Rotating an Object to an Existing Line (An update from a previous blog)

by Martin Phelps

This is not a new function, since it has been with AutoCAD for many releases, but it’s one of those sub command options that is often overlooked or not known, however, if possible, I try and include this function in the AutoCAD Essentials training course.

The simple example in Figure 1, shows a “Rectangle” and a diagonal “Line”.

Figure 1. Drawn objects.

The requirement is to “Rotate” the “Rectangle” to the exact angle of the diagonal “Line”.

Using the “List” command and selecting the line to determine the angle from the X axis may not be sufficiently accurate, since the angle obtained may only be to 1 or 2 decimal places.

Greater accuracy and time saving can be obtained by using the functions within the “Rotate” command.

Access the “Rotate” command from the “Modify” panel in the ribbon, as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2. The “Rotate” command in the “Modify” panel.

Or type in the command short-cut “RO”.

Once the command is active, select the object or objects to be rotated.

Press Enter or right click to confirm.

Select a suitable base point for the point of rotation, this could be a random point in the drawing area, however it’s better to select a suitable “Object Snap” on the objects to be rotated, as shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Base point of “Rotation”.

The command line now displays the available sub commands, as shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Command line options.

These sub commands can also be accessed by right clicking and selecting the required option from the displayed menu as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5 Access to sub command via right click.

Access the “Reference” option by either selection from the command line, selection from the right click menu or type in “R” and press enter.

Select two points to specify the “Reference” line, as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6. Specify two points to create a “Reference” line.

The command line again shows the available sub options, as shown in Figure 7.

Figure 7. Next set of sub options.

This option can also be accessed via the right click menu as shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8. The second right click menu.

Or typing the shortcut “P”.

Pick 2 points to align the created “Reference” line with the desired rotation. The end result is shown in Figure 9.

Figure 9. The resulting rotation.