whether to
repeat the bolt linearly or radially (polar), and specify the repeat
interval. In the case of a radial (polar) repeat, select whether the
spacing interval refers to the PCD (pitch circle diameter) of the circle
on whose circumference the bolts will be drawn (“PCD” option), or
just the spacing between the bolt centers (“Spacing” option).
You may add your own bolt definitions by clicking on the Add button,
and then entering the relevant bolt measurements. The bolt
definition will be saved when you click on OK, or select another bolt
definition from the list.

If you modify an existing bolt definition, you will be asked to save it.
Select No to avoid overwriting the original bolt definition.

To draw the bolt, click on OK. If you have ticked the option to draw
the side view, AllyCAD will prompt:
Indicate the bolt position on the thread side of a line
(else spacebar to stop)

Indicate the position of the bolt side view. If the position indicated is
near a line, the bolt will be drawn aligned with that line, on the side
of the line that you have indicated.
If you have ticked the option to draw the plan (top) view, AllyCAD will
prompt:
Indicate the bolt centre for the plan view (else spacebar to
stop)

Indicate the position of the bolt plan view. AllyCAD will then ask:
Indicate point on bolt center line (spacebar to stop)

The bolt plan view will be rotated so that it’s center line goes through
the point you indicated. If you indicate the same point as the plan
view position, it will not be rotated.

Perimeter Menu 11-61

Hex Nuts
Draw Hex nuts in side or plan view

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Mechanical

Draw side or plan views of hexagonal nuts

Side View Plan View

Procedure
Select Fasteners ► Hex Nuts from the Mechanical Toolkit menu. The
Hex Nuts dialog will be displayed:

Select a predefined nut from the drop-down list at the top-left of the
dialog, or change the nut dimensions to your needs.
Select which view of the nut you wish to draw (top view, side view, or
both views), and which linetype to use for each view of the nut.

11-62 AllyCAD Reference Manual

If you wish to draw multiple copies of the nut, then specify a Repeat
Number greater than 1 (but less than 1000). Choose whether to
repeat the nut linearly or radially (polar), and specify the repeat
interval. In the case of a radial (polar) repeat, select whether the
spacing interval refers to the PCD (pitch circle diameter) of the circle
on whose circumference the nuts will be drawn (“PCD” option), or
just the spacing between the nut centers (“Spacing” option).
You may add your own nut definitions by clicking on the Add button,
and then entering the relevant nut measurements. The nut definition
will be saved when you click on OK, or select another nut definition
from the list.

If you modify an existing nut definition, you will be asked to save it.
Select No to avoid overwriting the original nut definition.

To draw the nut, click on OK. If you have ticked the option to draw
the side view, AllyCAD will prompt:
Indicate the nut position on the thread side of a line (else
spacebar to stop)

Indicate the position of the nut side view. If the position indicated is
near a line, the nut will be drawn aligned with that line, on the side
of the line that you have indicated.
If you have ticked the option to draw the plan (top) view, AllyCAD will
prompt:
Indicate the nut centre for the plan view (else spacebar to
stop)

Indicate the position of the nut plan view. AllyCAD will then ask:
Indicate point on nut center line (spacebar to stop)

The nut plan view will be rotated so that it’s center line goes through
the point you indicated. If you indicate the same point as the plan
view position, it will not be rotated.

Perimeter Menu 11-63

Socket Screws
Draw socket (cap) screws in side or plan view

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Mechanical

Draws various types of cap screw in side or plan view at any angle.
The dimensions for drawing the screws are stored in an editable text
file.

Plain Cap Screw

Side View Plan View

Low Head Cap Screw

Side View Plan View

Shoulder Cap Screw

Side View Plan View

Flat Head Cap Screw

Side View Plan View

11-64 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Procedure
Select Fasteners ► Socket Screws from the Mechanical Toolkit menu.
AllyCAD will display the Socket Screws dialog:

Select a predefined screw from the drop-down list at the top-left of

the dialog, or change the screw dimensions to your needs.
Select which view of the screw you wish to draw (top view, side view,
or both views), and which linetype to use for the head and shaft of
the screw.
If you wish to draw multiple copies of the screw, then specify a
Repeat Number greater than 1 (but less than 1000). Choose whether
to repeat the screw linearly or radially (polar), and specify the repeat
interval. In the case of a radial (polar) repeat, select whether the
spacing interval refers to the PCD (pitch circle diameter) of the circle
on whose circumference the screws will be drawn (“PCD” option), or
just the spacing between the screw centers (“Spacing” option).
You may add your own screw definitions by clicking on the Add
button, and then entering the relevant screw measurements. The
screw definition will be saved when you click on OK, or select another
screw definition from the list.

If you modify an existing screw definition, you will be asked to save

it. Select No to avoid overwriting the original screw definition.

Perimeter Menu 11-65

To draw the screw, click on OK. If you have ticked the option to draw
the side view, AllyCAD will prompt:
Indicate the screw position on the thread side of a line
(else spacebar to stop)

Indicate the position of the screw side view. If the position indicated
is near a line, the screw will be drawn aligned with that line, on the
side of the screw that you have indicated.
If you have ticked the option to draw the plan (top) view, AllyCAD will
prompt:
Indicate the screw centre for the plan view (else spacebar
to stop)

Indicate the position of the screw plan view. AllyCAD will then ask:
Indicate point on screw center line (spacebar to stop)

The screw plan view will be rotated so that it’s center line goes
through the point you indicated. If you indicate the same point as
the plan view position, it will not be rotated.

11-66 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Rivets
Draw rivets in side or plan view

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Mechanical

Draws various types of rivet in side or plan view at any angle. The
dimensions for drawing the rivet are stored in an editable text file.

Snap Head

Side View

Pan Head

Side View

Mushroom Head

Side View

Flat Head

Side View

Perimeter Menu 11-67

Countersunk Head

Side View

Procedure
Select Fasteners ► Rivets from the Mechanical Toolkit menu. AllyCAD
will display the Rivets dialog:

Select a predefined rivet from the drop-down list at the top-left of the
dialog, or change the rivet dimensions to your needs.
Select which view of the rivet you wish to draw (top view, side view,
or both views), and which linetype to use for the head and shaft of
the rivet.
If you wish to draw multiple copies of the rivet, then specify a Repeat
Number greater than 1 (but less than 1000). Choose whether to
repeat the rivet linearly or radially (polar), and specify the repeat
interval. In the case of a radial (polar) repeat, select whether the
spacing interval refers to the PCD (pitch circle diameter) of the circle
on whose circumference the rivets will be drawn (“PCD” option), or
just the spacing between the rivet centers (“Spacing” option).

11-68 AllyCAD Reference Manual

You may add your own rivet definitions by clicking on the Add
button, and then entering the relevant rivet measurements. The rivet
definition will be saved when you click on OK, or select another rivet
definition from the list.

If you modify an existing rivet definition, you will be asked to save

it. Select No to avoid overwriting the original rivet definition.

To draw the rivet, click on OK. If you have ticked the option to draw
the side view, AllyCAD will prompt:
Indicate the rivet position on the thread side of a line
(else spacebar to stop)

Indicate the position of the rivet side view. If the position indicated is
near a line, the rivet will be drawn aligned with that line, on the side
of the rivet that you have indicated.
If you have ticked the option to draw the plan (top) view, AllyCAD will
prompt:
Indicate the rivet centre for the plan view (else spacebar
to stop)

Indicate the position of the rivet plan view. AllyCAD will then ask:
Indicate point on rivet centre line (spacebar to stop)

The rivet plan view will be rotated so that it’s center line goes
through the point you indicated. If you indicate the same point as
the plan view position, it will not be rotated.

Perimeter Menu 11-69

Drilled Holes
Draw a side or plan view of a drilled hole

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Mechanical

Draws side and plan views of through or blind drilled holes of any
diameter at any angle. Tapped holes may also be drawn.

Procedure
Select Drill Holes from the Mechanical Toolkit menu. AllyCAD will
display the Drilled Holes dialog:

Select a predefined drilled hole from the drop-down list at the top-left
of the dialog, or change the drilled hole parameters to your needs.

To specify a countersunk hole

Enter a non-zero value for the “Countersink depth”, and set
“Counterbore dia” to zero.

To specify a counterbored hole

Enter the diameter of the counterbore in “Counterbore dia”, and enter
the depth of the counterbore in “Countersink depth”.

11-70 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Select which view of the hole you wish to draw (top view, side view,
or both views), and which linetype to use for the side view and top
view of the hole.
If you wish to draw multiple copies of the hole, then specify a Repeat
Number greater than 1 (but less than 1000). Choose whether to
repeat the hole linearly or radially (polar), and specify the repeat
interval. In the case of a radial (polar) repeat, select whether the
spacing interval refers to the PCD (pitch circle diameter) of the circle
on whose circumference the holes will be drawn (“PCD” option), or
just the spacing between the hole centers (“Spacing” option).
You may add your own hole definitions by clicking on the Add button,
and then entering the relevant hole measurements. The rivet hole
definition will be saved when you click on OK, or select another hole
definition from the list.

If you modify an existing hole definition, you will be asked to save

it. Select No to avoid overwriting the original hole definition.

To draw the drilled hole, click on OK. If you have ticked the option to
draw the side view, AllyCAD will prompt:
Indicate the hole position on the shaft side side of a line
(else spacebar to stop)

Indicate the position of the drilled hole side view. If the position
indicated is near a line, the drilled hole will be drawn aligned
perpendicular to that line, on the side of the line+ that you have
indicated.

Drilled Hole Side View

Through Hole Blind Hole

Perimeter Menu 11-71

If you have ticked the option to draw the plan (top) view, AllyCAD will
prompt:
Indicate the hole centre for the plan view (else spacebar to
stop)

Indicate the position of the drilled hole plan view. AllyCAD will then
ask:
Indicate point on hole center line (spacebar to stop)

The drilled hole plan view will be rotated so that it’s center line goes
through the point you indicated. If you indicate the same point as
the plan view position, it will not be rotated.

Drilled Hole Plan View

11-72 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Draw Slots
Draws a plan view of a slot

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right Mechanical

Procedure
Select Draw Slots from the Mechanical Toolkit menu, or right-click on
the “Holes” icon in the Mechanical Toolkit toolbar.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter the length, width and rotation of the slot

Type in the length, width, and rotation of the slot separated by

spaces. The length specified must be the total length of the slot, not
the distance between centerlines. The rotation must be specified in
degrees.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Do you want to draw the slot with centerlines?

Click on “Yes” if you want the slot to be drawn with centerlines, or

“No” if you do not want centerlines to be drawn.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Click to place the slot (spacebar to exit)

Use the mouse to indicate where you want to place the slot on your
drawing. The “left hand” centre of the slot will be aligned with the
indicated position.
The slot will be drawn on the current layer using the current pen and
linetype.
You will be repeatedly asked to place the slot until you press [Space
Bar].

Perimeter Menu 11-73

Concentric Circles with Centre Lines
Draw multiple concentric circles with centre lines

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Mechanical

Draw any number of concentric circles with a center line cross.

Procedure
Select Draw Circles + CL from the Mechanical Toolkit menu. AllyCAD
will prompt:
Enter circle diameters with spaces between

Enter the circle(s) diameters with a space between each of them (eg:
“20 35 64”).
Enter circle centre for plan view (space bar to exit)

Indicate with the cursor the position of the circle(s) centre. AllyCAD
will now prompt:
Enter a point on the circle centre line (space bar to exit)

Indicate a point through which the circle center line will run. To
avoid rotating the center line, click on the same spot you did when
indicating the circle center.
The circles are drawn on the current layer, using the Solid linetype
and colour as defined in the Mechanical Toolkit Setup dialog.
The centerlines are drawn on the current layer, using the Centreline
linetype and colour as defined in the Mechanical Toolkit Setup
dialog.

11-74 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Add CL to Circle
Adds centerlines to existing circles or arcs in the drawing

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right Mechanical Shift “+”

Procedure
Select Add CL to Circle from the Mechanical Toolkit menu, or right-
click the “Concentric circles with CL” icon in the Mechanical Toolkit
toolbar, or press “+” on the numeric keypad while holding down
“Shift”.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Click on the circle you want to add centre lines to
(spacebar to exit)

Use the mouse to indicate the circle or arc which must receive the
centrelines.
The centerlines are drawn on the current layer, using the Centre Line
linetype and colour defined in the Mechanical Toolkit Setup dialog.
This function repeats until the [Space Bar] is pressed.

Perimeter Menu 11-75

Shafts
Draws a side view of user-defined shafts

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Mechanical

Shaft definitions may be saved for later re-use.

Tip: Use the Concentric circles function to generate an axial view of a
shaft.

Procedure
Select Draw Shafts from the Mechanical Toolkit menu. The shaft dialog
will be displayed:

Select a pre-defined shaft from the drop-down list, or specify your

own parameters.
The shaft is split up into a variable number of “sections”. The length,
diameter, left trim and right trim for each section must be specified.
The “trim” can be either a fillet or a chamfer. If you do not wish to
have a left or a right trim for a specific section, enter a value of 0
(zero) for the relevant trim in that section.
The left and right ends of the shaft may be specified as “open-ended”
by selecting or deselecting the relevant “Open End” checkboxes.

11-76 AllyCAD Reference Manual

To insert a new shaft section, right-click on the row before which
you wish to insert a section, and select “Insert a section”.
To delete a shaft section, right-click on the row which you want to
remove and select “Delete this section”.
You may add your own shaft definitions by clicking on the Add
button, and then entering the relevant shaft measurements. The
shaft definition will be saved when you click on OK, or select another
shaft definition from the list.

If you modify an existing shaft definition, you will be asked to save

it. Select No to avoid overwriting the original shaft definition.
The “EMPTY_SHAFT” definition is intended as a template for
creating your own shafts from scratch. You cannot overwrite it.

Click OK to draw the shaft.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter center left point of shaft (spacebar to exit)

Indicate the location of the shafts left center point.

Enter a point on the shaft’s center line (spacebar to exit)

Indicate a point through which the shaft’s center line will run. To
avoid rotating the shaft, click on the same spot you did when
indicating the shaft center left point.

Perimeter Menu 11-77

Gears
Draw spur gears with optional center hole and keyway

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Mechanical

Gear definitions may be saved for later re-use.

Procedure
Select Draw Gears from the Mechanical Toolkit menu. The gears dialog
will be displayed:

Select a pre-defined gear from the drop-down list, or specify your

own parameters.
If you specify a shaft diameter of 0 (zero), then the shaft and keyway
will not be drawn.
If you specify a key width of 0 (zero), then the keyway will not be
drawn.
You may add your own gear definitions by clicking on the Add
button, and then entering the relevant gear measurements. The gear
definition will be saved when you click on OK, or select another gear
definition from the list.

If you modify an existing gear definition, you will be asked to save

it. Select No to avoid overwriting the original gear definition.

Click OK to draw the gear.

11-78 AllyCAD Reference Manual

AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter center point of gear (spacebar to exit)

Indicate the location of the gear centre.

Perimeter Menu 11-79

Links
Draw one of three types of mechanical links

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Mechanical

Link definitions may be saved for later re-use.

Procedure
Select Draw Links from the Mechanical Toolkit menu. The links dialog
will be displayed:

Select a pre-defined link from the drop-down list, or specify your own
parameters.
You may add your own link definitions by clicking on the Add button,
and then entering the relevant link measurements. The link
definition will be saved when you click on OK, or select another link
definition from the list.

If you modify an existing link definition, you will be asked to save it.
Select No to avoid overwriting the original link definition.

Click OK to draw the link.

11-80 AllyCAD Reference Manual

AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter left center point of link (spacebar to exit)

Indicate the location of the link’s left hole centre.

Enter a point on the link centre line (space bar to exit)

Indicate a point through which the link’s center line will run. To
avoid rotating the link, click on the same spot you did when
indicating the link center.

Perimeter Menu 11-81

Flanges
Draw 2-hole, 3-hole or n-hole flanges

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Mechanical

Draw various flanges. Flange definitions may be saved for re-use.

Procedure
Select Draw Flanges from the Mechanical Toolkit menu. The flanges
dialog will be displayed:

Select a pre-defined flange from the drop-down list, or specify your

own parameters.
You may add your own flange definitions by clicking on the Add
button, and then entering the relevant flange measurements. The
flange definition will be saved when you click on OK, or select
another flange definition from the list.

If you modify an existing flange definition, you will be asked to save

it. Select No to avoid overwriting the original flange definition.

Click OK to draw the flange.

11-82 AllyCAD Reference Manual
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter center point of flange (spacebar to exit)

Indicate the location of the flange centre.

Enter a point on the flange centre line (space bar to exit)

Indicate a point through which the flange’s center line will run. To
avoid rotating the flange, click on the same spot you did when
indicating the flange center.

Perimeter Menu 11-83

Rect to Round Duct
Draw and develop a rectangular to round duct

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Mechanical

This tool draws front, plan, end and development views of rectangle
to a round duct:

20.0
OR=
75.0

END

PLAN

s y
t x
u v w

z
r
50.0

SIDE PATTERN

o p

100.0

Procedure
Select Rect to Round Duct from the Mechanical Toolkit menu. AllyCAD
will display this dialog:

11-84 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Enter the relevant dimensions in this dialog, and click on OK.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Position cursor at lower left of drawing

Indicate where you would like the drawing to be placed.

Perimeter Menu 11-85

Coordinate Table
Generate and draw a table of coordinates.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Mechanical

The table of coordinates may be saved as a text (.CSV) file.

Procedure
Select Draw Tables ► Coord Table from the Mechanical Toolkit menu.
The coordinate table dialog will be displayed:

Set the options you want for this coordinate table:

• Tick “Include diameter” if you want the “Diameter” column to
be drawn
• Tick “Draw frame” if you want a frame to be drawn around
your coordinate table
• Specify the number of decimal places (0 to 6) to display for
the coordinates
Click on Add Coords. You will be taken back to the drawing, and
asked to specify the individual coordinates and their respective
labels. Use the CAD “jump” functions to accurately specify
coordinates.
If the coordinate is at the center of a circle (eg: a hole), that circle’s
diameter will be associated with the coordinate.

11-86 AllyCAD Reference Manual

When you have finished adding coordinates, press the spacebar to
return to the dialog.
You will see the coordinates tabulated in the dialog. Adjust the
column widths to your satisfaction by dragging the column
separators.
Click OK to draw the coordinate table. You will first be asked if you
want to save the coordinate table to a file, and if so you will be asked
for the path to save to file to.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Click to place coordinate table

Indicate the location of the top left corner of the coordinate table.
The table will be drawn as a grouped object called “COORD_TABLE”,
so you will be able to reposition it as one entity by dragging it with
the mouse.
Notes:
• The frame for the coord table is drawn in the current pen
colour
• The text in the coord table is drawn using the font, size and
colour of the current “text defaults”.

Perimeter Menu 11-87

Parts List Table
Generate and draw a table of part information.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Mechanical

The parts list may be saved as a text (.CSV) file.

Procedure
Select Draw Tables ► Parts List from the Mechanical Toolkit menu. The
parts list dialog will be displayed:

Set the options you want for this parts list:

• Tick “Draw frame” if you want a frame to be drawn around
your parts list table
If you require more columns for your part list, click on the “Add
Column” button. You will be prompted to enter a name for the new
column. You may add up to 8 columns.
Once you are happy with your columns, click on the “Add Parts”
Button. You will be taken back to the drawing, and asked to indicate
the individual part’s labels, and prompted to enter a text value for
the description of each part, as well as a text value for each of the
other columns you have added.
When you have finished adding parts, press the spacebar to return
to the dialog.

11-88 AllyCAD Reference Manual

You will see the parts list displayed in the dialog. Adjust the column
widths to your satisfaction by dragging the column separators.
Click OK to draw the parts list table. You will first be asked if you
want to save the parts list to a file, and if so you will be asked for the
path to save to file to.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Click to place parts table

Indicate the location of the top left corner of the parts table.

The table will be drawn as a grouped object called “PART_LIST”, so

you will be able to reposition it as one entity by dragging it with the
mouse:

Example parts list table output

Notes:
• The frame for the parts list table is drawn in the current pen
colour
• The text in the parts list table is drawn using the font, size
and colour of the current “text defaults”.

Perimeter Menu 11-89

User Table
Generate and draw a general-purpose table of data.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Mechanical

The user table is a flexible tool which may be used to create and
display tabular data with an arbitrary number of rows or columns.
Data may be imported from text files (.CSV). Data may also be
exported as CSV files.

Procedure
Select Draw Tables ► User Table from the Mechanical Toolkit menu.
The user table dialog will be displayed:

The actions available from the dialog’s menu are:

• Import data from a CSV (text) file.

• Export the data in the grid to a CSV (text) file.

• Remove excess columns (empty) from the RHS of the grid.

• Remove excess rows (empty) from the bottom of the grid.

• Clear all data from the grid.

Columns may be inserted or deleted by right-clicking on the first
row.

11-90 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Rows may be inserted or deleted by right-clicking on the first
column.
Use the “Add Column” button to add a column to the RHS of the grid.
Use the “Add Row” button to add a row to the bottom of the grid.
The contents of each “cell” in the grid may be edited by double-
clicking the particular cell.
In addition, you may use the clipboard to copy data from a text file
(comma or tab delimited) or a spreadsheet, and then paste it into the
grid, like so:
1. In your text file or spreadsheet, select the range of data that
you want to copy. Click on the right mouse button and select
“Copy”. The data you have selected is copied to the Windows
Clipboard.
2. Go back to the User Table Dialog, and click once on the grid
cell that will become the top left cell of the pasted data.
3. Right-click on this same cell, and select “Paste Clipboard
Data”. The data will appear in the grid.
Click OK to draw the user table. You will not be prompted to save the
data in the grid, so make sure you have already exported it if you
need to save a copy of the data.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Click to place table

Indicate the location of the top left corner of the table.

The table will be drawn as a grouped object called “USER_TABLE”, so
you will be able to reposition it as one entity by dragging it with the
mouse:

Example user table output

Notes:

Perimeter Menu 11-91

 • The frame for the user table is drawn in the current pen
colour
• The text in the user table is drawn using the font, size and
colour of the current “text defaults”.

Annotate Welds
Draw weld specification annotations

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Mechanical

Commonly-used weld annotations may be saved for later re-use.

Procedure
Select Annotate ► Welds in the Mechanical Toolkit menu.
The Weld Annotation dialog will be displayed:

Select a predefined weld annotation from the drop-down list at the

top-left of the dialog, or change the weld annotation specs to your
needs.
You may add your own weld definitions by clicking on the Add
button, and then entering the relevant weld measurements. The weld
definition will be saved when you click on OK, or select another weld
definition from the list.

11-92 AllyCAD Reference Manual

If you modify an existing weld definition, you will be asked to save
it. Select No to avoid overwriting the original weld definition.

To draw the weld annotation, click on OK. AllyCAD will prompt:

Indicate the arrow head position for the Weld indicator

Indicate the position of the arrow tip of the annotation. AllyCAD will
prompt:
Indicate the position of the Weld indicator

Indicate the position of the beginning of the horizontal portion of the

annotation. AllyCAD will prompt:
Indicate the position of the weld symbol

Indicate where the weld symbols will be placed, on the same

horizontal as the weld indicator.
Indicate the position of tail

Indicate where the tail of the weld annotation will be placed, on the
same horizontal as the weld indicator.

Configuring Weld Annotations

The relative size of the weld annotation text, symbols, and arrow
head can be customized in the Annotation Setup dialog, which can
be accessed by clicking on Weld Setup in the Weld Annotation dialog
above. The layer that weld annotations will be drawn on can also be
specified there.
To change the font face used to draw the text in the weld
annotations, edit the Mechanical Toolkit configuration file (usually
“ISO Mechspecs.ini” in your AllyCAD user directory, and change the
setting called “WeldFont”.

Perimeter Menu 11-93

Annotate Tolerances
Draw geometric tolerance “feature control” annotations

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Mechanical

This function is used to create geometric tolerance annotations.

Procedure
Select Annotate ► Tolerances in the Mechanical Toolkit menu.
The Tolerance Annotation dialog will be displayed:

Create a “feature control” frame by selecting the required symbols

and entering the necessary data. A preview of what the feature
control frame will look like is shown in the preview window.
To draw the tolerance annotation, click on OK. AllyCAD will prompt:
Indicate the position of the tolerance annotation

Indicate the position where the bottom left of the first line of the
annotation will be placed.

Configuring Tolerance Annotations

The relative size of the tolerance annotation text and symbols, and
the layer that tolerance annotations will be drawn on, can be
customized in the Annotation Setup dialog. To get to the Annotation
Setup dialog, select Setup in the Mechanical Toolkit menu, then
clicking on the Annotation Setup button.
To change the font face used to draw the text in the tolerance
annotations, edit the Mechanical Toolkit configuration file (usually
“ISO Mechspecs.ini” in your AllyCAD user directory, and change the
setting called “ToleranceFont”.

11-94 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Annotate Surface Finishes
Draw surface finish annotations

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Mechanical

This function allows you to annotate surface finish features of parts

in your drawing. Surface finish definitions may be saved for later re-
use.

Procedure
Select Annotate ► Surface Finish in the Mechanical Toolkit menu.
The Surface Finish Annotation dialog will be displayed:

Select a pre-defined surface finish annotation from the drop-down

list, or create a surface finish annotation by selecting the required
symbol and entering the necessary data. The horizontal extender line
will only be drawn if a note is specified, or if the roughness is
specified, or if a “lay direction” symbol is specified.
You may add your own surface finish definitions by clicking on the
Add button, and then entering the relevant surface finish
measurements. The surface finish definition will be saved when you
click on OK, or select another surface finish definition from the list.

Perimeter Menu 11-95

If you modify an existing surface finish definition, you will be asked
to save it. Select No to avoid overwriting the original surface finish
definition.

To draw the surface finish annotation, click on OK. AllyCAD will

prompt:
Indicate the position of the surface finish annotation

Indicate where to place the annotation.

Configuring Surface Finish Annotations

The relative size of the surface finish annotation text and symbols,
and the layer that surface finish annotations will be drawn on, can
be customized in the Annotation Setup dialog. To get to the
Annotation Setup dialog, select Setup in the Mechanical Toolkit
menu, then clicking on the Annotation Setup button.
To change the font face used to draw the text in the surface finish
annotations, edit the Mechanical Toolkit configuration file (usually
“ISO Mechspecs.ini” in your AllyCAD user directory, and change the
setting called “SurfaceFinishFont”.

11-96 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Structural Toolkit
The structural toolkit speeds up a number of
structural drawing functions such as:
• Drawing a building grid
• Adding column bases to the building grid
• Drawing structural steel sections

Perimeter Menu 11-97

Building Grid
Draw a building grid

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Structural
This function allows you to draw a building grid consisting of
foundations at horizontal and vertical intervals easily.

Procedure
AllyCAD will display the following options list:

Building Grid

1 2 3 4 5
5000.0 5000.0 5000.0 5000.0

A
3000.0

B
3000.0

C
3000.0

D
3000.0

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter first horizontal (x) spacing

Specify the distance between the first grid line and the second grid
line in user units. AllyCAD will now prompt:
Enter next horizontal (x) spacing (0 to exit)

Specify the distance between the second grid line and the next grid
line in user units or enter 0 to exit. AllyCAD will continue to prompt:
Enter next horizontal (x) spacing (0 to exit)

11-98 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Specify the distance between subsequent grid lines enter 0 to exit.
AllyCAD will now prompt:
Enter first vertical (y) spacing

Specify the distance between the first grid line and the second grid
line in user units. AllyCAD will now prompt:
Enter next vertical (y) spacing (0 to exit)

Specify the distance between the second grid line and the next grid
line in user units or enter 0 to exit. AllyCAD will continue to prompt:
Enter next vertical (y) spacing (0 to exit)

Specify the distance between subsequent grid lines enter 0 to exit.

AllyCAD will now prompt:
Indicate top left hand corner of grid

Click on the drawing where you want the top left corner of the grid.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter vertical grid line offset above the top horizontal
line

Specify the vertical offset for the grid dimensions and grid line labels.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter horizontal grid line offset above the top vertical
line

Specify the horizontal offset for the grid dimensions and grid line
labels. The building grid will be drawn at the indicated position.

Perimeter Menu 11-99

Column Bases
This option draws a rectangular base and allows you to position the
bases on the building grid using the intersection snap mode.

1 2 3 4 5
5000.0 5000.0 5000.0 5000.0

A
3000.0

B
3000.0

C
3000.0

D
3000.0

AllyCAD will ask:

Enter length of base (0 to return to menu)

Specify the length of the base in user units. AllyCAD will then ask:
Enter width of base

Specify the width of the base in user units. AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter position of base centre (spacebar to enter new size)

The cursor will change to intersection snap mode. Simply click near
a grid intersection for the base to be drawn at that point.

Settings
AllyCAD will ask the following questions:
Enter drawing sheet size (0,1,2,3,4)

Specify the drawing size.

Enter drawing scale

Specify the drawing scale.

Enter linetype for grid

Specify the linetype for the grid centrelines.

Enter pen for grid

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Specify the pen for the grid centrelines.
Enter text height (mm)

Specify the text height for the grid labels in millimeters.

Enter text pen number

Specify the pen number for the grid labels.

Pick or create a layer from the following list and set as
CURRENT

Select or create a layer for the grid lines, labels and dimensions.

Perimeter Menu 11-101

Survey Toolkit
The Survey Toolkit speeds up the drawing of
common survey components (such as north
signs and grid crosses). It also provides a
means of importing, exporting and drawing
using external point data sets.

The SG Diagram, General Plan and Sectional

Plan suite of functions assist in the drawing of
plans typical to Land Surveyors.

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Street Numbers
Insert street numbers

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Survey exec ".\toolkit\survey\ap_streetnum"

This tool places street numbers either inside, outside or at the angle
to the boundary or horizontal.

Procedure

Street Numbers Write the street number horizontally or at the angle of

the boundary.
Place the cursor inside or outside the boundary line and
click.
Enter the street number (the street numbers increment
by the default value).
The street number is written at the selected position.

Perimeter Menu 11-103

Settings Current text settings are used except for the height and
pen.
Text settings are restored on exit.
Enter the text height
Enter the text pen.
Select layer to be used.
Enter text offset position from the boundary.
Enter the steps for numbering (eg 2 as numbers go 1 3
5 7 etc).
Help Select this option to launch this help topic.
Exit Exit the program.

11-104 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Coordinate Constant
Read file and add or remove constants

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Survey exec ".\toolkit\survey\ap_constant"

This function allows you to add or subtract a constant from the

surveyor origin which is sent to a ini file.

Procedure
The drawing must be in surveyor mode, if not AllyCAD will give the
following prompt and exit from this function:
Please change to a surveyor coordinate system

If the drawing is not in surveyor mode change the coordinate system

in Drawing Settings
If the drawing has coordinates in Northing Easting order as in a
northern hemisphere coordinate system AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter vertical (Northing) constant

Enter the vertical (Northing) constant.

Enter horizontal (Easting) constant

Enter the horizontal (Easting) constant

If the drawing has coordinates in Easting Northing order as in a
southern hemisphere coordinate system AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter horizontal (Easting) constant

Enter the horizontal (Easting) constant

Enter vertical (Northing) constant

Enter the vertical (Northing) constant.

Add Constant? (else Subtract)

Select Yes to add the coordinate constant or No to subtract the

coordinate constant from the existing surveyor origin. AllyCAD will
display the following message when the surveyor coordinates have
been updated.
The coordinate values have been updated as instructed.

Perimeter Menu 11-105

Draw North Sign
Draws true north signs at selected positions on the drawing.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Survey exec ".\toolkit\survey\ap_northsign"

This function draws a north sign with a bearing of 0 degrees.

Procedure
The drawing must be in surveyor mode, if not AllyCAD will give the
following prompt and exit from this function:
Please change to a surveyor coordinate system

If the drawing is not in surveyor mode change the coordinate system

in Drawing Settings
AllyCAD will then give the following prompt:
Use current defaults (else change defaults) ?

Select Yes to accept the current defaults else choose No to change

these defaults. If you select No AllyCAD will give the following
prompts:
Enter layer name

Enter the name of an existing layer or new layer you would like the
North sign inserted in. If a blank is left a default layer called
NORTH_SIGN will be created.
Enter height of north sign

Enter the height of the north sign.

Enter width of north sign mm

Enter the width of the north sign.

Enter pen number north sign

Enter the pen number for the north sign

Enter text height for true north sign (mm on paper)

Enter the text height in mm.

Enter text pen number

Enter the number of the text pen.

Indicate position of true north sign (else spacebar to exit)

11-106 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Indicate with the cursor the position where you would like the sign
placed, otherwise press the [SPACEBAR] to exit this function. The
cursor always indicates the top of the north sign regardless of
whether you are drawing in a southern or northern hemisphere
coordinate system.

Draw Grid Crosses

Insert survey coordinate grid

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Survey exec ".\toolkit\survey\ap_gridcross"

This function draws single or multiple grid crosses with the option of
displaying horizontal and vertical coordinates on the cross.

Procedure
The drawing must be in surveyor mode, if not AllyCAD will give the
following prompt and exit from this function:
Please change to a surveyor coordinate system

If the drawing is not in surveyor mode change the coordinate system

in Drawing Settings
AllyCAD then will give the following prompt:
Use current defaults (else change defaults) ?

Select Yes to accept the current defaults else choose No to change

these defaults. If you select No AllyCAD will give the following
prompts:
Enter layer name

Enter the name of an existing layer or new layer you would like the
grid cross or crosses inserted in. If a blank is left a default layer
called GRID_CROSS will be created.
Enter length of grid cross

Enter the length of the grid cross in the drawings current units.
Enter pen number for cross

Enter the pen number for the grid cross

Coordinate values on grid (else none) ?

Perimeter Menu 11-107

Select Yes to add coordinate values to ends, else select No to for
none.
Enter text height for coordinates in mm

Enter the text height in mm for the coordinates displayed on the

coordinate cross
Enter text pen number

Enter the coordinate text pen number

AllyCAD will then give the following prompt:
Enter single grid cross (else multiple grid crosses) ?

Enter Yes for a single grid cross else select No for a multiple grid
cross. If Yes is selected AllyCAD will
If No is select AllyCAD will give the following prompts:
Enter horizontal spacing for crosses

Enter the horizontal spacing between the crosses.

Enter number of crosses horizontally

Enter the number of horizontal coordinate crosses you would like.

Enter vertical spacing for crosses

Enter the vertical spacing between the crosses.

Enter number of crosses vertically

Enter the number of vertical coordinate crosses you would like.

Indicate position of grid cross (else spacebar to exit)

Indicate with the cursor the position on the drawing you would like
the grid cross to be placed. You can continue placing single or
multiple crosses with the same dimensions otherwise press the
spacebar to exit this function.

Import Points
Import coordinate points from a file

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Survey exec ".\toolkit\survey\loadcrd"

This function imports coordinate data from a file with a .dat

extension and displays the coordinate points on the drawing with

11-108 AllyCAD Reference Manual

point number and elevation. The user can then join the points, jump
to points, and add new points and export these points using the the
other functions in the survey menu.

Procedure
The drawing must be in surveyor mode, if not AllyCAD will give the
following prompt and exit from this function:
Please change to a surveyor coordinate system

If the drawing is not in surveyor mode change the coordinate system

in Drawing Settings
The format of the file is comma-delimited with the following data:
point number, horizontal coordinate, vertical coordinate, elevation
and point description. Elevation and point description are optional.
As soon as you start the function an open file dialog will pop up the
heading prompting you to select the .dat file containing the
coordinate points you wish to import. Browse for the file and press
the Open button.
Once the points have been imported as shown below AllyCAD will
prompt:
Recentre paper around points (else leave paper centre as is)
?

Select YES to recentre the paper around the current points,

otherwise select NO to leave the paper centre where it is.

Add Points
Add a coordinate point/s to the drawing

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Survey exec ".\toolkit\survey\addpt"

This function adds a coordinate point to the drawing. The point has
the same format as the import points function and can thus be used
by the other surveyor functions.

Procedure
The drawing must be in surveyor mode, if not AllyCAD will give the
following prompt and exit from this function:
Please change to a surveyor coordinate system

Perimeter Menu 11-109

If the drawing is not in surveyor mode change the coordinate system
in Drawing Settings
AllyCAD will then continuously prompt:
Enter point number (else blank to exit)

Enter the point number otherwise leave a blank and press [Enter] to
exit this function.
Indicate point position (else spacebar to enter co-
ordinates)

Either indicate the position where you wish the point to be placed or
press the [spacebar] to enter the coordinates, AllyCAD will then give
the following prompt if you are using a southern hemisphere
coordinate system:
Enter point coordinates (Easting Northing)

Enter the points in the order Easting and then Northing separated by
a space.
If you are using a northern hemisphere coordinate system AllyCAD
will prompt:
Enter point coordinates (Northing Easting)

Enter the points in the order Northing and then Easting separated by
a space.
AllyCAD then continue with the following prompts:
Enter elevation (else blank for none)

Enter the elevation otherwise leave a blank for no elevation.

Enter description (else blank for none)

Enter the point description otherwise leave a blank for no point.

Export Points
Export coordinate points to a file

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Survey exec ".\toolkit\survey\exportpt"

This function exports numerically-numbered coordinate points which

have been imported using the import and add points functions.

11-110 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Procedure
The drawing must be in surveyor mode, if not AllyCAD will give the
following prompt and exit from this function:
Please change to a surveyor coordinate system

The format of the file is comma-delimited with the following data:

point number, horizontal coordinate, vertical coordinate, elevation
and point description. Elevation and point description are optional.
As soon as you start the function, a save file dialog will appear with
the heading Export Points to File. Browse for the directory where you
would like the file saved, enter the file name and press the save
button.
AllyCAD will then prompt:
First point label (else blank to exit) ?

Enter the first coordinate point label e.g. "1" you start exporting
from.
Last point label (else blank to exit) ?

Enter last coordinate point label e.g. "15" you wish to finish
exporting from.
If the first point label is greater than the last point label the following
prompt appears:
Start point label must be less than last point label

AllyCAD will then exit from this function.

Jump to Point
Jump to a coordinate point

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Survey exec ".\toolkit\survey\jump2pt"

This function jumps to coordinate points which have been imported

using the import and add points functions.

Procedure
The drawing must be in surveyor mode, if not AllyCAD will give the
following prompt and exit from this function:
Please change to a surveyor coordinate system

Perimeter Menu 11-111

If the drawing is not in surveyor mode change the coordinate system
in Drawing Settings
AllyCAD will prompt.
Enter zoom scale factor (1000 = 1:1000)

Press [Enter] if you would like to jump to the point using the current
drawing scale factor e.g. if the drawing scale is 1:1000 the scale
factor will be 1000 and will pan to the point. Otherwise enter another
scale factor e.g. 200 for a 1:200 scale factor and the function will
jump to the point using the zoom factor you enter.
AllyCAD will then continually prompt.
Enter point label (else blank to exit)

Enter the point label you would like to jump to else press [return] to
exit.
If you enter a point label which doesn't exist the following prompt will
appear:
Cannot find point label <label number>

AllyCAD will continue giving the first prompt.

Auto Join Points

Join points from point pair file.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Survey exec ".\toolkit\survey\autojoin"

This function opens a file containing coordinate points to join

together.

Procedure
The drawing must be in surveyor mode, if not AllyCAD will give the
following prompt and exit from this function:
Please change to a surveyor coordinate system

If the drawing is not in surveyor mode change the coordinate system

in Drawing Settings
The format of the file is comma-delimited with the following data:
number of point 1, number of point 2.

11-112 AllyCAD Reference Manual

As soon as you start the function an open file dialog will pop up the
heading prompting you to select the .dat file containing the
coordinate points you wish to join. Browse for the file and press the
Open button.
Add distance and bearing (else none) ?

Select YES if you would like distance and bearing added to the join,
otherwise select NO if you would like just a line joining the points.
Exiting because of bad point name : <point number>

The above message will appear if any of the points in the file doesn't
exist in the drawing. The function will then exit, naming the bad
point number.

Connect Points
Join selected points by entering point numbers

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Survey exec ".\toolkit\survey\connect"

This function joins coordinate points one by one by entering the

point number.

Procedure
The drawing must be in surveyor mode, if not AllyCAD will give the
following prompt and exit from this function:
Please change to a surveyor coordinate system

If the drawing is not in surveyor mode change the coordinate system

in Drawing Settings
Add distance and bearing (else none) ?

Select Yes if you would like distance and bearing added to the join,
otherwise select No if you would like just a line joining the points.
Cannot find point label <point number>

The above message will appear if any of the points in the file doesn't
exist in the drawing. The function will then prompt again for the
points to enter, allowing you to enter a point which does exist in the
drawing.

Perimeter Menu 11-113

Traverse
This function does flat traverses

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Survey exec ".\toolkit\survey\traverse"

This function calculates new points from, and draws in the traverse
legs of a simple data traverse. It is assumed that all distance and
bearing reductions have already been performed.

Procedure
The drawing must be in surveyor mode, if not AllyCAD will give the
following prompt and exit from this function:
Please change to a surveyor coordinate system

If the drawing is not in surveyor mode change the coordinate system

in Drawing Settings
AllyCAD will then prompt:
Indicate setup station

Click on the setup station with the mouse.

Incremental naming (else none) ?

Select YES to accept automatic naming of each leg of the traverse viz
TR1,TR2, otherwise select NO if you wish to give each leg of the
traverse a different name.
If you select YES for the above prompt AllyCAD will respond with the
following two prompts:
Base name

Accept the default base name "TR" else enter your own.
Enter start number

Accept the start number "1" to be added to the base name else enter
your own.
Enter horizontal distance (blank to exit)

Enter the flat distance of the horizontal leg of the traverse.

Enter horizontal direction (blank to exit)

Enter the bearing of traverse leg.

11-114 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 Enter station name

This prompt will appear if you selected NO for the incremental

naming prompt otherwise each leg of the station will be named
incrementally for each leg of the traverse. Enter the name of the
station on this leg of the traverse.

Tache Shot
This function performs tacheometric calculations

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Survey exec ".\toolkit\survey\tachyshot"

This function calculates new points from, and draws in the tache
shots of a simple tache survey. It is assumed that all distance and
bearing reductions have already been performed.

Procedure
The drawing must be in surveyor mode, if not AllyCAD will give the
following prompt and exit from this function:
Please change to a surveyor coordinate system.

If the drawing is not in surveyor mode change the coordinate system

in Drawing Settings
AllyCAD will then prompt:
Indicate setup station

Click on the setup station with the mouse.

Incremental naming (else none) ?

Select YES to accept automatic naming of each leg of the traverse viz
TR1,TR2, otherwise select NO if you wish to give each leg of the
traverse a different name.
If you select YES for the above prompt AllyCAD will respond with the
following two prompts:
Base name

Accept the default base name "SS" else enter your own.
Enter start number

Accept the start number "1" to be added to the base name else enter
your own.

Perimeter Menu 11-115

 Enter horizontal distance (blank to exit)

Enter the flat distance of the horizontal leg of the traverse.

Enter horizontal direction (blank to exit)

Enter the bearing of traverse leg.

Enter station name

This prompt will appear if you selected NO for the incremental

naming prompt otherwise each leg of the station will be named
incrementally for each leg of the traverse. Enter the name of the
station on this leg of the traverse.

11-116 AllyCAD Reference Manual

SG Diagram
Generate an SG diagram by graphically
indicating a consistency on a layout plan.

Default Settings
Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command
Left SG Diagram SGDiagramEditor

The Setup dialog contains the settings and defaults applicable for all the SG
Diagram functions. The settings are stored in an ini file. Before attempting to use
any of the SG Diagram functions, you need to have loaded an ini file into this
dialog.
You can accumulate various ini files for different scenarios. All the
setting in the dialog are stored in a corresponding ini file. The file
Knowledge Base distributes with the software is found in
CivDes64\Examples\SG_Files\SG_Diagram.ini.

Perimeter Menu 11-117

Template drawing files
The symbol file drawing must contain the TRIG and TSM symbols to
be used to draw the trig beacon and reference mark symbols.
The title block drawing contains the outline of the diagram borders.
All text and internal column lines are setup in the appropriate
settings tab. The drawing should be in Cartesian mode, units of
millimetres and at a scale of 1:1.

Settings

There are similar tabs for the text and data column settings of the
diagram. Any measurements are in millimetres with respect to the
bottom left-most drawing entity on the relevant template drawing.

Options

Various options are applicable for the generation of the diagram.

11-118 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Control Coords

Use another ini file to maintain a database of Town Survey Mark and
Trigonometrical Beacon control points for your SG diagrams and
general plans.

Saving and loading a setup ini file

The settings in the dialog are stored in the current ini file listed on
the window’s title bar. If you make a change and press OK the
settings are automatically saved. This is why there is no Save button.
Pressing Cancel is the alternative whereby the changes are not
saved.
You are not limited to using the file we distribute but can create one
more suitable to your requirements. Do this by pressing Save As,
and modifying the resultant settings. Similarly with the Load button
- you can have various ini files each with different settings if you so
desire.

Trace Figure
Trace the consistency

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left SG Diagram SGTracePolyArea

Perimeter Menu 11-119

Use this function to graphically indicate the consistency to be drawn
on the SG Diagram.

Procedure
You will be prompted to
Indicate first point of perimeter

Indicate the first consistency point graphically. The cursor will

automatically be in GRAB ALL mode.
The program will then prompt you to
Enter Label for first point

Type in the label for the first consistency point and press Enter.
You will be asked to enter all the consistency points and labels.
When you indicate the first point again, the Diagram will be
generated.

11-120 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Adjust Drawing
Change the selected line

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left SG Diagram SGAdjustDrawing

Use this function to change the line type of the lines that do not
belong to the consistency to the Edit Line Type value specified in the
Setup dialog.
The program will simply prompt you to indicate the lines that have to
be edited. Press escape to exit the function.

Perimeter Menu 11-121

General Plan
A General Plan title block and
heading can be added to an
already open cadastral drawing.
Various tables and survey
dimensions can then be added
to the General plan.

Default Settings
Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command
Left General Plan SGGenPlanEditor

The Setup dialog contains the settings and defaults applicable for all the General
Plan functions. The settings are stored in an ini file. Before attempting to use any
of the General Plan functions, you need to have loaded an ini file into this dialog.
You can accumulate various ini files for different scenarios. All the
setting in the dialog are stored in a corresponding ini file. The file
Knowledge Base distributes with the software is found in
CivDes64\Examples\SG_Files\SG_GenPlan.ini.

11-122 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Template drawing files
The symbol file file drawing must contain the TRIG and TSM symbols
to be used to draw the trig beacon and reference mark symbols.
The title block drawing contains the outline of the general plan frame
All text and internal column lines are setup in the appropriate
settings tab. The drawing should be in Cartesian mode, units of
millimetres and at a scale of 1:1.

