Offset an object through a point

If you don't know the exact distance that you want to offset an object, but you do have a point that you want the new object to pass through, you can use the Through option.

Let's say I have a circle and a triangle.

I want to offset the triangle so that one of its sides passes through the center point of the circle. Here's what that command sequence would look like (bold is for user input):

Command: OFFSET
Current settings: Erase source=No  Layer=Source  OFFSETGAPTYPE=0
Specify offset distance or [Through/Erase/Layer] <Through>: (press enter)
Select object to offset or [Exit/Undo] <Exit>: (select triangle)
Specify through point or [Exit/Multiple/Undo] <Exit>: (select center of circle)
Select object to offset or [Exit/Undo] <Exit>: (press enter to exit)

And here we have it:

Now, I could also have done this by specifying the offset distance first. Here's what that command sequence would have looked like:

Command: OFFSET
Current settings: Erase source=No  Layer=Source  OFFSETGAPTYPE=0
Specify offset distance or [Through/Erase/Layer] <Through>: (select center of circle)
Specify second point: (select perpendicular point on triangle)
Select object to offset or [Exit/Undo] <Exit>: (select triangle)
Specify point on side to offset or [Exit/Multiple/Undo] <Exit>: (select point on inside of triangle)
Select object to offset or [Exit/Undo] <Exit>: (press enter to exit)

The end result would have been exactly the same.

But let's look at the differences in the processes. The first way, using Through, I only had to select one point and one object. In the second scenario, I had to pick three points and an object. That's two more steps using distance instead of Through. When you have to do fewer steps to complete a command, you're working faster.

So you might want to consider adding Offset Through to your LT arsenal.