Chapter 24 Standard Blocks 735 Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. are described later in this textbook. Pick once on the block to attach the block to the crosshairs at the insertion base point. Specify a point in the drawing to insert the block. An alternative method for inserting a block is to use drag-and-drop. Press and hold down the pick button on the block and drag the cursor into the drawing. The block attaches to the cursor at the insertion base point. Release the pick button to insert the block at the location of the cursor. When using this method, options are not presented for adjusting the insertion base point, scale, and rotation of the block. A third technique for inserting a block is to right-click on the block and select an insert option from the shortcut menu. The settings in the Insertion Options area, explained in the following sections, apply when using this technique and when picking on a block to insert. These settings do not apply when using drag-and-drop. Additional features in the Blocks palette allow you to manage how blocks are displayed. Refer to Figure 24-4. Use the fi lter drop-down list to fi lter for specifi c blocks by entering a name or partial name. Use the * wildcard character to narrow the fi lter criteria. By default, blocks are represented by large icons. Select an option from the drop-down list in the upper-right corner to change the icon size or to display blocks in detail or list format. NOTE NOTE To remove a block from the Recent tab, right-click on the block and pick Remove from Recent List. Specifying the Block Insertion Point When you pick a block to insert or use drag-and-drop, you specify where to locate the block during insertion. When you ri ght-click on a block and select Insert, the Insertion Point check box in the Insertion Options area determines the insertion behavior. Check the Insertion Point check box to receive a prompt for locating the block during insertion. To insert the block using absolute coordinates, deselect the Insertion Point check box and enter coordinates in the X:, Y:, and Z: text boxes. Scaling Blocks The scale options in the Insertion Options area allow you to specify scale values for the block in relation to the X, Y, and Z axes. Deselect the Scale check box to enter scale values in the X:, Y:, and Z: text boxes. Select the Uniform Scale option to specify a scale value for the X axis that also applies to the scale of the Y and Z axes. Check the Scale check box to receive prompts for scaling the block during insertion. If you created the block with Scale uniformly checked in the Block Definition dialog box, the scale factor you enter applies to the X, Y, and Z axes. Blocks are classifi ed as real blocks, schematic blocks, or unit blocks, depending on how you scale the block during insertion. Examples of real blocks include a bolt, a bathtub, a pipe fi tting, and the car shown in Figure 24-5A. Examples of schematic blocks include notes, detail bubbles, tags, and section symbols. See Figure 24-5B. Annotative blocks are typically classifi ed as schematic blocks. When you insert an annotative schematic block, AutoCAD automatically determines the block scale based on the annotation scale. When you insert a non-annotative schematic block, you must specify the scale factor. There are three general types of unit blocks. An example of a 1D unit block is a 1″ line. An example of a 2D unit block is a 1″ × 1″ square. An example of a 3D unit block is a 1″ × 1″ × 1″ cube. To use a unit block, determine the individual scale factors for each axis that apply when you insert the block. This allows you to stretch or compress the block to create modifi ed versions of the block. For example, when inserting a 2D unit block, assign different scale factors for the X and Y axes to change the block dimensions. real block: A block originally drawn at a 1:1 scale and then inserted using 1 for both the X and Y scale factors. schematic block: A block originally drawn at a 1:1 scale and then inserted using the drawing scale factor for both the X and Y scale values. unit block: A 1D, 2D, or 3D unit block drawn to fit in a 1-unit, 1-unit-square, or 1-unit-cubed area so that it can be scaled easily. 1D unit block: A 1-unit, one- dimensional object, such as a straight line segment, saved as a block. 2D unit block: A 2D object that fits into a 1-unit × 1-unit square, saved as a block. 3D unit block: A 3D object that fits into a 1-unit × 1-unit × 1-unit cube, saved as a block.