Make and insert blocks

What you will make

A door symbol made into a block called DOOR-900, then placed three times: as drawn, turned 90 degrees, and mirrored.

A block is a named group of objects. You draw it once; every place you use it is a block reference that points back to the one definition. The Blocks section in the left panel lists the blocks in the drawing and how often each is used.

Draw the door

1. Type L and press ReturnEnter.
2. Type 0,0 and press ReturnEnter.
3. Type @0,900 and press ReturnEnter, then press ReturnEnter again. This is the door leaf.
4. Type A and press ReturnEnter.
5. Type C and press ReturnEnter to give the center first.
6. Type 0,0 and press ReturnEnter for the center.
7. Type 900,0 and press ReturnEnter for the start point.
8. Type 0,900 and press ReturnEnter for the end point. This is the swing.
9. Click Extents.

Arcs go counterclockwise from the start point to the end point.

Make the block

1. Type B and press ReturnEnter, or click Make in the Blocks group.
2. At Enter block name, type DOOR-900 and press ReturnEnter.
3. At Specify insertion base point, type 0,0 and press ReturnEnter. This is the hinge: the point that lands where you place the block.
4. At Select objects, drag a window round the leaf and the arc.
5. Press ReturnEnter.

The history says Block "DOOR-900" made from 2 objects, and they were replaced by one reference to it. The Blocks panel lists DOOR-900 with 1× beside it: one reference. Click the door: it now selects as one object, a "Block reference".

Insert the block

1. Type I and press ReturnEnter, or click Insert next to DOOR-900 in the Blocks panel.
2. At Enter block name <DOOR-900>, press ReturnEnter. (The panel's Insert button fills in the name for you.)
3. The door follows the crosshair. Click where the hinge should go.

A second door appears.

Insert turned or scaled

1. Type I and press ReturnEnter, then press ReturnEnter to accept the name.
2. At Specify insertion point [Scale/Rotate], type R and press ReturnEnter.
3. Type 90 and press ReturnEnter. The preview turns.
4. Click to place it.

Type S instead to set a scale factor; it applies to both directions. The scale and rotation are remembered for the next insert. To mirror a door, insert it and then use MIRROR on the reference.

Change a placed block

Select a block reference. In the right panel you can change its X, Y, Scale X, Scale Y and Rotation. A negative Scale X flips it.

Redefine a block

To change every door at once, make a block with the same name:

1. Draw the new version of the door.
2. Type B and press ReturnEnter, and type DOOR-900.
3. At Block "DOOR-900" already exists. Redefine it?, type Y and press ReturnEnter.
4. Give the base point and select the new objects, as before.

Every reference to DOOR-900 now shows the new version.

Explode and purge

• EXPLODE (X) turns a selected block reference back into separate objects. The definition stays.
• PURGE (PU) removes block definitions that nothing uses any more. The history says how many it removed.

Block names

A name can be up to 255 characters and can contain spaces, but it cannot start with an asterisk, and cannot contain < > / \ " : ; ? * | = or a backtick. When you save DXF R12, names are written in capitals, other characters than letters, digits, $, _ and - become _, and names are cut to 31 characters; the history says how many changed. Short names in capitals, digits and hyphens, like DOOR-900, survive unchanged. A saved DWG keeps names as you typed them, upper and lower case; only characters DWG does not allow change (a | becomes $0$, others become _).

Common mistakes

• The block landed far from the crosshair. The base point was not on the objects. Make the block again with the base point on a corner or a hinge.
• "No objects selected; nothing made." You pressed ReturnEnter before selecting anything.
• "This drawing has no blocks yet: F inserts one from a file, L from the library (or make one with BLOCK)." Type F to bring a block in from another drawing, or L for the library. See Insert from a file or the library.
• "A viewport cannot go in a block." Leave viewport frames out of the selection.