Enter Cartesian Coordinates
 
 
 

You can use absolute or relative Cartesian (rectangular) coordinates to locate points when creating objects.

To use Cartesian coordinates to specify a point, enter an X value and a Y value separated by a comma (X,Y). The X value is the positive or negative distance, in units, along the horizontal axis. The Y value is the positive or negative distance, in units, along the vertical axis.

Absolute coordinates are based on the UCS origin (0,0), which is the intersection of the X and Y axes. Use absolute coordinates when you know the precise X and Y values of the point.

With Dynamic Input, you can specify absolute coordinates with the # prefix. If you enter coordinates on the command line instead of in the tooltip, the # prefix is not used. For example, entering #3,4 specifies a point 3 units along the X axis and 4 units along the Y axis from the UCS origin. For more information about Dynamic Input, see Use Dynamic Input.

The following example draws a line beginning at an X value of -2, a Y value of 1, and an endpoint at 3,4. Enter the following in the tooltip:

Command: line

From point: #-2,1

To point: #3,4

The line is located as follows:

Relative coordinates are based on the last point entered. Use relative coordinates when you know the location of a point in relation to the previous point.

To specify relative coordinates, precede the coordinate values with an @ sign. For example, entering @3,4 specifies a point 3 units along the X axis and 4 units along the Y axis from the last point specified.

The following example draws the sides of a triangle. The first side is a line starting at the absolute coordinates -2,1 and ending at a point 5 units in the X direction and 0 units in the Y direction. The second side is a line starting at the endpoint of the first line and ending at a point 0 units in the X direction and 3 units in the Y direction. The final line segment uses relative coordinates to return to the starting point.

Command: line

From point: #-2,1

To point: @5,0

To point: @0,3

To point: @-5,-3