Settings

There are similar tabs for the text and data column settings of the
diagram. Any measurements are in millimeters with respect to the
bottom left-most drawing entity on the relevant template drawing.

Perimeter Menu 11-123

Options

Various options are applicable for the generation of the diagram.

Control Coords

Use another ini file to maintain a database of Town Survey Mark and
Trigonometrical Beacon control points for your SG diagrams and
general plans.

Saving and loading a setup ini file

The settings in the dialog are stored in the current ini file listed on
the window’s title bar. If you make a change and press OK the
settings are automatically saved. This is why there is no Save button.

11-124 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Pressing Cancel is the alternative whereby the changes are not
saved.
You are not limited to using the file we distribute but can create one
more suitable to your requirements. Do this by pressing Save As,
and modifying the resultant settings. Similarly with the Load button
- you can have various ini files each with different settings if you so
desire.

Insert Titleblock
Add the title block to the drawing

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left General Plan SGInsertBorder

This function will load the Title block drawing, as specified in the
Setup dialog, onto the existing drawing with its center point at the
screen center. It will then ask the Frame Questions, as specified in
the Setup dialog.

Insert Heading
Insert the General Plan heading

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left General Plan SGInsertHeading

This function will ask the Heading questions as specified in the

Setup dialog, and insert the text at a user defined position.

Procedure
AllyCAD will prompt:
Indicate position for heading

Indicate the position where the top left corner of the heading should
be.
The Heading questions will be asked.

Perimeter Menu 11-125

Erf Numbering and Area Table
Create a stand area table

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left General Plan SGAreaTable

This function will assign numbers to indicated erven and generate an

erf areas table.

Procedure
Ensure that erf boundary lines form a proper perimeter around the
stand to enable the area calculation routine to calculate a correct
area quantity.
You will be prompted to:
Indicate the position for Table

Indicate the position where the top left corner of the table should be.
The following dialog will appear:

Press Yes to place the stand numbers at a horizontal angle, or No to

place the stand numbers parallel to one of the erf edges.
You will then be prompted to:
Position cursor inside erf to be numbered (Done to exit)

Indicate the each erf to be numbered and press [Esc] to draw the
table.
After indicating the erf to number, you will be asked to:
Enter erf number

Type in the erf number.

11-126 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Dimension Erf
Add survey dimensions on an erf-by-erf basis

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right General Plan SGAddSurveyDims

This function can be used to add survey dimensions (bearing and/or

distance) to erf boundaries.

Procedure
You will be asked to:
Indicate erf to dimension

Graphically indicate the erf by clicking inside the erf. The selected erf
will be highlighted.
You will then be prompted to:
Indicate the line to dimension to the inside of the erf

Click close to the line that you want to dimension, on the inside of
the erf.
A direction and bearing will be drawn with the current text settings
and with the separator details as specified in the Setup dialog.

Point-Point Dimension
Add survey dimensions between two points

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left General Plan SGAddSingleSurveyDims

This function can be used to add survey dimensions (bearing and/or

distance) between two points.

Procedure
You will be asked to:
Indicate start point for survey dimension

Graphically indicate the start point of the dimension.

You will then be prompted to:

Perimeter Menu 11-127

 Indicate the end point for survey dimension

Graphically indicate the end point to draw the dimension.

A direction and bearing will be drawn with the current text settings
and with the separator details as specified in the Setup dialog.

Multiple Dimension
Add survey dimensions to multiple erven

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left General Plan SGAddMultiSurveyDims

This function uses the layer with erf numbers to automatically

dimension multiple erven.

Procedure
You are presented with the Multiple Dimensioning dialog.

Erven could have been numbered using the Erf Numbering & Area
Table function in which case the function creates and uses
STAND_NO as the default layer name. Alternatively, you may have
another layer containing numerical text entities within the erf
boundaries. Select the applicable layer name. Any non-numerical
text entities are ignored as an erf number.

Outside Figure Table

Create a figure table

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

11-128 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 Left General Plan SGTraceArea

Use this function to graphically indicate a consistency to be tabled.

If you must insert Area Tables, it must be done before adding Figure
Tables. This routine adds snipped circles to the stand corners which
will affect the area quantity, should an Area table be added after a
Figure Table has been added for a particular erf.

Procedure
You will be prompted to
Indicate first point of perimeter

Indicate the first consistency point graphically. The cursor will

automatically be in GRAB ALL mode.
The program will then prompt you to:
Enter Label for first point

Type in the label for the first consistency point and press [Enter].
You will be asked to enter all the consistency points and labels.
When you indicate the first point again, the Diagram will be
generated.
You will then be prompted to:
Indicate the position for Table

Indicate the position where the top left corner of the table should be.
The program will finally prompt you to:
Enter the LO Coordinate system

as well as the coordinate constants before it draws the table.

Perimeter Menu 11-129

Block Corners Table
Create a table of block corners

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right General Plan SGBlockTable

Use this function to generate a table of block corners coordinates.

Procedure
You will be prompted to:
Indicate the position for Table

Indicate the position where the top left corner of the table should be.
You will then be prompted to:
Indicate Block corner (Done to exit)

Indicate each block corner to be tabled and press Escape to draw the
table.
After indicating the block corner, you will be asked to:
Enter number

Enter the block corner number.

The block corner numbers will be drawn at the block corner position
and tabled.

11-130 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Reference Mark Table
Create a reference mark table

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left General Plan SGReferenceMarks

Use this function to generate a table of Reference mark coordinates.

Procedure
You will be prompted to:
Indicate the position for Table

Indicate the position where the top left corner of the table should be.
You will then be prompted to:
Position for Reference marks (Done to exit)

Indicate each reference mark to be tabled and press [Esc] to draw the
table.
After indicating the Reference mark, you will be asked to:
Enter number

Enter the Reference mark name.

The Reference mark numbers will be drawn at the Reference mark
position and tabled.

Perimeter Menu 11-131

Control Coordinates Table
Create a table for the trig beacons and town survey marks used for control.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Right General Plan SGTrigBeacons

Use this function to generate a table of the Trig beacon and/or town
survey mark coordinates that are currently entered in the Control
Coordinates dialog on the Setup dialog.

Procedure
You will be prompted to:
Indicate the position for Table

Indicate the position where the top left corner of the table should be.

11-132 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Sectional Plan
The Sectional Plans toolkit consists of
a few functions to assist with
preparing sectional plans.

Default Settings
Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command
Left Sectional Plan SGSectionEditor

The Setup dialog contains the settings and defaults applicable for all the
Sectional Plan functions. The settings are stored in an ini file. Before attempting
to use any of the Sectional Plan functions, you need to have loaded an ini file into
this dialog.
You can accumulate various ini files for different scenarios. All the setting in the
dialog are stored in a corresponding ini file. The file Knowledge Base distributes
with the software is found in CivDes64\Examples\SG_Files\SG_Sectional.ini.

Perimeter Menu 11-133

Template drawing files

There are grid rows for the template drawings of a typical sheet 1,
block plan, floor plan and PQ sheet. These drawings will be what is
placed around the data determined during a plan generation. These
drawing must be prepared in a cartesian drawing, with units in
millimeters and at a scale of 1:1. We distribute some sample
drawings which are located in the CivDes64\Examples\SG_Files\ directory.
You are not restricted to using these drawings but can use your own.

Settings

There are similar tabs for settings of each plan type. Any
measurements are in millimeters with respect to the bottom left-most
drawing entity on the relevant template drawing.

Options

Various options are applicable for the generation of sheets.

11-134 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Saving and loading a setup ini file
The settings in the dialog are stored in the current ini file listed on
the window’s title bar. If you make a change and press OK the
settings are automatically saved. This is why there is no Save button.
Pressing Cancel is the alternative whereby the changes are not
saved.
You are not limited to using the file we distribute but can create one
more suitable to your requirements. Do this by pressing Save As,
and modifying the resultant settings. Similarly with the Load button
- you can have various ini files each with different settings if you so
desire.

Section Manager
Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command
Left Sectional Plan SGSectionMgr

Use the Section Manage to maintain a list of all the sections in a current job

Perimeter Menu 11-135

Collapse / Expand parts of section.
As a section can consist of many parts, this setting allows you the
option of seeing either the individual parts or the section as a whole
within the spreadsheet view.
The difference is as the example of section 1 above:
Expanded:

Collapsed:

The setting has no affect on sections with only one part.

The spreadsheet view

Each row contains the details of one section (or part thereof). The list
is populated either by tracing a section using the Trace section
function, or by loading in all section details from a comma delimited
file.

Loading and Saving the list

You could potentially use the Sectional Plans toolkit just for assisting
with the PQ calculations of a job. For this you would want to load the
data from an external source. The section data would then obviously
contain no coordinate data for a subsequent floor plan generation.
Using the Load button you can load data from a csv file with the
format being:
section (number),building (number),unit (characters),floor area (number),pq (decimal)
Pressing save will save the current list to a file formatted in the same
way.
When you save data, the coordinate data of the Traced sections is
lost because the data is stored in memory. This is a known limitation
and will be addressed in the future.
If you load data when the list already contains sections, you need to
tell the program how to continue. You are presented with the
following message box:

11-136 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Specify whether to replace (Yes) or append (No), or press Cancel to
quit.

Insert
Click the Insert button to manually insert a new row. The Insert
Section Dialog is presented.

As with loading from file, manually inserting a section leads to that

section not containing any coordinate data for a subsequent floor
plan plot. Use Trace section if you want that.

Delete All
To lose all information currently stored for the current Sectional Plan
job press 'Delete All'. You are presented with the following Message
Box:

Perimeter Menu 11-137

This highlights the fact that you are starting afresh. A subsequent
Cancel will not work. Click 'Yes' if you are sure.

Adjust PQ's
As you will well know, it can easily happen that the PQ summation
does not equal 100.0000. You will recognize this in the statistics edit
boxes in the lower right. Example:

Prior to generating the PQ sheet these need to be adjusted. Press the

'Adust PQ's' button. The program will attempt an appropriate
adjustment. Internally the floor areas are sorted in ascending order
and the first section with a floor area that only occurs once has the
difference applied to it. If successfull you are presented with:

It can happen that the values are such that no automatic adjustment
is possible. You will then need to adjust values yourself as per
normal.

Trace Section
Graphically define a section (or part thereof) from a base drawing. In this way
coordinate data is available for plotting floor plans.

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command

Left Sectional Plan SGSectionTraceS

The purpose of this function is two fold: Firstly the result is another
row in the Section Manager denoting a new section or part thereof.

11-138 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Secondly, that new section entry has now been coordinated and a
floor plan generation will find that data allowing you to plot it.

Procedure:
You get the following prompt:
Trace around figure (ending on first point)

Starting and ending on the same corner, click successively on the

corners of the section.
You get presented with the Insert Section dialog.

Fill in the relevant details for this new section and press OK.
If you were to now open the Section Manager, you will see the new
section details. This will be used in the other plan generation
functions.

Generate Sheet 1
Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command
Left Sectional Plan SGSectionGenS1

A new CAD drawing is created being a copy of what was specified for
the Sheet 1 template drawing. e.g.

You get presented with the Text Entry Dialog. Modify the default text
and press OK. These text items will be inserted into the new CAD

Perimeter Menu 11-139

drawing at position and with appearance as specified in the Setup
dialog.

Generate Block Plan

Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command
Left Sectional Plan SGSectionBP

The way this works is that you will trace the outside figure of the erf.
The dimensions of the erf are stored for if you want a table of sides
and directions. All the visible CAD entities within that figure and
near it are going to be copied across to the new CAD drawing. So
typically you will want to have as visible only the linework and
annotation making up the cadastral detail and the outline of the
buildings and common property touching the ground.
The appearance of the figure in the destination drawing is discussed
in the Drawing Creation in the SG functions topic.In the normal SG
toolkit way, you first trace the outside figure of the erf.
A new CAD drawing is created being a copy of what was specified for
the Block Plan template drawing. e.g.

The above mentioned CAD entities are copied across.

You get presented with the Text Entry Dialog. Modify the default text
and press OK. These text items will be inserted into the new CAD
drawing at position and with appearance as specified in the Setup
dialog.

If you want a table of sides and directions, choose Yes. You get
prompted:
Position top left corner of table …

Indicate the position. The appearance of the table is as per the 'Block
Plan table' settings in the 'Plan' tab of the Setup dialog.

11-140 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Generate Floor Plan
Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command
Left Sectional Plan SGSectionFP

You can only plot sections if they have been traced with the Trace
Section command. Otherwise the program has no way of knowing the
extents thereof. You would get the following error message:

Otherwise, you get presented with the Sections Dialog requesting

which sections are to be sent to a new floor plan drawing.

Make your selection and press OK.

You get presented with the Text Entry Dialog. Modify the default text
and press OK. These text items will be inserted into the new CAD
drawing at the position and with appearance as specified in the
Setup dialog.
A new CAD drawing is created being a copy of what was specified for
the Floor Plan template drawing. e.g.

The appearance of the figure in the destination drawing is discussed

in the Drawing Creation in the SG functions topic.
The Notes Dialog is presented.
Perimeter Menu 11-141
Enter the text you would like drawn in. Use Ctrl+Enter to start a new
line. Press OK when finished. The text of the notes is drawn such
that they end one linefeed above the value you specified. i.e.

and with an appearance as specified in the 'Notes' row of the 'Plans'

tab in the Setup dialog.

Generate PQ Sheet
Icon Button Toolbar Shortcut Command
Left Sectional Plan SGSectionPQ

A new CAD drawing is created being a copy of what was specified for
the PQ Sheet template drawing. e.g.

The PQ data as existing in the Section Manager is printed. Long lists

extend beyond the bottom of the drawing. This is a known limitation
that will be addressed in the future.
You get presented with the Text Entry Dialog. Modify the default text
and press OK. These text items will be inserted into the new CAD
drawing at the position and with appearance as specified in the
Setup dialog.

11-142 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Perimeter Menu
The Perimeter Menu is a row of icons that is displayed on the Control
Bar whenever you need to enter a perimeter. This happens during
the following functions:
• Draw ► Parallel Line - adding parallel lines to an existing
perimeter.
• Tools ► Polygon Area - measure an area.
• Annotate ► Add Hatch - hatch an area.
The first six icons represent different methods of defining a
perimeter:
Line
(Chained)

Circle Intersections

Rectangle Auto

Object

You can use one method to define a perimeter, or several methods in

combination.

See Tutorial 3 in the User Guide for practical examples of using the
Perimeter Menu.

Perimeter Menu 12-143

Accept Button
Click on this button when you have finished defining the perimeter.

While you are using the Circle, Rectangle, Line (Chained), Object,
Intersections or Auto options, the Accept button changes to a Done
button.

Cancel Button
Clicking on this button abandons the perimeter defining operation
and discards any perimeter that you may have started.

Circle
This option allows you to define a circular perimeter either by
clicking on an existing circle or by drawing a new circle. It also allows
you to add arcs to a perimeter by clicking on them.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Pick circle to be added to perimeter or enter new circle
centre

If you want to add an existing circle or arc to the perimeter simply

click on it with your cursor. The circle or arc will start flashing.
If you want to draw a new circle to the perimeter this function
operates in the same way as the Draw ► Circle function.

Note that any circles that you draw here

are purely perimeters. They will not be
displayed when you redraw.
When you have drawn the circle, it will
start flashing.

No perimeter drawn

AllyCAD continues to prompt:

Pick circle to be added to perimeter or enter new circle
centre

Add more circles or arcs to the perimeter or click on one of the Done
buttons or press the [Space Bar] to stop.

12-144 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Rectangle
This option allows you to define a rectangular perimeter either by
clicking on an existing rectangle or by drawing a new rectangle.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter first rectangle corner

The rectangle that you draw is purely a perimeter. It will not be

displayed when you redraw. After you have drawn the rectangular
perimeter, it flashes and AllyCAD continues to prompt:
Enter first rectangle corner

Add more rectangles to the perimeter or click on one of the Done

buttons or press the [Space Bar] to stop.

If you are going to add parallel lines to a rectangular perimeter,

lines with a positive offset will be drawn on the outside of the
rectangle, and lines with a negative offset will be drawn on the
inside.

Line (Chained)
This option allows you to add to the perimeter by drawing lines or
clicking on existing lines.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter first point of line

Any line that you draw is a virtual entity. It will not be displayed
when you redraw. After you have drawn the line it will flash.
AllyCAD will continue to prompt:
Enter next point of line

Add more lines to the perimeter or click on one of the Done buttons
or press the [Space Bar] to stop.

If you are going to add parallel lines to the perimeter, lines with a
positive offset will be drawn to the right of the perimeter line in the
direction the line is drawn in. Lines with a negative offset will be
drawn to the left.

Perimeter Menu 12-145

Objects
This option defines a whole object as a perimeter.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Select object to be added to perimeter

Click on the object to want to add. The object will flash.

Add more objects to the perimeter or click on one of the Done
buttons or press the [Space Bar] to stop.

Intersections
This option allows you to define complicated perimeters by manually
tracing over them by indicating entities and intersections between
entities.
The cursor will change to Grab All mode and AllyCAD will prompt:
Enter first intersection point of perimeter

Position the cursor close to an intersection

along the perimeter and press [Enter] or
click.
There is no need to jump exactly onto the
intersection as AllyCAD will locate the
nearest intersection automatically.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Identify next element of perimeter

Position the cursor close to a line or arc

adjoining the intersection and press [Enter]
or click.

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter next intersection point

The cursor is attached to a line that moves

as you move the cursor. Position the cursor
close to the next intersection along the
perimeter and press [Enter] or click.

12-146 AllyCAD Reference Manual

The line or arc you have just defined flashes.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Identify next element of perimeter

Position the cursor close to another line or arc to add to the

perimeter. Alternatively, click on one of the Done buttons, click on ,
or press the [Space Bar] to stop adding entities to the perimeter.

Remember that if you are going to add parallel lines to the

perimeter, lines with a positive offset will be drawn to the right of
the perimeter in the direction of tracing, and lines with a negative
offset will be drawn to the left.

Auto
This option automatically tracks along a perimeter made up of
existing lines and arcs.
AllyCAD will prompt:
Place cursor inside perimeter and near a line

The cursor changes to Freehand mode so that it cannot accidentally

jump onto anything on the wrong side of the perimeter.
If you are going to hatch or measure an area, place the cursor on
that side of the perimeter you want hatched or measured. Click or
press [Enter].
If you are going to draw parallel lines around an existing perimeter,
you must position your cursor with care. Refer to Parallel Line
Defaults in the Settings Menu.
When you have clicked inside the perimeter, it will automatically be
tracked. The tracked perimeter will then flash and the Accept button
will re-appear at the left end of the Perimeter Menu.
Note the following:
• By default, Auto will not track dashed or dotted lines. If the
perimeter you are going to track includes dashed or dotted lines,
you must check the Dotted box in the Perimeter Menu first.
• If the perimeter to be tracked has gaps in it, type a distance into
the Tolerance box at the right hand end of the Perimeter Menu.
The tracking function will then jump over any gaps in the
perimeter that are smaller than this distance.

Perimeter Menu 12-147

Delete
This option allows you to delete the whole perimeter you have
defined.

Dotted
Checking this box will allow the Auto function to track dashed or
dotted lines.

Tolerance
The Auto function will jump over any gaps in the perimeter that are
smaller than the distance you type here.

12-148 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Defaults
Every time you enter AllyCAD or use the File ► New function to start
a new drawing, a default drawing called STARTUP.DRG is
automatically loaded.
This drawing sets up the defaults - the paper size, scale, units,
background colour you normally use, the way you normally want
text and dimensions to look, etc.
You may change these defaults so that your preferred paper size,
scale, colour etc. are automatically loaded each time you start a new
drawing.
To do this, load AllyCAD. Do not draw anything, but set the defaults
to the values you would like loaded each time you start a new
drawing. Refer to the functions in the Settings Menu.
Use File ► Save As to save the blank drawing. You must save it into
your user directory with the name STARTUP.DRG.

Defaults 13-1
Multiple users
Different users can have their own User Home directories storing
their own menus, hatch patterns, defaults and line types.
For example, one user's preferred menus, hatch patterns, defaults
and line types may be stored in the default User Home directory,
guest. Other users can then create their own personal sub-
directories in which their preferred menu, hatch patterns, defaults
and line types are stored. See Adding new users below.

AllyCAD33

Users
Guest

Macro

Paul

Macro

Civil

Macro

Arch

Macro

Mech

Macro

As well as creating sub-directories for different users, you can also

create sub-directories for different types of drawing.
For example, in the diagram above, all of Guest's preferred settings
will be stored in the Guest sub-directory, all of Paul's preferred
settings will be stored in the Paul sub-directory, etc.
The arch sub-directory may contain defaults suitable for
architectural drawings, e.g. a default scale of 1:50 and special brick
hatch patterns. The mech sub-directory may contain defaults
suitable for mechanical drawing, etc.

User Home directory

The directory where your menus, hatch patterns, defaults and line
types are stored is called your User Home directory. Each user can

13-2 AllyCAD Reference Manual

have his or her User Home directory. See Multiple Users later in this
chapter.
The User Home directory contains the following files:
• CAD.MEN
This defines the menu structure, icon functions and accelerator
keys in the CAD.
• HATCH.PAT
This contains hatch pattern definitions.
• STARTUP.DRG
This is a drawing that contains your drawing defaults. It is
loaded each time you start the CAD or start a new drawing.
• CAD.INI
This stores defaults relating to printing, DXF and DWG transfers,
digitizer setup, colours etc.
• DOM.TXT
The Drawing Office Manager data file. This is updated if you have
specified you want to use the Drawing Office Manager (see Save
Settings in the Reference Manual).
• CAD.LOG
If activated this logs everything you do during a CAD session. See
CAD.INI.
• COMPASS.DRG
This is a compass that you can automatically insert on your
drawing when you print using Zoom Print in the File Menu.
There is also a compass called COMPASSN.DRG. COMPASSN is a
more elaborate compass. If you want to use COMPASSN instead
of COMPASS, rename COMPASSN.DRG to COMPASS.DRG.
It also contains the MACRO sub-directory where the line type
definitions are stored in the LINETYPE.MAC file. Do not delete this
file.

Adding new users

Before you can add a new user sub-directory, you must switch on
the Ask Logon name at Startup checkbox in the Settings ► System
Settings dialog box.
Now, when you start the CAD, the Login dialog box is displayed.

Defaults 13-3
To add a new user sub-directory, click on the Add new name button
in this dialog box. The dialog below is displayed.

Type the new user sub-directory's name into the New name box.
From the Copy from list box, select one of the existing sub-
directories. The contents of the existing sub-directory will be copied
into the new sub-directory. These copied files can later be edited or
overwritten, for example with the new user's preferred menu system.
When you click on OK, the CAD will start up using the new user
sub-directory.
Whenever you start the CAD in future, the Login dialog box will be
displayed. Select the login name you want to use and click on OK.
The menu, hatch patterns, defaults and line types stored in that
sub-directory will be loaded.
If you click on Help ► About a dialog box will appear. The name of the
current sub-directory will be displayed at the bottom of this dialog
box.

Deleting user sub-directories

To delete a user sub-directory, simply delete it form your hard drive
using Windows Explorer. Do not do this while AllyCAD is running.

Disabling the User Login

Refer to the Settings Menu chapter in the Reference Manual for
details on enabling and disabling the login.

13-4 AllyCAD Reference Manual

CAD.INI
The CAD.INI file in your user directory store defaults such as your
default directories, etc. A typical file looks like this:
[Paths]
macropath=C:\AllyCAD35\macro
symbolpath=C:\AllyCAD35\Symbols
drawpath=N:\CAD\34.136

[STOREDEF]
USEDOM=0
AUTOGEOM=1
AUTOBACKUP=10
REFERENCEPROMPT=0
ASKBACKUP=0
BACKUPPATH=
DOMALLSAVE=0

[PRINT]
PRINTERARCS=1

[ToDXFFonts]
Modern=TXT
Roman=ROMANS
Arial=ROMAND
Times New Roman=ROMANC
Times New Roman.I=ITALICC
Times New Roman.B=ROMANT
Times New Roman.B.I=ITALICT
Script=SCRIPTS
Script.I=SCRIPTC
UNKNOWNNAME=TXT

[DXFFlags]
ExplodeBlocks=0
TargetVersion=12

[CONTROLBAR]
name="MS Sans Serif"
size=8
weight=400
italic=0
charset=0
pitchandfamily=34

[DIGITIZER]
TYPE=None
FORMAT=
INITSTRING=
COMPORT=2
BAUD=9600
DATABITS=8
STOPBITS=1
PARITY=1

[LOGFILE]

Defaults 13-5
WriteLogFile=0

[VMEM]
MaxMegAlloc=10
Vmempath=C:\DOCUME~1\DEV4\LOCALS~1\Temp

[COLORS]
pen0=128 0 0
pen1=255 0 0
pen2=128 128 0
pen3=255 255 0
pen4=0 255 0
pen5=0 128 0
pen6=0 128 128
pen7=0 255 255
pen8=0 0 255
pen9=0 0 128
pen10=128 0 128
pen11=255 0 255
pen12=255 255 255
pen13=128 128 128
pen14=0 0 0
pen15=192 192 192
Use_AutoCAD_Colors=0
CustColor0=0 0 0
CustColor1=1 0 0
CustColor2=128 237 18
CustColor3=52 135 212
CustColor4=88 1 92
CustColor5=0 4 0
CustColor6=0 0 0
CustColor7=0 0 0
CustColor8=79 229 214
CustColor9=205 171 186
CustColor10=0 0 0
CustColor11=188 237 18
CustColor12=79 229 214
CustColor13=232 237 18
CustColor14=22 136 212
CustColor15=0 240 253

[SETTINGS]
UseWidthInPerimeter=1
OpenCreatesNewWindow=1
CompileMacro=1
Create16BitCompatible=0
DefaultEditor=NOTEPAD.EXE
ZoomOutFactor=10
PopUpDoneButton=0
BitmapTilingThreshold=1000
CompressedTiles=10
TilePath=.
MaxSecondsHatch=10
MaxPatternSize=65000
MouseToDefBtn=1
LowResPrint=0
MakeOpenDrgCopy=0
RedrawByLayer=0

13-6 AllyCAD Reference Manual

VerifyOnSave=1
EnableDwgWizard=1
SuppressMsg=0

[MechanicalTools]
SpecFile=C:\James Data\AllyCAD35 Build7\Users\Guest\ISO Mechspecs.ini

[ArchitecturalTools]
SpecFile=C:\James Data\AllyCAD35 Build7\Users\Guest\ArchSpecs.ini

[Version Check]
Configured=1
Check=0
Days=30
Connection=2

[Drawings]
Recent1=N:\CAD\34.136\34136.DRG
Recent2=N:\CAD\35.55\3555.DRG
Recent3=N:\CAD\34.139\34139.DRG
Recent4=C:\Work Data\Support\TEST_BITMAP_CLIP_ROTATE.DRG
Recent5=C:\Work Data\Support\TEST_BITMAP.DRG
Recent6=C:\Work Data\Support\INTERSECTION_SNAP.DRG
Recent7=C:\WORK DATA\SUPPORT\SITEPLAN001.002_LAYOUT.DRG
Recent8=C:\WORK DATA\SUPPORT\SITEPLAN001.002.DRG

[LegendBar]
sizeHorzCX=80
sizeHorzCY=400
sizeVertCX=80
sizeVertCY=479
sizeFloatCX=80
sizeFloatCY=400

[CADFrame]
Status=3
Flags=2
MinX=-1
MinY=-1
MaxX=-6
MaxY=-25
Top=132
Left=132
Bottom=788
Right=1100

[TOOLBARPOSN]
Color=RIGHT 752 794 198 486 VISIBLE 1
File=TOP -2 464 50 76 VISIBLE 1
Main=LEFT -2 25 123 516 VISIBLE 18
View=LEFT -2 8 100 110 HIDE 1
Modify=LEFT -2 8 198 208 HIDE 1
Geometry=BOTTOM -2 363 510 536 VISIBLE 1
Dimensions=LEFT -2 8 100 110 HIDE 1
Screen=LEFT 0 0 0 0 HIDE 1
Snaps=RIGHT 727 754 198 481 VISIBLE 13
Turn=TOP -2 239 74 100 VISIBLE 1
General=LEFT -2 8 100 110 HIDE 1

Defaults 13-7
Civil=LEFT -2 8 100 110 HIDE 1
Structural=LEFT -2 8 100 110 HIDE 1
Survey=LEFT -2 8 100 110 HIDE 1
Architectural=LEFT -2 8 100 110 HIDE 1
Mechanical=LEFT -2 8 100 110 HIDE 1
SG Diagram=LEFT -2 8 100 110 HIDE 1
General Plan=LEFT -2 8 100 110 HIDE 1
Sectional Plan=LEFT -2 8 100 110 HIDE 1

[PRINTDEF]
PROFILES=PRINT
CURRPROFILE=PRINT

[PRINT_PROFILE_PRINT]
PRINTERARCS=1
ALLPENSTOBLACK=0
SCALEHATCH=0
SCALEFATLINES=1
XOFFSET=0.000
YOFFSET=0.000
MINPEN=1
MAXPEN=15

Paths
This contains the paths for drawing, symbol and macro files - i.e. the
names of the directories where you store these files and where on the
hard drive AllyCAD can find them.

13-8 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Print
This contains the print settings.
Item Value Description
PRINTERARCS 0 Use plotter arcs
1 Plot arcs as lines
ALLPENSTOBLACK 0 Print with colours
1 Print all colours as black
PEN_WIDTH Define the width of each pen in mm

FromDXFFonts
This section stores the AllyCAD font that an AutoCAD font must be
converted to during a transfer from a DWG or DXF file to an AllyCAD
drawing file.
The font on the left of the = sign is the AutoCAD font, and the one on
the right is the AllyCAD font it must be converted to.
A “.B” or “.I” after the AllyCAD font name indicates that the font must
be bold or italic. See DXF/DWG Conversion Settings.

ToDXFFonts
This section stores the AutoCAD font that an AllyCAD font must be
converted to during a transfer from an AllyCAD drawing to a DWG or
DXF file.
The font on the left of the = sign is the AllyCAD font, and the one on
the right is the AutoCAD font it must be converted to.
A “.B” or “.I” after the AllyCAD font name indicates that the font is
bold or italic. See DXF/DWG Conversion Settings.

DXFFlags
TargetVersion is 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 or 18 depending on the version of
AutoCAD the DWG or DXF files you are creating must be compatible
with. See DXF/DWG Conversion Settings.

Controlbar
This section stores the font used on the Control Bar. See View
Settings.

Defaults 13-9
Digitizer
This stores the current digitizer setup. See Digitizer Settings. The
NOBUTTON line stores the code returned as the pen by the digitizer
when you are not pressing any buttons.

Logfile
If WriteLogFile=1, AllyCAD will record everything that you do in a file
called ALLYCAD.LOG. This is useful if you are experiencing problems
and wish to contact the programmers.
Each time you start a new AllyCAD session, the previous log file will
be added on to. If WriteLogFile=0, no log file will be written.

Drawings
This stores the names of the last eight drawings you have worked on.
These names appear at the bottom of the File Menu, where you can
click on them to open the drawings quickly.

Vmem
This section stores the virtual memory settings. See Virtual Memory
Settings in the Settings Menu.

Colors
The first part of this section stores the colours you have assigned to
each pen in the Color toolbar in the format
pen=red green blue

Red, green and blue have values between 0 and 255 and define the
amount of red, green and blue making up each colour.
The second part of this section stores any custom colours you have
defined in the colour palette that appears when you right click on the
Pen button in the Control Bar to define a colour or when you are
entering a solid fill.

Textedit
This section stores the size of the Text Entry dialog box, and whether
it has been set to accept [Enter] (1) or [CTRL][Enter] (0) for multiline
text. See Add Text.

13-10 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Infowindow
This section stores the last position of the Measure and Query Entity
dialog boxes. See Measure and Query Entity.
All the values in CAD.INI except for the symbol and macro paths are
automatically updated each time you exit AllyCAD. To change the
symbol and macro paths, you need to edit them manually in an
ASCII text editor such as Windows Notepad.

Coordtable
FORMAT contains the format that will be used to display coordinate
labels and tables. See Label Coord.

BOM
This section stores the bill of materials (BOM) delimiter and whether
the first line of the BOM contains field names (set to 1 if it does). The
delimiter is
• 0 comma
• 1 tab
• 2 columns
See Bill of Materials.

Defaults 13-11
Notes:

13-12 AllyCAD Reference Manual

CAD.MEN
AllyCAD is supplied with its functions arranged on the pull-down
menus and toolbars in a particular way. However, if you want to, you
can re-arrange the functions, re-name them, “switch off” the ones
you don't want, and add your own. You can even create alternative
menu systems and switch between them.
The menu layout is defined in the CAD.MEN file that resides in your
user directory. To create alternative menu systems, you must create
files with the same format as CAD.MEN, and with .MEN extensions.
You can look at, print out or edit the menu file in any text editor
such as the Windows Notepad. We suggest that before you edit the
CAD.MEN file, you make a backup of it.
• Different users can have their own CAD.MEN files. Refer to
Installation in the User Guide.
• Do not use TABS to create spaces in lines in menu files. If you
do, AllyCAD may not be able to understand the commands. Use
spaces.
If you look at your menu file, you will see that it comprises several
sections.

Comments
The first few lines in your CAD.MEN file, as well as some other lines,
are preceded by two slashes: “//”.
For example:
// ally menu
// menus down side of screen

The two slashes mean that the following text is a comment. AllyCAD
will ignore this text. It is just to remind you, the user, of what is
going on. You can add as many comments as you like, so long as
each comment line begins with a //.

CAD.MEN 14-1
Toolbars
You may also assign as many functions as you wish to as many
toolbars as you need. The toolbars can also appear on any
convenient spot on your drawing space. You can program it to dock
LEFT, RIGHT, TOP, BOTTOM or FLOAT by typing the appropriate
word next to STYLE. The term HIDE that may also follow STYLE
refers to a toolbar that is hidden at startup.
The next lines of your CAD.MEN file list the code for the respective
toolbars. These sections start with the word TOOLBAR with a name
of the particular toolbar, for instance “MAIN”. This is followed by the
word STYLE that determines where the toolbar is docked on the
AllyCAD screen. Next comes the word BUTTONS that determine
which functions appear on the Toolbar.

Toolbar Styles
You can use any combination of the following toolbar styles:

TOP This determines if the toolbar is docked to one side of the

BOTTOM AllyCAD main window, or free floating.
LEFT
RIGHT
FLOAT
HIDEONCLICK The toolbar will hide itself when you click on it. Used for the
screen right mouse button pop-up.
SQUARE The toolbar will attempt to make itself as square as possible.
Used for the screen right mouse button pop-up.
HIDE The toolbar is created in a hidden (invisible) state.

14-2 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Example:
BUTTON "SetSquar" {#cursorhold;} {#lockang "L";}
{Left: Toggle cursor hold. Right: Lock cursor to a line;}

The name in quotes

“SetSquar ”

refers to the name of the bitmap that appears on the buttons on the
floating toolbox.
You can also create your own bitmaps using any graphical editor
capable of creating a .BMP file (e.g. Windows Paintbrush). Create a
16 color (16x15) pixel bitmap. Save the bitmap in the home directory
that was created when you installed AllyCAD. Place the name of the
bitmap you have created in quotes, without the .BMP extension.
The first set of curly brackets and their contents
{#cursorhold;}

define the macro function that is executed when you click on button
number 0 with your left mouse button. The macro function's name is
cursorhold. See the section headed Using functions in CAD.MEN for
more details on functions.
The second set of curly brackets and their contents
{#lockang "L";}

define the function that is executed when you click on button

number 0 with your right mouse button. This function locks the
cursor to a line.
The third set of curly brackets and their contents
{Left: Toggle cursor hold. Right: Lock cursor to a line;}

define the help line that appears at the bottom of the screen when
you move your cursor over the icon on the number 0 button. Note
that there is a semicolon (;) after the help text. This help text also
shows up in a tooltip when you move your mouse over a button and
leave it there for about a second.
The word SEPARATOR may also appear, which puts a space between
the respective buttons on the toolbar.
See Appendix B for a list of the bitmaps that are supplied with
AllyCAD and their names.

CAD.MEN 14-3
Pull-Down Menus
Next the functions on the pull-down menus are defined. These are
the sub-menus of the main top bar menu.
The part of the menu file that defines the pull-down menus begins
with the words
// main top bar menu
MAINMENU
BEGIN
and ends with the word
END

Each individual pull-down menu is then defined using the following

commands:
POPUP “&File”
BEGIN
MENUITEM "&New" {delall;} {Clear drawing memory;}
etc.
END

The POPUP command “introduces” the menu. The name in quotes,

“&File”, is the name of the menu, File. The & sign causes the letter
following it to be underlined, so that the name File appears as File.
The underlined letter is the one used to select the menu from the
keyboard. Thus, to select the File Menu you could either click on it
with your mouse or press [Alt] F.
BEGIN and END simply signify the beginning and end of the menu.
Each function on the menu is preceded by the word MENUITEM. The
name in quotes, for example “&New”, is the name of the function that
appears on the menu. The “&” sign causes the letter following it to be
underlined. Thus, the name New appears as “New”. The underlined
letter is the one used to select the function from the keyboard. To
select the New function you can either click on it with your mouse or
press N.
Some of the function names contain the characters “\t”. These cause
the text following to appear on the right of the menu.

14-4 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Example:
In the Edit Menu the function:
MENUITEM "&Undo\tCtrl+Z" {Undo;} {Undo last operation;}

is displayed in the menu as shown here.

Ctrl+Z is the standard Windows keyboard
shortcut for the Undo command.
The contents of the first set of curly brackets
in the MENUITEM lines define the function
that is executed when the menu option is
chosen.
The second set of curly brackets and their
contents define the help line that appears at
the bottom of the screen when the function is
highlighted.
Note that there is a semicolon (;) after the help
text.
You will note that some MENUITEM lines simply read:
MENUITEM SEPARATOR

This command causes a horizontal line to be drawn across the

menu.

CAD.MEN 14-5
Accelerators
The final section of the CAD.MEN file defines accelerators. These are
keyboard shortcuts. For example:
“M” {#magnify;}; VK_SEMICOLON {#longpan;}

The first part of each line defines the key. In the examples above “M”
denotes the [M] key and “VK_SEMICOLON” denotes the semicolon
[ ; ] key. A full list of the keys you can use is given in Appendix V. The
contents of the curly brackets define the function that is executed
when the key is pressed.
In the examples given here, the screen will be magnified when you
press [M] and a long pan will be performed when you press the [ ; ]
key. This saves you selecting these functions from the menu or
toolbars.

Digitizer
The final section of the menu file maps AllyCAD functions to digitizer
puck buttons. It looks like this:
DIGITIZER
BEGIN
BUTTON "1" {#enterpt;}
BUTTON "2" {line;}
BUTTON "3" {done;}
BUTTON "4" {#jumppt;}
END

The first part of each line defines the number of the digitizer puck
button that the command is being assigned to. The example above
assumes that your digitizer numbers its puck buttons 1, 2, 3 and 4.
The contents of the curly brackets define the function that is
executed when each button is pressed.

14-6 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Functions
A full list of function names and the function they perform is given in
Appendix VI. In the menu file the name of the function that is
executed when you click on a button, select a menu option or press a
key is enclosed within curly brackets and followed by a semi-colon
(;).

Transparent Commands
Some function names are preceded by a hash sign “#”. This sign is
optional. Its presence means that the function is transparent. If you
are in the middle of one command, and you execute a transparent
command, you will be returned to your original command after the
transparent command has finished. If you are in the middle of one
command and you execute a command that is not transparent, your
original command will be terminated.
Transparency is especially useful for commands like magnify. It
means that if you are drawing a line, for example, and you need to
magnify the screen so that you can see better, you can magnify
without interrupting or losing the line you are drawing.
Theoretically, you could make any of AllyCAD's commands
transparent by adding a # to the front of its name. However, there
are some commands where this is not advisable. The commands it is
safe to make transparent are marked with a bullet-point (•) in
Appendix VI.

Short Cuts
When you choose most AllyCAD functions, you are asked various
questions. If your answers to particular questions are always the
same, you can “pre-answer” them in the menu file, thus speeding up
your operation. This is exemplified below, with reference to the Mid
Point Jump command.
If you look at the CAD.MEN file you will see the Mid Point Jump and
Ratio Jump functions in the Tools Menu are defined as follows:
MENUITEM "Mid Poin&t Jump\tC" {#jumpratio .5 "Y";} {Jump to
mid point of line;}
MENUITEM "Ra&tio Jump\tO" {#jumpratio;} {Jump a fixed ratio
between two points or along a line;}

The Mid Point command is in fact the Ratio Jump command, but the
prompts that normally appear during the Ratio Jump command have

CAD.MEN 14-7
been “pre-answered” so that Ratio Jump automatically jumps to the
midpoint of the nearest line.
To jump to the midpoint of a line using Ratio Jump, you would:
• Select Tools Jumps Ratio Jump, or press O to access it quickly from
the keyboard.
• Type “0.5” in response to the prompt:
Enter division ratio of jump.

• Click on the YES button in response to the prompt:

Would you like to jump to ratio point on line (Else
between two points)

In Mid Point Jump, the answers 0.5 and “Y” (YES) are given after
the Ratio Jump macro function name jumpratio. They are
separated by spaces, and the “Y” is enclosed within double quotes.
You can create a short cut of most functions in this way, simply by
adding the letters and numbers that you would normally type to the
end of the function name.
Where you would normally click on a YES or NO button, you must
type “Y” or “N”. Where you would normally choose an answer from a
sub-menu, you must type the underlined letter of the menu option
you would choose. You must enclose alphabetic answers in double
quotes.
• To create short cuts for functions like Draw Symbol that give you
options on the Control Bar or in a dialogue box, use the Macro
section to find out the correct function name, letters and
numbers.
• The function name and the letters and numbers you type after it
are exactly the same as the parameters you would use when
writing a macro program (see Macros )

Macros
You can add macro programs that you write to the menu or assign
them to an icon in the Toolbar or to an Accelerator. To do this, the
function name must be the following:
{exec “macro_name” ;}

where macro_name is the full name of the macro, including its path.
For example:

14-8 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 MENUITEM “Cut and Ru&b” {exec “.\macro\cut&rub”;} {Cut a
line and delete the segment;}

CAD.MEN 14-9
Hatch Patterns
The hatch patterns are defined in a file called HATCH.PAT, which
resides in your user directory. This chapter shows you how hatch
patterns are defined so that you can edit existing hatch patterns or
create your own.
You can look at, print out or edit the HATCH.PAT file in any text
editor such as Windows Notepad. We suggest that you make a
backup of the HATCH.PAT file before you edit it.

Different users can have their own HATCH.PAT files. Refer to

Installation in the User Guide.

Hatch Patterns 15-1

Hatch Pattern Definitions
Below are shown the definitions of four sample hatches in the
HATCH.PAT file:
• line (parallel horizontal lines)
• dash (dashed lines)
• newbrick (brick hatching)
• triang (equilateral triangles)

*line,Parallel horizontal lines

10, 0
1, 0, 0, 0,0, 0,.125
*dash,Dashed lines
10, 0
1, 0, 0, 0,0, .125,.125, .125,-.125
*newbrick, Paulus Brick or masonry-type surface
10, 0
1, 0, 0, 0,0, 0,.25
1, 0, 0, 0,.025, 0,.25
5, 1, 90, 0,.025, .25,.25, .225,-.275
*triang,Equilateral triangles
10, 0
1, 0, 60, 0,0, .1875,.324759526, .1875,-.1875
1, 0, 120, 0,0, .1875,.324759526, .1875,-.1875
1, 0, 0, -.09375,.162379763, .1875,.324759526, .1875,-.1875

These definitions comprise the following information.

*hatch name, hatch description
scale, rotation

pen, line width, angle, x origin, y origin, odd line offset, spacing, on
distance, off distance

... for one line of hatch

pen, line width, angle, x origin, y origin, odd line offset, spacing, on
distance, off distance

... for another line of hatch, etc.

The information in each description is summarised below, but is best
understood by studying the examples on the next few pages.

Scale
Scale is a scale factor which multiplies the x and y origins, off line
offset, and on and off distance measurements to give the final size of
the hatch.

15-2 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Rotation
Rotation is applied to the entire hatch pattern and rotates it by the
given angle. The angle is measured anti-clockwise from the 3 o'clock
position.

Pen
Pen is the colour of an individual line in the hatch pattern. The
colours in the Color toolbar are numbered from 1 to 15.

Line width
Line width is the width of an individual line in the hatch pattern. It is
measured in tenths of a millimetre and will be the width of the line
on paper, regardless of drawing scale.

Angle
Angle is the angle of an individual line in the hatch pattern. The
angle is measured anti-clockwise from the 3 o'clock position.

X origin and Y origin

X origin and Y origin allow individual lines in the hatch pattern to
start in different places and therefore to be offset with respect to one
another.
X and Y origin are measured in millimeters on the final paper plot,
regardless of drawing scale.

Odd line offset

Odd line offset allows alternate lines of a hatch to be offset, i.e.

Offset

like this ...

... rather than like this.

Hatch Patterns 15-3

It is measured in millimeters on the final paper plot, regardless of
drawing scale.

Spacing

Spacing is the distance between

Spacing
subsequent lines of the hatch.

It is measured in millimeters on the final paper plot, regardless of

drawing scale.

On distance and Off distance

On distance The on and off distances are the

lengths of each dash and gap in a
dashed line. The off distance is
Off distance always a negative number.

On and off distances are measured in millimetres on the final paper

plot, regardless of drawing scale.

15-4 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Example 1 - Line

Scale

*line,Parallel horizontal lines

10, 0 Rotation
1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, .125 Spacing

Odd line
Pen offset
Line width Y origin

Angle X origin

The line hatch pattern comprises just one line at an angle of 0

degrees.

Spacing The line is repeated at a spacing of

=1.25mm 0.125mm.

This spacing is multiplied by a scale of 10 so the spacing between

subsequent lines is actually 1.25mm.
No on distance or off distance have been included in the hatch
pattern because the line in the hatch is solid, not dashed.

Hatch Patterns 15-5

Example 2 - Dash

Scale
*dash,Dashed lines
10, 0 Rotation
1, 0, 0, 0,0, .125,.125, .125,-.125 Off distance

Pen On distance
Line Spacing
Angle Odd line offset
X origin Y origin

The dash hatch pattern comprises just one dashed line at an angle of
0 degrees.

The line is repeated at a spacing of

Spacing = 1.25mm
Offset =1.25mm 0.125mm. This spacing is multiplied
by a scale of 10, so the spacing
between subsequent lines is actually
1.25mm.
On distance = Each alternate line is offset by
1.25mm 0.125mm. This offset is multiplied by
Off distance = a scale of 10, so the offset is actually
-1.25mm 1.25mm.

