AutoCAD Tips & Tutorials

Customize Polar Tracking Angles

Polar tracking is a great way to simplify the creation of lines, because once you find the right angle, all you need to do is to enter the length. You should try to banish the entry of coordinates in the x,y format as much as possible, because it's so slow.

You can customize the angles that polar tracking uses to suit any need. Right-click the POLAR button on the status bar and choose Settings. On the Polar Tracking tab of the Drafting Settings dialog box, you can change the increment angle, which is 90 degrees by default. The increment angle means that polar tracking will activate at that angle and every multiple of that angle. You'll also get a bonus of polar tracking at 0 degrees.

For example, you can set the increment angle to 15, which means you'll have polar tracking at 0, 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, 90, 105, 120, 135, 150, 165, 180, 195, 210, 235, 240, 255, 270, 285, 300, 315, 330, 345. Is that enough angles for you?

To set the increment angle, choose one of the angles from the Increment Angle drop-down list or simply type in your own angle.

If that's not enough for you, you can add additional angles. For example, if you like 15 degrees, but occasionally need to draw at a 10 degree angle, you could add 10 degrees. Check the Additional Angles check box, click the New button, and enter 10 degrees, or anything else that you want. Then press Enter. Click OK to close the Drafting Settings dialog box. From now on, your lines will be easier to draw.

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