The Ellipse Setup window ( Drawing Editor )
Settings on this window are read-only if you are adding or editing an ellipse that is not on a comment layer and your current drawing is not a crane placement drawing . If your current drawing is a crane placement drawing, you can add or edit objects on non-comment layers as well as on comment layers. Instructions on this page assume you are NOT in a crane placement drawing.
- In versions of SDS2 software prior to v2018, you could rotate circles to make them into ellipses . Now circles and ellipses have different edit windows. The circle edit window is called Circle Setup . For multi-edit operations consisting of both circles and ellipses, this window -- Ellipse Setup -- is the window that opens.
- To open this window:
- Ellipse Add Center (
) *** - Ellipse Add Axis End ( ) ***
- Circle Edit or double-click a circle that is an ellipse
- Circle Edit (multiple) when at least one circle is an ellipse
- Circle Edit All when at least one circle is an ellipse
- For operations marked *** , User and Site Options > Drawings > "
Always show Circle Edit window " must be checked for this window to open.
- Ellipse Add Center (
Also see :
- Circles and ellipses (topic)
- Edit Palette (sets default line type & color for adding a circle or ellipse.
- Grayed out fields (indicate mixed entries or that the field is disabled)
- Multi Items Edit (related window)
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" Copy " " Paste " " Save " " Load " buttons:
You'll find buttons like these at the top of this window. They apply to all user-editable settings that are on this window. Click here for more information.
You can " Copy " (
) the settings on this window, then change the " Circle__of " number you are editing using the VCR buttons, then " Paste " (
) those settings to the newly selected circle.
" Save " (
) saves a "form" file to the
form/circle folder that is used by your current version of this program. Give the form a name that will help users in other Jobs on your network identify its purpose. " Load " (
) changes all settings on this window to those settings that are stored in the file that you select.
" Paste " and " Load " replace mixed entries to a single field with a single entry. " Copy " and " Save " ignore fields with mixed entries, treating them as if they have no entry or do not exist.
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Major axis radius: The distance (in the primary dimension " Units " or other units ) from the center of the ellipse to either one of the two points where its major axis terminates at the perimeter of the ellipse.
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The major axis of an ellipse is the axis that terminates at the two points that are farthest from one another on the perimeter of the ellipse. In other words, it is the ellipse's largest diameter. The " Major axis radius " is the length of half of the major axis.
When circles and ellipses are multi-edited, a change made to the " Major axis radius " changes the radius of circles.
Minor axis radius: The distance (in the primary dimension " Units " or other units ) from the center of the ellipse to either one of the two points where its minor axis terminates at the perimeter of the ellipse.
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The minor axis of an ellipse is perpendicular to the ellipse's major axis and runs through the center of the ellipse.
Rotation of major axis: A positive or negative number ( 90 to -89.9999 ) of degrees. This controls the rotation of the ellipse around its Z axis, which runs through the center of the ellipse, perpendicular to the plane of your current drawing.
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' 0 ' degrees makes the major axis of the ellipse horizontal.
A positive number rotates the ellipse counterclockwise.
A negative number rotates the ellipse clockwise.
Line type: No button is pressed if you are editing multiple circles and/or ellipses that have different dash patterns.
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| The button that is pressed sets the line type (dash pattern) of the objects(s) you are editing. |
Pen color: 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 6 or 7 . No button is pressed if you are editing multiple circles and/or ellipses that have different colors.
The button that is pressed sets the printing pen number (and on-screen display color) of the object. Line Weights sets the printed thickness for each of the seven pen numbers.
Attached to view: A number designating the view that this ellipse is attached to. This applies mainly to member details , since member details are likely to show more views than submaterial details , the only other type of drawing on which you might find multiple views. For instance, a column detail may have a view of face A, face B and face C. It may also have various section views (Section A-A, Section B-B, Section C-C). All graphical objects that are in a particular view are assigned the same number.
Assigning the correct number to an object (line, weld symbol, label, etc.) provides maximum compatibility when the comment layer you add that object to is viewed or printed in a full-featured SDS2 program .
To show a view's number, you can add the X-Y-Z Display to your toolbar.
In the Drawing Editor , the X-Y-Z Display shows the view number that the point location target (
) is over.
Layer: The drawing layer (any layer given a " Name ") that the ellipse you are adding or editing will be drawn on after you press " OK " to close this window. If that layer happens to be hidden (not marked " Show "), the ellipse will disappear after the first Redraw .
If the layer listed here is a non-comment layer and you are not on a crane placement drawing: Options on this window are read-only.
If this window is editable: You can only select a comment layer from the list box's selection menu (
).
Defaults: For an add operation on a non crane placement drawing, the default selection (
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The blue circles in this example are on a "higher" drawing layer than are the yellow circles. The higher layer is also the higher layer on the list box menu for " Layer " (above). |
If this box is checked (
If the box is not checked (
), the ellipse or circle is not filled.
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For when you edit one ellipse and multiple circles are in the drawing :
Circle _ of __ (not applicable to Add Circle or multi-edit) : The number of the one circle or ellipse you are editing and the total count of circles (including ellipses) in your current drawing. You can use the VCR buttons to select a different circle and edit that circle's settings while still on this window. When a circle or ellipse on a shown layer is selected, it is displayed in green (cyan if its actual color is green). The selected circle or ellipse must be on a shown layer for it to be shown.
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| VCR buttons (first-previous-next-last) for selecting a circle or ellipse to edit. |
Note: If you change one circle or ellipse, then select a different circle number, the first circle or ellipse remains changed even if you press " Cancel " on this window.
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To close the Ellipse Setup window :
Possibility #1 :
Press the " OK " button if this window is for review only
(if you are editing a circle or ellipse that is not on a comment layer ).
Possibility #2 :
If you are adding or editing a circle or ellipse on a comment layer ,
the bottom of this window will show the following buttons:
"OK" (or the Enter key) closes this window and, if this window is not read-only, applies the changes made on it to your current drawing.
Defaults: When you press " OK ," settings on this window become the default settings for the next circle or ellipse you add during this session of the Drawing Editor . Even if all you do is double-click an ellipse and press " OK " without making any changes on this window, this window's settings become the defaults for the next-added circle. To override this behavior, " Pen color " & " Line type " can be changed using the Edit Palette .
"Cancel" (or the Esc key or the 
button) closes this window without saving any of the changes you have made.. " Cancel " only cancels the changes made to the circle or ellipse whose number is currently selected as the " Circle _ of __ ."
Defaults: The settings on this window do not become the defaults for new circles if you press " Cancel " to close this window (unless you used " Circle _ of __ ").
Tip 1: If you used " Circle _ of __ " to edit more than one circle, then Undo (after you have closed this window) does undo all those changes.
Tip 2: If you double-click an ellipse just to review it and don't want to set the defaults for to-be-added circles, the best way to close this window is to press " Cancel. "
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