Parallel offset of lines and members
It is easy to copy selected lines or members graphically: Move the objects to the desired place in the workspace while holding down the [Ctrl] key. This function follows the general standards for Windows applications.
If you want to create parallel lines or members, you can enter specific settings in a dialog box. To access the corresponding function, select the menu entry
- Tools → Set Parallel Line or
- Tools → Set Parallel Member
or use the shortcut menu of the line or member (see Figure 11.149).
The selected line appears in the List of Lines. If necessary, more lines can be added by clicking them in the work window. Please note that all lines of the list must lie in one plane.
In the Offset Distance dialog section, you can specify the copy's distance to the original.
When several lines are copied by parallel offset, there are several ways to adjust the copied lines or members in the Outer Corners dialog section. The figure above shows the copied lines (without axes) extended to the common point of intersection. Moreover, both ends are connected to the original lines with the selected Close ends check box.
The Offset Direction dialog section allows you to control, onto which side the lines are copied. The directions +y and –y are directly displayed in the work window. They are specifically used for this dialog box and do not depend on the currently set work plane. Thus, they do not necessarily reflect the line axes. The Rotation about x text box allows you to copy objects out of the plane.