Grips

Last updated: 2023-01-04

Total video time: 22:50

Object Grips are used to interact with and edit objects in through the drawing view (i.e. Model Space). Upon selecting an object, available Grips will display for the object(s) selected. Depending on the type of object selected, you may have Multifunction Grips allowing access to several options for Grip editing. Additionally, for all Grips, you can cycle between Grip Modes including Move, Rotate, Scale, and Mirror. Though many of the edits you perform using Grips can be handled elsewhere, utilizing Grip edits in combination with object snaps, polar tracking, and dynamic input can significantly expedite your object editing workflow.

Exercise files: acad-data-c3d20.zip

Start with acad-grips-begin.dwg

acad-grips-01.mp4 3:50

Arguably the most basic Grip function is the Stretch. Within the category of Stretch Grip functions, are two distinct types of editing behavior: Stretch and "move". In general, an endpoint Grip has a Stretch behavior and a midpoint or insertion Grip has "move" behavior. The Stretch behavior relocates the Grip and changes the length or radius and rotation or center point of an object as necessary. The "move" behavior will relocate the Grip and object while retaining all other object geometry properties such as length and rotation.

Grips with Stretch function exhibiting "stretch" behavior:

  • Polyline vertex and endpoint
  • Line endpoint
  • Arc endpoint

Grips with Stretch function exhibiting "move" behavior

  • Text insertion point
  • Line midpoint
  • Circle center
  • Block insertion point
  • COGO Point

Info: The COGO Point is a Civil 3D object. COGO Points are covered in detail in later training modules and thus are not included in the example workflows here.

  1. Open acad-grips-begin.dwg
  2. Select CRUSHED AGGREGATE BASE COURSE SHOULDER Line on left side of SECTION A-A detail
    1. Observe display of two endpoint Grips and one midpoint Grip
    2. Left-click midpoint Grip to activate
      1. Move cursor and observe behavior
      2. esc to deselect

  3. Select R3-4 Block at top of PLAN VIEW detail
    1. Observe display of insertion point Grip
    2. Left-click insertion point Grip to activate
      1. Move cursor and observe behavior
      2. esc to deselect
  4. Select SECTION A-A Text
    1. Properties palette > Text dropdown > Justify
      1. Observe Justify = Center
    2. Left-click insertion point Grip
      1. Move cursor and observe behavior
      2. esc to deselect
  5. Zoom & Pan left of SECTION A-A detail
  6. Select red guiding Circle
    1. Observe display of four quadrant Grips and one center Grip
    2. Left-click center Grip to activate
      1. Move cursor and observe behavior
      2. esc to deselect
  7. Select CRUSHED AGGREGATE BASE COURSE SHOULDER Line on left side of SECTION A-A detail
    1. Left-click endpoint Grip to activate
      1. Move cursor and observe behavior
      2. esc to deselect

  8. Select the Polyline bounding 10" CRUSHED AGGREGATE BASE COURSE Hatch
    1. Left-click insertion Grip to activate
      1. Move cursor and observe behavior
      2. esc to deselect
  9. Select the SECTION A-A detail median nose Arc
    1. Left-click center Grip to activate
      1. Move cursor and observe behavior
      2. esc to deselect

Continue with acad-grips-begin.dwg

acad-grips-02.mp4 6:08

Hold the Shift key and select multiple Grips to simultaneously apply a similar Grip edit to multiple object Grip locations. The Grips will display red once selected and activated. Release the Shift key and select one of the activated Grips to apply a Grip edit as normal. The Grip edit will then be applied to all Grips included in the selection.

  1. Continue working in acad-grips-begin.dwg
  2. Zoom and Pan left of SECTION A-A detail
  3. Observe location of red guiding Circles
  4. Turn on Center and Endpoint Object Snaps
  5. Select BOTTOM OF MEDIAN Line
    1. Left-click left-most endpoint Grip
      1. Specify stretch point or:
        1.  Use Osnaps to relocate Line endpoint at center of guiding Circle

  6. Select both CRUSHED AGGREGATE BASE COURSE and SUBGRADE Lines
    1. shift+select both leftmost endpoint Grips
      1. Release shift key
      2. Left-click one of the shift+selected Grips
        1. Use Osnaps to relocate Line endpoints at center of guiding Circles

      3. esc to deselect
  7. Select PAVED MEDIAN SHOULDER Line
    1. Verify Dynamic Input is on
      1. Status bar > Customization button
        1. Dynamic Input = checked
      2. Status bar
        1. Dynamic Input toggled on

    2. Hover cursor over leftmost Line endpoint
      1. Observe Dynamic Input tooltip
        1. Lengthen
      2. Specify end point: 5 enter
      3. Use Osnaps to Lengthen Line to center of red guiding Circle

  8. Select both CRUSHED AGGREGATE BASE COURSE and SUBGRADE Lines
    1. shift+select both leftmost endpoint Grips
      1. Release shift key
      2. Left-click one of the shift+selected Grips
        1. ctrl to cycle Grip function = Lengthen

    2. Use Osnaps to Lengthen Lines to leftmost endpoint of PAVED MEDIAN SHOULDER Line

    1. esc to deselect
  9. Pan to right of SECTION A-A detail
    1. Use crossing selection to select TOPSOIL Hatch and bounding Lines

