Thursday, March 13, 2014

Access the Last Point Used in AutoCAD With One Keystroke

There are many instances when we draw in AutoCAD where we might want to draw to the last coordinate point we used.  This is how it works.  Draw a line from point A to point B and end the command.  Start the circle command.  For the center point type @ on the command line.  This will draw the circle’s center point at the last point we drew at which is point B on our line.  See the video clip below.


You can use the “@” symbol in any case that requires a coordinate input.  If you want to draw concentric circles draw the first circle.  Draw the second but use the “@” symbol for the center point.  It will select the center of the first circle drawn.

In my post, “How to Break a Line Like a Pro” I showed you how to use the “F” or first option in the break command to break an object at a specific point.  In Tip Number 2, I have you select the exact same point to break an object in one place.   Alexandre Serdakowski, a reader of this site and a Head Draftsman, reminded me of the last point feature of the “@” symbol and that the break command would be a great use case.  Start the break command, select the object, type F, pick your point, then for the second point type in @.  It’s much easier than selecting the same point again.
Also keep in mind that if there is no last point in a drawing yet then using the @ symbol will draw your object point at the origin (0,0).

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