Each dash is 0.125mm long (on distance), and the gap between each
dash is also 0.125mm long (off distance). Note that the off distance is
a negative number (-0.125). The on and off distances are multiplied
by a scale of 10, so the dashes and gaps are actually 1.25mm long.

15-6 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Example 3 - Newbrick

Scale

*newbrick, Paulus Brick or masonry-type surface

10, 0 Rotation
1, 0, 0, 0,0, 0,.25
1, 0, 0, 0,.025, 0,.25
5, 1, 90, 0,.025, .25,.25, .225,-.275
The newbrick hatch pattern comprises three lines:

two solid lines at 0 degrees

and one dashed line at 90 degrees.

Line 1
1, 0, 0, 0,0, 0,.25 Spacing

Pen Odd line offset

Line width Y origin
Angle X origin

Hatch Patterns 15-7

 Line 1 is at an angle of 0 degrees.
The line is repeated at a spacing of
Spacing 0.25mm. This spacing is multiplied
=2.5mm
by a scale of 10, so the spacing
between subsequent lines is actually
2.5mm.

No on distance or off distance have been included in line 1 because it

is solid, not dashed.

Line 2
1, 0, 0, 0,.025, 0,.25 Spacing

Pen Odd line offset

Line width Y origin
Angle X origin

Line 2 is at an angle of 0 degrees.

The line is repeated at a spacing of
Spacing 0.25mm. This spacing is multiplied
=2.5mm
by a scale of 10, so the spacing
between subsequent lines is actually
2.5mm.

Line 2 also has a Y origin of 0.025mm. Multiplied by the scale of 10,

this gives an actual Y origin of 0.25mm. The effect of this origin can
be seen if you superimpose lines 1 and 2:

Line 2 has a Y origin of 0.25mm. This means it is

drawn 0.25mm above line 1.

Line 1 has a Y origin of 0mm.

No on distance or off distance have been included in line 2 because it

is solid, not dashed.

15-8 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Line 3

5, 1, 90, 0,.025, .25,.25, .225,-.275 Off distance

Pen On distance
Line width Spacing
Angle Odd line offset
X origin Y origin

Line 3 is at an angle of 90 degrees. It

Spacing=2.5mm is a different colour from lines 1 and
2 (it's pen is 5), and slightly thicker
(it's line width is 1 tenth of a
Off distance
=2.25mm
millimetre).

The line is repeated at a spacing of

0.25mm. This spacing is multiplied
On distance
= -2.75mm
by a scale of 10, so the spacing
between subsequent lines is actually
2.5mm.

Odd line offset

=2.5mm Each alternate line is offset by
0.25mm. This offset is multiplied by
a scale of 10, so is actually 2.5mm.

Each dash is 0.225mm long (on distance), and the gap between each
dash is also 0.275mm long (off distance). Note that the off distance is
a negative number (-0.275). The on and off distances are multiplied
by a scale of 10, so the dashes and gaps are actually 2.25 and
2.75mm long respectively.
Line 3 also has a Y origin of 0.025mm. Multiplied by the scale of 10,
this gives an actual Y origin of 0.25mm. The effect of this origin can
be seen if you superimpose lines 1, 2 and 3:

Hatch Patterns 15-9

Line 3 has a Y origin of
This means it starts
0.25mm.
above line
0.25mm
1.
Line 2 has a Y origin
0.25mm. This means it
of
drawn 0.25mm above line
is
1.

Line 1 has a Y origin of

0mm.

15-10 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Example 4 - Triang

Scale

*triang,Equilateral triangles
10, 0 Rotation
1, 0, 60, 0,0, .1875,.324759526, .1875,-.1875
1, 0, 120, 0,0, .1875,.324759526, .1875,-.1875
1, 0, 0, -.09375,.162379763, .1875,.324759526, .1875,-.1875

The triang hatch pattern comprises three lines:

a dashed line at 60 degrees,

a dashed line at 120 degrees,

and a dashed line at 0 degrees.

Hatch Patterns 15-11

Line 1
1, 0, 60, 0,0, .1875,.324759526, .1875,-.1875 Off distance

Pen On distance
Line width Spacing
Angle Odd line offset
X origin Y origin

Line 1 is at an angle of 60 degrees.

Spacing=3.24759526mm

On distance=1.875mm

Odd line offset=1.875mm

Off distance= -1.875mm

The line is repeated at a spacing of 0.324759526mm. This spacing is

multiplied by a scale of 10, so the spacing between subsequent lines
is actually 3.24759526mm.
Each alternate line is offset by 0.1875mm. This offset is multiplied
by a scale of 10, so the offset is actually 1.875mm.
Each dash is 0.1875mm long (on distance), and the gap between
each dash is also 0.1875mm long (off distance). Note that the off
distance is a negative number (-0.1875).
The on and off distances are multiplied by a scale of 10, so the
dashes and gaps are actually 1.875mm and 1.875mm long
respectively.

Line 2
1, 0, 120, 0,0, .1875,.324759526, .1875,-.1875 Off distance

Pen On distance
Line width Spacing
Angle Odd line offset
X origin Y origin

Line 2 is at an angle of 120 degrees.

15-12 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 Spacing=3.24759526mm

On distance=1.875mm

Odd line offset=1.875mm

Off distance= -1.875mm

The line is repeated at a spacing of 0.324759526mm. This spacing is

multiplied by a scale of 10, so the spacing between subsequent lines
is actually 3.24759526mm.
Each alternate line is offset by 0.1875mm. This offset is multiplied
by a scale of 10, so the offset is actually 1.875mm.
Each dash is 0.1875mm long (on distance), and the gap between
each dash is also 0.1875mm long (off distance). Note that the off
distance is a negative number (-0.1875).
The on and off distances are multiplied by a scale of 10, so the
dashes and gaps are actually 1.875mm and 1.875mm long
respectively.

Line 3
Off distance

1, 0, 0, -.09375,.162379763, .1875,.324759526, .1875,-.1875

Pen On distance
Line width Spacing
Angle Odd line offset
X origin Y origin

Line 3 is at an angle of 0 degrees.

Hatch Patterns 15-13

 Odd line offset=1.875mm

Spacing=3.24759526mm

On distance
=1.875mm
Off distance= -1.875mm

The line is repeated at a spacing of 0.324759526mm. This spacing is

multiplied by a scale of 10, so the spacing between subsequent lines
is actually 3.24759526mm.
Each alternate line is offset by 0.1875mm. This offset is multiplied
by a scale of 10, so the offset is actually 1.875mm.
Each dash is 0.1875mm long (on distance), and the gap between
each dash is also 0.1875mm long (off distance). Note that the off
distance is a negative number (-0.1875). The on and off distances are
multiplied by a scale of 10, so the dashes and gaps are actually
1.875mm and 1.875mm long respectively.
Line 3 also has an X origin of -0.09375mm and a Y origin of
0.162379763mm. Multiplied by the scale of 10, this gives an actual
X origin of -0.9375mm and an actual Y origin of 1.62379763mm. The
effect of this origin can be seen if you superimpose lines 1, 2 and 3:

Line 3 starts 0.9375mm to the left

of lines 1 and 2.

Line 3 starts 1.62379763mm

above lines 1 and 2.

Origin of lines 1 and 2.

15-14 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Line Types
Every time you start AllyCAD a macro called LINETYPE.MAC is
automatically run. This macro controls the way that different line
types appear on the screen and on paper. This chapter shows you
how line types are defined so that you can edit existing line types or
create your own.
You can define up to 30 line types.
The LINETYPE.MAC file is stored in the MACRO sub-directory of your
AllyCAD directory. You can look at, print it out or edit it in any text
editor such as Windows Notepad. We suggest that you back up the
LINETYPE.MAC file before you edit it.
This file determines whether handles are displayed when you select
something.
Lines in the LINETYPE.MAC that start with the word REM are
comments and will be ignored.
Different users can have their own LINETYPE.MAC files. See
Installation in the User Guide.

Line Types 16-1

Line Type Definitions
Each line that defines a line type starts with the word
SETLINEDASH. Below are shown the definitions of five sample line
types:
• 1 (Continuous)
• 2 (Dashed)
• 3 (Hidden)
• 4 (Center2)
• 5 (Phantom2)
SETLINEDASH 1 “Continuous” 8 32 0 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
SETLINEDASH 2 “Dashed” 8 16 0 70 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
SETLINEDASH 3 “Hidden” 4 8 0 50 100 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
SETLINEDASH 4 “Center2” 8 32 0 50 70 80 100 0 0 0 0 0 0
SETLINEDASH 5 “Phantom2” 8 32 0 50 60 70 80 90 100 0 0 0 0

These definitions comprise the following information.

SETLINEDASH Line_number “Description” Plotrepeat Pixrepeat
Percstart Perc_on Perc_off Perc_on Perc_off etc.

This information is summarised below, but is best understood by

studying the diagrams at the end of this chapter.

Line number
Each line is numbered from 1 to 30.

Description
The description is matched to DXF or DWG line types when you load
or save a DXF or AutoCAD DWG file. For example, when you load a
DXF file, the DXF line type “Hidden” is displayed as line type 3 in
AllyCAD.

Plotrepeat
This is the distance over which the line type pattern is repeated on
your printer or plotter - 8mm for line types 1, 2, 4 and 5 and 4mm
for line 3.

16-2 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Pixrepeat
This is the distance over which the line type pattern is repeated on
the screen - 32 pixels for line types 1, 4 and 5; 16 pixels for line type
2 and 8 pixels for line type 3.
Pixrepeat must be a factor of 32, e.g. 4, 8, 16 or 32.

Pixels are the little squares that make up the display on your
screen. Typically there are 640 pixels across the screen and 480
down it, or 800 pixels across the screen and 600 down it, or 1024
pixels across the screen and 768 down it, depending on screen
resolution.

Some dashed/dotted line types appear continuous on the screen,

although they plot or print correctly on paper. This problem can be
overcome by increasing the Pixrepeat.

Percstart, Perc_on and Perc_off

Percstart, perc_on and perc_off show the percentage of Plotrepeat or
Pixrepeat where a line is drawn and where a gap is left. Percstart is
always 0. For example, in line type 4:

SETLINEDASH 4 Center2 8 32 0 50 70 80 100 0 0 0 0 0 0

Plotrepeat Perc_off
Pixrepeat Perc_on
Percstart Perc_off
Perc_on

On paper, a line is drawn between 0 and 50% of the 8mm Plotrepeat.

No line is drawn between 50 and 70%. A line is drawn between 70
and 80%. No line is drawn between 80 and 100%.

Line Types 16-3

 8mm

line type 4

50%

70%

80%

100%

On the screen, a line is drawn between 0 and 50% of the 32 pixel

Pixrepeat. No line is drawn between 50 and 70%. A line is drawn
between 70 and 80%. No line is drawn between 80 and 100%.

32 pixels

line type 4

50%

70%

80%

100%

16-4 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Merging Drawings containing blocks
If you merge two drawings containing blocks, all the line symbols
and block inserts are updated correctly. Merging is done by block
name. If you have an existing drawing with a block called
'WHISTLESTOP' and load into that a second drawing, also containing
a block called 'WHISTLESTOP', then the second copy of
'WHISTLESTOP' will be discarded and all symbol linestyles and block
inserts in the second drawing will point to the first original copy of
the 'WHISTLESTOP' block.

Line Types 16-5

Notes:

16-6 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Macros
A macro is a program that you write to customise AllyCAD, to add
new functions, or to automate routine tasks. It can be as simple as
drawing two lines to form a cross on the screen, or as complicated as
defining a whole new application.
If you have customised AllyCAD's menus, icons and accelerator keys
using the CAD.MEN file, you will know that each time you select a
menu option, click on an icon or press an accelerator key, a function
is executed.
A macro is a list of functions that AllyCAD executes one after
another. The file will also include programming statements that
control when and how many times a particular function is executed,
as well as commands allowing input from the user. The language is
very similar to BASIC, so you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to
write a macro.
A macro can be created in any text editor or word processor that can
produce a plain ASCII file (e.g. Windows Notepad). Each command
must be on a separate line, and lines can be indented for clarity. The
macro language is case insensitive, so you can write a macro in
upper or lower case letters. All macro files have the extension “.mac”.
There is a special directory set up for macros. By default it is the
MACRO sub-directory but you can change this by editing the macro
path in the CAD.INI file in your use.

Macros 17-1
Writing my first macro
In this example, you are going to create a small macro using
Windows Notepad.

When it is finished, it will draw a circle with a

cross at its centre. The circle will be the size
that you specify, in the position that you
specify.

Initially, your macro will be just two lines long. It will draw a single
circle with a radius of 10 in the centre of the screen.
1. Open up Notepad and type in the following line:
CIR [0,0] [10,0] [#]
END

2. Save the file as TEST1.MAC in the macro directory.

If you are using Windows ‘95 you might find that Notepad saves
your file as TEST1.MAC.TXT. In this case, type the file name into
Notepad with double quotes around it: “TEST1.MAC”

3. Go back into AllyCAD, and choose Exec Macro from the File
Menu. Choose TEST1 as the macro that you wish to execute. The
circle is drawn.
The macro command CIR that you have used has drawn a circle with
its centre at coordinate [0,0]. The circle's circumference passes
through the coordinate [10,0]. The [#] simulates the [Space Bar] or
Done being pressed to end the circle drawing function. If you did not
add the [#], AllyCAD would prompt you to draw another circle.
END is always typed at the end of a macro to ensure that it
terminates properly.

How do I input a number?

Now, you are going to edit your macro so that the circle can have any
radius that the user wishes.
1. Open up Notepad and edit your macro so that it looks like this:
ENTER “Type circle radius” R
CIR [0,0] [R,0] [#]
END

17-2 AllyCAD Reference Manual

2. Save the file as TEST1.MAC in the macro directory.
3. Go back into AllyCAD. Choose File  New to start a new drawing.
Then choose File  Exec Macro. Choose TEST1 as the macro that
you wish to execute.
This time, AllyCAD prompts:
Type circle radius

Type a radius for the circle, then click on the button or press
[Enter]. The circle is drawn with the radius that you specified.
You use the ENTER function whenever you need numeric or text
input from the user. The R at the end of the command is called a
variable, because its value changes depending on the number that
the user types.
You could use any letter (and some letter combinations - see
Description, later in this chapter). However, it is useful to use letters
that mean something, like R for Radius, where possible.
If you need text input, the variable must be followed by a “$” sign.
This is called a string variable. For example, the following macro will
print your name at the coordinate position [0,0]:
ENTER "Type your name" N$
TEXT [0,0] N$ [#]
END

You can put up to 15 variables after an ENTER command, for

example:
ENTER "Give rectangle length and area" L A

How do I get the user to input a coordinate position on the screen?

Now, you are going to edit your macro so that the circle will be
positioned wherever the user wants.
1. Open up Notepad and edit your macro so that it looks like this:
CUR "Enter circle centre position" X Y K
ENTER "Type circle radius" R
CIR [X,Y] [X+R,Y] [#]
END

2. Save the file as TEST1.MAC in the macro directory.

3. Go back into AllyCAD. Choose File  New to start a new drawing.
Then choose File  Exec Macro. Choose TEST1 as the macro that
you wish to execute.

Macros 17-3
This time, AllyCAD prompts:
Enter circle centre position

Position your cursor where you want the circle centre to be and press
[Enter] or click. AllyCAD prompts:
Type circle radius

Type a radius for the circle, then click on the button or press
[Enter]. The circle is drawn at the position you specified, with the
radius you specified.
You use the CUR function whenever you want a coordinate from the
user. The X and Y variables at the end of the command contain the
coordinate position that the cursor was at when the user pressed
[Enter] or clicked.
The K variable is a check to see whether the user has cancelled the
function. If the user has decided against entering the coordinate that
you asked for by pressing the done button or the [Space Bar], the K
variable will contain the number 1. Otherwise, it will contain 0. The
use for this is shown in the Flow of Control Commands section later
in this chapter.

Finishing the macro

You are now going to finish the macro so that it draws a cross at the
circle centre.
1. Open up Notepad and edit your macro so that it looks like this:
CUR "Enter circle centre position" X Y K
ENTER "Type circle radius" R
L=R+5
PEN 2
CIR [X,Y] [X+R,Y] [#]
LINETYPE 4 3
LINE [X-L,Y] [X+L,Y] [#]
LINE [X,Y-L] [X,Y+L] [#]
END

2. Save the file as TEST1.MAC in the macro directory.

3. Go back into AllyCAD. Choose File  New to start a new drawing.
Then choose File  Exec Macro. Choose TEST1 as the macro that
you wish to execute.
As before, AllyCAD prompts for the circle centre position and the
radius. The circle is then drawn, with two lines through the centre.

17-4 AllyCAD Reference Manual

• The line L=R+5 defines the variable L, which is a length that is
used to draw the lines making up the cross at the circle centre. L
is 5 units longer than R (the circle radius). This is so that the
lines making up the cross protrude beyond the circle
circumference by 5 units.
• PEN 2 defines the colour that the circle will be drawn in.
• LINETYPE 4 3 defines the line type (4) and colour (3) that the
cross will be drawn in. Line types are numbered downwards from
1 in the Line Type Display at the top right of the screen.
The two lines beginning LINE draw the two lines making up the
cross. The lines are drawn between the two coordinates enclosed in
square brackets. As in the CIR command, the [#] simulates the
[Space Bar] or Done being pressed to end the line drawing function.

And finally...
After a period of time, it is sometimes difficult to remember what
your macro does! It is good practise to make liberal use of REM
statements. Lines that start with the word “REM” are ignored. They
are simply there to remind you about what is going on.
REM macro to draw a circle with a cross through it
CUR "Enter circle centre position" X Y K
ENTER "Type circle radius" R
REM make the cross five units larger than the circle
L=R+5
REM draw the circle
PEN 2
CIR [X,Y] [X+R,Y] [#]
REM draw a cross at the circle centre
LINETYPE 4 3
LINE [X-L,Y] [X+L,Y] [#]
LINE [X,Y-L] [X,Y+L] [#]

Some hints and tips

Look at example macros

There are simple example macros in the Flow of Control Commands,
String Functions and ASCII Files sections later in this chapter. You
should examine these.
You can also examine the macros supplied, for example
arctext.mac
cut&rub.mac

Macros 17-5
divedln.mac
loadtitl.mac
movept.mac
polygon.mac
These can all be found in your macro sub-directory, and you can
look at them by loading them into Windows Notepad.

Confused?
If there is a command you don't understand or that you can't get to
work properly, it is a good idea to do one of the following.
Go into AllyCAD and click on the white part of the Control Bar (the
command line) so that a flashing insertion point appears in it.
Alternatively, press the / key to move the insertion point into the
command line. Type the name of the command, for example:
CIR

and press [Enter]. See what AllyCAD does next. In this case, it will
prompt Enter centre point of circle. Now you know that the next
thing in the command is the coordinates of the circle centre point.
Type:
CIR [0,0]

and press [Enter]. AllyCAD prompts Enter point on circle. Now you
know that the next thing in the command is the coordinates of a
point on the circle circumference. Type:
CIR [0,0] [10,0]

and press [Enter]. AllyCAD draws a circle and prompts you for
another circle centre. You need to add a [#] to terminate the function.
Type:
CIR [0,0] [10,0] [#]

and press [Enter]. AllyCAD draws the circle, then the circle drawing
function ends.

Short cuts to complicated statements: try dumping a macro

Some macro commands are quite complicated, for example setting
up text parameters (font, colour, size etc.). An easy way of setting up
the correct text parameters in a macro is as follows:
1. Open a new, empty AllyCAD drawing. Type some text, and set up
its parameters so that it looks exactly how you want the text
written by the macro to look.

17-6 AllyCAD Reference Manual

2. Go to the Import/Export section of the File Menu and select
Export Macro. This writes a macro of the drawing on the screen -
in this case, just a piece of text.
3. Go to Windows Notepad and open the macro file you have just
exported. Use Cut in Notepad to cut the text parameter line out
of the macro. It will look something like this:
WTEXTPARM 40 1 0 0.010 1 "Arial" 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 34 0

4. Open the file containing the macro you are writing. Paste the text
parameter line into it.
This method is also useful for setting up the correct paper size, scale
units, coordinates etc. Open a new, empty AllyCAD drawing and use
Drawing Settings in the Settings Menu to set up the paper size,
scale, units etc. Then export the drawing as a macro.

Can't understand why a macro won't work?

If you can't understand why a macro won't work, you can use the
command execstep to execute it one line at a time. To run execstep,
type execstep into the command line, then press [Enter]. AllyCAD will
prompt:
Enter macro line number after which single stepping will start
If you type 0, AllyCAD will run through your whole macro one line at
a time. If you type 20, AllyCAD will execute your macro as normal
until it gets to line 20 and will then start executing it one line at a
time, etc. When you have typed the line number and clicked on or
pressed [Enter] to accept it, the macro dialogue box will appear.
Select the macro you want to step through.
AllyCAD will then run through the macro one line at a time. Each
line will appear in a message box on the screen, and after you have
clicked on OK to exit the message box, the line will be executed and
the next line will appear in the message box. Execstep will also
display the values of variables as they change.
You can abort the macro at any time by pressing [Esc].

Writing macros in Windows '95

If you use Notepad to write a macro in Windows ‘95 you may find
that it insists on adding a.txt extension to any file you save. For
example, you may think you have saved a file as TEST1.MAC, but
Windows ‘95 will have saved it as TEST1.MAC.TXT. The way round
this problem is to put double quotes around the file name when you
save the macro, i.e. save it as “TEST1.MAC”.

Macros 17-7
Finding Files
Using.\ in the path of a file you are trying to access from a macro
means that you don't have to know the drive that the user is using,
the name of their Program Home or User Home directories, etc.

If you don’t know what Program Home and User Home directories
are, see Installation in the User Guide.

If you want to access a file in the macro sub-directory, give a path

like this:
.\macro\test.mac

For example
chain “.\macro\test.mac”

AllyCAD will look for the file test.mac in the macro directory inside
the user's User Home directory. If it can't find it, it will look to see if
there is a macro directory inside the user's Program Home directory.
If it can't find it there either, it will give up.
If you want to access a file in a AllyCAD sub-directory that is not
called macro, give a path like this:
.\mechmate\data.dat

For example
OPEN 0 “.\mechmate\data.dat”

AllyCAD will look to see if there is a mechmate directory inside the

user's Program Home directory.

Executing macros
As you have seen, you can execute a macro using Exec Macro in the
File Menu.
However, it is often more convenient to assign the macro to a menu,
an icon or an accelerator key. For example, in the standard AllyCAD
menu, the commands for Move Point and Cut&Rub in the Modify
Menu are both defined by macros. See CAD.MEN for details on how
to add a macro to a menu, icon or accelerator.

17-8 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Description
The AllyCAD macro language is very similar to BASIC, and it also
has some elements of ‘C’ syntax. The following is a brief description
of the language.

Statements
The AllyCAD macro language allows the following statement types:
Statement Type Example
Commands CIR [X,Y] [X+R,Y] [#]
Assignment L=R+5 or N$=“Rocket Scientist”
Control Statements IF.... ELSE, etc.
Coordinate input CUR "Enter circle centre" X Y K
Data input ENTER “Type circle radius” R

Macros 17-9
Special Characters
Some characters have a special meaning in the macro:

$ Denotes a string variable. See Variables later in this section

[] Square brackets are used to enclose coordinates. See
Coordinate Pairs later in this section
@ [@x,y] denotes relative coordinates. See Coordinate Pairs later
in this section.
% [%x,y] denotes absolute coordinates. See Coordinate Pairs
later in this section
# [#x,y] or [#] terminates a coordinate list. See Coordinate Pairs
later in this section) by simulating the pressing of the
[Space Bar].
# is also used as the not equal to sign in logical expressions.
See Logical Operators later in this section).
& The AND operator in logical expressions. See Logical
Operators later in this section.
& is also used to set a snap mode during coordinate entry. See
Coordinate Pairs later in this section.
| The OR operator in logical expressions. See Logical Operators
later in this section.
! The exclamation mark has four uses:
1. It simulates ENTER being pressed (but unlike # is never
included or enclosed in square brackets).
2. If you use a macro function that brings up a dialogue box,
typing a ! in the command will usually dismiss the dialogue
box
For example, typing:
HARDCOPY
brings up the print dialogue box
Typing:
HARDCOPY !
prints the drawing.
3. If it is the first character in a line, that line is ignored by
AllyCAD and treated as a comment.
4. It is the NOT operator in logical expressions. See Logical
Operators later in this section.
{} Braces (curly brackets) are used to enclose one or more
statements in the WHILE and IF commands. They MUST be
on a separate line to the WHILE or IF, i.e.
WHILE (condition)
{
statements
}

17-10 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Variables
The AllyCAD macro language allows two types of variables, numeric
and string (text). AllyCAD distinguishes between them by looking for
a trailing $ on the variable name. Thus:
X
MaxValue
BiggestCoordinate

Are all numeric variables, and

X$
PointName$
Month$

Are all string variables.

Numeric variables
Variable names can be up to 31 characters long, and can include
letters, numbers and the underscore character. There is no limit to
the number of variables that you can use. Variable names are case
insensitive, thus MaxValue equals maxvalue equals MAXVALUE. All
numeric variables are full precision floating point. (64 bit floating
point, about 15 decimal digits of precision)

String variables
String variables always end with a $. The length of the total name
including the $ sign should be less 31 characters or less. There is no
limit to the number of string variables that you can use, or to the
length of the string contained in them.

Coordinate Pairs
Whenever AllyCAD expects a coordinate, the x and y parts of the
coordinate must be supplied in square brackets separated by a
comma. The first part of the coordinate is always the horizontal part
and the second is always the vertical part.
The following command draws a circle with its centre at coordinate
[0,0]. The circle's circumference passes through the coordinate
[10,0]:
CIR [0,0] [10,0] [#]

If the program does not find a square bracket when it is expecting a

coordinate, it will prompt the user for the coordinate. For example, if
you just type:

Macros 17-11
 CIR

AllyCAD will prompt:

Enter centre point of circle.

The following special characters can also be used in coordinate pairs:

# This is used to terminate a list of coordinates. It is equivalant to
pressing the done button or the [Space Bar] in AllyCAD. For
example:
CIR [0,0] [10,0] [#].
STRETCH “Y” [-100,-100] [#100,100] [90,0] [200,0]

If you do not include [#] in the CIR example, AllyCAD will prompt you
to enter the centre point of another circle.
In the STRETCH example, the coordinates [-100,-100] and
[#100,100] define the box within which stretching must take place.
The # is put before the last coordinate defining the box, to tell
AllyCAD that the box has now been defined.
The [90,0] coordinate tells AllyCAD which point must move, and the
[200,0] coordinate is the point that the [90,0] coordinate must move
to.
@ This denotes relative x and y coordinates. The @ is placed within
the square bracket and before the x coordinate: [@x,y].
% This moves the cursor to an absolute coordinate position and
leaves it there. Subsequent co-ordinates will be relative to this
position. The % is placed within the square bracket and before
the x coordinate: [%x,y].
& This sets a snap mode during coordinate entry. For example:
LINE [&Tx1,y1] [&Px2,y2] [#]

draws a line with the first point doing a tangent snap near x1,y1 and
the second point doing a perpendicular snap near x2,y2.
The & sign must be followed by the letter representing the snap
mode. The letters are:
F Freehand
A Grab All
G Grid
J Jump (Point)
I Geometry Intersection
O Any Intersection

17-12 AllyCAD Reference Manual

* Circle Centre
N Nearest Line/Arc
P Perpendicular
T Tangent
#, @, % and & can be used in combination, but must always be
placed before the coordinates themselves.

Examples:
The following examples all draw a box in different ways.
LINE [100,100] [150,100] [150,150] [100,150] [100,100] [#]

[100,150] [150,150] The line is drawn from the absolute

coordinate position [100,100] to the
absolute coordinate position [150,100]
to the absolute coordinate position
[150,150] etc.

[100,100] [150,100]
LINE [%100,100] [@50,0] [@50,50] [@0,50] [@0,0] [#]

The cursor is moved to the absolute

coordinate position [100,100] and is left
there because of the % sign. The line is
[50,50]
[0,50] drawn from this position to the relative
coordinates [50,0], [50,50] and [0,50].
[100,100] [50,0]

LINE [%100,100] [@%50,0] [@%0,50] [@%-

50,0] [@%0,-50] [#]

The cursor is moved to the absolute

[-50,0] coordinate position [100,100]. The line
is drawn from this position to the
relative coordinates [50,0], and the
[0,-50] [0,50] cursor is also moved to this position.
The line is then drawn to the relative
coordinates [0,50], and the cursor is
[100,100] [50,0]
also moved to this position, etc.

Maths Functions
The following maths functions are available. You can use formulae,
for example (a+b)/3+c. The parentheses will force the calculation of
the plus before the division. You must not include any spaces in a
mathematical expression.

Macros 17-13
As calculations must be made in units like millimetres, metres,
decimal feet, decimal inches and degrees, you can use the functions
given in the Coordinate to String Functions in the String Functions
part of this chapter to convert these units to and from properly
formatted strings such as 1’2+3/16” or N45º23’3”W.

Arithmetical
Square root SQRT(x)
Integer INT(x)
Exponential ^
Plus +
Minus -
Multiplication *
Division /
Absolute value ABS(x)
Logarithm LOG(x)
Natural logarithm LN(x)

Trigonometrical
All the trigonometrical functions work in degrees, with angles
measured anti-clockwise from 3 o'clock.
SIN(x)
COS(x)
TAN(x)
ASIN(x)
ACOS(x)
ATAN(x)
ATAN2(y:x) (note the two arguments separated by a colon)

Logical Operators
The following logical operators give a result of YES (1) or NO (zero)
and are normally used with the WHILE or IF commands:
The equal to sign =
The greater than sign >
The less than sign <
The not equal (hash) sign #

17-14 AllyCAD Reference Manual

The above signs cannot be combined but must be used individually.
Thus >= and <= are illegal.

The following operators allow one to combine logical conditions:

The AND operator &
The OR operator |
The NOT operator (exclamation mark) !
Example:
IF (A>10&B<7)
{
statements
}

The statements inside the curly brackets will be executed if the value
of variable A is greater than 10 and the value of variable B is less
than 7.
AllyCAD's macro language allows you to read in ASCII files and take
values from them.
The statement:
EOF (filenumber)

gives a result of 1 if the end of the file has been reached. Otherwise it
gives a result of 0.
The filenumber is the number of the file you are querying. You can
have up to four files open at once, numbered 0, 1, 2 and 3. See ASCII
Files, later in this chapter.

Macro Line Length

Macros have a maximum line length of 250 characters.

Macros 17-15
General Purpose Functions

Assignment

You can use formulae. For example:

d=(a+b)/3+c
A full list of arithmetic, trigonometric and logical operators is given in
Description.

SETCUR x y

Sets the cursor at a given x,y position. This enables you to move the
cursor under program control.

RUBBERBAND v

V can be 0 (no rubber banding), 1 (line), 2 (box) or 3 (circle).

Rubberbanding is the effect where you can see a line, box or circle
being drawn as you are drawing it. The next time that you use the
CUR function after using RUBBERBAND, the rubber banding that
you have specified will appear. The rubber band anchor point is set
each time you call the CUR function for a point. See Data Entry
Functions.

SETMACUNDO 1

If you set SETMACUNDO to 1, you will be able to use Undo to Undo

things drawn by the macro. If you set it to 0, you will not.
SETMACUNDO 0 is the default.

SETASKJUMP 0 / 1

Enables you to suppress the question "Enter point to jump to"

during snaps. This question is asked if a jump is selected from a
menu, a macro or a docked toolbar. See also ENQUIRE “ASKJUMP”.

MESS "message"

MESS displays the message "message" on the screen in a message

box.

BEEP t f

Produces a beep, where t is the length of time the beep will last for in
milliseconds, and where f is the frequency of the beep in Herz. For
example:

17-16 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 BEEP 200 400

REM

A line beginning with REM is a comment and will be ignored by

AllyCAD.
REM this is a comment

END

The END statement must appear at the end of each macro.

Macros 17-17
Flow of Control Commands

WHILE

WHILE causes the statements inside the curly brackets to be

executed as long as the condition is true. The curly brackets must be
on a separate line. For example:
WHILE (condition)
{
statements
}

Example:
I=0
Y=0
WHILE (I<10)
{
TEXT [0,Y] "AllyCAD" [#]
Y=Y-10
I=I+1
}
END

This macro prints the word "AllyCAD" onto the screen ten times.
OPEN 0 "c:\AllyCAD\users\guest\macro\test"
WHILE (1)
{
READ 0 X Y
POINT [X,Y] [#]
IF(EOF(0))
{
BREAK
}
}
CLOSE 0
END

This macro opens a file called "test" which contains coordinate pairs.
See ASCII Files, later in this chapter). It reads in all the lines of the
file and plots the coordinates as points, until the end of the file is
reached. See BREAK and IF later in this section for further
explanations.

17-18 AllyCAD Reference Manual

WHILE (1)
{
CUR "Pick circle to receive centre cross" X Y K
IF (K)
{
REM user has exited from picking circles
BREAK
}
REM find out where nearest circle is
ENQUIRE NEARARC X1 Y1 X2 Y2 X3 Y3 C
REM X2,Y2 are the nearest circle's centre coords
REM X3 and Y3 are a point on the circle's circumference
REM calculate circle radius and add 5 so that the cross
REM will protrude beyond the circle's circumference by
REM 5 units
L=X3-X2+5
REM now draw the cross
LINETYPE 4 3
LINE [X2-L,Y2] [X2+L,Y2] [#]
LINE [X2,Y2-L] [X2,Y2+L] [#]
}
END

This macro draws a cross in the centre of a circle chosen by the user.
It continues to prompt the user to choose a circle until he clicks on
done or presses the [Space Bar]. See BREAK and IF later in this
section for further explanations.

BREAK

Break causes the program to abandon a WHILE and continue

execution after the closing bracket of the WHILE. If you have several
WHILE loops inside each other, it will only break out of the one it is
in.
Two of the examples given in WHILE, above, show examples of the
use of BREAK. In the example that reads a file of coordinates,
BREAK is used to abandon the WHILE loop when the end of the file
is reached. In the example where crosses are added to circles,
BREAK is used to abandon the WHILE loop when the user cancels
the function by clicking on done or pressing the [Space Bar].

IF
IF (condition)
{
statements
}
ELSE
{
statements
}

Macros 17-19
If the condition is true, the statements under the IF are carried out.
Otherwise, the statements under the ELSE are carried out. The ELSE
part is optional. The curly brackets must be on a separate line. For
example:
IF(A>10&B<7)
{
TEXT [0,0] "AllyCAD" [#]
}

If the value of variable A is greater than 10 and the value of variable

B is less than 7, then write the word "AllyCAD" at coordinate [0,0].
Two of the examples given in WHILE, above, show examples of the
use of IF. In the example that reads a file of coordinates, IF checks to
see whether the end of the file has been reached. EOF(0) (where 0 is
the number of the file being queried) gives a result of 1 if the end of
the file has been reached, and a result of 0 otherwise.
In the example where crosses are added to circles, IF checks to see
whether the user has entered a valid coordinate at the prompt Pick
circle to receive centre cross. If the user has entered a valid
coordinate, the value of K at the end of the CUR function is 0. If he
has cancelled coordinate entry by clicking on done or pressing the
[Space Bar], the value of K is 1.

CHAIN

Chain executes another macro. For example:

CHAIN "newmacro"

executes a macro called newmacro.

CHAIN B$

Executes a macro whose name is denoted by the variable B$.

Once you have chained to another macro, you cannot return to the
original macro.

See Hints and Tips earlier in this chapter for details on how to
specify the path to the macro you want to chain to

You can also call other programs (for example Visual Basic
programs). These programs can communicate back to AllyCAD. See
Running Other Programs.

17-20 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Data Entry Functions

ENTER
ENTER "prompt" variables

ENTER allows you to prompt the user for numbers or text. You can
give up to 15 variables. See Description for a summary of numeric
and string variables.
Example:
ENTER "Type circle radius" R
CIR [0,0] [R,0] [#]

See How do I write my first macro? for a full example.

CUR
CUR "prompt" x y k

CUR prompts the user for a cursor position. x and y are the
coordinates of this cursor position and k is set to 1 if the user has
exited the function by clicking on done or pressing the [Space Bar].
Example:
CUR "Enter position of circle centre" x y k
IF (k)
{
REM user has exited from drawing circles
BREAK
}
ENTER "Type circle radius" R
CIR [X,Y] [X+R,Y] [#]
END

See WHILE in Flow of Control Commands for another example.

REPLY
R = REPLY("prompt")

The variable R is given the value 1 if the user clicks on the YES
button or presses [Enter] and 0 if the user clicks on the NO button.
For example:
R=REPLY("Do you want to continue")

Macros 17-21
NOREPLY

N = NOREPLY("prompt")

The variable N is given the value 0 if the user clicks on the YES
button or presses [Enter], and 1 if the user clicks on the NO button.

TOPMENU
TOPMENU A "Menu Choice 1,Menu Choice 2,Menu Choice 3,Menu
Choice 4,Menu Choice 5,etc."

This causes a popup menu to appear. When the user chooses an

option, the number of the choice is stored in A. So if the user
chooses Menu Choice 1, A is 1, etc. You can underline a letter in
each menu choice by placing an & sign in front of the letter to be
underlined. This letter can then be used to select the choice from the
keyboard, as in the main AllyCAD menu defined by the CAD.MEN
file.
See dims.mac in the macro sub-directory of your user directory for
an example.

17-22 AllyCAD Reference Manual

String Functions

VAL$
a$=VAL$(n,width,ndecimal)

Converts the number n to a string, a$, with a given maximum width

(width) and a specified number of decimals (ndecimal).
Example:
a$=val$(3.14,6,2)

a$ will be " 3.14". There are a total of six characters - two spaces in
front of the 3; 3,., 1 and 4. Two of these characters are after the
decimal point.

JOIN
a$=JOIN$(b$,c$)

Joins together strings b$ and c$ to form string a$.

Example:
b$ = "hello "
c$ = "world"
a$ = JOIN$(b$, c$)

a$ will be "hello world".

SUBSTR$
a$=SUBSTR$(b$,startpos,endpos)

Extracts a substring from string b$. Startpos is the start position of

the substring you want to extract and endpos is the end position.
Example:
a$=substr$("hello world",6,10)

a$ will be "world", because the start position is character 6 (w) and

the end position is character 10 (d). Characters are numbered from 0
upwards.

Macros 17-23
LEN
a=LEN(a$)

Calculates the length of string a$.

Example:
a=LEN("hello world")

a will be 11, because there are 11 characters in hello world.

STRCMP
a=STRCMP(a$,b$)

Compares string a$ to string b$. If the two strings are the same, a is
given the value 0. If a$ is less than b$ (e.g. a$ is Aardvark and b$ is
Zebra), a will be -1. If a$ is greater than b$, a will be +1.

VAL
n=VAL(a$)

Converts the string a$ to the number n.

Example:
n=VAL("123.45")

n will be 123.45.

NUM
n=NUM(A$)

Converts the first character of A$ to its ASCII equivalent, n.

Example:
n=NUM("ABC")

n will be is 65 (since "A" is 65 in ASCII).

=
z=‘A’

Sets z to the ASCII code of ‘A’, which is 65. You can only give one
character, which must be enclosed within inside single quotes.

17-24 AllyCAD Reference Manual

CHR$
a$=CHR$(n)

Converts the number n to an ASCII character.

Example:
a$=CHR$(66)

a$ will be set to "B" (since 66 is ‘B’ in ASCII).

STRSTR
a=STRSTR(a$,b$)

Searches for the string b$ in the string a$. If b$ is found in a$, a is

the position where b$ starts. If b$ is not found in a$, a is -1.
Example 1:
a=STRSTR("HELLODOLLY","HE")

a is 0.
Example 2:
a=STRSTR("HELLO DOLLY","DOLL")

a is 6.
Example 3:
a=STRSTR("HELLO DOLLY","NIKS")

a is -1.

STRUPR
a$=STRUPR$(b$)

Converts b$ to upper case.

Example:
a$=STRUPR$(b)

a$ is "B".

STRLWR
a$=STRLWR$(b$)

Converts b$ to lower case.

Example:

Macros 17-25
a$=STRUPR$(B)
a$ is "b".

TRIM$
A$=TRIM$(B$)

Trims leading and trailing blanks from B$ and places the trimmed
string into A$.

TRIMLEFT$
A$=TRIMLEFT$(B$)

Trims leading blanks from B$ and places the trimmed string into A$.

TRIMRIGHT$
A$=TRIMRIGHT$(B$)

Trims trailing blanks from B$ and places the trimmed string into A$.

17-26 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Coordinate to String Conversion
The following coordinate formatting and conversion functions are
available:

VALUNIT$
a$=VALUNIT$(n)

Converts a number to a string in the current units. This is very

useful if you are working in feet and inches, where the number, n,
would be decimal feet and the string, a$, could be something like
1’2+3/16".

VALANG$
a$=VALANG$(angle)

Converts an angle in decimal degrees (measured anti-clockwise) to

the current angular units. This is useful for surveyors, where the
string could be something like N45º23’3"W.

VALUNIT
n=VALUNIT(a$)

Converts a$ in the current units to a decimal number. In the case of

feet and inches, a string like 1’2+3/16" would be converted to
decimal feet.

VALANG
n=VALANG(a$)

Converts string a$ in the current angular units to decimal degrees

measured anti-clockwise. This can handle strings like N45º23’4"W.

VALANGREL$
A$ = VALANGREL$(A)

Converts a decimal angle to an angle string in the current angular

units. It works with relative angles and never uses the Quadrant
format (N45W). It ignores the 3 o'clock, 12 o'clock etc. settings and
the clockwise/anti clockwise angular settings.

Macros 17-27
VALANGREL
A = VALANGREL(A$)

This is the opposite of the above function, and converts an angle

string to a relative angle.

Example:
The following macro is more to illustrate string handling than to
serve a practical purpose. It queries the scale of your drawing, then
writes the scale onto your drawing in the form SCALE is 1:1, SCALE
is 1:50, SCALE is 1:100000 or whatever the scale is.
ENQUIRE SCALE s
s$=VAL$(s,10,0)
s$=TRIMLEFT(s$)
s$=JOIN$("SCALE is 1:",s$)
WTEXTPARM 127 1 0 0.010 1 "Times New Roman" 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 18 0
CUR "Enter position for text" x y
TEXT [x,y] s$ [#]
END

The explanation below assumes that the scale is 1:50.

ENQUIRE SCALE s

enquires the scale of your drawing, 50, and puts it into variable s.
s$=VAL$(s,10,0)

converts variable s, which is a number, into a piece of text, or

"string" so that you will be able to display it on the screen. The string
is ten characters long with no decimal places, " 50". There are eight
blank spaces in front of the 50, because s$ is ten characters long,
and 50 only takes up two of those characters.
s$=TRIMLEFT(s$)

trims off the eight blank spaces.

s$=JOIN$("SCALE is 1:",s$)

joins the "SCALE is 1:" part of the sentence to the scale, "50".
WTEXTPARM 127 1 0 0.010 1 "Times New Roman" 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
18 0

sets up the text parameters of the text that is going to be written

onto the screen. Often the best way to get the parameters that you
need for a particular type of text is to create a drawing containing
just that piece of text, then to export that drawing as a macro using
the Export Macro function. Then cut the WTEXTPARM statement out

17-28 AllyCAD Reference Manual

of the macro you have exported and paste it into the macro you are
writing.
CUR "Enter position for text" x y

asks you for the position on the screen where you want "SCALE is
1:50" to be written.
TEXT [x,y] s$ [#]

writes the text.

Macros 17-29
Enquire Functions
The following enquire functions are in alphabetical order.

ENQUIRE “1PARLLDEF” 1/0 (distance/point) offset Numberoflines 1/0

(autoTrim)

Places the current parallel defaults set for the 1 Parallel Element
function into variables.

ENQUIRE “ACTIVEWINDOWNAME” awname$

This function returns the name of the active window.

ENQUIRE “ANGUNITS” u n z c

Places the type of angular units you have selected into u (0 =

radians, 1 = decimal degrees, 2 = d.mm.ss, 3 = d°mm’ss", 4 =
Nd°m’s"W ).
Places the number of angular decimals into n. Places the position of
the zero point into z (3,6,9 or 12 o’clock).
If angles are to be measured in an anti-clockwise direction c is 1.
Otherwise it is 0. See Angular Format for an explanation.

ENQUIRE “AREAUNITS” A A$ C

Inquires the currently set area units and places them into the given
variable. The variables have the following meanings:
A Area unit index. This can have the following values:
0 User defined
1 Square inches
2 Square feet
3 Square yards
4 Acres
5 Square miles
6 Square mm
7 Square cm
8 Square meters
9 Hectares
10 Square km
A$ Symbol for the area unit (e.g. "sq m")

17-30 AllyCAD Reference Manual

C The number of square mm contained in the unit.

ENQUIRE "ASKJUMP" J

Places the value of the system AskJump setting into J. AskJump

enables you to suppress the question "Enter point to jump to" during
snaps. This question is asked if a jump is selected from a menu or a
dropped toolbar. See also SETASKJUMP.

ENQUIRE “COLOR” Pen Red Green Blue

Enquires the color of a pen in the Color toolbar.

Pen is the number of the pen whose color is being enquired about.
Pens are numbered from 1 to 15. Red, Green and Blue are the
returned variables, which will have values between 0 and 255. These
values determine the amount of red, green and blue making up the
color. For example, red is defined by “255 0 0”. White is defined by
“255 255 255”. Black is defined by “0 0 0”.

ENQUIRE “COORDS” c x y

If you are using surveyor coordinates, c will be 1 and the coordinates

of the screen centre will be put into x and y in the order
Northing, Easting or Easting, Northing - whichever you have
specified in Drawing Settings. If you are using Cartesian coordinates,
c will be 0.

ENQUIRE “COUNTPATNAME” "parent" "object" count x1 y1 x2 y2

Counts the number of objects on the drawing with matching parent

and object names. You can use wildcards, so "*" "BOLTM6" would
count all the objects with the name BOLTM6 regardless of their
parent name. "ASSEMBLY" "*" would count all the objects with the
parent name ASSEMBLY, regardless of their object name.
The number of objects counted is placed into count.
If one or more objects are found, the coordinates of the enclosing
rectangle of the first object found are placed into x1, y1, x2 and y2

ENQUIRE “CURANCHOR” X Y

Places the coordinates of the last anchored point into x and y. If you
are using the rubberband command, the rubberband will be
attached at this point. In the following macro, the coordinate position
a+50,b+50 will be placed into x and y:
cur "enter point" a b

Macros 17-31
 rect [a,b] [a+50,b+50] [#]

ENQUIRE “CURFIXED” X Y

Places the coordinates of the last fixed point into x and y. The last
fixed point is the one marked by the grey "x" on the screen, and
represents the position where the mouse was last clicked or [Enter]
was last pressed. In the following macro, the coordinate position a,b
will be placed into x and y:
cur "enter point" a b
rect [a,b] [a+50,b+50] [#]

ENQUIRE “CURHOLD” X Y H

This command is useful for seeing whether the cursor is locked or

not. If it's locked, h will be 1. Otherwise h will be 0.
If the cursor is not locked, the last fixed point is placed into into x
and y. The last fixed point is the one marked by the grey "x" on the
screen, and represents the position where the mouse was last clicked
or [Enter] was last pressed. In the following macro, the coordinate
position a,b will be placed into x and y:
cur "enter point" a b
rect [a,b] [a+50,b+50] [#]

If the cursor is locked, the coordinate position (a+50, b) will be

placed into x and y. The last fixed point was a, b but since then, the
cursor has been moved to (a+50, b+50). Because the cursor is
locked, it can only move horizontally and vertically. So instead of
updating the cursor position to (a+50, b+50) AllyCAD can only
update it to (a+50, b).

