In AutoCAD, you may sometimes draw a shape using the Line command, only to realise later that using the Polyline command would have been far more efficient. For example, you might create a shape from multiple individual lines and then want to offset the entire shape without leaving gaps.
When the object consists of separate lines, offsetting it usually requires a lot of extra work like trimming and extending to clean up the result. However, if those lines were a single polyline, the task would be much faster and cleaner.
Let’s look at how to convert these lines and arcs into a polyline.
- Draw some lines and maybe include an arc using only the line and arc command, like the below:
- I have selected a few lines to show these are single lines with an arc. This is not a polyline yet.
- Type PE (polyline edit) and enter.
- Select any line.
- Do you want to turn it into one? <Y> – enter to select YES.
- Then select JOIN.
- Select all the geometry in your display.
- Enter twice to end the command.
- Select the object and you should see this is now listed as a polyline.
Here is the trick: if you do this a lot and that part that keeps asking if you want to turn it into a polyline – we can get rid of this prompt.
Type PEDITACCEPT and change the variable from 0 to 1. This will automatically convert it without the prompt!
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