Align objects in AutoCAD LT 2010

Another long-awaited addition to AutoCAD LT is the Align command. Familiar to AutoCAD users, ALIGN enables you to move, rotate, and scale objects to line them up with other objects.

It's currently available only at the command line, but you can always make a button for it to put it on a CUI element like a ribbon panel or toolbar.

ALIGN is based on the relationship between source points and destination points. Each pair defines part of the relationship, and how many pairs you pick defines the rest of the relationship.

For example, here's what happens when you pick one source point, one destination point, and press Enter.


Looks just like the Move command, and it's about as exciting. But watch what happens when you pick two pairs, and then press Enter:


Now, the selected object not only moves, but also rotates and scales based on the angles and distances of the pairs of points. (You don't have to scale the objects if you don't want to -- it's an option that appears after pressing Enter.)

You can also align objects based on three pairs of points. It's mostly useful for 3D work, so it happens more in AutoCAD than AutoCAD LT. But just for fun, here's what it looks like: