Draw Multiline Objects

Draw Multiline Objects

Multilines are composed of 1 to 16 parallel lines, called elements.

When you draw a multiline, you can use the STANDARD style, which has two elements, or specify a style that you created previously. You can also change the justification and scale of the multiline before you draw it.
Multiline justification determines which side of the cursor that the multiline is drawn, or whether it is centered on the cursor.
Multiline scale controls the overall width of the multiline using the current units. Multiline scale does not affect linetype scale. If you change the multiline scale, you might need to make equivalent changes to the linetype scale to prevent dots or dashes from being disproportionately sized.


Create Multiline Styles 

You can create named styles for multilines to control the number of elements and the properties of each element. The properties of multilines include

• The total number of elements and position of each element
• The offset distance for each element from the middle of the multiline
• The color and linetype of each element
• The visibility of the lines, called joints, that appear at each vertex
• The type of end caps that are used
• The background fill color of the multiline

You can add up to 16 elements to a multiline style. Elements with a positive offset appear on one side of the middle of the multiline; elements with a negative offset appear on the other side of the middle of the multiline.

To draw a multiline

1. Click Draw menu  Multiline.
2. At the command prompt, enter st to select a style.
3. To list available styles, enter the style name or enter ?.
4. To justify the multiline, enter j and select top, zero, or bottom justification.
5. To change the scale of the multiline, enter s and enter a new scale. Now draw the multiline.
   
6. Specify the starting point.
7. Specify a second point.
8. Specify additional points, or press ENTER. If you specify three or more points, you can enter c to close the multiline.

To create a multiline style

1. Click Format menu  Multiline Style.
   
   
2. In the Multiline Style dialog box, click New.
3. In the Create New Multiline Style dialog box, enter a name for the multiline style and select a multiline style from which to start. Click Continue.
   
   
4. In the New Multiline Style dialog box, select the parameters for the multiline style. You can also enter a description. Descriptions are optional and can be up to 255 characters, including spaces.
   
   
   
5. Click OK.
6. In the Multiline Style dialog box, click Save to save the multiline style to a file (the default is acad.mln). You can save multiline styles to the same file. If you create more than one multiline style, save the current style before creating a new one or you lose the changes to the first style.
   

Commands

OFFSET

Creates concentric circles, parallel lines, and parallel curves.

MLINE

Creates multiple parallel lines.

MLSTYLE

Creates, modifies, and manages multiline styles.

System Variables

CMLSTYLE

Sets the multiline style that governs the appearance of the multiline.