Subject: Creating a block for use within the current drawing

To create a block for use within a current drawing

Advanced experience level    

   1   Do one of the following to choose Create Block ():

•   On the ribbon, choose Home > Create Block (in Block) or choose Insert > Create Block (in Block Definition).

•   On the menu, choose Draw > Block > Create Block.

•   On the Tools toolbar, click the Create Block tool.

•   Type block and then press Enter.

   2   In the Block definition dialog box, enter a name and description for the new block.    

   3   Specify the insertion point for the block by doing one of the following:

•   Specify on Screen Mark this check box to select the base point in the drawing after you click OK.

•   Pick Base Point Click () to temporarily close the dialog box immediately, select the base point in the drawing, then return to the dialog box. This option is available only if Specify on Screen is not marked.

•   X, Y, and Z Enter the x-, y-, and z-coordinates of the base point. This option is available only if Specify on Screen is not marked.

   4   Select the entities to be combined into the block by doing one of the following:

•   Specify on Screen Mark this check box to select the entities in the drawing after you click OK.

•   Select entities Click () to temporarily close the dialog box immediately, select the entities in the drawing, then return to the dialog box. Or you can click  () to select entities by type or value. This option is available only if Specify on Screen is not marked.

   5   Select what to do with the entities after the block is created:

•   Retain entities Entities selected for the block remain in the drawing.

•   Convert to block Entities selected for the block are converted to the block, which remains in the drawing.

•   Delete entities Entities selected for the block are removed from the drawing.

   6   Select any of the following options for the block:

•   Annotative Determines whether the block is annotative by default. The display and printing of annotative blocks is affected by annotation scaling. If annotative by default, you can determine whether the block, when located in paper space, is oriented automatically according to the layout viewport.

•   Scale uniformly Mark this check box to retain the aspect ratio if the block is scaled. Annotative blocks must be scaled proportionately.

•   Allow exploding Mark this check box to allow the block to be exploded into separate entities.

•   Unit Defines the unit of the block, for example inches or millimeters.

   7   Click OK.

The program adds a new block to the blocks list, with the name you entered for it.

If you often include blocks in your drawings, you can create a tool palette that con­tains the blocks you use most often. For details, see Creating tool palettes and adding commands and blocks.

Some users frequently restore original entities after defining a block.
To restore the original entities to the drawing while retaining the new block, type undelete or oops. You might also want to add the Undelete command to a menu or toolbar by choosing Tools > Customize.