Adding to polygons

[rosebud5]

Hello, I am trying to add a specific amount onto a polygon.  For example, I have a rectangle and instead of giving the overall length, I want to add 1" to one side of the rectangle.  Any thoughts? Say that rectanlge is 4 x 2 and I want to have a command that adds to the existing dimension rather than retyping the whole dimension 

 

Thanks, 

Edited October 6, 2016 by rosebud5

[Pat Stanford]

Depending on the shape of the polygon, this can probably be done in the Object Info Palette (OIP). It is easy for rectangles, even rotated ones.

 

In the top part of the Shape pane of the OIP are fields showing the dimensions of the object. To the left of that are 9 "radio buttons" Those buttons are used to "lock" the position of that "corner" of the object so when you change the dimension fields that point stays fixed and the other point(s) move.

 

So to make a rectangle 1" "taller" in the Y direction, select any one of the three bottom buttons. Click in the Y field at the end of the dimension and type and additional +1" into the field. VW will do the math for you and increase the height of the rectangle while keeping the bottom fixed.

 

Do the same as above, but with one of the middle row buttons selected and both the top and bottom will move by 1/2".

 

Play around a little in a blank file and you should get the hang of it very quickly.

[rosebud5]

Awesome! greatly appreciated

 

[Andy Broomell]

What Pat said above is absolutely correct - let VW do the math for you. Note that you can do addition +, subtraction -, multiplication *, and division /.

 

You can even type in other units. For example, 1"+5mm.... Vectorworks will figure it out.

 

Now if you had a more complex polyline with multiple edges at different angles... a different approach would be to use the Offset tool. Just type in the offset distance in the mode bar then click on the outside of your object to expand it that distance outward, or on the inside of your object to expand it inwards. There are other options in this tool to play around with, but this will get you started