Wipeout!

So I promised you in my last post that I wouldn't get carried away talking about all the fun new stuff in AutoCAD LT 2010, and I'm sticking to that. In fact, today's topic has been around since at least AutoCAD LT 2006. (That's the oldest version I have access to right now. If someone with an earlier version has other information on when it showed up, please let me know.)

Wipeouts do just what you would think -- "wipe out" part of your drawing -- although it's not quite as devastating (or permanent) as it sounds.

A wipeout is simply an object that can cover other objects with a blank area, either to make text more legible or to cover up unwanted portions of a drawing. It doesn't erase anything, just covers it up. You can control exactly what is covered with the Draw Order command.

For example, let's say I needed to cover up part of this line of shrubs/bushes.

I'll start the Wipeout command (either from the ribbon, the Draw menu, or the command line) and choose enough points to define the shape I need. A wipeout is always closed -- the command always draws the last side of the polyline for you. I could also use the Polyline option of the command to choose an existing closed polyline to convert to a wipeout.

The wipeout is automatically created so that it covers up all my existing objects.

If I don't want that, I can use the Draw Order command to bring some of the objects on top of the wipeout.

Finally, if I don't want the frame of the wipeout to print, I can use the Frames option of the wipeout command to turn them all off. This option has two limitiations: You can't select a wipeout if its frame is off, and you can't turn off specific frames individually. It's all or nothing.

Comments

[Murray Clack]

Here's a trick I hope people find useful... As you may or may not know, you cannot create a Wipeout using a Circle entity. However, you can create a Wipeout using a PLine. So, my trick is to enter the POLYGON command, and when prompted for a number of sides, I will usually say "36" (a 36 sided polygon is just "smooth" enough to look like a circle). I will then use the WIPEOUT command and use the option to select a closed pline, and then I simply select my polygon "circle".