PlanCAD

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Transform Operations ​

Transform operations act on the current selection. Select one or more entities first using the Select tool, then invoke the operation from the Edit menu, right-click context menu, or the command line. All transforms support Undo (Ctrl+Z).

Move ​

Command: MOVE Alias: M

Moves selected entities by a displacement defined by a base point and a destination point.

Step-by-step:

  1. Select one or more entities.
  2. Type M and press Enter, or choose Move from the Edit menu.
  3. Click a base point (the reference point you are moving from).
  4. Move the cursor — a ghost preview shows the displaced entities.
  5. Click the destination point. The selection moves by the displacement from base to destination.

Ortho and polar constraints are applied to the destination point.

Tip: You can also move entities by selecting them and dragging with the mouse directly on the canvas.

Copy ​

Command: COPY Alias: CO

Creates a duplicate of the selected entities at a new position, leaving the originals in place.

Step-by-step:

  1. Select one or more entities.
  2. Type CO and press Enter, or choose Copy from the Edit menu.
  3. Click a base point.
  4. Click the destination point. A copy is placed at the destination; the originals remain unchanged.

Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V also copies and pastes selected entities with a small offset.

Rotate ​

Command: ROTATE Alias: RO

Rotates selected entities around a center point by a specified angle.

Step-by-step:

  1. Select one or more entities.
  2. Type RO and press Enter, or choose Rotate from the Edit menu.
  3. A dialog prompts for the rotation angle in degrees.
  4. Enter the angle and confirm. Positive values rotate counter-clockwise; negative values rotate clockwise.
  5. The selection is rotated around its collective bounding-box center.

Scale ​

Command: SCALE Alias: SC

Uniformly scales selected entities relative to their collective center.

Step-by-step:

  1. Select one or more entities.
  2. Type SC and press Enter, or choose Scale from the Edit menu.
  3. A dialog prompts for the scale factor (e.g., 2 to double, 0.5 to halve).
  4. Enter the factor and confirm. The selection is scaled from its bounding-box center.

Mirror ​

Command: MIRROR Alias: MI

Creates a mirrored copy of selected entities, reflected across a horizontal or vertical axis passing through the selection center.

Step-by-step:

  1. Select one or more entities.
  2. Type MI and press Enter, or choose Mirror from the Edit menu.
  3. Choose the mirror axis — horizontal (Mirror X, reflecting top-to-bottom) or vertical (Mirror Y, reflecting left-to-right) — from the dialog or menu.
  4. The mirrored copies are placed and added to the drawing. The originals remain.

Note: Mirror creates new entities; it does not modify the originals. Use Erase on the originals afterward if needed.

Array ​

Command: ARRAY Alias: AR

Creates multiple copies of selected entities arranged in a regular pattern. PlanCAD supports two array types: rectangular and polar.

Step-by-step:

  1. Select one or more entities.
  2. Type AR and press Enter, or choose Array from the Edit menu.
  3. A dialog opens. Choose the array type and fill in the parameters.

Rectangular array parameters:

  • Rows — number of rows in the grid.
  • Columns — number of columns in the grid.
  • Row spacing — distance between rows (center to center) in drawing units.
  • Column spacing — distance between columns (center to center) in drawing units.

Polar array parameters:

  • Count — total number of items (including the original).
  • Angle — total angular span in degrees (360 for a full circle).
  • Center X / Center Y — coordinates of the rotation center.
  1. Confirm to create the array. Each item is an independent copy.

Explode ​

Command: EXPLODE

Breaks a compound entity into its constituent parts. After exploding, each part is an independent entity that can be edited individually.

What is exploded:

  • Rectangle → four separate line segments.
  • Block insert → the individual entities that make up the block, placed at the insert position and scale.
  • Polyline → individual line segments for each vertex pair.
  • Dimension → geometry lines and text as separate entities.

Step-by-step:

  1. Select one or more entities.
  2. Type EXPLODE and press Enter, or choose Explode from the Edit menu.
  3. The selected entities are replaced immediately by their component parts.

Join ​

Command: JOIN Alias: J

Merges collinear or connected lines and polylines into a single polyline entity.

Step-by-step:

  1. Select two or more line or polyline entities that share endpoints or are collinear.
  2. Type J and press Enter, or choose Join from the Edit menu.
  3. PlanCAD merges the selected entities into one polyline. The order is determined by connectivity.

Requirements: The selected entities must share exact or near-coincident endpoints to be joined successfully.

Group ​

Command: GROUP Alias: G

Combines selected entities into a group so they can be selected, moved, and transformed together as a single unit.

Step-by-step:

  1. Select two or more entities.
  2. Type G and press Enter, or choose Group from the Edit menu.
  3. The entities are grouped. Clicking any member of the group selects the entire group.

Note: Groups do not affect individual entity properties. You can still edit individual members by entering the group (double-click) or by ungrouping.

Ungroup ​

Command: UNGROUP Alias: UG

Dissolves a group back into its individual entities, each independently selectable.

Step-by-step:

  1. Select a group.
  2. Type UG and press Enter, or choose Ungroup from the Edit menu.
  3. The group is dissolved. The entities remain in place but are now independent.