Draw perpendiclar line from another line

[sketch11]

Initially this worked, but setting have changed somehow.

 

Draw a perpendicular line from another line.

Usually there was a dotted line as per second image.

 

Clicking "Relative to last segment" in the options means I can use the absolute 0deg, 90deg, etc.

 

A new line parallel seems to work.

 

 

 

[eldon]

In your picture, the Polar Angle measurement is set to Absolute and not Relative to last segment.

[guran]

Start the line command then snap perpendicular to the line you want to draw the perpendicular line to and you get the dotted line.

[sketch11]

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In your picture, the Polar Angle measurement is set to Absolute and not Relative to last segment.

Yes this is because I then lose the absolute guide.

 

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Start the line command then snap perpendicular to the line you want to draw the perpendicular line to and you get the dotted line.

The issue is the other way around though.

The existing line is the starting point.

Unless I'm mistaken. I tried snap after the line command but is not accepted.

 

[eldon]

You only get the perpendicular alignment path if 'Relative to last segment' is set.

[steven-g]

Works perfectly fine here! Do you just need to make sure that only the Perpendiculat osnap is active before starting the line? Start the line command and when prompted for the first point type 'PER' just the first 3 letters of any osnap will make that the only active option before entering any pick points (and it is only active for that single click)

[eldon]

If one is just trying to draw a line Perpendicular from another line, then picking the first line only gives a Deferred Perpendicular because it doesn't know where the end point of the line will be.

 

If you are drawing from a snapped point Endpoint, Midpoint or Nearest, the Polar Tracking alignment line gives the path on the screen of the Perpendicular. Confusingly, one does not have to use the Perpendicular Snap to draw a perpendicular line in that case.

[sketch11]

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You only get the perpendicular alignment path if 'Relative to last segment' is set.

 

It was working before though. Generally on a new install it seems to work, as time goes by, settings seem to change, maybe related to each other, and it's hard to keep track of.

 

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just need to make sure that only the Perpendiculat osnap is active before starting the line? Start the line command and when prompted for the first point type 'PER' just the first 3 letters of any osnap will make that the only active option before entering any pick points

This isn't working for me unfortunately. I type PER, have to enter the distance twice as first time get an error, and then the line is not perpendicular.

 

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If you are drawing from a snapped point Endpoint, Midpoint or Nearest, the Polar Tracking alignment line gives the path on the screen of the Perpendicular. Confusingly, one does not have to use the Perpendicular Snap to draw a perpendicular line in that case.

I tried again on a new drawing. It doesn't work from the centre of a line which is what I normally use. But it is working from the end of the line.

Edited February 16, 2022 by sketch11

[eldon]

Perhaps it is a matter of user technique.

 

When I want to draw a line perpendicular from an existing line, I do not use the Perpendicular Object Snap. I rely on the Polar Tracking. When you pick the line, I only use Endpoint, Midpoint or nearest Object Snap. Centre Object snap refers only to circular entities.

It appears that when you pick the line using those Snaps, the line is identified as the last segment, and thus Polar tracking works relative to that line. You have to be careful that only the chosen line is in the picking box otherwise AutoCAD doesn't know which line you are choosing.

 

It always works for me.

Edited February 16, 2022 by eldon
corrected preposition

[sketch11]

Yes, this is exactly how I'm used to doing it, using polar tracking.

It won't work from the middle point though.

Every time after a new install, it always seems I lose the ability to to do this after a while. My guess is some other setting is causing this.

Edited February 17, 2022 by sketch11

[eldon]

The mysteries of AutoCAD?