BricsCAD Modifying Commands Overview

Quick answer: BricsCAD’s modifying commands cover 37 tools for arraying, moving, rotating, trimming, cleaning up, and editing specific entity types. Grouped below by category.

Arrays and Copying

Command	What it does
`3DARRAY`	Creates copies in a 3D rectangular (rows, columns, levels) or a 2D polar pattern in 3D space
`ARRAY`	Creates 2D and 3D arrays in rectangular, polar, or path patterns
`ARRAYCLASSIC`	Creates copies in one of two symmetrical patterns: rectangular or polar
`ARRAYPATH`	Associatively distributes copies evenly along a path, into rows and levels
`ARRAYPOLAR`	Associatively distributes copies evenly in a circular pattern around a centre point or axis, into rows and levels
`ARRAYRECT`	Associatively distributes copies into any number of rows, columns, and levels
`COPY`	Draws duplicates of selected entities
`COPYGUIDED`	Copies entities, using their relationship to reference curves to guide placement automatically
`OFFSET`	Creates a parallel or offset copy of linear entities

Moving and Positioning

Command	What it does
`ALIGN`	Aligns selected entities with other entities in 3D space
`MOVE`	Moves entities to another location in the same drawing
`MOVEGUIDED`	Moves entities, guided automatically by their relationship to reference curves
`MANIPULATE`	Launches the Manipulator widget to rotate, move, mirror, and scale entities; hold `Ctrl` when starting an action to manipulate a copy instead
`STRETCH`	Moves part of a drawing while retaining its connections to the rest

Rotating and Mirroring

Command	What it does
`ROTATE`	Rotates entities around a specified point
`ROTATE3D`	Rotates entities around an axis
`MIRROR`	Moves or copies a reflected image of entities about a line
`MIRROR3D`	Moves or copies a reflected image of entities about a plane

Scaling

Command	What it does
`SCALE`	Enlarges or reduces entities proportionally in X, Y, and Z

Trimming, Breaking, and Extending

Command	What it does
`BREAK`	Splits an entity into two
`EXTEND`	Lengthens lines, arcs, polylines, or rays to meet another entity
`TRIM`	Erases the portions of entities that cross a specified boundary

Corners and Joining

Command	What it does
`CHAMFER`	Creates chamfers at intersections, defined by two lengths, or a length and an angle
`FILLET`	Joins intersecting lines with an arc of a suitable radius
`JOIN`	Joins lines, 2D and 3D polylines, arcs, elliptical arcs, polyarcs, splines, and helices at common endpoints

Dividing and Measuring

Command	What it does
`DIVIDE`	Places markers evenly along an entity to divide it into a specified number of equal parts
`MEASURE`	Places markers along an entity at specified intervals

Length

Command	What it does
`LENGTHEN`	Changes the length of a line, polyline, freehand entity, or arc

Cleanup

Command	What it does
`EXPLODE`	Reduces complex entities to simpler ones, blocks into their parts, polylines into lines and arcs
`OVERKILL`	Deletes duplicate and overlapping lines, arcs, and polylines, unifying overlapping or contiguous ones (optionally moving duplicates to a dedicated layer), and combines duplicate block definitions, optionally purging them
`SIMPLIFY`	Reduces the vertex count of polylines and hatch boundaries without changing their general shape, easing manipulation and reducing file size

Entity-Specific Editing

Command	What it does
`PEDIT`	Edits a 2D or 3D polyline, or a polygon mesh
`SPLINEDIT`	Edits a 2D or 3D spline
`HATCHEDIT`	Edits hatches and gradient fills through a dialog box

General Properties

Command	What it does
`CHANGE`	Changes entity properties via the Command line, largely superseded by the Properties panel
`PROPERTIES`	Opens the Properties panel
`FLATTEN`	Projects 2D and 3D entities onto the XY-plane of the current view

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between ARRAY and the ARRAYRECT/ARRAYPOLAR/ARRAYPATH commands? ARRAY is a general command covering all three pattern types (rectangular, polar, path) in one place, while the dedicated commands each handle just one pattern type, associatively.

Is CHANGE still the recommended way to edit entity properties? No, it’s largely been superseded by the Properties panel, though it’s still available via the Command line.

What does OVERKILL actually clean up? Duplicate and overlapping lines, arcs, and polylines (unifying overlapping or contiguous ones), plus duplicate block definitions, which it can also purge.

How is MOVEGUIDED different from a regular MOVE? It uses the entity’s relationship to reference curves to automatically guide where it gets moved to, rather than requiring you to specify the destination manually.