ENQUIRE “CURMODE” a$

This function returns the cursormode in a$. Eg. “A” for Graball, “F”
for Freehand etc.

ENQUIRE “CURPOSN” x y

Enquires the current coordinate position of the cursor, and places it

into the variables x and y.

ENQUIRE “DATA” "bolthole" x y

Checks the drawing for a data item with the text "bolthole" and
inserts the x and y coordinates of the data item into the variables x
and y. If the data item is not found, x and y return with the value -
999999.0.

17-32 AllyCAD Reference Manual

ENQUIRE “DATA” "PAINT" x y P$

Checks the drawing for a data item with the text "PAINT=GREEN"
and inserts the x and y coordinates of this data item into the
variables x and y. The text "GREEN" is placed into the variable P$. If
the data item is not found, x and y return with the value -999999.0
and P$ with the value "<NULL>".

ENQUIRE “DATE” d$

Places the current date into d$ in the format YY-MM-DD.

ENQUIRE “DIGITIZER” N$ F$ I$ C B D P S x1 y1 x2 y2 x3 y3 x4 y4 x5 y5 x6 y6

Enquires the current digitizer setup and places it into the following
variables:
N$ Digitizer type.
F$ Format string.
I$ Initialization string.
C Comport.
B Baud rate.
D Data bits.
P Parity.
S Stop bits.
x1, y1, x2, y2, x3, y3 The coordinates of the three scaling points
on the digitizer, in digitizer coordinates.
x4, y4, x5, y5, x6, y6 The coordinates of the three equivalent
scaling points on the screen, in current
screen coordinates

ENQUIRE "DIMPARM" dimtextht ndecimal aspect linefeed witnesspen 1witoffset

2witoffset tolerance Arch$ textpen font$ arrowlen arrowwid decimal$

The variables are exactly the same as those used in the DIMPARM
function. See Set Dimension Defaults.
dimtextht Height of dimension text in tenths of a mm (on final
paper output).
ndecimal Number of decimals to display.
aspect
linefeed Distance between successive running dimensions.
witnesspen Color of witness lines and arrows. Pens are numbered
from 1 to 15 in the Color toolbar. 256 means pen By
Layer.

Macros 17-33
1witoffset Witness gap in tenths of a mm.
2witoffset Witness overshoot in tenths of a mm.
tolerance 1 if tolerances can be used, else 0.
Arch$ "A" for Architectural style dimensions, "M" for
Mechanical Style.
textpen Color of the dimension text. Pens are numbered from 1
to 15 in the Color toolbar. 256 means pen By Layer.
font$ Name of the font to use.
arrowlen Length of the dimension arrows in tenths of a mm.
arrowwid Width of the dimension arrows in tenths of a mm.
decimal$ decimal character "." or ","

ENQUIRE “DRGPATH” f$

Places the current drawing path into f$.

ENQUIRE “EXIST” "filename" a

If the file called "filename" exists, then 1 is placed into the variable a.
Otherwise, 0 is placed into a.
Note that you may have to give the full path of the file, e.g.
c:\AllyCAD\drawing\filename.drg.

ENQUIRE “FILENAME” f$

Places the current drawing filename into f$.

ENQUIRE “GRID” xspacing yspacing density pen on/off

Enquires the currently set grid x and y spacings, grid display

density, pen, and whether the grid is switched on (1) or off (0). The
pen is a number between 1 to 15.

ENQUIRE "HATCHNAMEFROMINDEX" HIndex Hname$

Returns in Hname$ the name of the hatch pattern stored at index

Hindex. If you give an invalid index the returned name will be "Bad
Index".

ENQUIRE "HATCHINDEXFROMNAME" Hname$ Hindex

Returns in Hindex the index of the hatch given by Hname$. If

Hname$ is not a hatch name, then the returned index will be –1.

17-34 AllyCAD Reference Manual

ENQUIRE “HEMISPHERE” h

If you are working in the southern hemisphere, h will be 1. If you are

working in the northern hemisphere, h will be 0.

ENQUIRE “LASTAREA” Area Perim Xcentroid Ycentroid

This queries the last area and perimeter measured using Polygon
Area in the Tools Menu. It places the last measured area into Area
and the last measured perimeter into Perim. It also places the X and
Y centroid of the polygon into Xcentroid and Ycentroid.

ENQUIRE “LAYER” A$

Places the name of the current layer into A$.

ENQUIRE “LAYERDEF” N$ V K P L W X Y

Enquires the details of the current layer and places them into the
given variables, as follows:
N$ Layer name.
V This is 1 if the layer is visible and 0 otherwise.
K This is 1 if the layer is locked and 0 otherwise.
P Pen number assigned to the layer: A number between 0 and
15. Pens are numbered from 1 to 15 in the Color toolbar.
L Line type assigned to the layer: A number between 1 and 11.
Line types are numbered from 1 to 11 downwards in the Line
Type Display. By default, 1 is continuous, 2 is long dashes, 3
is short dashes etc.
W Width assigned to the layer (currently ignored, but included
for future reference).
X Layer magnification in the X direction (currently used for both
X and Y magnification).
Y Layer magnification in the Y direction (currently ignored, but
included for future reference).

ENQUIRE “LAYERDEFINDEX” LAYINDEX N$ V K P L W X Y

Enquires the details of the layer with index LAYINDEX (LAYINDEX

can go from 0 to NUMLAYERS – 1 : see also ENQUIRE
“NUMLAYERS” ) and places them into the given variables, as follows:
N$ Layer name.
V This is 1 if the layer is visible and 0 otherwise.
K This is 1 if the layer is locked and 0 otherwise.
P Pen number assigned to the layer: A number between 1 and

Macros 17-35
 256.
L Line type assigned to the layer: A number between 1 and 26.
Line types are numbered from 1 to 26 downwards in the Line
Type Display. By default, 1 is continuous, 2 is long dashes, 3
is short dashes etc.
W Width assigned to the layer (currently ignored, but included
for future reference).
X Layer magnification in the X direction (currently used for both
X and Y magnification).
Y Layer magnification in the Y direction (currently ignored, but
included for future reference).

ENQUIRE “LAYERMAG” m

Places the magnification of the current layer into the variable m.

See also QUERYEL in the Tools section.

ENQUIRE "LAYHIGHL" H$

Places the character "O" , "P" or "R" into H$ depending on whether

layer highlight is Off, Pen8 or Rainbow. See also the function
LAYHIGHL

ENQUIRE “LINEDEF” L P W C S F R G B

Places the current line and polyline defaults into the variables. The
variables are:
L Line type: A number from 1 to 29. Line types are numbered
from 1 to 29 downwards in the Line Type Display. By default,
1 is continuous, 2 is long dashes, 3 is short dashes etc. If the
line type is 256, then line type is set as By Layer.
P Pen number: A number from 1 to 255. If the pen is 256, then
line type is set as By Layer.
W Line width in 10ths mm.
C 1 for closed, 0 for open.
S Spline type: 0 for no spline, 1 for 3pt Bezier, 2 for 4pt Bezier.
F Fill type: 0 = no fill, 1 = hatch, 2 = solid fill.
R Red component of solid fill (0-255) or hatch index number if
fill is a hatch.
G Green component of solid fill (0-255).
B Blue component of solid fill (0-255).

17-36 AllyCAD Reference Manual

ENQUIRE “LOCKANG” a

Places the angle that the cursor is currently locked at into the
variable a.

ENQUIRE "LTYPENAMEFROMINDEX" LIndex Lname$

Returns in Lname$ the name of the line style stored at index Lindex.
If you give an invalid index the returned name will be "Bad Index".

ENQUIRE "LTYPEINDEXFROMNAME" Lname$ Lindex

Returns in Lindex the index of the line style given by Lname$. If

Lname$ is not a line style name, then the returned index will be –1.

ENQUIRE “MACPATH” f$

Places the current macro file path into f$.

ENQUIRE “NEARARC” x1 y1 xc yc x3 y3 c p l

Places the coordinates of the arc nearest to the cursor into variables
x1 y1 xc yc x3 y3.
xc yc is the coordinate position of the arc's centre.
x1 y1 The coordinates of the ends of the arc. If the arc is a circle,
x3 y3 x1 y1 and x3 y3 both mark the coordinate position of a point
on the circle's circumference at the 3 o'clock position.
c c is 1 if the arc has been drawn in a clockwise direction
between x1 y1 and x3 y3 otherwise it is 0.
p Arc Pen. Pens are numbered from 1 to 255.
l Line Types are numbered from 1 in the Line Type Display
Area.

The arc's pen and line type are placed into p and l If pen or line type
is given as 256, it means that the pen or line type is being set By
Layer. The pen and linetype variables are optional. If no arc is found
near the cursor, then all the variables are given the value 999999.0.

ENQUIRE “NEARDATA” A$ X Y

This places the text of the nearest data item into A$, and the position
of the data item into variables X and Y.

ENQUIRE “NEARLINE” x1 y1 x2 y2 P L

Places the coordinates of the ends of the line nearest to the cursor
into variables x1 y1 x2 y2 P L.

Macros 17-37
x1 y1 The coordinates of the ends of the line.
x2 y2
P Arc Pen. Pens are numbered from 1 to 255.
L Line Types are numbered downwards from 1 in the Line
Type Display Area.

If pen or line type is given as 256, it means that the pen or line type
is being set By Layer. The pen and line type variables are optional. If
no line is found near the cursor, then all the variables are given the
value 999999.0.

ENQUIRE “NEARPATNAME” a$ p q r s

Inquires the name of the nearest object and places it into variable a$.
If no object is found nearby, a$ is <NULL>. The x and y coordinates
of the bottom left corner of the object's snip box are placed into p
and q. The x and y coordinates of the top right corner of the object's
snip box are placed into r and s. If you do not know what an object
or snip box is, see Drawing Structure.

ENQUIRE “NEARTEXT” a$ x y

Places the text nearest the cursor into variable a$, and the x and y
coordinates of the text into variables x and y. The x and y variables
are optional. If no text is found near the cursor, x and y return with
the value 999999.0 and a$ with the value "<NULL>".

ENQUIRE "NUMLAYERS" N

places number of layers into variable N. See also Enquire

“LAYERDEFINDEX”

ENQUIRE “NORTHEAST” n

n is 1 if you have chosen to read coordinates in the order Northing

Easting. n is 0 if you have chosen to read coordinates in the order
Easting Northing.
Northing Easting vs Easting Northing.
Internally, AllyCAD always stores coordinates in the order x y, where
x is the horizontal coordinate and y is the vertical coordinate. The
functions that are affected by the Northing Easting setting are the
following:
a) The coordinate display at the bottom right of the screen.
b) Move to Coordinates in the Tools Menu.

17-38 AllyCAD Reference Manual

c) Label Coordinate in the Annotate Menu.
d) The Surveyor Setup in Drawing Settings in the Settings Menu.
All the macro functions are unaffected by the Northing Easting
setting except:
a) ENQUIRE COORDS
b) ENQUIRE NORTHEAST
c) CHGCOORD
This means that if you write a macro to read a file of coordinates and
then to join them with lines, you must make your own allowances for
Northing, Easting.
In particular a coordinate pair in a macro command such as
LINE [x1,y1] [x2,y2] [#]

will always have the horizontal coordinate first, then the vertical
coordinate.

ENQUIRE “NUMWINDOWS” nwin

This function returns the number of MDI windows.

ENQUIRE “PAPEREXTENTS” w h

Inquires the width and height of the currently loaded paper in mm,
and places these values in w and h.

ENQUIRE “PAPERSIZE” p

Places the drawing paper size into p. See the table in Settings
Functions to see which paper size p corresponds to.

ENQUIRE “PAPERUNITS” u

Enquires the currently set paper units and places them into u. Paper
units are defined as follows:
0 mm
1 meter
2 inches
3 user defined
4 feet and fractional inches
5 decimal feet

Macros 17-39
6 yards
7 km
8 miles

ENQUIRE “PARLLDEF” 1/0 (draw fresh/around existing perimeter) A1 (starting

angle) A2 (ending angle) 1/0 (straight lines/line arc line) 1/0 (close off ends/don't
close off ends) 1/0 (fillet corners/don't fillet corners) N (number of lines)

Places the current parallel defaults set for the Parallel Line function
into variables.
For each of the N lines you can then do an enquire:

ENQUIRE “PARLLNLINEPEN” LineNum linetype pen width offset

where LineNum is the number of the line you are querying. For
example, the following inquires the line type, pen, width and offset of
the second parallel line defined in the parallel line definition:
ENQUIRE “PARLLNLINEPEN” 2 l p w o

ENQUIRE “POINTDEF” style size

Enquires the currently set point style and size. Point style is a
number interpreted as follows:
0 Point
1 None
2 Cross
4 X Cross
8 Blip
In addition, another modifier can be added to the point style as
follows:
0 No modifier
32 Circle
64 Box
128 Diamond
If Enquire Pointdef returns a style of 34, the point style is a cross
with a circle around it (2+32=34).
The size is measured in mm on final paper output. However if the
size is given as a negative number, then it is interpreted as
percentage of the screen size. For example, a point size of -2 means

17-40 AllyCAD Reference Manual

that points will always be drawn at 2% of screen size regardless of
magnification.

ENQUIRE “PORTRAIT” p

Enquires whether the paper is oriented in portrait or landscape. P is

1 if the paper is in portrait and 0 if it is in landscape.

ENQUIRE “SCALE” s

Places the drawing scale into s.

ENQUIRE “SELDEF” Line arc text dims arrow data bitmaps polylines points
inserts

These are set to 1 or 0 depending on the filter settings. Refer to

Selection Filters in the Edit Menu for an explanation of the variables.

ENQUIRE “SELPROPDEF” current color, current linetype, current width, current

symbol, current fillcolor, current layer, hatchdontcare, hatchonly, hatchcurrent

Inquires the Property filters. Returns a 1 or 0 depending on whether

that filter is set or not. Fillcolor only applies to polylines. Symbol
applies to lines, arcs and polylines. The three hatch switches apply
to all objects (hatch and non hatch), and enable you to select objects
based on their hatch properties.

ENQUIRE “SELTEXTDEF” font ht wid ang lorg linespc style textmatch

Match_String$

Inquires the Text filters. Returns a 1 or 0 depending on whether that

filter is set or not.
Match_String$ is a text variable.

ENQUIRE “SURVDIMFORMAT” F

Enquires the survey dimension format, where F is a numeric variable

that can take the values 0, 1, 2 or 3:
0 Bearing on top, distance on bottom.
1 Distance on top, bearing on bottom.
2 Both bearing and distance on top.
3 Distance only.

Macros 17-41
ENQUIRE “SURVDIMTEXT” A D A$ D$ N

This converts angle A and distance D to text strings A$ and D$. The
formats of A$ and D$ are defined by the Units and Angular Format
set in the Drawing Settings, and the settings in Set Survey Defaults.
N is the angle A represented in tenths of a degree. The purpose of
this function is surveying macros that automatically dimension a line
with its distance and bearing. A$ and D$ are the dimension text, and
N is the angle required by the WTEXTPARM function so that the
dimension text is written at the correct angle.

ENQUIRE “SURVTEXTORIENT” S

Enquires the survey dimension orientation and places it into S. If S

is 0, text follows the bearing direction. If it's 1, text is always upright.

ENQUIRE “SYMPATH” f$

Places the current symbol file path into f$.

ENQUIRE “TEXTDEFAULTS” T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T$ T6 T7 T8 T9 T0 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5

The variables are exactly the same as those used in the WTEXTPARM
function. See Settings Functions):
T1 = height in tenths of a mm.
T2 = label origin.
T3 = width in tenths of a mm.
T4 = boxsize in % of screen size.
T5 = linespacing.
T$ = font name.
T6 = color.
T7 = angle in tenths of a degree.
T8 = 1 if bold, else 0.
T9 = 1 if italic, else 0.
T0 = 1 if underlined, else 0.
Q1 = 1 if struckout, else 0.
Q2 = 0 if left justified, 1 if centred, 1 if right justified.
Q3 = 1 if a there is a balloon around the text, else 0.
Q4 = PitchAndFamily.
Q5 = CharSet.

17-42 AllyCAD Reference Manual

ENQUIRE “TIME” t$

Places the current time into t$ in the format HH:MM.

ENQUIRE “UNITS” u c

Places the drawing units into u, where 0 = mm, 1 = m, 2 = inches, 3

= user defined, 4 = feet and inches, 5 = feet, 6 = yard, 7 = km and 8 =
mile. Places mm per unit into c. For example, if you are working in
inches, u will be 2 and c will be 25.4.

ENQUIRE “WINDOWNAME” num wname$

This function returns the name of the window number. Number goes
from 0 to nwin-1.

ENQUIRE “ZOOM” x1 y1 x2 y2

Places the coordinates marking the bottom left and top right extents
of the current zoom window into x1 y1 and x2 y2.

Macros 17-43
ASCII Files
The following functions allow macros to read and write ASCII files.

CREATE "filename"

Creates the file "filename" for subsequent writing. If the file exists
already, all the data in it is deleted. If no path is specified in the
filename, the file will be created in the current macro path.

FILEMENU "prompt" "path" "extension" LoadOrSave F$

Calls the Windows file load or file save dialog boxes. "Prompt" is the
title of the dialog box. "Path" is the default path that appears in the
dialog box. "Extension" is the default extension of the type of file you
want to load or save.
If you want the Windows load dialog box, set LoadOrSave to 1. If you
want the Windows save dialog box, set LoadOrSave to 0.
F$ is a variable name that receives the full path of the file that the
user selected. If the user cancels the dialog box, then F$ is filled with
the string "<CANCEL>". See the example at the end of this section.

Before using this command you should have a line that sets F$ to
nothing, i.e. F$="". Otherwise you may find that your macro ignores
the FILEMENU command.

OPEN filenumber "filename"

Opens the file "filename" for reading or writing and assigns a

filenumber to that file. This filenumber must be used for all
subsequent reading and writing operations.
Only four files can be open at any time. Their numbers are 0, 1, 2
and 3. If you use PRN as the filename then you can write to the
printer. If no path is specified in the filename, AllyCAD will search for
the file in the current macro path. See the example at the end of this
section.

If you use OPEN to open a file for writing, writing will start at the
beginning of the file. If you want to add on to the end of an existing
file, use OPENA to open the file.

17-44 AllyCAD Reference Manual

OPENA filenumber "filename"

This is the same as OPEN, but if you are writing to the file you have
opened, everything you write will be appended to the end of the file.

WRITE filenumber "Rocket Scientist" TAB(35) s t b$

Writes variables to a line of the file. Numeric variables are written in

a format 12 characters wide with 3 decimal places. If you want more
fancy formats for your numbers you must convert them to strings
first using VAL$ in the String Functions. You can use the TAB
function, as shown above, to ensure that your output starts in
certain columns.

READ filenumber a d w$

Reads a line of the file and assigns values from the line to the
variables. There can be as many variables as you like in the variable
list. The line length read in is limited to 250 characters.
Fields on the input line can be separated by spaces or commas. If
there are not enough input fields, or the end of file has been reached,
then -99.e9 is assigned to numeric variables and "<NULL>" to string
variables. See the example at the end of this section.

READLN filenumber a$

Reads a whole line from a file (spaces and all) into the string variable
a$.

CLOSE filenumber

Closes down the file associated with filenumber.

REWIND filenumber

Rewinds the file back to the beginning.

TELL filenumber L

Places the current file offset of the file pointer into variable L.

SEEK filenumber L

Moves the file pointer of the given file to position L.

Macros 17-45
EOF(filenumber)

This is a function that returns 1 if the end of the specified file has
been reached. See the example at the end of this section.

ENQUIRE EXIST

See the example under ENQUIRE EXIST.

Example
This example shows you how to create an ASCII file containing
coordinates with site names. It then shows you how to write a macro
that reads and plots the coordinates and their names.
Open Windows Notepad and create a file containing the following
lines:
sitea 0 0
siteb 100 0
sitec 100 100
sited 0 100

After you have typed the last line and your cursor is positioned after
the last 100, press [Enter] so that the cursor moves down onto the
next line. Otherwise AllyCAD will not read the last line of the file
correctly.

Save the file you have created into your macro directory with a “.txt”
extension. Now open a new Windows Notepad file and create the
following macro:
REM ask user for name of coordinate file to load
F$=””
FILEMENU "Select coordinate file" "c:\AllyCAD\macro" "txt" 1 F$
REM open the coordinate file and call it 0
OPEN 0 F$
REM read in each line of the file. Plot the coordinate as a point and
REM write the coordinate's label at the coordinate point.
WHILE (1)
{
READ 0 L$ X Y
POINT [X,Y] [#]
TEXT [X,Y] L$ [#]
REM if the end of file 0 has been reached
REM stop reading the file
IF(EOF(0))
{
BREAK
}
}
REM close file 0
CLOSE 0
END

17-46 AllyCAD Reference Manual

This macro reads the three items in each line of the data file you
created: the site name (L$), the X coordinate (X) and the Y coordinate
(Y). It plots a point at the X,Y coordinate position and labels the point
with its site name, L$.

Macros 17-47
DDE Commands
The following functions allow AllyCAD to communicate with other
programs like Visual Basic and Excel, and vice versa.

SETMACVAR A 23.45

Sets the variable A to the value 23.45. This can then be used by the
other program.

SHELL "program arguments..."

Starts another program from within AllyCAD. A more useful way of

doing this is by a function call:
R=SHELL("program arguments...")

The value R is greater than 32 if the execute was sucessful.

WAITFORMESSAGE "messagename"

This causes the macro to wait until the other program sends it a
message. Once it receives the message, the macro continues onto the
next statement in the macro program.
The other program must use RegisterMessage with the same
Messagename, and then use the returned message number to signal
back to AllyCAD.

DDEConnect H "Server" "Topic"

Connects AllyCAD to another application. H is the returned

conversation handle used in all subsequent DDE commands. H is
zero if the connection could not be made.

DDEExecute H "Command"

Executes a command in the other application. H is the handle

returned by DDEConnect.

DDEPoke H "Item" "Data"

Inserts data into a specified item in the other application. H is the

handle returned by DDEConnect.

DDERequest H "Item" D$

Requests the data in a specified item in the other application, and

inserts it into D$. H is the handle returned by DDEConnect.

17-48 AllyCAD Reference Manual

DDEDisconnect H

Disconnects the conversation H

SHOWWINDOW S

This command controls the AllyCAD window, and is useful for other
applications that want to "wake up" AllyCAD. It takes one argument,
which can have the following values:
SW_HIDE 0
SW_NORMAL 1
SW_SHOWMINIMIZED 2
SW_SHOWMAXIMIZED 3
SW_SHOWNOACTIVATE 4
SW_SHOW 5
SW_MINIMIZE 6
SW_SHOWMINNOACTIVE 7
SW_SHOWNA 8
SW_RESTORE 9

LinkExecute

You can also use the LinkExecute command to execute AllyCAD

commands from within other applications.
Example:
Create a Visual Basic program. Put an invisble text box called
DDE_Link_Box onto the form. In the form’s load procedure, type the
following:
DDE_Link_Box.LinkMode = 0
DDE_Link_Box.LinkTopic = “KB_CAD|System”
DDE_Link_Box.LinkItem = “Sysitems”
DDE_Link_Box.LinkMode = 2
DDE_Link_Box.LinkExecute “Line [0,0] [100,100] [#]”
DDE_Link_Box.LinkExecute “CIR [0,0] [50,50] [#]”
End

Start AllyCAD, then run the Visual Basic program. A line and a circle
will be drawn on the screen. You can send any AllyCAD command
this way, so long as it is in the form of a string.
If you want to use variable values, these must be strings. For
example, suppose startx, starty, endx and endy are string variables
containing coordinate values, you could draw a line in AllyCAD as
follows:

Macros 17-49
DDE_Link_Box.LinkExecute “LINE [“ + startx + “,” + starty + “] [“+ endx
+ “,” + endy + “] [#]”

See the DDETEST.MAC and VBTEST.MAC examples for other

examples.

DDE Examples 1 and 2

See ddetest.mac and vbtest.mac in your macro sub-directory for
examples of using the DDE commands with Visual Basic. The Visual
Basic programs these connect to, ddetest.exe and vbtest.exe are
supplied in your vbtest sub-directory together with their associated
mak and frm files. Note that you need a copy of vbrun.dll in order to
run these examples.

DDE Example 3
The following example starts a conversation with Microsoft Excel,
and places the words "Hello Excel" into the spreadsheet "SHEET1" in
the second row of the third column. It then reads the contents of the
first row of the first column and displays the result.
DDEConnect H "Excel" "Sheet1"
if (H)
{
DDEPoke H "R2C3" "Hello Excel"
DDERequest H "R1C1" D$
a$=join$("Value in cell R1C1 was ",D$)
mess a$
DDEDisconnect H
}

DDE Example 4
AllyCAD will also respond to DDE Execute requests from other
applications. If you make the DDE connection in the other
application with the server name as "KB_CAD" and the topic name as
"System", then you can send AllyCAD any macro command string,
and AllyCAD will execute it.
For example, the following Microsoft Excel macro connects to
AllyCAD, opens the Filter sample drawing, minimises AllyCAD and
displays it in its minimised form, then disconnects again:
Function testcad()
h = DDEInitiate("KB_CAD", "system")
DDEExecute h, "opendr c:\AllyCAD\drawing\filter.drg"
DDEExecute h, "showwindow 2"
DDETerminate h
End Function

17-50 AllyCAD Reference Manual

AllyCAD Functions
The remainder of this chapter lists AllyCAD functions, organised
under the menus they are used in. Some of the functions are not
used in the menus. These are listed under the same menu headings
as similar functions that are used in the menus.
Full details about the meanings of the function parameters are not
given. Rather, you are referred to the corresponding function in the
Reference section, where you will find a full explanation.
Bear in mind the following:
1. Functions are presented as follows:
FUNCTION_NAME FUNCTION_PARAMETERS
2. Text in parentheses () is not a function parameter but explains
the preceding parameter. Where you are given several options,
e.g. "R/C", "Y/N", 0/1/2, you only use one option.
HDIM "R/C" (Running/Chained) [xtext,ytext] [x1,y1] [x2,y2] !
[x3,y3] ! [x4,y4] !... [#]

In the example above, you type "R" if you want a running

dimension and "C" if you want a chained dimension.
MIRROR [xmirror,ymirror] "Y/N" (vertical/horizontal) "Y/N"
(keep old half/discard old half)

In the example above, you type "Y" if you want to mirror

vertically, and "N" if you want to mirror horizontally. You type "Y"
if you want to keep the old half, and "N" if you don't, for example:
MIRROR [xmirror,ymirror] "Y" "Y"

3. Some function descriptions include dots:....

For example:
LINE [x,y] [x2,y2] [x3,y3]... [#]

These are not part of the parameters but mean you could add
more parameters, e.g. LINE [x,y] [x2,y2] [x3,y3] [x4,y4] [x5,y5] [#]
etc.
4. Due to space limitations, some functions are shown spreading
over several lines. However, in a macro, the function and all its
parameters may only occupy one line.

Macros 17-51
5. Refer to Description for details on variable names that you can
use. You can either use a variable name or an absolute value, for
example:
ROTATE [xc,yc] "Y" angle [#]
ROTATE [35,-10] "Y" 45 [#]
TEXT [x,y] "Lekker" [#]
TEXT [100,100] T$ [#]

6. You need to put double quotes around all string parameters,

such as "R", "Y" or "Agatha".
7. If you do not give values for all the parameters, AllyCAD will
prompt for the remaining values. For example, if you type
CIR

AllyCAD will prompt Enter centre point of circle. If you type

CIR [0,0]

AllyCAD will prompt Enter point on circle, etc.

17-52 AllyCAD Reference Manual

File Functions
If you do not include the full file path in the filename in the functions
below, e.g. "c:\AllyCAD\drawing\filter", AllyCAD will look for the file
in the relevant default directory, or will save it to the relevant default
directory.

SETPATH "c:\path\"

Sets the current default drawing file path to "c:\path\". Note the
trailing backslash, which is very important.

SETSYMPTH "c:\path\"

Sets the current default symbol file path to "c:\path\". Note the
trailing backslash, which is very important.

SETMACPTH "c:\path\"

Sets the current default macro file path to "c:\path\". Note the
trailing backslash, which is very important.

DELALL "YES"

Deletes everything in memory and loads the default startup drawing,

STARTUP.DRG. See New.

FILEMENU "prompt" "path" "extension" LoadOrSave F$

Calls the Windows file load or file save dialog boxes. "Prompt" is the
title of the dialog box. "Path" is the default path that appears in the
dialog box. "Extension" is the default extension of the type of file you
want to load or save. If you want the Windows load dialog box, set
LoadOrSave to 1. If you want the Windows save dialog box, set
LoadOrSave to 0. F$ is a variable name that receives the full path of
the file that the user selected. If the user cancels the dialog box, then
F$ is filled with the string "<CANCEL>".

Before using this command you should have a line that sets F$ to
nothing, i.e. F$="". Otherwise you may find that your macro ignores
the FILEMENU command.

READANYFILE

Brings up the load.drg,.dwg or DXF dialog box. See Open.

Macros 17-53
OPENDR "filename"

Loads the AllyCAD drawing file "filename".

READACAD "filename"

Loads the AutoCAD drawing file "filename".

LOAD "filename" [x,y] scale rot

Loads the drawing file "filename". The coordinate position, scale and
rotation are only required if you are loading one cartesian coordinate
drawing onto another. See Load Drawing.

LOADLAY "walls,electrical" "filename"

Loads the specified layers of the drawing "filename" - walls and

electrical in this example. See Load Layers.

LOADGEOM "filename"

Loads the geometry file "filename". See Load Geom.

LOADBITMAP "filename.bmp" xpixsize ypixsize visible thinmode [xleft,ytop]

Loads the bitmap file "filename.bmp". You must supply the.BMP

extension in the filename. Xpixsize and ypixsize are the real world
pixel size. Visible can be 0 or 1. If it is 0 then a placeholder is
displayed instead of the bitmap. Thinmode can be 0 (preserve black),
1 (preserve white) or 2 (thin pixels). Xleft and ytop are the
coordinates of the top left hand corner of the bitmap. See Load
Bitmap.

LOADMENU "filename.men"

Loads a new.MEN file for defining the functions on the pull-dpwn

menus, icons and accelerators. You must supply the.MEN extension
in the filename.

SAVE

Saves the current drawing. See Save.

WRITEANYFILE

Brings up the save.drg,.dwg or DXF dialog box. See Save As.

17-54 AllyCAD Reference Manual

STORE "filename"

Saves the current drawing as an AllyCAD drawing called "filename".

AUTOSAVEDLG DoAutoBackup Minutes AskUser GetRef SaveGeom UseDOM

The parameters represent the check boxes in the Save Settings dialog
box. DoAutoBackup, AskUser, GetRef, SaveGeom and UseDOM all
have values of 1 or 0. If the value is 1, the relevant check box is
checked. If the value is 0 the check box is empty. Minutes must be
set to the number of minutes between autobackups. See Save
Settings.

AUTOSTTG 1/0 (store geometry automatically/don't store it) 0 (not relevant) 1/0
(use drawing office manager/don't use it)

Sets just the store geometry and drawing office manager settings in
Save Settings. See Save Settings.

BACKUPTM t

Sets the autobackup time to t, which is time in minutes. See Save

Settings.

DESCRIP "Drawing Description" "Draftsperson" "Department"

Edits the current drawing's description in the Drawing Office

Manager. See Edit Description.

STOREWS "filename" [x,y]

Saves the selection set as "filename". X,y is the reference point of the
saved drawing so it can later be loaded accurately into another
drawing using Load Drawing. See Save Selected.

STORELAY "elec" "filename" [x,y]

Save a layer as "filename", where "elec" is the name of the layer to

save and x,y is the reference point of the saved layer so it can later
be loaded accurately into another drawing using Load Drawing. See
Save Layer.

STOREVIS "filename" [x,y]

Save all visible layers as "filename". X,y is the reference point of the
saved drawing so it can later be loaded accurately into another
drawing using Load Drawing. See Save Visible.

Macros 17-55
STOREGEOM "filename"

Stores all geometry as "filename". See Save Geometry.

NEWSYMFL "symbolfilename" "Y/N" (absolute/to scale) "Y/N" (convert

attributes to text/don't convert attributes)

Loads the symbol file "symbolfilename". See Load Symbol File.

IMPORTEXP "H" "filename"

Imports the HPGL file "filename". The screen must be blank. See
Import HPGL.

IMPORTEXP "A" "filename" [x,y]

Imports the ASCII text file "filename" as a text block at position x,y.
See Import ASCII.

IMPORTEXP "M" "Y/N" (all layers/just visible layers) "* *" (names of objects to
be exported) "filename"

Exports all or part of the current drawing as a macro file called

"filename". See Export Macro.

IMPORTEXP "T" "filename" [x1,y1] [#x2,y2] [#]

Exports the text within the box or polygon defined by x1,y1 and
x2,y2 as an ASCII file called "filename". See Export Text.

HARDCOPY

If the hardcopy command is entered with no parameters, it brings up

the Print dialog box. See Print.

HARDCOPY xoffset yoffset minpen maxpen

Does a print with the given offsets and just plots the pens from
minpen to maxpen. (Minpen and maxpen are only relevant if plotting
to a pen plotter). See Print.

ZOOMPLOT

If the zoomplot command is entered with no parameters, it starts the

zoom plot sequence, and then brings up the Print dialog box. See
Zoom Print.

17-56 AllyCAD Reference Manual

ZOOMPLOT "Y" (to fit) Border "Y" (satisfied) [#] (no compass) xoffset yoffset
minpen maxpen

The above command causes a zoomplot to fit with a border around

the edge of the paper, see the following examples:
ZOOMPLOT "Y" 10 "Y" [#] 0 0 1 15

would plot to fit with a border of 10 mm, and from pen 0 to pen 15.
See Zoom Print

ZOOMPLOT "N" (to scale) scale [xcenter,ycenter] "N" (rotate) "Y" (satisfied) [#]
(no compass) xoffset yoffset minpen maxpen

The above command does a zoom plot at a certain fixed scale around
the xcenter, ycenter point given.
E.g.
ZOOMPLOT "N" 500 [0,0] "N" "Y" [#] 0 0 1 15

would plot at a scale of 1:500 around the point 0,0

See Zoom Print.

PRINTSETUP

Calls up the Windows Print Setup dialog box. See Print Setup.

EXEC "filename"

Executes the macro file "filename". See Exec Macro.

COMPILEMAC "filename"

Compiles the macro source file "filename" to a compiled.MBF file.

ENCODE "filename"

Encodes a macro called filename. If you do not supply a filename, a

dialog box prompting you for one will appear. See Encode Macro.

EXECSTEP n "filename"

Executes the macro file "filename" one line at a time, starting at line
n. See Hints and Tips.

Macros 17-57
PURGE "Y/N" (remove duplicates) "Y/N" (remove unreferenced blocks) "Y/N"
(remove unreferenced layers) ! ! !

Purges duplicate entities, unreferenced blocks and/or unreferenced

layers from a drawing. The three exclamation marks dismiss the
information dialog boxes that appear showing how many duplicate
entities have been removed. See Purge Redundant Elements.

REPAIR "filename"

Attempts to repair a corrupted AllyCAD drawing called filename. If

you do not supply a filename, a dialog box prompting you for one will
appear. See Repair DRG File.

QUIT

Exits AllyCAD. If you do not want the shutdown process to be

interrupted by a dialog box, you should use DELALL "NO" before
using QUIT. See Exit.

17-58 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Edit Functions

UNDO

Undoes the last operation. See Undo.

If you want to be able to undo actions performed by the macro, you
must include SETMACUNDO 1 at the beginning of the macro.

REDO

Undoes the last undo. See Redo.

CUT

Cuts the selection set to the Clipboard. See Cut.

COPY

Copies the selection set to the Clipboard. See Copy.

PASTE [x,y]

Pastes the contents of the Clipboard onto the drawing at position x,y.
x,y is the top left corner of the Clipboard contents, except in the case
of text. See Paste.

DELSELECT

Deletes the selection set. See Delete.

DELEL [x,y] "Y" [#]

Deletes the element nearest to x,y. The "Y" confirms the deletion.

DELPREV "Y" "Y" "Y" " "

Deletes the last few elements you have entered - the last three
elements in the example above.

DELHATCH [x1,y1] [#x2,y2] "Y" (confirms deletion)

Deletes all hatches with hook points within the box or polygon
defined by x1,y1 and x2,y2.

DELLAYER "layername" " YES" (confirms deletion)

Deletes everything on the layer called "layername".

Macros 17-59
DELPAT [x,y] "YES" (confirms deletion) [#]

Deletes the object at position x,y.

SELECTNORMAL

Enters the Select function. See Select.

USEHANDLES 1/0

Switches off handles if you type USEHANDLES 0. USEHANDLES 1

switches them on again. See Select.

SELECT [x1,y1] [#]

Selects the entities nearest to the coordinate x1,y1. See Select. You
can select entities close to several coordinate positions:
SELECT [x1,y1] [x2,y2] [x3,y3] [#]

SELECTNODES

Enters the Select Nodes function. See Select Nodes.

SELECTPOLY [x1,y1] [x2,y2] [x3,y3]... [#]

Selects everything inside the polygon defined by the coordinates,

subject to the current selection filters. See Select by Polygon.

SETCROSSINGSEL 0/1

Set the selection mode for polygon selection. If set to 1, it is

equivalent to drawing from left to right and all entities crossing or
enclosed in the polygon will be selected. If set to 0, it is equivalent to
drawing from right to left and only entities fully enclosed in the
polygon will be selected.

SELECTDEF

Calls up the selection defaults dialog box. See Selection Filters.

SELECTDEF Line arc text dims arrow data bitmaps polylines points inserts

Sets the selection filters. The arguments are self explanatory if you
look at the Selection Filters dialog box. Set them to 1 or 0 depending
on whether or not you want to turn each particular filter on or off.
See Selection Filters. There is also a matching inquiry function. See
ENQUIRE SELDEF

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SELECTTEXTDEF font ht wid ang lorg linespc textmatch “match string”

Set them to 1 or 0 depending on whether you want to filter on text

that matches the current text defaults in this property. Style
includes bold, italic, underline, balloon and justification. If text
match is set, then the match string must occur somewhere in the
piece of text (case insensitive). See Selection Filters. There is also a
matching inquiry function. See ENQUIRE SELTEXTDEF.

SELECTPROPDEF current color current linetype current width current symbol

current fillcolor current layer hatchontcare hatchonly hatchcurrent

Set them to 1 or 0 depending on whether you want to filter on

elementst that matches the current defaults in this property.
Fillcolor and symbol only apply to polylines. The 3 hatch switches
apply to all objects (hatch and non-hatch) and enable you to select
objects based on their hatch properties. See also ENQUIRE
SELPROPDEF.

CLEARFILTER

Ticks all the filters except current color, current line type and
current layer. See Selection Filters.

SELECTNAME "parent name"

Selects objects with the parent name "parent" and the object name
"name". See Selection Filters. You can use the DOS wildcards * and ?
in parent and name. For example, to SELECT ALL, type:
SELECTNAME "* *"

This function is case sensitive. Object names should always be

written in upper case.

SELECTHATCH [x1,y1] [#]

Selects the hatch perimeter nearest to the coordinate x1,y1. See

Selection Filters.

SELECTLAYER "layername"

Selects everything on the layer "layername". See Selection Filters.

This function is case sensitive. Layer names should always be

written in upper case.

Macros 17-61
SELECTNEW 0/1

Switches automatic selection of all new entities on and off. For

example, if you use SELECTNEW 1 in a macro, all further entities
you draw will be selected. A side effect of this command is that the
entites are not drawn when first created. The entities appear when
you clear the selection using clearsel.

CLEARSEL

Clears current selection set (deselects everything that is currently

selected. See Clear Selection.

MOVETOBACK

Moves all the selected elements to the back of the drawing (First in
redraw order). See Move to Back.

MOVETOBACK [x1,y1] [x2,y2]... [#]

Moves the elements at coordinates x1,y1, x2,y2 etc. to the back. See
Move to Back.

MOVETOFRONT

Moves all the selected elements to the front of the drawing (Last in
redraw order). See Move to Front.

MOVETOFRONT [x1,y1] [x2,y2]... [#]

Moves the elements at coordinates x1,y1, x2,y2 etc. to the front. See
Move to Front.

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View Functions

ZOOM "W" [x1,y1] [x2,y2]

Zooms into the area defined by x1,y1 and x2,y2. See Zoom Window.

ZOOM "L"

Goes to the last zoom. See Zoom Last.

ZOOM "N"

Goes to the next zoom if you have used Zoom Last. See Zoom Next.

ZOOM "A"

Zooms onto all drawn entities. See Zoom All.

REDRAW

Zooms onto the full sheet of paper. See Zoom Paper.

ZOOM "S" scalefac [x,y]

Zooms the drawing at a certain scale (scalefac) around a given point,

x,y. This scale is relative to the drawing scale, not to the current
zoom. See Zoom Scaled.

ZOOM "E"

Zooms onto the selection set. See Zoom Selected.

ZOOM "V" n

Zooms onto View n where n is a number from 0 to 9. See Zoom View.

ZOOM "D" n [x1,y1] [x2,y2] " "

Defines zoom view n to be the box defined by x1,y1 and x2,y2, where
n is a number between 0 and 9. The trailing blank string parameter "
" is to stop defining zooms. See Define Zoom View.

TOOLBARPOPUP

Pops up a menu giving a list of the current toolbars, with the visible
ones checked. You can alter visible state of any toolbar by clicking on
its name in the popup menu. You can also activate the toolbar popup

Macros 17-63
menu by right clicking on any toolbar between the buttons and the
frame.

MAGNIFY

Magnifies about the current cursor position. See Magnify. Use

SETCUR x y before calling magnify to ensure that magnification
happens at the right spot.

DEMAG

Demagnifies about the current cursor position. See Demagnify. Use

SETCUR x y before calling demag to ensure that demagnification
happens at the right spot.

PAN

Recentres the drawing about the current cursor position. See Pan.
Use SETCUR x y before calling pan so that the right spot is panned
to.

LONGPAN [x,y]

Recentres the drawing about x,y. See Long Pan.

REFRESH

Refreshes the current screen with no scale change. See Redraw.

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Draw Functions

LINE [x,y] [x2,y2] [x3,y3]... [#]

Draws a line from x,y to x2,y2 to x3,y3, etc.. See Line (Chained).

PTLINE [x,y] [x2,y2] [x3,y3] [x4,y4]... [#]

Draws a line from x,y to x2,y2 and another from x3,y3 to x4,y4, etc..
See Lines (Pt to Pt).

POINT [x,y] [#]

Draws a point at x,y. See Point.

RECT [x1,y1] [x2,y2] [#]

Draws a rectangle between x1,y1 and x2,y2. See Rectangle.

ARC [xstart,ystart] [xpt,ypt] [xend,yend] [#]

Draws an arc by three points. See Arc 3 Point.

ARCR [xstart,ystart] [xend,yend] radius [#]

Draws an arc by its start and end points and its radius. If you want
the arc to be drawn between the start and end points in an anti-
clockwise direction, give a negative value for the radius. See Arc
Radius.

CIR [xcentre,ycentre] [xrad,yrad] [#]

Draws a circle by its centre point and a point on its circumference.

See Circle.

CIRDIA [xcentre,ycentre] "dia1 dia2 dia3 dia4 dia5" [#]

Draws up to five concentric circles by diameter. Up to five diameters

can be enclosed in the double quotes. See Circle Diameter.

CIR2P [x1,y1] [x2,y2] [#]

Draws a circle between x1,y1 and x2,y2. The circle centre is exactly
between these points. See Circle 2 Point.

Macros 17-65
BENTLINE [x1,y1] [x2,y2] rad1 [x3,y3] rad2 [x4,y4].... [#]

Draws a line arc line sequence. See Line Arc Line. Rad1 is the radius
of the corner defined by the points x1,y1, x2,y2, x3,y3. Rad2 is the
radius of the corner defined by the points x2,y2, x3,y3, x4,y4.

To end the line arc line sequence with a line, you

must give the coordinates of the line end point
twice, separated by a radius of 0, as shown
below:

BENTLINE [0,0] [100,0] 30 [100,100] 30 [0,100] 0 [0,100] [#]

To end the sequence with an arc, you must end

the sequence with a radius of 0:

BENTLINE [0,0] [100,0] 30 [100,100] 30 [0,100] 0 [#]

PARLLINE [x1,y1] [x2,y2] [x3,y3].... [#]

Draws "fresh" parallel lines from x1,y1 to x2,y2 to x3,y3 etc. using
the defaults set in Parallel Defaults in the Settings Menu. See Parallel
Line.

PARLLINE [x1,y1] [x2,y2] rad1 [x3,y3] rad2 [x4,y4].... [#]

Draws a parallel line arc line sequence using the defaults set in
Parallel Defaults in the Settings Menu. x1,y1, rad1 etc. are the same
as in BENTLINE, above. See Parallel Line.

PARLLINE "A" [x,y] "Y"

Draws parallel lines around a perimeter using the defaults set in

Parallel Defaults in the Settings Menu. The perimeter is tracked
using the Auto method. X,y is a point inside the perimeter. See
Parallel Line.
See also Perimeter Functions.

PARLL1 "Y" (spacing) spacing no_of_lines "Y/N" (autotrimming/ no

autotrimming) [x,y] (element to be copied) [#]

Draws lines or arcs parallel to, and a fixed distance from, an existing
line or arc. See 1 Parallel Element. If you want more than one parallel
line, leave out the autotrimming / no autotrimming option. X,y is a

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coordinate identifying the element that must be parallel copied. Give
a coordinate just next to the element, on the side you want the
parallel elements to appear on. Examples:
PARLL1 "Y" 10 5 [0,1] [#]

Draws five elements parallel to the element identified by coordinate

[0,1]. The elements are 10 units apart.
PARLL1 "Y" 10 1 "Y" [0,1] [#]

Draws one element parallel to the element identified by coordinate

[0,1]. The original and parallel elements are 10 units apart.

