Drawing Entity Concepts - Inserting Blocks

Blocks are composed of drawing entities used to create a background or present information in the job file. Blocks can consist of any combination of drawing entities and text and may be used to store complex drawing entities such as title blocks, sports fields, arrows and symbols. As drawing entities, they do not participate in the lighting calculations. You may use the drawing tools provided with AGi32 to create your blocks, or import a CAD file instead.

When a block is created, it is stored independently of the current job file in the AGI32_GeneralDB database. All of the original block attributes, such as line type, color, font and text size, and relative insertion point (specified during creation), are retained in this block and are applied each time the block is inserted into the drawing area. This capability allows you to create a block in one job file and reuse it in any other.

The block may be scaled precisely, before insertion, if desired. This allows you to scale blocks created in feet down to inches for use in Reports. Once inserted, the block becomes a drawing entity of the current project. The block’s original aspect ratio is maintained; the block cannot be stretched or distorted.

While in the Block command, the user can locate multiple instances of the block. Each Block is inserted at a user-defined location.

Technical Details

Line segments and text make up the block, and their relationship is maintained during modification. That is to say, blocks can be copied, moved, rotated, etc., and any included  text and lines will remain intact. To modify the drawing entities or modify the text, explode the block.

If you change the original block after inserting a copy of it, the changes have no effect on the copy. If you want the inserted copy to reflect the changes you made to the original block reference, delete the copy and reinsert the block.