    1. shift-select appropriate endpoints of selected objects
      1. Release shift key
      2. Select rightmost endpoint of BOTTOM OF MEDIAN Line
        1. Move cursor and observe behavior
        2. Use Osnaps to uniformly relocate selected linework endpoints

Continue with acad-grips-begin.dwg

acad-grips-03.mp4 2:10

Hold the ctrl key when selecting a Grip to make a copy of the objects attached to the Grip. For example, ctrl+select a Text Grip to copy the full Text object. Ctrl+select a Polyline vertex to copy and the Line segements touching the selected Grip(s). You can combine the ctrl+select technique with the shift+select technique to copy multiple objects attached to the shift+selected Grips

  1. Continue with acad-grips-begin.dwg
  2. Select SECTION A-A Text
    1. ctrl+select insertion point Grip
      1. Release ctrl key
      2. Pan to SECTION B-B detail
        1. Use Osnaps to place copied Text at center red guiding Circle
        2. esc to deselect

  3. Pan to PLAN VIEW detail
  4. Select breakline symbol Polyline at top-right of PLAN VIEW detail
    1. shift+select all vertex Grips
    2. Release shift key
      1. ctrl+select righ-most vertex Grip
      2. Release ctrl key
        1. Use Osnaps to place copies at all remaining red guiding Circles

        1. esc to deselect

Start with acad-grips-01.dwg

acad-grips-04.mp4 6:57

In addition to object-specific Grip edit behavior, all Grips have the ability to edit associated objects using four standard behaviors. These standard Grip editing behaviors are known as Grip Modes. They include Move, Rotate, Scale, and Mirror. Once an object is selected and a Grip is activated, use the enter key to cycle between Grip Modes. Once you begin cycling, you are limited to one of the four standard Grip Modes. Hit esc and re-activate a Grip to perform a non-Grip Mode edit such as Stretch or Lengthen.

  1. Open acad-grips-01.dwg
  2. Zoom and Pan to PLAN VIEW detail
  3. Select Line just below R3-4A signage
    1. Left-click topmost endpoint Grip
      1. Observe command line prompt Specify stretch point or:
      2. Move cursor and observe behavior
        1. enter
      3. Observe command line prompt change Specify stretch Move or:
      4. Repeat steps 3.A.I - 3.A.III to cycle all Grip Modes
      5. esc
    2. esc to deselect
  4. Zoom and Pan to SECTION A-A detail
  5. Select CRUSHED AGGREGATE BASE COURSE SHOULDER Multileader
    1. Left-click leader Grip
      1. enter
      2. Specify move point or: Copy
        1. Left-click to place a copy of Multileader on right side of SECTION A-A detail
        2. esc to deselect

  6. Pan to SECTION B-B detail
  7. Verify midpoint Object Snap is on
  8. Window select breakline symbol Polyline and Hatch near EDGE OF PAVEMENT Multileader

  1. Left-click one of the displayed Grips
    1. enter to cycle to Mirror Grip Mode
      1. Specify second point or: Base point
        1. Use midpoint Object Snap to specify midpoint of 4" ASPHALTIC CONCRETE Polyline
      2. specify second point or: copy
        1. Hold shift for temporary Orthomode
        2. Left-click second mirror point above basepoint
        3. esc to deselect

  1. Select PAVED SHOULDER Hatch one left side of SECTION B-B detail
    1. Left-click a displayed Grip
      1. Right-click
        1. Mirror
          1. Specify second point or: Base point
            1. Use midpoint Object Snap to specify midpoint of 4" ASPHALTIC CONCRETE Polyline
          2. specify second point or: copy
            1. Hold shift for temporary Orthomode
            2. Left-click second mirror point above basepoint
            3. esc to deselect

Continue with acad-grips-01.dwg

acad-grips-05.mp4 3:45

In addition to the four standard Grip Modes, some objects have Multifunction Grips. The first example we saw of this was the Line endpoint Grip. This is a Multifunction Grip with Stretch and Lengthen functions. Once a Multifunction Grip is activated, use the ctrl key to cycle between Grip functions. When only a single Multifunction Grip is activated, hover your cursor over the Grip to see a Multifunction Grip menu. This menu will not display when multiple Grips are activated such as when shift+selecting multiple Grips.

  1. Continue with acad-grips-01.dwg
  2. Zoom and Pan to SECTION B-B detail
  3. Select MEDIAN FORESLOPES APPROACHING CROSSOVER Multileader
    1. Left-click the leader landing Grip
      1. ctrl to cycle Grip functions to Add Leader
        1.  specify leader arrowhead location:
          1. Use endpoint Object Snap to specify location at Arc endpoint

      2. ctrl to cycle Grip functions to Stretch
        1. Use red guiding Circle to relocate leader vertex
    2. Select Polyline representing MEDIAN FORESLOPES APPROACHING CROSSOVER
      1. Left-click Polyline arc segment midpoint Grip
        1. ctrl to cycle Grip functions to Convert to Line
        2. enter
    3. Select Polyline representing MEDIAN FORESLOPES APPROACHING CROSSOVER
      1. Left-click Polyline line segment midpoint Grip
        1. ctrl to cycle Grip functions to Convert to Arc
          1. specify midpoint of arc segment:
            1. Use Osnaps to place specify center of red guiding Circle
            2. esc to deselect