PARLL1 "N" (through a point) no_of_lines "Y/N" (autotrimming/no

autotrimming) [xc,yc] (element to be copied) [xp,yp] (point through which
parallel element must pass) [#]

Draws lines or arcs parallel to an existing line or arc and through a

fixed point. See 1 Parallel Element. If you want more than one
parallel line, leave out the autotrimming/no autotrimming option. x,y
is a coordinate identifying the element that must be parallel copied.
Give a coordinate just next to the element, on the side you want the
parallel elements to appear on. Examples:
PARLL1 "N" 5 [0,1] [0,10] [#]

Draws five elements parallel to the element identified by coordinate

[0,1]. The spacing is defined by the point [0,10].
PARLL1 "N" 1 "Y" [0,1] [0,10] [#]

Draws one element parallel to the element identified by coordinate

[0,1]. The parallel element is drawn through the point [0,10].

FILLGEOM [x,y] (geometry intersect) [x1,y1] (next geometry intersect) [x2,y2]

(next geometry intersect) [#]

Traces over the geometry elements between the specified intersection

points to form solid elements. See Fill Geom.

FILLGCIR [x,y] (point on circle) [#]

Copies the geometry circle at the coordinate location x,y to a solid

circle. See Fill Geom Cir.

FILLGARC [x1,y1] (arcpt) [x2,y2] (2nd arcpt) [x3,y3] (arcpt) [#]

Copies a portion of a geometry circle to a solid arc. See Fill Geom Arc.
X1,y1 and x3,y3 are the coordinates of the ends of the arc. X2,y2 is a
point on the arc.

Macros 17-67
ELL [xc,yc] majora aspectr angle [#]

Enters an ellipse with its centre at xc,yc. See Ellipse.

ELLBIT [xc,yc] majora aspectr angle [xcut1,ycut1] [xcut2,ycut2] [#]

Enters part of an ellipse. Majora, aspectr and angle define the major
axis, aspect ratio and angle of the complete ellipse. The part ellipse is
drawn between the coordinates xcut1,ycut1 and xcut2,ycut2 on the
complete ellipse's boundary. It is drawn between the coordinates in
an anti-clockwise direction. See Part Ellipse.

SPLINE [x1,y1] [x2,y2] [x3,y3].... [#]

Draws a circular spline through the coordinates x1,y1, x2,y2 etc. See
Circular Spline.

CURVE n [x1,y1] [x2,y2] [x3,y3].... [#]

Draws a cubic spline through the coordinates x1,y1, x2,y2 etc. Each
spline segment is made up of n line segments. See Cubic Spline.

PLINE [x,y] [x2,y2] [x3,y3].... [#]

Draws a polyline or Bezier curve from x,y to x2,y2 to x3,y3, etc.. See
Polyline.

PVERTEX [x,y] [x2,y2] [x3,y3].... [#]

Adds vertices to an existing polyline or Bezier curve. This function

will only work if the polyline or Bezier curve was the last entity added
to the current object.

ADDSYM "symname" [x,y] scale rot

Adds the symbol called "symname" from the currently loaded symbol
file (use NEWSYMFL in the File Menu to load a symbol file). Symbol
names are case sensitive. The symbol appears at position x,y and
with the scale and rotation given. This function is not exactly the
same as the interactive one used by the Symbol function, as it does
not rotate the symbol onto lines, allows only one global scale for the
whole symbol and does not automatically snip around the symbol.

SYMBOL

Brings up the symbol function on the Control Bar. See Symbol.

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FREEHAND d [x,y] (startpos) [#]

Starts "freehand" drawing. D contains the minimum distance

between drawn points. See Sketch.

Macros 17-69
Modify Functions

STRETCH "Y/N" (everything/selected only) [x1,y1] [#x2,y2] [xfrom,yfrom]

[xto,yto]

Stretches items within the box defined by x1,y1 and x2,y2. Note the
# sign that must be placed before the second box coordinates. The
contents of the box are stretched from coordinate xfrom,yfrom to
coordinate xto,yto. See Stretch.

MOVE [x,y] [x1,y1]

Moves the selection set from x,y to x1,y1. See Move.

MIRROR [xmirror,ymirror] "Y/N" (vertical/horizontal) "Y/N" (keep old half/discard

old half)

Mirrors the selection set about a horizontal or vertical axis. See

Mirror.

MIRROR [x1,y1] (1stpoint on axis) "A" (arbitrary axis) [x2,y2] (2nd point on axis)
"Y/N" (keep old half/discard old half)

Mirrors the selection set about an arbitrary axis. X1,y1 and x2,y2
define the axis. See Mirror.

SCALE [x0,y0] "N" (cursor) xscale yscale

Scales the selection set about coordinate x0,y0, by the numeric scale
factors xscale and y scale. See Scale.

SCALE [x0,y0] Y(cursor) [x1,y1] [x2,y2]

Scales the selection set about coordinate x0,y0. The coordinate x1,y1
is scaled to position x2,y2. See Scale.

REPEAT n "Y" (rectangular) [x0,y0] [xr,yr]

Repeats the selection set n times in a rectangular fashion. X0,y0 is

the point on the original set and xr,yr is the point on the repeated
set. See Repeat.

REPEAT n "N" (polar) [x0,y0] angstep

Repeats the selection set n times in a polar (circular) fashion. [x0,y0]

is the point about which to rotate and angstep is the rotation angle.
See Repeat.

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DROP [x0,y0] [xd1,yd1] [xd2,yd2]... [#]

Copies the selection set multiple times. X0,y0 is a point on the

selection set. Xd1,yd1, xd2,yd2 etc. are the positions to which it is
copied. See Drop.

ROTATE [xc,yc] "Y" (keyboard) angle [#]

Rotates the selection set about xc,yc by an angle given from the
keyboard. See Rotate.

ROTATE [xc,yc] "N" (cursor) [x0,y0] [xr,yr] [#]

Rotates the selection set about xc,yc. Point x0,y0 is rotated to point
xr,yr. See Rotate.

TRIM 2/1/0 (update both/first/neither original elements) "Y/N" (use 2 points/1

point) [xline1,yline1] [xline2,yline2] [#]

Trims elements. Xline1,yline1 and xline2,yline2 identify the elements

to trim. If you type "N" to use 1 point, you only need to give
xline1,yline1.
You must identify xline1,yline1 and xline2, yline2 with care. For
example, if you are trimming two lines at a corner you should select
a coordinate position on the inside of the corner to be trimmed. See
Trim.

FILLET 2/1/0 (update both/first/neither original elements) "Y/N" (use 2 points/1

point) r (fillet radius) [xline1,yline1] [xline2,yline2] [#]

Fillets or trims elements. Xline1,yline1 and xline2, yline2 identify the

element or elements to be filleted or trimmed. If you choose "N" to
use 1 point, you only need to give xline1,yline1. If you give a fillet
radius of 0, the elements will be trimmed rather than filleted.
You must identify xline1,yline1 and xline2, yline2 with care. For
example, if you are filleting a corner you should select coordinate
positions that are not on the elements, but just next to them, on the
inside of the corner to be filleted. See Fillet.

CHAMFER "A" (by angle) [xline1,yline1] [xline2,yline2] dist angle [#]

Chamfers two lines by distance and angle. Xline1,yline1 and

xline2,yline2 identify the two lines to be chamfered. See Chamfer.

Macros 17-71
CHAMFER "D" (by distance) [xline1,yline1] [xline2,yline2] dist1 dist2 [#]

Chamfers two lines by two distances. Xline1,yline1 and xline2,yline2

identify the two lines to be chamfered. See Chamfer.

DIVIDE [xselect,yselect] [xcut,ycut] [#]

Divides or extends the element nearest xselect,yselect. Divide the

element at, or extend the element to, xcut,ycut. See Divide/Extend.

JOINLINE [x1,y1] (first line) [x2,y2] (second line) [#]

Joins the line closest to coordinate x1,y1 to the line closest to

coordinate x2,y2. See Join Lines.

SNIP "Y/N" (box/circle) "Y/N" (snip inside/outside) "Y/N" (enter box or

circle/don’t enter box or circle) [x1,y1] [x2,y2] [#]

Snips everything inside or outside a box or circle. If you are snipping

everything inside or outside a box, x1,y1 and x2,y2 define the box. If
you are snipping inside or outside a circle, x1,y1 is the centre point
of the circle and x2,y2 is a point on its circumference. See Snip.

WSNEWLAY "D"

Moves the selection set to layer "D". See Move Selected->New Layer.

PATNWLAY "layer" [x,y] "Y" (confirmation) [#]

Moves the object at x,y to the layer "layer".

COPYTOLAYER "layer"

Copies the selection set to a layer called "layer". See Copy Selected-
>New Layer.

EL2ARC [x1,y1] [#x2,y2] [#]

Converts all ellipses within the box defined by x1,y1 and x2,y2 to 12
arcs. Note the # sign required before the final set of coordinates. See
Ellipse2Arcs.

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Geometry Functions

GCROSS [x1,y1] [x2,y2].... [#]

Draws geometry crosses at positions x1,y1 x2,y2 etc. See Cross.

GLINESLP [x,y] (point on geometry line) a [#]

Draws a geometry line through the point x,y, at an angle of a

degrees. See Slope Line.

GLINEPP [x1,y1] (1stpt) [x2,y2] (2ndpt) [#]

Draws a geometry line through the points x1,y1 and x2,y2. See Point-
Point Line.

GLINEPRL "Y" (by distance) [x0,y0] (orig_line) var1 [#]

Draws a geometry line parallel to the existing line closest to the

coordinate [x0,y0]. Var1 is the distance between the existing line and
the parallel line. See Parallel Line.

GLINEPRL "N" (through point) [x0,y0] (orig_line) [xp,yp] (parallel line) [#]

Draws a geometry line parallel to the existing line closest to the

coordinate x0,y0. The parallel line passes through the point xp,yp.
See Parallel Line.

GCIR [x0,y0] (circle centre pt) [xd,yd] (point on diameter) [#]

Draws a geometry circle by centre point and point on circumference.

See Circle.

GCIRDIA [xcentre,ycentre] "dia1 dia2 dia3 dia4 dia5" [#]

Draws up to five concentric geometry circles by diameter. Up to five

diameters can be enclosed in the double quotes. See Circle Diameter.

GCTANLL dia [x1,y1] (1st_line) [x2,y2] (2nd_line) [#]

Draws a geometry circle with the diameter dia, which is tangent to

the two geometry lines identified by x1,y1 and x2,y2. See Circle Tan
LL.

Macros 17-73
GCTANLC dia [xl,yl] (line) [xc,yc] (circle) [#]

Draws a geometry circle with the diameter dia, which is tangent to

the geometry line identified by xl,yl and the geometry circle identified
by xc,yc. See Circle Tan LC.

GCTANCC dia [x1,y1] (1st_circle) [x2,y2] (2nd_circle) [#]

Draws a geometry circle with the diameter dia, which is tangent to

the geometry circle identified by xl,yl and the geometry circle
identified by x2,y2. See Circle Tan CC.

GCTAN3L [x1,y1](1st_line) [x2,y2](2nd_line) [x3,y3](3rd_line) [#]

Draws a geometry circle tangent to the three lines identified by x1,y1,

x2,y2 and x3,y3. See Circle Tan 3L.

GCTANCPT [x,y] (geometry_circle) rad [xt,yt] (on_circle) [#]

Draws a geometry circle with the radius rad whose circumference

passes through the point xt,yt. The circle is tangent to the geometry
circle identified by x,y. See Circle Tan CPtRad.

GCTANLP [x,y] (geometry_line) rad [xt,yt] (point on circle) [#]

Draws a geometry circle with the radius rad whose circumference

passes through the point xt,yt. The circle is tangent to the geometry
line identified by x,y. See Circle Tan LPtRad.

GC3POINT [x1,y1] [x2,y2] [x3,y3] [#]

Draws a geometry circle through three points. See Circle 3 Point.

GLNTANC [x,y] (circle) "Y" (fixed angle) a [#]

Draws a geometry line tangent to the geometry circle identified by

x,y. The line is at an angle of a, in degrees. See Line Tan C.

GLNTANC [x,y] (circle) "N" (through point) [xl,yl] [#]

Draws a geometry line tangent to the geometry circle closest to x,y.

The line passes through the point xl,yl. See Line Tan C.

GLNTANCC [x1,y1] (1st_circle) [x2,y2] (2nd_circle) "Y/N" (tangent does /does

not cross line joining circle centres) [#]

Draws a geometry line tangent to the two circles identified by x1,y1

and x2,y2. See Line Tan CC.

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GLNPERPB "Y" (perp bisector) [x1,y1] (1stpt) [x2,y2] (2ndpt) [#]

Draws a geometry line that is a perpendicular bisector of the points

x1,y1 and x2,y2. See Perp Bisector.

GLNPERPB "N" (perp to line) [xl,yl] (line) [xp,yp] (point) [#]

Draws a geometry line that is a perpendicular bisector of the line

identified by xl,yl and that passes through the point xp,yp. See Perp
Bisector.

MAKEGEOM [x1,y1] (el to be copied) [x2,y2] (el to be copied)... [#]

Copies the solid elements closest to x1,y1, x2,y2 etc. to geometry.

See Make Geometry.

TOGGEOM

Switches geometry on and off. See Switch Geometry On/Off.

DELGEOEL [x,y] "Y" [#]

Deletes the geometry element closest to x,y. See Delete Geometry El.

DELGEOM "YES"

Deletes all the geometry on your drawing. See Delete All Geometry.

Macros 17-75
Annotate Functions

TEXT [x,y] "text you want to enter" [#]

Writes text at the position x,y. See Add Text.

EDTEXT "E" "newtext"

Edits selected text so that it reads "newtext". See Edit Text. If you
have selected more than one piece of text, these will be updated in
the order you entered them. For example:
EDTEXT "E" "first" "second" "third"

EDTEXT "M" [xfrom,yfrom] [xto,yto]

Moves selected text from xfrom,yfrom to xto,yto. See Move Text.

EDTEXT "S" s

Scale selected text by a factor of s. See Scale Text.

EDTEXT "C"

Brings up the Set Text Defaults dialog box. See Change Text
Parameters.

SETALIGN 0/1 (align to each other/to grid) 0/1 (vertical align off/on) 0/1 (vertical
distribute off/on) 0/1/2 (vertical top/centre/bottom) 0/1 (horizontal align off/on)
0/1 (horizontal distribute off/on) 0/1/2 (horizontal left/centre/right).

Sets alignment. See Set Alignment.

ALIGN

Aligns the selection set according to the way that the Align dialog box
has been set up. See Align.

HDIM "R/C" (Running/Chained) [xtext,ytext] [x1,y1] [x2,y2] ! [x3,y3] ! [x4,y4] !...

[#]

Enters a running or chained horizontal dimension from x1,y1 to

x2,y2 to x3,y3 etc. xtext,ytext is the text position. Note the !, which
simulates [Enter] being pressed to accept the dimension text. See
Horizontal Dimension.

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HDIM "F" (Free) [xtext,ytext] [x1,y1] [x2,y2] ! [#]

Enters a free horizontal dimension. See Horizontal Dimension. To

enter several free dimensions at once you can use the following:
HDIM "F" (Free) [xtext1,ytext1] [x1,y1] [x2,y2] !
[xtext2,ytext2] [x3,y3] [x4,y4] !... [#]

HDIM [xtext,ytext] [xlead,ylead] [x1,y1] [x2,y2] ! [x3,y3] ! [x4,y4] ! [#]

Enters horizontal dimensions when you are using Architectural Style

in Set Dim Defaults. See Horizontal Dimension. Xlead,ylead is the
point the leader lines should extend to.

VDIM

Enters vertical dimensions. Exactly the same as HDIM.

SDIM "N" (angle from points) [x1,y1] [x2,y2] ! [xtext,ytext] [#]

Enters slope dimensions when the slope of the dimension is taken

from the points being dimensioned. See Slope Dimension. To enter
several slope dimensions at once you can use the following:
SDIM "N" (angle from points) [x1,y1] [x2,y2] !
[xtext1,ytext1] [x3,y3] [x4,y4] ! [xtext2,ytext2]... [#]

SDIM "Y" (fixed angle) ang "R/C" (Running/Chained) [xtext,ytext] [x1,y1] [x2,y2] !
[x3,y3] ! [x4,y4] !... [#]

Enters a running or chained sloped dimension at a fixed angle,

where ang is the angle. See Slope Dimension.

SDIM "Y" (fixed angle) ang "F" (Free) [xtext,ytext] [x1,y1] [x2,y2] ! [#]

Enters a free sloped dimension at a fixed angle, where ang is the

angle. See Slope Dimension. To enter several free dimensions at once
you can use the following:
SDIM "Y" (fixed angle) ang "F" (Free) [xtext1,ytext1]
[x1,y1] [x2,y2] ! [xtext2,ytext2] [x3,y3] [x4,y4] !... [#]

SDIM "Y" (fixed angle) ang [xtext,ytext] [xlead] [ylead] [x1,y1] [x2,y2] ! [x3,y3] !
[x4,y4] !... [#]

Enters sloped dimensions when you are using Architectural Style in

Set Dim Defaults. xlead,ylead is the point the leader lines extend to.

Macros 17-77
SDIM "Y" (fixed angle) ang "Y/N" (witness lines at +60/+120 degrees) "R/C"
(Running/Chained) [xtext,ytext] [x1,y1] [x2,y2] ! [x3,y3] ! [x4,y4] !... [#]

Enters a running or chained isometric dimension. Ang is the angle of

the dimension line. This will only work if you have entered Isometric
Mode in Drawing Settings in the Settings Menu. See Slope
Dimension.

SDIM "Y" (fixed angle) ang "Y/N" (witness lines at +60/+120 degrees) "F" (Free)
[xtext,ytext] [x1,y1] [x2,y2] ! [#]

Enters a free isometric dimension at a fixed angle, where ang is the

angle of the dimension line. See Slope Dimension. To enter several
free dimensions at once you can use the following:
SDIM "Y" (fixed angle) ang "Y/N" (witness lines at +60/+120
degrees) "F" (Free) [xtext1,ytext1] [x1,y1] [x2,y2] !
[xtext2,ytext2] [x3,y3] [x4,y4] !... [#]

ADIM "Y" "Y" [xL1,yL1] [xL2,yL2] [xstart,ystart] [xend,yend] ! ! ! [#]

Enters an angular dimension. "Y" for dimensioning an angle, "Y" for

dimensioning two existing lines, coordinate point on the first line,
coordinate point on the second line, witness line start, witness line
end, ! to accept the text of the dimension, ! to accept the arc radius, !
to accept the text position. See Angular Dimension.

ADIM "Y" "N" [xc,yc] [xstart,ystart] [xend,yend] ! ! ! [#]

Enters an angular dimension. "Y" for dimensioning an angle, "N" for

dimensioning three points, coordinate point of the centre point, first
angular point (witness line start), second angular point (text radius),
! to accept the text of the dimension, ! to accept the arc radius, ! to
accept the text position. See Angular Dimension.

ADIM "N" "Y" [xa,ya] ! ! ! [#]

Dimensions an arclength. "N" for dimensioning an arclength, "Y" for

dimensioning an existing arc, coordinate point on the arc, ! to accept
the text of the dimension, ! to accept the arc radius, ! to accept the
text position. This will position the dimension exactly on the arc. To
move it away, use the following:

ADIM "N" "Y" [xa,ya] ! "N" [xn,yn] ! [#]

"N" means not satisfied with the arc radius, and xn,yn is the new arc
radius position. See Angular Dimension.

17-78 AllyCAD Reference Manual

ADIM "N" "Y" [xc,yc] [xstart,ystart] [xend,yend] ! ! ! [#]

Dimensions an arclength. "N" for dimensioning an arclength "N" for

dimensioning three points, coordinate point of the centre point, first
point (arc radius), second point (text radius), ! to accept the text of
the dimension, ! to accept the arc radius, ! to accept the text
position. See Angular Dimension.

RDIM [xa,ya] ! "Y" (text on dim arrow) [#]

Enters a radial dimension. Xa,ya identifies the arc or circle. See

Radial Dimension.

RDIM [xa,ya] ! "N" (text not on arrow) [xt,yt] [#]

Enters a radial dimension. Xa,ya identifies the arc or circle. Xt,yt is

the text position. See Radial Dimension.

ODIM "Y/N" (Horizontal/Vertical) [x1,y1] (base point) [x2,y2] (text position)

[x3,y3] ! [x4,y4] !... [#]

Enters an ordinate dimension where x1,y1 is the base point, x2,y2 is

the text position and x3,y3 x4,y4 etc. are the points being
dimensioned. See Ordinate Dimension.

SURVEYDM [x1,y1] [x2,y2] [x3,y3].... [#]

Enters survey dimensions between points x1,y1, x2,y2 etc.. See

Survey Dimension.

EDDIM [x,y] "T" "newtext" [#]

Edits the dimension text at position x,y so that it reads "newtext".

See Edit Dimension Properties.

EDDIM [x,y] "A" [xa,ya] [#]

Edits the dimension arrow at position xa,ya. The arrow belongs to

the dimension whose text is at position x,y. See Edit Dimension
Properties.

EDDIM [x,y] "P" newpen [#]

Edits the witness line color of the dimension whose text is at position
x,y. Pens are numbered from 1 to 255. See Edit Dimension Properties.

Macros 17-79
CUTDIMLN [x,y] (selectdim) [x1,y1] [x2,y2] [#]

Cuts the dimension line of the dimension whose text is at position

x,y, within the box defined by the coordinates x1,y1 and x2,y2. See
Cut Dimension Line.

DIMALTER "N" (text) "text" "newtext" "A/L/P" (Area/Line/Point) "Y/N" (lower

left/upper right fixed) "Y" [#]

Searches for the dimension text "text" and changes it to "newtext".

The dimensioned object is stretched to fit "newtext". The extra "Y" at
the end is required for the function to end properly. See Alter
Dimension.

DIMALTER "Y" (cursor) [x,y] "newtext" "A/L/P" (Area/Line/Point) "Y/N" (lower

left/upper right fixed) "Y" [#]

Searches for the dimension text at the coordinate position x,y and
changes it to "newtext". The dimensioned object is stretched to fit
"newtext". The extra "Y" at the end is required for the function to end
properly. See Alter Dimension.

ARROW [x1,y1] [x2,y2] [#x2,y2] [#]

Draws an arrow from x1,y1 (the tail) to x2,y2 (the head). Note that
you have to give the coordinate of the arrow head twice, and that a #
is required before the the last coordinate. See Add Arrow. To create
an arrow with several segments, use the following:
ARROW [x1,y1], [x2,y2], [x3,y3]... [xn,yn] [#xn,yn] [#]

BALLOON [xcentre,ycentre] "text1" "text2" [#xarrow,yarrow] [#]

Draws a balloon with its centre at xcentre,ycentre. See Add Balloon.

If you have specified two pieces of text in Set Balloon Defaults in
Settings, but only want one piece, type ! instead of "text2".
If you have not specified two pieces of text in Set Balloon Defaults,
leave out "text2" altogether.
If you have not specified arrows in in Set Balloon Defaults, you can
leave out [#xarrow,yarrow].

ADDRBALN [x,y] [#]

Adds or removes a balloon to or from the text at position x,y. See

Add/Rem Text Bubble.

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HATCH

Brings up the Hatch/Solid Fill dialog box. See Enter Hatch/Solid Fill.

STARTHAT hatch_pat_name index

Starts a hatch perimeter with a given index. All lines and arcs
subsequently entered will be part of this perimeter until you start a
new object, e.g. using the STARTOBJ command. For example:
STARTHAT testhatch 1
LINE [-50,-50] [50,-50] [50,50] [-50,50] [-50,-50] [#]
CIR [0,0] [20,0] [#]
STARTOBJ newobject
PLOTHAT

STARTHAT starts a hatch perimeter called testhatch, which will be

filled by hatch pattern 1. The hatch perimeter, comprising a line and
a circle, is drawn. STARTOBJ stops the hatch perimeter by starting a
new object. PLOTHAT draws the hatch on the screen.
You can also use functions such as AUTOPERIM to determine the
perimeter in place of functions such as LINE and CIR given in the
example above. See Perimeter Functions.

Macros 17-81
STARTHATCHEX "Object_Name" HatchIndex bOverRide HatchPen HatchScale

HatchIndex is a number from 1 to MaxHatches, the hatch index

bOverRide is set to 1 to override the hatch pen set in the
HATCH.PAT file
HatchPen is the pen number (from 1 to 256) used for the hatch color
if bOverRide is set to 1.
HatchScale is the scale of this current hatch.

Note that the index has the hexadecimal number 0x0F000000L

(=251658240 decimal) added to it to denote a hatch index (as
opposed to a solid fill color), and the number 0x00010000L (=65536
decimal) added to it to tell the hatching to take the color from the
HATCH.PAT file.
All lines and arcs subsequently entered will be part of this perimeter
until you start a new object, e.g. using the STARTOBJ command. For
example:
STARTHATCHEX “testhatch” 23 1 7 1.0
LINE [-50,-50] [50,-50] [50,50] [-50,50] [-50,-50] [#]
CIR [0,0] [20,0] [#]
STARTOBJ “newobject”
PLOTHAT

STARTHATCHEX starts a hatch perimeter called testhatch, which

will be filled by hatch pattern 23, the hatch pen will be overridden
with pen 7, and the hatch scale will be 7. The hatch perimeter,
comprising a line and a circle, is drawn. STARTPAT stops the hatch
perimeter by starting a new object. PLOTHAT draws the hatch on the
screen.
You can also use functions such as AUTOPERIM to determine the
perimeter in place of functions such as LINE and CIR given in the
example above. See Perimeter Functions.

STARTSOLID hatch_pat_name Red Green Blue

This is exactly the same as STARTHAT, except it starts a perimeter

for a solid fill. Red Green and Blue can vary from 0 to 255. For
example, to create a black solid fill, give "0 0 0". For white, give "255
255 255". For red, give "255 0 0", etc. See Perimeter Functions.

ADDHATCH [x,y] (select hatch to add to)

Selects the hatch to be altered at position x,y and enters the

Hatch/Solid Fill dialog box. See Alter Existing Hatch.

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PLOTHAT

Shows all the hatching on the screen. See Draw All Hatch.

PLOTWHAT

Shows selected hatching on the screen. See Draw Selected Hatch.

HATCHTOL [x1,y1] [x2,y2] [x3,y3] [#x4,y4]

Converts the hatches within the polygon defined by x1,y1, x2,y2,

x3,y3 etc. to lines. See Hatch->Lines.

PICKHATX [x,y]

Copies the hatch index from an existing hatch or solid fill perimeter.
x,y is a point on the perimeter of the hatch or solid fill whose hatch
pattern you want to use.

LABCOORD "Y/N" (table/label points) [xtable,ytable] ! (accept format) 0 (field to

increment) [x1,y1] !(accept pt) [x2,y2] !..... [#]

If you type "Y" for a coordinate table, the coordinates of points x1,y1,
x2,y2 etc. will be written into a table at position xtable,ytable. If you
type "N" to label points, the coordinates of points x1,y1, x2,y2 etc.
will be written next to the points. If you type "N" to label points, do
not include xtable,ytable. Coordinates will be displayed in the order
Northing,Easting or Easting,Northing, depending on how you have
set up Drawing Settings in the Settings Menu. See Label Coord.

Macros 17-83
Tools Functions

LOCKANG "L"

Sets the lock angle that the cursor will be locked to: "L" (Line), "J"
(Jump and Lock Line), "G" (Geometry Line) or "K" (Keyboard). See
Lock Cursor.

YPERP

Toggles the lock angle by 90°. See Perpendicular.

ISO120

Toggles the lock angle between the angles used in isometric drawing.
See 120 deg.

CURSORHOLD

Toggles locking the cursor to the lock angle and unlocking it. See
Hold.

LOCKANG "U"

Unlocks the cursor and cancels the lock angle. See Unlock.

JUMPALL

Jumps to the nearest point inside the Grab All cursor. See Jump to
Grab All Cursor.

JUMPGEOM

Jumps to the nearest geometry intersection. See Geom Intersection.

JUMPGD

Jumps to the nearest grid point. See Jump Grid.

JUMPINT

Jumps to the nearest intersection. See Jump Any Intersection.

JUMPPT

Jumps to the nearest point of any type. See Jump Point.

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JUMPCEN

Jumps to the nearest circle or arc centre. See Jump Circle Centre.

JUMPNEAR

Jumps to the nearest element. See Jump Near Element.

JUMPFIXED

Jumps to the last fixed point. See Last Fixed.

JUMPRATIO ratio "Y/N" [x1,y1] [x2,y2]

If you type "Y" and leave out x1,y1 and x2,y2, the cursor will jump to
a fixed ratio along the nearest line. If you type "N", the cursor will
jump to a fixed ratio between the points x1,y1 and x2,y2. See Mid
Point Jump and Ratio Jump.

CURTOCOORDENTER [x,y]

Jumps to coordinate position x,y and automatically snaps to it. See

Move to Coordinates. X and y are in the order Northing,Easting or
Easting,Northing, depending on what you have specified in Drawing
Settings.

CURTOCOORD [x,y]

Jumps to coordinate position x,y. X and y are in the order

Northing,Easting or Easting,Northing, depending on what you have
specified in Drawing Settings.

POLARENTER distance angle

Jumps the specified distance and angle and automatically snaps to

it. See Polar Move. The way the angle is measured depends on how
you have set it up in Drawing Settings.

POLAR distance angle

Jumps the specified distance and angle. The way the angle is
measured depends on how you have set it up in Drawing Settings.

HOME

Jumps to the screen centre.

Macros 17-85
SHOWNODE

Displays all the nodes on your drawing. See Show Nodes.

DUMPDATA "layers" "object names" "Y/N" (all elements/header only) "filename"

Dumps data about the drawing into the ASCII file "filename". To
dump data for all layers, type "*" for layers. To dump data about all
objects type "* *". See Dump Data.

DUMPDATA "BUILDING" "EXTWALLS *" Y "datafile"

In this example, data about all the objects with the parent name
"EXTWALLS" and on the layer "BUILDING" are written to the file
"datafile".

GRIDDEF

Brings up the Grid Settings dialog box. See Grid.

GRID xspacing yspacing density pen on/off

Sets up a grid. Xspacing and yspacing are the x and y grid spacings;
density is the grid display density; pen is the color; and on/off is 1 if
the grid is to be displayed and 0 if it is not. The pen is a number
between 1 and 255. See Grid.

QUERYDIST [x1,x2] [y1,y2]

Brings up an information box showing the distance and angle

between points x1,y1 and x2,y2. See Measure.

QRYAREA "A" (Autoperimeter) [x,y] (point inside perimeter) "Y" (satisfied with
perimeter) AVAR PVAR ! (skip pause) [#]

Queries an area inside a perimeter. Here AVAR and PVAR are the
variables into which the area and the perimeter are placed. See
Polygon Area and Perimeter Functions.

DATA [x,y] "data string" "Y/N" (visible/not visible) [#]

Enters a data item at x,y, with the text "data string". See Add Data
Item.

EDITDATA [x,y] "newdata" "Y/N" (visible/not visible) [#]

Edits the data item nearest to x,y. See Edit Data Item.

17-86 AllyCAD Reference Manual

QUERYEL [x,y] A$ B$ C$ [#]

Places three lines of information about the element nearest to x,y

into A$, B$ and C$. See Query Entity. For example, when you query
a line, the following information is placed into A$, B$ and C$:
A$: Line: 'A P98' Layer: 'A' (0)
B$: Length=100 Angle=180.00 Linetype= 1 Pen= 1 Width= 0.00
C$: Line coords: 50.000 0.000 -50.000 0.000

BOM "Template.BTM" "Bomfile.BOM" 0/1/2 (delimiter) 0/1 (field names) !

(dismiss confirming dialog with !)

Extracts a bill of materials. Template.BTM is the bill of materials

template file. Bomfile.BOM is the filename that the bill of materials
must be saved under. The delimiter determines how the BOM file will
be delimited: 0 for comma, 1 for tab and 2 for columns.
The Field Names parameter is set to 1 if you want AllyCAD to place
field names on the first line of the BOM file and is set to 0 otherwise.
The ! at the end dismisses the confirming dialog box.. See Bill of
Materials.

TIDYPOLY "A" (addnode) r (node_radius) [x1,y1] (node position) [#] " "

Adds a node with the radius r at position x1,y1. The trailing blank
enclosed in double quotes at the end is necessary to end the function
properly. See Tidy Polygons.

TIDYPOLY "T" (tidy boundaries) t (tolerance) [xn,yn] (start node) [xl,yl] (first line
segment) "S/K" (satisfied/keep old) [#] " "

Tidies the boundary beginning at node xn,yn, using a tolerance of t.

The point xl,yl is a coordinate on the first line segment of the
boundary. See Tidy Polygons.

TIDYPOLY "D" (drawingsnaptidy) t (snap tolerance) l (minimum line length)

"Y/N" (remove overlapping lines) [x1,y1] [#x2,y2] [#] " "

Tidies the area of the drawing enclosed within the polygon defined by
x1,y1, x2,y2. See Tidy Polygons.

TIDYPOLY "C" (drawingcliptidy) t (clip tolerance) [x1,y1] [#x2,y2] [#] " "

Tidies the area of the drawing enclosed within the polygon defined by
x1,y1, x2,y2. See Tidy Polygons.

Macros 17-87
EXPAND "N" (circle) "Y/N" (enter circle/do not enter circle) [xcent,ycent]
[xrad,yrad] magfactor [xexpand,yexpand] "Y/N" (arrow joining circles/no arrow)
"detail" (new layer) !

Produces a detailed view with a magnification of magfactor, on a

layer called "detail" and within a circle. Xcent,ycent is the position of
the circle's centre and xrad,yrad is a position on its circumference.
Xexpand, yxpand is the position of the centre of the detailed view.
See Expand.

EXPAND "Y" (box) "Y/N" (enter box/do not enter box) [x1,y1] [x2,y2] magfactor
[xexpand,yexpand] "detail" (new layer) !

Produces a detailed view with a magnification of magfactor, on a

layer called "detail" and within a box. The box is defined by x1,y1
and x2,y2. See Expand.

17-88 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Objects Functions
Object and parent names should always be in upper case.

BEGINGROUP "objname"

Starts a new object with the name "objname". Elements within the
object are grouped so you can select the entire object at once by
clicking on it. See Begin New Object.

STARTPAT "objname"

Starts a new object with the name "objname", but elements within
the object are not grouped.

LINKSEL "objname"

Groups the selection set into an object called "objname". Elements

within the object are grouped so you can select the entire object at
once by clicking on it. See Group Into Object.

LINK "Y" (box) "E/L/F" (everything / lines and arcs only / annotations only) l p w
[x1,y1] [x2,y2]... [#x3,y3]

Moves the elements within the polygon defined by x1,y1, x2,y2 etc.
into the current object. You can move everything, lines and arcs
only, or annotations only. You can further filter what is added to the
current object by line type (l), pen (p) and width (w). To select
everything, give values of 0 0 0. Line types are measured downwards
from 1 in the Line Type Display. Pens are numbered from 1 to 255.

LINK "N" (single) [xselect,yselect] [#]

Moves the single element at xselect,yselect into the current object.

MAKESYM "objname" [xhook,yhook] [x1snip,y1snip] [x2snip,y2snip] [x3,y3]

(enclosing box) [#x4,y4] (enclosing box) " " (no attributes) " " (stop making
symbols)

Groups the elements within the box defined by x3,y3 and x4,y4 into
an object called "objname". Elements within the object are grouped
so you can select the entire object at once by clicking on it. See Make
Symbol.
The object's hookpoint is at position xhook, yhook. Its snip box is
defined by x1snip,y1snip and x2snip,y2snip. You can also add
attributes to objects. In the example below, two attributes have been
added: "material", which has a default value of "pvc" and which is

Macros 17-89
located at position [50,0]; and "weight", which has a default value of
"100kg" and which is located at position [50,50]:
MAKESYM "objname" [0,0] [0,0] [50,50] [-10,-10] [#60,60] "material"
"pvc" [50,0] "weight" "100kg" [50,50] " " " "

EXPLODE

Explodes selected objects. See Explode Object.

ALLPATS "layer" "parent object"

Shows objects with the name "parent object" and on the layer "layer",
one at a time. You can use wildcards, e.g. ALLPATS "*" "* *" to show
all objects on all layers. See Show Objects.

LISTPAT "Y/N" (all layers/visible layers) "Y/N" (include/don't include areas and
perimeterss) "fileneme" !(pause)

Lists the objects in a drawing in an ASCII file. See List Objects.

RENAMPAT ! [x,y] "newparent newobject" [#]

Renames the object nearest to x,y with the new name. See Change
Name.

RENAMPAT "oldparent oldobject" "newparent newobject" [#]

Renames objects with the name "oldparent oldobject" with the new
name. See Change Name. You can use wildcards for "oldparent
oldobject", e.g. "* *".

PARENT "new parent name"

Sets a new default parent name. See Parent.

CHPTHOOK [x,y] [xnewhook, ynewhook] [#]

Moves the hook point of the object at x,y to the position

xnewhook,ynewhook. See Change Hook Point.

RENEW "Y/N" (sure you want to update) [x,y]

Updates all objects with the same name as the current object. X,y is
the hook point of the current object. See Update Objects.

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NEWCURP ! [x,y]

Selects the object at position x,y as the current object. See Select
Current Object.

NEWCURP "parent object"

Selects the object with the name "parent object" as the current
object. See Select Current Object.

BLNKCURP

Highlights the current object. See Blink Current Object.

BLOCK “Blockname” [xhook,yhook]

Moves all selected items into a block with the given name, and the
given hook point.

INSERT “Blockname” [xinsert,yinsert] xscale yscale rotation_angle [#]

Inserts the given block at the insertion point and gives it the required
scale and rotation.

INSERTINT

Does interactive block insertion with dynamic dragging for

positioning, scaling and rotation.

INSERTINT “Blockname” [xinsert,yinsert]

Does interactive block insertion with dynamic dragging for scaling

and rotation.

Macros 17-91
Settings Functions

SETPROMPT “prompt”

Useful to set your own message in the prompt area.

SETHELP “one line help at bottom of screen”

Sets your own message in the one line help/status area.

SETWAITCURSOR 0/1

This function switches the hourglass cursor off and on. Useful if you
are doing a long calculation

GEOMLINEPEN linetype pen

This function sets the geometry linetype and pen.

SETASKLOGON 0/1

If set to 1, AllyCAD asks for a user name on startup. See Multiple

Users in the User Guide.

SETWRITELOG 0/1

If set to 1, AllyCAD writes a log file of everything you do. See CAD.INI.

DRAWDEF

Brings up the drawing settings dialog box. See Drawing Settings.

SETPORTRAIT 0/1

Sets paper orientation to portrait (1) or landscape (0) mode.

SETPAPEREXTENTS width height

Sets the paper size to the specified width and height, measured in
mm. Sets the paper size option in the Drawing Settings dialog box to
User Defined.

17-92 AllyCAD Reference Manual

SETPAPERUNITS u

Sets the paper units in the Drawing Settings dialog box. The units
can be set to any of the following:
0 mm
1 meter
2 inches
3 user defined
4 feet and fractional inches
5 decimal feet
6 yards
7 km
8 miles

SETAREAUNITS A A$ C

Sets the area units. The variables have the following meanings:
A Area unit index. This can have the following values:
0 User defined
1 Square inches
2 Square feet
3 Square yards
4 Acres
5 Square miles
6 Square mm
7 Square cm
8 Square meters
9 Hectares
10 Square km
A$ Symbol for the area unit (e.g. "sq m")
C The number of square mm contained in the unit.

NEWSCALE papersize scale [x,y]

Changes the drawing paper size and scale. See Drawing Settings.
Papersize is a number corresponding to a paper size. Scale is the
scale that you want to draw at, e.g. if you want to draw at a scale of
1:100, then scale will be 100. If you want to draw at a scale of 1" to
100', then scale will be 1200. X,y is the point about which the
change to the new scale will take place, normally [0,0].
0 E 34x44"
1 D 22x34"

Macros 17-93
2 C 17x22"
3 B 11x17"
4 A 8.5x11"
5 LGL 8.5x14"
6 F 28x40"
7 Arch. C 18x24"
8 Arch. D 24x36"
9 Arch. E 35x48"
10 A0 841x1189mm
11 A1 594x841mm
12 A2 420x594mm
13 A3 297x420mm
14 A4 210x297mm
15 Use Driver Limits

SETUNITS

Brings up the units dialog box. See Drawing Settings.

UNITS variable "symbol"

Changes units. See Drawing Settings. The variable is a number

which represents the following:
0 mm
1 meter
2 inches
3 user defined
4 feet and inches
5 decimal feet
For example:
UNITS 0 "" millimetres, with no symbol.
UNITS 1 " m" meters with the symbol m. Note the space
before the m to separate it from the numbers
preceding it.
UNITS 2 """ decimal inches with the symbol ".
UNITS 3 300.56 " fun" a user defined unit called fun, which has
300.56 mm per fun.
UNITS 4 16 feet and inches with 16 as the largest
denominator.
UNITS 5 "'" decimal feet with the symbol '.

17-94 AllyCAD Reference Manual

CHGCOORD "C" (cartesian)

Changes to cartesian coordinates. See Drawing Settings.

CHGCOORD "S" (surveyor) "Y" (screen centre) xcentre ycentre

Change to surveyor coordinates and give the coordinates that the

screen centre should have. See Drawing Settings.

CHGCOORD "S" (surveyor) "N" (other point) [xpoint,ypoint] xcoord ycoord

Change to surveyor coordinates. See Drawing Settings. The present

coordinates of xpoint,ypoint are changed to coordinates xcoord
ycoord.

HEMISPHR "Y" (southern hemisphere)

Sets the coordinate system to the southern hemisphere LO (if used in

conjunction with CHGCOORD "S"). See Drawing Settings.

HEMISPHR "N" (northern hemisphere)

Sets the coordinate system to the northern hemisphere (if used in

conjunction with CHGCOORD S). See Drawing Settings.

SETNORTHEAST 1/0

If set to 1, the coordinate order is set to Northing, Easting.

Otherwise, it is set to Easting, Northing. See Drawing Settings.

ISODRAW "Y/N" (set/unset)

Sets or unsets isometric drawing mode. See Drawing Settings.

SETANGFORMAT u d m c

Sets the angular format. U is the unit to use and can be 0 (radians),
1 (decimal degrees), 2 (d.mm.ss), 3 (d°mm'ss") or 4 (Nd°m's"W). D is
the number of decimals to use when displaying angles. M is the point
from where angles must be measured and can be 3 (3 o'clock), 6 (6
o'clock), 9 (9 o'clock) or 12 (12 o'clock). C is 1 if angles should be
measured in a clockwise direction and 0 otherwise. These settings
only affect some functions, such as Polar Move and Survey
Dimension. In many functions, such as Rotate, angles are measured
in degrees anticlockwise from the 3 o'clock position regardless of the
angular format you have set. See Drawing Settings.

Macros 17-95
VIEWDEF

Brings up the View Settings dialog box. See View Settings.

SHOWPEN linetype pen

Briefly displays elements of the given line type and pen only. Line
types are numbered downwards from 1 in the Line Type Display.
Pens are numbered from 1 to 255.

USESWDOTTEDLINES 1/0

If you type USESWDOTTEDLINES 1, a slower but more precise

method of drawing dotted lines on the screen is used. This slower
more precise method is always used for printed or plotted output.

BACKCOL p

Sets the background color to pen p. Pens are numbered from 1 to

255. See View Settings.

TOGCOORDS

Switches coordinate display on and off. See View Settings.

TOGPOLAR

Switches the coordinate display between absolute and polar

coordinates. See View Settings.

TOGGEOM

Switches geometry on and off. See View Settings.

TOGARCDOT

Switches arc centres on and off. See View Settings.

SETPOWERBARFONT

Brings up the Control Bar Font dialog box. See View Settings.

TOGFIN A/T/D/B/N (All/Text only/Dimensions only/all text to Boxes/None)

Sets which annotations should be drawn when you do a redraw. See

View Settings.

17-96 AllyCAD Reference Manual

SETPOINTDEF style size

Sets point style and size. Point style is one of the following numbers:
0 Point
1 None
2 Cross
4 X Cross
8 Blip
A modifier can be added to the point style as follows:
0 No modifier
32 Circle
64 Box
128 Diamond
So, if you want points to be drawn as crosses with circles around
them, give a style of 34 (2+32).
Point size is measured in mm on final paper output. However if you
type a negative number it is interpreted as percentage of the screen
size. For example, a point size of -2 means that points will always be
drawn at 2% of screen size regardless of magnification. See View
Settings.

TOGGLEBIGCURSOR

Switches the big cursor on and off. See View Settings.

BIGCURSOR 1/0 (on/off)

Switches the big cursor on and off. See View Settings.

SETRULER 0/1

If set to 1, the ruler line is displayed at the bottom of the screen. See
View Settings.

TOGHATCH "A/S/N" (All/Selected/None)

Sets whether all, selected or no hatches should be drawn when you

do a redraw. See View Settings.

SCROLLBAROFF

Switches off the scroll bars. See View Settings.

Macros 17-97
SCROLLBARON

Switches on the scroll bars. See View Settings.

TINYPSIZ s

Sets the size, s, below which objects are not drawn fully. The size
below which text is not drawn fully is determined in Set Text
Defaults in the macro language. See View Settings.

TOGPBOX

Displays all the objects on your drawing except the current object as
boxes. Typing TOGPBOX again returns your objects to full detail.

LOADTOOLBAR toolbarFileName.tbr

Loads a toolbar on the fly. The format of the toolbar file is exactly the
same as that of a toolbar section in the menu file.

DELTOOLBAR toolbarname

Delete a toolbar on the fly.

CENTREPAPER [x,y]

Moves the paper sheet with respect to the drawing. The centre of the
paper is moved to position x,y. See Re-Centre Paper.

SNAPDLG

Brings up the Snap Modes dialog box. See Snap Modes.

CURMODE "F"

Changes the snap mode to Freehand ("F"). You can also change it to
"A" (Grab All), "G" (Grid), "I" (Geom Intersection), "N" (Nearest
Line/Arc), "E" (Circle Centre), "J" (Point), "P" (Perp) or "T" (Tan). See
Snap Modes.

CHMAG f

Changes the magnification factor to f. See Change Magnify Factor.

DXFSETTINGS

Brings up the To DXF/DWG and From DXF/DWG Conversion

Settings dialog boxes. See DXF/DWG Conversion Settings.

17-98 AllyCAD Reference Manual

SETVMEM

Brings up the Virtual Memory Settings dialog box.

