Breaking an Object into Two
If you need to place a gap in a line or an arc or just need to cut a line in half, you'll want to use the Break command. Break is simple to use, but it does have a few quirks. First, it does not work on all types of objects. You can place gaps in lines, polylines (including rectangles, polygons, and clouds), splines, arcs, and circles using Break. Break also lets you cut an object without actually placing a gap in the object. This option will not work on circles, however.
To use Break to place a gap in an object, do the following:
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In the 2D Draw control panel's Modify fly-out toolbar, click the Break tool, choose Modify è Break, or enter br↲ at the command prompt. -
At the Select object: prompt, select the object you want to break at the location where you want the gap to begin.
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At the Specify second break point or [First point]: prompt, select the second point on the object for the opposite side of the gap. The gap appears on the object.
Sometimes you want the beginning of the gap at an intersection of two objects, in which case you can't click the object to select the beginning of the gap location. Break lets you select an object independent of the beginning points and endpoints of the gap by using the First Point option. Here's how it works:
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In the 2D Draw control panel, click the Break tool, choose Modify è Break, or enter br↲ at the command prompt.
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At the Select object: prompt, select the object you want to break.
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At the Specify second break point or [First point]: prompt, enter f↲, and then select the beginning location for the gap.
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At the Specify second break point: prompt, select the second point on the object for the opposite side of the gap. The gap appears on the object.
To break an object at a single point without creating a gap, enter @↲ in step 4. This tells AutoCAD that the first and second points of the gap are the same. You can also use the Break at Point tool in the 2D Draw control panel to accomplish this.
