How to Use Transparent Commands in BricsCAD

Last updated: July 20, 2026. Verified against Octave’s official V26 documentation.

Quick answer: Civil Transparent Commands let you specify a point based on known information, a bearing, azimuth, station, angle, or an existing Civil Point, rather than clicking blindly. Run them inside another command, like PLINE, 3DPOLY, or ALIGNMENT, using the same apostrophe prefix convention used for transparent commands generally.

Accessing Civil Transparent Commands

Click the command in the Civil Transparent Commands ribbon panel, on the Home tab.
Type it directly at the Command line.
Use the Civil Transparent Commands toolbar (right-click the ribbon, go to Toolbars > BRICSCAD > Civil, and select Civil Transparent Commands to activate it first).

Bearing and Distance (‘BD)

Specifies a point at a given bearing and distance from a known point.

Quadrant: NE = 1, SE = 2, SW = 3, NW = 4.
Bearing: the angle within that quadrant, entered dynamically or typed as degrees, minutes, and seconds (or as a decimal, which converts automatically, the first two decimal digits become minutes, the next two become seconds). Valid ranges: 0 to 90 degrees, 0 to 59 minutes, 0 to 59 seconds.
Distance: the offset from the quadrant’s origin along that bearing.

For larger scales, a new coordinate system is created automatically to reduce errors.

Example, inside PLINE:

Set next point or [draw Arcs/Distance/Follow/Halfwidth/Width/Undo]: 'BD
>>Specify quadrant [1 for North East, 2 for South East, 3 for South West, 4 for North West]: 1
>>Specify bearing: 40d30'20"
>>Specify distance: 123
Resuming PLINE command

Azimuth and Distance (‘ZD)

Specifies a point at an azimuth and distance from a known point. The azimuth is measured relative to the line the command previously created, entered dynamically or typed (degrees/minutes/seconds or decimal).

Example, inside PLINE:

Set next point or [draw Arcs/Distance/Follow/Halfwidth/Width]: '_ZD
Specify azimuth: 60
Specify distance: 50

Station and Offset (‘_SO)

Specifies a point at a station and offset from a curve.

Select curve: a horizontal alignment, line, or polyline to apply stations to.
Specify station: any point along it to use as the starting point.
Specify offset: creates a supporting line perpendicular to the station, then lets you specify a distance along it, graphically or by typing.

Angle and Distance (‘ANGD)

Specifies a point at an angle and distance from a known point and direction.

Example, inside PLINE:

Set next point or [draw Arcs/Distance/Follow/Halfwidth/Width/Undo]: 'ANGD
Specify angle or [Clockwise]: 70
Specify distance: 200

Deflection and Distance

Specifies a point at an angle and distance from a known point, relative to the previous segment’s direction (rather than an absolute known direction, as with Angle and Distance above).

Note: Octave’s documentation writes this alias with a curly quote, 'DD, unlike every other alias on this page, which uses a straight apostrophe. That’s very likely a typo, a curly quote probably won’t trigger the transparent command the way a straight apostrophe does, so use a plain 'DD at the Command line instead.

Example, inside PLINE:

Set next point or [draw Arcs/Distance/Follow/Halfwidth/Width/Undo]: 'DD
Specify angle or [Clockwise]: 70
Specify distance: 200

Point Number (‘_PN)

Specifies a point using a Civil Point number. You can enter multiple point numbers or ranges, separated by commas.

Example, inside 3DPOLY:

Start of polyline: '_PN
>>Enter point number: 1-4

Point Object (‘_PO)

Specifies a point by picking an existing Civil Point graphically in the drawing.

Point Name (‘_PA)

Specifies a point using a Civil Point’s name. If duplicate point names exist, the command can’t execute.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use these commands inside any drawing command, or only civil-specific ones? They work inside general drawing commands too, the examples in Octave’s own documentation show them used with PLINE and 3DPOLY, not just civil-specific commands like ALIGNMENT.

What happens if I try to specify a point by name and two Civil Points share that name? The Point Name command can’t execute; duplicate point names aren’t supported for this lookup.

What’s the difference between Angle and Distance versus Deflection and Distance? Angle and Distance measures from a known point and direction. Deflection and Distance measures relative to the previous segment’s direction instead.

Why does BricsCAD create a new coordinate system when I use Bearing and Distance at a large scale? It’s done automatically to reduce errors that can creep in at larger scales.