SETDIGITIZER "type" "format" "init" C B D P S x1 y1 x2 y2 x3 y3 [x4,y4] [x5,y5]

[x6,y6]

Sets digitizer settings. The variables have the following meanings:

type Digitizer type. This must be the exact digitizer name given in
the Digitizer Settings dialog box, e.g. "Summa Graphics
MMBinary".
format Format string. The format string for the digitizer type you
have specified. If you give a format string of !, AllyCAD will
use the default format string for the digitizer type you have
specified.
init Initialization string. This van be empty, i.e. "".
C Comport.
B Baud rate.
D Data bits.
P Parity: 0 for none, 1 for odd, 2 for even.
S Stop bits.
x1, y1, The coordinates of the three scaling points on the digitizer, in
x2, y2, digitizer coordinates.
x3, y3
x4, y4, The coordinates of the three equivalent scaling points on the
x5, y5, screen, in current screen coordinates.
x6, y6

See Digitizer Settings

SETCOLOR Pen Red Green Blue

Defines a pen color shown in the Color toolbar. Pen is the number of
the pen whose color is being defined. Pens are numbered from 1 to
255. Red, Green and Blue are numbers between 0 and 255, which
determine the amount of red, green and blue in the pen being
defined. For example, red is defined by "255 0 0". White is defined by
"255 255 255". Black is defined by "0 0 0".
Defined pen colors are stored in the CAD.INI file in your user
directory.

TAKELPEN [x,y]

Picks line parameters from the line nearest to x,y. See Line Defaults.

Macros 17-99
PEN p

Sets the pen to p, which is a number from 1 to 255, e.g. PEN 2. See
Line Defaults. If you do not have the “Set AutoCAD colors” box
checked in the Pen dialog, then by default the numbers represent the
following colors (although you can change these default colors by
right clicking on the first sixteen color patches in the pen dialog):
0 Maroon
1 Red
2 Olive
3 Yellow
4 Lime
5 Green
6 Teal
7 Aqua
8 Blue
9 Navy
10 Purple
11 Fuschia
12 White
13 Grey
14 Black
15 Silver
256set pen By Layer

LINETYPE l p

Sets the line type to l and the pen to p. Line types are defined in the
linetype.mac file and are numbered downwards from 1 in the Line
Type Display. To set line type By Layer, give a line type of 256. Pens
are numbered as shown above. See Line Defaults.

LINETYPEDLG

Pops up the linetype dialog, to enable users to set pen and linetype
interactively.. See Line Defaults.

WIDTH w

Sets the line width to w. Line width is given in tenths of a mm on the

final plot or print on paper. See Line Defaults.

17-100 AllyCAD Reference Manual

SETLINEDEF L P W C S F R G B

Sets line and polyline defaults. The variables are:

L Line type: A number between 1 and MaxLinetype. Line types
are numbered from 1 to MaxLinetype downwards in the Line
Type Display. By default, 1 is continuous, 2 is long dashes, 3
is short dashes etc. Give a line type of 256 to set the line
type By Layer.
P Pen number: A number between 1 and 255. Give a pen of
256 to set the pen By Layer.
W Line width in 10ths of a mm.
C 1 for closed polyline, 0 for open.
S Spline type: 0 for no spline, 1 for 3pt Bezier, 2 for 4pt Bezier.
F Fill type: 0 = no fill, 1 = hatch, 2 = solid fill.
R Red component of solid fill (0-255) or hatch index number if
fill is a hatch. Remember that this index number has the
constant 0x00010000L (=65536 decimal) added to it if it
should take the color from the HATCH.PAT file.
G Green component of solid fill (0-255) or Hatch pen number (1
to 256) if fill is a hatch.
B Blue component of solid fill (0-255) or Hatch scale if fill is a
hatch.

See Line Defaults and Polyline Defaults.

LINESYMBOL "blockname" repeatfac

Sets the default linetype to draw symbol lines, where repeatfac is in

mm. Blockname must be the name of a previously entered block.

LINESTYLEAPPLY

This command with no parameters pops up the Apply What dialog

box before applying the default line style (linetype pen width symbol
spline fillcolor closed) to the entire selection set. You can set the
default line style with the LINETYPE, WIDTH, SETLINEDEF or
LINESYMBOL commands..

LINESTYLEAPPLY linetype pen width symbol spline fillcolor/hatch closed

This applies the default line style to the entire selection set. You can
set the default line style with the LINETYPE, WIDTH, SETLINEDEF
or LINESYMBOL commands. The last 3 parameters only apply to
polylines. The variables should be 0 or 1, depending on whether you
want to apply that attribute or not.

Macros 17-101
EDITLP "N" (single) [xselect,yselect] newl newp neww [#]

Edits the line type, pen and width of the element closest to
[xselect,yselect] to newl, newp and neww. Line types are numbered
downwards from 1 in the Line Type Display. Pens are numbered from
1 to 255. See Line Defaults. To set pen or line type By Layer, give a
pen or line type of 256.

EDITLP "Y" (selection set) oldl oldp oldw newl newp neww [#]

Edits the line type, pen and width of the selection set to newl, newp
and neww. Line types are numbered downwards from 1 in the Line
Type Display. Pens are numbered from 1 to 255. See Line Defaults.
To set pen or line type By Layer, give a pen or line type of 256.
To change the line type, pen and width of the entire selection set,
give 0 0 0 as the values for oldl, oldp and oldw, e.g.:
EDITLP Y 0 0 0 2 5 5 [#]

SETLINEDASH

Define a line type. See Line Types for details.

PARLLDEF 1/0 (draw fresh/around existing perimeter) A1 (starting angle) A2

(ending angle) 1/0 (straight lines/line arc line) 1/0 (close off ends/don't close off
ends) 1/0 (fillet corners/don't fillet corners) N (number of lines) L (linetype) P
(pen) W (width) O (offset)

Sets parallel defaults. See Parallel Defaults. L, P, W and O are

repeated N times, once for each parallel line. Line types are
numbered downwards from 1 in the Line Type Display. Pens are
numbered from 1 to 255. To set pen or line type By Layer, give a pen
or line type of 256.

PLINEDEF

Brings up the Polyline Defaults dialog box. See Polyline Defaults and
SETLINEDEF.

GEOMPEN pen

Sets the geometry line color to the specified pen. Pens are numbered
from 1 to 255. See New Geometry Color.

TEXTDEF

Brings up the Text Defaults dialog box. See Set Text Defaults.

17-102 AllyCAD Reference Manual

PICKTXTP [x,y]

Picks text parameters from the text nearest to x,y. See Set Text
Defaults.

WTEXTPARM textht lorg textwd boxsize linespacing "font_name" pen angle

bold italic underline strikeout justify balloon pitch&family charset

Sets text defaults. See Set Text Defaults.

textht Height of text in tenths of a mm (on final paper output).
lorg Text Label Origin How a piece of text is aligned around
its hook point.
textwd Width of a piece of text in tenths of a mm. A width of
zero uses the width specified by the font designer.
boxsize Screen percentage below which text is displayed as
boxes.
linespacing Spacing between lines of multi-line text. A value of 1
gives the most attractive default spacing. A value of 2
would give double spaced text.
font_name Name of the Font.
pen Text pen. Pens are numbered from 1 to 255. To set
pen By Layer, give a pen of 256.
angle Text angle in tenths of a degree.
bold Set to 1 if text is bold, else set to zero.
italic Set to 1 if text is italic, else set to zero.
underline Set to 1 if text is underlined, else set to zero.
strikeout Set to 1 if text is struckout, else set to zero.
justify 0 Left
1 Centre
2 Right
balloon Set to 1 if text has a balloon around it, else set to zero.
pitch&family A number giving the font type. Get this number for a
particular font by typing a sample piece of text on an
empty screen, then using Export Macro to create a
macro containing the wtextparm parameters for the
piece of text.
charset A number giving the character set. Get this number for
a particular font by typing a sample piece of text on an
empty screen, then using Export Macro to create a
macro containing the wtextparm parameters for the
piece of text.

Pitch&family and charset are numbers needed to ensure that the

correct font is used. Sometimes the font_name string is not

Macros 17-103
sufficient. If you want to ensure that you get a particular font, we
suggest that you create a sample of it using AllyCAD, write it out as a
macro using Export Macro, then use the values of Pitch&Family and
Charset that AllyCAD places after WTEXTPARM in the macro.

TEXTSTYLEAPPLY

This command with no parameters pops up the Apply What dialog

box before applying the default text style (Height, Width,
Linespacing, Color, Font, Angle, Lorg, Justification) to all text within
the entire selection set. You can set the default text style with the
WTEXTPARM command. See above).

TEXTSTYLEAPPLY Height, Width, Linespacing, Color, Font, Angle, Lorg,

Justification

This applies the default text style (Height, Width, Linespacing, Color,
Font, Angle, Lorg, Justification) to all text within the entire selection
set. You can set the default text style with the WTEXTPARM
command. See above). The variables should be 0 or 1, depending on
whether you want to apply that attribute or not.

DIMDEF

Brings up the Dimension Defaults dialog box. See Set Dim Defaults.

DIMPARM dimtextht ndecimal aspect linefeed witnesspen 1witoffset 2witoffset

1/0 (tolerance) "A/M" (Arch/Mech) textpen "font" arrowlen arrowwid ","(decimal
character)

Sets dimension defaults. See Set Dim Defaults.

dimtextht Height of dimension text in tenths of a mm.
ndecimal Number of decimals to display.
aspect
linefeed Distance between successive running dimensions.
witnesspen Color of witness lines and arrows. Pens are numbered
from 1 to 255. To set pen By Layer, give a pen of 256.
1witoffset Witness gap in tenths of a mm.
2witoffset Witness overshoot in tenths of a mm.
tolerance 1 if tolerances can be used, else 0.
Arch/Mech "A" for Architectural style dimensions, "M" for
Mechanical Style.
textpen Color of the dimension text. Pens are numbered from 1
to 255. To set pen By Layer, give a pen of 256.

17-104 AllyCAD Reference Manual

font Name of the font to use.
arrowlen Length of the dimension arrows in tenths of a mm.
arrowwid Width of the dimension arrows in tenths of a mm.
"." or "," decimal character

SURVEYDIMSETUP

Brings up the dialog box for Survey Dimension defaults. See Set
Survey Defaults.

ARROWDEF

Brings up the Arrow Defaults dialog box. See Set Arrow Defaults.

ARRSIZE length width pen blob slash

Sets the arrow defaults. Length and width are measured in tenths of
a mm. Pens are numbered from 1 to 255. See Set Arrow Defaults. To
set pen By Layer, give a pen of 256. Blob should be 0 or 1 depending
if you want arrow to be a blob or not. Slash should also be zero or 1
depending if you want the arrow to be a slash or not.

EDARROW [x,y] newlength newwidth newpen

Edits the arrow head at x,y to the new length, width and pen.
Newlength and newwidth are in tenths of a mm. Pens are numbered
from 1 to 255. To set pen By Layer, give a pen of 256. See Set Arrow
Defaults.

FITBALLN 0/1(add arrows) 0/1/2/3(balloon size) Y(one row of text)

Set balloon defaults. See Set Balloon Defaults.

NEWLAYER "Walls"

Changes the current layer to "Walls". See Set Current Layer.

SHOWLAYER "Walls,ELEC"

Displayes the layers "Walls" and "ELEC". See Set Visible Layers.

EDITLAY

Brings up the Layer Control dialog box. See Layer Control.

Macros 17-105
SETLAYERDEF N$ V K P L W X Y

Sets a layer's properties. The variables mean the following:

N$ Layer name. This layer will become the current layer.
V 1 to make the layer visible, else 0.
K 1 to lock the layer, else 0.
P Pen number assigned to the layer: A number between 0 and
15. Pens are numbered from 1 to 255.
L Line type assigned to the layer: A number between 1 and 11.
Line types are numbered from 1 to 11 downwards in the Line
Type Display. By default, 1 is continuous, 2 is long dashes, 3
is short dashes etc.
W Width assigned to the layer (currently ignored, but included
for future reference).
X Layer magnification in the X direction (currently used for both
X and Y magnification).
Y Layer magnification in the Y direction (currently ignored, but
included for future reference).

If the layer N$ doesn't exist, it is created. See Layer Control.

SETLAYERDEFINDEX IX N$ V K L P W X Y

Sets a layer's properties. The variables mean the following:

IX Layer Index, starting at zero. If this index does not exist the
function fails.
N$ Layer name.
V 1 to make the layer visible, else 0.
K 1 to lock the layer, else 0.
P Pen number assigned to the layer: A number between 1 and
255.
L Line type assigned to the layer: A number between 1 and
MaxLineType. Line types are numbered from 1 to
MaxLineType downwards in the Line Type Display. By
default, 1 is continuous, 2 is long dashes, 3 is short dashes
etc.
W Width assigned to the layer (currently ignored, but included
for future reference).
X Layer magnification in the X direction (currently used for both
X and Y magnification).
Y Layer magnification in the Y direction (currently ignored, but
included for future reference).

17-106 AllyCAD Reference Manual

This function is similar to SETLAYERDEF, except that it does not
create layers, nor change to the given layer. It assumes that the layer
with that index exists already. If the index is invalid then the
function fails. This enables you to change all the characteristics of a
given layer, including its name.

LAYNAME "B" "LAYERNAME"

Gives layer "B" the name "LAYERNAME". See Layer Control.

LOCKLAYER "Layername" 1/0

Locks or unlocks the layer layername. 1 locks the layer; 0 unlocks it.

ALLLAYER "Y/N"

If Alllayer is "N", operations will work on all unlocked layers. If

Allayer is "Y", they will only work on the current layer. See Layer
Control.

LAYERMAG "B" 0.5

Changes the magnification of layer "B" to 0.5. See Layer Control.

LAYHIGHL "O/P/R"

Switches layer highlighting Off, to no. 8 Pen or to Rainbow. See Layer

Control and Enquire “LAYHIGHL”.

HATCHSYLEAPPLY

This command with no parameters pops up the Apply What dialog

box before applying the default hatch style (Hatchindex / fillcolor,
Hatch Pen, Hatch Scaling) to all hatching within the entire selection
set. You can set the default hatch style with the STARTHATCHEX
command followed by a
STARTOBJ “”

command. You need to call the STARTOBJ function to terminate the

hatch object started by STARTHATCHEX.

HATCHSYLEAPPLY HatchIndex/Fillcolor, Hatch_Pen, Hatch_Scaling

This applies the default hatch (Hatchindex / fillcolor, Hatch Pen,

Hatch Scaling) to all hatching within the entire selection set. You can
set the default hatch style with the STARTHATCHEX command
followed by a

Macros 17-107
 STARTOBJ “”

command. You need to call the STARTOBJ function to terminate the

hatch object started by STARTHATCHEX. The variables should be 0
or 1, depending on whether you want to apply that attribute or not.

17-108 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Window Functions

WINDOWCASCADE

Cascades all the drawing windows.

WINDOWTILEHORZ

Tile all the drawing windows horizontally.

WINDOWTILEVERT

Tile all the drawing windows vertically.

WINDOWNEW

Creates a new view of the currently active drawing window.

WINDOWCLOSE winname$

Closes the window with the given name. See the ENQUIRE functions
for “NUMWINDOWS” and “WINDOWNAME” for number of windows
and window names.

WINDOWCLOSEALL $

Closes all drawing windows.

WINDOWACTIVATE winname$

Activates the window with the given name.

Macros 17-109
Perimeter Functions

PARLLINEPERIM

Adds parallel lines to the current object.

Parallel lines are drawn as defined in Parallel Defaults or by the
PARLLDEF macro command. Parallel Defaults must be set to draw
lines around an existing perimeter.
After you have used PARLLINEPERIM, the current object is deleted.

QRYAREAPERIM

Measures the area and perimeter of the current object.

The area and perimeter are measured using the units defined in
Drawing Settings or by the UNITS and SETAREAUNITS macro
commands.
When you use QRYAREAPERIM, an information box containing the
measured area and perimeter will appear on the screen. If you do not
want this box to appear, place an exclamation mark after the
QRYAREAPERIM command, i.e.
QRYAREAPERIM !

To extract the area and perimeter as variables, use the ENQUIRE

LASTAREA command.
After you have used QRYAREAPERIM, the current object is deleted.

To ensure that the correct area is measured, you should use

CIRPERIM, RECTPERIM, LINE, INTERSECTPERIM or AUTOPERIM
to create the current object. Unless all the entities in the object
have been drawn sequentially, OBJPERIM may result in an
incorrect area being measured.

Perimeter measurements can be affected by line thickness. If you

want to ensure this does not happen, type SETUSEWIDTHPERIM 0
before measuring the perimeter. SETUSEWIDTHPERIM 1 switches
line thickness / perimeter interaction back on. See Polygon Area.

17-110 AllyCAD Reference Manual

HATCHPERIM

This command hatches the current object. After you have used
HATCHPERIM, the current object is converted to a hatch perimeter.
When you use HATCHPERIM the Hatch/Solid Fill dialog box appears
so you can select the hatch pattern or solid fill you want to use.
If you do not want this dialog box to appear, use the STARTHAT or
STARTSOLID commands to create the hatch.

CIRPERIM

This command behaves as though you had selected the Circle icon
from the Perimeter menu. It prompts for a circle to be added to the
perimeter.
The circle is then copied to the current object where it can have
parallel lines added to it or be hatched or measured with the
functions HATCHPERIM, QRYAREAPERIM or PARLLINEPERIM.
If you do not use PARLLINEPERIM, QRYAREAPERIM or
HATCHPERIM after you have used CIRPERIM, you may end up with
duplicate circles on your drawing. See the CLEARCURROBJ
command.

RECTPERIM

This command draws a rectangle and behaves as though you had

selected the Rectangle Icon from the Perimeter Menu. Like the
Rectangle Icon in the Perimeter Menu, it will prompt you for two
rectangle corners.
When you use RECTPERIM, the rectangle you draw is added to the
current object, which can then have parallel lines added to it or be
hatched or measured using PARLLINEPERIM, QRYAREAPERIM or
HATCHPERIM.
If you do not use PARLLINEPERIM, QRYAREAPERIM or
HATCHPERIM after you have used RECTPERIM, you will end up with
an ordinary rectangle. In fact, RECTPERIM can be used in place of
RECT to draw a rectangle. You can specify the rectangle coordinates
as follows:
RECTPERIM [x1,y1] [x2,y2] [#]

The difference between RECT and RECTPERIM is that RECTPERIM

does not start a new object or group the lines in the rectangle
together so that they can all be selected at once.

Macros 17-111
LINE

You can use the ordinary LINE macro command to add lines to a
perimeter as though you had selected the Line Icon in the Perimeter
Menu.
When you use LINE, the lines you draw are added to the current
object, which can then have parallel lines added to it or be hatched
or measured using PARLLINEPERIM, QRYAREAPERIM or
HATCHPERIM.

OBJPERIM

This command behaves as though you had selected the Object Icon
from the Perimeter Menu. It prompts for an object to be added to the
perimeter.
The entire selected object is then copied to the current object where
it can have parallel lines added to it or be hatched or measured using
PARLLINEPERIM, QRYAREAPERIM or HATCHPERIM.
If you do not use PARLLINEPERIM, QRYAREAPERIM or
HATCHPERIM after you have used CIRPERIM, you will end up with a
duplicate object on your drawing. See the CLEARCURROBJ
command.

INTERSECTPERIM

This command behaves as though you had selected the Intersection

Icon from the Perimeter Menu. It allows you to trace over a perimeter
by prompting for elements and intersections in turn.
The elements you trace over are copied to the current object where
they can have parallel lines added to them or be hatched or
measured using PARLLINEPERIM, QRYAREAPERIM or
HATCHPERIM.
If you do not use PARLLINEPERIM, QRYAREAPERIM or
HATCHPERIM after you have used INTERSECTPERIM, you will end
up with duplicate entities on your drawing. See the CLEARCURROBJ
command.

AUTOPERIM 1/0

This command does an auto-perimeter track and behaves as though

you had selected the Auto Icon from the Perimeter Menu.
Like the Auto Icon in the Perimeter Menu, it will prompt you to place
the cursor inside the perimeter and near a line. You can avoid this
prompt by adding coordinates to the end of the command, i.e.
17-112 AllyCAD Reference Manual
 AUTOPERIM 1/0 [x,y]

where x,y identifies the perimeter to be tracked.

The 1/0 switch determines whether the first line is to be included in
the perimeter or not. AUTOPERIM 1 includes the first line in the
perimeter. Use AUTOPERIM 1 if you want to add parallel lines to the
perimeter. AUTOPERIM 0 does not include the first line in the
perimeter. Use AUTOPERIM 0 for hatching and area calculations.
When you use Autoperim, it copies the perimeter it has tracked and
adds this copy to the current object, which can then have parallel
lines added to it or be hatched or measured using PARLLINEPERIM,
QRYAREAPERIM or HATCHPERIM. See above).
If you do not use PARLLINEPERIM, QRYAREAPERIM or
HATCHPERIM after you have used Autoperim, you will end up with
duplicate lines and arcs along the perimeter. See the
CLEARCURROBJ command (below).

CLEARWS

This command clears the current object before you use CIRPERIM,
RECTPERIM, LINE, OBJPERIM, INTERSECTPERIM and
AUTOPERIM.
These functions create a current object which can then have parallel
lines added to it or be hatched or measured using PARLLINEPERIM,
QRYAREAPERIM or HATCHPERIM.

CLEARCURROBJ

This command deletes the current object. For example:

WHILE (1)
{
REM ask user to click in area they want to measure
CUR "Click in area to measure" X Y K
IF (K)
{
end
}
REM clear the current object
CLEARWS
REM copy the perimeter indicated by the user into
REM the current object using an auto perimeter track
AUTOPERIM 0 [x,y]
R=REPLY("Satisfied with Perimeter?")
IF (R=0)
{
REM if the user isn't satisfied with the perimeter
REM that's going to be measured, delete the current
REM object

Macros 17-113
 CLEARCURROBJ
}
ELSE
{
REM if the user is satisfied, measure the current
REM object
REM qryareaperim automatically deletes the current
REM object after measurement
QRYAREAPERIM
}
}
END

SHOWPERIM

Highlights the current perimeter.

17-114 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Notes:

Macros 17-115
Compiled Macros
Version 3.00x of AllyCAD windows includes a compiled macro
language as well as the ‘old’ interpreted macro language. This
chapter introduces the compiled macro language and explains the
process of developing programs for execution by the AllyCAD
windows version 3.0x (and later) CAD system.
The compiled macro is a high-level CAD language, which can be used
to automate repetitive or complex tasks in the AllyCAD design
system. Compiled macro programs can be used to customize
AllyCAD to specific applications.
This guide describes the compiled macro language, how to compile a
macro program use File  Compile Macro, how to run the program use
File  Exec Macro, to assign the compiled macro to a keystroke, icon or
menu item see Customizing the AllyCAD Menu file.

Advantages of using compiled macro programs

Earlier versions of AllyCAD provided the facility to execute macro
programs in an “interpreted” mode, i.e. AllyCAD would directly read
the English-like text of the macro program and would interpret the
commands as it went along.
From version 3.00x of AllyCAD windows onwards, macro programs
can be “compiled” by a separate program (compiler) before being
executed by AllyCAD. The compiler interprets the program source file
(which has the extension .MAC) and produces a “macro binary file”
(with the extension .MBF) which can be interpreted more quickly and
easily by AllyCAD.
The AllyCAD Windows macro compiler is built into AllyCAD, and is
no longer a separate program, as it was in the old DOS program.
Moving the interpretation of the source file into a separate compiler
has several advantages. Firstly, the compiler has better syntax-
checking capabilities than the AllyCAD interpreter; in other words,
you eliminate all grammatical errors from the program before you try
to run it.
Secondly, the compiled programs run a lot faster than the
interpreted programs. And thirdly, it has allowed the compiled macro
language to be extended to include such powerful constructs as
procedures (subroutines) and numeric arrays, while substantially
maintaining compatibility with previous interpreted programs.

Compiled Macros 18-1

The structure of a compiled macro program
Care has been taken to maintain compatibility as far as possible with
old-style (interpreted) macro programs. A compiled macro program
has the following general format, where the sections must be in the
order shown:
• Declarations of global numeric variables, string variables and
arrays. This section is optional.
• User procedure(s). This section is optional.
• Main executable statements. Execution starts at the first
statement in this section.
• END statement. Anything after the END statement is ignored.
Note that old-style macro programs do not contain the optional
declarations and procedures sections.
A compiled macro program must be completely contained in one
source file. The compiler does not support separate compilation and
linking of source modules.

An introductory sample compiled macro program

/* This is a simple program that draws a circle at
an arbitrary position, with an arbitrary
diameter, and places a cross over the circle. */

CUR “Enter circle center point” x y

ENTER “Enter circle diameter” diameter
PEN 2 /* select pen number 2 */
radius=diameter/2 /* calculate radius */
r2 = radius + 5 /* make cross 5 units larger than circle */

/* Now draw a circle at the selected point */

CIR [x,y] [x+radius,y] [#]

/* Now draw a cross at the center point */

LINETYPE 4 3
LINE [x - r2, y] [x + r2, y] [#]
LINE [x, y - r2] [x, y + r2] [#]
END

18-2 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Converting old-style macro programs
A converter program (INT2COMP) is supplied together with the
compiler, for converting old-style (interpreted) macro programs to the
new compiled macro syntax. This converter program modifies the
source text where necessary. Statements that cannot be converted
are flagged for manual editing; for example, the CHAIN command is
not supported in the new syntax because its function has been
superseded by the “procedure call” facility.
To convert an old-style macro program to the new syntax, use the
command:
INT2COMP filename

where filename does not include the “.MAC” extension. INT2COMP

will create a file called “filename.NEW” in the same directory as the
old macro file.
The minor incompatibilities between the old and the new syntax are
listed at the end of this chapter. In general, a program that has been
processed by the converter will not require any manual editing.

Compiled Macros 18-3

Language elements
Character set
The compiled macro program character set is the following subset of
the ASCII character set:
A..Z
a..z
0..9

the following special characters:

= . / () {} [] << >> ! : ^ + - * , @ # _ \

plus blank (space), tab, carriage-return and line-feed characters. The

blank and the tab are collectively known as whitespace characters.
Compiled macro does not distinguish between uppercase and
lowercase letters, except in string constants. For example, the
variable names “xyz” and “XYZ” are the same. In this manual, all
compiled macro syntax will be shown as uppercase, by convention.
The compiled macro compiler treats multiple contiguous blanks and
tabs as single blanks, by ignoring all blanks or tabs except the first
one.

18-4 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Special Characters
The table below explains the use of each of the special characters:
Character Meaning
() Used to enclose numeric expressions and the list of
arguments which follows a built-in numeric function, a
built-in string function, or a user-supplied procedure.
[] Used to enclose the coordinates of a point.
{} Used to enclose a block of statements in the WHILE, IF,
ELSE and SWITCH statements.
“ Double quote: used to enclose string constants
‘ Single quote: used to enclose character constants
# Symbolises a press of the SPACE BAR, and is used at
the end of most built-in commands to exit from the
command. In this context, it must be enclosed in square
brackets, i.e. [#]. It is also used in relational expressions,
as the “NOT-EQUALS” operator.
! As the first non-whitespace character in a line it indicates
that the rest of the line is a comment. In a built-in
command, it denotes a press of the ENTER key, and is
used to select a default operation or value
@ Used as a “modifier” within a coordinate pair, to denote
relative positioning of the cursor.
% Used as a “modifier” within a coordinate pair, to update
the cursor position.
, Used to separate arguments of built-in numeric functions,
built-in string functions and user procedures.
<< >> Used in relational expressions, as the LESS-THAN and
GREATER-THAN operators, and also in the LESS-
THAN-OR-EQUAL-TO and GREATER-THAN-OR-
EQUAL-TO operators( <<= and >>= )
= Used as the ASSIGNMENT operator, the EQUALS
operator, and as part of the LESS-THAN-OR-EQUALS
and GREATER-THAN-OR-EQUALS operators.
\ Used at the end of a line, to continue a long statement or
string constant on the following line.
. Used as the decimal point
+ Used as the addition operator
- Used as the subtraction and the unary minus operator
/ Used as the division operator
* Used as the multiplication operator
^ The exponentiation operator

Compiled Macros 18-5

Tokens, separators and the use of blanks
The smallest meaningful unit of a compiled macro program is a
“token”. Every token belongs to one of the following classes:
• Identifiers (i.e. names of variables, arrays and procedures)
• Keywords (reserved words)
• Simple delimiters (all of the special characters are delimiters)
• Compound delimiters (combinations of two special characters):
<<=, >>=, /*, */
• Numeric constants
• String constants
It is usually clear where one token ends and the next begins. For
example, in the statement:
EXACT=APPROX*(HEIGHT-3)/SCALE

EXACT, APPROX, HEIGHT and SCALE are identifiers, 3 is a numeric

constant, and all the other characters are simple delimiters.
Where two tokens appear together in a statement without a delimiter
between them, one or blanks must be used to separate them. Blanks
can be inserted around any token without changing the meaning of
the compiled macro statement. Thus, the above statement can be
rewritten:
EXACT = APPROX * (HEIGHT - 3) / SCALE

Indeed, the insertion of blanks is encouraged because it makes a

program more readable to humans.

Identifiers and reserved words

Identifiers are the names of numeric variables, numeric arrays,
character string variables and procedures.
Identifiers can be up to 31 characters long. The first character of a
variable or array name must be alphabetic or an underscore ( _ ),
and the remaining characters may be alphabetic, numeric, or the
underscore.

18-6 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Examples of valid variable, procedure and array names are:
INPUT_COUNT
A0 Note compatibility with old-style
variable names
GAMMA
Gamma Same as GAMMA
LONG_VARIABLE_NAME
VALUE_BETWEEN_3_AND_10
_MAIN
PROCEDURE_1

The first character of a character string variable name must be an

alphabetic character or an underscore. The remaining characters
may be alphabetic, numeric or underscores, except that the last
character must be a dollar sign ($).
Examples of valid string variable names are:
A0$ (Compatible with old-style syntax)
LONG_STRING_NAME$
_STRINGVAR1$

The identifiers you choose must not be the same as any of the
compiled macro keywords, built-in commands or built-in functions
that are listed in Appendix B.

Numeric constants
A numeric constant can be specified in two ways; as a number or as
a character enclosed in single quotes.

Number form
The normal syntax of a numeric constant is:
[+|-][digits][.digits][E[-|+]digits]

The square brackets ([ ]) indicate an optional item. The vertical bar

(|) between two items indicates that one or the other is used. The
constant contains an optional sign, an optional integer portion, an
optional fractional portion, and an optional exponent. The “digits”
are zero or more decimal digits (0 through 9), and E is the exponent
symbol.
You can omit either the digits before the decimal point (the integer
portion of the value) or the digits after the decimal point (the
fractional portion), but not both. You can leave out the decimal point

Compiled Macros 18-7

if the number is an integer. The exponent consists of the symbol E
followed by a constant integer value. The integer value may be
negative. No blanks or tabs may separate the digits or characters of
the constant.
The following examples illustrate some valid numeric constants:
15.75
1.575E1
+0.0025
100
1E6 3.14159 +3.5E+7

Numeric constants are stored and manipulated in the program as

floating-point numbers, even if they are represented in the source file
as integers.
The range of values that a numeric constant can have is
approximately:
+1.7E+308 to -1.7E-308
zero
+1.7E-308 to +1.7E308

Character constants
A single character enclosed in single quotes represents the ASCII
value of that character, and is treated as a numeric constant. For
example:
‘B’ equals 66 because the ASCII code for B is 66.

String constants
String constants are strings of printable ASCII characters enclosed
between quotation marks. The maximum length of a string constant
is 150 characters. To include a quotation mark in a string, precede it
with a backslash (\); for example,
This is a \”string constant\” containing quotation marks

If the last character of the string is intended to be a backslash, you

have to “escape” the backslash with another backslash, otherwise
the terminating quotation mark will be interprted as a quotation
mark embedded within the string. For example, the string
“D:\ALLY\CAD\” is represented as:
D:\ALLY\CAD\\”

18-8 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Coordinate pairs
In compiled macro, the coordinates of a point are represented in two
ways, depending on whether the user must supply the position of the
point interactively, or whether the program specifies the position.
There is also another way to get the user to enter a point or sequence
of points interactively which will be explained at the end of this
section.
If the point’s position must be supplied interactively using the mouse
or keyboard, represent the point as a question mark enclosed in
square brackets as follows:
[?]

If the program must supply the coordinates, represent the point as a

pair of numeric expressions, separated by a comma and enclosed in
square brackets, as follows:
[xcoord, ycoord]

For example, the following command draws a circle with its centre at
[5,5], and prompts the user to enter a point on the circumference of
the circle:
CIR [5,5] [?] [#]

The above example represents the absolute coordinates of the circle

centre, and does not change the current cursor position. If you want
to indicate that a pair of coordinates is relative to the current cursor
position, place an ampersand (@) between the opening bracket and
the x coordinate, as follows:
[@xcoord, ycoord]

To update the current cursor position, insert a percentage sign as

follows:
[%xcoord, ycoord]

which moves the current cursor position to the absolute coordinates

xcoord, ycoord. The pair [@%x,y] gives a relative movement and
leaves the cursor at the new position.
You can use all three “modifier” characters # @ and % in one
coordinate pair, but they must always be in the order shown. The #
character denotes a press of the SPACE BAR after the coordinate was
entered, and is used to terminate the built-in command which is
executing.

Compiled Macros 18-9

If the AllyCAD program is executing a macro program and comes
across something else while it is expecting a coordinate pair, it
prompts the user to enter the point interactively.
You would typically use this method to get the user to enter a
polygon, since the program doesn’t know in advance how many
corners the polygon has. If you want the user to enter only a single
point interactively, possibly followed by other program-supplied
points, you would use the [?] symbol described above.

Comments
There are three ways of inserting comments into a compiled macro
program.
Use an exclamation mark (!) as the first non-whitespace character in
a line. All characters in the line will be ignored by the compiler.
Use the keyword REM (for REMARK) in the line. The REM and all
text after it, until the end of the line, will be ignored by the compiler.
Comments can be embedded within a line, or can span several lines,
by starting the comment with the character pair /* and ending the
comment with */, as in the C programming language. Such
comments cannot be nested. They are very useful for commenting
out sections of a program. The following is an example of this type of
comment:
/* Here is a comment which
spans two lines */

In this manual, comments are presented in lowercase to distinguish

them visually from program code, which is presented in uppercase.

18-10 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Variables
Numeric variables
Two types of numeric variables are used; local and global. Global
variables are declared at the start of the program, and can be
accessed from any part of the program; i.e. from any of the
procedures or from the main section. The syntax of the declaration
statement is as follows:
NUMERIC variablename [=initialvalue]

Each global variable must be declared on a separate line. The

optional initial value must be a numeric constant.
Local variables are those which have not been declared at the start of
the program. If a local variable occurs within a procedure, it can be
accessed only from inside that procedure. If a local variable occurs
within the main section of the program, it can be accessed only from
within the main section.
If two procedures both reference a (non-declared) variable with the
same name, each procedure actually maintains its own copy; the two
variables are logically distinct.
Note that all variables used in old-style compiled macro programs are
local variables, as they are not declared.
Numeric variables are manipulated as floating-point values, and
have the same range of values that numeric constants have.

String variables
The name of a string variable must end in a dollar sign. String
variables are classified as global or local, in the same way that
numeric variables are. The syntax of the declaration statement for
string variables is:
STRING stringvariable [=initialvalue]

Each string variable must be declared on a separate line. The

optional initial value must be a string constant.
A string value can be any number of characters long, subject to the
available memory space on the machine executing the compiled
macro program.

Compiled Macros 18-11

Arrays
A new feature of compiled macro is the ability to manipulate arrays
of numeric values. Arrays must be declared at the start of the
program, and are therefore accessible from any part of the program.
Any number of arrays may be declared, and the dimension of each
array may be as large as you wish, within the limits of available
memory on the machine that is executing the compiled macro
program. The syntax of the array declaration is:
ARRAY arrayname[dimension]

Note that in this case, the square brackets are required, and do not
represent an optional item. The dimension must be a positive integer.
Within the program, elements of the array are referenced with the
following syntax:
arrayname[element_index]

where “element_index” is a numeric expression which evaluates to

an integer between zero and “dimension-1”. If the index is outside
this range, an error message is produced during program execution,
and the program is aborted.

18-12 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Numeric expressions
A numeric expression is a combination of values (“operands”) and
operators which yields (“expresses”) a single value.

Operands
An “operand” is a constant or variable value that is manipulated in
the expression. Each operand of an expression is also an expression,
since it represents a single value. A numeric operand can be any of
the following:
• a numeric constant
• a numeric variable
• an array element
• a built-in numeric function (described in section 4.5)

Operators
“Operators” specify how the operand or operands of the expression
are manipulated. There are three types of operators; arithmetic,
relational and logical.

Arithmetic operators
The arithmetic operators are as follows:
+ addition
- subtraction
unary minus (ie. the negative of a value)
/ division
* multiplication
^ exponentiation

For example:
X = 987
Y = -X

In this example, the value of Y is the negative of 987, or -987. The

addition, subtraction, division and multiplication operators have the
usual meaning. The “exponentiation” operator is used to raise one
number to the power of another; for example:
X = 8
Y = X ^ 2

Compiled Macros 18-13

In this example, Y is assigned the value 64, or the square of 8.

Relational operators
The relational operators compare their first operand with their
second operand to test the validity of the specified relationship. The
result of a relational expression is 1 if the tested relationship is true
and 0 if it is false.
Operator Relationship
<< First operand less than second operand
>> First operand greater than second operand
<<= First operand less than or equal to second operand
>>= First operand greater than or equal to second operand
= First operand equal to second operand
# First operand not equal to second operand

Logical operators
The logical operators perform logical-AND, logical-OR and logical
complement operations. These operators are represented by the
keywords
AND, OR and NOT.

The AND operator evaluates to 1 if both its operands are nonzero,

and evaluates to 0 if either of its operands is zero.
The OR operator evaluates to 1 if either of its operands is nonzero,
and evaluates to 0 if both of its operands is zero.
The NOT operator evaluates to 1 if its operand is zero, and evaluates
to 0 if its operand is nonzero.
The following examples use these operators:
Example 1:
IF X << Y AND Y >> = Z
CALL DRAW_BOX

In example 1, the procedure DRAW_BOX is called if X is less than Y

and Y is greater than or equal to Z.
Example 2:
IF NOT FINISHED
CALL TRY_AGAIN

In this example, the procedure TRY_AGAIN is called if the variable

FINISHED is zero.

18-14 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Indirection and “address-of” operators
The keyword “AT” is the indirection operator, and the keyword “PTR”
is the “address-of” operator.
The PTR operator followed by a numeric variable evaluates to an
integer value that represents the “address” of the variable. The first
variable to be declared in a compiled macro program has an
“address” of zero; the second has an address of 1, and so on.
The AT operator followed by a numeric expression refers to a
numeric variable whose “address” is given by the expression.

Precedence of operators
The precedence of operators affects the grouping and evaluation of
operands in expressions. Expressions with higher-precedence
operators are evaluated first.
The numeric operators are listed here in descending order of
precedence. Operators listed on the same line are considered to have
equivalent precedence.
NOT, -, AT, PTR Logical complement, unary minus, indirection
operator, “address-of” operator
*, / Multiplication, division
^ Exponentiation
+, - Addition, subtraction
<<, >>, <<=, >>= Relational, inequality
=, # Relational, equality
AND Logical AND
OR Logical OR

Expressions in parentheses
You can enclose any operand or expression in parentheses ( ) without
changing the value of the enclosed operand or expression. For
example, in the expression:
(10 + 5) / 5

the parentheses around 10 + 5 mean that the value of 10 + 5 is the

left operand of the division (/) operator. The result of
(10 + 5) / 5

Compiled Macros 18-15

is 3. Without the parentheses, 10 + 5 / 5 would evaluate to 11, since
the division operator has a higher precedence than the addition
operator.

Built-in numeric functions

Arithmetic functions
The following numeric functions are available:
SQRT(x) Square root of x
INT(x) Integer portion of x
ABS(x) Absolute value of x
LN(x) Natural logarithm of x

Trigonometric functions
The trigonometric functions work in degrees, not radians:
SIN(x)
COS(x)
TAN(x)
ASIN(x)
ACOS(x)
ATAN(x)
ATAN2(y,x)

The ATAN and ATAN2 functions calculate the arctangent of x and

y/x, respectively; ATAN returns a value in the range -90 to +90
degrees;
ATAN2 returns a value in the range -180 to +180 degrees. The
ATAN2 function uses the signs of both parameters to determine the
quadrant of the return value.

String-related functions
There are also some functions whose parameters are string values,
but which return numeric values:

STRCMP(a$,b$)

Compares string A$ to string B$. If A$ equals B$ then it returns

zero. If A$ is less than B$ it returns -1; if A$ is greater than B$ it
returns 1.

18-16 AllyCAD Reference Manual

STRSTR(a$,b$)

searches for string B$ in string A$. If string B$ is found in string A$,

then the function returns the offset in string A$ where the first
character of B$ was found. If string B$ is not found then it returns -
1. For example:
index = STRSTR(“Hello world”,”Hello”)

will set index to 0.

val = STRSTR(“Hello world”,”wor”)

will set val to 6.

x = STRSTR(“Hello world”,”Zorro”)

will set x to -1.

LEN(a$)

Returns the length (number of characters) of string A$. For example:

LEN(“ABCDE”)

will return the value 5.

VAL(a$)

Converts the string A$ to a number. For example:

VAL(“123.45”)

will return the numeric value 123.45

NUM(a$)

Returns the ASCII equivalent of the first character in the string A$.
For example:
N = NUM(“abc”)

will set N to 97.

Miscellaneous numeric functions

REPLY (question$)

This function can be used wherever a numeric variable would be

used. “question$” may be any string expression. The function
evaluates the string expression and displays it on the screen, then
waits for the user to reply. It returns 1 if the user presses Y or
[ENTER], and returns 0 if he presses N or [SPACE BAR].
Example 1:

Compiled Macros 18-17

 R = REPLY (“Do you want to continue?”)

Example 2:
IF (REPLY (JOIN$ (string1$, string2$))
{
.
.
.
.
}

NOREPLY (question$)

This function is similar to REPLY but the default reply is NO. It

returns 1 if the user presses N or [ENTER], and returns 0 if he
presses Y or [SPACE BAR].

18-18 AllyCAD Reference Manual

String expressions
A string expression is any of the following:
• a string constant
• a string variable
A compiled macro contains several built-in string functions, i.e.
functions which return a character-string value. A string function
can be used anywhere that a string variable or constant would be
used, except of course on the left-hand side of an assignment
statement.

JOIN$(string1$, string2$)

This function returns a string which is the concatenation of

STRING1$ and STRING2$, where STRING1$ and STRING2$ can be
any string expressions (i.e. string variable, constant or function). For
example,
A$ = “brown fox jumps over “
B$ = JOIN$(JOIN$(“The quick “,a$),”the lazy dog”)

copies the string “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” into
string B$.

VAL$(value, width, ndecimal)

VALUE, WIDTH and NDECIMAL are numeric expressions. This

function converts the number VALUE to a string. The format of the
string is controlled by WIDTH, which gives the maximum length of
the string (including the decimal point and decimal digits) and
NDECIMAL, which gives the number of digits to the right of the
decimal point.
If WIDTH is too small, it will be ignored, i.e. the number will always
be converted with the specified precision. For example:
C = 3.145729
A$ = VAL$(C,6,2)

will copy the string “ 3.14” into A$. The string contains two spaces,
then “3.14”, giving a total width of six characters.

SUBSTR$(string$, startpos, endpos)

STRING$ is a string expression and STARTPOS and ENDPOS are

numeric expressions. The function extracts a substring, of length
ENDPOS-STARTPOS+1, from string STRING$, starting at character

Compiled Macros 18-19

position STARTPOS. The first character of a string is at position 0.
For example:
SUBSTR$(“abcd”,1,2)

is “bc”.

CHR$(asciival)

This function converts the numeric expression “asciival” to a string

containing a single character whose ASCII code is ASCIIVAL. For
example:
A$ = CHR$(66)

sets A$ to “B” since “B” is 66 in ASCII code.

STRUPR$(string$)

Converts a string expression “string$” to uppercase, for example:

S$ = STRUPR$(“This is a Fine Day”)

will set S$ to “THIS IS A FINE DAY”

STRLWR$(string$)

Converts a string expression “string$”to lowercase, for example:

S$ = STRUPR$(“This is a Fine Day”)

will set S$ to “this is a fine day”

18-20 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Statements
The statements of a compiled macro program control the flow of the
program, assign values to variables, and perform built-in CAD
commands.
Each statement must be contained on a single line, unless the last
character on the line is a backslash “\”, in which case the statement
may be continued on the next line. In this case, the backslash and
the newline character following it are ignored.
The backslash-newline combination may also be used inside a string
constant to continue the string constant on a new line. A statement
may be continued over any number of lines in this way.

Assignment statements

Numeric assignments
The general form of a numeric assignment statement is:
[numeric_variable | array_element] = numeric_expression

The expression on the right hand side of the assignment operator (=)
is evaluated and the resulting value is assigned to the numeric
variable or array element on the left of the assignment operator.

String assignments
The general form of a string assignment statement is:
string_variable = string_expression

The string expression on the right side of the assignment operator (=)
is evaluated and its value is copied into the string variable on the left
of the assignment operator.
The string variable on the left side, may also appear any number of
times on the right side. The right side is always evaluated fully before
its value is copied into the left side. The storage space which was
allocated to the left side is released for re-use by the program. For
example:
stringvar$ = “This is a short string”
stringvar$ = JOIN$(stringvar$, “which has been made\ longer”)

copies the string:

“This is a short string which has been made longer”

into stringvar$.

Compiled Macros 18-21

IF and ELSE statements
The IF statement may be used on its own or in conjunction with the
ELSE statement. If it is used on its own, it has the following form:
IF numeric-expression
{
statement
.
.
.
statement
}

The statements inside the curly brackets are executed if the

“numeric-expression” evaluates to TRUE. Note that the numeric
expression does not have to be enclosed in parentheses, although
doing so will not do any harm. An expression is regarded as TRUE if
its value is nonzero.
Note that each curly bracket must be on a line by itself, otherwise
the compiler will produce an error message. If you want to execute
only one statement if the expression is true, you can leave out the
curly brackets, as follows:
IF numeric-expression
statement

If you want to execute another set of statements if the expression is

FALSE, you can use the ELSE statement in conjunction with the IF
statement, as follows:
IF expression
{
statement
.
.
.
statement
}
ELSE
{
statement
.
.
.
statement
}

Here too, you can leave out the curly brackets if only one statement
is to be executed in the event of the expression being FALSE. IF and
ELSE statements can be nested, to a maximum depth of 20.
An example of nested IF statements is:

18-22 AllyCAD Reference Manual

IF haircolor = blonde
{
IF eyecolor = blue
MESS “This is a blue-eyed blonde”
ELSE
MESS “This blonde does not have blue eyes”
}
ELSE
MESS “This is not a blonde”

WHILE statement
The WHILE statement is used to repeatedly execute a statement of
group of statements while a certain condition is true. Its format is:
WHILE expression
{
statement
.
.
.
statement
}

Execution of the WHILE statement proceeds as follows:

1. The “expression” is evaluated.
If it is zero, execution continues with the statement after the closing
bracket. If it is nonzero, all the statements within the curly brackets
are executed and the process is repeated beginning at step 1.
Here, too, each curly bracket must be on a line by itself. If only
one statement appears between the curly brackets, the curly
brackets may be omitted, as follows:
WHILE a >> 1
a = a - 1

Compiled Macros 18-23

BREAK statement
The BREAK statement is used to transfer control out of an enclosing
WHILE or SWITCH block. Control is transferred to the first statement
after the closing bracket of the block. If a BREAK statement occurs
within a WHILE or SWITCH block, it terminates only the WHILE or
SWITCH statement which immediately encloses it.

