Strokes

Strokes are a way to assign command shortcuts to mouse (or tablet) stroke patterns. Strokes require a three-button mouse, or the equivalent in a digitizing tablet. If you don’t have a three-button mouse, you can still use some strokes by using the Strokes utility.

Reference

You can also assign keyboard shortcuts to frequently used commands, but strokes are convenient because they can select an object and apply a command to it.

For example, you can assign Arc Rotate to a downward stroke. When this stroke is drawn, it puts you in Arc Rotate mode. You can assign a circular stroke to the Hide Selected command, so that it both selects the objects and then hides all the objects in the bounding extents of the stroke pattern.

Before you can use strokes, you must specify the Stroke option under Middle Mouse Button in the Viewports page of the Files/Preferences dialog.

The same stroke pattern can become four distinct strokes by holding the SHIFT and/or ALT keys when drawing the stroke. Drawing a vertical line is one type of stroke, holding SHIFT while drawing the same line is another type, holding ALT while drawing it is a third type, and holding both SHIFT and ALT while drawing the line is a fourth type.

See also

The Strokes Utility

Defining Strokes

Reviewing and Editing Strokes

Stroke Preferences

How To

To assign properties to a stroke

1. Click the Draw Strokes button.
2. Hold CTRL, and drag straight down from top to bottom, and then back up to the starting point.
3. The Define Stroke dialog appears, and the name of the stroke is “HKKH.”

If an alert appears, you’ve either drawn the stroke wrong, or this stroke has already been assigned. Continue with the following steps to replace the defined stroke.

4. Choose the Properties command from the Command to Execute list.
5. The option that is enabled is Single Object at Start of Stroke, because that’s the logical choice for the Object Properties command.
6. Click OK.
7. Drag vertically down and back up over any object in the scene to display the Object Properties dialog for that object.

To assign Hide Selection to a stroke

1. Click the Draw Strokes button, if it’s not already green.
2. Hold CTRL, and drag an L shape (drag vertically from top to bottom, and then continue from left to right).
3. In the alert that appears, click Yes to redefine the stroke and display the Define Stroke dialog.

The name of this stroke is GJEF.

4. Select Hide Selection from the list.
5. Choose All Objects in Rectangular Extents, and choose Crossing.
6. Click OK.
7. Load a scene containing several objects.
8. Drag an L shape that crosses and encloses some objects in the scene.

The stroked objects are all hidden.