MIRROR

As we have seen almost all the View, Format, Draw and Modify commands that are commonly required mostly used, we are all se to proceed to the non-graphical elements of AutoCAD like Text and Dimension. But before we proceed for these utilities, today let’s learn an important and interesting command under Modify. Although it belongs to the group of Modify it could as well be under the Draw menu as it actually adds additional objects into the drawing.

Mirror

You can flip objects about a specified axis to create a symmetrical mirror image. Mirroring is useful for creating symmetrical objects because you can quickly draw half the object and then mirror it instead of drawing the entire object.

You flip objects about an axis called a mirror line to create a mirror image. To specify this temporary mirror line, you enter two points. You can choose whether to erase or retain the original objects.

When you mirror text, attributes, and attribute definitions, they are reversed or turned upside down in the mirror image. If you want to prevent this, set the MIRRTEXT system variable to 0 (off). Text then has the same alignment and justification as before the mirroring.

MIRRTEXT affects text that is created with the TEXT, ATTDEF, or MTEXT commands; attribute definitions; and variable attributes. Text and constant attributes within an inserted block are mirrored as a consequence of mirroring the entire block. These objects are reversed regardless of the MIRRTEXT setting.

Mirror in 3D
With MIRROR3D, you can mirror objects across a specified mirroring plane. The mirroring plane can be one of the following:

• The plane of a planar object
• A plane parallel to the XY, YZ, or XZ plane of the current UCS that passes through a specified point
• A plane defined by three specified points (2, 3, and 4)

Command line: mirror
Select objects: Use an object selection method and press ENTER to finish
Specify first point of mirror line: Specify a point
Specify second point of mirror line: Specify a point
The two specified points become the endpoints of a line about which the selected objects are mirrored. For mirroring in 3D, this line defines a mirroring plane perpendicular to the XY plane of the user coordinate system (UCS) containing the mirror line.
Erase source objects? [Yes/No] : Enter y or n, or press ENTER
Yes
Places the mirrored image into the drawing and erases the original objects. No
Places the mirrored image into the drawing and retains the original objects.

To manage the mirror properties of text objects, use the MIRRTEXT system variable. The default setting of MIRRTEXT is 1 (on), which causes a text object to be mirrored just like any other object. When MIRRTEXT is off (0), text is not reversed.