SWITCH statement
The SWITCH statement has the following form:
SWITCH numeric-expression
{
CASE integer-constant1:
statement(s)
CASE integer-constant2:
statement(s)
.
.
.
DEFAULT : (Optional)
statement(s)
}

This statement transfers control to a statement within the block

enclosed by curly brackets. Control passes to the statement whose
CASE integer-constant matches the value of the SWITCH numeric-
expression.
The SWITCH statement may contain any number of CASE instances.
Execution begins at the selected statement and continues until the
end of the block, or until a BREAK statement transfers control out of
the block.
An optional DEFAULT case can be specified in the block. If the
SWITCH expression does not match any of the CASE integer-
constants, control will be passed to the DEFAULT statement(s).
If there is no DEFAULT case and the SWITCH expression does not
match any of the CASE constants, none of the statements in the
block will be executed, and control will pass to the first statement
after the block. If there is a DEFAULT case, it must be the last case
in the block.

Each curly bracket must be on a line by itself.

A colon is required after each CASE constant, and after the

DEFAULT.

18-24 AllyCAD Reference Manual

SWITCH statements may be nested to a maximum depth of 20.
Here is an example of a SWITCH statement:
SWITCH switchval
{
CASE 1:
y = SIN(x)
CASE 2:
p = 2 * q
BREAK
DEFAULT:
MESS “This is the default case”
}

If switchval is 1 in this example, control will be passed to the

statement “y = SIN(x)”. Then the statement “p = 2 * q” will be
executed, after which the BREAK statement will transfer control to
the statement following the closing bracket of the SWITCH block.

CALL and RETURN statements

The CALL and RETURN statements are mentioned here only for
completeness, since they control the flow of a program.
The CALL statement is used to activate a user-written procedure that
does not return a value. The RETURN statement is used within a
procedure body to cause a return of control from the procedure to
the point from which it was activated.

EXIT statement
The EXIT statement causes the compiled macro program to
terminate immediately. It may appear anywhere within the program.

Compiled Macros 18-25

Procedures
A procedure is a section of code that is activated from other parts of
the program. A procedure reference or CALL statement activates the
procedure.
Program control is passed from the point of activation to the
beginning of the procedure code, and the code is executed. Upon exit
from the procedure code, program control is passed back to the
statement immediately after the point of activation.
The use of procedures forms the basis of modular programming. It
makes programs more understandable, and therefore more
maintainable.

Format of a procedure
A procedure consists of three parts:
• a PROC statement
• a sequence of statements forming the procedure body
• an ENDPROC statement.
The following is a simple example:
PROC doorcheck(NUMERIC front_lock, NUMERIC side_lock)
IF front_lock AND side_lock
CALL power_on
ELSE
CALL door_alarm
ENDPROC

where “power_on” and “door_alarm” are procedures declared

previously in the same program. “doorcheck” is the name of the
procedure in this example.
A procedure name may be up to 32 characters long. The first
character must be a letter or underscore; the remaining characters
may be letters, numbers or the underscore. The procedure name
must not be the same as the name of any variable or keyword.

Procedure parameters
In the PROC statement, the procedure name is followed by a list of
“formal parameters” in parentheses, and separated by commas. Each
formal parameter has the following form:
NUMERIC argname

or

18-26 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 STRING argname$

where “argname” is a numeric identifier and “argname$ is a string

identifier (see section 2.3). A maximum of 20 formal parameters is
allowed.
When a procedure is activated, the CALL statement or procedure
reference contains a list of actual parameters. Each actual parameter
is an expression whose value is assigned to the corresponding formal
parameter in the procedure before the procedure begins to execute.
For example, the following procedure takes three parameters, called
“label”, “x” and “y”.
PROC writelabel(STRING label$, NUMERIC x, NUMERIC y)
TEXT “Y” [x,y] STRUPR$(label$) [#]
ENDPROC

The statement in the body of the procedure converts the text string
“label$” to uppercase and writes it at the coordinates [x,y]. You can
use the following statement inside the main body of the program to
call the procedure and write a label at coordinates [8,10].
CALL writelabel(“This is a label”,5+3,10)

The three actual parameters in the CALL statement (“This is a label”,

5+3, and 10) are assigned to the three formal parameters which were
declared in the PROC statement (label$, x, and y). These parameters
are referenced from within the body of the procedure using the
names declared in the PROC statement.
The number of actual parameters in the CALL statement must
exactly match the number of formal parameters declared in the
corresponding PROC statement, otherwise the compiler will produce
an error message. Also, the type of each actual parameter (NUMERIC
or STRING) must match the type of the corresponding formal
parameter.
Procedure parameters (whether numeric or string) are allocated
temporary storage for the duration of the procedure execution.
Therefore a procedure can call itself recursively (up to a maximum
recursion depth of 20).

Compiled Macros 18-27

Return value of a procedure
The statements in the body of a procedure are executed in sequence
until a RETURN or ENDPROC statement is encountered; at which
time control is returned to the statement following the one which
activated the procedure.
The RETURN statement passes the value of a numeric expression
back to the calling program. If the procedure does not contain a
RETURN statement, a value of zero will be passed back to the calling
program.
A procedure may contain any number of RETURN statements but
must contain one and only one ENDPROC statement, which must be
the last statement in the procedure.
The syntax of the RETURN statement is:
RETURN(numeric_expression)

Note that the parentheses are required.

Ways of activating a procedure

There are two ways of activating a procedure. The first is to use the
CALL statement. In this case, any value which is returned by the
procedure is ignored; therefore the RETURN statement would
normally not be used in such a procedure. The syntax of the CALL
statement is:
CALL procedurename(param1, param2, param3, ....)

where param1, param2 etc are numeric or string expressions, which

match the formal parameters in the PROC statement of the
corresponding procedure. The second way to activate a procedure is
to reference it as though it were a numeric expression, for example:
variable = expression1 + procedurename(param1,\ param2, param3, ...)

This type of procedure would return a numeric value using the

RETURN statement.

Passing parameters by reference

Often it is desirable to have a procedure return more than one value,
or to have the procedure modify a variable that is passed to it as a
parameter. Compiled macro provides a method of achieving this,
called passing parameters by reference.

18-28 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Normally, parameters are passed by value, i.e. the actual parameter
is evaluated and the value of the expression is passed to the
procedure.
The “address-of” operator PTR provides a means of passing the
address of a variable to the procedure, rather than the value of the
variable.
The “indirection operator” AT provides a means for the procedure to
access a numeric variable, given only the address of the variable.
The following example shows how a procedure can modify the value
of a numeric variable whose address is passed to it as a parameter:
/* First, we have declarations of global variables */
NUMERIC variable1
NUMERIC variable2
/* Here we have a procedure */
PROC procname(NUMERIC param1, NUMERIC param2)
.
.
.
AT param2 = expression1
AT param2 + 1 = expression2
.
.
.
ENDPROC
/* Here we have the start of the main body of statements */
.
.
CALL procname(actualparam1, PTR variable1)
.
.
END

In this example, the CALL statement passes the “address” of

variable1 to procedure “procname”. Since this was the first variable
to be declared, its address is zero. The first statement shown in the
procedure modifies the variable whose address is passed to it in
param2; this variable is “variable1”. The following statement modifies
the variable following “variable1”, i.e. “variable2”.
This example shows that a procedure can modify multiple numeric
variables, if the base address of a block of variables is passed to it.

Compiled Macros 18-29

Compiling a compiled macro program
Compiled macro programs are written in an ASCII file, which means
written in English on a word processor or text editor. You can access
the on-line word processor from within AllyCAD by using the
File  Edit macro function. The name of the program text file must
end in a “.MAC” extension.
To compile a compiled macro source file from AllyCAD select
File  Compile Macro.
The compiler will generate a binary file (i.e. not human-readable)
called “programname.MBF”, where MBF stands for Macro Binary File

Error and warning messages

The normal error message displayed by the compiler if it finds a
syntax error is:
*** syntax error *** filename, line x : at or near column y

where ”filename” is the name of the program text file, and x and y
are the line number and column number at which the error was
found. The offending line of the program is displayed after this
message, with a vertical bar (|) immediately after the token which
caused the error.

If the column number is reported as 0, then the compiler expected

to find something more at the end of the previous line, and instead
found a newline character.

Other error messages that the compiler may produce are as follows:
Error: number of variables exceeds 500

If you are using more than 200 different numeric variables in your
program, try putting some of them into ARRAYs.
Error: number of string variables exceeds 200
Error: number of string constants in a statement exceeds 150

You may have any number of string constants in a program, but no

more than 150 in each statement.
Error: found end of file before end of comment

You may get this error message if you forget to terminate a comment
that starts with “/*”.
Error: String “...” too long; truncated.

18-30 AllyCAD Reference Manual

The maximum length of a string constant is 255 characters;
anything longer will be truncated. This is a warning message; the
compiler still generates a binary file.
Error: number of constants in a statement exceeds 150

You may have any number of numeric constants in a program, but

no more than 150 in each statement
Symbol ... too long; truncated

The maximum length of an identifier is 31 characters.

Error on line x; array “....” has already been declared

This message reports a duplicated array name.

Error: number of procedures exceeds 30

If 30 procedures in a program is not enough for your application,

contact Knowledge Base.
Error: Duplicate procedure name “....”

You have two procedures with the same name in the macro. Change
the name of one of the procedures.
Error: maximum of 20 parameters per procedure

You may only pass in less than 20 parameters into a procedure.

Error: Constant too long; truncated

A numeric or string constant’s name is longer than 31 characters.

Error on line x; illegal dimension in array declaration

The dimension of an array must be a positive integer.

Error: number of arrays exceeds 50

There may not be more than 50 arrays in the program.

Compiled Macros 18-31

How does a compiled macro program differ?
String constants enclosed in quotation marks
The major difference between old-style (interpreted) macro programs
and the new compiled program syntax is that in the new syntax, all
character string constants must be enclosed in quotation marks,
otherwise they will be interpreted as numeric variables.
In the old-style syntax, this was not the case. For example, look at
the CURMODE and PARLLINE commands:
CURMODE f
PARLLINE Y Y [-160,115] [-50,115] 20 [-50,-35] 0

In the new syntax these commands would be:

CURMODE “f”
PARLLINE “Y” “Y” [-160,115] [-50,115] 20 [-50,-35] 0

Unintentional combination of numeric arguments

In the new syntax, when a command takes a numeric argument that
is followed by a negative numeric argument, the two arguments will
be interpreted as a subtraction expression, for example:
PARLLINE “Y” “N” 10 3 2 0 -10 4 2 0 0 “R”

In this example, the zero followed by the -10 will be interpreted as (0-
10). To prevent this unintentional effect, enclose the “-10” in
parentheses as follows:
PARLLINE “Y” “N” 10 3 2 0 (-10) 4 2 0 0 “R”

Commands/functions whose syntax has changed

ATAN2

Use a comma, not a colon, to separate the x and y parameters within

parentheses.

CIRDIA and GCIRDIA

The list of radii must not be enclosed in quotes. Numeric expressions

may be used for the radii, not only numeric constants.

18-32 AllyCAD Reference Manual

DIMPARM

The argument corresponding to the answer to the question “Do you

want tolerances on or off?” must now be a string containing “Y” or
“N”, not a numeric argument of 0 for NO or 1 for YES. This makes
the syntax more consistent.

WRITE

The TAB function can no longer be used.

List of compiled macro reserved words

Keywords
AND ARRAY AT
BREAK CALL CASE
DEFAULT END PROC ELSE
END EXIT IF
NOT NUMERIC OR
P ROC PTR RETURN
STRING SWITCH WHILE

Built-in numeric functions

ABS ACOS ASIN
ATAN ATAN2 COS
EOF INT LEN
LN NUM REPLY
NOREPLY SHELL SIN
SQRT STRCMP STRSTR
TAN VAL

Built-in string functions

CHR$ JOIN$ STRLWR$
STRUPR$ SUBSTR$ TRIM$
TRIMLEFT$ TRIMRIGHT$ VAL$
VALUNIT$ VALANG$ VALANGREL$

Compiled Macros 18-33

Compiled macro limits

Maximum number of numeric constants in one statement: 150

Maximum number of string constants in one statement: 150
Maximum number of numeric variables in a program: 500
Maximum number of string variables in a program: 200
Maximum number of arguments for one procedure: 20
Maximum number of procedures in a program: 50
Maximum number of numeric arrays in a program: 50
Maximum nesting level of WHILE statements: 20

18-34 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Appendix A - Functions
This Appendix lists the names of AllyCAD's functions as they appear
on the pull-down menus together with the actual names of these
functions that are executed when the menu options are chosen. You
need to know these names if you want to customise the menus,
toolbars or accelerators. Refer to CAD.MEN for details.
For further details on these functions see Macros, under the
headings given in brackets. Details of all the functions listed below
are given in the Macros section except the arrow key functions,
abort_repeat, about, done, enterpt, escape, helphelp, helpindex,
helpsearch, spnlinearc, and toresponse, as these are not relevant to
writing macros.

Appendix A - Functions 19-1

Function by Menu Name
This list shows the names of the functions as they appear on the
menu alphabetically on the left with the actual names of the
functions on the right.
Name Function
1 Parallel Element parll1
• 120 deg iso120
About about
Add Arrow arrow
Add Balloon balloon
Add Data Item data
Add/Rem Text Bubble addrbaln
Add Text text
• Align align
AllyCAD DOS Conversion Settings doscadsettings
Alter Dimension dimalter
Alter Existing Hatch addhatch
Angular Dimension adim
Arc 3 Point arc
Arc Radius arcr
Arrow keys a_down
a_downnoask
a_downleft
a_downleftnoask
a_downright
a_downrightnoask
a_left
a_leftnoask
a_right
a_rightnoask
a_up
a_upnoask
a_upleft
a_upleftnoask
a_upright
a_uprightnoask

19-2 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Name Function
Begin New Object begingroup
Bill of Materials bom
Blink Current Object blnkcurp
Cascade (Windows) cascade
Chamfer chamfer
Change Hook Point chpthook
• Change Magnify Factor chmag
Change Name renampat
Change Parent parent
Change Text Parameters edtext "C"
Circle (Draw) cir
Circle (Geometry) gcir
Circle 3 Point gc3point
• Circle Center Mode curmode "E"
Circle Diameter (Draw) cirdia
Circle Diameter(Geometry) gcirdia
Circle Tan 3L gctan3l
Circle Tan CC gctancc
Circle Tan LC gctanlc
Circle Tan LL gctanll
Circle Tan CPtRad gctancpt
Circle Tan LPt&Rad gctanlp
Circular Spline spline
Clear All (File) delall
Clear Selection clearsel
Close All (Windows) windowclose all
Contents helpindex
Copy copy
Copy Selected New Layer copytolayer
Create Block block
Cross gcross
Cubic Spline curve
Cut cut
Cut and Rub exec ".\macro\cut&rub"
Cut Dimension Line cutdimln

Appendix A - Functions 19-3

Name Function
.Define Zoom View zoom “D” , e.g. zoom "D" "0"
Delete delete
Delete All Geometry delgeom
Delete Geometry El delgeoel
• Demagnify demag
Digitizer Settings setdigitizer
Divide/Edit exec ".\macro\divedln";
Divide/Extend divide
Done done
Draw All Hatch plothat
Drawing Settings drawdef
Draw Selected Hatch plotwhat
Drop drop
Dump Data dumpdata
DXF Defaults dxfsettings
DXF/DWG Conversion Settings
Edit Data Item editdata
Edit Description descrip
Edit Dimension Properties eddim
Edit macro (File)
Edit Text edtext "E"
Ellipse ell
Ellipse 2 Arcs el2arc
Encode Macro encode
Enter Hatch/Solid Fill hatch
Exec Macro exec
Exit quit
Expand expand
Explode Object explode
Export Macro importexp "M"
Export Text importexp "T"
Fillet fillet
Fill Geom fillgeom
Fill Geom Arc fillgarc
Fill Geom Cir fillgcir

19-4 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Name Function
• Freehand Mode curmode "F"
• Geom Intersection Jump jumpgeom
• Geom Intersection Mode curmode "I"
• Grab All Mode curmode "A"
• Grid griddef
• Grid Mode curmode "G"
Group Into Object linksel
Hatch->Lines hatchtol
• Hold cursorhold
Horizontal Dimension hdim
How to Use Help helphelp
Import ASCII importext "A"
Import HPGL importexp "H"
Insert Block (Objects) insert
• Intersection Mode curmode "Z"
• Join Lines joinline
• Jump and Lock Line lockang "J"
• Jump Any Intersection jumpint
• Jump Circle Center jumpcen
• Jump Near Element jumpnear
• Jump to Grab All Cursor jumpall
• Jump Grid jumpgd
• Jump Point jumppt
Label Coord labcoord
• Last Fixed jumpfixed
Layer Control editlay
Line (Chained) line
Line Arc Line bentline
• Line Defaults linetype
Lines (Pt-Pt) ptline
Line Tan C glntanc
Line Tan CC glntancc
List Objects listpat
Load Bitmap loadbitmap
Load Geom loadgeom

Appendix A - Functions 19-5

Name Function
Load Layers loadlay
Load New Menu loadmenu
Load Symbol File newsymfl
Load Title Block exec ".\macro\loadtitl"
• Lock Geom Line lockang "G"
• Lock to Line lockang "L"
• Lock Keyboard lockang "K"
• Long Pan longpan
• Magnify magnify
Make Geometry makegeom
Make Symbol makesym
• Measure querydist
• Mid Point Jump jumpratio .5 "Y"
Mirror Image mirror
Move move
Move to Back movetoback
• Move to Coordinates curtocoordenter
Move To Front movetofront
Move Point exec ".\macro\movept"
Move Selected->New Layer wsnewlay
Move Text edtext "M"
Nearest Line/Arc Mode curmode "N"
New delall
New Geometry Colour geompen
Open readanyfile
Ordinate Dimension odim
• Pan pan
Parallel Defaults parlldef
Parallel Line (Draw) parlline
Parallel Line (Geometry) glineprl
Part Ellipse ellbit
Paste paste
Perp Bisector glnperpb
• Perpendicular yperp
Pick Index from Hatch (Annotate)

19-6 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Name Function
Point point
• Point Mode curmode "J"
Point-Point Line glinepp
• Polar Move polarenter
Polygon exec ".\macro\polygon"
Polygon Area qryarea
Polyline pline
Polyline Defaults plinedef
Polysnip
Print hardcopy
Print Setup printsetup
Purge Redundant Elements purge
Query Entity queryel
Radial Dimension rdim
• Ratio Jump jumpratio
Re-Center Paper centerpaper
Rectangle rect
• Redo redo
• Redraw refresh
Repair DRG File repair
Repeat repeat
Rotate rotate
Save save
Save AllyCAD DOS writedosally
Save As writeanyfile
Save Geometry storegeom
Save Layer storelay
Save Selected storews
Save Settings autosavedlg
Save Visible storevis
Scale scale
Scale Text edtext "S"
Search for Help On helpsearch
Select select
Select Normal selectnormal

Appendix A - Functions 19-7

Name Function
Select by Polygon selectpoly
Select Current Object newcurp "!"
Select Nodes selectnodes
Selection Filters selectdef
Set Alignment setalign
Set Arrow Defaults arrowdef
Set Balloon Defaults fitballn
Set Current Layer newlayer
Set Dim Defaults dimdef
Set Survey Defaults surveydimsetup
• Set Text Defaults textdef
Set Visible Layers showlayer
Sheet Size and Scale newscale
Show Nodes shownode
Show Objects allpats
Sketch freehand
Slope Dimension sdim
Slope Line glineslp
• Snap Mode snapdlg
Snip snip
Stretch stretch
Survey Dimension surveydim
Symbol symbol
System Settings
Tidy Polygons tidypoly
Tile Horizontally
Tile Vertically
Toolbars (View)
Trim trim
• Undo undo
• Unlock lockang "U"
Update Objects renew
Vertical Dimension vdim
• View Settings viewdef
Virtual Memory Settings setvmem

19-8 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Name Function
• Zoom All zoom "A"
• Zoom Last zoom "L"
• Zoom Next zoom "N"
Zoom Print zoomplot
• Zoom Scaled zoom "S"
• Zoom Selected zoom "E"
• Zoom Paper redraw
• Zoom View zoom "V" e.g. zoom "V" "0"
• Zoom Window zoom "W"

Appendix A - Functions 19-9

Functions A to Z
This list shows the actual names of the functions alphabetically on
the left with their corresponding menu names on the right. The
functions preceded by bullet points (•) are functions that it is safe to
make transparent.
Functions with a menu name of “n.i.” are not included in the default
menu.

Function Name
• a_down move down (Accurate Drawing ).
• a_downnoask move down the same distance you moved last time you moved
down (Accurate Drawing ).
• a_downleft move down and left (Accurate Drawing ).
• a_downleftnoask move down and left the same distance you moved last time
you moved down and left (Accurate Drawing ).
• a_downright move down and right (Accurate Drawing ).
• a_downrightnoask move down and right the same distance you moved last time
you moved down and right (Accurate Drawing ).
• a_left move left (Accurate Drawing ).
• a_leftnoask move left the same distance you moved last time you moved
left (Accurate Drawing ).
• a_right move right (Accurate Drawing ).
• a_rightnoask move right the same distance you moved last time you moved
right (Accurate Drawing ).
• a_up move up (Accurate Drawing ).
• a_upnoask move up the same distance you moved last time you moved up
(Accurate Drawing ).
• a_upleft move up and left (Accurate Drawing ).
• a_upleftnoask move up and left the same distance you moved last time you
moved up and left (Accurate Drawing ).
• a_upright move up and right (Accurate Drawing ).
• a_uprightnoask move up and right the same distance you moved last time you
moved up and right (Accurate Drawing ).
abort_repeat repeat last function.
about about AllyCAD (Help).
addhatch Alter Existing Hatch (Annotate).
addrbaln Add or Remove Text Bubble (Annotate).
addsym n.i. (Draw).
adim Angular Dimension (Annotate).

19-10 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Function Name
• align Align (Annotate).
e.g. Align "L"
alllayer n.i. (Settings).
allpats Show Objects (Objects).
arc Arc 3 Point (Draw).
arcr Arc Radius (Draw).
arrow Add Arrow (Annotate).
arrowdef Set Arrow Defaults (Settings).
arrsize n.i. (Settings).
autosavedlg Save Settings (File).
autosttg n.i. (File).
backcol n.i. (Settings).
backuptm n.i. (File)
balloon Add Balloon (Annotate).
beep n.i. (General Purpose Functions).
begingroup Begin New Object (Objects).
beginobj same as startpat.
bentline Line Arc Line (Draw).
bigcursor n.i. (Settings).
blnkcurobj same as blnkcurp.
blnkcurp Blink Current Object (Objects).
block Create block
bom Bill of Materials (Tools).
cascade Cascade (Windows)
centerpaper Re-Center Paper (Settings).
chamfer Chamfer (Modify).
chgcoord n.i. (Settings).
• chmag Change Magnify Factor (Settings).
chpthook Change Hook Point (Objects).
cir Circle (Draw).
cirdia Circle Diameter (Draw).
clearfilter n.i. (Edit).
clearsel Clear Selection (Edit).
close n.i. (ASCII Files).
copy Copy (Edit).

Appendix A - Functions 19-11

Function Name
copytolayer Copy Selected->New Layer (Modify).
create n.i. (ASCII Files).
cur n.i. (Data Entry Functions).
• curmode enter a Snap Mode (Settings).
e.g. curmode "F" = Freehand.
• cursorhold Hold (Tools).
• curtocoord n.i. (Tools).
• curtocoordenter Move to Coordinates (Tools)
curve Cubic Spline (Draw).
cut Cut (Edit).
cutdimln Cut Dimension Line (Annotate).
data Add Data Item (Tools).
ddeconnect n.i. (DDE Commands)
ddedisconnect n.i. (DDE Commands)
ddeexecute n.i. (DDE Commands)
ddepoke n.i. (DDE Commands)
dderequest n.i. (DDE Commands)
delall Clear All (File).
delel n.i. (Edit).
delgeoel Delete Geometry El (Geometry).
delgeom Delete All Geometry (Geometry).
delhatch n.i. (Edit).
dellayer n.i. (Edit).
delprev n.i. (Edit).
delselect Delete (Edit).
• demag Demagnify (View).
descrip Edit Description (File).
dimalter Alter Dimension (Annotate).
dimdef Set Dim Defaults (Settings).
dimparm n.i. (Settings).
divide Divide/Extend (Modify).
done cancels a function.
doscadsettings AllyCAD DOS Conversion settings
drawdef Drawing Settings (Settings).
drawlayer same as newlayer.

19-12 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Function Name
drop Drop (Modify).
dumpdata Dump Data (Tools).
dxfsettings DXF Defaults (Settings).
edarrow n.i. (Settings).
eddim Edit Dimension Properties (Annotate).
eddrinfo same as descrip.
editdata Edit Data Item (Tools).
editlay Layer Control (Settings).
editlp n.i. (Settings).
edpthook same as chpthook.
edtext Edit Text (Annotate). E.g.edtext “M” =Move Text
el2arc Ellipse 2 Arc (Modify).
ell Ellipse (Draw).
ellbit Part Ellipse (Draw).
encode Encode Macro (File).
endblock AutoCAD command - do not use.
enquire n.i. (Enquire).
• enterpt accept an answer or a point.
entsym same as symbol.
• escape cancel a function.
exec “\macro\cut&rub Cut and Rub
exec ".\macro\divedln"; Divide/Edit
execstep n.i. (Introduction and File).
expand Expand (Tools).
explode Explode Object (Objects).
filemenu n.i. (ASCII Files).
filetxt same as importexp "A".
fillet Fillet (Modify).
fillgarc Fill Geom Arc (Draw).
fillgcir Fill Geom Cir (Draw).
fillgeom Fill Geom (Draw).
fitballn Set Balloon Defaults (Settings).
freehand Sketch (Draw).
gc3point Circle 3 Point (Geometry).
gcir Circle (Geometry).

Appendix A - Functions 19-13

Function Name
gcirdia Circle Diameter (Geometry).
gcross Cross (Geometry).
gctan3l Circle Tan 3L (Geometry).
gctancc Circle Tan CC (Geometry).
gctancpt Circle Tan CPtRad (Geometry).
gctanlc Circle Tan LC (Geometry).
gctanll Circle Tan LL (Geometry).
gctanlp Circle Tan LPtRad (Geometry).
geompen New Geometry Colour (Geometry).
glinepp Point-Point Line (Geometry).
glineprl Parallel Line (Geometry).
glineslp Slope Line (Geometry).
glnperpb Perp Bisector (Geometry).
glntanc Line Tan C (Geometry).
glntancc Line Tan CC (Geometry).
grid n.i. (Tools).
• griddef Grid (Tools).
groupsel same as linksel.
hardcopy Print (File).
hatch Enter Hatch (Annotate).
hatchtol Hatch -> Lines (Annotate).
hdim Horizontal Dimension (Annotate).
helphelp How to Use Help (Help).
helpindex Contents (Help).
helpsearch Search for Help On (Help).
hemisphr n.i. (Settings).
• home jump to screen center.
impotexp Import/Export (File). e.g. importexp "H" = Import HPGL
insert Insert block
• iso120 120 deg (Tools).
isodraw n.i. (Settings).
joinline Join Lines (Modify).
• jumpall Jump to Grab All Cursor (Tools).
• jumpcen Jump Circle Center (Tools).
• jumpfixed Last Fixed (Tools).

19-14 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Function Name
• jumpgd Jump Grid (Tools).
• jumpgeom Geom Intersection (Tools).
• jumpint Jump Any Intersection (Tools).
• jumpnear Jump Near Element (Tools).
• jumppt Jump Point (Tools).
• jumpratio Jump Ratio (Tools).
labcoord Label Coord (Annotate).
layermag n.i. (Settings).
layhighl n.i. (Settings).
layname n.i. (Settings).
line Line (Chained) (Draw).
linestyleapply n.i. (Settings).
• linetype Line Defaults (Settings).
link n.i. (Objects).
linksel Group Into Object (Objects).
listpat List Objects (Objects).
load n.i. (File).
loadbitmap Load Bitmap (File).
loadgeom Load Geom (File).
loadlay Load Layers (File).
loadmenu n.i. (File).
• lockang Lock Cursor (Tools)e.g. lockang "L" = Lock to Line.
locklayer n.i. (Settings).
• longpan Long Pan (View).
• magnify Magnify (View).
makegeom Make Geometry (Geometry).
makesym Make Symbol (Objects).
mess n.i. (General Purpose Functions).
mirror Mirror (Modify).
move Move (Modify).
movetoback Move to Back (Edit).
movetofront Move to Front (Edit).
newcurp "!" Select Current Object (Objects).
newlayer Set Current Layer (Settings).
newscale n.i. (Settings).

Appendix A - Functions 19-15

Function Name
newsymfil Load Symbol File (File).
objhook same as chpthook.
odim Ordinate Dimension (Annotate).
open n.i. (ASCII Files).
opena n.i. (ASCII Files).
opendr n.i. (File).
• pan Pan (View).
parent Change Parent (Objects).
parll1 1 Parallel Element (Draw).
parlldef Parallel Defaults (Settings).
parlline Parallel Line (Draw).
paste Paste (Edit).
patnwlay n.i. (Modify).
pccwarcvertex AutoCAD command - do not use.
pcwarcvertex AutoCAD command - do not use.
pen n.i. (Settings).
pickhatx n.i. (Annotate).
picktxtp n.i. (Settings).
pline Polyline (Draw).
plinedef Polyline Defaults (Settings).
plothat Draw All Hatch (Annotate).
plotwhat Draw Selected Hatch (Annotate).
point Point (Draw).
• polar n.i. (Tools).
• polarenter Polar Move (Tools).
printsetup Print Setup (File).
ptline Line (Pt-Pt) (Draw).
purge Purge Redundant Elements (File).
pvertex n.i. (Draw).
qryarea Polygon Area (Tools).
• querydist Measure (Tools).
queryel Query Entity (Tools).
quit Exit (File).
rdim Radial Dimension (Annotate).
read n.i. (ASCII Files).

19-16 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Function Name
readacad n.i. (File).
readanyfile Open (File).
readln n.i. (ASCII Files).
rect Rectangle (Draw).
• redo Redo (Edit).
• redraw Zoom Paper (View).
• refresh Redraw (View).
renameobj same as renampat.
renampat Change Name (Objects).
renew Update Objects (Objects).
repair Repair DRG File (File).
repeat Repeat (Modify).
rewind n.i. (ASCII Files).
rotate Rotate (Modify).
rubberband n.i. (General Purpose Functions).
save Save (File).
scale Scale (Modify).
scrollbaron n.i. (Settings).
scrollbaroff n.i. (Settings).
sdim Slope Dimension (Annotate).
seek n.i. (ASCII Files).
select n.i. (Edit).
selectdef Selection Filters (Edit).
selecthatch n.i. (Edit).
selectlayer n.i. (Edit).
selectname n.i. (Edit).
selectnew n.i. (Edit).
selectnodes Select Nodes (Edit).
selectnormal Selectnormal (Edit).
selectobj same as selectname.
selectpoly Select Polygon (Selection Filters in Edit).
setalign Set Alignment (Annotate).
setangformat n.i. (Settings).
setareaunits n.i. (Settings).
setasklogon n.i. (Settings).

Appendix A - Functions 19-17

Function Name
setcur n.i. (General Purpose Functions).
setcurobj same as newcurp.
setdigitizer Digitizer Settings (Settings).
setlinedash n.i. (Settings).
setlayerdef n.i. (Settings).
setlinedef n.i. (Settings).
setmacpath n.i. (File).
setmacundo n.i. (General Purpose Functions).
setmacvar n.i. (Running Other Programs).
setnortheast n.i. (Settings).
setpaperextents n.i. (Settings).
setpaperunits n.i. (Settings).
setpath n.i. (File).
setpointdef n.i. (Settings).
setportrait n.i. (Settings).
setpowerbarfont n.i. (Settings).
setruler n.i. (Settings).
setsympath n.i. (File).
setunits n.i. (Settings).
setvmem Virtual Memory Settings (Settings).
setwritelog n.i. (Settings).
showlayer Set Visible Layers (Settings).
shownode Show Nodes (Tools).
showobjs same as allpats.
showpen n.i. (Settings).
• snapdlg Snap Modes (Settings).
snip Snip (Modify).
spline Circular Spline (Draw).
• spnlinearc add a line to a Circular Spline (Draw).
starthat n.i. (Annotate).
startpat n.i. (Objects).
showwindow n.i. (DDE Commands).
startsolid n.i. (Annotate).
store n.i. (File).
storegeom Save Geometry (File).

19-18 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Function Name
storelay Save Layer (File).
storevis Save Visible (File).
storews Save Selected (File).
stretch Stretch (Modify).
surveydimsetup Set Survey Defaults (Settings).
surveydm Survey Dimension (Annotate).
symbol Symbol (Draw).
tabfocustopower moves corsor to and from Control Bar.
• takelpen take line style from an existing line (see Line Defaults in
Settings).
tell n.i. (ASCII Files).
text Add Text (Annotate).
• textdef Set Text Defaults (Settings).
tidypoly Tidy Polygons (Tools).
• tinypsiz n.i. (Settings).
• togarcdot n.i. (Settings).
• togcoords n.i. (Settings).
• togfin n.i. (Settings).
• toggeom n.i. (Settings).
• togglebigcursor n.i. (Settings).
• toghatch n.i. (Settings).
• togpbox n.i. (Settings).
• togpolar n.i. (Settings).
• toresponse move the cursor to the Response Area so you can type in
commands.
trim Trim (Modify).
txtfile same as importexp "T".
• undo Undo (Edit).
units n.i. (Settings).
usehandles n.i. (Edit).
useswdottedlines n.i. (Settings).
vdim Vertical Dimension (Annotate).
• viewdef View Settings (Settings).
waitformessage n.i. (Running Other Programs).
width n.i. (Settings).
windowcloseall Close All (Windows)

Appendix A - Functions 19-19

Function Name
write n.i. (ASCII Files).
writeanyfile Save As (File).
writedosally Save AllyCAD DOS
wsnewlay Move Selected -> New Layer (Modify).
wtextparm n.i. (Settings).
• yperp Perpendicular (Tools).
• zoom Zooms (View). e.g. Zoom All = Zoom "A"
zoomplot Zoom Print (File).

Notes:

19-20 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Appendix B - Bitmap Names
This section lists all the bitmaps that are available and the function
each bitmap is usually associated with.

Appendix B - Bitmap Names 20-1

File Menu
Bitmap Function File Name Help Description
DELALL delall Clear drawing sheet
FILENEW filenew Start a new drawing
FILEOPEN fileopen Open DRG, DXF or DWG drawing
READANYFILE readanyf Merge a drawing with drawing on
screen
READACAD readacad Open AutoCAD DWG drawing
LOADBITMAP loadbitm Load raster file as backdrop
LOADMENU loadmenu Load new menu
FILETXT filetxt Import text from an ASCII file
LOADLAY loadlay Load layer
LOADGEOM loadgeom Load geometry
AUTOSAVEDLG autosave Set Save Settings
BACKUPTM backuptm Set time between auto backups
FILESAVE filesave Save
FILESAVEAS filesava Save As
STOREWS storews Save the selection set
STOREVIS storevis Save visible layers
STORELAY storelay Save layer
WRITEDOSALLY writedos Save drawing in DOS AllyCAD format
TXTFILE txtfile Save text on drawing to an ASCII file
STOREGEOM storegeo Save geometry
DUMPDOSMACRO dumpdosm Save drawing as AllyCAD DOS
macro
DESCRIP descrip Edit drawing description
NEWSYMFL newsymfl Load new symbol library
HARDCOPY hardcopy Print/Plot
ZOOMPLOT zoomplot Print part of a drawing
PRINTSETUP printset Print Setup
EXEC exec Execute a macro
EXECSTEP execstep Debug a macro by stepping through it

20-2 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Bitmap Function File Name Help Description
ENCODE encode Encode a macro
EDMACRO edmacro Edit a macro
REPAIR repair Repair a corrupted drawing
PURGE purge Delete duplicate
entities/unreferenced blocks/empty
layers
QUIT quit Exit

Appendix B - Bitmap Names 20-3

Edit Menu
Bitmap Function File Name Help Description
UNDO undo Undo
REDO redo Redo
CUT cut Copy selection set to Clipboard and
delete
COPY copy Copy selection set to Clipboard
PASTE paste Paste from Clipboard into CAD
DELSELECT delselec Delete selection set
DELPAT delpat Delete object
DELHATCH delhatch Delete hatch
SELECTDEF selectde Set selection filters
CLEARFILTER clearfil Clear the selection filters
SELECTHATCH selectha Select hatch
SELECTNAME selectna Select objects by name
SELECTOBJ selectob Select objects by clicking on them
SELECTLAYER selectla Select everything on a layer
SELECT select Select items by clicking / dragging
box
SELECTNODES selectno Select and drag nodes
SELECTPOLY selectpo Select entities inside a box or
polygon
CLEARSEL clearsel Clear selection set
USEHANDLES usehandl Turn dynamic stretch/rotate on/off
MOVETOFRONT movetof Move selection set to front
MOVETOBACK movetob Move selection set to back

20-4 AllyCAD Reference Manual

ViewMenu
Bitmap Function File Name Help Description
ZOOM zoom Show menu of zoom options
ZOOM W zoomw View area within a user-defined box
ZOOM L zooml Step backwards through zoom
sequence
ZOOM N zoomn Step forwards through zoom
sequence
ZOOM A zooma View whole drawing at maximum
size
ZOOM S zooms View drawing at specific scale
ZOOM E zoome Zoom into the selection set
ZOOM V zoomv Zoom into a pre-defined view
ZOOM D zoomd Define zoom views
MAGNIFY magnify Magnify drawing at cursor position
DEMAG demag Demagnify drawing at cursor position
PAN pan Pan to cursor position
LONGPAN longpan Pan using pan box
REFRESH refresh Refresh screen after editing or
deleting
REDRAW redraw View entire sheet of paper

Appendix B - Bitmap Names 20-5

Draw Menu
Bitmap Function File Name Help Description
LINE line Draw joined lines
PTLINE ptptline Draw individual lines
POINT point Draw point
RECT rect Draw rectangle
ARC arc Draw arc through three points
ARC arcr Draw arc by end points and radius
CIR cir Draw circle by centre point and point
on circumference
CIRDIA cirdia Draw up to 5 concentric circles by
centre point and diameter
CIR2P cir2pt Draw circle through two points
BENTLINE bentline Draw line-arc-line sequence with
variable arc radii
PARLLINE parlline Draw multiple pre-defined parallel
lines
PARLL1 parll1 Draw single lines/arcs parallel to
existing lines/arcs
FILLGCIR fillgcir Draw circle by tracing over geometry
circle
FILLGARC fillgarc Draw arc by tracing over portion of
geometry circle
FILLGEOM fillgeom Draw lines and arcs by tracing over
geometry
ELL ell Draw ellipse by centre point, aspect
ratio and angle
ELLBIT ellbit Draw part-ellipse by centre point,
aspect ratio and angle

SP SPLINE spline Draw a circular spline composed of

arcs
SPNLINEARC spnline Add a tangential line to a circular
spline
CURVE curve Draw cubic spline composed of
many small lines
PLINE polyline Draw polyline or Bezier curve
SYMBOL symbol Add pre-drawn symbol to drawing
FREEHAND sketch Draw freehand

20-6 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Modify Menu
Bitmap Function File Name Help Description
STRETCH stretch Stretch
MOVE move Move selection set
MIRROR mirror Mirror selection set
SCALE scale Resize selection set
REPEAT repeat Copy selection set in a linear or polar
fashion
DROP drop Copy selection set
ROTATE rotate Rotate selection set
TRIM trim Trim lines/arcs
FILLET fillet Fillet (insert radiused corner between
two lines/arcs)
CHAMFER chamfer Chamfer (insert sloping line between
two lines/arcs)
DIVIDE divide Break or extend a line or arc
JOINLINE joinline Heal a broken line
SNIP snip Rub out everything inside/outside a
box/circle
POLYSNIP polysnip Rub out everything inside/outside an
irregular polygon
WSNEWLAY wsnewl Move selection set to another layer
COPYTOLAYER copytola Copy selection set to another layer
EL2ARC el2arc Convert ellipse to 12 arcs for
snapping/hatching

Appendix B - Bitmap Names 20-7

Geometry Menu
Bitmap Function File Name Help Description
GCROSS gcross Draw geometry cross
GLINESLP glineslp Draw geometry line through a point
and at a specified angle
GLINEPP glinepp Draw geometry line through two
points
GLINEPRL glineprl Draw geometry line/circle paralell to
existing line/arc/circle
GCIR gcir Draw geometry circle by centre point
and point on edge
GCIRDIA gcirdia Draw up to 5 concentric geometry
circles
GCTANLL gctanll Draw geometry circle tangent to two
lines
GCTANLC gctanlc Draw geometry circle tangent to a
line and a circle
GCTANCC gctancc Draw geometry circle tangent to two
circles
GCTAN3L gctan3l Draw geometry circle tangent to
three lines
GCTANLP gctanlp Draw geometry circle tangent to line
and through point
GCTANCPT gctancpt Draw geometry circle tangent to
circle and through point
GC3POINT gc3point Draw geometry circle through three
points
GLNTANC glntanc Draw geometry line tangent to circle
GLNTANCC glntancc Draw geometry line tangent to two
circles
GLNPERPB glnperpb Draw a perpendicular bisector
MAKEGEOM makegeom Copy an existing entity to geometry
DELGEOEL delgeoel Delete a geometry element
DELGEOM delgeom Delete all geometry

20-8 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Annotate Menu
Bitmap Function File Name Help Description
TEXT text Add text
EDTEXT edtext Edit text
SETALIGN align setalign
ALIGN align Align or distribute selection set using
current align settings
HDIM hdim Dimension a horizontal distance
VDIM vdim Dimension a vertical distance
SDIM sdim Dimension a sloped distance
ADIM adim Dimension an angle or arclength
RDIM rdim Dimension an arc or circle
ODIM odim Dimension points with ordinate
dimensions
SURVEYDM surveydm Dimension a line with its length and
bearing
DIMALTER dimalter Alter entity by changing dimension
text
EDDIM eddim Edit dimension
CUTDIMLN cutdimln Cut dimension witness line
ARROW arrow Add arrow
EDARROW edarrow Edit arrow
BALLOON balloon Add balloon (item reference)
ADDRBALN addrbaln Add/remove text bubble from piece
of text
HATCH hatch Hatch/solid fill an area
PICKHATX pickhatx Take hatch settings from existing
hatch
ADDHATCH addhatch Edit or add to a hatch/solid fill
HATCHTOL hatchtol Convert hatch to lines
PLOTHAT plothat Display all hatching
PLOTWHAT plotwhat Display selected hatching
LABCOORD labcoord Add coordinate labels at points or in
a table

Appendix B - Bitmap Names 20-9

Tools Menu
Bitmap Function File Name Help Description
SHOWNODE shownode Display nodes
DUMPDATA dumpdata Create ASCII file of detailed
information about objects
GRIDDEF griddef Set up grid
QUERYDIST querydis Measure the distance and angle
between two points
QRYAREA qryarea Measure an area and perimeter
SETUSEWIDTHPERIM setusewp Use line weights in perimeter
calculations
DATA data Attach data to a coordinate location
EDITDATA editdata Edit data attached to a coordinate
location
QUERYEL queryel Query an entity for all of its
properties
BOM bom Create a bill of materials
TIDYPOLY tidypoly Tidy digitized / vectorized input
EXPAND expand Automatically produce a detailed
view

20-10 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Objects Menu
Bitmap Function File Name Help Description
BEGINOBJ beginobj Start a new object - object can’t be
selected with one click
BEGINGROUP begingro Start a new object – object can be
selected with one click
LINKSEL linksel Group selection set into an object
MAKESYM makesym Create an object by following
prompts
PARENT parent Start new parent
RENAMPAT renampat Rename object
OBJHOOK objhook Move object hook point
EXPLODE explode Explode Object
SHOWOBJS showobjs View Objects
LISTPAT listpat Write ASCII list of objects
RENEW renew Search and replace objects
SETCUROBJ setcurob Set current object
BLNKCUROBJ blnkcuro Blink current object

Appendix B - Bitmap Names 20-11

Settings Menu
Bitmap Function File Name Help Description
DRAWDEF drawdef Set up drawing, e.g. scale, units,
paper size
CHGCOORD chgcoord Set coodinate system
NEWSCALE newscale Set sheet size and scale
SETUNITS setunits Set drawing units
SETANGFORMAT setangfo Set angular format, e.g. degrees, dd
mm ss
SETPORTRAIT setportr Set paper orientation - portrait or
landscape
SETPAPEREXTENTS setpaper Type user-defined paper width and
height
SETNORTHEAST setnorth Set coordinates – northing,easting or
easting,northing
HEMISPHR hemisphr Set coordinate system for
northern/southern hemisphere
ISODRAW isodraw Set grid to isometric, i.e. points at 30,
-30 and 90 degrees
VIEWDEF viewdef Set view settings, e.g. background
colour, hatch display
BACKCOL backcol Set screen background colour
SETPOWERBARFONT setpower Set font used on control bar
SETPOINTDEF setpoint Set point style, e.g. size, shape
TOGCOORDS togcoord Turn coordinate display on/off
TOGGEOM toggeom Turn geometry on/off
TOGFIN togfin Turn annotations on/off
TOGPOLAR togpolar Switch between absolute and polar
coordinate display
TOGHATCH toghatch Turn hatch display on/off
TOGARCDOT togarcd Turn arc/circle centre dot display
on/off
TOGLSYM toglsym Display symbol strings/wide lines in
detail/as ordinary lines
SCROLLBARON togscrol Turn scrollbars on/off
USESWDOTTEDLINES useswdot Display dashed lines less/more
accurately (faster/slower)

