Duplicate Array command using angles

[jan15]

Another way to do it:

1a. Draw a line starting at the center of the arrayable object.

1b. Use the "L" and "A" coordinates in the data display bar to make the length and angle of that line equal to the offset you want for the array. That gives you a visible and snappable offset vector.

2. Do a linear array by "Next Mouse Click" and click on the other end of that offset vector line.

That's fairly quick for arraying a line, circle, or rectangle, since a screen hint and an audible click will tell you where its center is. You only have to draw one construction line -- the offset vector -- before selecting the arrayable object and arraying it.

For a complex surface or a set of objects, there's no constraint that allows you to snap to the "center" of it. So you also have to draw a "bounding box" (the smallest rectangle that encloses either the whole surface or all the objects), and then snap to the center of that bounding rectangle to start the offset vector line.

Arraying by "Next Mouse Click" places the center of the "bounding box" of the first duplicate at the mouse click point.

[losolin]

While one can copy individual items one at a time then call the move command to place them a specified distance at a certain angle, I can not find a way to do this for an array. I thought all it would take was to change the grid angle like one does for dimensioning, but that does not affect the duplicate command. It seems the simplest method is to place a locus point, then do the array of objects, then reselect the locus and finally rotate for the desired angle. Aside from not creating objects which are not on the simple X and Y axis is there a simpler way to do this repetitively?