Draws ellipses and elliptical arcs.
Accessing the Command
command bar: ellipse
alias: el
menu bar: Draw | Ellipse or Draw | Elliptical Arc
toolbar: Draw | or Draw |
: ellipse
Prompts you in the command bar:
Arc/Center/<First end of ellipse axis>: (Pick a point, or enter an option.)
Second end of axis: (Pick another point.)
Rotation/<Other axis>: (Pick a third point, or enter R.)
All methods to draw ellipses can be found in the Draw | Ellipse menu:
and the Ellipses toolbar:
All methods to draw elliptical arcs can be found in the Draw | Elliptical Arc menu:
and the Elliptical Arcs toolbar:
Command Options
Option |
Description |
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Specifies the first endpoint of the first axis. Ellipses are defined by the length of two axes, or one axis and an angle of rotation. |
Specifies the other end of the first axis. |
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Specifies the endpoint of the second axis, measured from the center of the first axis. The longer of the two axes is called the "major axis"; the shorter one is called the "minor axis." |
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Draws elliptical arcs; prompts you: Center - specify the center point of the elliptical arc. First end of ellipse axis - specify the endpoint of the elliptical arc's first axis. |
Specifies parameters for the parametric formula that crafts the elliptical arc: p(b) = c + a * cos(u) = b * sin(u) where: a = major axis. b = minor axis. c = center of the ellipse. u = point along the arc. Cos and Sin are the trigonometric cosine and sine functions. |
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Start Angle of Arc |
Specifies the start angle, creating the arc's starting point. The angles are measured counter-clockwise from the positive x axis. |
End Angle |
Specifies the end angle, creating the arc's endpoint. |
Included |
Specifies the included angle, measured from the starting point. |
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Draws the ellipse starting with a center point; prompts you: Center of ellipse - pick a point, or enter x, y coordinates. |
Endpoint of Axis |
Specifies the endpoint of one axis, measured from the center point. |
Other Axis |
Specifies the endpoint of the other axis, also measured from the center point. |
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Specifies the angle of the ellipse; prompts you: Rotation around major axis - pick a point, or enter an angle between 0 and 89.9 degrees. An angle of 0 degrees draws a circle; 89.9 draws a very thin ellipse. |
Procedures
Setting the Polyline Ellipse (PELLIPSE) variable
General procedure to draw an ellipse
General procedure to draw an elliptical arc
Grips Editing
Ellipses can be edited directly through grips:
Select the ellipse. Notice that it has five grips.
Drag the grips to perform the following actions:
Drag a quadrant grip to stretch the ellipse (increase or decrease the diameter).
Drag the center point grip to move the ellipse.
Related Commands
Arc - draws circular arcs.
Isoplane - change the working isoplane for drawing isometric entities, including isocircles.
Properties - changes the properties of ellipses through a palette.
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