20-12 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Bitmap Function File Name Help Description
TOGGLEBIGCURSOR togglebi Turn big cursor on/off
SETRULER setruler Turn ruler on/off
TINYPSIZ tinypsiz Set size below which objects are
displayed as boxes
CENTERPAPER recenter Recentre the drawing on the paper
CHMAG chmag Change magnification factor
SETVMEM setvmem Set virtual memory
SETDIGITIZER setdigit Set up digitiser
DXFSETTINGS dxfsetti Set up DRG/DXF/DWG font
conversions
DOSCADSETTINGS dosset Set up AllyCAD32 to AllyCAD DOS
conversion
GEOMPEN geompen Set geometry line colour
PEN pen Set line colour
WIDTH width Set line width
LINETYPE linetype Set line colour, type and width
TAKELPEN takelpen Take line style settings from existing
line
LINESYMBOL linesymbol Create a line style made up of
objects
PLINEDEF plinedef Set up polylines, e.g. colour, hatch,
whether it’s a Bezier
PARLLDEF parlldef Set up parallel lines, e.g. number of
lines, offsets, colours
TEXTDEF textdef Set text parameters, e.g. colour, font
PICKTXTP picktxtp Take text parameters from existing
text
DIMDEF dimdef Set dimension parameters, e.g.
colour, font, arrow style
SURVEYDIMSETUP surveydi Set up survey dimensions, e.g.
bearing and distance positions
ARROWDEF arrowdef Set arrow parameters, e.g. colour,
size and type of head
FITBALLN fitballn Set balloon parameters, e.g.
draw/don’t draw an arrow
SYSTEMDEF systemde Set system defaults, e.g. log file, ask
for logon etc.
SETWRITELOG setwrite Write log of drawing session/Don’t

Appendix B - Bitmap Names 20-13

Bitmap Function File Name Help Description
write log
SETMACAUTOCOMP setmacau Autocompile macros / use old
macros
SETASKLOGON setasklo Ask for user name when ChoiceCAD
starts up
NEWLAYER newlayer Set current layer
SHOWLAYER showlaye Set visible layers
EDITLAY editlay Add, edit, lock or highlight layers
LAYNAME layname Rename a layer
LOCKLAYER locklaye Lock layer so contents cannot be
edited
DELLAYER dellayer Delete a layer
LAYHIGHL layhighl Highlight Layers
ALLLAYER alllayer Allow functions to work on all
layers/current only
LAYERMAG layermag Set layer magnification

20-14 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Windows Menu
Bitmap Function File Name Help Description
WINDOWNEW windowne Create a new window
WINDOWCASCADE windowca Cascade windows
WINDOWTILEHORZ windowth Tile windows horizontally
WINDOWTILEVERT windowtv Tile windows vertically

Appendix B - Bitmap Names 20-15

Cursor Movement
Bitmap Function File Name Help Description
A_UP a_up Move up
A_DOWN a_down Move down
A_LEFT a_left Move left
A_RIGHT a_right Move right
A_UPRIGHT a_upr Move up and right
A_DOWNRIGHT a_downr Move down and right
A_UPLEFT a_upl Move up and left
A_DOWNLEFT a_downl Move down and left
A_UPNOASK na_up Move up by last used distance
A_DOWNNOASK na_down Move down by last used distance
A_LEFTNOASK na_left Move left by last used distance
A_RIGHTNOASK na_right Move right by last used distance
A_UPRIGHTNOASK na_upr Move up and right by last used
distance
A_DOWNRIGHTNOASK na_downr Move down and right by last used
distance
A_UPLEFTNOASK na_upl Move up and left by last used
distance
A_DOWNLEFTNOASK na_downl Move down and left by last used
distance
JUMPALL jumpall Jump to nearest point within Graball
cursor box
JUMPGD jumpgd Jump to nearest grid point
JUMPPT jumppt Jump to nearest point of any type
JUMPCEN jumpcen Jump to nearest arc or circle centre
point
JUMPNEAR jumpnear Jump to nearest element of any type
JUMPGEOM jumpgeom Jump to nearest geometry
intersection
JUMPINT jumpint Jump to nearest intersection of any
type
JUMPRATIO jumprat Jump to fraction of distance between
two points or along line
JUMPRATIO .5 Y jumpmid Jump to mid-point of a line

20-16 AllyCAD Reference Manual

Bitmap Function File Name Help Description
JUMPFIXED jumpfix Jump to last fixed point
HOME home Jump to screen centre
POLAR polar Jump to a specific distance and
angle (polar move)
CURTOCOORD curtocoo Jump to a specific XY coordinate
location
SNAPDLG snapdlg Select snap mode
CURMODE F curmodef Freehand Mode
CURMODE A curmodea Graball Snap Mode
CURMODE G curmodeg Grid Snap Mode
CURMODE J curmodej Point Snap Mode
CURMODE E curmodee Circle Centre Snap Mode
CURMODE N curmoden Nearest Snap Mode
CURMODE I curmodei Geometry Intersection Snap Mode
CURMODE Z curmodez Intersection Scap Mode
CURMODE P curmodep Perpendicular Mode
CURMODE T curmodet Tangent Mode
POLARENTER polarent Move a specific distance and angle
CURTOCOORDENTER curtocoe Move to a specific XY coordinate
location
LOCKANG lockang Set lock angle
LOCKANG U lockangu Clear lock angle
LOCKANG L lockangl Set lock angle to angle of a line
LOCKANG G lockangg Set lock angle to angle of a geometry
line
LOCKANG K lockangk Set lock angle by typing it in
YPERP yperp Set lock angle to orthogonal of
current lock angle
ISO120 iso120 Toggle lock angle between 30, -30
and 90 degrees
CURSORHOLD setsquar Lock cursor to lock angle/unlock
cursor

Appendix B - Bitmap Names 20-17

General
Bitmap Function File Name Help Description
ABORT_REPEAT abort_re Repeat last function
DONE done End current function
ENTERPT enterpt Accept a point
ESCAPE cancel Cancel current function
HELPINDEX helpind Help
SHOWTOOLBAR showtool Display a toolbar
TORESPONSE torespon Move cursor focus to command line

20-18 AllyCAD Reference Manual

 Index
.
.BAK Files .................................................................................. 1-24

1
1 Parallel Element ...................................................................... 4-17
120 deg........................................................................................ 8-4

A
ABACKUP1.DRG ........................................................................ 1-30
ABACKUP2.DRG ........................................................................ 1-30
Accelerator Keys
adding macros to .................................................................... 14-8
customising ............................................................................ 14-6
Accept Button (in Perimeter Menu) ......................................... 12-144
Accuracy of AllyCAD................................................................. 10-11
Add Arrow.................................................................................. 7-61
Add Balloon ..................................... 7-63, see Add/Rem Text Bubble
Add Data Item............................................................................ 8-31
Add Nodes.................................................................................. 8-46
Add Text ...................................................................................... 7-2
Add/Rem Text Bubble........................................... 7-65, see Balloons
Adding Users.............................................................................. 13-3
Add-Ons, Loading ...................................................................... 1-18
Align ................................................................................... 7-7, 7-18
Alignment
aligning objects to a grid ........................................................... 7-7
aligning objects with each other ................................................ 7-7
aligning text ............................................................................ 7-18
spacing objects evenly ............................................................. 7-15
All Colours to Black ................................................................... 1-45
Alter Dimension ................................................................ 7-26, 7-55
Alter Existing Hatch ................................................................... 7-72
Angles
dimensioning .......................................................................... 7-36
how measured and displayed ................................................ 10-12
isometric ................................................................................... 8-4
locking the cursor to move at ......................................... see Cursor
measuring............................................................................... 8-28
querying.................................................................................. 8-34
Angular Dimension .................................................................... 7-36
Angular Format........................................................................ 10-12
dialogue box.......................................................................... 10-12
saving defaults ........................................................................ 13-1
Annotation to Draw.................................................................. 10-15
Application Error Message ......................................................... 1-51
Arc 3 Point................................................................................... 4-6
Arc Lengths
dimensioning .......................................................................... 7-36
Arc Lengths, Querying ............................................................... 8-34
Arc Radius ................................................................................... 4-7
Architectural Style Dimensions ....................................... 7-27, 10-44
Arcs
adding to a perimeter ..............................................12-144, 12-146
between 2 lines ................................................................. see Fillet
by 2 points and radius .............................................................. 4-7
by 3 points................................................................................ 4-6
circle by 2 points..................................................................... 4-11
circle by centre point and diameter ......................................... 4-10
circle by centre point and radius ............................................... 4-9
concentric circles .................................................................... 4-10
deleting part of........................... 5-20, 5-22, 5-23, 5-29, 5-33, 5-36
dimensioning arc lengths ........................................................ 7-36
dimensioning diameters .......................................................... 7-45
dimensioning radii .................................................................. 7-45
dividing................................................................................... 5-29
don't print or print incorrectly ................................................. 1-45
extending or shortening ............................... 5-20, 5-22, 5-23, 5-29
extracting information about ................................................... 8-21
joining ......................................................... 5-20, 5-22, 5-23, 5-29
line arc line sequences ............................................................ 4-12
parallel ............................................................... 4-15, 4-17, 10-28
projecting to geometry ............................................................. 6-36
splitting .................................................................................. 5-29
text around ............................................................................... 7-4
tracing over geometry arcs ...................................................... 4-23
tracing over geometry circles ................................................... 4-22
trimming.................................... 5-20, 5-22, 5-23, 5-29, 5-33, 5-36
viewing centre points ............................................................ 10-15
ARCTEXT.MAC ............................................................................ 7-4
Areas, Measuring .............................................................. 8-29, 9-13
Arithmetic Operators
in macros.............................................................................. 17-14
Arrows ........................................................... see Set Arrow Defaults
dimension ........................................................... see Dimensioning
drawing................................................................................... 7-61
editing ......................................................................... 2-13, 10-49
extracting information about ................................................... 8-24
part of arrow doesn't behave like an arrow .............................. 7-61
saving defaults........................................................................ 13-1
ASCII Files
exporting................................................................................. 1-41
importing ................................................................................ 1-39
Associative Dimensions .............................................................. 7-20
Attributes................................................................... 4-41, 9-4, 9-17
adding to an object in a drawing.............................................. 8-43
adding to an object in a symbol library .................................... 8-41
creating an object with ............................................................ 8-40
deleting from an object in a drawing ........................................ 8-43
deleting from an object in a symbol library .............................. 8-42
displaying ............................................................................... 1-36
editing in a drawing ................................................................ 8-43
editing in a symbol library....................................................... 8-41
extracting in a bill of materials ................................................ 8-36
inserting objects with attributes into a drawing ....................... 8-42
viewing in a drawing................................................................ 8-43
AutoCAD
block statistics ........................................................................ 1-32
centering drawings on the paper ........................................... 10-20
drawing origin ........................................................................... 1-7
drawing scale ................................................................... 1-7, 1-24
exporting bitmaps to ............................................................... 1-24
exporting colours to ................................................................ 1-23
exporting DWG files to............................................................. 1-21
exporting DXF files to .............................................................. 1-21
exporting fonts to .................................................................... 1-23
exporting line types to .................................................... 1-24, 16-2
imported drawings are very slow ............................................... 1-8
importing attributes from .......................................................... 1-8
importing colours from .............................................................. 1-6
importing dimensions from........................................................ 1-8
importing DWG files from ............................................ 1-3, 1-4, 1-9
importing DXF files from ............................................. 1-3, 1-4, 1-9
importing fonts from ................................................................. 1-6
importing line types from ................................................. 1-7, 16-2
part of imported drawing is missing........................................... 1-7
version .................................................................................. 10-55
what AllyCAD supports .................................................... 1-4, 1-22
Automatic Perimeter Tracking ................................................ 12-147

B
Background Colour .................................................................. 10-15
saving default.......................................................................... 13-1
Backups
.BAK files ................................................................................ 1-24
ABACKUP1.DRG ..................................................................... 1-30
 ABACKUP2.DRG ..................................................................... 1-30
prompting for.......................................................................... 1-30
where stored ........................................................................... 1-30
Balloons.................................................... see Add/Rem Text Bubble
drawing................................................................................... 7-63
saving defaults........................................................................ 13-1
setting style .......................................................................... 10-51
Bearings .................................................................................. 10-12
Begin New Object ......................................................................... 9-6
Bezier Curves......................................................... 4-31, 4-33, 10-25
Bill of Materials................................................................. 1-36, 8-35
troubleshooting....................................................................... 8-44
Bitmaps
appear as hatched rectangles ................................................ 10-18
cut and paste............................................................................ 2-3
displaying .................................................. 1-14, 1-15, 1-16, 10-18
editing parameters .................................................................. 2-13
exporting to AutoCAD ............................................................. 1-24
loading........................................................................... 1-12, 1-17
moving behind other elements................................................. 1-13
placeholders.......................................................................... 10-18
real world pixel size................................................................. 1-13
resample mode...................................................... 1-14, 1-15, 1-16
saving drawings containing ............................................ 1-13, 1-24
viewing selected .................................................................... 10-18
Bitmaps to Draw ...................................................................... 10-18
Blink Current Object.................................................................. 9-25
Block Inserts
extracting information about ................................................... 8-25
Blocks
extracting information about ................................................... 8-19
purging unreferenced .............................................................. 1-52
statistics ................................................................................. 1-32
BOM ....................................................................see Bill of Materials
Bubbles ..................................... see Add/Rem Text Bubble; Balloons

C
CAD.INI ............................................................................ 13-3, 13-5
CAD.LOG ................................................................................... 13-3
CAD.MEN .................................................................................. 13-3
Calculations
in macros.............................................................................. 17-13
Cancel Button (in Perimeter Menu)......................................... 12-144
Centering Drawing on Paper..................................................... 10-20
Chained Dimensions .................................................................. 7-21
Chamfer..................................................................................... 5-27
Change Hook Point.............................................................. 9-3, 9-21
Change Magnify Factor............................................................. 10-22
Change Name...................................................................... 9-3, 9-19
Change Text Parameters............................................................... 7-6
Circle (Draw) ................................................................................ 4-9
Circle (Geometry).......................................................................... 6-7
Circle 2 Point ............................................................................. 4-11
Circle 3 Pt .................................................................................. 6-27
Circle Diameter (Draw) ............................................................... 4-10
Circle Diameter (Geometry)........................................................... 6-8
Circle Tan 3L ............................................................................. 6-19
Circle Tan CC............................................................................. 6-14
Circle Tan CPtRad...................................................................... 6-23
Circle Tan LC ............................................................................. 6-11
Circle Tan LL................................................................................ 6-9
Circle Tan LPtRad ...................................................................... 6-21
Circles ................................................................................. see Arcs
isometric ............................................................................... 10-11
Circular Copy............................................................................. 5-13
Circular Spline ........................................................................... 4-28
Clear Selection ........................................................................... 2-22
Clipboard .............................................................................. 2-3, 2-4
Colour, Background ................................................................. 10-15
saving default.......................................................................... 13-1
COMPASS.DRG.......................................................................... 13-3
COMPASSN.DRG ....................................................................... 13-3
Macros....................................................................................... 18-1
Compiled Macro ......................................................................... 18-1
Control Bar Font ...................................................................... 10-15
Coordinate Display
absolute or polar coordinates ................................................ 10-14
Coordinate System ..................................................................... 10-9
Coordinates
displaying ............................................................................. 10-14
extracting................................................................................ 8-17
in macros.............................................................................. 17-11
labelling .................................................................................. 7-77
linking information to.............................................................. 8-31
linking text to.......................................................................... 8-31
listing...................................................................................... 7-77
querying.................................................................................. 8-34
saving defaults ........................................................................ 13-1
table of.................................................................................... 7-77
Copy ............................................................................................ 2-3
Copy Selected->New Layer.......................................................... 5-41
Copying...................................................................................... 5-17
 by cursor ....................................................................... 2-12, 2-14
circular copy ........................................................................... 5-13
items to another layer ............................................................. 5-41
linear copy .............................................................................. 5-13
polar copy ............................................................................... 5-13
to Clipboard .............................................................................. 2-3
Corrupted Drawings................................................................... 1-51
Counting Objects ....................................................................... 9-13
Create Block .............................................................................. 9-27
Cross ........................................................................................... 6-2
Cubic Spline .............................................................................. 4-29
Current Layer ............................................................... 10-68, 10-72
Current Object
highlighting............................................................................. 9-25
selecting ................................................................................. 9-25
Cursor
changing locked angle by 120 degrees ....................................... 8-4
changing locked angle by 90 degrees......................................... 8-3
locking...................................................................................... 8-4
locking to a user-defined angle.................................................. 8-3
locking to isometric angles ........................................................ 8-4
locking to the angle of a geometry line ....................................... 8-3
locking to the angle of a line...................................................... 8-3
select cursor (arrow-shaped) ..................................................... 2-6
unlocking permanently ............................................................. 8-6
unlocking temporarily ............................................................... 8-4
Customising AllyCAD
accelerator (short-cut) keys ..................................................... 14-6
icons....................................................................................... 14-2
toolbars .................................................................................. 14-2
Cut .............................................................................................. 2-3
Cut and Rub .............................................................................. 5-33
Cut Dimension Line ................................................................... 7-54

D
Data Items ................................................................................. 8-31
editing .................................................................................... 8-33
viewing ................................................................................. 10-18
Debugging Macros ..................................................................... 17-7
Decimal Places
number of angular ................................................................ 10-12
number shown on dimensions .............................................. 10-44
number that AllyCAD is accurate to ...................................... 10-11
Define Zoom View ........................................................................ 3-8
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds................................................. 10-12
Delete .......................................................................................... 2-5
Delete All Geometry.................................................................... 6-39
Delete Geometry El..................................................................... 6-38
Deleting ....................................................................................... 2-5
duplicate entities............................................................ 1-52, 8-45
everything inside a box or circle .............................................. 5-36
everything outside a box or circle ............................................ 5-36
geometry ........................................................................ 6-38, 6-39
layers .................................................................................... 10-71
overlapping entities ................................................................. 8-45
part of a defined perimeter .................................................. 12-148
part of a dimension witness line .............................................. 7-54
part of a line or arc..................... 5-20, 5-22, 5-23, 5-29, 5-33, 5-36
part of an ellipse ............................................................ 4-26, 5-42
redundant lines....................................................................... 8-45
snipping.................................................................................. 5-36
trimming .................................... 5-20, 5-22, 5-23, 5-33, 5-36, 8-45
unreferenced blocks ................................................................ 1-52
unused layers ......................................................................... 1-52
users....................................................................................... 13-4
very short lines ....................................................................... 8-45
Demagnify.................................................................................. 3-12
changing demagnify factor..................................................... 10-22
Deselecting
everything ...................................................................... 2-18, 2-22
individual primitives / objects ................................................... 2-8
Digitizer ..................................................................................... 8-45
Digitizer Settings ...................................................................... 10-58
Dimensioning
angles ..................................................................................... 7-36
arc lengths .............................................................................. 7-36
diameters ................................................................................ 7-45
radii ........................................................................................ 7-45
Dimensions....................................................... see Set Dim Defaults
adding notes to ....................................................................... 7-52
angular ................................................................................... 7-36
architectural style ........................................................ 7-27, 10-44
arrow style ............................................................................ 10-41
associative .............................................................................. 7-20
chained................................................................................... 7-21
deleting parts of witness lines.................................................. 7-54
editing............................................................................ 2-13, 7-52
editing arrow heads................................................................. 7-52
editing text and resizing object to fit .................see Alter Dimension
editing text without affecting dimensioned object............ 7-25, 7-52
editing witness line colour ....................................................... 7-52
extracting information about ................................................... 8-22
 free ......................................................................................... 7-22
generic............................................................. see Alter Dimension
horizontal ............................................................................... 7-20
isometric...................................................................... 7-30, 10-11
mechanical style .......................................................... 7-21, 10-43
number of decimal places shown........................................... 10-44
ordinate .................................................................................. 7-48
radial ...................................................................................... 7-45
running .................................................................................. 7-21
saving defaults........................................................................ 13-1
sloped ..................................................................................... 7-30
style...................................................................................... 10-41
survey..................................................................................... 7-50
survey dimension style.......................................................... 10-46
switching off ......................................................................... 10-15
text ......................................................................................... 7-24
text disappears .......................................................... 10-15, 10-19
text drawn as boxes ................................................... 10-16, 10-19
text drawn as dots ................................................................ 10-19
text style ............................................................................... 10-44
tolerances ...................................................................... 7-24, 7-52
vertical.................................................................................... 7-29
witness line style................................................................... 10-41
Display Scroll Bars .................................................................. 10-18
Distance, Measuring .................................................................. 8-28
Distribution ............................................................................... 7-15
Divide/Edit ................................................................................ 5-30
Divide/Extend ........................................................................... 5-29
Dividing Lines or Arcs ................................................................ 5-29
DOM .......................................................see Drawing Office Manager
DOM.TXT................................................................................... 13-3
Dos Conversion........................................................................ 10-56
Dotted (in Perimeter Menu) .................................................... 12-148
Double Click Editing .................................................................. 2-12
Drag and Snap........................................................................... 2-12
Dragging ........................................................................... 2-12, 2-14
Draw All Hatch .......................................................................... 7-73
Draw Menu .................................................................................. 4-1
Draw Selected Hatch.................................................................. 7-73
Drawing Border................................................... see Load Title Block
Drawing Description .................................................................. 1-32
Drawing Frame ................................................... see Load Title Block
Drawing Information .................................................................. 8-17
Drawing Office Manager .................................. 1-25, 1-26, 1-31, 1-32
Drawing Scale..................................................................... see Scale
Drawing Settings........................................................................ 10-2
Drawing Sheet..................................................... see Load Title Block
Drawing Statistics ...................................................................... 1-32
Drawing Units ............................................................................ 10-6
area ........................................................................................ 10-7
changing ................................................................................. 10-8
imperial and metric on same drawing...................................... 10-8
linear ...................................................................................... 10-7
saving default.......................................................................... 13-1
Drawing won't Load.................................................................... 1-51
DrawingCliptidy ......................................................................... 8-51
Drawingsnaptidy ........................................................................ 8-49
Drop .......................................................................................... 5-17
Dump Data ................................................................................ 8-17
Duplicate Entities, Deleting ............................................... 1-52, 8-45
DWG Files..................................................................... see AutoCAD
DXF Files ...................................................................... see AutoCAD
DXF/DWG Conversion Settings................................................ 10-54

E
Edit Data Item ........................................................................... 8-33
Edit Description ......................................................................... 1-32
Edit Dimension .......................................................................... 7-52
Edit Dimension Properties.......................................................... 7-52
Edit Macro ................................................................................. 1-50
Edit Object................................................................................. 9-19
Edit Text ...................................................................................... 7-5
Elements...................................................................... see Primitives
Ellipse2Arcs ...................................................................... 5-42, 5-44
Ellipses ...................................................................................... 4-25
extracting information about ................................................... 8-21
hatching ........................................................................ 4-26, 5-42
jumping and snapping to ............................................... 4-26, 5-42
part ellipses ............................................................................ 4-26
snipping part of.............................................................. 4-26, 5-42
Encode Macro ............................................................................ 1-50
Enter Hatch/Solid Fill ................................................................ 7-66
Entities ........................................................................ see Primitives
Erasing ........................................................................... see Deleting
Error Messages .......................................................................... 1-51
Exec Macro ....................................................................... 1-50, 17-8
Exit............................................................................................ 1-58
Expand ............................................................................. 8-53, 8-60
Export Macro .................................................................... 1-40, 17-6
Export Text ................................................................................ 1-41
Exporting
ASCII ...................................................................................... 1-41
 drawing data........................................................................... 8-17
DWG files................................................................... see AutoCAD
DXF files .................................................................... see AutoCAD
HPGL ...................................................................................... 1-46
Plot Files ................................................................................. 1-46
via Clipboard ............................................................................ 2-3
Extending Lines ......................................................................... 8-45
Extending Lines or Arcs .................................. 5-20, 5-22, 5-23, 5-29

F
File Menu..................................................................................... 1-1
Fill Geom ................................................................................... 4-21
Fill Geom Arc ............................................................................. 4-23
Fill Geometry Cir........................................................................ 4-22
Fillet .......................................................................................... 5-23
Filters ........................................................................................ 2-17
Fonts ......................................................................... 10-36, see Text
exporting to AutoCAD ............................................................. 1-23
importing from AutoCAD........................................................... 1-6
on the Control Bar ................................................................ 10-15
FP Error Message....................................................................... 1-51
Free Dimensions ........................................................................ 7-22
Freehand Drawing ..................................................................... 4-44

G
Geom Intersection (jump) ............................................................. 8-8
Geometry
circle by centre point and diameter ........................................... 6-8
circle by centre point and radius ............................................... 6-7
circle tangent to circle ............................................................. 6-23
circle tangent to line................................................................ 6-21
circle tangent to line and circle................................................ 6-11
circle tangent to three lines ..................................................... 6-19
circle tangent to two circles ..................................................... 6-14
circle tangent to two lines.......................................................... 6-9
circle through three points ...................................................... 6-27
colour ................................................................................... 10-34
concentric circles ...................................................................... 6-8
crossed lines ............................................................................. 6-2
deleting.......................................................................... 6-38, 6-39
inking in ................................................................................. 4-21
line perpendicular to another line............................................ 6-32
line perpendicular to two points .............................................. 6-32
line tangent to circle................................................................ 6-28
line tangent to two circles........................................................ 6-30
line through point at specific angle............................................ 6-3
 line through two points ............................................................. 6-4
loading saved .......................................................................... 1-12
parallel lines / circles................................................................ 6-5
projecting from existing lines / arcs ........................................ 6-36
saving ................................................................... 1-24, 1-31, 1-34
switching on and off ..................................................... 6-37, 10-15
tracing over ............................................................................. 4-21
Geometry Trace-Over ................................................................. 4-21
Grid ........................................................................................... 8-26
can't jump or snap to .............................................................. 8-27
isometric ...................................................................... 8-26, 10-11
Grid Display Density .................................................................. 8-26
Group Into Object ........................................................................ 9-7
Guest Sub-directory ................................................................... 13-2

H
Handles ................................................................................ 2-6, 2-8
rotating with ........................................................................... 2-11
stretching and scaling with ....................................................... 2-9
turning off temporarily .............................................................. 2-8
Hatch -> Lines ........................................................................... 7-76
Hatch or Solid Fill Dialogue Box ................................................. 7-68
Hatch Patterns
defining................................................................................... 15-2
defining, example 1 - line ........................................................ 15-5
defining, example 2 - dash ...................................................... 15-6
defining, example 3 - newbrick ................................................ 15-7
defining, example 4 - triang................................................... 15-11
Hatch Perimeters
viewing.................................................................................... 9-11
Hatch to Draw.......................................................................... 10-18
HATCH.PAT....................................................................... 13-3, 15-1
Hatching .................................................................................... 7-66
combining solid fills with bitmaps ........................................... 7-71
combining solid fills with cross hatches................................... 7-70
converting to lines ................................................................... 7-76
disappears .......................................................... 7-67, 7-73, 10-18
editing..................................................................................... 7-72
ellipses........................................................................... 4-26, 5-42
selecting.................................................................................. 2-20
solid fill colours....................................................................... 7-71
switching off.......................................................................... 10-18
tips ......................................................................................... 7-70
viewing selected ........................................................... 7-73, 10-18
Healing Breaks in Lines..................................................... 5-29, 5-31
Hold............................................................................................. 8-4
Home Directories .......... see also Progam Home Directory; User Home
Directory
Hook Point .......................................................................... 9-3, 9-15
changing.......................................................................... 9-3, 9-21
Horizontal Dimension ................................................................ 7-20
HPGL files
accuracy ................................................................................. 1-39
HPGL Files
exporting ................................................................................ 1-46
importing ................................................................................ 1-38

I
Icons
adding macros to .................................................................... 14-8
customising ............................................................................ 14-2
Illegal Operation Message........................................................... 1-51
Imperial Units ............................................................................ 10-6
on same drawing as metric...................................................... 10-8
Import ASCII.............................................................................. 1-39
Import HPGL.............................................................................. 1-38
Import/Export ........................................................................... 1-38
Importing
DWG Files.................................................................. see AutoCAD
DXF Files ................................................................... see AutoCAD
plot files .................................................................................. 1-38
text ......................................................................................... 1-39
via Clipboard ............................................................................ 2-4
Insert Block ............................................................................... 9-28
Invalid Backup Path Message..................................................... 1-31
Isometrics
circles ................................................................................... 10-11
dimensions .................................................................. 7-30, 10-11
grid.............................................................................. 8-26, 10-11
locking cursor to isometric angles ............................................. 8-4
Item References ............................................................. see Balloons

J
Joining Lines .................................................................... 5-31, 8-45
Joining Lines or Arcs ...................................... 5-20, 5-22, 5-23, 5-29
Jump Any Intersection ................................................................. 8-9
Jump Circle Centre .................................................................... 8-10
Jump Grid ................................................................................... 8-8
Jump Near Element ................................................................... 8-10
Jump Point .................................................................................. 8-9
Jumps ......................................................................................... 8-7
jumping to ellipses ......................................................... 4-26, 5-42
 L
Label Coord................................................................................ 7-77
Landscape.................................................................................. 10-3
Compiled Macro ......................................................................... 18-4
Last Fixed (jump) ....................................................................... 8-11
Layer Control ........................................................................... 10-70
Layers
adding................................................................................... 10-71
copying and pasting between drawings...................................... 2-4
copying items to another layer................................................. 5-41
current....................................................................... 10-68, 10-72
deleting ................................................................................. 10-71
deleting unused ...................................................................... 1-52
editing................................................................................... 10-71
highlighting........................................................................... 10-72
loading specific ....................................................................... 1-10
locking .................................................................................. 10-71
magnification ........................................................................ 10-71
moving items to another layer ................................................. 5-40
name .................................................................................... 10-70
pen and line type by ................................................... 10-71, 10-73
querying which layer something is on...................................... 8-34
saving default.......................................................................... 13-1
saving specific ......................................................................... 1-33
saving visible........................................................................... 1-34
selecting everything on ............................................................ 2-20
visible ............................................................. 10-69, 10-70, 10-72
Lengths
querying.................................................................................. 8-34
Line (Chained).............................................................................. 4-2
Line Arc Line.............................................................................. 4-12
Line Defaults............................................................................ 10-23
Line Tan C ................................................................................. 6-28
Line Tan CC ............................................................................... 6-30
Line Type
by layer...................................................................... 10-71, 10-73
editing..................................................................................... 2-12
exporting to AutoCAD.............................................................. 1-24
importing from AutoCAD ........................................................... 1-7
querying.................................................................................. 8-34
saving default.......................................................................... 13-1
selecting by ............................................................................. 2-17
Line Types
exporting to AutoCAD.............................................................. 16-2
how displayed ......................................................................... 16-3
 how printed ............................................................................ 16-2
importing from AutoCAD......................................................... 16-2
Line Width
by pen colour .......................................................................... 1-45
querying ................................................................................. 8-34
Linear Copy ............................................................................... 5-13
Lines
adding to a perimeter ..............................................12-145, 12-146
chained..................................................................................... 4-2
deleting part of........................... 5-20, 5-22, 5-23, 5-29, 5-33, 5-36
deleting redundant.................................................................. 8-45
deleting very short .................................................................. 8-45
dividing................................................................................... 5-29
drawing at an angle................................................see Lock Cursor
extending or shortening ...................... 5-20, 5-22, 5-23, 5-29, 8-45
extracting information about ................................................... 8-20
healing breaks ............................................................... 5-29, 5-31
joining ....................................... 5-20, 5-22, 5-23, 5-29, 5-31, 8-45
line arc line sequences ............................................................ 4-12
mid-point jump ....................................................................... 8-11
parallel ............................................................... 4-15, 4-17, 10-28
projecting to geometry ............................................................. 6-36
single ........................................................................................ 4-3
splitting .................................................................................. 5-29
trimming........................... 5-20, 5-22, 5-23, 5-29, 5-33, 5-36, 8-45
Lines (Pt to Pt).............................................................................. 4-3
LINETYPE.MAC................................................................. 13-3, 16-1
List Objects................................................................................ 9-13
Listing Coordinates .................................................................... 7-77
Load ............................................................................................ 1-9
Load Bitmap ..................................................................... 1-12, 1-17
Load Drawing............................................................................... 1-9
Load Geom................................................................................. 1-12
Load Layers ............................................................................... 1-10
Load New Menu ......................................................................... 1-18
Load Symbol File............................................................... 1-35, 8-42
Load Title Block ......................................................................... 1-19
Loading Drawings into Other Drawings .................. see Load Drawing
Lock Cursor ................................................................................. 8-2
Lock Geom Line ........................................................................... 8-3
Lock Keyboard ............................................................................. 8-3
Lock to Line ................................................................................. 8-3
Logical Operators in Macros ..................................................... 17-14
Long Pan.................................................................................... 3-14
 M
Macros
accessing files ......................................................................... 17-8
adding to menus, icons or accelerator keys ............................. 14-8
arithmetic operators.............................................................. 17-14
coordinate pairs .................................................................... 17-11
debugging ............................................................................... 17-7
description of language ........................................................... 17-9
encoding ................................................................................. 1-50
examples................................................................................. 17-5
executing ....................................................................... 1-50, 17-8
exporting a drawing as a macro...................................... 1-40, 17-6
general purpose functions ..................................................... 17-16
hints and tips.......................................................................... 17-5
how do I write my first macro .................................................. 17-2
line length limitation ............................................................. 17-15
logical operators.................................................................... 17-14
special characters used in ..................................................... 17-10
statement types....................................................................... 17-9
stepping through one line at a time ......................................... 17-7
strings ......................................................................... 17-3, 17-11
trigonometric operators ......................................................... 17-14
variables ...................................................................... 17-3, 17-11
writing in Windows '95 ............................................................ 17-7
Magnify...................................................................................... 3-12
changing magnify factor ........................................................ 10-22
MainCAD caused a General Protection Fault Message ................ 1-51
Make Arcs from Lines................................................................. 1-44
Make Geometry .......................................................................... 6-36
Make Symbol .................................................................... 8-40, 9-15
Mapping Colours to Line Widths................................................. 1-45
Measure..................................................................................... 8-28
Measuring.................................................................................. 8-34
angles ..................................................................................... 8-28
areas.............................................................................. 8-29, 9-13
distances ................................................................................ 8-28
perimeters...................................................................... 8-29, 9-13
Mechanical Style Dimensions .......................................... 7-21, 10-43
Memory.................................................................................... 10-57
Menus
adding macros to .................................................................... 14-8
loading alternative................................................................... 1-18
Merging Drawings .................................................. see Load Drawing
Metafiles ...................................................................................... 2-3
Metric Units ............................................................................... 10-6
 on same drawing as imperial................................................... 10-8
Mid Point Jump ......................................................................... 8-11
Mirror Image ................................................................................ 5-6
Move ............................................................................................ 5-4
Move Point ................................................................................... 5-5
Move Selected->New Layer ......................................................... 5-40
Move Text .................................................................................... 7-5
Move to Back ............................................................................. 2-23
Move to Coordinates................................................................... 8-14
Move to Front............................................................................. 2-23
Moving......................................................................................... 5-4
dragging accurately with cursor .............................................. 2-12
dragging with cursor ...................................................... 2-12, 2-14
items to another layer ............................................................. 5-40
nudging .................................................................................. 2-15
point and lines attached to it.......................... 5-5, see Select Nodes
Moving the Cursor
at an angle.............................................................see Lock Cursor
Multiple Parallel Line Defaults Dialogue Box ............................ 10-28
Multiple Users ........................................................................... 13-2

N
New ............................................................................................. 1-2
New Geometry Colour .............................................................. 10-34
Nodes ........................................................................................ 2-14
displaying ............................................................................... 8-16
moving.................................................................................... 2-14
selecting ................................................................................. 2-15
Nudge ........................................................................................ 2-15
Compiled macro....................................................................... 18-16

O
Object Extends off Edge of World Message.................................. 1-51
Object Name ......................................................... 9-3, 9-6, 9-7, 9-15
changing.......................................................................... 9-3, 9-19
querying ................................................................................. 8-34
viewing ..................................................................................... 9-9
Object Too Long Message ........................................................... 1-51
Objects
adding to a perimeter .......................................................... 12-146
aligning to a grid ....................................................................... 7-7
aligning to each other................................................................ 7-7
attributes..................................... 1-36, 4-41, 8-40, 8-42, 9-4, 9-17
bill of materials ....................................................................... 8-35
changing hook point ........................................................ 9-3, 9-21
changing object name ...................................................... 9-3, 9-19
 changing parent name...................................................... 9-3, 9-19
counting ................................................................................. 9-13
current.................................................................................... 9-25
disappear .............................................................................. 10-19
drawn as boxes ..................................................................... 10-19
editing..................................................................................... 9-19
extracting details..................................................................... 8-19
hook point........................................................................ 9-3, 9-15
inserting ........................................................................ 4-38, 8-42
listing...................................................................................... 9-13
measuring areas ..................................................................... 9-13
measuring perimeters ............................................................. 9-13
name .................................................................9-3, 9-6, 9-7, 9-15
parent name ............................................................................. 9-3
properties.................................................................................. 9-2
querying.................................................................................. 8-34
rotating on insertion................................................................ 4-39
scale .............................................................................. 1-35, 4-39
search and replace ......................................................... 9-23, 9-24
selecting by cursor ........................................................... 2-7, 2-19
selecting by name.................................................................... 2-19
selecting individual primitives within......................................... 2-7
snip box ........................................................................... 9-4, 9-16
spacing evenly......................................................................... 7-15
updating ........................................................................ 9-23, 9-24
Objects Menu............................................................................... 9-1
Offsets
closing off ends ..................................................................... 10-31
saving defaults ........................................................................ 13-1
Open............................................................................................ 1-3
Ordinate Dimension ................................................................... 7-48
Orientation
of paper .................................................................................. 10-2
Overlapping Entities, Deleting .................................................... 8-45

P
Pan ............................................................................................ 3-13
Panning
Long Pan................................................................................. 3-14
Pan ......................................................................................... 3-13
Paper Orientation....................................................................... 10-2
Paper Size .................................................................................. 10-2
saving default.......................................................................... 13-1
Parallel Defaults....................................................................... 10-28
Parallel Line (Draw) .................................................................... 4-15
Parallel Line (Geometry) ............................................................... 6-5
Parallel Lines
closing off ends ..................................................................... 10-31
saving defaults........................................................................ 13-1
Parents
changing name ................................................................ 9-3, 9-19
name ........................................................................................ 9-3
Part Ellipse ................................................................................ 4-26
Paste............................................................................................ 2-4
Pen Mapping.............................................................................. 1-45
Pens
by layer...................................................................... 10-71, 10-73
editing pen of existing entities ................................................. 2-12
exporting to AutoCAD ............................................................. 1-23
geometry ............................................................................... 10-34
importing from AutoCAD........................................................... 1-6
mapping to line widths............................................................ 1-45
print all as black ..................................................................... 1-45
print very faintly ..................................................................... 1-45
querying ................................................................................. 8-34
saving default ......................................................................... 13-1
selecting by ............................................................................. 2-17
Perimeter Menu
icons on .............................................................................. 12-143
Perimeters
deleting part of defined........................................................ 12-148
measuring...................................................................... 8-29, 9-13
Perp Bisector ............................................................................. 6-32
Perpendicular (Lock Cursor)......................................................... 8-3
Pick Index from Hatch................................................................ 7-75
Pixels ................................................................................ 1-13, 1-15
Placeholder for Bitmap............................................................. 10-18
Plot Files
accuracy ................................................................................. 1-39
exporting ................................................................................ 1-46
importing ................................................................................ 1-38
Plot to Fit ................................................................................... 1-47
Plotting ........................................................................... see Printing
Point............................................................................................ 4-4
extracting information about ................................................... 8-20
style...................................................................................... 10-17
Point Style ............................................................................... 10-17
Point-Point Line ........................................................................... 6-4
Polar Copy ................................................................................. 5-13
Polar Move ................................................................................. 8-15
Polygon ...................................................................................... 4-36
Polygon Area .............................................................................. 8-29
Polyline Defaults ...................................................................... 10-25
Polylines ................................................................ 4-31, 4-33, 10-25
editing style of existing ............................................................ 2-13
extracting information about ................................................... 8-20
saving defaults ........................................................................ 13-1
Polysnip ..................................................................................... 5-39
Portrait ...................................................................................... 10-3
Preserve Black (bitmaps) ............................................................ 1-15
Preserve White (bitmaps) ............................................................ 1-15
Primitives
cannot select individual............................................................. 2-7
extracting information about ................................................... 8-17
querying.................................................................................. 8-34
selecting individual ................................................................... 2-7
Print .......................................................................................... 1-43
Print Setup ................................................................................ 1-49
Printing............................................................................. 1-43, 1-47
all colours to black .................................................................. 1-45
arcs don't print or print incorrectly.......................................... 1-45
at a scale other than your drawing scale.................................. 1-47
colours print very faintly ......................................................... 1-45
line widths by colour ............................................................... 1-45
part of a drawing..................................................................... 1-47
text prints at wrong orientation ............................................... 1-43
to fit the paper ........................................................................ 1-47
Purge Redundant Elements ............................................... 1-32, 1-52

Q
Query Entity .............................................................................. 8-34
Quit ........................................................................................... 1-58

R
Radial Dimension....................................................................... 7-45
Raster to Vector Conversion Programs........................................ 8-45
Real World Pixel Size .................................................................. 1-13
Re-Centre Paper ....................................................................... 10-20
Rectangle ..................................................................................... 4-5
Redo ............................................................................................ 2-2
Redraw ...................................................................................... 3-15
Redraws
very slow ............................................................... 1-52, 7-67, 7-73
Reference Point .......................................................... see Hook Point
drawing................................................................................... 1-31
Repair DRG File ......................................................................... 1-51
Repeat ....................................................................................... 5-13
Replace Objects................................................................. 9-23, 9-24
Resample Mode (bitmaps)......................................... 1-14, 1-15, 1-16
Rotate ........................................................................................ 5-18
Rotate Icon .................................................................................. 2-6
Rotating
by cursor ....................................................................... 2-11, 5-18
by keyboard ............................................................................ 5-18
Rubbing Out ................................................................... see Deleting
Ruler Bar
turning on and off ................................................................. 10-17
Running Dimensions ................................................................. 7-21

S
Save........................................................................................... 1-20
Save AllyCAD DOS ..................................................................... 1-29
Save As...................................................................................... 1-21
Save Geometry ........................................................................... 1-34
Save Layer ................................................................................. 1-33
Save Options.............................................................................. 1-30
Save Selected ............................................................................. 1-33
Save Settings ............................................................................. 1-30
Save Visible ............................................................................... 1-34
Saving Selected Entities .................................................... 1-21, 1-33
Scale.......................................................................................... 10-3
changing................................................................................. 10-6
more than one on a drawing.................................................. 10-71
saving default ......................................................................... 13-1
Scale (Scaling Entities) ................................................................. 5-9
Scale Text .................................................................................... 7-6
Scales
more than one on a drawing........................................... 8-53, 8-60
Scaling (Entities)
by cursor ........................................................................... 2-9, 5-9
by keyboard .............................................................................. 5-9
Scroll Bars
switching on and off.............................................................. 10-18
Search and Replace Objects .............................................. 9-23, 9-24
Security ..................................................................................... 1-53
Select........................................................................................... 2-6
Select All.................................................................................... 2-18
Select by Polygon ....................................................................... 2-16
Select Cursor ............................................................................... 2-6
Select Nodes .............................................................................. 2-14
Selecting
by colour................................................................................. 2-17
by entity type .......................................................................... 2-17
by line type ............................................................................. 2-17
 can’t select individual primitive ................................................. 2-7
everything on a layer ............................................................... 2-20
everything on the drawing ....................................................... 2-18
everything within a polygon............................................ 2-16, 2-18
everything within a rectangle..................................................... 2-8
hatches ................................................................................... 2-20
individual primitives.................................................................. 2-7
individual primitives within objects ........................................... 2-7
nodes ...................................................................................... 2-15
objects by cursor.............................................................. 2-7, 2-19
objects by name ...................................................................... 2-19
using the nodes cursor............................................................ 2-14
zoom into selection set .............................................................. 3-7
Selection Filters ......................................................................... 2-17
Send to Back.............................................................................. 2-23
Send to Front............................................................................. 2-23
Set Alignment .............................................................................. 7-7
Set Arrow Defaults ................................................................... 10-49
Set Balloon Defaults................................................................. 10-51
Set Current Layer..................................................................... 10-68
Set Dim Defaults ...................................................................... 10-41
Set Survey Defaults.................................................................. 10-46
Set Text Defaults...................................................................... 10-35
Set Text Defaults Dialogue Box................................................. 10-35
Set Visible Layers..................................................................... 10-69
Settings for Dos........................................................................ 10-56
Settings Menu............................................................................ 10-1
Sheet Size ................................................................................ 10-21
Shortening Lines ........................................................................ 8-45
Shortening Lines or Arcs ............... 5-20, 5-22, 5-23, 5-29, 5-33, 5-36
Show Arc Centres..................................................................... 10-15
Show Coordinates .................................................................... 10-14
Show Data Items...................................................................... 10-18
Show Geometry ........................................................................ 10-15
Show Nodes ............................................................................... 8-16
Show Objects ............................................................................... 9-9
Sketch ....................................................................................... 4-44
Slope Dimension ........................................................................ 7-30
Slope Line .................................................................................... 6-3
Slow Drawings ......................................................... 1-52, 7-67, 7-73
Snap Modes
snapping to ellipses........................................................ 4-26, 5-42
Snip ........................................................................................... 5-36
Snip Box ............................................................................. 9-4, 9-16
Splines....................................................................................... 4-28
Bezier curves.................................................................. 4-31, 4-33
 circular ................................................................................... 4-28
cubic....................................................................................... 4-29
Splitting Lines or Arcs................................................................ 5-29
STARTUP.DRG........................................................................... 13-3
Statistics, Drawing..................................................................... 1-32
Stretch......................................................................................... 5-2
Stretching By Cursor ................................................................... 2-9
Survey Dimension...................................................................... 7-50
style...................................................................................... 10-46
Switch Geometry On/Off............................................................ 6-37
Symbol (Function)............................................................. 4-38, 8-42
Symbol Libraries
loading.................................................................................... 1-35
System Settings ....................................................................... 10-63

T
Tangents
circle tangent to circle ............................................................. 6-23
circle tangent to line................................................................ 6-21
circle tangent to line and circle................................................ 6-11
circle tangent to three lines ..................................................... 6-19
circle tangent to two circles ..................................................... 6-14
circle tangent to two lines.......................................................... 6-9
line tangent to circle................................................................ 6-28
line tangent to two circles........................................................ 6-30
Text ........................................................see Fonts; Set Text Defaults
adding to a drawing .................................................................. 7-2
aligning........................................